Ed Shenk -- Ed Shenk's Fly Rod Trouting

Wow, two months? Really? I'll try to get back to more blogging...

Ed Shenk's Fly Rod Trouting by Elisabeth Sheldon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This one comes close. Shenk is clearly a talented angler and writer, and I'm sure anyone who's spent a day on the water with him had an enjoyable time. Unfortunately, the book's just boiled down too much. The early stories are almost journalistic in their I-used-a-hopper-and-caught-18-fish approach. The techniques are useful, and his writing on his love for the shorter rods is enlightening.

The real highlight here, and what makes the book worth the shelfspace, is the epic chase after Old George, easily one of the best fishing stories I've ever heard.

View all my reviews >>

Of all days to forget the camera...

You can probably tell by the big gaps in post that I haven't any outings ridiculously good, ridiculously bad, or just ridiculous lately (though I do have a few more reports to get up this year). Today, though, was a very strange one, and of course I managed to forget my camera when I could have used it a few times.

They stocked the "lakes" (and I use this term rather than "ponds" because that's technically the name) in an area park this week. I'd rather be somewhere more exciting, but you take what you can get, so I figured I'd head out for a couple hours in the rain this morning, and just throw some nightcrawlers to see if I can get into bass, panfish, or catfish, if the trout weren't biting.

I walked past the three people already fishing who probably had the energy to set their alarms last night (presumably not Red Sox or Angels fans). No luck, so I took the trail around the lake through a bit of woods. I came to a snake on the trail, who seemed to have no interest in moving for me. I thought at first that it was a black snake, but it had these bands around it, and a troublingly triangular head. Still, it was in my way, so I did what any thinking person would do: I poked it with my rod.

It didn't flinch. Was it dead. I tried to roll it over, at which point it raised its head and gave me a really dirty look. Given the slitty eyes and the white underbelly, this thing was looking like a cottonmouth, and despite all scientific evidence that they don't live in Albemarle County, it looked like one, so I left.* With no photo.

On my way back around the lake, I saw something stirring on the surface of the lake. I got closer and saw it was a turtle taking bites out of a chunk of fishing floating there. No camera (though I'm not sure I needed that shot).

I took a little bluegill and was trying to figure out what to do about the bum fishing, when it suddenly turned on. I took 4 bass up to about 11 inches and one decent 'gill over the next 30-40 minutes, and I lost a monster bluegill near the bank. Suddenly it stopped.

I don't think it was related, but a group of six, mostly kids, had showed up and marked their spots all along the bank. One did catch a bluegill, which they called a "perch".** It was a nice group, but I needed some space. I was ready for new tactics, so I tied on my floating minnow and headed for the lower lake.

Shortly after, I heard a big commotion in the woods behind me. I turned and saw a huge buck running between the trees. I couldn't count, but I'm sure he had at least 8 points, and I'd believe 10 or 12, on a wonderfully symmetrical rack. No camera.

Then back to the upper lake, where I quickly snagged someone's fishing line. I could feel a light throb as I reeled in, so once I got my lure to the bank, I grabbed the other line by hand and pulled it -- and the 13-inch rainbow trout attached -- to shore. The fish had been hooked deep with a bait hook and was bleeding, and he had apparently broken off an angler's line, but not at the hook or the swivel -- the line must have somehow broken near the reel, because there was a long distance out. I gave the trout to the family, and after a few casts with my Pcola spoon went home.

So it was an odd day, with lots to report on considering I only caught six of my own fish. Despite the fun, I remembered why that's not my preferred fishing. I listened to other people talk about where the stocking truck had dumped the fish (coincidentally right next to where nearly all the trout I saw had been caught), about following the trucks around and then catching a limit, about snagging carp with big lures. Not really my scene.

Still, I wish I'd had my camera.


*If anyone can convince me that this was something else, I'd love to hear it. I hate to be someone wildly reporting a dangerous animal where it's not supposed to live, but I really can't find anything else that had that combination of viper head and eyes, black-on-black banding, and white belly.

**This is apparently a regional thing, as it's not the first time I've encountered it. Before I realized this usage, I was looked at like I was an idiot when I once expressed surprise that there were "perch" in a pond.

New Looks at an Old Site

There's a park in town I've fished a few times, and I haven't made up my mind what I think of it. I've never been skunked, and I did have one of the best outings of my life there last summer. Other than that day, though, I've never really done great. I usually manage a handful of fish, none too big.

But I go there because it's accessible and fits my schedule, and because I know that great outings are possible. The only downside is that the hike on the trail is like walking on the beach, which is a little annoying.

I was there a few weeks ago with pretty good luck, catching a few bass, losing a decent one, and getting into some big 'gills. The highlight of the trip was seeing a bald eagle, something I've only done once or twice before. The big bird even landed on a tree branch for a few seconds so I could get a good look.

More recently, I headed back when I had a short window. I took a chub and a little smallie on 2 of my first 5 casts with a floating minnow lure, so I thought the day would be a busy one. Then it cooled. I watched a 2-foot longnose gar twice look at and refuse my bait, and then I spooked a largemouth.

Heading out of the water was the key, though. I decided to try to find a way through the woods to a paved trail, which would save me plenty of time fishing this spot. I saw some people who'd been picking plants heading through the trees, so I chased after them, and discovered they were using a trail. I went up the trail and discovered...a cricket game? I've seen some strange things in the wild, but people playing cricket might be the oddest.

I backtracked, followed an alternate path, and came out at a parking lot. Even better than just coming out at the trail. I took the paved road back to where I'd parked and decided to try downstream. To my great joy, there was a path I'd never seen (more like a clearing, really) that led to a nice pool downstream. I fished that pool, and the calm water just downstream from it and took maybe a dozen or so fish, including largemouths, bluegill, and even a crappie. I didn't have time to explore further downstream, but it looks like there's some good water that way, too.

There was even one moment of excitement in there, when something huge struck my minnow. I never got a good hookset, but I saw a flash of fish, seemingly too long to be smallie, but to thick to be a musky or a gar. With the visible vertical markings, I suspect it was an unusually big smallmouth. Which means I'll be back.

Sometimes fishing is about getting away from it, but sometimes you just don't have time for that, and I'm happy to find a place that's manageable with only a couple hours free.

A Bully Saves the Day

I've been slacking with the posts lately, but I should have some more writing time freed up, so let's get back to it.

About a month or so ago, I took the fly rod out after some bass. Working my way far downstream, I passed four other anglers. None of them admitted to catching a fish, which was a little troubling, and my day started off slowly. I was looking for a big bass and was sticking mostly to the bottom. I didn't have a single hit.

