33 days to go!

33 days to go! Tonight's Countdown Throwback photo features the ARC Fishing booth. Obsessed about the technology and design of their lines, leaders and tippets, they say their 99 series lines are good for 99% of the conditions you'll encounter!! I've used them and had great experiences! www.ARCFishing.com @arcfishing

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Looks fast...

Looks fast even when standing still.

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Casting Practice

Back casting between trees in the wind with a 3 weight.

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Cast the Grass

Took the old Reelwood Bamboo flyrod to a local park pond for some exercise tonight. Nothing biting, but it was sure nice to cast the grass rod again.

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Quick and Dirty ICAST and IFTD 2015

Evenin' Folks,

  I'm still in Florida, heading home very early tomorrow morning, but I wanted to make sure and get a bunch more IFTD photos posted up for your enjoyment.  I'm not going to caption them tonight, but make sure you check back, I'll get the post re-edited as soon as I get home!

  I hope you're all doing well.

     -Nick

Norway Trip 2015 no. 4

Evening Folks,

The Umpqua Steamboat enjoying its own seat on the train
to Stockholm.

  We've been home from our Norway trip for almost a month already, sure doesn't seem like it!  I feel like I owe you all an explanation for my lack of fishing on the trip.  Going into the trip, I was very excited to have the opportunity to fish in northern Europe.  I tried to do as much research as I could before we left, but Norway doesn't seem to post much information on their fishing opportunities in English.  I was able to find some sites, mostly in Norwegian that I had to have Google translate, and got a little bit of a feel for what to expect, but I was in for a bit of a surprise.
   The research that I was able to do indicated that a fishing license is not required when fishing freshwater fish in Norway.  The beautiful country is really better known for it's Atlantic salmon fishing, which does require a license and has a plethora of information published throughout the web.  For this trip I was on a very limited budget, so hiring a guide and purchasing the saltwater fishing licenses were out of the question.  

The only fly in Lundgrens Fishredskap.

  Online, I found an incredible public park inside Oslo's city limits called (oddly enough) Oslomarka, which has no direct translation, but refers to a naturally forested area outside the city that locals use to get outdoors and unwind.  We were lucky enough to have a tackle shop right next to our hotel, but, unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it!!!  It's called Stram Line Sportsfiske and it was the perfect place to stop in and find some more information.  
  As it turns out, a fishing license is not required when fishing in the country side, but a fishing pass is required when fishing in the markas.  The helpful fellow behind the counter went on to tell me that he was only able to sell me the pass in a one year increment, which cost around $85USD, but I could send a text message to the department of fisheries for a 3 day pass.  This would have been the perfect solution.  The 3 day pass was around $20USD, so much more affordable for me than the yearly pass, however, I never had my phone unlocked before we left, so never purchased a chip to use while in Europe.  Therefore, I had no phone, no way to text message and no way to receive a 3 day pass to fish in Oslomarka.

100 year old tackle shop in Stockholm.

  On top of all that, the day that I had planned to fish was the Norwegian Constitution Day.  Much like our Independence Day, there are cookouts, parties and parades all over the country to celebrate their declaration of being an independent kingdom in 1814.  I'm not a big fan of parades (too many people packed into too narrow a space!), so I thought it would be the perfect day for me to head out to the Oslomarka and attempt to fish (thinking this before I found out about the permit) and to enjoy some outdoor space during our trip.  It never dawned on me that, due to the holiday, public transportation would be a bit more limited.  I was told by our hotel concierge that it could take me upwards of 2-3 hours to get out to the parks.
  So, fishing in Norway was kind of doomed from the start.  Luckily, we got to spend a couple of days in Stockholm, Sweden.  The capital of Sweden, Stockholm is made up of a series of islands in the Baltic Sea.  The hotel we stayed in was a nice walk to the area where the saltwater of the Baltic Sea meets the freshwater of Lake Mälaren.  Very fortunately for me, there is no fishing license required to fish the brackish water of Stockholm!  While the Little Girl and the rest of our small band of merry travelers went to visit the Abba Museum (yup, you read that correctly), I slipped down to the water to wet a line.  I didn't catch anything while there, the folks at the 100 year old tackle shop Lundgrens Fiskredskap told me I was about a month too early for the salmon run, but I was almost giddy with the realization that I was fishing in Stockholm, Sweden!  I fished on a small island called Stromsborg, with a view of Riksdagshuset (the Parliament House), Riddarhuset (the Noble Meeting House), Stenbock Palaces and, in the distance, Riddarholmskyrkan (Riddarholmen Church, where Sweden's monarchs are buried).  

A huge thanks goes to Umpqua Feather Merchants, Orvis,
ARC Fishing and Smith Optics

  I'm disappointed that I didn't get to fish in Norway.  I really enjoyed our visit there, the beauty of the country and the kindness of the people will really stick with me for a long time.  Hopefully someday I'll get the opportunity to go back and actually get some fishing in.  I am very happy that I got to fish in Stockholm.  It really was an incredible feeling to fish in the middle of a city who's history dates back further than the United States has been in existence.  I can't tell you how humble I feel that I've been able to do such amazing things and fish in some gorgeous places since starting this website.  Without the Little Girl and her sister and brother-in-law this trip wouldn't have happened and without their encouragement, I probably wouldn't have even bothered trying to fish.  I hope they all know how much I deeply appreciate that.  

Fishing in Stockholm.

  I've got a few hundred more pictures from the trip, but I'd hate to bore you all with them, so I'll just leave you with a few more.  Drop me a comment if you are interested in seeing more, if there is enough interest then I can do one more photo post.  I still have a bunch from the Viking ships, out and about in Stockholm and the Vasa Museum.  
  I hope you're all doing well.  I hope you're fishing any time and any where you get the chance, even on a European vacation!
  Stramme linjer,
      -Nick
 

We Have A Winner!!!

Thanks to everyone who followed, liked and shared!  This giveaway was a lot of fun for me!  Thanks so much for all the support!  Instagram follower @dcasto128 is the lucky winner of all these goodies!  Just shoot an email with your mailing info to TheSuburbanAngler@gmail.com and I'll send it right out to you!

Huge thanks to Tacky Fly Box, ARC Fishing and Fly Box Outfitters for donating to the giveaway!!  And thanks, too, to all the vendors I was able to get the decals from!! 

Giveaway 2015!!!

 

The Suburban Angler Giveaway 2015!!! This giveaway has been in the works for several months, and it's finally a go!  This is just a small way for me to say thanks for all the support in 2014 and a little bribe to get you to stick with me for all the good things to come in 2015! Thanks and good luck!!!

  There are multiple ways to win:

Since you're here, subscribe to the blog!  All subscribers get their name entered in the contest, just make sure to comment on this post so I have some way to contact you if you win!

  If you're on Instagram:

FOLLOW @TheSuburbanAngler, find the photo above and give it a LIKE, then make sure you SHARE it with the tags

@TheSuburbanAngler and #TSAgiveaway2015

  If you prefer FaceBook:

LIKE The Suburban Angler, find the photo above and give it a LIKE, then make sure you SHARE it with the tags

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The contest will run until midnight eastern time on 01/18/15 and the winner will be chosen by random number generator and announced on 01/19/15 by midnight.  This is your chance to win an awesome Tacky Fly Box and logo buff, an ARC Fishing can koozie, plus a pile of manufacturer and fly shop stickers (for your cooler, back window or Trapper Keeper!) that I've collected since IFTD and anything else that I find between now and the end of the contest.