the buzz on the flyfishing biz
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TRADE
Inside
The TEACHING Issue
Replace Yourself/ Am I Too Old to Teach Fly Casting?/ My Favorite Professors/ Wagner’s Top 10 Teaching Tips March2009AnglingTrade.com
the buzz on the flyfishing biz
CONTENTS
®
TRADE
Features
Departments
Editor
Kirk Deeter kirk@anglingtrade.com Managing Editor
18 Replace Yourself
6 Editor’s Column
If you want to do a service to flyfishing, make it a goal to replace yourself with at least one younger angler who shares your passion. So say the likes of Joan Wulff, Lefty Kreh, and Nick Lyons.
On Chinese proverbs, and the ideal that being an effective educator can be the keystone for success... and not only in the classroom. By Kirk Deeter
By Jay Cassell
8 Currents The latest scoop on the industry, including the skinny on recent consumer shows.
26 They Said It Will Rice goes one-on-one with Terry Gunn, guide, photographer, and owner of Lees Ferry Anglers.
22 Am I Too Old to Teach Fly
28 My Favorite Professors Some of the teachers who had profound impact on my career didn’t work in lecture halls wearing tweed jackets. They worked the river, in waders, as guides. By Kirk Deeter
Editor-at-Large
Charlie Meyers charlie@anglingtrade.com Art Director
Tara Brouwer tara@brouwerdesign.com brouwerdesign.com Copy Editors
Mabon Childs, Sarah Warner Contributing Editors
Tom Bie Ben Romans Andrew Steketee Greg Thomas Contributors
Monte Burke, Jay Cassell, Joe Cermele, Joseph Meyer, Will Rice, Roy Tanami, Jeff Wagner
Casting? It must be a sign of my aging
process but I am mystified that those younger students who come to me for fly casting instruction just don’t have the worldliness to grasp the tools that I have always used to illustrate the dynamics of the cast. By Joseph Meyer
Tim Romano tim@anglingtrade.com
Photos unless noted by Tim Romano Photo by Terry Gunn
32 Opinion Editorial Monte Burke offers his witty take on some of the life lessons he’s learned on the water.
35 Recommended Reading Why We Suck by Dr. Denis Leary. Yes that Denis Leary. It has nothing to do with flyfishing, but who doesn’t need a laugh these days?
Angling Trade is published four times a year by Angling Trade, LLC. Author and photographic submissions should be sent electronically to editor@anglingtrade.com. Angling Trade is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts and/or photo submissions. We ask that contributors send formal queries in advance of submissions. For editorial guidelines and calendar, please contact the editor via E-mail. Printed in the U.S.A. Advertising Contact: Tim Romano Telephone: 303-495-3967 Fax: 303-495-2454 tim@anglingtrade.com
30 Wagner’s Top 10
Teaching Tips The essentials for effectively teaching flyfishing from a seasoned industry professional. By Jeff Wagner
36 Backcast Teaching for Profit How certain guides and shops have used education to drive the bottom line. By Charlie Meyers
Street Address: 3055 24th Street Boulder, CO 80304 AnglingTrade.com
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AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
Mail Address: PO Box 17487 Boulder, CO 80308
One man’s passion, expressed in aerospace-grade aluminum and carbon fiber. A love song to bonefish, steelhead, stripers, tuna or any drag-smoking denizen of the deep or shallow.
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Like fifty buck bourbon. Like the flats at dawn on a dead calm day.
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CONTRIBUTORS
YOUR ONLINE FORUM
We’re proud to have hooked Monte Burke, a staff writer for Forbes, and author of acclaimed books (Sowbelly, Leaper), into writing for Angling Trade while he was still young. Hell, he’s still young, but you’ll find no greater talent with words in this business.
Jay Cassell Jay Cassell is deputy editor of Field & Stream magazine. His latest book project, The Gigantic Book of Hunting Stories (Skyhorse Publishing), contains, among its 800 pages, two very poignant entries penned by the late Lee Wulff... do check the book out.
photo by Tom Montgomery
Monte Burke
www.
Angling Trade .com
Joe Cermele Joe Cermele is further proof that Angling Trade is more than happy to poach writers from other magazines, especially the world’s leading outdoors publication... he’s associate online editor for Field & Stream. Cermele is our “Undercover Angler” in this issue.
THE WEBSITE FOR THE BUZZ ON THE
FLYFISHING BIZ
Joseph Meyer Joseph Meyer is Angling Trade’s guest writer from among the retailer ranks. He owns a fly shop, “One More Cast,” in Illinois, and has made a successful business out of teaching and developing fly anglers of all ages. Welcome aboard, Mr. Meyer.
Will Rice Will Rice is an important part of the Angling Trade team. His off-the-beaten-path pieces add flavor to our mix, especially when he goes one-on-one with industry icons for “They Said It.” You might also notice that he’s a regular feature writer with The Drake.
Roy Tanami Roy Tanami is one of the best-traveled writers/ authors/photographers in the flyfishing world. In the last issue, we reviewed his new book, Angling the World. Now we’ve put him to work on a photoessay from the Louisiana Bayou... tough payback.
We’ll Always Give It To You Straight. Many accessories on the market today are imported. A lot of companies try to talk around that point. Angler’s Accessories will always give you the real story. We look for the best products at the best prices available. No excuses. No double-talk.
Jeff Wagner has written often before for Angling Trade. In this, the “teaching issue” we just had to include him, because he’s not only a writer, he’s also one of the best casting and fishing instructors in America. See Wagner’s tips for further proof.
15353 E. Hinsdale Circle, Unit F Centennial, Colorado 80112 www.anglersaccessories.com
303-690-0477
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
Jeff Wagner
EDITOR’S COLUMN
There’s an ancient Chinese proverb that goes:
“Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish, and he will eat for a lifetime.” teacher. When I write pieces for Field & Stream or Angling Trade, before they go out to the readers, I always run them by Charlie, because he inevitably comes back with tips that make me better at what I do.
In our little flyfishing business realm, we might adapt that thinking to: “Sell a man some flies, and he will fish for a day; teach a man to flyfish, and he will be a loyal customer for a lifetime.” Granted, I come from a family where my mother, my wife, my aunt and others are (or were) involved with teaching. But I believe you don’t have to teach school to be an educator, or more importantly, to leverage teaching in your business. In fact, I’d say that the ability to teach is the keystone for success, no matter what you do.
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
The good doctor cures, but the great one also coaches patients how to stay well. The good writer entertains, and also informs. A good pilot gets you from Point A to Point B, but when you’re bucking around in a turbulent holding pattern over O’Hare, it’s the one who explains what’s going on that earns my appreciation. A good flyfishing guide can show you where to catch fish, but the hallmark of the great guide is that he or she leaves you with the undeniable sense that you got smarter—that you became a better angler—having spent time together. Admit it, we all remember the teachers and coaches back in our school years who made a profound impact on us in one way or another. (Granted, if you’re like me, you may have forgotten the ones who gave you detention or bad grades.) But the teachers who made a real positive impact, well, we cannot help but remember them with gratitude. In many ways, we all still have teachers, beyond the classroom. Charlie Meyers of the Denver Post (also the editor-at-large for this magazine) is now my favorite 6
Do you think for a minute that the average person who flyfishes doesn’t remember or appreciate the person who helps them climb the learning curve? Why do you think Lefty Kreh is the icon he is? Sure, he’s an engaging guy with millions of stories to share. But I’ve personally watched Lefty take a rank beginner, and inside of five minutes, have that person tossing beautiful, dancing loops out the end of a fly rod. His innate ability to instruct is, to me, what sets him apart from the rest of us flyfishing mortals. I’ll admit something else. The companies I cover most in this magazine, I do so because their people are effective educators. I don’t have to guess what their message is, or what their products do, or why you readers might be interested in them. They make my job easier by helping me understand information. My point—and, as such, the theme for this, the seventh issue of Angling Trade—is very simple. Given the shaky economy, we’re going to make each of our 2009 issues focus on specific ideals and tactics that can help retailers, guides, and others in the industry survive and grow their businesses. In my mind, that must start with education. Teaching. Make people better at what they do, and they will inevitably find you, in fact, seek you out, and reward you with their business. Yes, it’s that simple. Be salespersons, be business operators, be facilitators, be confidants. But in some form or format, be a teacher, a coach, or a mentor to the people you work with, and you’ll add value to your business. As such, we’ve included a wide range of perspectives from some of the best writers (and teachers) in the business to elaborate on this theme in the following pages. And as usual, I’m eager to hear your responses and ideas. You can contact me directly at kirk@anglingtrade.com. at -Kirk Deeter, Editor
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The Product Buzz Field Test: New Simms Boots Earn High Marks Whether the Simms “StreamTread” wading boot becomes the footprint of the future likely will be more a matter of angler conscience than official stipulation. But at a time when the fishing world is abuzz over the spreading impact of various invasive species, this much is certain: this rubber-sole boot offers the first workable alternative to the spread of nasty organisms such as whirling disease, didymo and mud snails via boot soles. “We have scientific evidence that felt moves these invaders around,” Dave Kumlien, executive director of the Whirling Disease Foundation, said of a problem that becomes increasingly more critical with the discovery that WD is making rapid incursions into endangered cutthroat trout populations, even at higher elevations.
