tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82345584473564342542012-01-26T16:05:38.127-07:00Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.comBlogger2091100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-40425589037591579802012-01-26T16:02:00.001-07:002012-01-26T16:05:38.154-07:00

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166226107771236751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-36004428167158744532011-11-04T14:17:00.000-06:002011-11-04T14:34:40.514-06:00

I live in a place with four distinct seasons, and for many reasons I am glad for that.  From a fly fishing perspective each season brings new hatches, and a new approach to the rivers and lakes I love to fish.  It seems that every time the seasons change I catch myself saying "this is my favorite time of year to fish."  The changing seasons and their effects on our favorite fishing waters

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-2452178285350838422011-10-12T19:28:00.001-06:002011-10-12T19:28:00.241-06:00

Willie Young DE for the Detroit Lions obviously spent a little time with a fly rod in his hands during the NFL lockout this summer.  He's got a pretty good casting stroke. The cameras cut away a little early on his celebration, but if you watch the end of the video above the Punter's head you can see the celebration in it's entirety playing on the stadium jumbo tron.  Willie may become one of my

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-67409808900969080762011-09-27T08:37:00.000-06:002011-09-27T08:37:54.869-06:00

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-7092749977009558232011-09-22T19:28:00.010-06:002011-09-22T19:28:00.220-06:00

Here is just a little sample of one of my usual morning jaunts up the river. I am still learning a lot when it comes to video but here it is:

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166226107771236751noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-53983380121268307732011-08-25T19:35:00.003-06:002011-08-25T19:35:00.679-06:00

Early Morning Hopper Muncher  Fishing has slowed just a bit here in the last month or so, but there are still fish out there willing to take an artificial fly.  When fishing highly pressured trout streams in the late summer I have found that you just need to poke your fly into those little nooks and crannies that are overlooked by the bulk of fishermen. The tailwater river I

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-24515993392248492092011-08-11T17:00:00.004-06:002011-08-11T17:16:08.261-06:00

And it probably shows. This morning I made a point to try and get a set up with the video camera on a feeding fish and see if I could get the take on film. Turns out that is a bit tougher than it sounds. Especially when you are a one man operation. I recieved one of these gorilla pods for Fathers day back in June and it really came in handy when I was looking for a place to put the camera

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08166226107771236751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-9054478175936955902011-08-01T22:17:00.000-06:002011-08-01T22:17:41.872-06:00

It's been a while since I actually posted a fishing report around here. My waterproof camera went on the fritz in Maui back in June and any fishing trips I have taken since have been lacking in pixels. It looks like for the time being though, I am back in business. I purchased a new camera and took it for a spin this week. The fishing may have been a bit slow for the most part, and I

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-41177714896826298382011-06-28T21:50:00.002-06:002011-06-28T23:12:28.220-06:00

As I watched this great little video the narrator utters the line, "Then I noticed I am holding my breath." What a great line that describes the intensity of the focus in that moment as you watch your perfectly placed fly drift slowly into the feeding zone of a big fish. It's just you, the river, the fly and the fish. All else is forgotten for that little instant in time. Perfection.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-82678902887583105702011-06-21T22:50:00.002-06:002011-06-22T08:48:47.538-06:00

Here is a quick report to let all those that read the blog and know exactly where I spend most of my fishing time to let you know that the river is shaping up nicely.  Today the flows dropped to the 600 cfs range and this afternoon we took the drift boat down from just above the tunnel to the bend just above the bridge.  It was about a 4 1/2 mile float and it took about 4 1/2 hours so you do the

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-46781876425398195142011-06-21T22:38:00.000-06:002011-06-21T22:38:36.210-06:00

A year in the business from Ben Paull on Vimeo.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-377643736189190862011-06-14T21:24:00.003-06:002011-06-14T21:24:00.483-06:00

A little deviation here from my usual posts. This weekend brings us fathers day, and I have to share a simple little moment we had this week that stirred up a few emotions. Nothing makes a dad prouder than to see your kid struggle to grasp a concept, then to see the light bulb go on and witness the transformation from frustration, to supreme confidence. Last night as I watched my oldest boy

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-45499843370340703532011-05-27T18:15:00.001-06:002011-05-27T18:15:00.723-06:00

Get yourself a snowmobile and go fishing. Early Box Canyon Opening. from TroutHunter on Vimeo.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-86611178302498153792011-05-09T18:22:00.000-06:002011-05-09T18:22:00.497-06:00

I could watch stuff like this all day.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-89389110069504007512011-05-04T22:21:00.000-06:002011-05-04T22:21:03.848-06:00

Something a bit different since the fishing is slow right now. 

