"Those waves look pretty big!"

Well, what can I tell you about another well planned outing gone bad? Impatience is not a virtue but a mortal sin. Dustin and I committed to going once he scheduled this particular day off of work. Destination: Padre Island National Seashore. We took Dustin’s 4x4 Toyota and packed my zodiac in the back. Like I do in my Nissan, we strapped my 9.8 Tohatsu motor to the back of the passenger front seat. About three hours into the trip we hit the sand. The bumps didn’t seem any different than on any other beach I had driven on. The morning light hit us about 15 miles down the beach. We could clearly see that the surf was a torent and the water like chocolate milk. Not even a line wet and we were thinking about plan B, drive the whole 60 mile of beach to Port Mansfield. So, we did. A thousand rough spots and 21 deer sightings later we were at the scene of my first fall 2009 weather beaten trip. Once again Port Mansfield was not about to just hand over the fish. Dustin and I fished the surf and off the jetties first. I prepared to air up the zodiac when I discovered that the high pressure pump had broken in the back of the truck. Not only that but beer bottles in my cooler broke and soaked my sandwiches. Double whammy! We inflated the zodiac to the max pressure we could get it without the HPP. It floated and plowed but could not get on plane without being rigid. We fished a few near spots with the dinghy and turned up nothing with artificial. Only dead shrimp that Dustin brought prevented total skunkitude by landing us some hardhead cats. These were not ideal fish to land on a zodiac. It was like giving a cat with sharp claws a balloon to play with and it would be just a matter of time before we had an accident. So, we gave up on that and called it. Why is it that I write more about failed missions than I do successful ones? Texas winters: sometimes good and other times not so good.

The San Marcos

Even when the weatherman gets it wrong and its 40 degrees in stead of 60, the San Marcos River runs warm from its natural springs. The few fish Mike and I did catch felt warm to the touch and you've gota love that about this river. What we could have used was some sunshine and that clear San Marcos River winter water. We threw the usual, bead head wooly buggers and small streamers. In hind sight we should have waited a few days after this cold spell, but when you get the urge to go it's just nice to be out on the water. Since few bass were to be had we stuck to targeting sunfish. I got to try out the new TFO 2wt. and it was a joy to cast. I think I'll stick to more sunny winter days on the river.

Young Guns

I just finished a plethora of rod-building projects and I've got a few more to go. Somehow I managed to slip in a few personal items like this TFO Finesse Series 1wt and Orvis T3 4wt.

I used REC nickel titanium recoil guides on both rods, single foot on the 1wt and double foot on the 4wt. The 4wt has a Struble nickel silver reel seat with a vera wood insert and the 1wt has a sealed burl cork reel seat with a Struble nickel silver up-locking hood and a polished aluminum slide ring. The silver butt tack is an antique button. Those are hard to come by. I used a preformed cork handle on the 1wt which I turned down and shortened. When I first started the 1wt rod I wanted to go cheaply on the handle and reel seat. Then the reel seat turned out better than expected so I should have not skimped on the handle like I did. The 4wt. has better quality white cork and small end pieces of burnt burl and rubberized cork in the handle. Both have nickel silver winding checks which are not visible here. Now they just have to be fished, and that will be remedied soon.
While I wrap thread onto hand turned work in progress I think about the diminishing red tide conditions on the south Texas coast. It has nearly cleared entirely, but has the fishing resumed to what it should have been? Fishing reports say it has. Once again I find myself waiting for a break in the weather. The last break occurred the week of Thanksgiving but my hands were tied with family affairs. I also want to take our new fishing dog on the river again and that should warrant some photo shooting and a blog post.
Now it’s back to the work bench to start the next project.

Back to Back Trips

During this week of unbelievable weather Brady and I took back to back trips, one to Port Aransas and one back to the Medina River. On the Port A. trip Brady and I tried some near by rigs outside the jetties. Well, it didn’t take long for Brady to projectile vomit his two Whataburger bacon and egg tacos. Yummy! I trolled a lure on a spinning rod while circling two different rigs. No fish seen and no hits on the lure. The gulf was choppy and the current was rippin’. At the jetties there were bait fishermen doing well but our flies and lures were not near as productive. Plan C was to check out some shorelines on the back side of St. Joe Island and that turned out pretty well. Near Mud Island we found a wadable flat and we were on fish immediately. I was a little burned out by the failed plans A and B so I thought I’d just throw the spinning rod. That turned out well and a lot less effort than the fly rod. I can’t get over the versatility of this ultra-lite G. Loomis rod I’ve been using. It’s a 3 piece, 6’3’’, 2-6 pound line, 1/32-1/4 ounce lure weight, medium fast action, Escape series spinning rod. It normally retails for$310. A little pricy but its quality is hard to match.