Finally, I figured it was time to just catch some 'gills, and hope the bass might show up. I tied on a small popper with a new fly I'd been meaning to try out, Bully's Bluegill Spider. I don't know if if was the fly switch of the sun suddenly coming out, but the hits started. I took a number of fair-sized panfish, mostly on the spider.

Finally, a bass hit. He wasn't a monster, but he was 12 or 13 inches. I hung on through three jumps, and then he burrowed deep. I saw him angle for a boulder and I tried to lead him past it. No luck. I felt the line stick, but could feel a slight throb. The line was snagged on the boulder, but the fish was still on. I've caught fish like this before. I plucked the line, and when that didn't work, I waded out to him. I saw him come loose just before I reached him.

That was my only bass encounter of the day, but I did see a pretty large smallie take a swipe at bluegill I was bringing in. That happened at least once last summer, only a hundred yards or so from this spot. I've got to start throwing some of those bluegill patterns...

Anyway, I couldn't complain. The fishing died completely after maybe an hour, but I had kept plenty busy on a day when no one else seemed to be doing anything. I was optimistic about tying into some bass over 15 inches on that outing, but changing expectations and plans made for a fun day even without the big ones.

If you're interested in the Bully's Bluegill Spider pattern, I recommend (again) Bluegill Fly Fishing and Flies by the Wilsons. You'll get a good pattern, pics, and the story behind the fly, as well as tons of great info on bluegill fly fishing in general.

Even the Stupid Days Are Fine

I had a few hours to get out on Sunday, so I thought I'd take my newish 5wt to a local park (more on this place in a future post) and spend the time catching some bluegill. The park isn't very productive, but there are a few holes that are reliable for panfish, with the occasional smallmouth thrown in, too. The real benefit to the place is that it's a very short drive, and there's a paved trail that runs next to the river for over a mile.

I got into the spot that I expected to be most productive -- actually the only spot on the river I'm truly optimistic about. I make a few casts, and the sky darkens, the wind picks up, and I hear thunder. "It's trucks on the highway," I tell myself. I try to convince myself, but I'm not buying it. The problem is that I'm heading off on a wade that has little in the way of extrication options, and if a storm's coming, I don't want to get caught in waist-high water far from an access point.

I climb out, and check out the sky one last time to convince myself, it's really, truly, a storm coming. I start walking back to the car. After about half a mile. The sun comes out, the wind dies down, and the thunder stops.

At this point, I have to choose between re-tracing my steps or just jumping in the river at the next good spot. Given that I'm only out for a relaxing day, I don't bother re-tracing my steps. Which means, of course, that I only manage to catch one bluegill all day. And fall directly onto my knees on some rocks.

I also manage to somehow foul up my dropper rig, leading me just to nip off one fly and stick with Bully's Bluegill Spider (more on this in a later post, too). At one point, I can't lift my line off the water to cast. Puzzled, I discover I've hooked a long length of monofilament. In my effort to pull it in, I discovered one end is tied to a beer bottle. I leave it. I usually pack out other people's trash, but I'm not sure what I can do with 30 feet of mono and a beer bottle, and I'm also not entirely convinced it isn't some sort of bait trap or something (and I have no idea how far the line extends in the other direction.

I'm about to head to the car, and I decide to take a few casts right by the parking lot. It looks like a bit of a dud, but sometimes you catch fish that other people pass up because they're too obvious. Nothing at all.

The high point of the day: some swimmers just down from this final spot call to me and point out some deer crossing the river upstream from me. They're both big, and the one in front is a buck with an impressive rack, probably 8 or 10 points (it's just a little too far to count).

I head back to the car. I run into a guy with a canoe, and it turns out he's a fly angler, too, and I enjoy our conversation. He recommends a new spot for me to try (actually, parking for a spot I'd been meaning to try), and I figure I'll hit it soon.

So, all in all, a pretty stupid day, but I still had fun.

Gear Review: L.L. Bean Ultralight Combo

It's been a slow few weeks as far as fishing is concerned, but I'll still get some new stories up soon (and eventually return to the original idea of this blog, which was to write up some of the old stories, rather than just provide outing reports).

Anyway, thanks to dumping a canoe, I've now managed to own two of L.L. Bean's Angler Spin Series Outfit, 5' Two-Piece Ultralight. The obvious review is that I re-bought it the day I sunk the first version, so it must be great. Well, yes and no.

I originally set out to simply replace my current ultralight reel, part of a combo I stole from my dad years ago. My biggest complaint was that it didn't have infinite anti-reverse.

It turns out that that's not as standard a feature as you would think on ultralight reels. Yet it's absolutely essential -- the first thing I look for in a reel (I'm not a gearhead by any means, so retriever ratio, ball bearing counts, etc. take me some more time to parse). Reels were getting more expensive than I thought, and I was beginning to see that a combo might be a smart way to go.

Then I found L.L. Bean's offering for about $35. Bean isn't known for underpricing, but they aren't known for making junk either. I ordered one. Not surprisingly, it was backordered for over a month. When I finally got it, I was pleased, but I need to offer a few caveats.

The rod is great -- no issues there at all. I've got fish ranging from half a foot to 23 inches and the rod's proven to be very sensitive and capable of protecting the line.

I was waiting to review the combo until the reel had a workout. The big catfish should have been that, but it never took line from the drag (even though I felt like I had it set light). I'm not sure what to make of that, so no news here on how smooth or loud the drag is.

The reel is truly infinite anti-reverse. So big plus there. Unfortunately, both reels I got came with too much line spooled on, and I wasn't a big fan of the curly line in general (I think it's Sufix, which should be a good choice). With both reels, I had a few snarls until I got down into it a ways. I'm not sure if this is from overspooling, improper spooling, line choice, or reel design, but my suspicion is it's some combination of the first three.

The other, more serious problem, involves the drag knob. Three times in one outing, I found the line catching on the drag knob, and winding on top of the reel instead of on the spool (leading to obvious problems). Even factoring in for user error as I was "guiding" and not fully attentive, it's still not an issue you should have to deal with. High-memory line, however, could contribute to the problem.

So, my conclusion: better than you might think. At $35, this combo is an absolute steal (unless the reel gives me further problems, which I doubt, considering I gave the first one a pretty good workout without this issue). It's an entry-level price for a better quality combo. If you're a hardcore ultralight enthusiast, it's probably not the combo for you. However, if, like me, you like an ultralight for occasional forays, or if you're a newcomer to the style looking for some inexpensive-but-quality equipment, it's a good place to go.

