Flymage, February 2016

Read it HERE.

Undisturbed Places

Another time lapse gem, this time from locations in Africa.

Undisturbed Places - A Timelapse Film from Maciej Tomków on Vimeo.
There are places in the world where stars are the only source of light. Their singularity is breathtaking, inclines to reflection and becomes the root of inspiration. Places like that are usually unspoiled, natural and intact. These are the places where humans live in symbiosis with nature.
Namibia is one of the few places on Earth with the lowest light pollution. There are national parks there where the light pollution is reduced to zero. That’s why it has become a hotspot for astronomy photographers like myself.
"Undisturbed Places" is a project made in Namibia and Botswana during Namib & Kalahari Desert Astroexpedition, organized by Safra-Go. Taking part in a month-long journey, I was able to collect 2TB of timelapse footage. What you are about to watch is a selection of the most beautiful locations I was able to film.

February Full Moon

We have finally seen a full moon. It rose shimmering through the atmosphere and now beams on high, lighting the way for all the wakeful creatures stirring in air or on earth.

The sky is sparkling clear tonight. That has been a rare occurrence here this winter. We missed the full moon in January, and in December. I'm pretty sure we missed it in November as well. But the brightness of the moon tonight makes up for all that.

According to The Farmer's Almanac, the most common native american name for the February full moon is "Snow Moon." Another common name, marking the consequence of persistent snow in late winter, is "Hunger Moon." Neither name fits our current situation here.

I really like the Wishram Native American name, "Shoulder to Shoulder Around the Fire Moon," but that, too, doesn't reflect our reality. That was true in December and January, but now we're feeling restless, eager to get up and go outside, to be waking up in an awakening world.

So I choose the Zuni name for our full moon: "No Snow in the Trails Moon."

We've made it through the hardest that winter could hand out. From here the journey to spring will be easier. We won't need snow to mark the trails in the darkness. The bright moon will light the way.

No Snow in the Trails Moon, February 22, 2016

Rocky Ford Creek Report: The Change

Off you go again.

Up on the flats the winter wheat is asserting itself in a wash of green.

Down in the Grand Coulee the snow is a memory.

You slog through the cattails to your casting platform. The day is mild, the creek is calm, and fish are moving.

You throw a muddler wet and gurgle it in. You get some interest. After a few more casts you get a commitment.

Then there's a change in the weather. A squall blows in. The rain hits your face like buckshot.

You pull your hat down and fish through it. The fish, though, back off for the duration.

Soon there's another change in the weather and the wind drops. The slick water looks right for a dry.

The fish come out again and want it. Even a blind fish finds it.

You rest that fly and tie on a new black humpy. You drift it. No response. You twitch it. Just upstream a fish comes five feet out from the bank to waylay it. It's a nice fish. You decide to take some shots of the fight. You get one and the fish comes loose. One thing at a time.

You cast the humpy out again and the best fish of the day rolls on it. You pay full attention this time.

The humpy stops getting noticed. You clip it off with appreciation.

There's a change in the weather again. A restless breeze comes up. You can sense the cloud mass slipping and sliding overhead.

A gap opens up between the clouds and the horizon. A high pressure ridge is expected. Here it comes.

You keep fishing. You follow the lead of mayfly sign and fish may nymphs and dries. That doesn't work so you try a muddler dry. That doesn't work either. The fish can't make up their minds.

Then there's a change in the weather. A hard wind kicks up. It blows straight in on your right shoulder, shutting down any possibility of a cast in that direction. So you fish to the left. You tie a muddler wet on again and get some follows and misses.

The wind blows harder. You jam your hat down tighter. You see an occasional fish still breaking the waves but your fly gets no more attention. Then you stop seeing fish.

You hope the wind might quit or moderate but that's not going to happen. You go ahead and rig for mousing and give it a good shot. The wind roars in your ears and the fly whistles around your hat and you take extra care to avoid burying its hook in some fleshy extremity of your own.

After awhile you accept reality: the creek is blown out. You leave with a strip of light still showing in the sky. But you get back to the truck at the same time.

It's the change: you could swear winter just left and spring is coming in on a gale.

Big Sky Journal: "Outside: Fish on the Brain" by Greg Thomas

I thought my brother John would like this one. He's fished the Clearwater and wants to go back.

