Weekend Giveaway - 50 Best Tailwaters

In the first few years of learning to fly fish, I used to spend quite a bit of time on the Muskegon River in Michigan.  This tailwater flows out of Croton Dam and is quite an impressive fishery for trout, steelhead, salmon, and smallmouth.

During my college days I used to study or work all night and then pack up my somewhat reliable Ford Escort and drive up to the river a couple hours north for a day on the water.  I would fish all day, sometimes taking a needed nap on the riverbank, and had some unreal days with waves of caddis coming off the water all afternoon and on summer evenings mayflies would be whirling in droves above the masses of caddis just above the water's surface and hungry trout creating riseforms all over the river.

The Muskegon River is a bug factory and solidified in my brain that tailwaters can be special places. 

Recently I've been reading Terry and Wendy Gunn's new book, 50 Best Tailwaters To Fly Fish, and have been really impressed at the depth this book goes into on fifty-six different tailwater fisheries all over North America.  This book was published by Stonefly Press and is a tome for the traveling angler that might find themselves nearby to one of the highlighted rivers with extensive write ups on each location along with a listing of fly shops, guides, places to stay, eat, drink, and even a heads up if you'll have cell service or not.

One of the aspects that I really like about this book is that instead of the Gunn's penning the entire book start to finish, they searched out local knowledge and each tailwater is written about from a local guide or outfitter's perspective which certainly gives it a note of authority and authenticity.

The layout of the book is easy to read with each chapter being just four to six pages long and covers all the nuts and bolts knowledge needed to hone up on a particular river.  Each chapter also includes a full page map which outlines boat ramps, bank access, parking, fly shops, camping.

Terry and Wendy Gunn put a lot of time into this book and it's well worth the $40 price tag.  This is one you'll read and read again as you trip plan and prepare.   

WEEKEND GIVEAWAY
Stonefly Press has graciously offered to give away two copies of this book to the T.F.M. readership and of course we'll make it easy to play which is outlined in the rules below.

THE RULES:
1.  Send an email to tfmcontests@gmail.com and tell me which is your favorite tailwater is and why?

2.  Only ONE EMAIL submission per email address.  Duplicates will be deleted.

3.  Submissions will be accepted until 6:00 a.m. Monday, March 10th, 2014. 

4.  On Monday morning TWO WINNERS will be chosen by random number generator and then listed at the bottom of this post.  Winners will also be contacted by email as well.

5.  Each winner will receive a copy of the 50 Best Tailwaters To Fly Fish.

Visit the Stonefly Press website for more information on the 50 Best Tailwaters To Fly Fish and the other book they have in print as well.

Good luck and have a great weekend.

Meet LOGI

Are you ready for an emergency or have a go bag packed for an untimely disaster?  My good friend Dave Lofthouse recently started a new business called Better CERT Supplies and one of the products that I've been using, both at home and at work, is the small yet powerful flashlight that he offers called the LOGI.

The LOGI is a lightweight yet sturdy flashlight that is rated at 300 lumen and powered with just a single AA battery.  The LOGI has an adjustable beam and made from aluminum with a clip to keep it secure in a pocket or attached to a gear bag. The LOGI is priced at $15 and it's a very good value for the kickass flashlight that it is.



Extra credit points to Dave for wearing his T.F.M. Bluegill t-shirt in this short video demonstrating this tough little flashlight.

Give the Better CERT Supplies website a look and follow along on the Facebook page as well.  Dave is also doing quite a few demonstration videos on his YouTube channel that are worth watching too.

Tightloop Fly Rods - Kabuto Rods 7043

This Kabuto Rods 7043 build from Tightloop Fly Rods is a couple weeks old but I still wanted to share George Minculete's excellent work. 

George says this fiberglass fly rod build is "on fire" and I agree.  So damn hot.

Check out the Tightloop Fly Rods website for more information and images on this build and others that he's been working on.  Follow along on Facebook as well.

SCALE Magazine - Issue 12

The latest issue of SCALE Magazine is live and it's over 200 pages of online fish filled goodness.

CHECK IT.

Gear Review - Ghillie Kettle mKettle

This winter the children and I have been playing in the woods around our house quite a bit and one of our favorite things to carry along has been the Ghillie Kettle Explorer and most recently the smaller mKettle.

I've been really impressed with this little kettle and there is just a satisfaction making hot water with a fire made of twigs, leaves, and small pieces of wood found wherever we decide to stop for lunch.

The Ghillie Kettle mKettle comes in two parts with the neoprene sleeved hard anodized aluminum kettle and fire base, silicone stopper, user manual, and it's all packaged in a very compact black ripstop nylon bag.  The mKettle holds about 18 ounces of water and one boil will make two cups of hot water.  From start to boil time has been eight or ten minutes and other stoves using fuels might do it faster but it's really neat to see the fire build inside of the base and minutes later the water is ready.

The mKettle really is the perfect compact package for boiling water and cook kit and I plan to carry it along in my fly fishing gear from here on out.  It's half the size of our Explorer Kettle and can be easily packed along with other gear in a backpack for a day on the water.  Soon I am going to order the Ti Pot Support so that I can use my Ghillie Kettle Cook Kit and use the heat from boiling water to warm a pot of soup for lunch.




My only gripe with the mKettle is the silicone stopper which has to be removed from the mKettle during the boiling process or it might cause the whole thing to explode under heat.  I've found from the times that we've used it that bits of wood and ash can fall into the opening while adding sticks and wood pieces to the fire if you're not careful.  Not a big deal but something to consider if you are looking at the mKettle verus one of the other kettles with a whistle top.   