Drama! Excitement!

About a week ago my wife and I had a day to get our canoe out on a local lake we'd never been on before. It's the first time we've had it out this year (and one of the few times we've ever had it out), and it would be the first time Nicole had ever fished from a canoe.

We were pretty excited, and got it launched without too much trouble. The reservoir had some other people out, but not too much pressure, and we headed for a secluded cove. We hadn't been fishing long when something big took my bait. I was using the ultralight, and I knew immediately that I was in for a real battle.

I slowly gained ground on the fish, and when I saw it flash, the sight confirmed it was bigger than anything I've caught in years. Nicole was cheering me on, and when I got it near the canoe, I was sure I was going to lose it when it surged under the boat. My rod tip was yanked under, but the line held.

I pulled the fish to the surface, and with only a little difficult, netted the beast. It turned out to be a 23-inch channel catfish, the biggest cat I've ever caught, and probably the second heaviest fish of any species I've ever taken, all on an ultralight rod in a canoe. When I brought him into the boat, he twisted his head and the knot gave way. Incredible.

Nicole was right in describing him as both "beautiful" an "majestic". I quickly slid him back into the water.

Nicole was getting bites, but no fish, and I took one more bluegill. We paddled to a new location (just out of curiosity). We had some issues with snags here, including me launching a cast two feet too far into a fallen tree. We finally got squared away, and the canoe sloooowly starting tilting to the left. And it kept tipping.

When we hit the water, I pushed back on the canoe to keep it from turning over, and I grabbed a rod. We were dunked, but we saved everything except my ultralight combo and one pack of hooks (notable only in showing how little we lost and how blessed we were). We dragged everything to shore and turned the canoe upside down.

A couple guys in a bass boat came by and held the canoe steady while we got back in. An older couple paddled by in their canoe and gave us snotty looks. Yes, I was properly embarrassed -- you don't need to remind me.

We fished a little longer, but some of the fun of it (for me at least) was gone. So we loaded up and went home. Content with having had a proper adventure.


Sidenote: in the continuing circle hook study, I took both fish on circle hooks. The cat was hooked securely in the upper lip, but the 'gill was gut-hooked, and, I suspect, didn't make it. Nicole didn't get any hook-ups on baitholder hooks with fluorocarbon leaders, but this may have more to do with hook-setting technique than with hook choice.

...Except When It Isn't (pt 2)

A few weeks after the outing described in my last post, I headed back to the same stream. I had had a very hard hit in a pool the farthest upstream I had ever traveled. My plan was to hike up to that pool, start there and work upstream, covering entirely new water.

I couldn't resist a quick stop at the place where I had missed the two stockers on the previous outing. Almost immediately I saw my line hesitate, so I set the hook and landed a...rosyside dace. Well, at least the skunk was off.

I headed up to the pool I wanted to start at, holding myself to only a few casts here and there. I couldn't get anything to hit in that pool, although it looks good. I worked my way up to the next spot, and still nothing. I couldn't see anything that looked good, so I made my way back to the trail to make an easier way.

I hadn't gone 50 yards when I came to an SNP trail marker, letting me know that there were falls just ahead. I was unsure which way the main trail went, but I took a few steps and saw some pretty magnificent falls.

There's not point sidestepping something like that, so I took the little footpath and crawled my way up toward the top of the falls (and here's how you can tell I've matured -- I actually planned my exit strategy on the way in, which wasn't easy with a rod in hand; in the old days that would have been a potential disaster). About halfway up I stopped, ate a protein bar and drank some water, and admired the view.

I made it to the top, more or less, and got over to the water. It was a beautiful sight, but I did want to get back to fishing. I slid my way back to the main trail, crossed the stream and continued on. I didn't see any obvious fishing, figured I'd probably used up about as much time as I wanted to, and turned around.

On my way out, I ran into a pair of anglers on their way in, who asked if I'd fished upstream from the falls, explaining that it was much better than downstream, which is the only water I'd fished (and which I had already decided not to hit again too often because I was suspicious of its quality, despite taking three native brookies my first time through there).

I was feeling a little silly about things, but I was pleased to have learned a little about the water. I went down to the parking lot and headed for a nearby pool. Some hikers were going by, which meant the odds of me hooking my own ear or something were doubled. Instead, I saw the end of the fly line move a little oddly downsream and I set the hook, eventually bringing a nice stocker of about 9 inches to hand.

I worked my way on down. I snagged my nymph, retrieved it and then came the closest I've ever come to stepping on a snake, which was making its way downstream barely visible just in the water. I yelled, splashed, and did a general snake-avoidance dance before getting out of its way. I was so surprised that it had neither spooked nor bit me over all this that I went back to make sure it wasn't a stick. It was a snake, just going about its business.

Needless to say, that pool wasn't so fishable anymore.

I went home, and it wasn't until the next day that I realized how stupidly I had failed to execute my plan, which, I had learned, would have put me into better fishing water. I was frustrated for a second, and then realized I didn't care. I'd had a great day: a wonderful hike to a cool waterfall, learned something about a river, had a funny snake experience, and, incidentally, caught a trout.

So while I haven't reached that point (and kinda hope I never do) where catching fish never matters, there are definitely great ways to enjoy fishing without fish. Hopefully I'll get around soon to some further explanation on why I think this is.

It's All About the Fish... (pt 1)

It's taken me a while to get to this post because I've been trying to figure out how to get the pics up from an old camera. Anyway:

A month or so ago, I headed out to an SNP stream that's stocked below and has native brookies up above. I planned to fish both sections, and of course was more optimistic than was reasonable.

Just a few casts into my outing, I hooked into a trout. I thought it was a small one, and even though I got it on the reel, I worked it in like it was a minnow. When I got him to my feet, I was shocked at how big he was (not huge, maybe 9 inches) and he was shocked that some human was reaching his hand in the water to pick him up. I'd left my net at home -- not a necessity in this area -- and it possibly cost me a fish, because once he saw he was in real danger, he took off downstream, over a little piece of rapids (if you can call it that) and the hook popped free.

I fished hard the rest of the day, with only a little luck, a tiny native brookie that I dropped before I could get a pic (and I have a friend who would say the camera was my whole problem -- I was certainly thinking about snapping on of that first fish while I was bringing him in).