Outside: Fish On The Brain

Twenty-four hours for steelhead

Written by Greg Thomas  
Illustrated by Fred Thomas  
February 2016

---

Giving yourself just 24 hours to catch a steelhead and then setting out on the road to do so is one of angling’s worst gambles. Especially when you must drive three and a half hours along one of the windiest roads in the West, over a notorious mountain pass, just to reach these fish. Steelhead don’t exist in Montana. You have to get to Idaho or beyond to find them.

A friend and I took that bet in November. He somehow convinced me that leaving Missoula at 8 p.m., just after I coached my girls’ basketball team to an overtime loss, was a great idea. I had no voice and seemingly little sense, the latter due to my friend’s propensity to drive at the very limits of physics. On this trip I have to remind him that all that waits ahead are a couple whiskeys and a night of sleep; we won’t miss a thing if he drives a safe 60 miles an hour versus 80.

I say this each time he drives, mostly as a valid mark of concern, but also to see his reaction. “You worry about the songs on the iPod, and I’ll drive,” he says, adding, “You’re just nervous because you’re not used to the sway.”

The “sway” is a sensation brought on by the tipping of his 3,000-pound Lance camper. At each bend, as he hits the brakes and my eyes get wide, the whole truck seems to lift onto two wheels before, miraculously, finding purchase again. On this particular road, Highway 12 between Lolo, Montana, and Orofino, Idaho, we go through this process perhaps 600 times. While negotiating one particularly sharp turn he glances up at me and says, “My girlfriend has to medicate when she rides with me.” I ask the obvious question: “Does she have any of that stuff stashed in here?” By the time we park at an access site along the Clearwater River, I am worn out but glad to be here in one piece, with nothing more to do than swing flies for steelhead.

Read more.

Troutlandia/West Boulder: Once More Before the Snow

Private water. Managed for big fish. Maybe a little like a trout zoo. But then again, I wouldn't mind a chance to give it a try.

TroutLandia from Flylords on Vimeo.
The flyfishing community is so small and badass that sometimes you are offered an opportunity you just can’t pass up. When Will Taylor of @flyshopco sent me a message to come down and check out a stretch of private water in Blue Ridge Georgia, I obviously said yes. Walking through the lush farms and cow pastures, into a dense forest, Will introduced me to a stretch of water that was literally trout heaven. Now I won’t mistake this type of fishing for hunting wild fish in the backcountry of Montana or New Zealand, its a little different. You don’t necessarily have to put the same amount of work in here to come out with a trophy fish. That being said, the fishing was technical, intriguing, and was no doubt, one of the most fun and memorable experiences of my life. The fish are large, mean, and incredibly beautiful…

When all is said and done, however, I'd much rather go to a river like this one.

West Boulder: Once More Before the Snow from Elliott Woods on Vimeo.

Join Mission: Montana on a wilderness fly-fishing trip along the West Boulder River, in southwest Montana's Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. In October, the stream runs cold and the wild cutthroat are fattening up for a long winter.

A Hotel Prayer

I was browsing blogs and found this on Becks and Brown Trout. Nice.

It has been four months since I last wet a line. Tonight in my hotel room I think it got to me.........

 Our father who art in the met office
Hallowed be thy name
let no more waters come
The floods will be done and no more dredging done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our chance to wet a line
Forgive us our trespasses with grayling and fly
As we forgive them who practice tenkara
lead us not towards the squirmy worm
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the season
The rise and the take
Catch and release for ever and ever
Amen

I put a permanent link in the blog list on the right margin. I'd like to see what Spring in Yorkshire looks like.

Take Action on the Tongass

As many of you know, the Tongass National Forest is 'America's Salmon Forest' and is one of the few places in the world where wild salmon, steelhead and trout still thrive.Through next Monday, Feb. 22, we have a chance to help keep it that way.

Right now, anglers across the country have an opportunity to protect key areas of the Tongass for salmon and steelhead, many of which are still open to development activities that can harm important habitat. Click here to act now!

In short, the Forest Service has proposed changes to its Tongass Land Management Plan, and their proposal puts fish and wildlife on a more even footing with resource extraction for the first time. This is a huge step in the right direction.

More than 70 unique watersheds within the Tongass, locally known as the Tongass 77, have been identified as the most important to salmon, steelhead and trout by a group of scientists and Southeast Alaskan stakeholders. Now is the time to tell the Forest Service to conserve these critical areas for salmon, steelhead and trout.