Trout Unlimited has appealed to the industry to eliminate felt by the year 2011. Simms has pledged to purge its sole by 2010. Amid rumblings that other suppliers soon will follow suit in the development of an alternate grip. New Zealand has outlawed felt in its waters and Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources has stripped the old standby from the boots of its aquatic staff. Despite these developments, Kumlien doubts there’ll be a rush by wildlife agencies toward an outright ban on felt, leaving the matter as an article of personal scruple. Responding to the TU plea, Simms began experiments more than a year ago, ultimately in partnership with Vibram, the Italian company with 70 years of experience in boot sole manufacture. The result is a sort of tri-star design for maximum purchase and a rubber compound that emerged from a series of tests.
Simms’ own testing, both in and outside the firm, produced mixed opinions. “Some said they liked StreamTread just the way it is. Others said it’s better than any “I took them to the Gallatin River, other rubber but not as good as one of the more difficult streams to felt,” said Diane Bristol, director of wade. It was icy and slippery. I gave marketing and brand management. them a good going over. The grip is For the latter, Simms will offer a damn good.” “HardBite” stud system specific to An Angling Trade test on Colorado’s this Vibram sole, scheduled to arrive in shops in late February. Bristol South Platte River under perhaps emphasized these studs can be arranged less demanding circumstances in any pattern, or number, to suit the produced a similar result when individual wader or stream condition. rubber hit the rock. -Charlie Meyers None of this foretells the immediate extinction of felt, the Cortland Launches New Line gold standard of upright wading Cortland’s Precision PE+ Crystal since most of us can remember. line is formulated with a blend An avid angler, Kumlien has another observation—that StreamTread performs very well, even under tough conditions.
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
But it does offer a viable option at a time when the sport is clamoring for environmental relief.
8
of polyethylene and special copolymers. Built on a nylon monofilament core, the PE+ Crystal’s patent-pending crystalclear jacket is naturally lighter than water, eliminating the need
for micro-balloons or other agents to make it float. This results in a smaller diameter floating line with less wind resistance when casting, and less disturbance when the line hits the water. The hard, ultra-smooth PE+ line jacket finish also has a lower coefficient of friction, so it shoots silently through the guides and casts faster and farther than equivalent PVC-coated floating lines. This also makes it more resistant to cuts/abrasion and is fused to the monofilament core with an almost unbreakable bond so nail knots hold securely and there is never any separation of jacket and core. The PE+ jacket is also UV stable, will not absorb water, is highly resistant to chemicals -- and won’t soften or dissolve when exposed to DEET, gasoline or most other solvents. And, unlike PVC-coated fly lines, they are 100% recyclable. Smith’s Riverside Impresses Another AT field-tested recommendation: Smith Optics recently introduced the Riverside, a sunglass model that melds a classic look with updated feel, and features the company’s Techlite continued on next page...
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and Tapered Lens Tech (TLT) glass lens technology. Techlite is highly durable and scratch resistant, as well as exceptionally light. Riverside comes in various
polarized lens tints suited for different fishing situations, including polarchromic copper and amber, as well as blue and green mirrors. They also sport spring hinges and temple and nose pads for secure fit, and are recommended for medium to large faces. MSRP ranges from $159 to
NEW AND EXCITING — the NRS GigBob personal fishing cataraft! It’s inflatable, frameless and 20% lighter than other craft of the same size. This and all the other innovative inflatable boats, apparel and life
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
jackets you need for your next fishing adventure are at NRS.
nrsb2b.com | 800-243.1677 See video of the GigBob at nrsweb.com/gigbob
$179, and like all Smith products, they’re backed by a lifetime warranty. See smithoptics.com for more details. Vintner Offers Premium Program for Fly Businesses StoneFly Vineyards (stoneflyvineyards.com) is a Napa Valley winery dedicated to pairing the rich traditions of flyfishing and fine wine making. In addition to serving an outstanding collection of fine wines, a key element of
StoneFly’s mission is to be a partner to small businesses and organizations in the flyfishing market. As such, StoneFly Vineyards has launched a program through which guides, outfitters, equipment manufacturers, retailers and others can send their best customers a bottle of StoneFly Vineyards wine along with a customized thankyou card. StoneFly’s Chief Fly Fishing Officer (CFFO) Nick Papadopoulos explained: “A nice bottle of wine and a card can go a long way. We developed this
program to be of service to our colleagues and friends in the flyfishing business. Everyone is thinking about ways to retain their best customers and strengthen relationships with key partners. This program is a winner for everyone, helping businesses show gratitude to their best customers and partners, providing the recipient an outstanding, personalized gift and allowing us to demonstrate our wines and commitment to the angling community.” To enroll, submit a short application to StoneFly Vineyards to verify status as a fishing business or organization. Once accepted, the business can order StoneFly Wines at a generous discount and work with the StoneFly team to customize a high-quality greeting card. StoneFly Vineyards then ships the gift package (card included) to the chosen customer or partner.
into one case—polycarbonate lenses offered in the company’s best selling Deep Six Blue offshore lens for extreme sunlight reflection, and Freestone Brown lens for sight fishing. All lenses are surrounded by a frame designed to avoid chipping or scratching during the interchange process. The frame has an adjustable nose bridge for a custom fit. Cordura zippered case included. MSRP $99.95, see fishermaneyewear.com.
Quote-worthy “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” -Warren Buffett
The People Buzz Far Bank Hires David Visnack as Director of Marketing and Merchandising Far Bank Enterprises, Inc., parent company of Sage Manufacturing,
Redington and RIO Products Intl., Inc., announced the hiring of David Visnack as director of marketing and merchandising. In this newly-created role, Visnack will help Far Bank strengthen its current business within traditional channels while also reaching out to new categories and new markets. Having successfully grown international brands as director of marketing at SmartWool and vice president of marketing for Buck Knives, Visnack will oversee the marketing teams for all three Far Bank brands. Leveraging his experience in the outdoor and apparel industries, Visnack hopes to further develop these brands so that they can leverage new product opportunities that deliver maximum profitability to Far Bank and its retail partners. “Our continued focus is to drive value to our retailers and consumers, and marketing is a big piece of the equation, especially for retailers,” said Far Bank president Travis Campbell. “We see this new role as an evolutionary step in our vision and we’re excited about David’s past accomplishments in growing brands. David’s brand-centric approach to clothing and accessories is right in line with our strategy. We look forward to his experience and guidance in further developing and capitalizing on the strengths of each brand while building a cohesive, nationally recognized ‘house of brands’ built around the principles of innovation, quality, conservation and the flyfishing lifestyle. An added benefit of bringing David on-board is it gives Marc Bale, continued on next page... 11
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
Nautilus Creates Spool for Gelspun Backing Nautilus Reels recently introduced the GSPool for the NV 8/9 reel, designed to offer flyfishers who use Gelspun (GSP) backing a spool that will hold 200 yds of 65lb gelspun with a WF9F line. Features include a ribbed arbor that will prevent the gelspun backing from slipping. This ribbed arbor also gives the sensation that the backing is floating within the arbor when viewed from the side, and promotes faster backing drying after use. The Nautilus NV 8/9 GSPools are ported to reduce weight and retains strength, weigh .5 oz less than the 8/9 spool and is available now in black or brushed silver anodizing, as a reel or just a spare spool. MSRP is $275 (spool only), see nautilusreels.com.
Fisherman Eyewear Intros Pro Series Chameleon The Guideline Pro Series Chameleon is a lightweight sunglass designed to adapt to meet changing fishing conditions. One frame and two interchangeable lens color options are packaged
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Far Bank’s VP of sales, who had been handling these marketing responsibilities, the ability to focus exclusively on driving sales for the organization.”
lished today. We’ll be working with writers and photographers to push forward with the freshest ideas and best graphics.”
Referring to his new position, David Visnack said: “It’s an honor to be working with such solid and iconic brands. Between Sage, Redington and RIO, there’s a long heritage of innovation, and I’m excited to be able to add to it. Far Bank brands are a link to the natural beauty that enriches the lives of their customers, so I’m especially excited to develop brand initiatives that support conservation efforts,” Visnack continued.
Ian Gordon Endorses Hardy in USA One of the best known ghillies in Scotland and renowned spey casting champion has joined the Hardy & Greys Ltd. product development team as a consultant and is endorsing Hardy Spey lines in America. Ian Gordon, winner of the Jimmy Green Spey-O-Rama in San Francisco in 2004 and highly regarded in the US Spey Casting Community, praises Hardy for the invention of the Mach 55 and 65 Spey lines.
Thomas Joins Fly Rod & Reel Greg Thomas (an Angling Trade contributing editor) has joined Fly Rod & Reel as managing editor, as of that magazine’s March 2009 issue. He’ll be working from his home office in Ennis, Montana, and handling article proposals, editorial scheduling, editing, as well as writing and shooting photos for the magazine.
