Perfect Day!! Fish On

What is your definition of a good day.  Mine is 75-80deg, slight breeze, calm waters, and FISH ON!  Yesterday I had the near perfect day.  I rolled into upper MI around noon, got a hold of a few buddies and we headed out to fish for lakers on a picture perfect day.  One after another we reeled them in and I enjoyed every minute of it!  Today I return back to working a tough schedule but I am left with a memory of upper MI that wont soon be forgotten.

Not all fishing is done with a fly and since it is fairly hard to hook lakers in 60 feet of water with a fly line, its time to break out the downrigers.  These lake trout had a beautiful leopard pattern of turquoise, blues and pink.  And when they wanted they put up a good fight coming up from down deep.

Every fish seemed to bigger than the last but the biggest fish of the day went to my buddy Brandon,  It might have gone to Aaron but he failed to get his monster to the boat.  From what we saw of his fish though, it was a lunker!

This slab had a big belly on him that I am sure tasted good fresh off the grill.  He put up a good fight once he saw the boat.

Aaron was really struggling with his beast but as he broke the surface and we got a glimpse of the big white belly, the monster rolled as if to wave a fin at us and say 'nice try guys'.  And as quickly as we say him, he was gone. 
As I said, this is not a day I will soon forget and I am exceedingly grateful to Aaron and Brandon for taking me out.  Next time I am up their way, we are definitely going again.  Next time it might be Salmon and Steelhead. 

And since this blog is an art/fishing blog, here is a painted and computer manipulated fly. 

Tenkara Montage

I was messing around today with some Tenkara ideas and came up with this little montage of various Tenkara works.  All the artwork is original but the whole composition is a layering of different elements with a bit of computer manipulations.  The fish and bamboo are just simple watercolor sketches done in black and the flies are simple 3inx3in watercolors manipulated with all the overly bright colors washed out.  This piece is just a one-off piece and is not for sale.  I was just really experimenting with stuff and this came out so I thought I'd share it with you.  I am sure my Tenkara readers might enjoy it.

Weekend Well Spent

One Great Weekend

Had a great weekend! The family and I packed up the camping equipment and
headed up into the cooler temps of the blue ridge mountains. Our spot was a
nice quiet one right on the lake and despite a Saturday spent mostly in the tent to avoid the thunder showers, as well as a lack of activity as far as
the fish go, we all enjoyed a great time.
By far camping with the family is one of those experience I treasure and I
know my children will as well. I'm sure they will remember many years later that lone fathers day weekend we sat huddled together on our sleeping bags taking turns telling not so scary stories we made up ourselves.
My favorite was my 5 year old daughters story of Thumpfoot - the forest giant that only came out during storms to raid campsites, steal campers smores and eat unaware campers in there tent........priceless!

A Hat Trick...(don't get to excited)

Finally got out the other day to the warm water pond and hooked up with a hat trick southern style.  Crappies, Bass, and Sunfish.  Don't get to excited to see pics of big fish, those were still ellusive.

I took a buddy of mine out fishing for the first time.  He had never had the importunity to fish with a spin rod much less fish with a fly rod so I happily introduced him to fishing the only way I know how; starting out with the fly rod.  I gave him my coveted 5w and a bit of instruction and let him have at it.  Fishing from the bank with a full set of high grass to our back we worked through a lot of hangups in the weeds but finally got that fly in the water, bang!! one very small sunfish.  It was his first fish and I think he might be a new devote to the angling life.   I patted him on the back and grabbed my other rod and moved over to work out his technique without my meddling.  I am not very good at instruction and since most of my schooling in fly fishing came practice and watching YouTube, I thought it best to give a few pointers and let him find his rhythm.  I was elated that he was able to hook up on the first successful cast.
Off to the side of the post we noticed the herring nest I'd been watching for a while had been filled with a few young birds that watched out fishing with interest.

The night previous I had been at work on the vice and tied up a bunch of these yellow and black buck-tails and added a silver body with a red wire rib and red thread head.  I had a number of crappie young bass eagerly take it off the surface along with a few sunfish.  So it is a hat trick even if it wasn't as grand a three species catch as one would hope for.  Just over two hours on the water and quite a few hookups - I still call that a great day but the highlight was putting a fly rod in a new anglers hands and watching him hook up with a fish.  I am sure we will be doing it again soon.