This morning I had the idea that we were going to stick to walking/wading the riverbed and do a little exploring. This I've done on a lot of Texas rivers, with the headwaters of the Guadalupe near Hunt being my favorite and the upper Nueces a close second. The land owners on the lower Medina however keep their river under lock and key. You are likely to have your vehicle towed, be shot at, or have the local law waiting for you somewhere when you venture out this way. Brady and I had to abandon our plan A and revisit more familiar water on the river as a plan B. We still did pretty well but no new water tapped.

Cottontail Creek, Colorado

If it were not for my Simms clothing I would have been miserable! My only grief was ice forming on my guides, though how bad of a day can you be having if this is your only problem? A long pothole riddled dirt road took us to the meadows section of this creek. This stretch of water was out of a storybook, a trout storybook. In fact I may read the book Trout Magic, by John D. Voelker again, with these images in mind. Again we were fishing nymphs under indicators. Ben introduced me to a new type of indicator, The Thingamabobber! I was hesitant to try it but it is now my new indicator. Simply, it casts well, it floats well, readjusts well, and is easy to put on and take off. It comes in three sizes and a hand full of colors. What more could anyone ask?

Ben and I leapfrogged up stream from pool to run. Much of the fishing was working obvious trout lies, but Ben was sharp enough to spot a few that we sight casted to. The nice brown trout above was on a redd (bed) when I spotted it. On my second drift it was on. I was pretty excited to say the least, and you know the rest. It was hard to leave this place knowing that the next few days were going to be clear and that there was much productive water that we hadn’t covered. That was my first of what hopefully will be more visits here.
By the way, I mostly fished a stone fly nymph and a copper john, in case you were wondering.

Rio Bravo del Norte

Just when you think you have seen it all, there appears a more beautiful place with more beautiful fish to enjoy. Until now I had never made an effort to fish the Rockies, or the Midwest for that matter. Maybe it was because I felt that I started fly fishing late in life and I had less time to do it all. I needed to jump the middle and get to the end just in case I ran out of time, and that’s why I’ve spent so much time in Alaska. Well, New Mexico has proven me wrong. This was not the rat race I thought it might be. It was pristine, quiet, and peaceful. It reminded me that there is a link between spirituality and fly fishing.
Rio Bravo is the Mexican name for the first river Ben and I fished. From where we parked, the trail head took us down a steep and winding path to the river. There was fresh snow on the ground and the temperature started below freezing. Ben had set me up with a few nymph fly patterns and indicator. It was my job to recall the method of the drag free drift. For those of you who are not familiar with this technique, it is drifting your fly below the surface and mending your floating fly line on the surface in order not to affect the fly, or flies. You want your bug to be drifting in the current as if it is not connected to anything and its path only influenced by invisible eddies and the natural flow. This is not always easy, but always extremely important.

Also important is the fighting and landing of a wild and excited fish. Just remember, you are not in control. You just have to concentrate on the task and not think about getting the camera or carrying on a conversation with your fishing partner. Naturally, it is acceptable if he or she is giving you important information that increases the chance of you landing the fish. (above) My friend Ben Casarez fights a trophy fish that unfortunately he will not land. I can vouch for the size. The hook popped out as he was leveraging the fish away from the downstream chute. Ben was heartbroke but he will have another chance another day.

Ben is a fly fishing guide in northern New Mexico, and he frequents trout waters in neighboring states. Ben was living in Austin, Texas before following his true ambitions. If you need a good guide in that area, look him up!

