Friday, October 23, 2015

Orvis Down The Hatch 2015 Event Report

The show poster from the
Chattahoochee River Keepers Instagram feed.
Mornin' Folks,
  Well, it was that time of year again.  Time for Tom Rosenbauer and Pete Kutzer to make the long journey south to Atlanta for the Orvis Down the Hatch Fly Fishing Film Festival.  You may remember from my article last year (which you can read here), that Tom Rosenbauer (Marketing Director for Orvis Rod and Tackle and voice of the Orvis Fly Fishing Guide Podcast) spent some time in the Orvis Atlanta store meeting folks, giving advice and then giving his Small Stream presentation.  This year was done a bit differently in that Tom did a meet and greet in the store, discussing all things fishing with his adoring fans, and he brought along Orvis' casting maestro, Pete Kutzer.  Tom is an incredibly nice guy, he greets everyone in the store with a hearty hand shake and a warm smile that makes you think he's known you for years.  This year was my first time meeting Pete and he gives Tom a run for his money in the warm welcome department.  I didn't stay terribly long with Tom and Pete, I wanted to make sure and give others a chance to meet them.  But we did talk about the small stream, Georgia native Brook Trout that I have come to love, and, of course, bluegill, as always.  Tom and Pete both have an open invitation to fish the north Georgia small streams, cold or warm, with me, anytime!
Me, Tom Rosenbauer and Pete Kutzer at Orvis Atlanta
  We left the Orvis Atlanta store and had to kill a few hours before the show started (which is harder than you might think in Atlanta!).  The Little Girl and I strolled around some of the shops at Atlantic Station and grabbed a pizza for lunch.  This year the Down the Hatch festival was held at a different venue, Center Stage Atlanta, which was right on the other side of I-85 from Atlantic Station, making it, in my opinion, much more convenient and easier to get to than last year's venue.  The theatre room at Center Stage accommodated a much larger crowd than the previous location as well.  
Pete Kutzer, Jason Ulreth and Tom Rosenbauer
Photo borrowed from CenterStage-Atlanta.com
  After a one hour social with beer provided by Sweet Water Brewing and some heavy hors-d'oeuvres we were let into the main theatre to get the show started.  Tom and Pete opened the show with a few words and a quick story then introduced Chattahoochee River Keeper Jason Ulreth to speak about the Chattahoochee River that runs through Atlanta, how lucky we are to have one of a very few trout fisheries that runs through a major metro area and to explain that the proceeds from the show will go to fund two water testing sites on the river for the next year.  
  T-shirts, hats, koozies, and other items were thrown to a waiting crowd just before the lights were dimmed and the films started.  You really owe it to yourself to get to a fly fishing film festival if you ever get the chance.  The cinematography really is incredible.  The films always take place in incredibly beautiful locales, have stunning fish and action and, quite often, have a good bit of comedy that might be a little too insider if you're not a fisherman or, at least, married to one.
  During the shows intermission Tom and Pete called raffle numbers.  There was an impressive list of generous raffle prizes this year: half and full day guided trips for one or two, Costa and Smith Optics sunglasses, water purifiers, coolers, coats and, of course, the one that everybody wanted, the Orvis Helios 2 Sweet Water Brewery 9'-0" 5 weight fly rod, which I should have won, but didn't!  
  Every one was very happy with the evening, and the folks that won the raffles were ecstatic.  Many, many thanks go to the folks at Orvis, Orvis Atlanta, Orvis Alpharetta, Sweet Water Brewery, Center Stage Atlanta and all of the donors and sponsors for another awesome night of beer and fly fishing films.  I hope to see you all there again next year!
  Have a great day, Tight Lines and cold beer!!
     -Nick

  
  
  

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Orvis Down The Hatch Atlanta 2015

Mornin' Folks, 
  I just wanted to give a quick reminder that the Orvis Down the Hatch Fly Fishing Film Festival co-sponsored by Sweet Water Brewery is just a week away!  We've got our tickets and can't wait for the show. Make sure to get your tickets very soon because they sold out last year. Part of the proceeds from the show go to help Chattahoochee River Keepers, definitely a worthy organization.  So make sure you get your tickets from Ticketmaster and click here to see my write up of last year's show. I hope to see you all there!
Tight Lines,
    -Nick

Monday, October 05, 2015

Norcross Gun Club and Range

Mornin' Folks,
  The weather has been pretty lousy for fishing around here lately. Hurricane Jaoquin stalled around Bermuda and has really walloped the Carolinas with rain. Our thoughts go out to all of our friends that have been affected by the flooding. Here in North Georgia we've gotten some rain and minor flooding, just enough to make fishing iffy. So, this weekend, instead of wetting a line, I met a buddy at the Norcross Gun Club and Range to do a bit of target shooting.
  This was my first visit to this range and I very much enjoyed it. The range area is comprised of 14 shooting lanes in two rooms, each with an electric target trolley. The block walls between each booth were covered in an acoustic material to reduce the noise and there were several cans provided to recycle brass, foam cartridge dividers and paper boxes and targets.
  There is a small "pro shop" style store that has a nice selection of firearms for purchase, range ammo, paper targets and any other supplies you may need for an afternoon of punching holes in paper.  The Norcross Gun Range also has a large number of firearms for rent, from handguns to long guns, and the reasonable rental fee is for the day, not for the piece, so you can try every gun on the rack for one price.
  I thoroughly enjoyed my time, shooting my beloved Ruger GP100 .357. I will definitely be returning to the range very soon, I've spent way too much time away from the shooting hobby. With an all day range fee of $18, the limiting factor is only the high cost of ammunition we're all dealing with.
  I hope you're all doing well.
    Tight Lines and Happy Shooting,
      -Nick

Friday, October 02, 2015

First Cast #003: Hodgman Aesis Jacket

Mornin' Folks,
  Here's the third video in the First Cast series. This one is previewing the new Hodgman Aesis Hyper Dry Down Jacket.  I'm looking forward to the weather cooling down so I can really put this jacket to the test.
  Thanks for watching. Please like and subscribe if you enjoyed and I'll keep bringing you First Cast preview videos. Send me an email or message me through social media if there's a product you'd like to see on First Cast and I'll do my best to make it happen.
  I hope you're all doing well.
    Tight Lines!
       -Nick