Also, after a long buildup and a whole lot of time put into its development, I am proud to announce the launch of a new player on the specialized fly fishing market.  HexFishing.com is now officially the place to get your heirloom quality fly rod cases.  Click on over and check out what we have got going on.

Along with high quality rod cases and original art, we also have original Hex Fishing teeshirts featuring my custom art.  Over the coming weeks this blog will be doing a series of blog posts to highlight the specific goods Hex Fishing has to offer.

Cleaning The Fish

'Cleaning The Fish'

Inspiration for this painting came from a favorite adventure magazine of mine.  This lone fisherman cleaning his catch in a tidal pool really spoke to me and I believed that it would make a good large painting.  It took me quite a while to finish this work but I am fairly pleased with the outcome.  It is considerably more loose a style of painting than I am use to but if I do not test new waters then I feel my art becomes stagnant and I quickly become disinterested in it.  When I complete a work like this I feel that I have not only expanded my knowledge but also my ability.  This work measures @ 19" x 22" and is available for purchase.  Email me for information.

Since I did take a few shots of the work in progress, I have included a progressive picture record of this work.  Firs,t as always, I do a detail sketch to get the proportion and overall look I want.

Next is a build up of paint and color around the main subject.  First laying down the light under color and progressively adding color into a deeper and darker hues.

I then began to focus on the native fisherman and his tropical clothes.  

I finally add the color of the deep flesh tones using a mix of burnt sienna, light oxidized red, and a light blue.  Moving the paint gently around to get the subtle skin tones and shadows on the skin.

You also might notice a fish on the back of my shirt.  For those of you that have been following my site for a while, you might just recognize this fish.  It is my Brown In Hand painting from last year.  The site on the bottom of the shirt is a company I am now involved with. I will be doing more detailed posts in the coming weeks about this new venture, but for now, enjoy this painting and visit HexFishing.com if you get a chance. - Shirts like the one you see here are available for purchase.

3 Flies & A Feather ... And A Poem?

Three Flies And A Feather - or to be more specific two soft hackles, an egg patterned fly and a molted feather.  This 8in x 8in watercolor was done just to pass the time and to keep me working on my skills as a painter.  Its the first feather I've done but I think it turned out ok.

Its too bad that the cell phone pic doesn't really do it justice but you get the idea.
 I also was doing a bit of reading the other day and came across a poem that some of you might like.  Now I know what some of you are thinking and rest assured that poetry is not a favorite of mine.  The closest I have ever come to poetry is and an occasional Walt Whitman verse which I struggle to get through or perhaps an alcohol inspired and slightly more risqué poem about the Lady from Nantucket, but this one struck a cord and I thought that it just might with you.
It comes from a 1889 Denver Colorado publication of Sport Afield - a magazine that has been providing quality outdoor sports writing for over one hundred years.  This one is titled:

The Whole Story     by Dan De Foe

The fluttering fly Is tossed on high,

And lightly on the pool descends.

In shade of ash, A flash, a splash

The reel responds, the bamboo bends.

With twitch and twirl, And swish and swirl,

The ripples wide and wider whirl -

Speeding, receding, The line scarcely heeding;

'Mid boulders and eddies, A frantic chase leading -

The prize contends, Retreats, defends -

Aha-he's done-he scarcely bends The yielding cane;

His struggles wane-

The net! and lo, the conflict ends.

Even an angler that has never read a line of poetry in his life can attest to the moving quality of that work.  Enjoy your remainder of the week.

Another Box and a Rocket Launch

Here is another wood burned box I have in the works that is again not yet finished.  I worked on these two boxes at about the same time and will probably finish them together.  This one has a poplar top that is carved and woodburned and birds eye maple sides.  I plan on also adding a boarder of inlay around the sides when time permits.

The kids and I also decided to launch a few rockets the other day.  I did this as a kid and loved it.  Come on, what kid doesn't like the thrill of lighting something on fire and watching it blast off into the air.  I thought I'd share this thrilling adventure I had as a kid with my own and as you can see, I took a few pics and videos to share with you as well.  If this is something you have never done then you are missing out.  