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-1914357506711400852011-04-29T18:21:00.000-06:002011-04-29T18:21:00.886-06:00

There is some very neat footage here. Fly Fishing Media from ErdemAs on Vimeo.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-39517169949698672252011-04-20T17:21:00.005-06:002011-04-20T17:21:00.393-06:00

Yes, it's true. I admit that I have woken up in the middle of the night suddenly struck by a great idea for a fly, which will certainly fool that big trout that I threw everything in the fly box at the day before. Now it wasn't quite as an elaborate concoction of materials as the fly in this fun song but I can relate to the humor in this little ditty.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-14185990365661004902011-04-18T20:54:00.002-06:002011-04-18T20:54:00.267-06:00

Expect more short video posts over the next few weeks of stuff I find while surfing the net.  Here's one of some Sea Run Brown fishing off the coast of Denmark: Stevns with Allan from Inwaders Media on Vimeo.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-87445922424060665412011-04-12T00:01:00.000-06:002011-04-12T00:01:22.372-06:00

As you know if you have been reading here, the river is blown out.  That much I think has been made abundantly clear.  But when life hands you lemons, go make lemonade I guess.  So having not touched a fly rod in a couple weeks we decided it was time to check the river out from the inside, and dusted off the Alumaweld and launched her into the great wide current.  We floated a little over 8 miles

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-20647791449769660782011-04-06T21:40:00.000-06:002011-04-06T21:45:23.063-06:00

The selfish side of me is a bit bummed.  The river I fished 100+ days last year, is blown out.  And I mean real blown out.  Flows in the winter here are around 30 cfs, and in the summer they bump them up to around 200cfs.  Well last week due to a high level of late winter, and early spring precipitation in the watershed that feeds the reservoir behind the dam they started the big dump.  It was

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-10961232136830558902011-03-31T20:14:00.008-06:002011-03-31T20:14:00.615-06:00

One of my favorite streamers to fish for big browns.  This is a report I had written up from a trip to the river this week but am just getting around to posting.  It's just a small look into the excitement that is fishing big meaty streamers.  It's an indulgence I don't often partake in, but one that I always wonder why not after an outing like this.   The river I fish often is

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-78022783990149082482011-03-22T18:28:00.004-06:002011-03-22T21:17:36.090-06:00

I will admit in the past Spring has never been my favorite season.  I know the ideal image of spring brings to mind thoughts of fresh sprouting green grass, soft gentle rains, budding willows, and freshly bloomed daffodils, but it seems that the reality is often closer to dull gray skies, harsh winds, and sticky brown mud...everywhere.   Okay that may have been the pessimist in me coming out. 

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-47451845338726539832011-03-10T23:53:00.002-07:002011-03-10T23:55:23.017-07:00

Not a lot of big fish but the day was perfect for a BWO hatch. Fifty degrees, overcast, drizzling on and off. A sure recipe for hatching bugs and the fish were eating. Midges also made it onto the menu. Average size of the catch was down today, but the numbers were on the rise. Maybe spring is making a comeback after all.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-20207147579421770012011-02-18T18:33:00.003-07:002011-02-18T18:33:00.372-07:00

Thanks to the fly fishing frenzy for finding and sharing this video on their blog.  I just had to post it here as well.  Good stuff. 

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-9375702416944347282011-02-15T23:37:00.001-07:002011-02-15T23:39:55.029-07:00

I have a tendency to start fishing Skwala Dry patterns earlier than I probably should be able to get away with.  This time of year my most productive patterns are usually small midge pupa patterns and my preferred method of fishing them is in a hopper dropper type set up.  I will use a parachute adams or some other adult midge or mayfly pattern on occasion but I usually look for any excuse to use

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-43777766478110224722011-02-08T21:09:00.000-07:002011-02-08T21:09:50.147-07:00

I have not gotten out and done much fishing lately.  Things are busy, but today I managed to sneak away for a bit.  It was not the hottest action I have ever had but the fish were there.  I found a nice run with fish rising all over to midges easy enough.  I waded in and proceeded to flog the water for nearly an hour with very little of what I would call, results.  Just a couple fish that nosed

