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New Fly Guy – Pin Trick

Anyone else out there bugged by hooks with plugged holes from sloppy tying?  I am. Over the last several years, I was frustrated trying to clean these up using the available tools – clipper end and even the Orvis forceps.  I finally hit on sewing needles and pins as an easier to use alternative. Not …

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Snakehead – Pohick Bay

I should have learned my lesson the last time we threw the canoe into the wind tunnel that goes by the name of Pohick Bay. But, the lure of snakeheads overcame my memory as the Basswife and I launched off the sandy beach on a bright Saturday afternoon. 12 feet out from the shoreline, the …

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New Fly Guy – The Davy Knot

The Davy Knot (created by Dave Wotton) is amazingly simple to tie.  Follow this link to the instructions. It is much easier to tie than a clinch or improved clinch I normally tie using my forceps. Now…. the website with the instructions claims that the knot retains almost 100% of breaking strength based on the fact that …

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New Fly Guy – Easy Droppers

As I rapidly approach 60 years old, I have to put pride aside and admit my eyeballs are not as precise as they used to be. The immediate problem this presents for fly fishing is the ability to thread a barely visible tippet through the invisible hole that exists on teeny tiny size 20 and …

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Shad Success on the Rapp!

Shad season is in full swing on the Rappahannock. I fished it for a few hours on Tuesday evening and picked up five shad and had a few bumps that did not result in a hookup. As you can see from the pictures, the crowds were out enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. In addition to …

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Skad!!!

Once a year, the simple phase, “this Shad are in!” galvanizes anglers across northern and central Virginia to make immediate plans to visit either the James, Rappahannock or Fletcher’s on the Potomac. I was no exception. For the last week ,I had been waiting anxiously for that riveting call to come .. and it finally …

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Annual Caution – SAR Beacon

It seems as if this is an annual event. I make a routine plea to take the right, smart steps to ensure your safety while fishing in the remote places I know you go. In earlier posts, I commented on the loss of life resulting from people being unprepared to be stranded, broken down or injured while …

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Review – Tenkara Rod

There was a big article recently in a major Fly Fishing magazine about Tenkara Rods.  As a result, I have fielded some questions on it.  Here is the review I published in 2010.  Still true.  Still love it.  Get yours from Mossy Creek for the Spring brookie season in the Blue Ridge! When I heard …

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Line – Four Choices

The February Bassmaster magazine had a great article on the line selection – very educational. The author, Frank Sergeant, summed up the problem with his introductory line, “It used to be a simple question – Trilene or Stren?” To bottom line the discussion, there are four major types of line on the market today; monofilament, …

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Wading, Water and Survival

If you are not already a subscriber to Fly Fisherman Magazine, articles like this one in the February issue should convince you to subscribe. Ralph Cutter wrote a fantastic article called, “The Big Swim – How to Survive Dangerous Circumstances.” After reading it , I knew I had just gained information that might save my life. You should …

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Kent’s Stealth Bomber

At the Richmond Fishing Expo, a reader slid up and dropped me a hint, “Check out Kent’s Stealth Bomber.”  He then went on to expand on why with tales of massive fish hauled in with this interesting fly. A Google search on “Kent’s Stealth Bomber” pops up 233 hits – how to tie it, how …

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Fishin’ Buddy wiggle solution

It’s been driving me knots for the last two years. When my old PirhanaMax 15 gave up the ghost, I bought a fancy new portable fishfinder (Humminbird140c Fishin Buddy) that mounted on the side of the canoe. Unfortunately, when fully inserted, the vibrations were intense to the point of potentially damaging the electronics – without …

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The Fish Camp

As we roll up on steelhead season, many will head to “fish camps” as a part of that annual ritual. Living out of a true fish camp makes the expedition authentic – here’s the skinny. I was slow in school.  I never fully appreciated the definition of “lowest common denominator” until I walked into the …

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Review: Dahlberg Diver Frog

These things are actually pretty cool.  Rather than describe them myself, check out the screenshot from the seller – River2SeaUSA (clilck here).  I bought one… pricey at 12 bucks and it performed as described.  I could twitch next to the shore and then crank it underwater… let it rise, crank again. Sadly, no happy ending.  The …

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Bass – Centennial Lake (MD)

A top producing bass lake a short drive away from the Arundel Mills Bass Pro Shop. Need muskie? Got them as well.

Bass – Back to Breckenridge

Breckenridge Reservoir, at the Quantico Marine Corps Base, continues to be one of my favorite small lakes close to home. I was in trouble with the Basswife because I had not taken her fishing as much as she wanted to go last year. Therefore, on the first good day where there was the possibility of …

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Quick Tenkara Tip

Quick Tenkara tip. For those of you who use Tenkara rods, you have already discovered how flexible they can be. Specifically, if you run into a tight spot, it’s easy to collapse a few sections to shorten the overall length of the rod. The problem is that you have to grip the rod at the …

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Wading Staff Repair

I use my staff all the time and believe I am still alive as a result of some timely, deperate pokes at the streambed. Eventually, the tip comes off and I have to go out and spend another $30 on a new staff.  Geez.. Lon solved the problem – just drill a hole through a …

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Don’t kiss your fish!