I also fished this pool pretty thoroughly (and if you know the stream, you know where this is):



It's tricky to fish, because it's on a stream crossing, and unless you're the first person there, it's likely someone's fished it, splashed in it, or is currently swimming in it. I'm sure there are fish there, so I always take a few casts. This morning, like others, nothing happened. Then I had a perfect drift on my final cast and started bringing in my line. Suddenly a monster brookie rose up and hit a ... stick.

Really? My perfect cast and drift and proper fly and nothing. But a stick?

Eventually I went back to the stocked section where I had hooked the first trout, and this guy was in my way:



Even though it's just a garter snake (I'm relatively sure), I gave him some room and fished downstream a little. I quickly had a hit, set the hook and turned the fish, a typical-sized brookie. I got a look at him, but he immediately came loose. I was amazed at how this fish just materialized.

All in all, not a wasted day: I'd hooked three trout and landed one, and I'd seen a snake, and, at the very least, I'd spent a nice day outdoors, doing something I love in place that looks like this:




So why was I so bummed?

Well, sometimes it's all about the fish. I'd wanted to catch something that day, and felt like I hadn't. Any fishing writer worth his salt talks about how it isn't really about catching fish, but, for me, some days it is. Not all days, but sometimes the other stuff just isn't completely fulfilling.

Of course, in my defense, the other days can be pretty nice to... (to be continued)

"Cane" Pole Fishing

I decided this spring to try something a little different. I regularly fish from the bank of a local lake in which lilypads quickly take over the first few feet of water. I've seen some decent bass in these area, and while I've been able to coax hits on floating worms cast past the pads and brought back over them, I've never been able to hook up. I'd also be glad to have an extra method to pull out bream and crappie from such areas.

My solution? A cane pole. And by "cane," I mean a 13-foot piece of telescoping graphite. But it's still the basic rig. I've never tried to do this before (though I wanted to years ago at The Pond), so I read up on it online and figured that was enough. I tied a 13-foot piece of 10-pond monofilament to the end, grabbed a couple bobbers and some worms and headed off.

It's a little late in the year for my purposes (and let's blame this on the backordering and shipping practices of a certain large retailer). The fish here have been starting to move deeper and the spawn, at least for most species, has happened and the fish are out a little more. Still, I figured I could have some fun.

Well, yes and no. It's hard than I thought it would be. I hadn't considered the amount of overheard clearance I'd need to "cast" in some situations, nor how heavy the pole would be after a few hours. I also thought I'd be able to get my bait and bobber into the water both more precisely and more quietly (although I think I can improve on both counts with practice).

In the end, I caught six very small 'gills, but not that I couldn't have caught with conventional tackle and a bobber. I think the real experiment will have to wait for next spring.

Interestingly, though, I tried circle hooks again. My hook-up ratio was far worse than on previous outings, but I blame this on the minuscule fish involved, apparently just pecking at the crawler pieces without inhaling the hook. On the upside, I didn't have any bad hooks, any difficult unhookings, or any blood.

One last thing: this sort of fishing, I suspect, won't match conventional or fly options for excitement, but there is something adrenaline-inducing when you realize you're swinging a spiny fish, with biggish hook directly at your face from 15 feet away. So at least there's that drama.

Howell Raines -- Fly Fishing Through the Midlife Crisis

Fly Fishing Through The Midlife Crisis by Howell Raines

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

This turned out much better than I expected. Raines knows, importantly, what not to talk about, and he avoids heavy musings on the sorts of questions you associate with midlife crises, yet he's revealing at the same time.

In what I expected to be clunky insertions, he includes sections on famous anglers he's spent time with (such as Ray Scott and Bob Clouser) and presidents who fished. These chapters serve to further explorations about some of his key themes, and rather than being simple biographical snapshots, they're fascinating looks into the psyches, fishing habits, and the relationships between the two.

This is a fine read, worth it for fishing stories and historical overviews, but also for the autobiographical slant.

View all my reviews.

Big Day

Saturday was Jasper's birthday, so we headed out for what a friend accurately described as an "epic" day. The day involved a picnic; feeding ducks, geese, and koi; a very exciting train ride; and, of course, fishing.

We were using nightcrawlers on circle hooks. My dad was helping Ava, and they were fishing theirs under a bobber. I initially was throwing mine with split shot and getting it on the bottom. I got heavily outfished, so I switched to the bobber and got my only hit of the day.

Ava dominated the day, landing 2 bluegill, which would have been fun enough. The first treasure was that fish number one was a catfish. She said weeks ago she really wanted to catch a catfish, so I was thrilled when I saw the silvery form coming in. It was maybe 10 inches or so, hefty for a 2-foot-long Dora rod, and Ava was thrilled to touch its whiskers (and she's now caught the same number of channel catfish in her life as I have). Unfortunately, the camera was busy taking Jasper and his mom for a walk that day.

Ava's other fish was a legitimate trophy, all things considered, a largemouth bass that, measured against my rod, went between 12 and 12.5 inches. It was all Ava and Pappy could do to reel it in. Here's the monster fish:



And here's Ava, unprompted, doing her best Jimmy Houston impression:



All in all, a pretty amazing day. And it may be that the kid is outfishing me already...

The Circle Hook Experiment

The last two outings that we've taken the kids on (more on the second in a later post), I've experimented with circle hooks. I've had two issues with kid fishing (and with my own, for that matter) that I thought circle hooks might resolve:

1) Ava, at less than 4, isn't really able to set the hook. Not only is her age a factor, but using a 2-foot rod with curly, cheap line isn't ideal.

2) Setting the hook when using a bobber is hard. This sounds stupid, but for those of us who have spent years learning to feel the line with a sinker or with a lure, it's hard to tell when to set the hook when the bobber's dipping, and how to keep the slack out of it.

The circle hook, I reasoned, would resolve this issues by eliminating the need to set the hook. I used the slightly different Gamakatsu octupus circle hooks, in either size 4 or 6. So here are the results of my experiments:

On my own rod, I had a total of 7 bites over about 90 minutes (all but one while not using a bobber). Without ever setting the hook myself, I hooked and landed 4 fish (I think 1 bass and 4 bluegill). I missed two (which I chalk up to little 'gills nibbling at the tips of worms), and it one instance I lost the whole hook. I'd blame it on a bad knot, except I'd already landed 3 fish on it. I'm not sure what happened. All four of my fish were hooked perfectly in the corner of the jaw.

Ava, with the assistance of first my stepdad and then her dad, caught 5 fish. There were a few bites that resulted in hook-set attempts, all of which failed. I'll save some of the details on the fish for my next post, but you've already seen the trout Ava caught. Unfortunately, this one was hooked in the bottom of the mouth. After the bobber started running, my stepdad gave a little hookset here, so I don't know if that's too blame. The fish bled a little, and its revival was questionable.