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-87193646190338798722011-01-14T00:32:00.001-07:002011-01-14T00:33:40.677-07:00

This weeks report is full of it.  Ice has taken over the river and very few stretches are open.  Thankfully we have had a day or two where the temps have actually gotten above freezing so there are a couple stretches that are fishable.  I took a drive up the river this week not expecting to do any fishing.  Last time I was out there were no fish rising and I didn't find enough fishable water for

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-92128476171223144282011-01-01T00:00:00.008-07:002011-01-12T23:34:37.201-07:00

Welcome to the New Year and something new here on the blog. As of January 1st I will begin making a few of my best producing patterns available for purchase here. To the right you will see the storefront where fly patterns will be made available for sale. You can use that application to order, and pay for your flies.  Also feel free to visit www.jumpcreekflies.com All flies I sell will

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-12374085345788150352010-12-30T01:19:00.000-07:002010-12-30T01:19:41.288-07:00

Better pop yourself some popcorn and set aside 40 minutes of your day because this is a good one. Be sure to make this one full screen and enjoy. Just another mouthwatering look at New Zealand. Have I ever mentioned I really would like to go there someday? One thing in the video did dampen my enthusiasm just a bit for the whole New Zealand thing though. BIG eels...{shudder}. However I

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-21860654541452383972010-12-26T18:56:00.004-07:002010-12-26T18:56:00.530-07:00

...Brown Fish... ...RAINBOW! My last outing on the river was another quicky.  I spied two fish feeding less than 5 feet apart in a tiny current seam and figured there was no way I could pull both out of there.  Once I hooked one it's fight was sure to spook the other, but I went to work on the downstream fish just on the off chance it would not bolt upstream and spook that fish if I hooked

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-66426153724192469842010-12-23T17:26:00.012-07:002010-12-23T17:26:00.177-07:00

Here is a new favorite blog to keep an eye on.  It combines two of my favorite things.  Great photography, and fly fishing.  Just one post everyday, with no words.  Simply a picture which as they say, is worth a thousand words.  Good stuff from some talented photographers.  Take a look. http://focalfish.com/

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-36133156607897746762010-12-19T23:18:00.001-07:002010-12-24T10:30:23.862-07:00

I really like those winter time dry fly opportunities.  The hatches are sparse, and short lived but when you have the right fly at the right time it is very rewarding.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-65611876256149109732010-12-15T00:36:00.001-07:002010-12-15T15:13:52.119-07:00

Anyone else been stocking up their flybox?  It is that time of year.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-30277369963111668922010-12-07T21:47:00.000-07:002010-12-07T21:47:25.188-07:00

I have a little streak going.  Last February I told myself I wanted to try and catch a fish on a dry fly in every month over the next year.  So far I have been on track.  February through November I logged fish on a dry.  December is when things can get a little more tempermental.  The weather is frigid, the fish are conserving energy, and the hatches are sparse.  I had scouted the river last

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-24290195778533193222010-12-03T21:38:00.001-07:002010-12-07T17:02:10.086-07:00

Have you ever taken a trip to your favorite river, left your fly rod at home on purpose, and just spent some time observing what goes on there?  It is a good exercise and one I do a couple times a year at least.  When I am on the river fishing there are definite lessons to be learned but still much can be missed when the focus is turned to the desired result of catching fish rather than on the

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-23870277469797378542010-12-02T18:06:00.001-07:002010-12-02T18:06:00.449-07:00

These takes get the blood flowing.  It's a big part of what fly fishing is all about for me.  That moment where a big fish you have spotted, and stalked rises to your offering.  A quiet rush.  heads or tails from Todd Moen Creative on Vimeo.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-63979212234643209532010-11-02T22:58:00.000-06:002010-11-02T22:58:05.331-06:00

There is a little trickle of water that cuts through a steep rocky canyon not far from where I work that I never had considered fishing until I was hiking around out there a few weeks ago.  As I hopped from rock to rock across the creek in one spot  I was surprised to see a nice little trout take off in water that was not even deep enough to cover his back.  So today I headed back up this trail

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-23763496095905581022010-10-31T14:10:00.001-06:002010-11-02T23:06:01.659-06:00

