Thankful For A Good Wife

Sometimes you have to be thankful for a good wife.  This year has been a busy one and not as much

time on some streams with a new baby.  But lately the wife has been giving me the green card to chase some fish.  Today started with a trip to town well of course I had to throw the fly rod in for that just in case there is a chance to fish.  Treated her to a nice Chinese lunch.  That wine and dine thing sometimes gives you that green light to fish and in this case sure enough I got some time on the mighty Ohio again.  Started off with the Chart Clouser as its been good to me the last few days.  And in no time big fish is hooked unfortunately it got in the swift water quickly and in no time the hook was out and a good hybrid was lost.  Figured I would change things up and try the upper section for a while and much to my delight three quick fish in succession they were tearing up the clouser.  Well those just were not what I was looking for I was keyed into a bigger fish with some size so dropped down to the lower spot and kept hitting the seam and wham there he was right where he should have been.  Nice good fight out into the swift water and in no time I had a 19 inch hybrid at my feet a good fish on the fly for sure.  Tried to the upper section and finished the day out with another small fish. 

My brother in law has been getting into fly fishing big time and we were going to hit the the local farm ponds up.  So I look at the wife and she gives me the green light again.  Two times in one day I must be doing something right maybe its the beard I dunno.  After a nice soaking rain figured a few

blue gill would be possible on top water and such.  Started off with a little bigger cork one and missed a few fish right off the bat.  Figured I better scale down and try to get into some blue gill so went with a smaller sneaky pete.  After that was able to land two small bass on the top water.  The lower pond just wasn't full of excitement TJ had a few fish in and I had a couple so we elected to go try out the upper pond as dusk was approaching even though it was a pond I never had much luck in except for a few small sun fish from time to time.  So kept the sneaky pete on since it seemed to have been working.  Noticed a good boil right next to some tall grass not far from shore and snuck in a cast.  Next thing I know the Sage One is fully bend and I am not gaining much ground at all hes hugging the bottom and not moving much.  Finally I got some leverage and was highly surprised with a good 20 inch Largemouth!  Nice way to end the evening on the water.  A lucky day getting on the water twice thanks to that special wife I have!

 

 

Hybrids From the Milky Way

To many times as fisherman we look at water that's off colored or chocolate milk looking and see some choppiness and flow to it and we get all nervous and think I can't catch fish in that type of conditions.  We lose all the confidence we have as fisherman of just fishing holding waters or what they call fishy looking areas instead of just fishing to fish.  Sometimes doing this we pass on great fishing days when big fish no matter if its trout or bass come out to play in those murky waters.  Past couple days coming from and going to work I decided to try my luck in these waters.  I pulled in both times to a deserted fishing area with no one around.  Sunday evening I pulled out the Echo 10wt and tied on a newly tied up Chartreuse Clouser minnow.  Things started off a little slow and was hoping for a little bit of anything when to my surprise I pulled out a small clouser out of some slow water. Well this got me in fish mode and thinking well lets see if any bigger fish are around.  So moved down a little and found a good seam and figured there would be some fish holding in the slower section picking off some bait fish with the water ripping by.  Few casts later good fish misses the fly twice well as they say third time was a charm and we got some bent rod action going on and a drag cranking.  Several more casts and the clouser did its work again and an even better Hybrid soon was at my feet.  Not a bad stop by after work for water that we would sometimes pass on. 

So today I went in a little late to work after I was relieved of diaper duty since the wife was off I figured I had some time to see if I could try some magic again.  Broke out the Redington Predator 11wt to see if we could put some bend in it and tied into the clouser again.  Started checking the

water and wham right in the seam again big fish feeding so a few casts later and the drag is ripping once more another good hybrid on the fly.  Managed another small fish to end a fast pre work trip.  The water isn't always the way it seems sometimes giving it a shot when your not expecting much pays off more than you think.  For me I was just thankful I had a chance to throw a few flies and lucky enough to land a few solid hybrids.

WVAngler Top 2012 Moments

 

WVAngler Top 2012 Moments

2012 Was a big year for WVAngler and so many great moments as well as some truly heartbreaking ones as well.  Lots of time spent on the water and with some great people I call family!  Looking back we were just truly blessed to be able to be a part of some of these events and even more blessed to be able to continue to share such a great website with so many.  Below is our top 10 moments of 2012.

 

10. WVAngler Dinner in Flatwoods - This is always a great time with so many people that attend.  Its nice to kick back with the gang and hear some tall tales and enjoy some good food and fun!

 

9. Forging some great relationships with some new friends and great companies!  Companies like Vedavoo, The Fly Stop, Vermont Fly Guys, Hook & Hackle & Risen Fly to name a few!

 

 

8. Harman's North Fork Invitational - It was an honor being able to be a part of this and watching the team fish (Jonathan Paine and Zach Adkins).  The guys fished amazingly against some pros and a were a fish or two away from really fishing right at the top of the standings. 