Plan B, Redfish

A devastating and unfortunate event the red tide is. Within the past two weeks it has killed hundreds of thousands of fish in the Gulf of Mexico, including redfish, snook, and tarpon. It is considered a natural occurrence, though how can anything but the shaking earth and the falling stars be considered natural in the world we live in today? I had been planning on five day tarpon quest in Port Isabel with Shad Goldston but we had to cancel at the last minute due to this plague. Much of the areas we would have fished have been affected. I expect the conditions to improve by November.

I did however make a small trip to Port Aransas for the weekend. I found that the high tide flooded the usual flats so I had to go to a few high water spots. Would you believe that I took my mother to a backwater labyrinth of mangroves? I put her in my kayak and walked with her as we hunted redfish. I would tell her where to cast and in smaller windows of opportunity I would just cast first. We caught a lot of redfish and had a ton of fun. She had no idea such a place existed much less that we would find redfish there. we covered about five miles and when the tide had fallen significantly, so had the number of fish.

Hill County Floats

Today I joined Marcus Rodriguez (above) for a short float on the San Marcos River, and yesterday I took my 16' canoe out to two other Texas rivers. I first floated to top end of the Comal River and then jumped over to the Guadalupe near Berghiem (below). The San Marcos was flowing well between Pecan Park and Martindale. This is the stretch that Marcus and I did. We caught a bunch of little bass and I introduced Marcus to my ultralite spinning rod. This is the spinning rod built on the 3 weight fly rod blank. I think he wants one now. For the Comal float I took the G. Loomis spinning rod and left the fly rod in the car. Lately I’ve gone back to using both fly and spinning gear. This is due to a few trips out where I only took the fly rods and ended up wishing I had brought both. At the time I was just trying to prove the point that the fly can do it all. Then I came to the conclusion that,“what’s the point?” I once met Flip Pallot after a presentation he had just given at a local fly shop. I told him that I try to practice a principal of his by using all types of equipment (casting, spinning, and fly). He hushed me by saying, “It’s just about being out there.” In other words, I am finished answering theoretical and technical questions for the day... I just want a taco and a beer... Please don’t bother me. I’m sure he is a fine fellow, so I try not to be annoyed about that day I was mistaken for a person that doesn’t know what it’s about.

I got a few chunky Comal River bass on light spinning gear, but I was looking forward to a secluded float down a stretch of wilderness river. On the Guadalupe float I brought my camera box, a sandwich to eat, and a few rods. I ended up throwing the fly a lot more. There was enough action on the foam hopper to stick with it. This was the most beautiful day to be on the water. The temperature was perfect, there was not a cloud in the sky, and do you know what? It was just about being out there. Ha ha!

South Texas Snook

My original plan for this weekend was to roam the offshore rigs near Port Aransas with friends Eric and Bret, but the weather was expected to get nasty and the seas unruly. I went to plan B and called my foul weather fishing buddy Johnny Quiroz. He and I did some time in Alaska and Patagonia, two places with unpredictable weather. We agreed on meeting in Port Isabel, Texas. We first tried bobbing on the twelve foot swells near the end of the south jettie. The few rolling tarpon were not receptive and just too close to the danger zone. We abandon that plan and ran my zodiac to a few known snook spots. Things were slow until the cold front hit. We picked up a few and called it early. The next day was still cooler and the weather dark, "snooky" I told Johnny. We did very well all morning with an occasional odd species on the line. We went back to the island to have lunch and meet a few of JQ’s friends. When I was done with my Wanna Wanna burger I launched the zodiac again. This time alone but with bedding and groceries. I got to the snook spot just as it was getting dark and I sat there a moment thinking about what exactly I was going to do. I had never slept on the zodiac and I was in a kind of strange place to camp out.

I decided to quietly cruise in search of a well lit area that may have fish activity under it. There was plenty of ambient light from the area to see where I was going and I had turned on a green beacon light in lieu of the required nav-lights. There was no wind, a light mist, and it was deadly silent. I hadn’t gone far when I saw a well lit area with a couple of bubble spots that indicated to me there had been activity, and Eureka! It was the spot I was looking for. To make a long fish story a short one, in two hours I hooked and landed over twenty fish, and of six species (snook, tarpon, trout, jack, lookdown, and snapper). That was enough action to send me to bed. Luckily the spot I picked to anchor up for some z’s was well protected yet with a nice breeze. With the exception of a few mosquitoes and an uneven surface to sleep on, I had a good nights rest.

