Tuesday, September 09, 2014
Photos from iCAST and IFTD Day 3
Updated photos from iCast and IFTD Day 3! I finally got more captions done! Only one more group left, I'm on 'em, I promise!
-Nick
Mornin' Folks!
Here's more unedited, uncaptioned photos from IFTD. Today is the last day of the show, so I should have a few more photos tomorrow and I'll caption them all this weekend!
Tight Lines!
Nick
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| The Abel booth was packed full the entire week of the show. I was able to get close enough to take a couple pictures of one display case. I really liked the heft of these line nippers though, and you have to love Abel's different anodizing patterns. |
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| One of Abel's beautiful reels that was on that display. I love the way these trout patterns look on their reels. |
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| Yakima had this sweet little trailer on display at the show. I think even my little car could tow it, instead of strapping the kayak to the roof! I wonder if I'd get any more respect at the boat launch? |
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| This and the next few photos were taken at the L.L. Bean Media Luncheon that I was invited to. I've had a nostalgic affection for L.L. Bean for most of my life and it's gotten stronger as I've gone deeper down the rabbit whole that is fly fishing. I must say, though, that I was a bit disappointed at the luncheon. I really liked some of the new products that Beans had on display, but I was sad to see that every one of them was made in China. It doesn't matter to most people, but it does matter to me and I try not to purchase Chinese items when I can help it. These were all nice items that appeared to be constructed with quality in mind, so just let that guide your opinions of them. |
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| How about zip front waders? |
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| This was a really good looking jacket with lots of pockets and some innovative storage solutions. |
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| Talk about storage! This fishing travel bag had more pockets than I could fill! |
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| The Fishpond booth had some really nice looking products on display. I tend to use a lumber pack when fishing, so I was really attracted to this one that's actually designed for fishing! |
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| A good looking satchel from Fishpond. |
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| Outcast Sporting Gear was showing a bunch of their inflatable boats. Really nice, full featured and well thought out designs I'd love to try one! |
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| The Renzetti Traveller vice, such a great little size, I love this thing! |
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| A whole basket of FlyVines Bracelets. |
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| FlyVines Sunglass Keepers. Such a great idea for recycling used fly lines! |
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| This, quite obviously, is a terrible picture of some folks at the casting pond. Not sure why I kept it in here. |
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| One of my favorite booths at the show, Finn Utility out of Vermont. Hand crafted, heirloom quality, traditional fly fishing accessories. I really need to place an order, but I can't narrow down my wish list! |
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| Awesome drying patches, the big one on the left is for your vehicle's visor! NEED!!! |
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| Another product that is just one of those fantastic ideas! It's a net and a wading staff! |
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| How's this for a stream side fly tying setup! This set from C&F Designs includes everything but the feathers! |
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| These J:son Match'n Catch flies are the epitome of realism and durability in a fly! They've got to be seen to be believed! |
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| Flambeau had a massive booth at ICAST. This was the fly fishing section... |
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| Bote Paddle Boards had one of the sexiest booths at the show. The graphics on these are awesome. I've really got to try one soon! |
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| The fly tying competition at IFTD. It was so cool watching these guys tie as fast as they could! |
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| I scored a very appropriately named beer from Rio Fly Lines! |
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| The Best of Show Old Towne Predator XL motorized kayak! How cool is that? |
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| A nice lineup of Ocean Kayaks. |
Sunday, September 07, 2014
First Cast: Bamboo 2/3 Weight
A while back my grandfather gave me a 6' 2/3 weight bamboo flyrod that had belonged to my late uncle. I've put off using it until I could get the perfect reel for it. Well, today I got impatient, I've been dying to fish it, so I took the White River reel from my TFO, mounted it up and set out for Suwanee Creek. The bamboo had a totally different feel from my TFO, but it cast really well once I got used to the stiffness. I think if I put a 3 or 4 weight line on it it'll cast like a dream. I can't wait to fish it again, but for now, I'm back to searching for a reel.
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| Damn fine 'gill! They weren't biting too well the day I tried out the bamboo rod, but this guy decided to take a brown woolly bugger. |
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| It is a beautiful rod, but I still need to find a good reel to complement it. |
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| I still need to work on the photo skills, but the moss makes a great backdrop! |
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| I just wanted to show you what Suwanee Creek looks like. This is just upstream from a 90 degree turn. You can see a wood fence in the background, the other side of the fence is an industrial park and between the water and the fence is the Suwanee Creek Greenway, a heavily used walking/running/biking trail. |
Thursday, August 28, 2014
A Mess of Bluegill
I've got a bunch of fish pictures for you today. I caught all these (and a few more I couldn't get photos of) in about a two hour window on Sunday evening. In that time I was able to bring 20 fish to hand! Some, naturally, bigger than others, but catching a fish every other cast is always a ball, no matter the size. I was using the "popper-dropper" setup that's outlined in Steve Hudson's book "Bream Bugs". I think it was right around 50/50 on taking the popper or the dropper. For the popper I used a Betts Fancy Grade Bluegill Popper in white and for the dropper (because of the submerged cover) I went through several assorted nymphs that I had in my box. One thing Steve stresses in the book is that trout flies aren't just for trout! Look for a full review of the book "Bream Bugs" to appear on the blog soon!
Enjoy the pictures, and for size reference, I wear a size 16 ring!
Tight Lines!
-Nick
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