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
Writers/photographers can contact Greg with article ideas or photo submissions, or associate publisher Joe Healy (as can manufacturers or organizations with news/new products). Their respective contacts are gthomas@flyrodreel. com and jhealy@flyrodreel.com. “Greg has a deep knowledge of flyfishing and of outdoor writing,” said Healy. “We’re lucky to have such an experienced pro joining us at FR&R, and also to have an editor in the Rocky Mountain West. Greg and I share a vision for the magazine: To keep FR&R a leader among the most surprising, entertaining, relevant and educational flyfishing magazines pub12
“These new Mach lines from Hardy are must-haves for the serious salmon, sea trout or steelhead angler,” said Gordon. “Technological advances in both coating and physical taper give the Mach ll the edge - These new lines feel both slick and easy to cast, the taper on both the 55 and 65 foot heads, importantly, make them suitable for both short as well as longer casts, turning over heavy as well as lighter flies. Gordon will be attending The Jimmy Green International Spey-O-Rama and Fly Casting Festival in California, on April 17-19 (spey-o-Rama.com) and Sandy River Spey Clave in Oregon (flyfishusa.com/spey-clave.htm) on May 16-17.
to be an Orvis store manager, then joined Hardy’s marketing team six years ago. “I have known John for a long time now during which his career and standing within the industry have developed,” said Fulling Mill managing director Barry Unwin. “His appointment at Fulling Mill opens a new chapter for the company and I am absolutely delighted, not the least because it means that I can spend more time on other aspects of the business (and fishing!).” Wolstenholme’s Fulling Mill contact, effective April 1, is john.wolstenholme@fullingmill.com, phone +44 0 1293 778635.
Quote-worthy “Next to doing the right thing, the most important thing is to let people know you are doing the right thing.” – John D. Rockefeller
Industry Buzz A Blast from the Past
Mach Spey lines are priced from $89.00 to $99.00, see hardyusa.com. Wolstenholme to Fulling Mill John Wolstenholme, previously brand marketing manager for Hardy & Greys, has joined U.K.based fly and fly tackle manufacturer Fulling Mill as the company’s director of sales and marketing. Born and raised in South Africa, Wolstenholme moved to the U.K.
Check out this Scientific Anglers advertisement that ran in a 1968 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine
(courtesy Terry Gunn of Lees Ferry Anglers). Talk about promoting the virtues of flyfishing and making the sport more accessible to the masses… Industry Icons Hosting Turneffe Flats Trips A group of flyfishing experts – “Living Legends of the Sport” – are now hosting week-long excursions to Turneffe Flats in search of permit, bonefish and tarpon. Turneffe Flats guests for these weeks through May 30 will qualify for a $500 rebate to assist with airfare. According to Craig Hayes, the resort’s owner, “Fuel prices have dropped and so have our expenses. We feel it is only fair to pass some of our saving on to our visitors.” The rebate will provide free or nearly-free travel from many U.S. cities. Upcoming hosts include John and Amy Hazel, April 4-11; Cathy and Barry Beck, May 16-23; and Chico Fernandez, June 6-13. For information, see tflats.com. Film Tour Hits the Road Big waves have hit one of flyfishing film’s largest purveyors of content and distribution, as it would appear that AEG Media, creator of the “Trout Bum Diaries” film series and the Fly Fishing Film tour, is no more. But the show goes on… “Two partners and I bought the Flyfishing Film Tour from owners Terry Wolvert and Jim Crystal, ensuring that the tour will go on,” said Tom Bie, editor and publisher of The Drake. According to Bie, the Tour is now called The Drake Flyfishing Film Tour and will be a partnership effort led by himself, Doug Powell and Chris Kieg. Powell and
Kieg are both anglers and have experience working with Warren Miller Entertainment. The Tour kicked off in February and will include more than 80 stops. The new owners are taking a fresh new view and approach to the tour that includes profit sharing with the filmmakers, but for the most part, are downplaying the change in ownership. “The average fly fishing film tour attendee doesn’t give a damn who owns the tour, he’s just looking for an excuse to get out of the house on a cold weeknight in March,” concluded Bie. “And we aim to give it to him.” The Fly Fishing Film Tour includes short films from Felt Soul Media, Beattie Outdoor Productions, Confluence Films, Rollcast Productions, World Angling, Skinny Fist Productions, and more. This year’s lineup of films offers a truly global experience, showcasing footage shot in Papua New Guinea, Russia, New Zealand, Belize, India, as well as domestic waters from California and Colorado to Southern Louisiana and the Florida Keys. To buy tickets, see the latest schedule, or watch trailers of the films, visit flyfishingfilmtour.com. - Will Rice Angling International is Official Media Partner of EFTTA and EFTTEX Angling International, published by U.K.-based Top Corner Editorial and Design Limited, has been named the official media partner of the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association (EFTTA), and the group’s annual trade show, the European Fishing Tackle Trade Exhibition
(EFTTEX), scheduled for June 1214, 2009, in Budapest, Hungary. As partner, Angling International also publishes “Newslines,” EFTTA’s monthly electronic newsletter, as well as related marketing and communication support materials. Angling International has also launched a special EFTTEX NEWS mini-magazine section to be integrated into four pre-EFTTEX editions of Angling International, designed to promote the event and its exhibitors. “In my opinion, (EFTTEX NEWS) will give advertisers the greatest possible exposure to the worldwide angling trade, and boost (their) sales capacity enormously,” said JeanClaude Bel, CEO of EFTTA. For information on Angling International, contact Lucie Petrickova at lucie@ angling-international.com. Western Native Trout Initiative Announces Funding Grant and 2009 Project Request to the National Fish Habitat Board The Western Native Trout Initiative (WNTI), a venture of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and a National Fish Habitat Partnership, announced that it has received approval of a multi-state conservation grant that will fund the operations of the initiative through December 2011. The grant is from the annual reallocation of unspent Federal Aid to Sportfish Restoration dollars. “For the past two and a half years, the Western Native Trout Initiative has worked to develop a new approach to expanding the work being done to protect various continued on next page...
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species of cutthroat and other native trout across the West,” said Robin Knox, WNTI coordinator. “The Western Native Trout Initiative has partnered with 12 western states, five federal fishery management agencies, and multiple public and private entities in a planning and project implementation effort that funds on-the-ground data collection and habitat improvement projects to conserve and enhance native trout populations. Over the past three years, 30 projects have been initiated and funded by this effort.”
• Honey Creek Diversion #2 removal in Oregon for Redband trout restoration
• Restore fish passage in Eccles Creek in Alaska for coastal Cutthroat trout
• Panther Creek fish passage barrier removal in Washington for Westslope Cutthroat trout
• Place protective fish barrier in McDermott Creek in Nevada for Lahontan Cutthroat trout
• Fish and habitat restoration in Santa Clara Creek in New Mexico for Rio Grande Cutthroat trout
For more information, see westernnativetrout.org.
• East Fork Bear River Canal fish screen placement in Utah for Bonneville Cutthroat trout
Quote-worthy
WNTI submitted the following list of native trout habitat projects for funding in the 2009 project year:
• Remove two fish barriers in Stony Creek in Montana for Westslope cutthroat trout
“A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time.”
• Georgetown Road Relocation Project, Bear River Basin, Idaho for Bonneville Cutthroat trout
• Lower Deer Creek protective fish barrier in Montana for Yellowstone Cutthroat trout
TROPHY REDFISH SCHOOL ON THE FLY WHERE: Louisiana… “The Land of the Giants” WHEN: January 7-10, 2010 HEADQUARTERS: Ritz Carlton, New Orleans COST: $3500 INCLUDED: 4 nights lodging, 3 days guided fishing (2 anglers per boat), all meals, seminars and fishing tansports. PROGRAM INCLUDES: Seminars led by IGFA world record holders and the hottest guides in the area… and hooking the biggest redfish in the world; classy accommodations, and New Orleans charm. LEARN: Presentation techniques and tips; saltwater approaches for redfish, including weather and condition factors… and much more. SEE: The French Quarter, the wild marsh, giant redfish, and the best saltwater experience in America. WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU: Something new and different for your customers vis a vis an affordable, exotic experience… and ample outfitting (gear sales) opportunities plus referral fee. NOT INCLUDED: Airport shuttles, alcohol, gratuities. HOW TO SIGN UP: Contact Captain Gregg Arnold— cell 504-237-6742, E-mail captgregg@gmail.com www.fishinthelandofgiants.com
– Henry Ford
Travel Highlight
The Bulls of the Biloxi Marsh – Trophy Redfish in Louisiana
Written by Roy Tanami
At O: dark 30 in the morning, as the Big Easy sleeps off the effects of the previous nights party (and every night’s a party), it’s about a 45 minute drive from Gregg’s home in the city to the tiny fishing hamlet of Hopedale, in St. Bernard Parish, situated at the edge of the Marsh. Hopedale was ground zero for Katrina, and as if that wasn’t enough, it was more recently pounded by Gustav and Ike as well. Signs of the devastation are still everywhere, but Hopedale springs eternal, so to speak, and at the marina and boat launch, its all about courage, re-building, returning to oyster leases and the beat of the bayou, and, of course, catching big redfish.
Editor’s Note: As a new feature in the magazine, we’re highlighting travel destinations with the understanding that referring trips is a way for retailers to drive sales and revenue. Given the sagging economy, we thought it wise to include a domestic destination that is acessible, but also as “exotic” as any adventure the fly angler might wish for...
Perhaps you’ve heard the rumours. I had too, but as a BC steelheader, frankly, redfish don’t often even register on the radar up here so if not for some
It turned out that Captain Gregg Arnold had a cancellation in the absolute peak of prime time for trophy redfish. That was the crazy good fortune part, and even a redfish rube like me recognized it. Arnold, for those of you obviously not as down with the Redfish Nation as yours truly, is the undisputed Big Man on the Biloxi Marsh - Mr. World-record Redfish Guide himself. Gregg has guided seven IGFA fly caught, world record redfish, and holds numerous state records to boot. So, if you want to fish the really big bull reds of the Biloxi (which you do) you also want to know this man.
