This Is Fly, February - March 2014

Just in time for February and March.

Get it HERE.

Fin Chasers, #4 2013

Missed this one. Find it HERE,

April On Showtime

I hate to shill for Showtime, but I'll shill for April anytime...

The Secret of Life

I've marked the arrival of fall with the arrival of a bad cold and sore throat. Tried to push through it, now hunkering down. I'm hoping to be well enough by the middle of next week to hit the road for a couple days of steelheading. More on that soon, I hope.

Meanwhile, it's a good time for some miscellaneous images, each one worth hours of contemplation. Seriously. I've done it. It helps if you feel like crap. But know this: the secret of life is hidden in this combination of images and will be revealed to those with eyes to see. Good luck, and stay well.

FIN CHASERS #1 2013

Another fly fishing ezine in the mix. Lots of good stuff, including April Vokey and Steelhead.

It seems like there are two kinds of people: those who are tired of April Vokey, and those who aren't. If you're in that second group, like me, you'll find nothing new here, but you'll still enjoy it. I'm no expert, but what's not to enjoy?

You can check it all out right HERE.

April Says No

Please take a look at April Vokey's blog, flygal. You can't say "no" more eloquently than she does in her recent posts.

And join her in opposing yet another threat to the things we hold dear, and to the planet that nurtures us.

Joe Riis Photo

Some April Vokey Loveliness

The FlyGal blog is listed way down at the end of my Favorite Blogs list in the right margin. Because of some incompatibility between my blog and FlyGal, their listing isn't updated regularly as other blogs are. But I urge you to check it out on a regular basis.

I did today and found a lovely article by April, a reprint of a column that first appeared in Fly Fusion magazine. It seems she's the steelhead columnist for them now. In the article she explains her reasons for accepting the position, and states what she hopes the column will be--and what it will not be:

I realized that what this fellow “treasure hunter” needed was not a trillion tales of hooked fish, or irrelevant biologist jargon. He didn’t need a chest-thumping biography full of first-place finishes in casting competitions or certifications… what this angler needed was for someone to help him through his journey, remind him why he chose this path during those bone chilling days when the fish don’t bite, and share with him the knowledge that so many of us seem to take for granted… but most importantly he needed someone he could turn to when he had a question that he had always been too unsure to ask.

Good stuff. And you may even learn something you didn't know about steelhead. Makes me want to check out Fly Fusion magazine--as I'm sure they knew it would.

To see the article, dated July 9, click here.

Fun With FX

Harry Lemire Or April Vokey: Looking For Signs

Click on photos for full size image.

This is a great time of year for many reasons. One of those is that it's the time to be making those plans for future megatrips. My brother John and I have been kicking around some ideas.

We have some family connections in New Mexico that make a trip there attractive. Neither of us have ever fished that country, and we'd have a staging area in Las Cruces, a piece of land near Chama to camp on, and a plethora of water to explore, including the San Juan.

There's always the Henry's Fork to consider, and the Grande Ronde. We have some golden memories of those rivers, and their call is strong.

Then there's the Olympic Peninsula. I've never been there--not yet--and neither has John, but he has some history on the Skagit. Back in the day, when he was with the Atlantic Salmon Federation, he fished the Skagit with a select group that included the fly fishing legend Harry Lemire. He wrote in an email, "That was the day I was chastised by Harry Lemire for fishing too slowly through a drift, thus wasting valuable time. So much for the 'contemplative sport.' I was the redtail that day and he wanted harrier."

Hah! That makes me laugh because when we fish together John always moves faster than I do. He's the one that came up with the redtail/harrier comparison to describe our different fishing styles.

Just goes to show...that I'd better not ever fish with Harry, I guess.

So all of those options are hanging out there, each with much to recommend themselves.

But then there's this: here I am, as I write this, sitting twenty miles from the border of British Columbia, right next to the highway that would take us in a few short hours to the fabled Skeena watershed. That fishery is famous for many reasons, not the least of which is that it's April Vokey country.

I couldn't resist. (And, let's see...think I'll make April's image extra large, and John's large. Yeah. Perfect.)  

So I've been researching a possible trip to that area. There's no shortage of information about that fishery, and it's all, well, as tantalizing as April herself.

In the course of my research I found a photo that makes me think Brother John has been holding out on me. Here he is:

And here he is on the Skeena with a 45 inch wild Steelhead! Why didn't he tell me?

OK, no, that isn't him. But what a resemblance. As I emailed John, it's a sign, man.