Line Control is Paramount

Here's a short clip that was put together after a recent guided trip with a regular client/customer Mac Cheek of Greensboro, NC. Though we didn't fish with the intent of getting these clips, they worked out perfectly for putting together a short piece on line control and fishing subtle currents. Great job Mac...



This is the first of many such clips that will be forthcoming over the next several months.....Good fishing!

In Over My Waders......

......Could it be from the rains of Hurricane Fay, or maybe an unannounced change in the release schedule by the TVA on one of the TVA tailwaters, or perhaps a lapse in judgement of a rock ledge on the New River........actually its none of those.

Its that time of year again, and Fall is a big season for us here at Jeffrey Wilkins Fly Fishing. Fall is the time that many of us celebrate the change of season that brings with it some great colors and scenery, cooler temperatures, fewer of those pesky bugs and no seeums of summer, and great hatches of blue winged olives and rising fish. It ushers in perhaps the beginning of several months of my favorite time of the year....cold weather.

Why? There are fewer anglers. On the worst of days there are sometimes NO other anglers. And often the fish don't care. They still have to eat. Also, there's something in me that just likes to put on tons of fleece, gloves, you name it and go out and catch fish on a day where other folks will say "the odds are against you." Its sort of like being handed the ball at half court with one second on the clock and in position to launch a winning long range jump shot. But even in the most impossible situations those shots do sometimes go in. And so it is with the worst of days. A score is always possible.

When I think of being in "over my waders" I think of the challenges and opportunities of the new year coming. The planning and preparation for a new season begins sometimes several months to a year in advance. In this economy you simply can't wait around and let things happen. what used to take a few weeks to plan and fill like classes and trips now can take months. What used to be easy when "the movie" (a River Runs through IT) came out is now a great challenge....and that is marketing events and pretty much everything I do. Fall is the time when all of our fly fishing schools, classes, trips, pretty much everything that we do all year long has to be brought to completion as far arrangements and plans. So when a class or trip comes about it has been the result of many months of preparation, marketing, and planning. Sometimes when you are or want to be on the water everyday, or several days in a row like it can be when business is good..... it literally feels like "in over my waders."

But you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.....

Whoa.....there's a Buffalo...and another and another....

They are pretty common, at least in this part of the world anyway, but still an interesting animal and always neat to see anytime you encounter them. I encountered this group of bison on my way up to fish the upper Gros Ventre. I had just left Jackson, WY and the rental car place and was headed up the road to Kelly and had just passed the massive Gros Ventre Butte when this large group of bison decided they wanted to cross the highway. And of course, when they decide to go somewhere its a good idea just to get out of the way.......which I promptly did of course.

Lovin it........Summertime bass that is

One call does it all......not Domino's but a fishing call that is. It was a quiet Sunday afternoon here at home, my wife and I were taking it easy, I was tying a few flies. Our oldest son Ben was away in Ohio on a summer missions trip with our church, and our other son Josh was headed to youth group. Then the phone rang. It was our Men's ministry pastor Rick Trautman, and he had one question...."want to go fishing?"

It didn't take too much more than that to get me going, I replied..."..sure." He said, "we can take the boat over to Lake Higgins for a few hours, or maybe hit a pond or something. What about that pond at your place?" I immediately replied, "...that sounds great, lets try the pond at my place."

I then said goodbye and put the finishing touches on a bee popper I had been tying. I stopped before I was finished and started gathering stuff- - - my fanny pack and rods-- and insect repellent- - -never forget that in summer- - -and after about 15 minutes of wandering around getting those things together I sat back down at my tying table and finished off the soft bodied bee popper. Just as the last turn of the whip finisher took place, Rick walked in front of the window and I knew it was time to go.