Now Gregg would probably tell you that while I could cast forty feet in four seconds, it was often in the wrong direction. Spotting the targets proved to be my main challenge at first, but I like to think that I improved somewhat over the four days we fished. Gregg might beg to differ, but during my time there, these were the highlights. Tim Romano (the supposed photographer on this gig) and I on one afternoon caught and landed no less than a dozen redfish none of which were under 20 pounds. I not only busted my redfish cherry here, continued on next page...
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AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
In case you needed yet another excuse to visit the city of New Orleans, I’m about to sweeten the pot. Meaning, if Mardi Gras, flyin’ beads and boobs, beignets, drinking and dancing in the streets, endless raw oysters, crawdads, blue crabs, shrimp, po-boys, bourbon and Bourbon Street haven’t already lured you to Louisiana, then this one should tip you over the edge. In addition to the 24/7/365 party that is New Orleans, now add incredible flyfishing for big (as in world-record big), bruiser, trophy redfish, and lots of ‘em.
great fishing buddies of mine from Corpus Christi, and another dedicated steelheading friend who hails from, of all places, New Orleans, I may have remained ignorant to all of this. But thanks to persistent prodding by these and other fine fishing friends (as in, the editors of this rag), a redfish rendezvous was something that was on my books, and a recent stroke of fantastically good fortune finally made it a reality.
“Forty feet in four seconds.” As a redfish virgin, I got all kinds of advice from my more experienced pals but this little pearl offered up by Deeter was the one that stuck in my head, playing over and over as Capt. Gregg ran us out in his Hell’s Bay skiff deep into a vast, sprawling maze of marsh grass and mud flats to a place he calls “The Land of Giants.” Here, according to Kirk, if I could just cast forty feet in four seconds, I might just be able to hook up with what might even be a world record redfish. Wouldn’t that beat all?
CURRENTS
but somehow also managed a 28 pounder. As they say, even a blind pig finds an acorn once in awhile. Travis Holeman, of Holeman Brothers fame, fished with us one day and landed a redfish we estimated to be near 40 pounds – that’s world record class. And finally, Timbo dredged up “The Swamp Donkey,” a complete toad of a black drum which weighed in at a whopping 51 pounds. And those were just the high points. If you haven’t been to New Orleans, or fished redfish, do yourself a favor and put a trip on your calendar now. Winter in Hopedale is the best time for the big bull reds, which works out well since most everything else in the country is out of prime season. Unless you’re on some kind of a weight loss program, or don’t like having countless shots per day on trophy sized fish, New Orleans won’t disappoint. Contact Captain Gregg Arnold at 504-237-6742.
Follow-Ups
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
In response to the December 2008 Angling Trade (Tom Bie) article on digital media (video) in flyfishing, Fly Rod & Reel associate publisher Joe Healy wrote: “Having never been to a flyfishing DVD showing at a theater or college campus rec center, I can’t comment on how these events might recruit new flyfishers to the sport. Though I can say with a pretty high level of conviction that DVDs such as “Why Fly Fishing” by Jeffrey Pill and The American Museum of Fly Fishing or Joan Wulff ’s or Mel Krieger’s casting 16
videos/DVDs do more to help prospective fly fishers enter our sport than a sequence on fishing in Mongolia might. DVDs are entertaining, no question. But let’s also not forget how books and magazines such as Fly Fisherman, Fly Tyer and Fly Rod & Reel (to name three of the largest-circulation titles) have recruited folks to the sport, and have raised our collective skill and experience level, for several decades. And as a rejoinder to Tom Bie’s call for DVD or film-tour sponsorship: when flyfishing industry folks want to target truly large numbers of new fly fishers and impassioned long-time anglers with their marketing messages, magazines remain the top choice.” We also heard from Bill Leuchten of Front Range Anglers in Colorado, on the issue of manufacturers selling product directly online: “I don’t know of any other industry in which the manufacturing companies can successfully pull this off and not have a complete boycott from the retailers. After all, the retailer has invested in, allocated retail space for, and promoted their product. In most industries I’ve been involved in, the retailer would drop the product line like a rock if they caught the manufacturer poaching their customers. I think most fly shops are not aware of the manufacturers who provide product directly to their customers. Or they are aware and just don’t recognize the problem with it. A manufacturer has to make a decision when they enter any marketplace: Is the end user their customer, or the dealer/ retail outlet their customer? They can’t have both or else they become the dealer’s competitor. Manufacturers going after the retailer’s customers and successfully doubling their margin will be the end of the small shop.” In this regard, Angling Trade will follow up with a feature in a future issue, and we invite feedback from all sides; please contact us at editor@anglingtrade.com.
Access Issue Update Thank you for the many poignant responses to out last issue focused on water access. In follow up, the Salt Lake Tribune recently reported on a bill introduced in the Utah State Legislature by Rep. Ben Ferry, R-Corinne, that would effectively quash a Utah Supreme Court ruling in favor of public wading access on the state’s rivers and streams. Under the bill, sections of only 14 rivers would be designated open to recreational use by anglers. Also, Angling Trade regular Ben Romans also flagged a story reported in the Missoulian that outlined how a bill by Montana state Senator Rick Laible, R-Darby, aimed at redefining the terms “natural” and “natural water body” could ultimately limit stream access in that state. Please stay tuned to these issues as they unfold and look for further updates in Angling Trade.
Coming Soon to Your Shop?
The “Undercover Angler” They’re Still Flying in Jersey “If there’s a recession going on right, you’d never know it.” Those were the exact words of Hatch Reels owner John Torok on Sunday, January 25th—the final day of the Somerset Fly Show in New Jersey. Looking down aisles, I had to agree. Vendors were busy chatting, attendees rummaged through bins of
leaders and tippet, and outside, despite the 17-degree temperature, consumers crunched across the snow to test-cast rods on the lawn. Torok makes what are arguably some of the finest reels on the market, and they don’t come cheap, but he claims his time at Somerset was well spent. “We’ve had tremendously good days here this year,” he said. “The attendance has been outstanding.” Steve Krewson, Director of Operations for Hardy & Greys, was equally excited. “We’re rockin’. Hardy’s new clothing line is flying off the rack, and we’ve already signed up 110 dealers to carry Hardy and Greys products,” said Krewson. Ray Cote, of Massachusetts-based Cote’s Fly Shop, has had a corner booth at Somerset for 17 years. He too was pleased with the full aisles this year, but noted that he was selling more tying material than rods or reels. “I just think that’s because it’s cheaper,” he said. “People are buying, but not big-ticket items…at least not from me.” If Cote’s booth is for the Joe-average fly angler, Dennis Klein’s serves the upper echelon. The owner of Mystic fine flyfishing equipment, Klein is distributing Khan reels, some of which feature fresh flowers with aluminum stems epoxied onto the face. The vintage look and feel of these reels is appealing to a certain strain of long-rodder, and according to Klein, that strain is the bamboo lover, who has apparently been grabbing enough Khans at Somerset to keep Klein happy. While it was encouraging to see a strong turnout and upbeat vendors, the buzz on the floor was that Somerset’s sister show just a week earlier in Marlboro, Massachusetts, left much to be desired.
industries face. In fact, in an almost uniformly crappy economy, I’d say that one of the best niches to be in might be flyfishing, and I can say that with a straight face.
- Joe Cermele
If you were an exhibitor and were disappointed at ISE, you might need a deeper reality check to help plan ahead. If you were expecting people to ride that elevator up to the show floor and start peeling off hundred dollar bills, maybe you need a new outlook.
Related to the Undercover Angler report of the Somerset Fly Fishing Show, here is Angling Trade’s take on the recent ISE show in Denver... At the recent ISE show in Denver, my buddy John Barr grabbed me by the shirt cuff and said, “You know why I like you KD… you are the eternal optimist. When everyone else in the business is wringing hands, you have something positive to say.” He might have been implying that I should screw the cap tighter on my head cement, but I still consider that tall praise from a guy I really like. I truly don’t think a little optimism is misguided. Heck, as Barr said that to me, we were being smashed into the Sage booth by throngs of people packed into the aisles. People hungry for the outdoors. Granted, I don’t know the numbers for certain, and I don’t know how many rods, or exotic Alaska adventures got sold there. But I do know, judging from the filled audiences at the Fly Fishing Theater, that, at the very least, information was sold at record levels. Where there is interest, there will eventually be sales. Where there are sales, there can be profit. We’re far from the doomsday scenario some other
Why? Because for the price of taking your kids to the movies, you can still take them to a lake or river and fish. And throughout American history, as the economy has dipped, people have clung to traditional pursuits like the outdoors. The experience on the river, or the lake, is as valuable to people now as ever it has been. It’s probably more valuable to them now.
I don’t know that those days are ever coming. But already this year, the people were there. They bought stuff. Maybe not your stuff. My grandfather who farmed used to say a drought can kill the farm, but a crop shouldn’t. Meaning if the market price on soybeans was trending down, it was up to you to rotate to a different crop. The fact that ISE Denver was filled with people only underscores that the “base” (at least in this part of the country) is indeed alive and well. There is no catastrophic people drought. From where I stood, ISE benefited from the amped-up flyfishing presence in Denver, and flyfishing, as a sport, benefited from ISE. We can all do better, no doubt. Times are still tougher than they have been in years. But what I saw made me made me feel more motivated to stop the hand wringing and worrying, and make plans to capitalize on opportunities ahead. at - Kirk Deeter
17
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
“Between tying flies, I was literally snoozing in my chair at Marlboro,” said renowned saltwater fly guru Dave Skok. But at Somerset, he managed to give me that quote between questions from those surrounding his booth to watch him tie his famous Mush Mouth.