  A Duck Takes Flight The kids throwing some leaves around  

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-8521543272384032002010-10-28T17:59:00.008-06:002010-10-28T17:59:00.638-06:00

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-30891678966356382262010-10-21T22:49:00.000-06:002010-10-21T22:49:03.878-06:00

I have not been fishing in a while due to the local river's browns being in the midst of their spawn.  So in lieu of disturbing the Browns, busy creating the next generation, I decided this morning to take a hike in the desert near my office.  I took the camera and snapped a few hasty shots.  Lighting wasn't perfect this morning but it was nice to just get out and burn some calories and try and

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-38056348028564184912010-10-03T21:03:00.000-06:002010-10-03T21:03:08.819-06:00

September 29 First cast back from vacation   Love the early morning sun bouncing off the hills and reflecting on the river. September 30 Another fish eating hoppers before it was light enough to really even see the hopper Here is Old Snaggle Tooth again.    Mahogany Spinner

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-7927093892365053442010-10-01T20:10:00.002-06:002010-10-01T20:10:00.483-06:00

My brother Tom thought the last video I posted of guys fishing tarpon out of a float tube was crazy. I warned him he hadn't seen the half of it yet. Now is your fair warning on the language. They understandably get pretty excited when they hook the fish. The video quality is not exactly professional, but you will get the idea. Now THIS is taking it to the next level.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-69476776667422122002010-09-30T21:56:00.001-06:002010-09-30T23:36:26.523-06:00

This one was not hard to recognize.  I'm calling him Snaggle Tooth, and he's a rough looking fellow.  September 3rd, caught on a Hopper Juan, 300 yards up river from where I fished today:   Then this morning I caught him again on the same fly pattern...while I was wearing the same sweatshirt.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-4994509197891556312010-09-27T20:00:00.002-06:002010-09-27T20:00:01.368-06:00

Oh yeah! This is cool.  Tapâm - a flyfishing journey from tapamthemovie on Vimeo.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-57364628835258174152010-09-15T22:36:00.000-06:002010-09-15T22:36:33.977-06:00

September 13 Only two fish today but one was a very nice one. 23" fish on one of the first casts of the morning September 15 Another great morning but the hoppers are fading fast.  I don't expect them to be effective much longer but I milked it another day despite a prolific trico hatch which I ignored this morning.  Caught four fish, and they were all on the bigger side. Trico First

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-41258195345374959342010-09-11T16:06:00.000-06:002010-09-11T16:06:59.843-06:00

September 9 I only got out once this week but it was a great outing.  Thursday morning was an overcast day with a slight breeze blowing and last time I was here on a similar type day I had my best morning landing 12 fish in the two hours before I headed off to work.  This morning was looking promising if the weather had anything to do with that morning.  And it turns out it was another great

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-71430569222566080182010-09-09T17:08:00.000-06:002010-09-09T17:08:03.829-06:00

I love to fly fish, that is no secret, but most of my fishing is done on flowing rivers and I rarely get out and fish still water.  This past Labor Day Weekend I had an opportunity to get out for a couple hours and fish from my kayak at a high elevation reservoir.  It was a lot of fun and I was reminded just how hard those lake fish can pull.  My buddy Jeff and I hit a nice little lake near New

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-56605659283418275152010-09-05T14:16:00.001-06:002010-09-05T14:16:00.425-06:00

August 30 September 1

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-36017319602545711762010-08-29T16:30:00.000-06:002010-08-29T16:30:17.199-06:00

August 23 Early Morning Hopper Muncher This guy just had a mean look on it's face Another Look August 25 First fish of the morning Big fish of the Morning Nothing but net A nice thick fish to cap the morning off

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-67923463859677221822010-08-22T14:43:00.001-06:002010-08-22T14:43:30.448-06:00

August 19 August 20

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-83927611819907641012010-08-20T23:07:00.000-06:002010-08-20T23:07:32.521-06:00

Thursday morning I caught a fish that had a familiar grin.  I have caught a lot of fish out of the same runs this year so I am sure I have caught the same fish several times but unless they have a distinguishing charateristic I haven't noticed.  Well this fish has a deformed jaw that turns up like he's got a permanent grin.  When I got home I compared the markings on the gill plate and am almost

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-56826451993393809682010-08-15T12:59:00.006-06:002010-08-15T12:59:00.135-06:00

