reevesr1

Hello Everyone, I am postponing the Project Healing Waters auction. We are waiting until they get their tax status set up so that people donating equipment can get a tax receipt for it. Once everything is set up, I'll let everyone know and we'll kick it off. Thank you to the many people who signed up to assist with this. I'll be contacting you all again once we are ready to roll.

Nice!

WE didn't. But we are hopefully going back in Feb with the kids, so will put it on the list!

During all this, I was getting a little action as well. Here I'm casing to some bonita on surface with some spin gear. Anyone who doesn't think this is fun either hasn't done it before or does it wrong. Total blast. Run up on a bunch of fish going nuts on surface, cast into them while trying not to get tossed in the water, and then reel like mad and if they hit, hang on! But as fun as that was, it wasn't what I was looking forward to. And while what I really wanted to do was land a fish while casting, the conditions just were not favorable. But I was determined to at least fight some fish on the fly rod, so tied a big streamer on and trolled. I don't think Elias thought it was the best idea, but he went with it. Didn't take long for this to happen: We trolled by letting out all of the fly line. And we were trolling pretty fast, so when the fish hit you loose a bunch of line pretty quick. Takes me a few minutes to get the fish back by the boat, and when I do, he decides he didn't like it there and did a big run straight down: Elias reaction: (wasn't long after this he asked "how much is fly rod??" After quite the tug of war, Elias is wondering when, or if, the battle will ever end: But finally, it does! My biggest fish to date in salt with a fly rod. A bonita. If you've ever caught them, you know that pound for pound not much out there fights harder. Essentially a little tuna. I also got a few smaller jacks and lost a couple other nice fish (will not pinch the barbs next time. Elias's wife would kill him if he didn't bring the fish home!) We did go the next day, but with the big waves and with a second bout of stomach issues (thankfully nowhere near as bad as the first), we cut the day short after a couple of hours. Good deal for Elias as he got the fly rod and reel as payment, and the "tip" was a fly box full of the flies from Faceles and some assorted saltwater flies I had. I did hook another pretty big fish, felt similar to the bonita, but with a bigger first run. I had to tighten the drag when I was down to less than half my backing. Got the fish back to the boat, and it does what they always do, make a panic run once they see the boat. But I had neglected to loosen the drag back off, and the results were pretty predictable. As was the long string of swear words that followed. I also tried some beach casting when I was there one morning. Again, the waves made things pretty difficult. I did manage to hook 4 fish. One bit me off (think it was a mackerel), and I just flat lost the other three. One was for sure a needle fish and I'm not sure of the other two. I hope to make it back down there next Feb with my family when the ocean is supposed to be like a lake as opposed to April when it isn't like a lake at all! If anyone is looking for a place to go, I can't recommend Huatulco enough. I also have Elias's contact info. I have absolutely no idea how he compares to other guides, but he has a panga with a big casting bow and does have a cover with 4 seats under the cover. Like most of the Panga's, he had a 60 horse yammy. Really, the boats are pretty slow, they use smaller engines to conserve the gas. He supplied breakfast taco's, water, beer, etc. Super nice and funny guy. I know for sure I was supporting a local guy, which was important to me. Next time I meet him, he will be a fly fishing expert!!

