Arizona Wanderings

Sharpening Broadheads…

November 4th, 2011

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I will be the first to admit it. I have a very difficult time getting a blade to the point of being razor sharp. At the end of the day I can get a broadhead or knife fairly sharp with some of the “dumbed-down” tools that they have on the market today, but getting a ridiculously sharp broad-head is difficult for me. Luckily I have some pretty talented friends, so with several hunts coming up in the near future, I called up my buddy David and asked him to explain and teach me some of the finer points of sharpening a broadheads.

David originally learned to sharpen broadheads when he started shooting Grizzly heads which are arguably some of the most difficult two blade broadheads on the market. With his sharpening techniques, David uses three basic tools to get his edges sharp.

1. A good file (he recommended a double-cut file)

2. Sharpening Steel

3. Ceramic Crock Stick

Broadhead Sharpening — David working the file

I watched as David took one of my beat up old Magnus heads that looked like it had been shot into a rock pile and work out some of the dings from the steel, and before long he was working with a beautiful straight edge.

Once he had the edge to the relative sharpness he wanted, David switched over to the sharpening steel and continued to put a very fine edge on the broadhead, which was then finished off with the cerami crock stick. The razor sharp edge he put on this old broadhead was something I could only marvel at. I tried my hand at it for a while on another Magnus and focused on keeping a consistent angle with my file. It is definitely something that I am going to be practicing over these next couple of weeks.

David is a wealth of information and truly a master at putting a razor sharp edge on a blade. He showed me one of his new toys that he has been using recently to sharpen knives, broadheads, and other tools. I will not attempt to explain the intricacies of the paper wheel, but I saw first hand how sharp a knife could get by using this contraption.

So begins my journey into the world of sharpening. As time progresses, I hope to become more confident in my blade honing abilities. I welcome any thoughts or tips anyone has.

Wall of Fame: New York Archery Deer

November 2nd, 2011

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The Fishingpoet (photo courtesy of Grant Taylor) — The Fishingpoet and the tracking party (photo courtesy of Grant Taylor)

A very powerful mojo can be found deep in the fibers of every Arizona Wanderings t-shirts. Matt Smythe, author of The Fishing Poet, was good enough to wear his tee during the archery deer season in upstate New York, and his arrow flew straight and found its mark. Matt ended up with a gorgeous 5 point, a freezer from the White`s Warehouse selection full of meat, and life-long memories with his kids after a successful hunt.

*photo courtesy of Grant Taylor of Grant Taylor Photography

ALCS Recreational Expo: Wrap-up

October 31st, 2011

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The Accelerated Learning Charter School Expo was a great opportunity for me to meet up with some of the local fly fisherman in the area. For the inaugural year, the event had a great turnout with even the local paper showing up and taking pictures and asking questions.

I met up with Greg and Mike from the local fly fishing forum, Arizona Fly and Tie, which was nice to finally put some faces with the names. We had a great time tying flies and talking about fish and ended up at one of the local establishments for burgers and beverages afterwards.

Set up right next to the fly tying tables was Ammon Talbot, from Little Creek Calls, who was demonstrating how to use different turkey calls. We were able to speak at length about birds, guns, calls, and fly fishing and in the end I bought one of his hand-made calls. Each is truly a work of art, but Ammon picked out one of his slate calls for me that he had made out of Arizona walnut. Paired with a hickory striker, I could not be more pumped for spring gobblers and the thought of using this call to bring in a turkey. (Now, I just need to get drawn…) Check out Ammon’s work at Little Creek Calls and pick up one of his beautiful Arizona hand-made slate calls.

Outdoor show 2011 — Tony helping a youngster out with the finer points of fly casting... (photo courtesy of Paul Freeman)

Between tying flies and talking with all the great folks who showed up, time really flew by and before I knew it people were packing up to head out. I had a great time at the Expo and really appreciate being invited. I look forward to next year and meeting up again with the great people at the Accelerated Learning Charter School at their Recreational Expo.