August 10 No pictures but hoppers are still on the menu.  I actually had a frustrating day, landing only three fish.  I missed so many takes though that it was getting a little ridiculous.  Finally as the sun went down I started hooking them for keeps.  I did come away with a pretty cool fish story though. I was fishing down a long narrow channel with my hopper, flipping it in under the brush

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-56378251375652516592010-08-13T17:21:00.001-06:002010-08-13T17:24:51.064-06:00

It's been a while since I have done a step by step tutorial here for a fly pattern, and since it is hopper season, I thought I would share my favorite pattern to tie and to fish this time of year.  The creator of this fly might disavow any connection to the abomination I tied up here, but I like the pattern a lot.  You can check out the tutorial for the original Hopper Juan from the

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-47529677285823716632010-08-08T14:38:00.013-06:002010-08-08T14:38:00.755-06:00

August 4 After taking some time off for a family camping trip in the mountains it has been back to the grindstone this week for me. Finally I felt recharged enough last night that I thought I could handle an early morning wake up call and a trip out to my favorite spot on the river. It turns out I didn't fall asleep until well after midnight but I refused the temptation to reset the

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-52482628142915729222010-08-05T18:58:00.001-06:002010-08-05T18:58:00.480-06:00

I just like to watch fishing videos, and this one is pretty good.  Near the end there is some pretty good stuff with the kids fishing.  I got a chuckle out of it anyway. NSA vol. 2 how we do... from Marc Crapo on Vimeo.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-54327756437373407802010-08-04T23:53:00.002-06:002010-08-04T23:53:00.574-06:00

The Battle at the Boat Not too sure what to think of that wiggly thing.  My little girl's first trout.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-64626098942544285052010-08-03T17:34:00.000-06:002010-08-03T17:34:41.235-06:00

Looks fun.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-30848537640545652532010-08-01T13:43:00.002-06:002010-08-01T13:43:00.357-06:00

Well the Journal sort of took a hiatus last week with the trip to the South Fork of the Snake but we are back at it here. July 26 I finally got back out on the home river after doing the float trip last week and realized it has almost been 2 weeks since I have fished here.  The temperature was a balmy 81 degrees when I arrived on the water at 6:30 am.  By far this is the warmest morning I

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-32681066166485374392010-07-28T20:03:00.004-06:002010-07-28T20:03:00.170-06:00

Soccer players must have too much down time. 

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-15272041941103353472010-07-22T23:22:00.002-06:002010-07-22T23:24:53.493-06:00

Well I think I may be mostly recovered from a combination of a two and a half day fishing trip on the other side of the state followed up with a nice little flu bug.  Talk about wiping a guy out.  The trip was a great one though.  One of the better years for us hitting the Stonefly hatch. Night number one was spent at one of the upper canyon campgrounds.  We pulled in at dusk and set up our tent

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-10567677018883248792010-07-18T15:49:00.003-06:002010-07-18T15:49:00.234-06:00

I am feeling lazy so it's going to be an all picture version this week. July 12 July 14

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-87325915036312833522010-07-16T20:29:00.002-06:002010-07-16T20:31:44.465-06:00

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-71725075237107307722010-07-11T13:51:00.001-06:002010-07-11T13:51:00.388-06:00

July 7 Finally got out again after taking some time off for the July 4th Holiday.  The bugs were still hatching and the fish were still eating.  The only difference today was that there was a BWO hatch in the wee hours of the morning and the fish were up on the mayflies rather than the midges.  Midges were also hatching but it took 5 minutes of casting my midge patterns over actively feeding

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-8347311324397959152010-07-08T00:34:00.000-06:002010-07-08T00:34:00.461-06:00

Waiting for the fireworks on the lake to start I had some time to kill.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-6490969146748856312010-07-07T22:11:00.001-06:002010-07-07T23:57:29.156-06:00

A couple months ago this picture won me a cool hat in a photo contest from the guys at www.flyfishingfrenzy.com.  Now I am moving on to shirts.  I just found out another picture I took won a T-shirt over at www.sightfisher.com.  Go over and have a look at this new fishing website.  If anyone knows of any contests where I can win some pants now let me know.  Here is the picture: From Getting Out

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-40431049651842355292010-07-06T22:50:00.002-06:002010-07-06T23:35:20.664-06:00

