Regal stress testing

If you love what you do then you will never work a day in your life.  Good thing I love tying flies because I have been 'not working' a whole lot this year!  The support ACF has received this year has been amazing and continues to grow.  This year I have put more hooks through the vise to date than any other year...kind of feels like I am stree testing the Regal Revolution at times.  It has been awesome to see the flies finding fish mouths all over our country and others as well.

The writing was on the wall for me that this last weekend was going to be spent at the desk, so I took a few hours after work on Friday to sneak away to the a local fishery and mentally reset.  I was going to meet a friend and fish a stretch that I have not fished since winter, but a last minute issue came up for him so I was on my own.  After a short deliberation I decided to hit the stretch anyway though that would now mean a bit of a hike.  I headed off up the road for a few miles before cutting across a fallow field where it pinches down to it's shortest distance  from the water.  Up and over the berm I went and then once in the water I kept heading upstream another 500 yards or so in some pleasantly cold thigh deep spring water to get to the place I wanted to start.  I quickly brought a few in hand, that were hardly bigger than the fly that I was using, before getting to a long and relatively featureless stretch.  This particular stretch only has a handful of depressions with cover big enough to hold fish over a few hundred yards of water, so you can really sneak up on the spots to target them...but you better have your casting game.  Success here requires you to be able to lay down a long and accurate cast above the target that have little splash down.  I have met a few good fish before that call the stretch home and this time one of them was interested in my offering.  As I retrieved I could see a two foot dark shadow following behind...the kind of follow that you know will come all the way back to you and spook if you let it, so I changed up the retrieve and it slowly slinked back to cover.   I changed up the fly color a little and after a few minutes put the fly back in there with the same result but a little more aggressive of a follow.   Playing the game I again changed flies, this time to something a little more weighted to give me more of a vertical jig than the side slide.  I let a minute pass and put that fly right in the bread basket.  I saw a flash behind it as the fish turned to follow.  Strip-strip-pause...strip-pause...strip-strip-pause...striiiippppp-paaauuuuussseeee...strip-strip... 

That crafty fish followed and charged to within inches of the fly, gills flairing and pec fins quivering, repeatedly and for nearly the entire thirty feet back to me before seeing me hunched over like a heron and bolting off.  I knew what that meant but put a few more casts out anyways to confirm it was gone. Touche you old bastard. You win this time, but I know your address.

The weekend was consumed with tying starting the minute I got off the water Friday.  I took breaks for food of course and each day for half marathon training, which is made more challenging when it is in the upper 80s, but most of the time was at the desk.  The flies just kept rolling off the vise and I almost finished up the whole order, leaving only a couple dozen to finish up tonight before boxing them up.  Keep an eye out for the picture later on this evening.

The next month things will continue to be busy, both with flies as well as some travel and water time.  Next weekend is the blowout extravaganza at Schultz Outfitters, in Ypsilanti Michigan, called Demo Days.  It is a two day celebration of fly fishing at the shop and the park across the street, that happens to have the Huron River flowing right through it.  Mike has a very talented group of people coming in for the weekend to give seminars, both on river and off river, as well as industry reps with the latest and greatest gear.  Afterwards I am going to head north and chasse some trout with my brother for a day, and then maybe smallies and carp the next day.   Just a month out now is the yearly trip out to Wyoming and I'd be lying if I said that trip hasn't been dominating my daydreaming for some time now already.  This year Greg and I are heading out a few days early to hit some new and remote waters before meeting our clients for three days of hopper goodness.  It's going to be awesome.

-mike schmidt
www.anglerschoiceflies.com

A week at the beach

It’s crazy how fast time away seems to go, and crazier still how fast it seems like you never left once you get back. 
 

This year Liz and I split up our time in Florida over two trips so our normal May trip was cut back to just last week.  We took off in the evening on Thursday night and by lunchtime on Friday we had our toes in the sand.  Shortly after arrival I decided to go for a quick run on the beach to stretch out the legs.  It was hot so the run lasted all of a mile out and a mile back.  I saw Liz was already at the pool so I dropped by to grab the key and sat down next to her, ‘just for a minute’ though since I had no sunscreen on yet.  An hour later I woke up…yeah, that was a bad call.  Without looking I knew pants, not shorts, were going to be the clothing for the week.
 

