Uber-cool!

sign and photo courtesy of easterncaster

H: April 23, 2013: With closing on my fishing shack postponed yet again, I decided to stop by the Wild Trout Flyrodders' casting rendezvous on Saturday. I saw some good demos, said hello to friends, and watched members of the new Catskills ACA (American Casting Association) Club practice for future games. I even stepped up to the plate and tried my hand at one of the accuracy events. Not quite sure what got into me... ;)

west branch

Unfortunately, strong storms the night before knocked out power and blew out the rivers making fishing afterwards rather pointless. Nevertheless, I went out and cast streamers with my spey rod for a couple of hours on the West Branch—a futile but enjoyable exercise. It was incredibly windy, barely a hendrickson in sight.

Still, I'm glad I went up. Besides hanging out with fellow casting geeks (always a pleasure :), I sat in on a technology for teaching workshop and learned about Ubersense, an iPhone and iPad coaching app that I hope to use on the guinea pigs ;) students at the Juliana's Anglers' school this coming weekend. It's a HD video app that allows you film, playback in slow motion, annotate using a variety of drawing tools (lines, angles, circles), record audio feedback, compare videos side-by-side, and share immediately with your student.

I know that watching video of my casting has been instrumental in my own improvement. Those images are still stuck in my head and whenever I feel my technique slipping, I remember what I learned from them and try to apply it. I'm definitely downloading the Ubersense Golf app for my dad, so he can see just how awful inefficient his golf swing is ;), and hopefully use it to get better.

Ubersense is uber-cool, uber-useful, and I highly recommend it!

The Connetquot

H: April 14, 2013: Yesterday, I met up with our club president, Linda Hotchkiss, for a tour of the Connetquot River State Park. The Juliana's Anglers will be holding their annual women's fly fishing school there in 2 weeks, April 26-27th.

Gil, the park manager and only male (honorary) member of the Julianas, showed us around the main buildings. He's been taking care of this 3,473 acre nature and wildlife preserve for over 65 years. It's chock full of glorious history and Gil will happily tell all, discreetly. Originally the Southside Sportmen's Club, presidents, princes, chancellors, and captains of industry, have all fished and hunted here (not to mention numerous Julianas!).

Linda shared some stories from the glory days when anglers would line up before dawn to secure the best beats. She spoke of previous Julianas' schools held here when the Connetquot was teeming with fish. Back in those days, you had to shove trout out of your way as you struggled to wade across the river unaccosted ;). Teaching students also proved to be quite difficult, when attempts to demonstrate the line mends required for the proper dead drift of a dry fly would be rudely interrupted, almost instantaneously, by an agressive take ;).

Those days are long gone due to IPN (infectious pancreatic necrosis) which wiped out most of the juvenile trout population and closed the Park's hatchery in 2008. Since then, the DEC in conjunction with scientists and other conservation groups have conducted extensive research and apparently there are plans to reopen the hatchery some time in the future using eggs from IPN-free stock and cultivating them in water from a newly drilled well. We'll have to wait and see if she can return to faded glory. Meanwhile the show (school) must go on...

Thick weed/cress beds and abundance of overhanging branches makes for challenging fishing on the Connetquot.

A couple of months ago, the ladies asked if I would be interested in teaching casting at this year's school. After several early refusals, I finally agreed (took the bait ;). This will be my first official teaching gig. Yes, I'm nervous... but also excited to help new anglers learn this sport I love so much.

It's a good thing I had a chance to scout things out (Thanks, Linda!). I had heard the Connetquot was a small, intimate "spring creek" but I saw firsthand on Saturday just how challenging the conditions are. There are trees and shrubs and overhanging branches everywhere! Add to that crystal clear waters, slow currents, and thick weed/cress beds and even an experienced angler, not to mention a beginner, will have his/her hands full. Forget overhead casting—there's no room for it, except from a few of the platforms. Accurate roll casting, a couple of singlehand spey moves, and a 4-weight outfit is all you need. Well, a few fish would be nice, too! There was no sight or sound of them on Saturday.

Fortunately, I've had very little time to think (or worry) about my first teaching gig. Looks like I will finally be closing on my fishing shack later this week. Wish me luck in both endeavors!