If there was a particular type of vendor sitting around looking at bit bored, it was those there to drum up guide service business. I noticed plenty of Costa Rica and Alaska fly DVDs playing on loops with no one watching. Perhaps consumers are spending more on rods and reels because they’re not planning to travel this year. Or maybe no economic crisis will stop fly gear junkies from shelling out. Mark Howard drove over two hours from Delaware to get to the show. “I love to fly fish the salt,” he told me. “Money might be tight, but what better place to stop thinking about money problems then out fishing?” I’d have to agree.
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Replace Yourself
Why introducing new anglers to our sport is good for business, good for fishing... Written by Jay Cassell
I recently read a piece by Joan Wulff, called “The Evolution of a Fly Fisher.” In it, Joan describes all of the stages we go through as anglers. We can all relate to them, so let me repeat them here. As Joan observed, all beginners want to do is catch as many fish as possible. Once an angler gets through that stage, the next level is trying to catch the biggest fish. After that, many of us try to catch the hardest or most difficult fish. Stage 4 is on giving back to the sport. It’s all about getting involved in conservation and preserving our heritage. Stage 5 is simply about getting out there, about enjoying yourself wherever you happen to be fishing at the time.
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
Stage 6 is where Joan really hit the nail on the head, as this concerns replacing yourself. “This is about bringing young people into our sport,” she wrote. “Unless we do this, our sport will be diminished, first in numbers of anglers and then, with fewer anglers working to preserve the habitat, in quality.” In a nutshell, if we want to preserve the sport we all love so much, then we’d better not sit back and hope that other folks do it. If you’re a retailer and want your business to grow, this takes on a deeper meaning. Successful businesses don’t only sell more and more gear to repeat customers. Truly profitable stores also sell equipment to new anglers. Once a beginning angler buys gear from you, and walks out that door a satisfied customer, there’s an excellent chance he’ll come back again. So the question is, how do you get that new customer in the first place? Teaching Kids It starts with teaching. I live on a 30-acre lake 50 miles north of New York City. The lake is loaded 18
Photo by Steveperih.com
with bluegills, stunted largemouths, some pickerel and perch. When my wife and I first moved there, I used to go down there with a 6-weight outfit and a Muddler Minnow and just catch bass after bass. Hooking 10 on 10 casts was not unusual. Not seeing any kids fishing was also not unusual. So, we devised a plan. After getting permission from the community, continued on next page...
IN THEORY, THIS SHOULD BE EASY.
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we put up notices that there would be a kids’ fishing derby on the lake on the Saturday morning of Memorial Day weekend. The community offered to put on a barbecue after the tournament, which was more than we could have hoped for. We scrambled after that, and got Zebco to lend us 50 rods and reels. We then got a tacklebox maker to donate some boxes for prizes. The local
went on and on. We even gave out a Most Innovative Technique award. The grand prizewinner was a 10year-old girl who caught a 16-inch bass! She walked away with a nice Plano tacklebox. A couple of key things happened that day. A sunny day with lots of fish certainly helped. But we were there, with some helpers, baiting hooks, giving advice, helping out, make a big
Teaching kids might be a daunting task if you’ve never done it before. I asked Lefty Kreh, the ultimate teacher, how he teaches youngsters. “I’m convinced that you can get even 3- and 4year-old kids interested in fishing, but it has be with closed reel spinning gear. And they must be able to catch fish,” Lefty told me. “The perfect place to start is at a local farm pond teeming with bluegills; size doesn’t matter to youngsters, they just want to catch fish. “It’s all about keeping their attention,” Lefty continued. “Try teaching 5- to 9- or 10 year-old kids flycasting while a dog is chasing something in the park and you’ve lost them. The key is to keep the teaching periods brief. Any time they indicate they are tired of it--or they want to catch butterflies or chase the family dog--stop fishing.
tackle shop, Bob’s, gave us three gift certificates, a couple of hats, plus a flat of worms. We bought hooks, bobbers, and split-shot from them, and made up a sign thanking Bob’s for his support and urging derby participants to buy their gear from him.
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
The night before the derby was crazy. You ever try to string up 50 spincast reels in one sitting? Oh, and don’t forget that nightcrawlers are called that because they crawl in the dark. After that first year, we left the garage night on all night. We went to bed totally excited for the 9 a.m. start. The next day was sunny and warm, and we had almost 65 kids show up. Parents whom we had never met came down to fish with their kids. Everyone was fishing and catching fish, so much so that we had to make up awards on the fly. By the end of the morning, we had given out First Fish, Biggest Bass, Biggest Bluegill, Most Fish, Smallest Fish…the list 20
deal of every fish caught. It was work, but what gratifying work. There were smiles all around. Looking back, setting up that derby was easy. And, once the momentum was there, it was simple to keep the tournament rolling. In fact, it’s now going on its 20th year. I find it particularly heart-warming when I see young adults who started fishing in the derby as little kids helping out today. They also fish on other days. Mission accomplished! As a storeowner, you can do the same. If you don’t live on a lake, contact a local fish and game club and volunteer to help out with their derbies. Get involved in your community. People will notice. Lefty’s Take Joan Wulff once told me that if every fisherman could get just one person into the sport, then our job of replacing ourselves would be complete.
“I also encourage people to take photos of their kids with their catches and hang them in the house for others to see. Like most people, kids like being heroes too.” Nick’s View Nick Lyons echoes Joan’s view that bringing more fishermen into the ranks will ensure that there will be stewards of our waters in the future. “Rivers and lakes need friends, and passionate, serious fishermen are always those in the forefront of protecting the watersheds that hold their quarry,” he told me. But then he also confided that he has ulterior motives for introducing youngsters into fishing. “I very much wanted some members of my family to adopt my great passion for fly fishing, for another reason: I love them and wanted their company, and wanted to share what had given me so much pleasure over most of the many years of my life. I probably tried too hard. I probably
should have started them with bait and bobbers, which is how I started, instead of the more difficult fly fishing that I had grown to love. But I think I was too anxious. Several of my boys fish, and can fish well, but they’re not serious about it,” he concluded. But there is hope.
“Been fishing?” I asked when I came in the door. “Yeah,” he answered in a typical teenage monosyllabic response. But that was okay, because I knew he had come back. Since then, we’ve been fishing together when it worked
for our respective schedules. We’ve hit local lakes, done some fluke fishing on the Atlantic Ocean, even went to Alaska last year, where we both caught sockeyes on flyrods. Now I’ve got a fishing buddy for life. Most important, I’ve replaced myself. You should too. at
“I began my grandson, Finn, at 5, in a bluegill pond, with worms, and he’s very promising. I know he was thrilled with what he caught and my only worry is that there were too many bluegills and it might have been too easy. Still I have my hopes. I have enough years left to see him as a great companion and a great champion of wise methods of protecting our great fisheries.” My Turn I taught my son, James, how to fish on that lake where we hold the derby. I started him with a spincast reel, bobber, and worms, then moved on to spinning gear. In summers, I’d make a point of going down to the lake with him at least one night a week. We’d catch bass and bluegills, and just have a good old time. When James got into high school, he got that attitude that many teenagers get. If you’ve ever had a teenager, you know what I mean. He knew it all, and I was dumber than dirt. At one point he told me he hated fishing and hated to read—two things dear to me. He was, of course, establishing his independence. We didn’t fish together for a couple of years after that. It killed me, but I’d go off on my own; didn’t even ask him to go with me, after awhile. But one night, I got home from work, and parked my car next to his in the driveway. I noticed a tacklebox and spinning rod in the back seat.
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After teaching fly casting for several years now, I have found that the line of demarcation is about 20 years old; younger than that and the metaphors that I use to teach fly casting are worthless. It must be a sign of my aging process but I am mystified that those younger students who come to me for fly casting instruction just don’t have the worldliness to grasp onto the tools that I have always used to illustrate the dynamics of the cast. When I teach the false cast, I want students to get into a rhythm and to become aware that when casting a shorter length of line, they need to have a quicker casting cycle than they do with a longer length of line. A simple concept but it sometimes needs illustration to be grasped. “Be like a metronome,” I advise my students, and at this admonishment I am often met with an owl-like stare. The eyes widen, and then blink repeatedly but no awareness sets in. “You know, the thing that sits on top of the piano and keeps time”.
Am I Too Old
to Teach Fly Casting? Written by Joseph Meyer
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
Nothing.