Of the other 4 fish, 3 were hooked in the corner of the jaw, but one little gill was hooked through the top of the mouth, coming out between its eyes. The good news is that nearly all the hooks were exactly where they should be. The bad news is that the hooks are very thick, which led to a couple bleeding fish, and noticeable wounds. The other bad news is that with the thick wire and big barbs, hook removal was a little difficult, esp. on one fish where the hook had gone through the lip and re-entered the lip from the outside. Fortunately, all the fish except the trout were released with no noticeable trauma and swam off quickly.

One other note: I had a terrible time keeping vienna sausages on the hook, largely, I think, because the hook was too thick (even trying to use enough weight to cast with just a gentle lob).

My conclusions (obv. drawn after not a whole lot of research):

1) This is definitely an aid for helping kids catch fish. Ava landed all her fish without once needing a hookset (the trout being a strange case).

2) This is an aid for catching fish on a bobber. There's no question when the fish is on. When the bobber seems to be moving on its own, gently reel tight and the fish, if it's mouthed the hook, will be there.

3) The hooks are too thick for small freshwater purposes. I'd like a lighter wire hook for our target species, although that might change the effectiveness. I won't be using these hooks for my general fishing for that reason, although I might use them for catfish.

4) I'm not sure how to get around the thick-hook-fragile-bait issue, and am not sure how something like chicken livers would hold up. It may be that there are lighter wire circle hooks available.

As always, I'd be interested to hear other people's thoughts.

First Trout!

About a week and a half ago, we got the kids back out fishing, this time with my mom and stepdad. I brought along some circle hooks (more on that in my next post), as much for an experiment as for anything else. In the length of time it took Ava to get to the potty and back, I was convinced they'd help her catch fish, so I tied one on for her (the idea being that she wouldn't have to set the hook).

A short time later, she's reeling frantically, and I catch just a flash of silver, enough to tell that it's something elongated. She reels it in, and it's this:



Ava's first trout! And a brookie no, less (significant only for being my favorite kind). A fish is a fish to Ava, of course, but I'm pretty excited by it. The whole event was overshadowed by worms and a picnic and some playground activity, but that's probably as it should be.

Pay Attention

Just a quick one tonight, but more Anglenook coming soon (with pictures! with first trout! with circle hook experiments!):

About a month or so I went out to the nearest lake and took 8 or 9 fish, including some nice crappie. For once, I convinced myself to do something I'd read about but never tried, which is to switch tactics when you're catching fish (as opposed to when you're not). The idea is that you might be on to something good, but that could be causing you to miss out on the best (yes, there are some theological implications here -- I'll save that for another forum).

So I was catching them on topwater. I knew that at that time of year, under those conditions, I could do that. I had done it last year, and I was doing it right then. So I started switching, trying different lures and different retrieves. I had a variety of results, but I also gathered some information for future use.

The following weekend I had just a couple hours, but I zipped out to a pond about 25 minutes away. Here's where I should have paid attention. When the Fish Commission notes that there's a "Kids Fishing Day" coming up, remember what day it is, and don't go to any of those locations. [That's "Pay Attention" #1.]

Having wasted about 50 minutes in a car, I finally got to somewhere I could fish. I stepped out of the car, and half the sole on one of my shoes peeled off. I'm not especially hard on clothes, gear, etc., but this is the third pair of shoes I've ruined while fishing in less than 12 months. Since I was stuck with clopping around the lake, of course it was crowded.

And of course, the fishing was slow. I tried to duplicate the previous week's action but only caught a few. It doesn't meant the day was a waste. I always talk to other anglers I see, partly because I'm friendly (usually) and partly because I'm curious. While there's a stereotype of the tight-lipped fisher hiding his holes and tactics, that's rarely the reality. Most people are more than willing to share their tricks, maybe because they're kind or maybe because they like to show off, or maybe it's just neighborly.

[Note: I'm a little bit tight-lipped.]

I talked briefly with a guy on my way in, and we crossed paths later, so he squatted down next to me and went over some of his gear. He's been catching some big bass, and he let me in on some access points to the local river that he's had good action at. Totally unnecessary to share, but very much appreciated. That info + Google Maps = more fish. [There's "Pay Attention" #2 for you.]

Of course, maybe it's just me. I've been told that there's something about my face that encourages people to open up to me, so maybe I should be a teacher or a preacher or a counselor. I suspect it's more that when I'm on the water, I sometimes carry a vague expression of incompetence. Throw in a funny-looking hat and a half-broken pair of shoes and I'm practically a charity case. When the guy using the surf rod for 5-lb bass looks at my little ultralight*, how can there not be a lesson to follow.


*It's a new one; a review of L.L. Bean's hot new combo coming soon, too.

Help a Vet

Through the joys of Freecycle, I met an interesting guy recently. "Big John" Miska, as it turns out, seems to be generally up to some interesting stuff, as a quick Google will show you.

What's relevant here is that John is gathering up fly fishing donations to use to take wounded veterans out on outings. John is affiliated with Project Healing Waters, but this project isn't (though it's not dissimilar in theory). Basically, he wants to start doing a little more for some of the vets in the area, and needs some gear to make it happen (and maybe eventually start a PHW group closer to this area).

In particular, he's interested in old bamboo fly rods, as he knows a guy who can fix them up at a reasonable price.

If you're interested in learning more about the project or in donating, you can reach John at bigjohn@cstone.net.

Lefty Kreh's Longer Fly Casting

Lefty Kreh's Longer Fly Casting, New and Revised: The Compact, Practical Handbook That Will Add Ten Feet--Or More--To Your Cast by Lefty Kreh

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars

This one's fine. It's a not-too-detailed look at how to improve your fly casting. It's mostly straightforward, but it's very brief, with drawings that are usually clear and useful. If you wanted to learn to (or improve) your fly casting, you'd want to go somewhere else.

Kreh teaches a different style of casting than I've seen elsewhere. I saw him demonstrate it at an outdoor show in Denver (where I couldn't hear him that well), so the sections on basic casting in this book made sense to me. However, I'm not sure how clear they'd be to someone who hadn't seen it in practice, especially since it goes against much of what we're typically taught.

There's not enough "why" in this book -- even if you learn the technique, I think it's always good to have a fuller understanding of why something works.


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Bob Clouser -- Clouser's Flies

Clouser's Flies: Tying And Fishing the Fly Patterns of Bob Clouser by Bob Clouser

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was going to wait to review this one until I had tied and fished more of the patterns in the book, but it's not necessary.