Please take a moment to tell the Forest Service that their final plan should protect the high-value streams for salmon and steelhead. The comment period ends Feb. 22, so don't delay!

Thank you for helping to keep America's Salmon Forest thriving.


 

Click the link below to log in and send your message:
https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/fCSbvOYE3qQGNwH2h_OUKw 

Fly Tying: A Muddler Wet for Rocky Ford

Muddler Wet

Hook: dry fly #10 4X long

Thread: Black

Tail: black marabou

Body: pheasant tail

Rib: copper wire

Underwing: cream marabou

Overwing: black marabou

Head and Collar: natural deer hair

Next time I'll include a pinch of flashabou over the wing.

I used to fish this version more frequently. The Rocky Ford Rainbows

haven't seen this one from me in some time, if at all. I keep the head

round (sometimes smaller than pictured) and the collar long. I fish it ungreased

and strip it briskly through or just under the surface film, giving the marabou

plenty of action. I've had good days with this fly at Trout Lake

and have a good feeling about it for Rocky Ford.

Skylight

The sky is the flowing river we live in....

Skylight from Chris Pritchard on Vimeo.
Please watch in full screen with sound on for best experience. This film is available in 4K - click the HD button and select 4K to view in 4K.
Whether in the city or a rural area, surrounded by nature or man-made things, there is but one constant - the sky. Regardless of our lifestyle or surroundings, the sky is always there above us to put on a show. "Skylight” is a collection of dramatic sky shows, captured from a wide variety of locations.
Shooting timelapse has taught me to sit back and take in the world around me. After six years and thousands of shots captured, I’ve seen some special and memorable events in our skies. No matter how dramatic the location, the sky holds the power to make a good view great, and to mesmerize us with the wonders of the world - within our atmosphere and beyond.
This collection of unique moments was captured from mountaintops to rooftops to coastline, at locations including: 
Los Angeles • Chicago • NYC • Tokyo • Singapore • Sydney • New Zealand • Big Sur • Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest • CARMA • Eastern Sierra • Death Valley • Yosemite • Vermillion Cliffs • Mojave Desert

Renault

Another handmade film from our friend Havard.

Renault from Jazz & Fly Fishing on Vimeo.
Enjoy!
Music: "Out of the Fuzz", written and performed by Jazz & Fly Fishing

Ketchikan: The Bush Pilots

Get comfortable. This is better than what you were going to watch on TV.

Ketchikan: The Bush Pilots from Ketchikan Visitors Bureau on Vimeo.
Nominated for three Emmys, Ketchikan: The Bush Pilots chronicles the history of aviation in Southeast Alaska, from the pioneer bush pilots integral to developing the area to today’s bush pilots who keep commerce humming and communities connected. Through all the industry booms—mining, fishing, logging, tourism—Ketchikan’s storied bush pilots have been a lifeline, serving as scouts, air taxi drivers, medivacs, and the Pony Express all rolled into one. Without them, Ketchikan’s remote neighboring communities would remain distant and sea-locked.
Often called “swashbucklers of the sky,” Ketchikan’s bush pilots are equal parts skilled and safety-conscious, a necessity in SE Alaska, where the weather can pick and roll on a penny. Told by pilots, dispatchers, aviation mechanics, this film is a window into the area’s past and present. Filled with celestial cinematography, the film showcases Ketchikan’s picturesque backyard, a stunning reminder for those who’ve been lucky enough to see it in person and a bucket list prompt for those who haven’t.

Testify: A Visual Poem of Trout Fishing

No one has said it better.

Testify | A Visual Poem of Trout Fishing from Aaron Peterson Photography on Vimeo.
Testify is a visual poem adapted from the essay "Testament of a Fisherman" published in 1964 by Michigan author John Voelker.
Over 50 years later we filmed this video on and around the author's home waters of Marquette County on Michigan's Upper Peninsula because we believe the pure trout waters and relaxed pace of life of this region haven't changed much.
Today the need for time on a river and reconnection with nature are more important than ever--and Voelker's words still ring true.

Polar Night

Wow. Put another log on the fire and enter the Polar night.