 

 

7. 10 Different Species on the Fly Rod This Year - I had hoped to make the number a lot higher but missed out on a few species maybe next year the total will be grow beyond that.  This year managed these fish on the fly: brown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, largemouth, smallmouth, sunfish, hybrid striped bass, freshwater drum, musky, and fallfish.

 

 

6. With a lot of hard work by Jonathan Paine being able to unveil a newly revamped and better than ever WVAngler.com!  The new format allows things to be updated so much easier and faster.  And it will allow us to even grow more in the future!

 

 

5. Spending some time on the water with so many great WVAngler Famly: Jonathan Paine, Zach Adkins, CD Caldwell, Bubba Holt, Fly Rod Chronicles, Nate Rees, Craig Miller - hopefully I never missed anyone!  Being able to spend share some time on the water with some good friends make a trip that much more special.  Hopefully 2013 brings some more time spent with even more wvanglers on the waters!

 

 

4. First Musky on the Fly Rod - Day started being able to give back and help with the Middle Fork of the Williams Bucket Brigade!  Carrying bucket after bucket to help restore a fishery giving back is what its about!  Great day on the water with Jonathan Paine and fishing a Vermont Fly Guys fly I hooked up and put my first musky on the fly in the boat!  Great epic day for a float.

 

 

3. The news that the WVAngler family will be growing come 2013!  Guess we will be buying some pink fly rods in the future!

 

2. The loss of one our our own Eric Workman.  Eric was one of our long time members and one of the best musky fisherman around and a WV State Police Officer.  His life tragically taken while on duty as a WV State Police officer. 

 

 

1. Being able to be a part of the Fly Rod Chronicles/Eric Workman Tribute Show.  It was a weekend I will never fully ever forget.  Some epic floats with great friends while we remembered our brother.  Watching Curtis catch some colorful brookies!  Being able to net a Musky for Nate while Wade caught it all on film.  We was able to present Erics parents a 2013 WVAngler of the Year award one of the hardest things I have ever had to do since I created WVAngler.  Can not wait to see this on film the crew did a an awesome job filming and I am sure they will put together an amazing product! 





Support Your Local Fly Shop and the Little Guy

With Christmas fast approaching I thought it would be a good blog to mention some of the great local fly shops we have and some of the great little guys out there that have some awesome made in the USA products.  Local fly shops are our backbone, they protect our streams and give us so much valuable info for us to make it easier when we do get the chance to get out.  And the little guys are the ones that keep giving us these awesome new inovative products that makes time on the stream so much better!

Anglers Xstream located in Parkersburg is one of our nice fly shops in the state.  They offer a wide selection of gear for anything from trout to musky.  Dave Carpenter runs the shop and is very knowledgable about all things outdoors.  They even offer fly tying and casting clases for those trying to get a start in the sport.

Another shop located in Lewisburg is Serenity Now Outfitters.  Craig Miller runs the shop and is one of the musky on the fly gurus in WV.  Serenity Now offers a full service location for everything from fly fishing, outdoor techincial clothing, to kayaking gear.  You will find great brands such as Life Is Good, Old Town, Ross Reels, Scott, to Keen footwear.


Yet another of fly shops located in Clarksburg is Evergreen Fly Fishing Company. They offer a large selection of fly tying supplies, thousands of flies, tons of books, and of course a good selection of rods and reels.  They carry brands such as Simms, Chota, Scientific Anglers, and Lamson.


Our fourth shop located right on the banks of the Elk River Catch and Release section is Elk Springs Fly Shop.  With a brand new 2700 square feet fully stocked fly shop.  They offer some of the go to flies for the Elk from Dave Breitmeier's Elk River 32s to Sean Weir's mustard green.  Good selection of products from Orvis, Sage, Echo, Simms, and Fishpond.  They also have a few of the best guides around to put you on those Elk River brown trout.

A shop just across the boarder in PA Woodlands World not far from Morgantown in Uniontown, PA offer a 10,000 square foot store full of fishing, hunting, and camping gear.  They offer competitive pricing from many big name companies such as Carhart, Realtree, Remington, and Orvis.

For those who catch that trophy fish of a lifetime we have one of the best taxidermists in the state in Chad See at Mount'n Critters Taxidermy.  Fishing has always been a passion for Chad and the detail really shows through in his award winning work.  With a newly built showroom he is fully prepared to recreate any fishing memory that you need.  Give him a buzz for a quote or I am sure he could even work out some Christmas Gift cards!



Some other great businesses to check out is Vedavoo.  They offer nice minimalistic packs.  Gear for the road less travelled.  A very cool pack called the spinner day pack that would make an excellent pack to carry into any remote brookie stream.

Recycled Waders is a unique company that brings a cool way of recycling into fly fishing.  They recycle old leaky waders and create durable, water resistant, lightweight products.  They offer a cool greenback wallet that is a perfect addition to any fly fisherman's wardrobe.

A fairly new company Goat Head Sole Spikes offer a cool new product.  They offer a traction spike that screws directly into any outdoor shoe including fishing boots.  Great for traction on any slippery section of a stream.