Let the photos trickle in.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-70952628510387567972010-07-04T20:19:00.011-06:002010-07-04T20:19:00.820-06:00

June 28 Another great morning on the river.  It started off a bit slow when we arrived on the water about 6:15am, and I was wondering if the warm weather was going to start affecting the morning midge hatch here.  It turns out that was not the case.  Things got rolling about a half hour later.  The water was alive with fish feeding through out the slow moving flat.  There are a lot of smaller

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-75504925789051210162010-06-27T20:07:00.003-06:002010-06-27T20:07:00.400-06:00

June 22 A good morning on the river.  I got up early and arrived at my favorite morning run at 6:30am.  Things were just getting started as I saw a couple subtle rises in the early morning light.  My first drift of the morning yielded a nice little brown and made me forget that on the drive over I had been wondering if getting up early this morning was going to be worth it.  It was. It turns

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-68783777887192923882010-06-20T20:36:00.002-06:002010-06-20T20:36:00.137-06:00

June 13A pretty good day.  I will let the pics speak for themselves. All sipping dry flies (PMD's) right up until dark.  June 14 Another lunch hour outing and it was a pretty good one.  No photos and the fish were not rising so I had to go with nymphs.  Had one fish take a couple times on a PMD dry right off the bat but after that saw very few fish up.  I switched over to a double nymph rig with

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-54695442446970216552010-06-13T19:45:00.008-06:002010-06-13T19:45:00.430-06:00

June 7 Fish were splashing on Caddis emergers.  I landed one fish and had another nice take but it was one of those slow risers I could see coming from a mile away and I just couldn't help myself and jerked the fly right out of it's grasp as it broke the surface.   June 8 Another crazy day with fish up chasing caddis emergers.  I used a Harrop's CDC Caddis Emerger at first and had a nice

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-9151726449989001022010-06-08T09:05:00.002-06:002010-06-08T10:46:55.991-06:00

As if Orvis needed any help, but I couldn't resist posting this commercial for their GIANT fly sale this month.  It did make me chuckle.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-50657876491740692102010-06-06T20:37:00.001-06:002010-06-06T20:37:00.167-06:00

Here are a few pictures from a couple days on the river this week.  It was a good week weather wise with some warmer overcast and rainy days.  Made for some good dry fly action with PMD's and BWO's being the main attraction.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-82908159471240321242010-05-30T19:16:00.002-06:002010-05-30T19:16:00.366-06:00

 May 24 A good day on the water.  I found a nice piece of river where a good riffle flattened out into a longer deeper stretch that pushed up into some pockets created by rocks sticking out into the river and a slight bend in the bank.  This led to insects hatching that came from that riffle that were having any trouble getting off the water at all where pushed into these pockets where they would

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-5757922085755918982010-05-23T19:27:00.000-06:002010-05-23T19:27:00.462-06:00

May 21 This week did not bring much fishing but Friday I made it out for a bit.  I found a spot I have not ever fished before.  It was a big pool at the base of a nice riffle but on the inside in a bit of an eddy there were a few fish rising.  I was anxious to get a few fish on dry flies so I tied on a BWO Sparkle Dun and made my way slowly around the edge of the pool keeping low to not spook the

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-91414801009700540152010-05-23T14:26:00.000-06:002010-05-23T14:26:59.069-06:00

 Well I had to get out in the yard and do some flower shots.  It's a yearly tradition.  I enjoy watching the yard come to life each spring.  This year I focused on the Azalea, Columbine, and an Iris.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-48128679969647736082010-05-18T21:00:00.001-06:002010-05-18T11:14:41.543-06:00

Check these links: www.fishbitemedia.com http://www.deschutesoutfitters.com/video-gallery/details/oqZjaZTn0ZY

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-2708109528243353372010-05-16T20:41:00.001-06:002010-05-16T23:13:03.900-06:00

Thursday May 13th the fish were chasing the big meaty flies like crazy May 10 I made it out as planned today but I mistimed the hatch by just a little bit so I missed out on the dry fly action. And I do think it was going to be a good one, judging by the fish activity in the time I was on the water. I arrived around 1:00pm and saw some swallows dipping over the river. The sky was

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-70415023697946627962010-05-09T13:32:00.006-06:002010-06-08T11:07:23.536-06:00