On Saturday morning we got up and drove another few hours south to meet up with Capt John Meskauskas from Stuart Fly Fishing and The Flying Fish Paddle Sports to pick up five paddle boards and paddles to add to the fleet Liz is putting together.  It was great to finally get to meet him and put a name with a Facebook face.  Looking forward to catching back up with him to chase around some fish in October.  We would have stuck around longer but had to get back to NSB for the wedding of our good friends Mike and Daniella.  The wedding and reception were feet apart on the beach and in their yard, and it was a awesome night full of laughs.  The after party moved over to Flagler Tavern which, as luck would have it, was right next to where we stay so a simple late night walk on the beach back to the condo.

 

 

Sunday we woke up with the sun, as is the norm for us, and were anxious to get the boards out as it looked like the best day of the weeks.  We got all of the gear loaded up and headed south to the Canaveral Seashore.  Twenty minutes from the door we were paddling south.  Once we hit the flats that I thought might produce I hopped off, tied off the boards to me and proceeded to blind fish for speckled trout and redfish.  While I was fishing Liz soaked up some sun and did some yoga on one of the new boards.  It passed her approval and I caught fish so the day was a win!  We left after a few hours smiling and headed back to town as it was time for me to get out of the sun and head to Peanuts for some quiz game and Yueng.  For those not in the know, if you have ever seen TVs at a bar with quiz questions and people answering for points on little blue remote boxes…that is the Buzztime quiz game and the Peanuts crew is the number one in the country at it.  Always a good time when I head up there and usually keeps me from turning too crispy.  After a bit Liz came to get me and off to dinner we went.  That is pretty much how any day without a guide trip usually goes; short run, paddle/fish, lunch/pool, Peanuts, dinner, sleep and repeat.
 

On Monday I had a trip set to hit the water.  I normally go out with my good friend Capt Mike Mann of Fat Fish Guide Service but it was his wedding on Saturday that we went to and he had a honeymoon to see about, so I was on my own this trip.  I touched base with Capt Justin Price of Right In Sight Charters back at the start of the year to make sure I would be able to get out.  We met up early and headed to the water.  I started off with the fly, and was blind casting a small popper in some small back flats.  I truly mean blind casting as the sun was not totally up yet and there was a thick covering of clouds so the visibility below was at zero.  It did not take long before the first ‘almost-action’ of the day.  As I was retrieving the popper the telltale wake of a large redfish appeared right behind it and was tracking.  It all seemed to happen in slow motion as the fish came on, tracked, moved in and the fly disappeared…except maybe that it didn’t.  I thought I had seen the take and set the fly to nothing…pulling the fly away from the now spooked fish.  Exciting start to the day but strike one was definitely on me.  The sun was struggling to burn through the clouds so after a while of no more action I agreed to throw a DOA paddletail for a while and it did not take long to get on the board.   Got in to some nice reds and trout, including my largest speckled trout to date…and it was the smaller of the two I had been sight casting to!   Solidly on the board and with manageable wind we went back to the fly and proceeded to have shots to at least another half dozen Reds who promptly ignored multiple well placed fly offerings.  They really can be uppity in the goon.  All in all it was a great time on the water with Justin.
 