The book's strengths are obvious: clear descriptions, and big, colorful pictures. I've been tying Clousers for years, but one night with the book immediately improved them. Clouser gives detailed instructions even down to the level of how to properly anchor your eyes, how to epoxy, etc.

This one does have advice on how to fish the patterns. While it's certainly enough to get you started, I think it works best as a partner to his Fly-Fishing for Smallmouth Bass book, which goes into far more detail.

So, yeah, if you're tying for smallies, this one's probably essential.


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First Fish

A week ago we took the kids out for their first real fishing trip ever. Last year we went out briefly, caught a bluegill and then looked for frogs while keeping Jasper from cannonballing into the lake.

This time around, Ava was excited to be fishing, so I took her to the place I mentioned a while back that I hoped would work out for them. We had a Dora rod, a little tackle box, a bobber, and some nightcrawlers -- a perfect set-up for a three and a half year old. I had to do the casting (and provide varying degrees of hooksetting help), but it didn't take long until we brought the first fish (ever!) to hand:



The kids, happily, were thrilled. I didn't know how they'd respond, but they were both fascinated. Of course, some of us were equally interested in the bait as we were in the fish, but that's fine.



The kids took a break to go to the playground (and look at the mating frogs -- without explanation -- on the way), and after looking at some turtles, I started fishing. I had seen a huge bass earlier and was optimistic. The crappies were spawning, so I didn't go after them, but was hoping there were some post-spawners about.

I quickly took a decent bluegill and bass in the little cove. I moved back to the open area and switched to a topwater plug just to see what would happened. I had a strike from a huge crappie (hooked just enough to turn him and see the size) and then took a crappie and big 'gill.

Nicole and the kids came back, so I grabbed the Dora rod and went back to kid mode (mostly). Ava soon caught a blugill and a hefty 8-inch crappie, which put up quite a fight on the little rod. Unfortunately I didn't bring the camera to this part of the outing (although if I had I could also have photographed the northern watersnake the grown-ups saw). Then we hooked and lost a few. According to Ava, these fish wanted to eat the worm without trying to come up to say hi. Jasper started to get bored, and it seemed like a good idea to stop before Ava did, too. So even though she was still fishing intently. We stopped for ice cream on the way home, which was a perfect way to end a perfect day.

Mel Krieger -- The Essence of Flycasting

The Essence of Flycasting by Mel Krieger

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm reading one of Lefty Kreh's books on casting now, so it'll be interesting to compare. What I like so much about Krieger's is that he doesn't focus on precise mechanics (I feel like it's out of style now, but you still see writing that gets into the precise measurements, specific arm angles, etc.), but covers the "essence" (hence the title) of how a flycast works, primarily how the rod loads, what your loops need to do, etc.

The pictures are pretty useful here, b&w but very clear depictions of what Krieger's talking about.

There's a very small section on specialty casts. Nothing tricky here -- just stuff you'll actually need on the water (like the wiggle cast, etc.). This section's useful, but so brief that it feels a little tacked on. I'm not sure how I'd expand it, though, without getting into other entire areas.


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Dick Sternberg -- Fishing With Live Bait

Fishing With Live Bait by Dick Sternberg

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'm looking at this more for a side project of mine than because I'm actually planning on using the techniques, so I'm not sure how useful it was ever going to be to me. It's an interesting compendium, and -- as is usually the case with these books -- there are some great photos. I approve of the idea of starting with the bait rather than a target species and building a book around that

Its broadness is a weakness, though. You'll pick up a few tactics here and there for whatever you're doing, but I don't know that it will substantially improve your catch rates (though I will say it helped me get my daughter on to some panfish recently).

As a non-qualitative aside, there's some pretty gross stuff in here. Take that for what it's worth.


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Fishin' in the Wind

A week or so ago I headed out to a local park with a couple ponds. I'd heard there were trout, bass, bluegill, and catfish in it, and I later learned that there are crappie as well (and possibly perch, although that term can mean different things to different people, and I've seen no signs of actual yellow perch).

Partly I wanted to catch fish, and partly I wanted to scope it out as a place to bring the kids (more on that in another post), so I just took my light spinning rod and a box of nightcrawlers. The day was rough, cold from the start, and I got hit by a slight shower.

I took an 11-inch bass and a reasonable sunfish pretty quickly. Both of these followed a slight disappointment. I already had my floating minnow tied on in the morning, so I started with that. I saw a silver flash come at it twice. I cast again, saw the same flash and paused the lure (sometimes a fish will come back to see why its prey stopped). A decent rainbow trout nosed up to lure and swam away quickly. It was the last sign I'd have of a trout all day.

The rain started and the fishing stopped, after such an optimistic start. After the rain, the wind picked up, probably the hardest I've ever fished in, and I knew I'd have to earn fish that day. I ended up with about 8 bluegill and 2 largemouths, not bad for just a few hours, considering the conditions.

The bluegill were of much bigger average size than I've seen around here, and the biggest was about 8 inches and fat. I caught him in a little cove, out of the wind, but on the side of the pond it was blowing into (the second bass came out of the same spot).

I checked the other pond in the park, which seemed to have fewer noticeable features, less accessibility, and more algae. However, I've sinced noticed that more people seem to fish that one. I'm not sure why.

Eventually I got out of the wooded area for fear of trees blowing down on me, but in the open it was hard. Without being able to simply pitch to structure, I had trouble casting, sometimes even letting the wind shoot my bait downwind, while I walked after it to take up the slack. Before long, it was too much work for too little expected reward (especially given that I was already pleased with the outing).

I was primarily happy for finding a place to take the kids, esp. my daughter, who's just becoming old enough to fish. There's lots of fishable water and plenty of panfish (with the chance of other species), so I think she can have some fun here. Today I proved myself right, but that's a post for another time...

Dave Hughes -- Essential Trout Flies

Essential Trout Flies by Dave Hughes

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

What I had seen on the book before I picked it up was a little misleading (or at least I misunderstood it). Hughes doesn't present 31 patterns; instead, he presents 31 types or styles of flies, such as traditional dries, Wulffs, flymphs, etc. For each of these styles, he provides 6 or 7 varieties, so you actually end up with 200 or so clearly presented patterns, primarily targeted for trout. For each grouping, he provides precise instructions with good pictures of each step.

He also provides some very brief tips (a sentence or less) on how to fish each variety, so at least you have some sense of what to do with what you're looking at if it's something new to you. The overview of tools and materials is decent, too.