Our rocket was a simple mini Bertha with about a dozen Disney stickers the kids decided to decorate it with. They had about much fun chasing it across the field as they had launching it.  Even dad got a smile on his face when the mini projectile left the pad and shot toward the sky.

Not exactly a Cape Canaveral launch but you get the idea.  Absolutely Fun!

This one was a small engine launch, the next was a much larger engine and took the small rocket nearly three hundred feet before the parachute pop.  Notice my boy with his ears covered... I guess he has seen daddy launch to many fireworks over the years.

not a very fishy post but nearly as fun.

Wooden Fly Box - Carved and Wood Burning

Here is a recent box I was tooling around with the other day while I was in the garage.  It is not quite finished yet but you get the idea.  I first did a relieve wood carving of the body of the fly and then drilled a small hole for the extra large steal hook.  I then created the box around the lid.  The top is a birds eye maple and the sides are a red oak with a mahogany inlay.  You might just be able to see a bit of the real wood inlay around  the middle of the box.  After a good sanding and oil application this box should really look good.  I might be a bit to bulky for a fly box but it should look good as a storage box for paints or fly tying material in my office.

I am hoping that I will be able to finish this little box up soon.  Of course that would require a bit of time off of work and a stretch of free time that a busy guy like me just finds it hard to get.  If you asked my wife why I have no free time she will undoubtedly tell you that if I got rid of one of my 'hobbies' I would have more time to finish those countless projects I have waiting in the wings.  She might have something there but what fun would that be?  Once I get it completed I will post a few pictures for you to look at.

On the non fishy front, last weekend my wife and I took the kids on a bit of a balloon chase.  Freedom Weekend Aloft is our area's big ballooning festival and after we watch some fifty plus balloons take to the skies, we loaded up the car to chase them down through the country side.  It was a blast and the kids loved it.  Nothing like tearing through fields and back country roads watching the skies for falling balloons.  It is a memory I wont soon forget and I am hoping they won't either.  If you ever get a chance, take your kids, They will love it.

Brook Trout

Here is a recent painting I have done of another Brookie rising for his meal.  I used more muted colors for this painting for an older look to the work.  The deep browns, pale yellows, and burnt oranges of this painting seem to give it a look one might see in a color plate from the turn of the century.  The size of this work is not very big (@8x12) which is good because I have not had very much time lately to put paint to paper or fly to water.

As you can see, I started with a very simple line drawing.  What you can't see is the countless light pencil marks and erased miss cues I had to go through to get the finished line drawing you see here.  As I am finishing the line drawing up, I darken those lines I want for the final painting and erase all the others.

After the line drawing is done I start the process of dropping water onto the fish where I want the paint to flow and keeping the paper dry where I do not want the paint.  from that point on it is just a mater of building up layers of colors and pigments to get the finished look I am going for.  Unlike oil based painting, usually in watercolor painting you get only one shot at getting it right.  You can not just wipe it off and start over because once it is on the paper it is on it for good.  The art of using this medium is in how you let the paint/water flow.  All this has to be done without trying to control the paint.  If I try to control it then it just gets angry and gets the painter frustrated.  Instead I try and guide it where I want it to go, all the time letting the flow of the pigments do most of the work.

Also in response to that lack of activity on the fishing/blogging/painting front I have decided to start a new commitment to regular posting.  I am not sure if my lack of fishing has contributed to my lack of posting over the last few months or my lack of blogging has contributed to my lack of time on the water but I am resolving that right now with a new commitment to more frequent blog posts.  Last year my daily posting got me more time on the water than ever before and even though I am unable to return to that sizable commitment I will do this.  Twice a week I will be posting something on this blog.  One at the beginning of the week and one more at the end of the week for the remainder of the year.  It may be sun, mon or tue and it might come on on wed, thur, fri, or sat but it will be there.  With that I leave you till next time.

Angry Trout

I haven't been posting much over the past month, nor have I been out in the river, so the other day I put down a bit of paint on some paper in an effort to compensate for the lack of fishing.  A spastic painting I call Angry Trout that is a 10x7 watercolor.  This is a bit out of my norm but thought I'd do something different.