Check out the Ghillie Kettle website for more information on the mKettle and to compare to the larger sized kettles.

Remember to use code "TFMGHILLIE" for 10% off your order and free shipping when ordering from the Ghillie Kettle website.

THE RIVER - Bob Summers

Robert Thompson, of Third Year Fly Fisher, next film project is dubbed "THE RIVER" and is centered on the Au Sable River in northern Michigan.  Along with the main feature, this DVD will also include The Brothers Brown, and twenty-five minute feature on famed bamboo builder Bob Summers.   



I began fly fishing over twenty years ago on the Au Sable River, along with other streams nearby, and I can't wait to see this DVD be released.

Check out the Third Year Fly Fisher website and Vimeo page for more information.  Follow along on Facebook as well for the latest news on when 'The River" will be available for purchase.

A Morning With George Revel

While on the recent trip to northern California, I found myself with a day that was more or less free of anything to do before the Fly Fishing Show started in Pleasanton that weekend.  I hit up George Revel of Lost Coast Outfitters and he graciously offered to take me out to the Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club and I also wanted to stop in at his new fly shop downtown to see how things were going.

(Click Images To View Larger)

You may not immediately know George Revel but he's a young man in his mid 20's with a growing reputation and has been around the fly fishing industry since he's early teens as a champion fly caster and in more recent years working inside Leland Fly Fishing Outfitters.  Along with the recent opening of Lost Coast Outfitters in downtown San Francisco, he's also the president of the Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club, and is bringing a lot of new ideas which is energizing the membership with expanding their programs in instruction and classes, and growing the membership of this historic club with weeknight and weekend functions for members and non-members to attend.

Since I was coming up from Pacifica, it made sense for me to pick up George at his house and we stopped for coffee and a baked goods to take along to the club.  One of the many traditions and a kind gesture among the club membership that spend their mornings as the club is that the first ones there typically bring something to eat and share with everyone who might stop by. 

The Golden Gate Angling and Cast Club has a long and storied history and specifically one that I am very interested in regarding the development of fiberglass fly rods, both past and present, with those who worked at Scott Fly Rods, R. L. Winston, Scientific Anglers, Hardy, and others, who years ago spent time with various prototypes and finalized the tapers of many of the finest glass rods on these casting ponds.  Even now rod designer and builder Larry Kenney, along with a group of his friends, can be found early on Saturday mornings casting and comparing glass fly rods of all sorts and many of his designs have been honed to perfection here.

I had brought along my rod case full of demo glass rods for my presentations that weekend and put together a few fly rods for George and I to cast on the ponds.  George is a long time aficionado of fiberglass fly rods and a very accomplished caster.  It was neat to see him lay out long lines with precise loops with several of the fly rods that I brought along.  George had already cast many of the larger fly rod company glass offerings and we spent most of our time with builds built on Epic, Ijuin-Rod, C. Barclay, Graywolf Rods, and Kabuto Rods blanks.

The Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club is located within the Golden Gate Park and has been there since the 1930's.  Fly fishing products of all types have been designed and tested at the club and it's members have worked extensively on fly reel, fly line, and rod rod design at the club house and hallowed casting ponds.

A walk inside the Angler's Lodge is a step back in history with fly plates of various patterns tied by their originator, fly rods of significance framed on the wall, medals, trophies, and images of past events and club member photos which was really impressive.

Some longstanding members have tall slender lockers where they can stow a few favorite items of gear and maybe a bottle of spirits for those late evening tying sessions.

No doubt this is a unique place and it seemed so far removed from a metropolis that is literally on the other side of the forest that surrounds the club.  It was very special to experience the Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club and appreciate George taking the time to share it with me.

After a couple hours at the Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club, we ventured downtown through morning traffic to Lost Coast Outfitters which is currently taking up a small space inside Wingtip, which is one part men's clothing store and one part club complete with a bar, food service, and private meeting rooms overlooking the city's financial district.

George gave me to tour through Wingtip an hour before opening and it's expansive with a basement and first floor as the men's store and then two floors at the top of the building as the Wingtip Club.  Lost Coast Outfitters is on the main floor of Wingtip and George has carefully chosen the fly fishing gear that he is carrying in his shop as he doesn't have an abundance of space but also has a mantra of only selling what he uses and is familiar with.

There are a lot of ways to operate a fly shop and George's plan with Lost Coast Outfitters is to essentially provide the highest level of one on one service along with keeping the shop stocked with everything anglers need for time on the water near and around San Francisco and the ability to assist with destination trip prep as well.

So far Lost Coast Outfitters is a one man show with George manning the shop at Wingtip six days a week and he's hoping to expand in space and with at least one other person to assist him as his business grows.

No trip to Wingtip is complete without a few minutes of casting from the rooftop and George hopped up on the building's ledge to lay out a line over the city with the Swift Fly Fishing Epic 480.  Interesting to see a fly line being cast amongst the noise of the city street and towering builds surrounding the roof area. 

Soon after the shop opened I took off to let George get to work and I would suggest that readers keep an eye on Lost Coast Outfitters as George has big plans and the support to do a lot of interesting things within the San Francisco fly fishing scene, and beyond, in the coming years.

Follow Lost Coast Outfitters through their weekly newsletter and then on social media through Facebook, Twitter, and on Instagram as well.