22
“But you told me you took music lessons!” Blink, blink. Nothing. When a beginner asks me about casting lessons, I tell them that it is easy to learn the basic cast. Kids pick up on it easier than adults, especially those that have had some musical training, so I always inquire about any music lessons that a prospective student may have taken. Yet the wood pyramid with the brass pendulum that graced
the piano that every student plunked away at is a foreign concept to younger casting students. “Well, if you don’t know what a metronome is how did you keep time?” They reply that the device used during their lessons was digital. Everything that comes out of a teenager’s mouth is said with that odd accent. Everything is di-gital. It’s the new Millennium. So, we press on. I need to illustrate that they need to come to a more definitive stop on their forward cast and I ask that they pretend that they are swinging a hammer. The scenario is this: they need to drive a nail into a wall to hang a picture. The big old brunette at home always wants pictures hung at eye level so I borrow her advice and tell them that they need to drive the nail into the wall at eye level. Further, they need to swing a hammer big enough to drive the nail in with one stroke. This illustrates that they need to break their wrist at the very last second to apply power at the end of the stroke and come to a complete stop. If they don’t break their wrist ever so slightly, I explain, they will be pushing the nail into the wall instead of driving it in. I want to remind them that when they are swinging a hammer, they normally do not hold it with a death grip but just tightly enough to keep control. It’s the same way with a fly rod. This analogy works for me and has worked with every student that I have ever had who was older than twenty. I was slack-jawed speechless when a casting student told me that neither she nor her brother had ever held a hammer. “Never?” No, was her reply, they always had a workman do that kind of thing. I am blessed to own a fly shop in a Chicago suburb that is surrounded by nothing but luxury. This brings beginner fly fishers into the shop and is an economic boon to me. The downside is that the continued on next page...
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a softball throw, thereby lengthening their casting arc and losing power instead of gaining power. It typically happens when casting for distance or casting into the wind. The correct technique is to come to a more complete stop on the back cast, let the line unfurl behind you and then apply more power to a complete stop on the forward cast. Lefty Kreh describes this as an acceleration to a stop.
younger students that I teach come from homes where things are done for them; they have people to do that.
of a Range Rover with a brush bar on the front. Now it’s my turn to offer up the Owl Look.
She told me not to yell at her, it’s not like her family had a ranch and she had to string barbed wire fences all day. She and her brother lived in Moneyville, for gosh sakes. This was coming from a teenager who drove up to her casting lesson behind the wheel
“Never, ever swung a hammer, have you Punkin?” Pity. Another common casting error that beginners (as well as an old fishing partner) make is to reach back for more power. When executing the back cast, they tend to reach back for as if they were making
GET AWAY.
FAR, FAR AWAY.
The description works in theory but needs illustration, and the next casting student was a young buck of about 19. I took the student’s fly rod away from him, laid it on the ground and told him that the fly rod on the ground is now the line on the saloon floor and that he would need to step up to the line to throw a dart. I told him that instead of a fly rod he now has a “pretend” dart in his hand and I asked him to throw the dart at an imaginary dartboard. The next teaching step was to move the imaginary dartboard further across the saloon floor so that when he made his next dart throw, he wouldn’t reach back for more power, he needed to come to a harder stop to get the dart to fly farther. The first time I used this analogy, I damn near broke my casting arm by patting myself on the back is self-congratulation; I was a genius in getting a point across. From the 19-year-old I got that Owl Look again, blink, blink. Not only had he never thrown darts before but he was truly confused about the concept of a saloon. Here came the accent again. “A saloon, is that, um, like a bar?” “No, dude, a saloon is not, um, like a bar, it is precisely a bar! It’s a comforting place where aging, harried fly fishers go to apply liquid salve to bruised egos after trout have made fools of them. As part of our therapy, sometimes we throw darts. You should try it sometime, it helps your casting stroke.”
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Sometimes I think I am getting too old for this. at Raised by an educator, Joseph Meyer loves teaching out of his fly shop, One More Cast, in Countryside, Illinois.
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THEY SAID IT
They Said It:
“
Five minutes after (photographing) a sow and 2 large cubs from about 30-ft away, I was focusing on shooting the sow, trying to get her head to fill the entire frame when I became aware of a draft on my neck, it was one of the cubs behind me smelling my backside.
“
Interview by Will Rice
My closest near-death, fishing-related incident: Five minutes after shooting a shot of a sow and 2 large cubs from about 30-ft away, I was focusing on shooting the sow, trying to get her head to fill the entire frame when I became aware of a draft on my neck, it was one of the cubs behind me smelling my backside. The same instant the sow woofed and the cub squealed, the sow started coming out of the water in a furry, wide eyed, I turned to run and tripped over the other cub. I got up and ran fast.
Photo by Trish Gosch
Name and age: Terry Gunn, 53 Title: Owner - Lees Ferry Anglers Guides and Fly Shop and Cliff Dwellers Lodge. To earn a paycheck I: Guide fisherman on the Colorado River at Lees Ferry; I am also a flyfishing photographer. The part of my job I love the most is: Two things - 1) Happy fish 2) Spending quality time on the crick with clients, sharing my knowledge of fly fishing and watching people become better anglers.
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
The part of my job I hate the most is: 1) Unhappy fish 2) Grumpy customers! (Not necessarily in that order but they often go together) If I mysteriously came down with the avian flu my staff would most likely find me fishing... Hopefully it would be the “winter variety” of flu so I could hit the marlin migration out on the banks off Magdelana Bay, Mexico. You will never feel more alive than when racing around in a 10-ft zodiac, chasing schools of marlin busting bait on the surface. 26
The last zone I fished that blew my mind that I’m willing to talk about: Argentina - golden dorado. I stayed on a private estancia, watched the gauchos work cattle, drank good red wine and ate the best steaks of my life. The fish I lost that still haunts me: Several years back Wendy and I were fishing the Kvichak River in Alaska. We were anchored, fishing a seam and drop off. I hooked a fish that ran straight away, no jumps, just one long sustained run; I thought that it was a foul-hooked salmon. I turned the fish and soon had him on the surface, about 30-ft away from the boat. It was the biggest rainbow trout that either Wendy or I have ever seen, he was considerably larger than the 34 1/2-in trout that Wendy had caught the previous year. He was an old fish and he was just hanging on the surface in the current...it was a stalemate. Wendy suggested pulling the anchor and driving over to the fish and netting it, I said no, and a few moments latter the hook pulled out and the fish pumped his tail and slid away. I wish I knew how big he was and should of listened to my wife...again... When I’m not working and not fishing you might find me: Over-landing in my built Jeep, camping, hiking, and spending quality time with my wife Wendy, and seven-year-old son, Troy. at
‘Smaller?’ What fishermen in their right minds would ever say such a thing? Well, actually... we do... In fact, we’re very proud of Smaller... but before you think we’ve lowered our fish-size expectations, relax... we’re obviously talking about Coefficient of Friction. And when it comes to fly lines and Coefficient of Friction – smaller is better – it means your line is slicker, and every fisherman knows a slicker line is a better line. The RIO Labcoats have achieved this amazing 15% reduction with our revolutionary XS Technology, a pairing of two entirely new chemical compositions, creating a glass-smooth surface and a super slick coating that repels the accumulation of dirt and grime, and casts farther, much farther. But that’s only a small part of the Big Science going on at RIO. In order to develop the world’s finest fly lines, it takes the most technologically advanced materials and manufacturing processes known to man, so we make sure The Labcoats have the finest of everything (and we nod approvingly during their frequent R&D Sessions to the river). We hook our lines up to exotic machinery that tests slickness and we formulate new copolymers to enhance durability. Our advanced tapers help with greater distance, improved accuracy, and softer presentations. Proprietary coating technologies, like our inspired AgentX and SFT technologies, create a slick finish that lets your line float higher and shoot farther. And with specialized leader and tippet materials for any presentation, we’re sure you’ll be pulling on more big fish soon enough. So, why does RIO put such a huge effort into Smaller? ...because your fly line matters, that’s why. www.rioproducts.com ©RPI, Inc. All rights reserved
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My Favorite Professors Written by Kirk Deeter
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
Some folks look back on their distinguished academic careers, and fondly remember those sage purveyors of wisdom—professors—who shaped their lives… molded their intellect… honed their critical thinking skills… and ultimately made them the people they now are. Having not enjoyed a distinguished academic career myself, I’m not one of them. Oh, I did have some great English teachers and professors who taught me how to put words and stories together, and I’m obviously grateful to them. But there are other “professors” I 28
should thank for giving me insights and knowledge that I still use almost every day. Truth is, they gave me the substance upon which I have built an outdoor writing career. They didn’t wear tweed jackets and talk behind lecterns… they wore waders, and worked riv-
ers… or they worked a push-pole, and scanned the flats. Some of my favorite professors, it turns out, are flyfishing guides. Among them, Terry Gunn… professor emeritus of Yellowstone University Rusty Vorous… the esteemed
Patty Reilly… professor Pat Dorsey… the dean of the flats, Bill Curtis… Chuck Naiser… Gary Taylor… John Flick… and a host of others.
In my day job with Field & Stream, I get dozens of E-mails and letters related to the question, “How do you find a really good guide?”
About 15 years ago, my wife’s cousins Andrew and Liz Steketee and I started a book project; we had no publisher at the time. It was, truth be told, an excuse to fish with great flyfishing guides. The premise was that guides are the living soul of the flyfishing world in that they shape opinions and share knowledge as much or more than anyone else. The book did get picked up by a publisher in 2002, and became Castwork. A sequel, Tideline, followed two years later.
