TFO Axiom II-X and NXT Black Label, ICAST 2019

Seeking out the fly gear!! TFO introduced two new fly rods at last night's New Product Showcase, the Axiom II-X saltwater rods and the NXT Black Label freshwater rods.

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Flyreels, New Product Showcase ICAST 2019

Cortland, Pflueger, TFO and Seigler were the flyreels in the ICAST 2019 New Product Showcase! I'll seek these out on the show floor and share any information I can about them!

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Peek into the near future?

#TBT or peek into the near future? Catching small North Georgia brookies with a Brookie!

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Temple Fork Outfitters (TFO) IFTD 2017

Temple Fork Outfitters has released a new line of saltwater rods!! The AxiomII series are available in 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 weight and the $340-$360 price point includes a rodtube! I may have to count some pennies for that 6 weight!!!

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Addicted to Ultralight Flyrods

Just out of curiousity, anybody else here addicted to ultralight flyrods?

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A little reminiscing...

A little reminiscing tonight on these bluegill bruisers from back in the spring! I thought this guy would be the end of my TFO Half Weight. But, as you can see, the Half Weight won!!

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Nobody else ever...

Had a great evening on the office pond. I managed to catch all 5 on the same fly and still didn't lose it! Seems I normally lose a fly 1 or 2 casts after landing a fish. Thats just me, though, right? Nobody else ever loses the one fly working that day.

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You just can't beat...

You just can't beat catching bluegill on a 2 weight!!

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First Cast #002 TFO Finesse Half Weight

Umpqua Feather Merchants

Huge thanks to the folks at Umpqua Feather Merchants for the pile of gear to test and review!

Evenin' Folks,

  If you follow me on social media then you've already seen these pictures, but I wanted to make sure and get them posted up here for those that don't.  Back at IFTD I had the pleasure of meeting the folks from Umpqua Feather Merchants and I had the opportunity to check out the soon-to-be-released gear they had in the works.  Fast forward a few months and I had a nice, big box waiting on the front porch full of a few pieces of that new gear that impressed me so much!  Keep an eye here on TheSuburbanAngler.com over the next few months as I do my First Cast review and follow ups.  I've already mounted the Tailgater on a storage container and filled a few of the pockets and I can tell already that it's going to become a vital piece of kit for me!

  I hope you're all doing well and staying warm this winter!

     -Nick

The Tailgater locked and loaded!  There are still a lot of empty pockets to fill!

My First Brown Trout: Upper Chattahoochee WMA

Mornin' Folks,

  I wanted to share a few pictures I took while fishing the Upper Chattahoochee WMA last weekend. Its a really beautiful area up there, and it seems to be quite popular. My time was limited, so I didn't want to venture too far from the road and the car, so it was actually a bit difficult to find a spot that wasn't already occupied. There had been some pretty good storms in the area the night before and it had been raining most of the morning while I was there. I try not to let weather keep me from fishing, if I get an opportunity to go I try to take it. I thought the rain might improve the conditions as there had been some pretty low water up there. 

  I went armed with the TFO Finesse Half Weight and the Galvan Brookie fly reel to get some more testing in for their upcoming reviews. I was very happy with the performance of each and look forward to the next trip with them. I fished a few different flies, but I seemed to get the most interest from a size 14 Elk Hair Caddis. When it comes to trout, I'm still very much a beginner. I'm pretty certain I missed a lot of strikes. Trout tend not to be as aggressive on the take as the bluegill I usually fish for! At least not in my experience thus far. 

  After a few hours with as many splashy refusals, I was fishing around a large pool catching nothing but raindrops. I started working some large rocks and finally got a good take!  I landed a beautiful little rainbow!  He was a feisty little guy! And, fishing a half weight, it was a ball to hook up on this little trout!  With the acrobatics he performed, I don't think he had any idea that he was only 6" long!  

  I returned him to his pool and hiked back up to the car to seek out another spot. It was already after noon, and carrying the one-trout-per-trip curse, I was starting to consider heading home. I absolutely love spending time in the woods, especially in the north Georgia mountains, so I was reluctant to leave. I found another spot that just had a "fishy" look to me ( Thanks to Tom Rosenbauer, I have a better idea of what that looks like now!). There was a parking area with a staircase down to the water, I tend to shy away from those places because I figure they're pretty heavily pressured, so I crossed the road and headed upstream a ways. I don't have any waders yet, so I tend to bushwhack along the bank until I find a spot to fish. I got in the water and started fishing, working the rocks and riffles as I made my way back down toward the car. 

  The car was back in view and I'd been fishing way longer than I intended (the Little Girl was on her way home from being away for the weekend and I like to be there when she gets in). After about 20 "one-last-casts", I got my caddis caught in some submerged branches. When I tried to break my tippet in frustration I felt the line move. A lot more than it should've being hung on a stick! When I got my first glimpse I couldn't believe my eyes! Not only was it not a stick, it was a trout! And a brown one at that!  I had to work to get him around all the rocks and branches to bring him to hand, but I sure was happy when I did. This was my largest trout to date, it was my first brown trout ( a stunningly beautiful fish) and I caught it on a five foot long, half weight rod! I wish I could've gotten some better photos, but I like to return fish to the water as quickly as possible. 

  I had a great day fishing the Upper Chattahoochee WMA and definitely plan on returning. Next time I want to do some more exploring of the smaller streams. The TFO Finesse Half Weight and Galvan Brookie both did a great job and a shorter rod made fighting through the brush so much easier!  