A newly started up company Risen Fly is already offering some great reels and at an awesome price.  There goal is to create a very affordable product that will rival the name brand companies.  The Ichthus fly reel is there first entry into the fly reel market and its a great first step a great reel to check out. 

And lastly if you need some aweome predator flies or just some cool flies in general check out Vermont Fly Guys.  They tie up some wicked musky and pike flies.

And if you need a place for those big musky and predator flies then check out Cliff Outdoors.  There simple design keeps big flies organized!

The Bend of the 1wt

Sometimes a bend in the rod is all we need for a little excitement.  The take of the fish, the rod doubles, and the reel screams as the fish makes his run gives anyone a thrill.  No matter what type of fish your after when you have that fish on and there is that bend in the rod and the feel of the fish a fisherman is in true heaven.  I had some time the other evening and I figured I would break out the Orvis Superfine 1wt rod.  It hasn't got used as much this year so I figured I would give it some action with some bluegills on small poppers, my usual pond has been tough to fish lately murky conditions and what not have made fishing tough but today I was surprised with good clarity when I arrived.  Usually when you come up with a big game plan it never ever ends up the way you usually plan sometime always changes or happens and things go astray.  Poppers are probably pushing the boundary of such a small rod but it cast them surprisingly well didn't turn them over as well as you would liked but that was pretty much expected for a lightweight rod.  Well I tied on a basic popper pattern and missed the first three fish so I am thinking well I better go smaller or this may be a tough tough evening of fishing and I could just hope I would not get skunked I could at least land something.  I open the fly box and see what I can come up with so a sneaky pete looks a little smaller so it gets the next shot at some fish.  A few fish are breaking the water so the anticipation to hook into a fish is growing.  Load up the rod and give the ole sneaky pete a nice long cast and the next thing I know gulp and the fly is inhaled into the depths of the pond.  The one weight rod comes alive with the fight of the fish.  After a short little fight the fish is in sight but this is where the plan runs amuck its no blue gill that I came to fish for its a nice solid bass a great fight on the ultra light fly rod.  After a few more casts I got that big chunky blue gill that I had came looking for this evening I was not disappointed with his fight he gave either.  The fish started to get a little more active and a lot more active in taking the little sneaky pete.  The rod was sure doing some flexing and bending as bass after bass was reeled in.  Sometimes you go looking for something and you get a good surprise this day I had my lightweight fly rod looking for one fish only to be surprised with some solid pond bass and some great action on a small little popper!  You can never beat a day on the water especially when there is that bend in the rod with a fish at the other end!

Vedavoo Hip Pack

Some products out there that come along are nothing new just same old gear that we have always seen.  Scott Hunter head man at Vedavoo founded and built these great packs in his garage.  Not only is he the headman at Vedavoo he also spends some time behind the sewing machine putting in the time building these great packs.  Always looking for something new I put in an order for one of there Hip Packs.  You can configure them to hold different tools and tippet.  I went with two s-clips on each side one for frogs fanny and tippet then the other for pliers then tweezers off the bottom.  They hold a couple small fly boxes all you need for a day on the water.  Unlike chest packs and vests that sometimes get in the way the Hip Pack attaches to your belt and is safely worn at your side so its constantly out of the way of your casting or navigating small streams.  I have tested out this pack on several small brook trout streams, farm ponds, and even the mighty Ohio for Hybrids.  Each time out I have been well pleased with the pack as its been lightweight and highly functional for a day on the stream.  If your looking for a product that's definitely something new and its made right here in the USA then give Scott and Vedavoo a look!  The Hip Pack gets the WVAngler stamp of approval from me!  http://vedavoo.com/

In Search of Brook Trout

Brook trout hold a special place in my heart and I just love chasing after them.  Dealing with a major drought for much of the summer the small brook trout streams have been a little hard to fish and conditions for the fish have not been much better either.  With recent rains the conditions on these small streams have been absolutely great.  Excellent water flows and good temperatures have made fishing above average for this time of year.  When your usually dodging rocks and fishing big pools now the whole stream opens up to fishing.  With these great flows and some time off from work I was ready to chase these great trout so I headed for the Mon Forest in search of some small streams.  I pointed the truck towards one of my favorite streams that I like to get out on that usually has pretty decent numbers of fish.  Pulling into the parking lot and not a person around I took my time rigging up then hit the trail in search of trout.  Fishing started off a little slow but once I got the fly size and color and such dialed in and my rusty small stream casting polished up I was into trout in no time.  They were whacking a yellow stimulator with ease.  The numbers were great but the size was mainly smaller fish a few decent ones mixed in as well.  With brookies sometimes the size is only half the equation what makes them so special is where they come from such amazing beautiful places and there colored up like the true wild trout they are.  It was a great day to be on the water with good flows, nice cold mountain water, fishing in solitude, a nice short hike, a few geocaches, and of course eager little brookies to take the dry!