Hello Again

Hello again.... Okay, I know I have been slacking lately with this blog as well as my painting and my fishing.  I did get a day free while at work a few weeks ago up in Allentown PA to do a bit of fishing on the Little Leigh River but due to the previous weeks rains, all I got was muddy shoes and the opportunity to tie up a good two dozen flies to replace the ones the river claimed.  I would like to thank Mike from dubthethorax for pointing me in the right direction and hopefully next time that I am up that way I can get some better water conditions and big browns.  When I was there I could see the potential for that stretch of river.  Unfortunately due to the heavy spring rains the water was a deep chocolate muddy mess and I would have had to drag a hook across the back of an unsuspecting fish en-order to get a hook up.  I just spent the day shooting in the dark and praying for a lucky bite...... and it was still better than working.  Anytime I can do something like that while on a business trip is a good day, fish or no fish.
 Last month I really tore it up with the fishing and I decided (or I was informed) that I have tapped out my fishing days while at home for a while so I have been spending the last few weeks either at work or with the family and the time with the family has been quite enjoyable.  Hopefully I can get back into the groove soon with some new paintings and fish on the hook.  I also hope to spend a little time over the next few days catching up with what my fellow anglers have been posting.  I bet that there is a bunch of catch reports that will make for great reading.

(The above painting is @ 6x8 watercolor available for purchase - Email me for information on this piece)

April Brown and Stream Etiquette

Here is my latest painting called the "April Brown".  Taken from a picture I took while on my last fishing trip to a stretch of river in the foothills of South Carolina.  It, of course, is a watercolor that is about 11"x14" in size and as with most of my other paintings, it is for sale.  Just email me for purchasing information.  Rest assured that all proceeds will go to feed my fishing addiction.  And if you can not afford the original, prints are also available.

I would also like to take a moment to talk about stream side etiquette.  I would suspect that most of the anglers that visit this site on a fairly regular basis already abide by set of un-written rules while fishing a small stream but some times these rules need to be put down into the record for the few that do not already know them.
I would like post just a one of these rules of mine for the record.
Don't Stand In My Pool While I'm Fishing IT!!!!

Seriously, my brother and I are the only two on the entire stretch of river for a mile and this guy (who is old enough to know better) walks up, does a bit of small talk and then slides into the stream RIGHT NEXT TO ME!  Where he is standing is where I caught three fish about two minute before he showed up.  WHO DOES THAT?  I honestly just stood there for a minute and stared at him then I cast over him a few times to see if he got the point.  Short answer...Nope. 
Disgusted I made a point of letting him know that there wasn't enough room there for the two of us and I moved down stream.  After all the fish where biting all over and not just in this pool.
My brother on the other hand decided that a point needed to be made and he took my spot and hassled the guy for quite a while longer.  He still didn't get it.  Really I am just at a loss.

And one final note,  This guy might look like he is tying on a fly but he is not.  Yes it is a fly rod with fly reel and fly line but that thing he is tying on is not a fly, a nymph, or a streamer.  Its not a jig or a spinner either.  Nope, this guy is squashing on a big lump of POWER BAIT.  He then proceeded to gut hook a lot less fish than I was catching on a fly.  Bait does have its place in fishing and I have used it on other fish and you can call me a snooting fly fisherman, but it does not belong at the end of fly line.  Esspecialy when the fish will bite on anything you throw in the water.  And then you wait for the fish to completely swallow it before you set the hook?  Again I am at a loss.  I guess you can't fix stupid.  Please people, take a lesson from the idiots of the world.  Don't be this guy!

Picture Heavy Trout Fishing, and a Carving

Picture doesn't do it justice but here is a relieve carving of a brown on red oak.  Just a simple carving accented with wood burned shadow and spots that will eventually end up as a lid for a small fly box.

Now I know it has been a while since my last post but I hope the following will make up for my negligence.
The other day my brother came out to visit and we took a trip up to the mountains to fish a small stream for those three trout that make fly fishing so much fun.  Getting up early to load the gear, we headed out with low expectations and an eagerness to finally spend some time trout fishing together.
With a quick stop for gas, some pastries, and very bad coffee we were soon in under way.  I haven't seen my 'little' bro in about two years and I couldn't tell you how long its been since we have fished together.  With the two of us living on opposite sides of the country we rarely get the chance to do to much together and this was a trip I was looking forward to.