  I hope you're all doing well,

    Tight lines and dry feet!

      -Nick

I wonder if there are any trout holding pools upstream?

Fantastic combo! TFO Finesse Half Weight and Galvan Brookie. 

Stunning colors on these little rainbows!

Steady rain. 

My first brown! What a beauty!

Gorgeous scenery in the Upper Chattahoochee WMA. Fall color is just beginning. 

Fly Fishing Duke's Creek

Good Mornin' Folks!

  I just wanted to share some pictures with you of a recent fishing excursion.  I had read online that most people fish Duke's Creek inside the Smithgall Woods boundaries, which means private, trophy managed waters and very smart/picky trout, but there are very nice, native fish to be found between the boundary and the Duke's Creek waterfalls.  

  When it comes to trout fishing, I'm still very much a beginner.  There is something very special about being alone in a tiny mountain creek stalking these beautiful fish.  With my trusty TFO 2 weight in hand, I set out.  I was in the water just after sunrise and fished steady until just after noon.  I managed lots of strikes, and hooked up a few times, but I was only able to land one, a gorgeous native rainbow trout about 8"-9" long.  That one fish made the whole trip worthwhile, and it's my largest trout to date.  

  I had an absolute ball fishing Duke's Creek, but I wouldn't recommend it.  The terrain and hiking in and out of the canyon makes it very dangerous.  There are far easier places to fish in North Georgia and you will probably be more successful.  I'm glad I fished it.  I feel a bit redeemed, after being skunked twice in Smithgall Woods I finally pulled a trout out of Duke's, but I won't be fishing this stretch again.  Go for the beauty of the falls, but find another spot to fish!

  I hope you're all doing well.

   Tight lines and easy trails!

        -Nick

The sign marking the Falls' parking area.

That's Mount Yonah (or Yonah Mountain) in the distance, just as the sun was starting to come up.

One of the waterfalls on Duke's Creek as seen from the lower viewing platform.

The upper viewing platform with the other waterfall beyond it.

Taking some photos of my Tacky Fly Box for an upcoming product review.  Gotta love moss covered logs, right?

One of the gorgeous little pools on Duke's Creek.  I got several strikes here, but just couldn't get them to hand.

It's definitely a scenic area.  There's lots of tumbling water and little pools. The sun coming through the trees is quite striking as well.

There he his in all his natural, native color! I caught him on a rusty brown colored bead head wooly bugger.  I need to find a better way of taking fish pictures when I'm alone, any advice?

I actually saw several of these cairns on the creek.  Apparently I wasn't the first person to fish here!

This is where I decided to leave.  The creek drops about 8' below that log and it's almost shear canyon wall on both sides.  I had to backtrack a ways to get up out of the water.

Ran up to Cartersville the day before to check out the Cohutta Fishing Co. and pick up a new fly line and some flies.  They've got an awesome store with a ton of gear.  Check them out if you're in the area!

Photos from IFTD and iCAST Day 4

I finally managed to get the last group of ICAST/IFTD photos captioned!  I still have more that I haven't posted yet, I'm going to try to highlight some of the booths that I really liked at the show.  Hopefully these pictures will tide you guys over for a while!

Enjoy, like, follow, subscribe, and comment!

  Thanks, Tight Lines!

     Nick

Evenin' Folks,

  I know I promised to caption these photos once I got home from the IFTD show. I'm still working on it, I promise. Things have been busy here since returning from Florida. So, as consolation, I offer up more original photos from the 2014 IFTD and iCAST show. Please enjoy!

  Tight Lines!

     Nick

Native Watercraft had a bunch of their kayaks on display.  They almost look like canoe/kayak hybrids!

Speaking of hybrids, these little hybrid kayak/drift boats from Nucanoe looked pretty sweet!

TFO had a booth jam-packed with rods.  I loved the look of all these different grips lined up in the rack.

Hobie Kayaks, the kayak you pedal! The new tandem model they introduced looks like it could be an awful lot of fun!

It was nice to see a booth from Georgia DNR at the show.  

This map shows all the fishing related companies that call Georgia home.  I was tempted to tack a Suburban Angler business card up near the Oyster Bamboo Rods sticker!

The size and shape of these Ion video cameras seems like they'd be more practical for all sorts of sportsmen to record their adventures.

I want the camo one!

They're about the same size and weight as a chunky little LED flashlight.  Definitely on my wish list!

WTP, Inc had some really cool looking self adhesive products for lure making, I think these eyes can cross over to fly tying pretty easily!

They had too many products to fit the whole booth in one shot!

All of the WTP products are made right here in the USA, too!

Redington had a huge booth with loads of awesome products on display.  I've got to try one of these Butter Sticks real soon!

This picture shows maybe a quarter of the rods Redington had on display.

Redington also had a nice display of their own reels.

A 6' 2" 2-weight Butter Stick, I had to get a close up!

A Canadian group called Mouche had a fishing cabin/lounge set up as their booth.  Check them out on Facebook, it's a really cool concept of passing on flies on the water that they were successful.

Nikko is a soft plastic bait company out of Japan.  While not necessarily for the fly angler, the minute detail of these plastics, I think, could be integrated into more realistic flies.

The front doors of the show, taken on the last day.  I had such an amazing time, I can't wait to go back next year!

Just a beautiful truck in the parking lot.  Oh yeah, it belongs to the Spanish Fly!