The book's primarily targeted just-past-beginner tyers. You probably wouldn't want this as a sole introduction (and I'd recommend a DVD or a class for that), but it's a good early book. Even so, I think intermediate tyers would benefit from a clear and handy guide to this number of patterns.


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Iced

The morning started in a bad way (as future stories usually do). I had to scrape the ice of my car in the dark in order to drive to the river. I'd never done that before. I should have known.

But the night before was when I might have taken events as signs. I was just clumsy all night, from tying ugly flies to having a hard time tying the knots for my dropper rigs. I capped it all off my dropping my once-used Super Days Worth fly box on the cement basement floor and breaking part of it.

But I was off.

My fingers were in pain before I had finished rigging up, even with the neoprene gloves on. After getting set up, I had to take a break and put my hands inside my waders. I wasn't sure how I was going to fish.

As soon as my hands were marginally okay, I started casting. After only 6 casts or so, I saw the indicator pause and set the hook. A flash of silver told me I had a decent rainbow on and, after steering him clear of some brush, I landed an 11-incher. So already I had broken the two-outing skunk streak, and I was in a good mood.

I quickly moved into some riffles and started catching chubs. I worked my way upstream, and continued to catch fish almost constantly, but no trout. Instead, I got into tons of a fish I'd never seen before, and neither friends, family, nor members of two fly fishing forums could identify it from my description (this is when a camera would be really nice).

It was a little fish, typically about 5 inches or so. It was silver, with three dark vertical markings on its side. The tips of the tail and fins were all bright red. Someone suggested it might be a river redhorse, but it didn't have that kind of mouth. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I suggest it's a regional variant of something.

The big challenge of the day was keeping my guides ice-free. I'd never encountered this problem, and the first time I tried to cast and shot the line out the middle of the line was a strange experience. By lunchtime, the air had warmed up enough that the freezing water in my guides wasn't a problem, but it was an odd way to spend a Virginia morning.

Anyhow, I caught quite a few fish that day (beyond counting, which always equals good, regardless of species). I hiked back to where I started and talked to some other anglers, at which point at felt foolish. They told me the Delayed Harvest area extends downstream from where I started, but I'd been fishing upstream. I suspect they're right, as the water is certainly better that direction (which I proved by fishing for a while without a bite), but I've checked several guidebooks, all of which list it upstream.

Oh, well, I had a good day, took fish in some painful conditions, and don't really care if I fished the "right" stretch or not.

Bruce Ingram -- The James River Guide

The James River Guide: Floating and Fishing on Virginia's Finest by Bruce Ingram

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

Much better than I expected. I thought it would be a pretty basic overview of the various floats on the river, but Ingram goes into some wildlife, history, etc. He dedicates some time to specific fishing locations and even lure suggestions (focusing on smallmouths). It's a quick read, but seemingly essential before tackling the James.

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Dave Hughes -- Trout Rigs and Methods

Trout Rigs & Methods: What You Need to Know to Construct Rigs that Work for All Types of Trout Flies & the Most Effective Fishing Methods for Catching More & Larger Trout by Dave Hughes

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's not exactly the kind of book you read straight through (though I did), but it's an amazing resource. Hughes provides tactics to cover pretty much every trout fishing situation you could come across, and explains it from rig to presentation.

Throw in the quick overviews on knots, gear, casting, etc., and you could just about use this book to guide your entire fishing. It's the kind of book that makes me wish I had this much knowledge about anything. I'm sure I'll be referencing it repeatedly.

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The Double Skunk

I did something two weeks ago that I haven't done in years, if ever. I got skunked on two consecutive days.

The first day I worked hard. I was trying out a new stream in the SNP, heading into Whiteoak Canyon. I tried various flies and tactics, all with no luck. I might have had two hits all day, and didn't spot any fish. The stream was pretty low and it was still early in the year so I'm not taking too much offense.

The end of the hike was worth it, though. I knew there were a couple falls, but I was unprepared for just how magnificent they were. I hiked up about even with the top of the upper falls, finally shedding the clothes that the 40-degree start the morning necessitated. I sat up top for a while, decided that was a good cap to the day and that I'd hike out without stopping to fish.

I didn't make it, of course. I had to stop at this one pool that looks so perfect. One little bump on a nymph (maybe). Then someone's dogs waded into my pool. It had still been a splendid day.

The next day was less intense. It was 80 degrees and I had an hour or two free so I zipped out to the lake hoping to find some pre-spawn crappie, or maybe some gill. Nothing at all. The boat launch area was absolutely covered in bank fisherman, so I drove around to the other side, to where I'd caught fish pretty much all season long.

Not so much as a hit today. I'd have liked to have fished some bait this time of year, preferably hung under a bobber, but I didn't have time to go get any and was just outside to be outside.

I can't say I enjoyed getting double-skunked, but neither day was that bad. What it really means is that I *have* to catch fish this weekend, and I'm heading to a spot I'm not sure about how optimistic I should be. We'll see...

Fly Pattern Encyclopedia

Federation of Fly Fishers, Fly Pattern Encyclopedia by Al Beatty

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars

This one's just not for me. There are some beautiful flies in here, but they're usually too complicated for my skills (and more complicated than what's necessary to catch fish). Between the complexity of the patterns and the use of unusual materials, it's not one I'll actually be using.

I'd also be interested to see some info on how/when to fish some of these flies. The backwards woolly bugger, for example -- when does this outfish the original? Some information like that, even if it meant the inclusion of fewer patterns, would have been great.

It's a book for fly tyers more than fly fishers. Good at what it is, but not for me.


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Dick Stewart -- Universal Fly Tying Guide

Universal Fly Tying Guide by Dick Stewart

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars

An earlier edition of this book was the first fly tying pattern book I ever had, and that's probably where it should be. There's a decent introduction to a few techniques, and a good diagram of the proportions of some flies.

The pattern collection is pretty simple, and pretty small. Returning to it now, I don't always think these are the best versions of the flies (the hare's ear being the prime example), but there are no glaring problems here. As a cheap, concise intro, it's not a bad pick, but it won't served more advanced tiers.


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John Roberts -- Collins Illustrated Dictionary of Trout Flies

Over the next week or so, I'm going to be posting my thoughts on a handful of fly tying books. Here's the first, on one that I bought out of a bargain book newspaper catalog I used to get until maybe 2000 or so:

Collins Illustrated Dictionary of Trout Flies by John Roberts

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is one I just don't connect with. It's a great collection of recipes, with maybe 1000 patterns, and includes work by some great tiers. Just in the "W" section we get Whitlock, Wotton, and Wulff (and then throw in LaFontaine, Ruane, etc.).