More random shots: Our tour guide: Some small Bonita (I think) on a feeding frenzy, seen from our party boat on a snorkeling (but mostly drinking) trip: Tortuga! My wife, on the right, leading "YMCA" off the bow of the party boat. After many drinks! Now for some fishing: My wife and I spent about 5 hours on the water one morning. Our guide, as mentioned before was one of the fishing vendors on the beach outside of our resort. Like most of the guys around the area, they were subsistence fisherman before the resorts showed up. He seemed like a personable guy, so we signed up. We were supposed to fish on Sunday morning, but I had some stomach issues Saturday night, Sunday morning that made fishing is 6 foot swells sound like a bad idea, so we rescheduled for Monday. Monday morning we head out to try some casing around rocks. Unfortunately, it was even rougher Monday than it had been on Sunday making casting pretty damn tricky, and basically impossible with the fly rod. So we started trolling while keeping a lookout for surface feeding fish to cast to. We did get a couple on rod and reel via the casting method, but nothing with the fly rod. I couldn't seem to strip fast enough. When the fish were in the feeding frenzy mode, you really had to rip your offering through the water, and I just couldn't seem to get it going with the fly rod. Part of the problem was definitely the size of the swells. Tough to get a good long cast, and tough to strip fast when you are fighting your balance and the waves themselves. So mostly we trolled with two rapalas and my fly rod. My wife was handling one of the regular rods, and I was on the other and the fly rod. And while the fly rod held it's own in numbers, I must say my wife kicked my ass in species and size as the following pictures will show: Jackie's first ever saltwater fish fully on her own, a small jack; And hooked up on fish number two: Right after she hooked this fish, it makes a blistering run, then starts jumping and jumping. The guide yells "MAHI MAHI, MAHI MAHI!!!" Pretty unusual to get one of these so close to shore. Super cool! Not quite satisfied, she closes with a really nice Mackerel:

My wife and I just returned from a one week all inclusive in Huatulco, Mexico. It was a fabulous trip. We stayed at the Barcelo resort. The place thrives on Canadians, and will tolerate the odd American or two. Also, they are getting very near the end of the "Canadian" season, so the resort was around 60%+ Mexican families, which was really cool as well. Friendly staff, very clean older resort. Can't recommend it more. Here are some random shots, including the one day of fishing we did. One thing I did learn is that they have to pay LOTS of money for fishing gear. A Rapala lure that would be $10 here in Canada will be $20 there. Same thing with gear. When my wife and I were fishing, we were mostly trolling because the casting was very difficult in the pretty rough seas. So we did mostly troll with 2 rapalas and with my fly rod. The streamers I used (given to me by Darcy over at Faceless Fly fishing. Thanks guys, they worked great!!) performed really well. After I had landed a couple of fish, the guide (we fished off a panga owned by a guy who was soliciting on the beach) asked "how much is the fly rod?" It's an old 8 wt TFO and I estimated it at $250. He asked about the reel which was probably $80 (and I explained it was not a saltwater reel). He says "trade one more fishing day for rod and reel?" I say, what the hell! So we went a second day, and created a new fly fisherman! Next time I go I'll be armed with an extra fly rod I'll pick up on eBay or FFC, and a bunch of flies and rapalas to give to the guys and trade for trips! Not sure if this strategy will work in high season, but worst case is I have stuff to give to guys who could certainly use the gear. I might even try to get donations. The guides there seem to be pretty hand to mouth. But the one's I met sure seemed to be great guys. Anyway, here are some shots and some fishing stories...... View from our hotel room: Some random vacation stuff: More to follow later this evening......

I was more than happy with them before I lost the stupid things! I have a non prescription pair now. The prescriptions were the grey lens. I currently have a pair of MJ sports with the HCL Bronze. I think I like the bronze a bit better. I got the prescription ones done in the +15 Downtown. Can't think of the name of the place, its around the stock exchange.

Hope you guys are smoking them. The fish I mean. Happy Belated Clive!

My experience with my Simms is limited to 4 trips now. I have the Vibram Riversheds (I think, if I'm wrong bcube will correct me!). There is no comparison with the Vibram from Simms and the vibram substitute I had on my Korkers and on a pair of Guideline boots. The vibram substitute was like wading with ice skates on, no matter what the condition was. So far, the Simms have been like glue. I'm interested to see what they will be like when the moss comes back, but so far I'm really impressed.

Gotta respectfully disagree on the light hooksets when nymphing Best nymph fishermen I have seen just hammer the hooks home. Due to the dynamics involved, you have to set the instant you detect the strike. No way to do that gently. That said, just because you had a few fish come off doesn't necessarily mean there is anything at all wrong with your hookset. Could be the way you are fighting them, could be nothing at all. Everyone goes thru stretches when they lose fish for whatever reason. Going oh fer three isn't all that unusual for any of us. When you miss 10 in a row, get worried!

