Trying the ActionHat

There's an angler I've been following recently called RexDelRay. His videos are pretty good and this one in particular caught my attention.

Rex is starting a brand called LiveLive and also offering gear that can be used with GoPro style cameras. I thought the ActionHat looked very interesting.

I ordered one the hats and I hope to have a review of it soon. I can see this working a lot better than the head strap.

Geekpro Trout Video

This is some video I took on my last trout fishing trip. I apologize for the jerky footage. I'm still trying to figure out a fixed point for the Geekpro Camera. This trip I tried attaching the camera to my wader strap. Later I used the camera on a collapsing pole. Neither setups were ideal.

Let me know what you think of the video. Do you like the music or could you do with out it?

Trout and Good Luck

Last weekend was my first trout trip of fall. With the high barely reaching 60 it didn't feel like fall. I caught several fish mostly on soft hackles. The Piscifun reel worked great.

While fishing I dropped my camera in the water and didn't pull up my sleeve far enough when I tried to retrieve it. My sleeve was soaked and even after several attempts to squeeze the water out it stayed wet. I tried to block that arm from the wind the best I could but after about an hour I couldn't take it anymore, I was freezing. I got back to the car all I could think about is getting inside and starting the heater and drying off. The reel was hard to unseat with my cold hands. It finally gave way and popped off the rod. As I saw it fall I didn't want it to hit the ground so I put my boot under it. The reel bounced off the boot and slid under the car. It was just out of reach and I figured I would get it after I removed my waders. Nature called once my gear was off and after relieving myself I totally forgot about the reel. I didn't notice the reel was gone until I got home. I sent an email to a friend that lives near the river I fished letting him know about the reel. The odds of him finding it were pretty slim. Then I got this message the next day.

"You must be living right. Went right over after reading your message and found the reel!"

Chumming For Carp is Crap

I'm not sure if it's a coincidence or just a copycat thing but in the last week I have watched two popular videos of people chumming to catch carp. In both videos the angler and I struggle to use the term angler in this example throws several pieces of bread then uses bread on a hook or a fly that looks like a hunk of bread. I was amazed to see in both videos comments like "clever" and "awesome catch!" I don't know why but it really annoyed me. First off say what you want but chumming to catch anything is crap outside of fishing for saltwater fish. The only reason I can condone that is because the ocean is vast. It's not a small pond where you can see the other bank from where you're standing. Second what challenge is it to throw a ton of one thing in the water then throw something that looks similar and have a fish eat it? That's clever?

Most anglers have done this sort of thing at one time or another. We don't brag about it because chumming is something a toddler can do. Glorifying it insults those that go out of their way to catch a carp by properly fishing for them. Catching them with techniques that require stealth, great presentation and most of all skill. I know I can't be the only one that feels this way. Feel free to chime in even if you don't agree.

Quick Bass

I got out for a couple hours on the local lake. The wind was roaring and there was a serious chop on the water. I found a cove protected from the wind and managed a fish.

Caught this bass a few days later.

More $10 Fly Lines

So many reels, so little line. Fly line is expensive. Many times I want a sinking version of a similar floating weight I already have. The problem is this line will be used one or two times a year. I'd love to buy $70 Rio line every time I needed it but I can't justify that. The shop Discount Fishing Denver sells Scientific Anglers seconds. This allows anyone to get various types of line and not spend a fortune. Each line is around $10 and it doesn't matter if the line is floating, sinking, weight forwarded or double tapered. The fly line isn't shipped with any factory packaging. Usually it arrives like this.

My cat really wanted to be a part of this post.

 The shop is nice enough to tag the end of the fly line that attaches to your backing. Every time I've called the shop their service has been great. If you're in the market for a fly line I highly recommend trying these out. 

Smallie Snacks

I've seen the crittermite fly before but never tried tying it. I was not convinced the tails made a difference when it comes to catching fish. I read a post recently on forum I follow where an angler caught some decent smallies. Sure enough the fly in the fishes mouth was a version of the crittermite.

I tried tying the same version but with a small twist. Instead of dumbbell eyes I'm trying tungsten heads. I think they give the fly a good look.

The flies are a work in progress and I'm still experimenting. In my eyes the flies look great but it's what the fish think that matters.