 

The only day the rest of the week that did not fit the formula (short run, paddle/fish, lunch/pool, Peanuts, dinner) was Thursday when we headed across the state for the final two boards for Liz.   The weather was forecasted to be really bad so being in the car wasn’t such a bad thing.  Couldn’t tell how bad it looked when we took off since it was 4:30 in the morning and dark but the lack of visible stars told the story well enough.  The original plan had been to head over to Madeira Beach and paddle the bay for a few hours before coming back.  They have different water there than what we normally see and it’s loaded with manatees and dolphins.  The wind was too much to be out safely though and the clouds were threatening so we basically picked up the boards and were back in NSB by lunchtime.  We tried to get out for a walk on the beach and get the bikes out but there were some nasty storms and rain that just wouldn’t go away.  I took a break in the rain as an opportunity to head to Peanuts while keeping mostly dry.  Sitting there I got the flash on my phone that we were in a tornado warning so poked my head out and it was really creepy…we could watch the eye wall rotating but thankfully never come down.  We were not spared the water though…it came down so hard I could not see across the street.  The weather was bad but it was the best run of quiz game for the week with three consecutive national number one bar scores and all three had me top ten personal scoring!
 

 For those in the Columbus area, all those paddleboards will be available for use with Liz through Superior Training and Fitness.  Now that all the boards are in place and the weather is getting nicer there should be many updates to the SUPTF webpage with opportunities to get out along with tips, tricks, and exercise playlists!  You can also follow the SUPTF Facebook page to find out when and where to get out for a paddle, or get some core work in with some yoga on the boards.

 

 

 One final bright note, I left the pants in the closet on the last day in Florida as I was able to get away with 100spf on the legs and a bathing suit.   Yearly reminder to self for next time…there is no short time in the sun so always lotion up!
 

-mike schmidt 

www.anglerschoiceflies.com

Urban Jungle...a weekend in NYC

 

The crazy travel schedule this year took me to the urban jungle of New York City last weekend.  This was a quick weekend trip out with the wife to hang out with a couple friends, so I travelled without a single piece of fishing or tying gear for the first time in as long as I can remember…it felt odd.   I did though take the camera along and spent basically all weekend walking around the city taking in the sites and just soaking it as much as I could.  Home base for the weekend was up in West Harlem just a block from Morningside Park so spent the first night  staying close and hitting a few local spots.  I had catfish and eggnog waffles for dinner and cannot put in to words how amazing it was.  

 

 

Saturday morning the girls were off for a day of yoga workshops so Wes and I left just after first light and started walking.  By the end of the day we had been nearly ten miles on foot; hit St Johns Cathedral, Columbia’s campus, Absolute Bagel, Tom’s Restaurant from Seinfeld, in to Central Park and around the Jackie O Reservoir, the Guggenheim, Washington Square Park and it’s small scale Arch D’Triomph, then down to Midtown to hit McSorley’s Bar (est. 1854) and then another great spot for the hockey game.   In the evening we headed down to the theatre district to catch up with the girls for dinner and saw the craziness that is Times Square all lit up.

 

Sunday morning I was a little groggy but managed to run a four mile race in Central Park with somewhere north of 10,000 of my closest friends (finishing at around a 9/mile pace).  After brunch at the Smith at Lincoln Center we headed over to the World Trade Center, and then walked down Broadway and across the Brooklyn Bridge.  From a waterside park in the Bronx we got some great shots of Manhattan and then grabbed a cab back to get packed up for our evening flight.  Cabbed it over to LaGuardia and then by 11:30 the whirlwind trip was over and we were home.  Whew.

 

While I could never live in the city without drastic changes to my habits I can see why so many love it.  There are definitely endless opportunities for weekend entertainment there though and I will be back sooner than later.  I am working through all the shots that I took as I get time and will eventually get a few more shots posted.  I will try not to geek out on the architecture too much!  Thanks for putting up with a non-fishing or tying post.  At the end of next week I make the yearly trip south to Florida and hope to have some good stories to relay from that trip when I get back.

-mike schmidt
www.anglerschoiceflies.com

The Delaware...just a week early...