Hey Guys, if anything happens to the logistics on this, my son is down from University and will be heading back up to Edmonton on Monday I think. I'm sure you have it all figured out, but if not.......

First off, I must admit to not reading all of this. It got a little detailed for me, and I'm not eligible to vote any way (because I'm too much of a lazy arse to go get my citizenship). I will say I don't like it when people say they are making a protest vote. Unless you really, really don't see any difference in the choices, a protest vote has never made sense to me. I was fortunate to be able to go to lunch last week with a client of mine who is from Romania, and lived there until about 10 years ago. We talked politics quite a bit, namely the difference between politics here and what she grew up with. After talking to her, I became more aware of how little the politics here really matter. I mean really, there is just not that much difference from one party to the next. My job is going to stay the same, my taxes won't change much, no matter who is in power, my life is going to remain pretty damn good. But in Romania when my friend was a kid (and there are still lots of examples of this today), politics MATTERED. Like food in the stores mattered. Like machine guns in the street mattered. Like life and death mattered. There, one person in charge could make literally all the difference. Here? Well, it matters, but the system runs itself in a lot of ways. We aren't in danger of electing a dictatorial party (though my friend harps might think that Harper/Federal PCs are dictators!). In a lot of ways, the system runs itself. I really don't have a point here. JIts just that lately I've seen a lot of very mean political discussions on stuff that does not seem to matter all that much (though this thread isn't an example of that-the disagreements have been debated with respect). But this thread made me think about my Romanian friend and I felt like spewing pointless rambling. I'll probably delete it later. (Note: Nothing here is directed at any particular poster above!!)

Awesome Ryan!

It's worthwhile, but I wouldn't say more worthwhile, unless you are fishing during a full moon. Full moons can really change daylight fishing. Fish can and do feed hard at night on full moons, which can make the mornings fish pretty tough. Tends to get better later in the evening. When I'm planning a trip specifically for fishing, I avoid full moons and look for days with significant tide movement. On the gulf coast the tides are nothing like the tides further north. I look for 4 tide days to assure I get movement for most of the day. But I'm talking pretty specifically about flats/inshore fishing on the gulf coast. I assume it's the same in a lot of places, but my knowledge base is pretty location specific as I haven't fished salt water in many other places.

Check the ski reports. Lots more snow predicted this week. Gotta say, as a skier I've loved this season. But there sure is a load of water coming our way!

Saltwater fishing at night can be fantastic. I used to fish full moons (flats fish feed heavily in full moons) and new moons, often with great success. It is also very, very eerie to wade fish in saltwater at night. Sharks, stingrays......... makes a fella nervous.

Some really nice fish there Rev, particularly the one I caught! I still say he was bigger when I caught him.

Thanks Brian. Just to let everyone know, we are switching the charity to a group called Soldier On, website here. PHW is still in the process of getting the charitable contribution number set up, and will likely not have it ready in time for the auction. PHW is affiliated with Soldier On, so they suggested we switch to them. Soldier on does have a fishing program, and they are checking to see if we could target the money to that program. Personally, I would be perfectly ok with just donating to Soldier On directly and letting them decide how to distribute the money. 100% of the donated money will go to disabled vets. Can't get better than that!

Awesome! "Maxwell's Reviews over at Silverhammer.com". Too funny!

A Birchy sighting!!