And I tell them all the same thing. “The great guide is the one who makes you feel smarter—makes you a better angler at the end of the time you spend together.” In other words, it shouldn’t matter how many fish you catch. What matters is knowledge. Sharing knowledge. I still remember knowledge shared by guides I’ve fished with… Dave Faltings showing me how to use an in-
These book-writing experiences only strengthened my belief in guides. Wanna know what gear works best? Ask a guide. Wanna know how to cast best? Ask a guide. Wanna know about political issues related to the rivers? Ask a guide. Some manufacturers (Simms, Orvis, and others) and retailers (Blue Quill, The Fly Shop, and others) get that. Yet, as a whole industry, we need to do a better job of taking care of guides. On the flip side, guides, as a group, must understand that they are, when all is said and done, ambassadors of the flyfishing world. They are the difference makers. Guides will ultimately decide how well this sport endures in the future.
dicator dry fly at Silver Creek… the late Denny Breer telling me, “Time on water equals fish.” I remember Al Keller telling me to toss the trout fishing “tip-up” thinking out the window when it comes to playing a tarpon on the fly. I hear Conway Bowman tell me to “let big fish run, and let the reel do its job.” I remember all the knots Patty Reilly taught me. I remember Chuck Naiser’s advice on casting in the Texas wind. Pete Cardinal… let the bad cast ride. Amanda Switzer… play the breeze. Tim Mosolf… set the hook on instinct, not feel.
I worry that certain fly guides think that scooping fish with their nets and tying on bugs is where it all begins and ends. And, granted, in certain places, a guide can make a good living doing just that. Add in a few colorful jokes, and the tip is a done deal. Good for you… but that’s not good for flyfishing. I’ve taken up part-time guiding as a moonlighting gig. And my goal now for every day I’m on the water is this simple piece of advice from Gunn: Leave the people you fish with with at least one thing… one thing that they didn’t know when they showed up and put their boots on in the morning. That can be a new fly pattern, a tweak on the cast, a tip for landing fish, a bit of natural history… anything. But give them at least one thing. That’s the only advice I have for other would-be guides. Give them, at least, that one thing. And it can come from anywhere. Maybe the lady you took out on the water yesterday had a trick in her bag you didn’t know before. Maybe you read it somewhere. Maybe you had a guide show you something years ago. Maybe it’s an old trick from your grandfather… but pay it forward. Because you never know who that person you are fishing with is, or what they might tell others... or write. Old, young, novice or expert… people ultimately remember their favorite “professors.” Especially in flyfishing.
at 29
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
The difference between a great guide and a good guide is teaching ability. I remember a conversation with guide Kea Hause, when he told me that he spent whole work days just sharing information, without even wetting a line. And I remember Steve “Creature” I thought, “How odd… yet how smart.” Coulter telling me the best trout fishing advice I ever got, as we were Terry Gunn once told me what Lefty chasing tuna 30 miles off the Cape Kreh told him (and I’m paraphrasHatteras shoreline: “Fish like changes. ing): “A great guide shares knowlKey on changes in current and strucedge… he just doesn’t demonstrate ture, and depth, and you’ll find the how to catch fish.” fish… tuna, or trout.”
Guides’ influence is seen every day on the water. When I fish Cheesman Canyon in Colorado, and see a fluffed-out brown yarn indicator, and I know that angler is thinking about whether or not to add a “fuzz” more lead, I know that’s a Pat Dorsey disciple.
feature
Jeff Wagner’s
Top 10
Teaching Tips Written by Jeff Wagner (of course)
Communicating the ins and outs of flyfishing is one of the most important aspects of making a sale. Knowing how to present the information to make it educational is the key. Here are the top 10 things to think about. Are you… Positive? This doesn’t mean gushing with fake enthusiasm, but few people learn from a negative approach. Be constructive in your corrections and you will see a greater return from your time and energy.
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
Substantive? You would think that teaching and learning would go hand in hand, but it’s amazing how presenters can talk for long periods without saying anything. Know what information you want to say and say it. Planned and Structured? Knowing what information to present is important. Having a plan to present the information is just as important. The best information in the world can be lost if you are disorganized. Write it, read it, review it. Then have someone else review it, then review it again. Concise? Make your explanations clear and to the point. Can I be any more concise? 30
Responsive and Flexible? Watch your students if they are getting glassy-eyed, and make a change in your approach if necessary. Your elaborately designed informational posters may need simplicity instead of a designer with an art degree. At times, you may just need to take a 10-minute breather, allow the onlookers to sip some of the coffee you, of course, have on hand. Humble? A teacher that believes they have nothing to learn knows little worth teaching. Remember, each person in the audience has a different
background, you can learn something from each of them. Present yourself as a student of your craft, not a knowit-all authority feeding your ego with every word you speak.
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Confident? Have confidence in what you are teaching and your students will have confidence in you. Be prepared, practice your presentation, refine your writing, and perfect your performance. Respectful? Respect your students and they will respect you. Sounds contrite, but it is true. Differing opinions, backgrounds, and beliefs will abound in any teaching format. You can acknowledge such opinions without taking credit away from you or your material. Comfortable? People learn better when they are warm, dry, and in a position that allows them to concentrate more on what is being presented than the condition of their derriere. Keep in mind, most of your students (especially the ladies) will want to know where the bathroom is almost as much as where the trout are. Accommodating? People learn in different manners. Know how to present information in many ways, be it knot tying, fly tying, casting, rigging, or layering clothing. People learn by feel (kinesethics), by sight (visual), and by hearing (aural). When putting together your material think about how you can allow students to experience the information in each way, thus, expediting the learning process. Editor’s Note: Jeff Wagner is a respected outdoor writer, industry insider with sales rep and guiding experience, and an FFF Certified Master Casting Instructor, and AT’s resident teacher. at
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OPINION EDITORIAL
I’ve Learned... Written by Monte Burke
…that solitude has become paramount to me on the stream and having it is sometimes more important than catching a big fish. Flyfishing is an environmental movement of the mind.
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
…that sometimes mixing fishing friends doesn’t work out well. One autumn I invited a guy I had met in New York City—a New Canaan, Connecticut-native and a member of the Anglers’ Club of New York—to fish the Housatonic River with me and my friend Charlie, a high school classmate of mine from Alabama. North and South mixed about as well that day as they did in Antietam
in 1862. The New Canaan guy (NCG, for short) was relatively new to flyfishing but had all the accoutrements: a brand new Winston attached to a Hardy, and a deerstalker hat straight from Sherlock Holmes. Charlie had his father’s old LL Bean rod, a Pflueger Medalist and big black wad of tobacco tucked in his cheek. All was fine when we were on the water, each of us enmeshed in our own thoughts
and casts. Not so off the water. As Charlie and I sat at a picnic table, NCG emerged from the river and reported that he’d “topped” his waders. He said it with just the hint of a British accent. “Do you mean you fell in, dude?” asked Charlie, casting the first hairy eyeball of many that day. After lunch, Charlie put in another tangly wad of chew and sat against a tree like some backwoods Piscator, gazing out over the water. “Man, have you ever lost your favorite hat?” he asked of no one in particular. “I mean, gaaawd, I lost my favorite damn hat this week and it pissed me off to no end. I felt like an old friend had gone up died on me.” I knew the hat to which he referred. It was an old black baseball cap that he always wore backwards. On it was the logo from our high school. I’d rarely seen him without it in the six years since we’d graduated. The sweatband inside the front of the hat had started out white. The last time I saw it, it was as black as the rest of the hat. NCG chuckled and replied: “Oh, yes. Yes. One time I did indeed lose my favorite sailing jacket. It was from the America’s Cup, a splendid Murphy & Nye that my parents had acquired for me in 1983. They were on the observation boat in Perth, you see. And some bastard just stole it from me. Some… barbarian.” Charlie just sat there. Chew spit gathered in the corners of his agape mouth. He stared at NCG like he was an alien.
32
It went back and forth like this for a while. Charlie would talk about the “frickin’” awesomeness of the University of Alabama’s 1992 defensive backfield. NCG would bring up the magical undefeated
1989 season of D-III Williams College. Charlie would mention spring break and bikinis in Myrtle Beach. NCG talked about “summering” in Block Island. Wrenchingly caught in the middle, I quickly suggested we get back on the water. Since then I have enjoyed being on the water with both Charlie and NCG. But never again at the same time. …that the Henry’s Fork, though perhaps not what it once was, is still an awe-inspiring place. …that, for whatever reason, I fish better when I hit the river by myself. When alone, I fish “slower” (that is, with greater patience). That said, in general I have more fun when there’s someone there to share the day…and listen to my bragging. …to appreciate the gentlemanliness of Atlantic salmon fishing, where it’s common to rest a pool, an individual fish and even yourself for a few hours between morning and evening fishing sessions. In these days of centerpinning, lip-ripping and general poolpounding, that’s pretty cool. …that catching a dozen bluegills on a yellow popper on a soft spring evening in Alabama is pretty tough to beat. …to be careful around bonfires. A few summers ago, I was writing a profile about a big business honcho. I met the VIP at his fantastic Atlantic salmon lodge in Quebec, located on the mouth of the river. One evening after fishing he decided that we would have a bonfire on the beach and ordered some of his lackeys build it. They went nuts: the bonfire was absolutely huge, flickering a few stories high into the pitch-black sky. The VIP and I sat on a log and drank scotch and beer and shot the bull, never once shifting our gazes from the mesmerizing bonfire. After a long while, the VIP suggested it was time to turn in. I agreed and stood up and—for the first time in what seemed like a few hours—I took my
eyes off the bonfire. When I tried to take a step, the world suddenly went upsidedown, the result of some combination of the pitch-black darkness, the booze and the staring into the flickering fire. The only thing I remember from my dizzying descent was praying that I wouldn’t land in the bonfire. I ended up face-first in the
thick white sand on the beach. I dusted myself off for a bit and stood up. I was completely embarrassed (I was on assignment, after all) and was rummaging through my head for an excuse…when I realized I wouldn’t need one. Because, just on the other side of the fire, I saw continued on next page...