All trips start with a plan but some plans take longer than others.  I had meant to get out to the Delaware rivershed the last few years and life has simply gotten in the way so this year I said ‘enough’.  Back in January at the Somerset show Rich Strolis and I hatched a plan over a few beverages for me to drive out from the west, for him to drag his boat out from the east, and to meet in between somewhere around Hancock NY on the fabled waters of the Delaware.  As we looked at calendars then we eliminated weekends that were already accounted for by job and family endeavors and settled on the long weekend of April 11-13.  The way we saw it that should be about the time that there would be Hendricksons on the water (along with caddis, stones and olives) and fish looking up.  The winter dragged on but it was the light at the end of the tunnel for us, as long as I warmed up…   A few weeks prior it was still nearly arctic feeling with snow and ice everywhere and possible issues for both of us with getting away from work so we nearly scrubbed the trip.  After a particularly brutal day though Rich told me he was going anyways even if it meant just fishing on Saturday so we decided to give it a go.

The day finally came.  I was up at 4 and out the door in 30 minutes with a shower and a thermos of piping hot Florida roasted coffee…life was good.  It was raining most of the trip but the kind of rain that a streamer fisherman learns to love as it is enough to dull the surface of the water and get fish off their high guard but not so much that you are unable to partake of a good cigar and become miserable.  It is just shy of nine hours drive for me to get from my doorstep to Hancock but the drive there on any trip always seems to go fast.  I rolled in right on time, just before 2, met up with Rich and off to the river we went.  The plan was to start off with a short float on Friday to pre for the weekend so Rich settled on Balls Eddy to Shehawken.  Of course as we put the boat in the rain really started to come down but we were oblivious as we popped the first Oberons of the season and started downstream.  Rich took first crack on the oars and I started working the flies through the water.  Hopefulness based on the clarity of the water and the broken surface turned to a hardened resolve as we realized the water was still only in the mid-upper 30s.  The fishing was certainly slow but highlighted by a monster blow up in shallow water about halfway through the float.  I made a long cast to the bank in a slow slick and saw some movement then, as I was about to ask Rich if he had seen that, the water exploded as a large 20+ish brown rolled hard on the fly.  I strip set and felt weight but the fish continued to roll at the surface and before I could cross it’s eyes with another hard strip…it was gone.  Dejected about sums it up as I really wanted a fish in hand…and really really wanted that fish after I saw the size up top and the width of the tail.  Not long after I jumped on the oars for the second half of the float and Rich fished out to the takeout through the continued rain.  We both got pretty cold by the time I was on the oars and when we hit the ramp we found out that the temperature had dropped 25 degrees to a chilly 42!  Time to drive to his buddy Mike Klubek’s place to regroup and put a hurting on some chicken parm that was waiting for us.  Driving south I was amazed to see the size of the ice berms still lining the river down towards Callicoon and past it.  They were iceberg sized chunks of ice that were literally as thick as the houses that thy were only yards away from.

Saturday morning came early and we rolled out of bed ready to get back after it.  The temps had stayed low overnight so we were in no hurry, we went for a large breakfast at the house before hitting the road and getting back to the river.  On the way we decided that our best bet would be a float from above Barking Dog down to Balls Eddy, so on the road we got the spot set up and were ready to roll after dropping the boat in.  We were literally 50 yards down from the launch when Rich suggested hitting the middle with a few casts as we were river left…and five casts in to the day he was right!  I had a solid 18ish brown lazily rise from the bottom to inspect my fly.  I set like I meant business and a minute later we had him in the net.  He did not commit and destroy like the trout from the night before…this fish was hooked right at the tip of the lower jaw by the back hook on the fly.   We took a few pictures so as to not offend the fish gods, but it seems we must have forgotten about something.  As the fish was being released something was muttered about the ‘early fish curse’, and sure enough that proved to be the only fish we saw all day on that long float.   Throughout the day we swapped out patterns and retrieves but they were simply having none of it as the water was still below 40, even with the 70 degrees and sunshine we were enjoying.  We saw plenty of caddis and stones on the surface but no Hendos, and no fish rising anywhere.  We talked to a few boats along the way, a few boats at the launch, and another guide buddy we happened across in town and it seems that early fish was the only one taken all day.  Little consolation though…guess I will have to make it back…

 

One of the coolest things of the day was to catch a Bald Eagle nested up.  I know that they are making a comeback along some different rivers that I fish, but I will never get tired of seeing this truly awesome bird in the wild!