So it's a great compendium, but that's it. There's not much instruction here, or instruction on how to fish the patterns. So I'm sort of criticizing it for being something it didn't mean to be, I admit.

It's also a bit British for my purposes, whether it's the certain terminology or certain patterns that just seem culturally off to me.

One oddity about using the book (though this is wise in terms of price and) is that the pictures of patterns are separate from the recipes, with a set of full-color plates in the middle of the book. It takes some flipping to see exactly what you're looking at and how to make it. But this is a reference volume, not an instructional manual. It's just not one that really does it for me.

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A Tail of Two Fishies (or, Best-Titled Story Ever)

So a while back I mentioned the big brookie and the carp I caught by hand. They're connected by similar mysterious behavior.

The brookie was more dramatic. I was fishing my favorite trout stream, and trying to work some pocket water that I was always sure held trout but could never find any in. Something big hit my nymph and took off. I set myself for a tough fight, especially given the tricky footing and quick water. Very soon after the hookset, though, I saw my line angle toward a small boulder and then go tight under it. I could still feel the fish throbbing on my line, so I kept slack out and waded to the boulder.

I've caught fish before (usually bass) where I've had to free the line from tangles or wait for the fish to back out of weeds (sometimes you can induce this, at least on spinning gear, by plucking your line like a guitar string). This fish, though, had just cannonballed right under a boulder and stopped. When I reached it, I reached down and grabbed it near the tail and pulled it out. To my surprise, it was a gorgeous brookie about 15 inches long. Somehow it had wedged its head under the boulder and seemed unsure how to get out. I turned it loose and it seemed fine. I'm not sure how bright it was (especially given that it managed to get itself caught by me), but I'm not sure why else it would end up in such a predicament.

The carp was a little stranger, and I feel like I probably did something wrong. I was smallmouth fishing in my home county, working a stretch of water with Dad that, while productive, was more notable for the climb involved in exiting the river. I was upstream from him a ways when I caught site of a carp with its head in some weeds. I couldn't figure out how to make a cast, given that it's head was in the weeds.

I crept closer, and it didn't move. It was wiggling a little bit, or I'd have thought it was dead. I got close enough to poke it with my rod tip, but it didn't respond. I clambered up on a rock next to it and couldn't figure it out. It looked stuck. As far as I could tell, it wasn't spawning or anything. It just had managed to get its head (and gills, if I remember right) stuck on some weeds. I grabbed it by the tail and under the belly and lifted it up and back out of the weeds. I helped it revive, and watched it swim off. Then it struck me that I had perhaps intervened in some natural event I shouldn't have, but I'm not sure what that could have been (other than imminent death).

I'd be happy to hear any thoughts on this situation.

There it is. Two fish that managed to get their heads stuck. One a big brook trout in a cold, fast stream while hooked; the other an average-sized carp in a slow, warm river, apparently on its own. I still think both were a little weird.

Jack Ellis -- The Sunfishes

The Sunfishes: A Fly Fishing Journey of Discovery by Jack Ellis

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
The strength of Ellis's book is also its failing. Rather than focus on technique, flies, etc. (which he does well), he essentially constructs an argument for a particular approach to fishing, and the approach just isn't that appealing.

Ellis is a fly and trout snob. When he's forced to learn warmwater fishing, it doesn't breakdown his elitism, it just gives him one more thing to be elitist about. A fair bit of the time he's actually self-effacing, but when he mocks his snobbishness, there's no hint of regret that it's there. He's critical of boats, bass fisherman, plastic worms (which, oddly, he uses to find fish and then rationalizes -- I'll throw a live worm, but I won't apologize for it).

It is interesting to see someone developing an approach, and 15 years ago this might have been novel stuff. Oddly, he shifts focus from panfish (a word he loathes) to bass, which are technically sunfish, but not the focus for most of the book, nor what most people would expect.

Also, and this is minor gripe that just got to me because it happens twice, I'm pretty sure that a spotted bass isn't a type of smallmouth. Each are distinct species, and while a spot has a smaller mouth than a largemouth, that doesn't make it a type of smallmouth.

Recommendation: read the Wilsons' book on bluegill first, and if you're really hungry for more, then come to this one.


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Anglenook General Note

I know, this wasn't supposed to turn into a reviews blog, and, don't worry, because it hasn't. I can't speak for my co-writers, but I've been swamped lately, and largely indoors. Once the fishing heats up again, I'll be posting more regularly and hopefully more entertainingly here, both about recent outings and -- as was initially the idea -- about stories from the past.

Stay tuned, I've got one coming up that involves both the biggest brook trout I've ever seen in person and a carp that I caught with my bare hands, and how the two experiences were strange and similar.

Bill Heavey -- If You Didn't Bring Jerky, What Did I Just Eat?

If You Didn't Bring Jerky, What Did I Just Eat: Misadventures in Hunting, Fishing, and the Wilds of Suburbia by Bill Heavey

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Okay, I'm probably feeling a little generous giving this one 5 stars, but it's the best of its sort of thing I've read in a long time.

I think of Heavey as the F&S humor columnist. He's usually funny without being hilarious (there are touches of McManus here, but very few, and it's a pretty different aesthetic). Heavey plays the average guy well -- he's self-effacing, but he rarely makes himself into a complete idiot. He's a guy like you, except he gets to go cool places. And he also does things like forget his pants and end up hunting in his longjohns.

What I hadn't remembered about Heavey is how well he does serious, too, whether it's tackling the death of a kid (in an article I did remember very well, even if I'd forgotten the byline), a sad but unforgettable mountain lion hunt, or a Hunt of Lifetime trip.

This book was supposed to kill some time between bigger works, but it ended up being my favorite read in sometime, and one I could barely spread out properly.


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Flyfisher's Guide to Virginia - David Hart

Flyfisher's Guide to Virginia: Including West Virginia's Best Fly Fishing Waters by David Hart

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
It's a very impressive overview of fly fishing opportunities in Virginia. From 2006, it seems pretty up-to-date (at least well matching the areas I've fished and even providing accurate directions to the locations). The hatch guides are useful, and while the quick run-down on necessary equipment is a bit perfunctory, the guide to assembling a basic fly assortment makes a good, quick intro to the subject. The takes on each fish species are very brief, but somewhat idiosyncratic, adding a nice flavor. This book would be pretty indispensable in exploring VA's fishing options.


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