A little preseason fishing

H: March 31, 2013: A few friends and I headed up to the Catskills yesterday for a bit of preseason fishing. With Opening Day just around the corner, it was time to get back into game shape after a really long winter! Time to dust off the gear, test out new rods and lines, flex long dormant casting muscles, regain tempo, and put new fishing game plans into play. For me, the primary objective was to seriously chill out! For the past 2 months, I feel like I've been stuck in a time warp. Well, the Beaverkill and Delaware rivers, along with a few friends worked their magic, restoring much needed balance and perspective.

Fishing friends, old and new: Shannon, Anne-Marie, and Doug.

First stop, the Beaverkill. Shannon took her new 6-weight Sage spey rod for a spin while Doug settled into a spot just upriver from her and cast his new 4-weight Rise rod. Anne-Marie, the explorer, vanished downstream with rod in hand. A strong persistant wind made casting difficult at times but it was a bright beautiful spring day (finally!) and a decent hatch of stoneflies welcomed the sun's warmth.

Richard with a lovely preseason brown.

Unfortunately, the trout were less responsive. Two days till Opening Day and they stubbornly remained hunkered down despite the tantalizing skittering of female stoneflies laying eggs on the water's surface. I was pleasantly surprised when my friend Richard stopped by. He fished with us for a bit and landed a gorgeous brown. As we hung out on the bank, warming our feet and catching up, we were soon covered in small black stones.

After a late lunch we drove to Hancock. I wanted to check out some water on the Main Stem of the Delaware. In hindsight, we should have gone to a more sheltered spot. It was still very windy. We spread out in all directions to fish. Shannon earned her spot on the starting lineup, landing a preseason brown. I decided to take out my spey rod and cast a streamer—it wasn't pretty. I'd be lucky to make the cut.

There were some sporadic splashy rises in the middle of the pool. I gladly switched to my singlehand 5-weight and tied on a black caddis dry—no takers—no real surprise. I know I should have nymphed, but the thought of staring at an indicator for the remainder of this glorious day killed me. So, I hiked along the riverbank gathering intel for future use (tough work but someone's got to do it ;).

Main stem of the Delaware.

Hopefully our preseason warm-up will pay dividends in the weeks to come. Shannon and Doug are headed back next weekend. It looks like it will be another couple of weeks before my season officially begins (Thank god! Still time for a spring training tuneup). Here's to a great season everyone!

Back to Basics

To the river...

H: February 11, 2013: Apologies for the long lapse between posts. My life of late has been consumed with all things house related—building and construction, septics and wells, inspections and repairs, gas leases and property deeds... Yeap, this flygirl has found her dream fishing shack! More on that later, first, a quick 2013 Somerset Fly Fishing Show report.

I finally met up with members of the NYC Fly Meetup group—Matt, Jinny, Ryan. They turned out to be a great group of enthusiastic fly fishers and tyers. I look forward to fishing and tying with them some time in the future. I attended 4 seminars: Great Lakes Steelhead, Wingless Wet Flies, Dry Fly Strategies, and Swing Fly Techniques. I was scouting potential programs for my women's fly fishing club, the Juliana's Anglers (as well as feeding my newly acquired steelhead obsession ;). Except for the Wingless Wet Flies seminar which I found interesting from a historic ff perspective, I was rather disappointed with the lot. Given the 1-hour time frame, these presentations are just too general and broad to have much substance. Granted, there was some good photography and interesting fish stories told...

Of course I had to watch at least one casting demonstration to satisfy the casting geek in me ;). It turned out to be Prescott Smith on Casting in the Wind and Other Difficult Casts. His demo was simple and to the point—the point being that the key to casting successfully in the wind is to maintain constant tension. He used the analogy of a yo-yo, a lasso, and even a racetrack. If you keep your rod loaded at all times, the wind cannot take control of it.

As he gracefully executed the Belgium wind cast, he shared his experiences as a Bahamian bonefish guide and demonstrated some of the common mistakes he's seen anglers make—overpowering the final forward cast, breaks in the cast that introduce slack (public enemy #1), and bad form on the double haul. To finish things off, he visually illustrated that good casting is all about technique and has little to do with physical strength. He cast while sitting in a chair, then proceeded to lay down flat on the ground and cast. Good stuff! His demo covered the basics, but it's so often the basics that are lost in the heat of the hunt on a bonefish flat with 40+ mph winds blowing in your face. I can personally vouch for that.

Prescott Smith physically demonstrating that good casting is ALL about technique, not strength.