Polar Night from Jan R Olsen on Vimeo.
Every year in late November, above the Arctic Circle at 70˚ North, the sun disappears below the horizon and it does not reappear for almost two months
This period is called Polar Night. But even if the sun is gone, it is not totally dark. There is always some light during the day. Sometimes this light can be amazing, and you have to be there to understand how beautiful, strong and colorful it can be. But there are also days where the light is grey and colorless.
This is my first time-lapse project. As a still photographer I needed a new challenge. Since I live above the Polar Circle in Northern Norway, I chose Polar Night as my theme. My goal was to show the beauty of the light in this period.
Taking around 80 000 images in total, I used around 25 000 images for this project in addition to the two minutes of film clips. All footage are shoot locally in the Lyngen Fjord area not more than 50 km from my home. I did this in the period of November and December 2015 and January 2016.
The soundtrack is "Immanuel" by Tony Anderson, licensed from the Music Bed.

"Coming" by Philip Larkin

"Early Spring" by Alexei Savrasov (1830 - 1897)

On longer evenings,

Light, chill and yellow,

Bathes the serene

Foreheads of houses.

A thrush sings,

Laurel-surrounded

In the deep bare garden,

Its fresh-peeled voice

Astonishing the brickwork.

It will be spring soon,

It will be spring soon —

And I, whose childhood

Is a forgotten boredom,

Feel like a child

Who comes on a scene

Of adult reconciling,

And can understand nothing

But the unusual laughter,

And starts to be happy.

"Coming" by Philip Larkin from Collected Poems. © Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003.

Rocky Ford Creek Report: Life Is Good

Another mild Friday calls you to Rocky Ford. You make your way carefully through the fog in a southerly direction. When you get there you can tell the temp has hit it's predicted high in the upper 40's. That's better than the upper 30's, but with the damp and wind it just makes you long for that first really warm day. It will come.

You gear up and then take out that round packing tube. You ordered a new rod as a birthday present for yourself, and it got to the house just as you were ready to leave. Happy birthday to you.

Nothing fancy; in fact, a $49.95 special. But it looks good and feels good when you whip it in the parking lot. You string it up and hike down to the creek.

The chilly wind is making some lovely riffles. You tie on a muddler and begin to cast and strip, etching lines across the water's opaque surface.

A fish likes the look of that. It comes up from beneath and sucks in the fly.

Another fish likes it, too. This one lunges and comes down on the fly. It's a good, heavy rainbow that looks like it's been around the block a few times.

The muddler doesn't get any more attention, so you clip it off for another day. This is one of your muddler ties that survived the season at Trout Lake. It took its share of fish there. Good to see it still taking fish.

You try some dries. Bear's Paw and Callibaetis get a swirl or two with a brisk strip. But no hookups. You like the rod, though. It's stiff enough to easily shoot out the long line necessary for this Rocky Ford bank fishing, and it's 9 foot length keeps the backcast above the cattails--when the wind doesn't collapse the loop.

You go subsurface with a scud. There are days where the fish are on it instantly. This is not one of those days.

But you target rises and wakes and eventually fool an excitable teen.

You select the Red Tag wet, thinking you don't fish enough wet flies here. As if to confirm that thought, you get a quick take. Alan, at Small Stream Reflections, would be pleased. He said that would be the fly.

Then, in short order, another fish on the Red Tag. This one comes from the side, rolling to make the grab. It's one of those hits that make you exclaim with pleasure.

You think you've come up with the perfect system, but the house wins out again. No more hits on the Red Tag. You go back to a muddler.

It works twice. Both fish are wired. The second fish won't stay still for a headshot.

By then its getting dark. If they liked the muddler, they'd surely like a mouse. You tie one on and begin to work the water. Way out in mid river you get a series of bumps and misses. Little guys, you think, but they're hot. You keep going back to them, swimming that mouse under their noses, and get a hook up. Nice.

And again. Pretty.

You keep long-lining out to that channel, and number three hits and sticks. It's a mouse fest!

You work that mouse some more, probing the shorelines and the areas around the cattail islands, still hoping for that monster lying somewhere looking for a big meal. But that will do it.

You pack up and hit the road. The fog is still thick on the flats. You have plenty of time to reflect on a very good day at Rocky Ford.

It was a very good day, but it's going to get better. Twenty minutes from home you stop and pick up your grandson Sebastian.

He's coming to Grandpa and Grandma's house for another fun weekend.

Life is good.