May 7 I only made it out to the river once this week but it was a pretty good trip. The fish were still not up feeding on the surface despite a pretty good hatch of caddis, and some Blue Wing Olives so I stuck to nymphing. There were basically two nice runs where I stopped to fish. The upper was a very short riffle that dumped into a short but very deep hole. I know there are a lot of fish

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-41512205565677346092010-05-06T23:50:00.000-06:002010-05-07T10:09:20.188-06:00

Here is a site to check out: flyfishingfrenzy.comSome good fishing, and good entertainment. And they ran a fan photo contest on their facebook page a couple weeks ago that yielded myself a Frenzy hat. There were some good photos in the mix.Good stuff, be sure to check them out.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-4159852264423391052010-05-03T21:48:00.001-06:002010-05-03T21:48:00.167-06:00

April 26-Chuck and DuckFull disclosure time...I try and avoid nymphing, especially double nymph rigs, as much as possible. I have no reason other than it's a simple matter of preference. For me my preference comes from the answer to these two simple questions.1. Would I rather cast a double nymph rig, with split shot, and a thingamabobber, or a #20 dry fly. Uh, no brainer, I hate casting

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-64716642275484395042010-04-27T21:43:00.000-06:002010-04-27T21:43:00.296-06:00

...you won't regret it!

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-62363401232081467332010-04-26T22:52:00.001-06:002010-04-27T11:10:43.476-06:00

Nope, not one of those fathers day gifts you never wear...a fly I have been playing with and after a minimal amount of testing has been successful so far. Some tweaks will come but for now it looks like this: It's simple yet effective. I do think that a black bead at the head would make it a pretty good emerging caddis pupa imitation. That is the next step here but for now the recipe is

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-43533336928517939682010-04-24T17:06:00.004-06:002010-04-24T17:10:32.593-06:00

Well I made it out to the river yesterday but things are still a bit out of sorts from the raised water levels. There were bugs of all sorts, Blue Wing Olives; Pale Morning Duns; and Calibaetis, floating down the river but not a single fish rising to them. Instead I got to practice my bug photography.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-45753365968887711642010-04-18T14:48:00.003-06:002010-04-18T15:05:40.204-06:00

April 15Fished today in the same place I came back to last week that yeilded a fish in the slow eddy. There were very few fish up this day though as the water levels have been rising for irrigation and it takes a few days for the fish to adjust. I did find a fish feeding in the same eddy though and I threw a Skwala pattern with a zebra midge dropper and he was all over the midge soon after it

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-79774750189893795662010-04-11T21:49:00.004-06:002010-04-18T15:11:24.142-06:00

April 05Par for the course it was another windy spring day on the river. There were sporadic rises but nothing too constant. Any bugs hatching would be immediately blown off the water. I decided to stick to an old standby rig for this time of year, a skwala adult pattern with a midge pupa dropper. The flies I filled that formula with though were a little different than I normally use.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-56281336838524214782010-04-10T23:07:00.004-06:002010-04-10T23:29:21.620-06:00

It's about the best thing in the world as a dad to see your kids smile. And one way to make sure that happens is to take them fishing. This first picture is after about an hour of casting from a dock and catching nothing. Note the size of the smile still on his face. Proof he is a true fisherman.Finally I figured we may as well move to a new spot since nothing was happening off the dock. On

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-58655769058367200912010-04-07T00:55:00.001-06:002010-04-07T00:55:00.379-06:00

Check out Sleeping in the Dirt. It's a great e-zine with an emphasis on the visual. Good pics and no ads. Issue one was good and issue two is now out, and even better. Good stuff and worth taking a look, for sure.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-65347192837702494872010-04-05T22:29:00.003-06:002010-04-05T22:34:01.004-06:00

This video got me going this last weekend and I made a handful of leaders using this method. Very quick and easy. Today I tested one out on the river and was very pleased with the results.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-72612480233502269642010-04-04T15:20:00.001-06:002010-04-04T15:35:00.870-06:00

March 30I got blown off the river today. The wind was bad. I tried several flies before settling on the fact that I just needed to stick to a Skwala pattern with a Zebra Midge dropper. I was still having no luck and working overtime trying to deal with 30 mph gusts that would blow up river for a couple minutes then switch around completely and blow down river. Finally as we were getting