In the morning I saw the little red crabs that hang around the shore there and I took some photos. You can see a few of my better photos from this trip, like the jumping snook, on my friend Captain Kenny's photo blog. I caught a few more fish and then headed back to the boat ramp to end a very memorable few days. Remember: There is no bad weather, just different conditions to catch fish!

A trip to the Medina

Brady and I headed out to the Medina River after all this rain, and It was epic! It was a beautiful day on this Texas river. Overcast and a mist in the air during the morning hours and the sun didn’t peak out until early evening. No bass over a pound and a half but the first two casts of the day hooked up and then steady action all day long. Brady did actually hook and land a three pound bass but it was not healthy. It had the head of an eight pounder and the body of a two pounder. I won’t even show it to you.

When most Texas fly guys and gals head out for the white bass run I usually come here for hybrid stripers. They average two and a half pounds and fight hard as hell. This spring was tough due to the low water levels, but this fall excursion surprised me with the best hybrid action I’ve ever experienced. I absolutely do not keep any of these fish, and that is to ensure good fishing for days ahead. This is something that is hard to teach others depending on what they learned early in life. Our children are our (fishing) future. Oh, and that's a clouser not a moustache!

The carp took a page right out of the redfish book! We saw carp tailing, they took flies readily, and they fought hard. I remember I was some place when I saw some goldfish in an aquarium feeding on the bottom, and I thought “look! They’re tailing!” I have brought a few people to my carp on the fly spot on the Medina River, but not many. Again, what keeps it good is the lack of fishing pressure. The carp here brows the shallows looking for whatever to eat, and this is the only place I’ve seen them actually chase flies. I even caught one on a clouser here once. Brady and I anticipated a good day for carp. from the driver’s seat of the canoe I put him on more than a dozen sight casting shots at carp which he hooked nearly all of them. This is not always the case. Poor presentation here does not produce a hookup. It is as technical as any other sight casting game.

Writin' on Rods

Writing on rod blanks or over an epoxied section of a rod is tricky business. I’ve been doing it for a while, I'm good at it, but there are still some things I don’t know about it. Like; what is the best black ink to use on bamboo or light colored blanks, what other types of paints work well, and what other types of writing tools can be used. I just know my methods. There are some resources available for getting more information on this, like the Rodbuilding.org forum. Like anything, it takes practice and some guidance is nice to have too. Roger Seiders with Flex Coat has been on a mission to provide more guidance to rod builders by creating a series of instructional HD videos. Roger intends make these videos available on the Flex Coat web site when it is restructured, and until then the videos are only available on vimeo.com. Just type flex coat in the search field or go to our home site and click the link. I was happy to help Roger with the ‘Writin' on Rods’ video. I saw its value to other rod builders, and I thought it would be fun to do. Consequently I learned that I don’t feel comfortable in front of a camera. The videos are roughly 3 minutes long and that was enough to hit the main points on the ‘Writin' on Rods’ video. I look forward to seeing what other videos Roger adds to the list. Oh, and my best advise to any rod builder is; don't drink too much coffee before writing on rods, keep the denatured alcohol handy, and get out and fish more. Cheers!