Klubek with the intense look of a man that needs some fishy smelling hands...

Big water that is also high and off color can hold fish just about anywhere.  Sure you can see some traditional eddys, seamss, rocks, and cover, but it takes a lot of restraint to dial it in and focus on finishing out each cast before moving on to the next with this much possibility surrounding you.

We weren't alone on the water but there were far less boats then there will likely be in abother weeks when the bugs start popping!

Rich working on a little something as the teriyaki marinated venison kebobs cook up for lunch.  If you are going to float hard you should eat like royalty.

 

The prize from Saturday...18ish inches of wild brown trout in hand.

 

Now to start planning the return...

 

-mike schmidt

www.anglerschoiceflies.com

The Fly Formerly Known As The Dirty Fonzy...Now the Grumpy Muppet

 

In my opinion all good fly names are something that will stick in your head.  The particular fly name that had stuck to this fly had come about on the river as a combination of a few jokes.  As it turns out though, it was also already a name occupied by an act that I'd rather not have to explain to people, so the name had to be changed.  Let's just say if you Google the old name don't do it at work...

 

From this point on the fly will be named the Grumpy Muppet. 

Oh yeah..and it has been picked up by Orvis to be added to their line-up for 2015!

 

Grumpy Muppet step by step

Hook1: Gamakatsu B10S size 2

Hook2: Gamakatsu SP11-3L3H size 1

Body1: Polar Chenille

Body2: Extra Select Craft Fur

Flash: Mirage Flashabou

Legs: Rubber Sili Legs

Cheeks: Mallard Flank

Head: Senyo Laser Dub

Eyes: Lead Barbell, medium

Connection: Beadalon .018" 19 strand

Bead: ProEye 3D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Salmon River 1 - Schmidt 0

I went in to this last weekend excited.  Excited because I was going to see friends I have not seen in months.  Excited because it was my last fly show until the fall.  Excited because THE University of Dayton Flyers won their first round tournament matchup against Ohio State, thereby winning the right to play Syracuse (the city where I was headed…likely making me one of few people to watch both of those games deep in ‘enemy’ territory).  Excited because I was going to get a chance to fish the Salmon River again and finally hit the water with good friends Allen Landheer and John Collins.

 

I took off from work a bit after lunch time on Friday and headed up the highway.  My route would take me northeast until I hit Lake Erie where I would follow the southern edge of the lake around to Buffalo, and then across towards Syracuse.  It was a three cigar drive on a sunny afternoon and there was plenty of basketball to listen to along the way.  I rolled in to the cabins that we were staying at along the Salmon River a bit after dark.  Allen Landheer and Rich Strolis were already there so I quickly unpacked a few things to keep them from freezing and settled in with a beverage in hand to watch some basketball.  A short while later Kevin Compton rolled in and joined the fun.  Great stories and a little fly tying took up the next few hours, making them feel like minutes.  By morning I hurt from laughing too hard…and maybe a little from that ‘one last cocktail’…

We woke up to the smell of bacon thanks to Allen thinking ahead and being an early riser.  We all seemed to come to at about the same time and put a hurting on that pile of bacon and some eggs before getting our gear back together and heading down the road to the show.  The show in this case was the Tie One On event put on by the Iroquois TU chapter and Sparse Grey Matter.  This was the third year for this growing event, and this year they brought in Kelly Galloup as the headliner.  There was a steady flow of people in front of us throughout the day so it seemed to fly by as I tied and talked streamers.  They had Rich Strolis, Pat Cohen and I all sitting in a row so there was again a lot of laughter and ideas being tossed about.  Around lunch I took the opportunity to head over and talk with Kelly a bit which is always a pleasure…that guy will sure get you thinking about streamers and streamer design.  I had purchased a ticket for the dinner banquet but as the day progressed there was sun coming through the window and the wind was laying down.  Eventually I was worn down by a handful of guys that were heading to the river after the show and decided that my dinner purchase was to be more of a donation…I was going fishing!