We grabbed our stuff and headed over to the pond. It is so great to have a great spot within a couple hundred yards of our home in the woods in Summerfield, NC. Not only is it close, it has some huge fish. After about 45 minutes of fishing, we worked our way around to the east side of the pond, a great hotspot that has a knack of giving up some huge bass. My oldest son Ben had caught a 1o.5 pound largemouth last year in the very spot Rick cast. I heard him exclaim, "....got one" ...then I saw the deeply arched rod and heard the reel's drag start to sing a sweet tune as the giant bass struggled for its freedom. About ten seconds into the struggle there was a large surface boil, and a monstrous splash as the 10 pound plus bass leaped from the water, and then landed with a thundering splash that sounded as if someone had catapulted a watermelon from the bank into the pond. The fish buried itself in the grass, Rick must have held on for over 5 minutes as the giant bass just sat there. He kept steady pressure, then tried giving slack line in hopes of it swimming out of the grass and breaking free where the fight could be brought to a close. The fish did nothing but lie there. Then back with steady pressure and a steady but precise pull Rick started putting pressure on the fish. It began to move, then move a little more, and we both were sweating knowing that the line had to be near its breaking strength. Thank goodness for good line and great knots, they both held as victory and a landed trophy hung in the balance.

Rick gently steered the giant fish to his feet along with lots of grass, and when he lipped the fish and held it up I was literally stunned. My heart was pounding in my chest.....so much so I could hear it. I think his was doing much the same. It was the largest bass of his fishing career, and Rick is an avid fisherman. That is saying a lot, and it was a true trophy moment for sure.

I ran back to the house for the camera and photo card, snapped in the card, then hurried back to the pond while Rick held the fish in the water. When I returned we snapped several photos and then Rick released the large fish gently back to its watery domain. We both sat there, still somewhat stunned at it all.

What a great afternoon.... and what a huge fish. What an incredible thing when a giant fish decides to eat.......and what an even more incredible thing to be tied to the thing it decides to eat! Congrats Rick on your trophy.....I am envious!

The Start of a New Year....

Now that the Christmas and New Year's holidays are past, we can get down to business.........You know there's only so much eating and loafing you can stand. If you are like us, there's only so much of Xbox 360 and a house full of kids that you can take. Although I must admit I have, with the help of my two boys, developed somewhat of an addiction to Guitar Hero. I guess it just gives me an opportunity to pretend I am a star doing another passion I used to have....and that is playing the guitar. Anyway, you know something's up when you find yourself playing with the kids toys as much as they do.

I always reflect on last year, years past, and to the year ahead, knowing that this year will hold some great things. We'll visit some of the same favorite holes or haunts, battle with a few fish I now know by name, develop some hot new "gotta have it" fly, and more. In all seriousness, and I won't disclose the location, but there was a 19" rainbow we named 'Junior' that allowed me the pleasure of photographing him on five different occasions, every time with a different customer. I know some folks thought I must have had a blow up fish to use as a photo prop.

Well, we are just past a bitter cold spell, its 60F outside today, and looks like I better get back to tying some of those fly orders.......

My Favorite Dry Fly Would have to be a Beetle......

As I sit here pecking away at the keys on this blog I dream of the summer and fall days of 2007 gone by I can't help but think of all the wonderful terrestrial moments I had both myself and with many of my guide clients. It makes me look forward with great anticipation of the coming 2008 terrestrial fishing...........it simply can't come soon enough!

My favorite fishing has to be summer beetle fishing to large fish that are in inches of water. There's something that makes it like hunting and fishing, and in the end one of the things that makes or breaks it is an angler's ability to stalk a fish. What a heart throbbing thrill it is to see a large fish, make a cast to the rear of its position (fish hears fly hit, turns and takes, and never sees angler, line, rod, or leader....). I have seen large browns lift half of their head out of the water. Then you, the angler, have to wait a microsecond as the fish starts down with its head to set the hook. Its interesting that so many folks bypass these opportunities, like walking upright into the tail of a pool without ever seeing the fish at their feet. The problem is that once you spook the near fish, he then runs upstream and spooks the next, and then all of the fish are spooked just like dominos, once set in motion, fall one by one. If there's a way to catch the fish of a lifetime, and maybe the brown of a lifetime, this may be the way to do it. Did I say I love to fish beetles........?

In the above clip, we had been casting to cruising fish in Dunlap Creek near Covington, VA. It gave a really neat opportunity to watch the slow, deliberate rise to a beetle that trout often do. I got really excited, and my first words were "there, he's got it, ....sweet!!!!!......." and to which the person fishing, Mike Perry of Thomasville, NC, whom I was guiding replied ".......that's intoxicating." And it definitely is. Once you've had a taste of it, you can never get enough. I can't wait !