The Hardy Ultralite is an awesome reel. I fished with it yesterday and was fortunate enough to hit a pretty nice brown who gave the drag a good workout. Very smooth (as you would expect), very large and sensitive drag adjustment. I adjusted it several times during the fight just to check sensitivity and see if it changed as the drag heated up. It didn't. Very solid reel, very nice price. If you are looking for something a bit less expensive, I have a Greys' (Hardy's little brother) GX-300. I think they are like $70 or something? I got one to try out last spring, and after I was done with it pleaded until I was allowed to keep it. It is still my primary reel. It's lasted a full season now, and has caught some really big fish. The only thing that is different from when it was brand new is the clicker is pretty quiet now. Large, narrow arbor, aluminum frame, ridiculously smooth drag (I would say that even if it was a $500 reel. The drag is just spectacular). For the money, in my limited experience there is nothing like it. I am very, very rough on gear. So for a $70 reel to last a season with me is saying something.

Oh that I could be as succinct as you Taco. And Smitty, I'm very well aware it took two tracks. It was the other track I have a different viewpoint on.

Depends on what you call using the internet. If you mean using it to tell you where to fish, ok. That is possibly doing it wrong. But I use the internet as an aid to scouting new areas. I think I'd be crazy not to. Google Earth/maps in coordination with my garmin is a pretty powerful combination. I've used it to find productive looking water in areas I've never been (and in some cases I'd never even heard of) and as a way to find possible access points. And while we are on fathers, they certainly did not have the internet, but word got around pretty quick in those days as well. People used to literally follow my father and his friend Ken around. They called them "Richard's Army". This is back in the day that the top speed of an outboard might be 15-20 MPH. He said he would go to a flat everyone knew about and anchor. The boats following would anchor up then the people quickly get in the water and start wading. Dad would act like he was getting his stuff together and then when people had waded sufficiently past him, start the engine and get away as quick as he could. He would also have outdoor writers from the Houston papers call him for fishing reports. While he would not give specific location info other than bay system, he never had any problems giving tactics. He used to say "it doesn't @$@#ing matter, 90% of 'em don't have the slightest idea what they are doing anyway." And I have no idea how many people he taught to fish in his lifetime, or if not taught them, significantly shortened their learning curve (mine included). I have pictures of a father and son (the kid was like 8) that he took out after he met them at the dock with no fish. Took them right back out to nearby reef, showed them a few spots, and caught a few fish. The smile on the kids face showing his trout is priceless. So today, we complain that the internet is ruining fishing. 10 years ago it was TV, before that it was magazines. Before that is was outdoor sections of newspapers. Before that it was mouthy guys like my dad who were not afraid to share their knowledge with pretty much anyone. Listen to the folks in the fishing shop and every one of those methods of communication were going to kill fishing. Still seems to be a lot of fish around (and where I'm from there are more now than there were 20 yrs ago), and to repeat myself for the 1000th time, sure doesn't seem to me to be too hard to find solitude if you want it. So I guess I am curious as to what we are talking about here? I am obviously a huge proponent of sharing knowledge. Most everything I've learned in fishing was built upon something or someplace someone showed me, including the ability to scout new places or try new tactics. I would feel like an utter hypocrite if I then hoarded my knowledge. That in no way means that I am going to give out specific locations. And I don't think hardly anyone does. But take away the ability to share knowledge, tactics, and flies that may be working (as some on this thread has suggested) is wrong, IMHO. There is also this undercurrent of "if you don't find it and figure it out yourself you are doing it wrong." Really? How many of you really, truly figured it out yourself? No dad, no books, no magazines, no maps, no instructions, just picked up your fly rod and went out and figured it all out. I'm pretty safe in saying that number is zero. So what is the acceptable amount of knowledge sharing? Only stuff you learned from your dad counts? Roderick Brown Haig? Barry Mitchell? Your buddy at the fly shop? SFOTF? We all have our methods of gathering intel. Every previous generation thinks the current generation is getting their information too easily. I bet some medieval fisherman bitched when books were invented and those damn kids could learn just by reading. Cheating bastards. Pretty amazing that through all the changes in technology and in communication, the fishing, at least to me, still seems pretty damn good around here.

Very nice job!

I fished this morning south of town. Well known spot. Had it to myself. Caught fish. Just like most days.