Most of the show was spent catching up with fishing friends and acquaintances. I was really pleased to see a strong contingent of Julianas! I also ran into several FFF CI acquaintances. When I asked them how they felt about the whole Maxwell/McCrimmon incident, I was rather surprised at their responses. Most just shrugged their shoulders. It didn't seem to bother them at all or perhaps they just felt powerless to affect any change. That was very disappointing...

On a more positive note—I finally did it! I tied my first fly, something I've been putting off for years. Ironically it was at the FFF learning booth. I tied a black wooly bugger, alongside a fresh-faced 9-year-old girl who was tying a bright pink one ;). It certainly looks buggy. I hope to catch a nice trout with it later this year, although in hindsight, I really should have used a bead head.

Well since this momentous occasion, I have tied 3 more flies: a green caddis emerger, cased caddis, and diving caddis, courtesy of my good friend Kat Rollin. She's a gifted and celebrated fly tyer, known for tying beautiful, traditional salmon flies by hand (no vice!). In her basement, beside her extensive wine cellar, she has an amazing fly tying cave filled to the brim with more materials than I've seen in some fly shops. Thanks again, Kat!

So, back to the flygirl fishing shack... After a month of researching building design options and formulating a concept for the home I wanted to build (modern, open floor plan, green as possible), I decided I should at least look at a few houses on the market before making a final commitment. I saw a wide range of riverfront property and even considered making an offer on one—house was impeccable, river was appealing. But on my second scouting trip, I went to see a property that was over my original budget. Well, it was love at first sight! I fell hard, for an absolutely gorgeous stretch of river and stunning views. I'm afraid I didn't take a very close look at the house. Can't remember the last time I was so impulsive! Perhaps 11 years ago when I quit my job to study Carcharodon Carcharias in South Africa? Well, the house needs quite a bit of work... but the river is perfect!

Hopefully, if things go according to plan, I'll be settled just in time to greet the hendricksons :). I'm making 2013 all about getting back to basics—back to fly fishing (the simple joy of it) and discovering my new home waters (with a few house renovations thrown in). Fingers crossed XX.

New home waters?...

Flygirl in Flux

Last cast of the season...

H: December 15, 2012: I had hoped to head back up to the Salmon river before year's end, but between work and other obligations, it just wasn't in the cards. I did however manage to sneak in a few quality hours on the river with my baby (my new 13-foot G. Loomis NRX 7/8 two hander :), one balmy 40 degree day.

I guess that's it for the 2012 season. Highlights include my first bonefish trip to Andros island (Bonefishing in Paradise), first west coast steelhead adventure in the beautiful Pacific Northwest on the Deschutes and Klickitat (Camp Deschutes, Steelhead Sisters, I Heart Oregon), first east coast steelhead trip on the Salmon river in Pulaski, NY (Expect the Worst...), attending my first spey clave, and participating in an awesome spey workshop (The Tao of Spey). Throw in an upclose and personal encounter with the formidable power of Mother Nature (Back to Normal?) and you have a rather unforgettable year!

What's in store for this flygirl in 2013? So much is up in the air, in flux... First, regarding this blog: my faithful readers will have noticed that for the past year, 2flygirls has been predominantly the work of just 1 flygirl. I've been fly(fish)ing solo for 7 months now. How long can I keep this up? I guess until it becomes more of a pain than a pleasure (I wouldn't count out the occasional guest appearance by flygirl Josée ;). In 2013, I had hoped to start working towards my casting instructor (CI) certification through the FFF. Well, that's now out of the question unless there's a fair resolution or some positive changes made at the FFF. As for exciting upcoming trips, lord knows I have plenty of ideas—more bonefishing, more steelheading, first Atlantic salmon trip!... But it will all depend on whether this flygirl decides to build her dream fishing shack on local waters next year.

There are only 2 things I know for certain (besides death and taxes ;). 1. My new found love for the two-handed rod and passion for spey casting will only grow stronger. I'll continue to expand my knowledge and improve my skills, learning to cast longer belly lines. 2. I'll be on a river, stream, ocean, flat, or lake, fly fishing every opportunity I get. And hopefully I'll have some memorable fish tales to share.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what 2013 has in store. Until then, I wish everyone a very happy and safe holiday season, and hope to see you next January at the Fly Fishing Show in Somerset, NJ.

Peace