Thursday, November 29, 2012

Persona non grata...NO MAS!


Well...this has been the longest break between posts since I started this whole thing.  I can't believe how fast and how full the last three weeks have been.  Seems like I just got off the river and packed for the Symposium in Somerest...and here we are on December eve!  Throw in Thanksgiving, a few crappy weekends for Michigan sports, along with 32 dozen articulated streamers in the last ten days and you can see how time would fly.  In all seriousness I did not intend to become persona non grata so expect more regular posts again. 

I now am in the middle of packing up the gear for the Great Lake Council Tying Expo held in Holt Michigan this weekend.  It promises to be an excellent show with upwards of eighty top regional tiers along with a slew of vendors.  I am looking forward to catching up with everyone and seeing what new ideas are out there.  Hope to see some of you there!

-mike schmidt

Sunday, November 11, 2012

More chrome...I likey

I got a chance to head out for a day over the weekend with a buddy to chase some chrome.  This was not a normal trip out as this was the first time that his oldest son was coming along to give it a shot.

We got to the river at first light and found that the river was lower than we had expected but fishable.  Carlos first got all rigged up and showed Ignacio the basics of the game.

Then they hit the river and worked on getting that perfect drift in the low and clear water.

Eventually it paid off with a slab of some chrome for Carlos.  We tried to get Ignacio in to his first fish throughout the morning, but he spent a fair amount of time untangling his line and figuring out how to cast an indi rig to keep from having to untangle again.  After a bit he got down the casting and drifting part, but the fish were not cooperating.  After quite some time we were standing and watching him through a drift as his indi went under and we yelled "SET" at the same time.  He set and a monster buck came rocketing out of the water, and just about at that moment we realized that the extra line had tangle around his feet.  You know the rest of that story.  I bet he pays more attention to his line management from now on!  I heard from Carlos today and Ignacio got his first few steelhead to hand.  Looking forward to seeing those pictures!

While father and son continued to hit one run I made my way upstream to see what else the river had in store for us.  This particular cut was small but the only depth for a few hundred yards in either direction so I gave it a shot.  On the third drift through I hooked up to chrome but after a short battle I popped the fish...swinging flies on heavy line has spoiled me a bit!

I did get things dialed in a bit and got in to some nice fish throughout the day.


This seemed like a perfect spot to sit down with a nice cigar and just take it all in for a bit.  All the problems and concerns that you mayhave just melt away when you sit down riverside and listen to the stories that the water has to tell you.

  
Needless to say it was a fantastic day...just what I needed to recharge before the work week.

Until next time...

Today was spent tying flies.  This particular order is headed out to Steve Dally's shop on the White River.  I will be at the desk all week getting flies knocked out in preparation for the show season...which starts for me next weekend at the International Fly Tying Symposium in Somerset NJ.

While there may be a few more added, here is the current list of shows and classes for this coming season:
-International Fly Tying Symposium, Somerset NJ 11/17/2012 - 11/18/2012
-Great Lakes Council FFF, Holt MI  12/01/2012
-Indiana on the Fly, Indianapolis IN 01/05/2013
-Wildcat Creek Outfitters, Indianapolis IN 01/12/2013
-The Fly Fishing Show, Somerset NJ 01/25/2013 - 01/27/2013
-Buckeye United Fly Show, Cincinnati OH 02/02/2013
-Bar Flies, Dexter MI 02/13/2013
-The Fly Fishing Show, Lancaster PA 03/02/2013 - 03/03/2013
-Midwest Fly Fishing Expo, Warren MI 03/09/2013 - 03/10/2013
-Swedish International Fly Fair, Jonkoping Sweden 04/05/2013 - 04/07/2013

-mike schmidt

Monday, November 5, 2012

Chrome on the swing

This weekend had been a long time coming...I finally got back out on the Alley to see about swinging up some chrome!  In most normal years I would have made it happen by now but this year, between the low water and my busy schedule, I had not been able to make it up.  It was rapidly approaching the latest in the fall season since I have been running up there that I had not brought a steelhead to hand...I was getting seriously twitchy.  With the water we had last week I was anxiously watching the gauges and keeping my fingers crossed that the rivers would come in to shape, and they did.  After a quick run up on Friday night I spent Saturday on my own swinging some awfully heavy water.   Then on Sunday I met up with Greg Senyo, owner of Steelhead Alley Outfitters, and we spent the day two stepping through runs.  It was an amazing time to be on the water as there are not many days of the year that PA water is swingable, and we did get in to some chrome.  I will let the pictures talk for themselves...

 
 

On an un-fish related note the Anglers Choice Flies Step by Step volume three is completed and ready for shipping, so if you would like to pick one up head over to the site to order and I will pop it in the mail!

-mike schmidt