The show wound down and I stepped out with Allen to head back to the cabin for the gear.  In my head I was fighting insecurity and worry that my casting would have suffered from a three month layoff.  As we arrived at the river I had a huge smile on my face even though the river had been dropped overnight from somewhere around 750cfs down to 350cfs and the temps were dropping, so the fishing was expected to be tough.  Al has been fishing the river for decades so as we cruised along I got the dime tour of the holes and runs along with some bits history that will never make it in to any book.  We hit the lot and got geared up then headed down to the water and got in to a nice open run.  The casting was like riding a bike…a little rusty after the long layoff but it quickly came back, and oh man did it feel good. I had a couple blown anchors but for the most part was getting the fly out there as if I never stopped.  We had about two hours of stepping down through a run during which I had one tug and saw a few thick fish fin through some shallows.  No fish to hand but it was great to finally be back out.

At dark we got off the water and hurried back to the cabin, both to get some food ordered up and to catch the Dayton v Syracuse game.  Kevin headed out after the show but we picked up another group of friends for the night.  Jess, Richie, Collins, Kavanaugh, Joe and his dad all started off laughing at me living and dying with every play of the game.  Eventually though they were all caught up in it cheering right along with me.  The second half was far better than the first and when the clock hit zero with Dayton up I went b-a-n-a-n-a-s…so awesome!  The rest of the night was a blur of more basketball, beverages and stories.  Not a bad way to spend an evening.

As we woke on Sunday we were pleasantly surprised that the forecast had been off by over ten degrees, so rather than a bone chilling 8 and windy it was merely 20ish with a light breezy.  We quickly got breakfast knocked out and then cleaned up the cabin before heading over to the river to see  about some fish.  Al, John and I found a promising run that was available and jumped in to a rotation.  About an hour in I had a fish that I totally farmed and blew what ended up being my one real shot of the morning.  It was disappointing not to get one to hand but I did not feel as bad since we only saw a couple fish coming out…the water drop and temp still had them down.  It would only have taken the temperature rising a degree or two to turn them on, but that was not to be. 

About noon we called it and walked over to Melinda’s Fly Shop.  I have heard stories of the place but seeing it in person just blew me away.  Every conceivable material, for both modern and old school patterns to be used on the Salmon River, lined the walls from floor to ceiling.   The place is a mecca.  After talking with Melinda for a bit she pulled out some private stock of classic feathers for Al and I to take a look at, and I left with some serious goodies.  Eventually I had to stop looking or I would keep adding to the bag, so I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat myself down in a chair to just soak it all in for a bit before I had to hit the road.

Al took me back to the cabin to get my car and we BS’d a bit before I got rolling.  I expected some weather but there were long stretches of highway that I never really saw thanks to lake effect rolling through the region.  White-knucking at 20mph makes for a long drive, but I eventually turned south at Cleveland and got out of it.  Needless to say I crashed hard last night…and dreamed of heading back!

Below are a couple shots from the river.  Allen Landheer wanted to give me first crack at any fish so as I jumped in he grabbed the camera to take some pictures.  It was pretty cool to see what he was able to frame up and to get some new shots of me on the water since when I am out most shots are taken by me and not of me!

 

Can't wait until next time on the water!

 

-mike schmidt

www.anglerschoiceflies.com

Midwest Fly Fishing Expo 2014

 

I just got back from the Midwest Fly Fishing Show, and what a show it was!  The show is always extremely well run and a ton of fun.  This year was no exception to that rule as many very talented folks from around the industry came in to town and shared their passion with the many people that came through the door.  I am beat so there will be no lengthy recap just yet but I did take out my camera and got a few shots, so here they are.

 

 

Fly tyer extraordinarre Eli Berant brought along a massive pile of big flies.



 

My booth was right next to Michigan boat builder and guide Phil Croff.  He had one of his amazing wood drift boats there so the view was pretty distracting.

 

  

 

After some rest I will give a more detailed report with only one show to go before the show season comes to an end for me.  For now though...time to sleep.

 

-mike Schmidt

www.anglerschoiceflies.com