Port Mansfield

Undeterred by rough weather, we crossed the bay, made camp, and began our pursuit. I’ve dragged my feet putting the rest of this entry together. The truth is that there is no great story to tell about giant flying fish or long battles. The sea was relatively calm, several bait balls being molested from above and below, but very few of the species we were looking for. The first afternoon out there we saw some sharks on bait but we were reluctant to seriously fish for them. Brady caught one spanish mac out of there before the frenzy dissipated. Back on the camp shoreline the ladyfish were abundant. The boys and I got lots of action before dinner. The highlights of that day were seeing the sharks, and my grilled chicken, pasta and red sauce. It was an uncomfortably warm night with a little rain and wind. The next day more of the same, but this time there were no sharks. Again, no target species to be found and the ladyfish were faster to grab the fly than any other fish attacking the bait. Another concern was that we needed more gas. We had enough to get back but not enough to be running all day. I spotted Billy Sandifer’s truck on the north jetty and Harrison scored a few gallons for us. We were back in action but we left Brady to believe we were still going to be low on fuel for the ride back. Fishing continued to be slow. Brady and Harrison checked out the surf but were unable to stir up much action. That afternoon I also spotted Craig Ottman on the north jetty. He and Larry Hanes jump and land more tarpon in South Padre Island than about anyone. Ladyfish saved the day for Brady and Harrison, but I was getting frustrated. My pinto beans, Italian sausage, onions and cilantro dinner helped a little. By now I had a collection of wet and sandy clothes and equipment. That night was not as bad as the previous one.
During the night I was awakened by scratching and tapping outside my tent. It was a strange land crab. I’m still trying to identify it. He wanted to tell me something, but I told him that I did not speak strange land crab. So, he went away.
The next morning, and our last chance at success, brought several rolling target fish near the end of the north jetty. The activity did not last long and we had not hooked up. So, we went back to searching. Heavier weather sent us back to take down camp. We voted to check out the redfish scene on the way back in, and that we did. With a fully loaded craft and Brady still under the impression that we’d be rowing at some point, we stopped at a flat just after passing another angler. We didn’t think anything of this lone angler in the self-painted camo boat, but later at a gas station I learned that it was my friend Darren Jones. We all had shots at reds but no one closed the deal. How is that I kept running into people I knew while in a remote part of the Texas coast? It turns out that all of the fellow anglers I ran into did just OK, but not stellar. One said that it is about to get really good. See you in October.

Indoors

Today I took the day off to catch up on some thread work. I finished wrapping this ultra-lite spinning rod and I started on the little fly rod that I showed before. I've used the same rod blank for both of these, the St. Croix, Avid. I've got two other rods of mine that I need to wrapped as well, a Lamiglas bait cast rod and an Orvis T3 four weight, but they'll have to wait until this fall fishing season is over.
While I wrapped I listened to pod casts on the Itinerant Angler web site. I listened to an interview with Jerry Siem, Sage's chief rod designer, and another with April Vokey, a young, attractive, diehard steelheader in British Columbia. There are too many pod casts that I like from I.A. to even begin listing. Listen to one streaming, or download one to your IPod.

Palacios

I’m not exactly sure why my friend Dustin Sisk loves Palacios, Texas as much as he does. Maybe it’s the Victorian style homes that are in need of restoration, the mountain of fajitas for nine dollars at Palacios Mexican Restaurant, or that Palacios is the shrimp capital of Texas. It can’t be Buttermilk slough. This is a secluded marsh in Palacios with limited access and a healthy population of redfish. It is a little too muddy and turbid for my preference. Sight-casting has to be done to whatever exposed body parts and wakes may appear, and most of the marsh is difficult to wade. I’ve been here twice now and though the fajitas were awesome, I’d like to end my making of fond memories of this forsaken place here.
I’m stilled trying to get accustom to shooting photos as much as I fish, and I'm slowly becoming better acquainted with my Nikon D70. My new Pelican 1450 case with padded, velcro adjustable dividers has made it a lot easier to keep my equipment dry and accessible. I did manage to pick up the camera and not the fly rod once. That’s a start.

Tiny

So, here is a little fly rod I just turned on the lathe. My Uncle Wayne in Oregon requested a tiny reel and fly rod be made for a neighbor of his. They both live on a small private lake inhabited by fat little rainbow trout. Here, this mini rod sits next to a 6 weight for comparison. It's not the absolute smallest rod blank to do this on but this 6 foot, 3 weight St. Croix, Avid will work just fine. [Downlocking nickel silver butt cap and aluminum slide ring. J. Austin Forbes 2" diameter fly reel]

The Beginning

I have made a commitment to do more fishing this fall 2009 and to write about it (...and all things related).
I've been busy getting organized by tying more leaders, cataloging my multitude of fly lines, getting rods and reels repaired, tying flies, and preparing the watercraft. Everything is on track except the budget. So, I've got to build some rods and sell some other stuff to catch up. I'm returning to Palacios this weekend even though this is not the kind of fly fishing trip I am truly focusing on. I have the first X-trip planned for early September. I want to bring two other fly guys to keep it interesting and the camera rolling. No, not video. The family video camera is in Chile until November. I can only promise still shots. I'll tell you later what X stands for, or you can figure it out.