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OPINION EDITORIAL
…to carefully monitor the music I listen to in my car before fishing because whatever I hear last is stuck in my head for the whole day. One careless flip of the dial, and I’m stuck with Celine Dion. …that The Drake is the finest flyfishing consumer magazine in the land. Founder/editor Tom Bie’s mission to focus on the “why” and not the “how” has been a much-needed breath of fresh air. …that Internet flyfishing message boards are not immune to the disease that afflicts every other Internet message board: inevitably, they devolve into silliness.
the VIP flopping around in the sand like a beached bluefish, laughing his ass off while spitting sand out of his mouth. The episode didn’t make the story. But I’ll never forget it.
…that I have much more to learn about the dark art of effective nymphing.
…that gearing up beside the car before a day of fishing is a very pleasurable act.
…that although I always prefer to fish with a dry fly, streamer fishing from a driftboat can be a completely mind-clearing act. Yvon Chouinard once told me that streamer fishing put him into the same trance-like zone he used to get during his early days as a blacksmith. Atlantic salmon angling and western Steelheading can get you there, too. So can certain drugs. But this is a family magazine, so I’d recommend fishing.
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…that you cannot beat Tom McGuane when it comes to writing about angling. “If the trout are lost, smash the state,” remains one of the more memorable lines from any nonfiction story I’ve ever read. And he opens a story called “Snapshots from the Whale” with this one: “I had as my guide that day a young man who was perhaps retarded, and whom we will call ‘Alfred.’” It’s impossible to stop reading after that start. McGuane combines a breezy cadence with powerful sentences, a neat trick. Reading and re-reading McGuane should be a requirement for all of us “wannabe” writers.
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…how to say “I’m sorry.” I’m sorry, Captain Frank, for wrapping your brand new Sharkskin flyline around the prop in your boat that day in Jamaica Bay when the stripers were crushing bait all around us. Really, I am. And Charlie, I’m sorry for impaling the back of your hand with that size-6 Dave’s Hopper on that ill-fated backcast on the Yellowstone, then yanking the crap out of my line because I thought my fly was stuck in a tree until I realized that trees don’t yell like that; also I’m sorry about Murph the dog turning your brand new Sage 6-weight, two-piece into a four-piece that time on the Delaware. Paul, I’m sorry for nearly taking your eye out on the cold spring day on the Main Stem. It was James’ singing that distracted me! And Boss, I’m sorry for all of those “sick” days I took during the spring, summer and fall. That water sound you heard in the background during my phone calls? That was just me filling up my tub for a healing oatmeal bath. Really. at
RECOMMENDED READING
Reviewed by Kirk Deeter
Why We Suck isn’t exactly a feel good title. Nor is it a flyfishing book, to be sure.
legged blond chicks in hot pants and halter tops were sneaking over the border just begging to landscape our lawns, every single senator would be lining up to sign a bill not only allowing them in—but making sure their backyards got worked on first.”
But, having spent our last two “Recommended Reading” columns on flyfishing-specific books (Trash Fish: A Life, by Greg Keeler, and Angling the World by Roy Tanami), we figured we’d buck that trend, at least for a while. And as much as I’d like to offer up some poignant dictum on the cure to America’s economic ills, well… to my knowledge, that doesn’t exist yet (I’ve been looking). So I’ve decided to recommend the next best thing… a laugh. Dr. Denis Leary (yes, of course, it’s that Denis Leary from “Rescue Me” and standup comedy fame, the “Dr.” reflects a real honorary degree bestowed on him by his alma mater, Emerson College in Boston) has never been one to pull any punches. He’s made a career out of saying things we might be thinking, but don’t have the gall to actually say. This book is 240 pages of straight talk that you’ll find refreshing, if not downright hilarious. Examples:
On media double standards, and the Janet Jackson Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction… “One brown t@* sent everyone running for moral cover while the phrase ‘an erection lasting longer than four hours’ was pummeled into the formative brains of our tiny, little children.” On illegal immigration… “I gotta believe if Sweden was located right below Texas and six-foot-tall long-
But if you just want something that will make you laugh out loud, this is some of the best comedic commentary I’ve read in a long time. Leary pulls off what only the late great George Carlin (Napalm and Silly Putty, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops) could do so well, and that is make us open our eyes, think, and then laugh… at ourself, at life’s absurdities, even at its challenges. And in my mind, given what we all wake up and flip the television news on to discover these days, a little more thinking—and laughing— might go a long way. It might just make you feel good, after all. at 35
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
On George Bush Jr… “That’s right. Junior. F@#* this Herbert Walker blah blah blah bulls#*! Looks like a junior talks like a junior walks like a junior. Junior.
On the “does this make my (behind) look fat?” question… “I am convinced the burka was not invented by some crazed Arab hell-bent on following religions conventions—it was just a hungry husband who wanted to make his dinner reservation on time.”
A word of warning. Those are the tame excerpts from the book, and they took a good hour of review and scour to find. In that regard, I should say that if you have an ounce of sensitivity or political correctness in your body, if you’re offended by f-bombs and frank anatomy lessons, walk, no run, the other way and forget this recommendation. A book with chapters including: “Your Kids are Not Cute,” “Autism Shmautism,” “Famous Dead Kids,” and “TesticleColored Towels” is probably not your cup of tea. Or Chai Latte, as it were.
BACKCAST
In an economic environment whose cornerstone is competition, Dave Leinweber’s epiphany didn’t arrive by express mail. More like carrier pigeon.
“Sometimes we make it really tough on people to get started. The key is how easily we can bring people into the sport.” We mentioned Leinweber’s notion briefly in a different context a couple issues back. Now for the details as it pertains to instruction. The basic premise is to make the intro as painless as possible, $20 for an introductory class. If the inoculation takes, then it’s $20 for casting and another $75 for a day on stream. Next, the loyalty dollars program comes into play, a plan in which the customer gets $1 in learning credit for every $10 purchase. “He can use it toward classes, a guide trip, private lessons, any service we offer. That includes a guides’ tying night, where customers can come in and actually tie favorite patterns with the guide, who keeps 70 percent of the money. It puts a little cash in their pockets during the winter and builds value and loyalty through learning.” Ah, allegiance. “A specialty shop that doesn’t build loyalty goes out of business,” Leinweber says flatly. “You’ll never win on price, you win on loyalty.”
“For a long time, I thought about stuff like how much business I’d be doing if that other fly shop wasn’t there. It always was about fly shop wars, bad-mouthing the other shop, bad blood because of the opposition.” At some point, his hating cap came off and his thinking cap went on.
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
“I took a step back from the whole fly shop thing,” said Leinweber, whose Angler’s Covey shop in Colorado Springs is the largest in the region. “Instead, of that other shop not being there, what if the pie was twice as large.” The way to bake that idea, he deduced, was education. Real roll-up-the-sleeves, take-‘em-by-the-hand teaching that makes things easy, both on the ego and the pocket book. To achieve this, he came up with something called “learning dollars.” The pigeon had landed. 36
It helps that the shop has casting ponds just out the back door, that learning-dollar lessons often lead to expanded private lessons, that the client has to walk past all that merchandise to get to the pond. “If they use learning dollars for lessons and become more enthusiastic fly fishermen, they may come back and buy another rod. If they just go out and get frustrated, I’m not growing my client base.” Several hundred miles to the northeast, Chad Miller faced a different challenge—not from another shop, but from a fish, or rather a mindset. “We want to teach people to fish, not just to cast or even just to fly-fish,” Miller said from his Wildcat Creek Outfitters in Zionsville, Ind., near Indianapolis. “So many clients come in who have never fished before. Not fly-fished. Never fished, period.” Couple this with the fact that the prevailing angling activity is stream fishing for smallmouth bass and you understand why grassroots education continued on next page...
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BACKCAST
is at the epicenter of everything the shop does. How Miller’s lessons happen might surprise you. “When we do a beginner school, we actually take them fishing, not with a piece of yarn on the end of a line. We want to teach fishing. Casting will come later.”
Another revelation: “The bass guys who already know how to fish, they’re the easy ones and my best customers. All we had to do was teach them to cast. That’s the easy part.”Miller’s method is to teach smallmouth fishing on rivers, other warmwater species on lakes and to use a general beginner class to
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funnel graduates into the first two activities. The result is a steady flow of customers eager to learn. For a third teaching perspective, we complete our bi-pod journey back cross-country to Denver, where Ethan Emery operates his Angling University in a classic educational mold. Emery’s day job is teaching High School science, which gives him particular insight into how the learning process works best. “We run the school like a guide service, only with a focus on lessons,” he said of a concept he developed with partner Matthew Burkett and now operates out of Trout’s Fly Shop, with whom they split proceeds. “As a science teacher, I believe people learn by doing, not just from a lecture, as with most lessons.” His techniques include “expert groups,” wherein each student becomes an expert on a particular subject, then teaches that to his fellow beginners. Another is an “inquiry style” to discover the student’s prior knowledge while engaging them in the learning process. The result is to eliminate the old lecture paradigm that often produces more boredom than retained information. “Most beginners learn to fly fish in one day,” Emery said.
AnglingTrade.com / March 2009
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Another helpful element is that Emery has no financial involvement in a shop. “We not luring them in to buy a lot of stuff, just making it easy to get them into the sport.” Then they buy a lot of stuff. - Charlie Meyers
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