I remember when I was just starting to fish… my Dad introduced me to the ritual of kissing a fish for good luck when you threw it back. I’ve done that often on over the years joking around, but now I realize how lucky I have been. Dan Neuland wrote a great article in the …

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Smallmouth Bass and heat

“Know your enemy and know yourself and in a thousand battles you will never be in peril” – Sun Tzu I did not do well on my last two trips to the Potomac.  I caught a few fish, but nothing like a normal day.  What gives?  HOT Heat! I wanted to understand more about the …

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Equipment – Knot Strength

You should get this months issue of Field & Stream if the only thing you read is the article by John Merwin titled, “The Ultimate Line Experiment.”  John discusses the best knots to use for different situations and completed a thorough regimen of strength testing that reveals some surprising results. The article includes a discussion …

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Braid vs Mono in a nutshell

In an article published in October 2009, Ron Brooks stepped through the pros and cons of Braided line versus Monofilament. Ron bases his comparison on 4 physical characteristics — visibility, diameter, stretch and memory. Visibility Monofilament and its cousin, fluorocarbon, both become transparent underwater with fluorocarbon being the better choice when invisibility is important – …

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Pathetic Ponds

Back in 2007, I wrote about fishing on the small community pond in back of my in-laws apartment down in North Carolina. At best, that pond was 1/4 acre but it produced some nice bass. With that as a frame of reference, I’ve had to take a new look at small water. We went on …

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Bass Repellents

Way back in 2006, I put up a post on the impact of odor on trout.  In that article, I quoted the writing of Nick Anikijenko who pointed out that it is very easy to transfer human smells to your fly or lure. The simple act of tying the lure on is all it takes to transfer …

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Review – Quigley Furled Leaders

Capt John Quigley is an accomplished guide in the San Francisco Bay area whose specialty is targeting striped bass using fly gear. In addition to that primary business, he applied his experience both as a guide and a fly fisherman in creating some of the best furled leaders on the market.  I started to use furled leaders …

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A Frog’s Fanny Surrogate

Lon put me onto this.  Apparently, the main ingredient of Frog’s Fanny is hydrophobic fumed silica.  I’m sure they have some other secret sauce mixed in there as well, but the fumed silica looks like it will do the job just as well.  I tried it on some dry flies and did not detect any …

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Fishing Bikes

After using a bike on my venture into the Cranberry River a few weeks ago, I realized I was missing a significant opportunity to leverage this simple machine. There are two key things you can do if you bring a bicycle with you when you fish: Use it to penetrate farther away the parking lot Use it …

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Trout Camoflage

You do not have to read many books to understand that when fishing mountain streams, you have to be sneaky. In addition to not kicking rocks and stepping on branches and doing other things and make a lot of noise, you have to pay attention to how you are dressed and present yourself. Not that …

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Bass – Fall Lure Selection

A couple years ago, I took some notes out of the June 2008 issue of Bassmaster magazine on the right lure selection based on the water temperature. As we head into the fall, I thought it would be useful to hit the high points of this article by Don Wirth (“A seasonal guide to lure …

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New Zealand Nymphing Technique

Contributing Author – Patrick Taylor Moormans – North Fork, July 5th 2009 I fished the North Fork of the Moormans today (July 5th) and had success. The water levels are dropping but it is still fishable (well maybe not after today’s constant rain!). The lower section is highly pressured due to easy access, so you have to …

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Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire?

“Really honey, it was THIS big!”  Who has not exaggerated the size of the catch? After all, fishing is one of the areas where, for many of us, size does matter. The reason we all have such a poor reputation for honesty is that none of us has eyeballs that are calibrated with anything approaching …

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Bass – Lake Curtis (VA)

The fish were holding deep on that glorious warm day in late April that marked the start of the bass season for me.

Shad Run – Rappahannock

After three years of trying to find the time to participate in the shad run on the Rappahannock, I finally got out there last Friday. I have to admit that I am tragically depressed after this experience. I can’t believe I didn’t make time to do this earlier. This was a fantastic great time! The …

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The NFL / Boat / Florida Lesson

I’ve discussed personal locator beacons (PLB) before and this is a very hard article to write. I bought the expensive one on the bottom right in 2007 as an insurance policy knowing that if I got in trouble in the woods, I could push a button and get the cavalry on the way.  The lesson of the …

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Stay High and Dry

For the last few years, I used ziplock bags to keep stuff dry inside my day pack.  Sometimes that worked, sometimes it did not.  When I am after smallies, I will routinely wade up to chest high crossing the flat stretches of some of the rivers around here.  The ziplocks just were not built for …

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Cold Weather Fishing Gloves

It’s cold!! Here’s a less expensive solution to keeping your hands warm than buying the expensive neoprene gloves like these (Men’s Curved Split Finger) that cost around $25 on Amazon. I went to Dick’s and picked up a pair of neoprene hunting gloves and slit the finger to allow me to poke my finger out to deal …

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Don’t Lock Me Out!

Ever worry about losing your truck keys in the middle of the woods or watch them wash downstream when you take that header into the North Branch?  I do. I do not like the magnetic key holders – they fall off when you go off road onto some of the tough dirt tracks leading to …

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