After a forty five minute drive we parked and quickly dismounted.  I grabbed my Tenkara rod and he grabbed the spin rod and we started out for the river. Now before you think that he is not a fly fisherman let me just say that he is but was unable to pack his wading gear into his carry-on.  Why didn't I loan him my gear?  Well he is about six inches taller than 6'1" me and wears a size 14-15 shoe.  Good luck trying to find to many friends with gear to match that frame. So it was an ultralight and some spinners for him while he was strayed dry on the bank.

As you can see, we quickly started to hook up with some nicely colored trout. In the first forty five minutes we lost count of the fish we were catching and just kept on going.  I hooked about ten to twelve 7-10 inchers on the Tenkara rod with about as many flies.  Fishing them dry or wet, it didn't mater.  These fish were eager to bite on just about anything and my bro was tearing it up on the rainbow colored spinner.  We both had a hat trick with in the first hour and it never stopped.
After about an hour I ran back to the car to grab my 2w for some streamer fishing.  I was gone about 6-7 minutes and when I got back I was informed that my fishing partner had caught about a fish a minute for the length of time that I was absent.

On any normal day on this river I would call B.S. on such a statement but then again this was no normal day on the water and I couldn't string my rod fast enough.  In that time he hooked into two more and lost another.  CRAZY.
I ended up trying out just about every fly in my box just to make it interesting.  Flies I never would break out on any normal day even got into the action.  I didn't want to leave anybody out and for some this was their only chance to see some action.  In reality I would say that I was switching flies just to see which ones wouldn't work.  It was just one of those days that will stick in ones mind for years to come.

And this isn't the only white fin we caught.  I wish I was a bit more ready on the camera but with all the action, the camera is the only thing that didn't get to much action.  Luckily, when I dropped the ball my brother stepped it up for some good shots of both our fish and he was less likely to drop the camera into the water.

Another nice Bow.

Beautiful water, great weather, excellent fishing, and unbelievable company for a day on the water.

And then with the afternoon day sun peaking and the fishing beginning to wind down I said to my companion, "Just one more cast and then we are out of here.  BAM!

 A great fighting brown hooked into my 2w and Black Nose Dace.  Now I'm not going to claim that this was a monster and as you can see it is not a hook jawed beast.  Heck it wasn't even the best looking fish of the day but man it was fun to fight on light tackle in a nicely flowing river.

It was a nice fish to end on and as we trudged back to our vehicle and talked about the fishing and how great the day had been, I cant help thinking when I will be able to get the opportunity to do it again with such a great partner.  My only regret is that with all the fishing and my camera in the hands of my brother, I completely forgot to take a pic of the two of us together.  Hopefully when I go and visit him up in Washington this summer we can get that pic together.

I said it before but it is worth repeating, It was A GREAT DAY.  All told I believe we caught well over 40 fish and even if they were not monsters it was still one of the best days on that stretch of water that I have ever seen.  With high spirits and thoughts of cold beers on the deck in our heads he headed back to the house.  Even a brief encounter with the local Sheriff and a signed memento of our conversation was not enough to dampen our spirits.  I still believe that our catch was more legit than the Sheriff's but he is the law and one doesn't argue with the law.   Congratulations Mr. PoPo, but I still had one hell of a day!

Tenkara In Fly Rod And Reel

I was browsing my new Fly Rod & Reel magazine the other day and saw something great for the Tenkara fishers of the US as well as TenkaraUSA.com.  A big shot in the fly fishing literary world, John Gierach, did a great article on fishing with the TeankaraUSA owner and Tenkara ambassador - Daniel - .  It seems that as us bloggers sing the praises of fishing small streams with the tenkara setup, the rest of the fishing community is bound to catch on sooner or later.  I say that when the great Gierach has begun to sing the praises of the Tenkara rod, our little secret has hit the mainstream.
I also took the fly rod out to the local pond the other day and hooked a few pan fish.  Hopefully in the next week I can hook into a few trout and spare all you the boredom of looking at more bluegill photos.  Until then, here is another gill with my old school reel and a 55year old rod.  Except for the line and the fly the outfit I used that day was all old the day I was born....... And It Still Catches Fish. You just have to love the classics!