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-26767610519729797682010-04-02T00:42:00.003-06:002010-04-02T00:53:26.256-06:00

I did a lot of tying tonight. Made my first try at some Quigley Cripples. Some bigger aimed at the Callibaetis, and some smaller that will be used for BWO's. Also worked on a couple nymphs that will ride closer to the surface, and hopefully work as an early emerger pattern.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-13116225856682978922010-03-31T23:23:00.005-06:002010-03-31T23:35:15.694-06:00

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-7968189186994337732010-03-29T22:57:00.006-06:002010-05-18T11:17:55.028-06:00

Found this out there on the world wide this evening. A little spring fishing, some of it on the South Fork of the Snake with streamers. A river I enjoy floating a lot but have never done this time of year. Pretty good camera work anyway by this guy. Enjoy.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-3111199822246601272010-03-28T20:34:00.003-06:002010-03-29T10:01:37.969-06:00

March 22The day had been windy and a minor cloud burst had just blown through. But when the storm passed the river became eerily calm. The wind all but stopped and where once it's gusts had made it hard to hear myself think, now everything was completely still. I clipped off the big articulated streamer I had been hucking across the tailout while the wind and rain was pelting down making fishing

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-25824114734510545502010-03-25T00:22:00.002-06:002010-03-25T00:30:56.078-06:00

I got worked over today by some finicky fish chasing emergers in slow water. I came home and worked up a pattern that I will be giving a try next time something like this happens.Hook: #18 TMC 206BLThread: Olive 8/0Tail: Malard flankBody: Gray/Olive Turkey BiotThorax: Olive Ice DubWing and Wing Case: Single Natural Brown CDC feather

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-44964657880121660272010-03-21T20:55:00.001-06:002010-03-21T20:55:00.185-06:00

March 15I guess you get skunked sometimes. We arrived on the river a little early. On the water at 1:20 and the only bugs on the water were midges. Fish were not rising. About 2:20 I noticed a few BWO's flying around and soon after fish were up rising to them but it was time to head out. I guess we learned that sometimes the hatch happens a little later in the day. We will get to the river a

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-41146653001460191062010-03-14T23:30:00.000-06:002010-03-14T23:30:00.216-06:00

March 10Tough day. They raised the water levels on Monday and they have been slowly dropping but were still about three times the normal flows. The river was dead with hardly any fish rising. I tried everything, from big dries to tiny nymphs to a big streamer. Finally I connected with a Tan Zonker right before we left. I had forgotten just how fun it is having a fish smash a big streamer.

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-77718957619896699572010-03-07T22:41:00.000-07:002010-03-07T22:41:00.082-07:00

March 2I fished a tough slow stretch of river today. Fish are all over in there but the river moves so slow it is a struggle to get a good cast without spooking them. To top it off the wind was blowing pretty good straight down the river making casting upstream almost impossible. Especially with my three weight. I think I will have to break out the 5wt again as the wind is pretty much a given

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-80101726685817257872010-02-27T13:31:00.004-07:002010-02-27T13:46:29.199-07:00

February 23A bit of a disappointing day on the water. My first skunking in a while. It was a beautiful day but the sun was very bright and the water was very clear. The wind was also blowing a bit and all these added up to not much happening on the surface. I tried anyway and did get a few takes that I missed as they were just lightly grabbing the fly. I switched up my flies a bit as I went with

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-3608512375555357992010-02-21T23:41:00.002-07:002010-02-22T00:04:50.285-07:00

Saturday morning my friend Jeff and I got up early to see if we could awaken any Steelhead on the Little Salmon River. It turns out we hit it right. I am pretty inexperienced when it comes to Steelhead but for some reason I felt good about this trip once I got over my usual feeling that Steelhead are a made up fable much like unicorns and fire breathing dragons.Everything went off without a

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8234558447356434254.post-50089153734637405622010-02-20T01:11:00.000-07:002010-02-22T00:06:51.016-07:00

February 12Got to my favorite run at about 1:00 pm and was rewarded with fish rising in the slack water between two riffles. I tied on a CDC wing midge and a Zebra midge dropper. Fish were really working the midges. I caught a very nice fish right off the bat. A 20" healthy looking Brown. I worked up the run but after about 20 minutes the wind really picked up and made fishing difficult. The fish

Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697615395282460347noreply@blogger.com0