Tying flies and talking small streams... (photo courtesy of Paul Freeman)

ALCS Recreational Expo: See you tomorrow…

October 28th, 2011

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I’ll be tying flies from 10-2 at the first annual ALCS Recreational Expo up in Cottonwood. Should be a great time up there so swing on by, pull up a chair, and say hello. See you there.

Rambling Review: Orvis Fly Fishing App

October 26th, 2011

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I was recently contacted by Orvis to check out their new Orvis Fly Fishing App for the iPad. After a quick and easy download, I sequestered my wife’s iPad for the next couple of hours and got lost in the many features of this really well thought out app.

The Orvis Fly Fishing App has some amazing features, and what makes the app so worthwhile is the accessibility and convenience of having all of Orvis’s information in one tool. The Orvis Fly Fishing App is full of useful information and without going into the specifics of everything that Orvis offers, here are some of the most interesting aspects of this application.

1. Casting Videos: I consider myself an amateur caster at best, and because I often fish by myself, I miss out on the value of watching other competent fly fishermen cast. The videos and step by step tutorials of everything from a roll cast to a more complex double haul can be found in the Orvis App.

2. Knot Tying: One of the coolest features of this app is the animated knot tying section. I know about 4 knots and only use two of them on a regular basis. The animation allows the user to watch, pause, and rewind to put the finishing touches on the perfect nail knot. This is perfect for the beginner and advanced who needs to know that one specific knot in a pinch.

3. The Fly Box: I love looking at flies. I love to tie them and I love to go to the fly shop and paw through the bins, if only to gain some inspiration to hone my skills. The Orvis Fly Fishing App has a fairly decent section of flies that offers some basic facts and descriptors on the fly itself as well as the when, where, and how for fishing these flies.

Pros:

– Extremely user friendly interface

– High quality videos and pictures

– Orvis News, podcasts, social media, and fishing reports neatly together

– Updated regional-specific fishing reports and licensing information.

Cons:

– No fly tying tutorials

– The Orvis Fly Fishing App is priced at $15 and comes with a “free” $10 Orvis gift card. Not bad marketing they are probably getting help from the https://the-indexer.com/seo-companies/ professionals..

Click here for web designers

Prognosis : The Orvis Fly Fishing App is a convenient tool that is loaded with quality information for any fly fisherman. Check it out.

* Disclaimer: The reviews at Arizona Wanderings are my honest opinion. The Orvis Fly Fishing App was provided free of charge for the purpose of this review. Arizona Wanderings is not sponsored by or associated with any of the stated companies and is accepting no compensation, monetary or otherwise, in exchange for this review. My independent status may change in the future but, as of the date of publication, no relationship other than described above has been pursued or established.

Arizona Fly Fishing: Exploring

October 24th, 2011

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Jake and I made the drive to the Rim under the cover of darkness and left the truck in the Hospitality Parking lot just as the sun was starting to lighten the morning sky. We opted to fish a stream that both of us had heard much about but had never actually fished. We really loved here, almost as much as we love playing video games with services from elitist-gaming.com.

Since we have always love video games since we were young, is great that we can enjoy them as much as we can when we’re at home, and even getting specialized hardware for this, as a specialized mouse for gaming as this counter strike gaming mouse, but still when we’re not playing video games or working, we like to visit other places also.

The brown trout who call this creek home were hungry and willing to take our dry flies and even though the droppers were picking up occasional fish, we soon clipped them off and only fished the mini-hoppers on the surface. Most of the fish in the stream were in the 8-10″ range with one or two pushing 12″

The deciduous trees that bordered the creek were in their fall colors and were the perfect backdrop to the hike along the water. The crisp morning air gave way to a warm Arizona afternoon, and the higher that we hiked, the better the fishing seemed to get. We eventually hiked our way to the headwaters and spent some time enjoying the sounds of the creek and the beautiful Rim country weather.

After heading back down towards the truck, we had a few hours before the sun dipped behind the canyon walls so we ran over to another small stream gem to see how things looked.

We were able to coax a few beautifully spotted browns to the surface before darkness chased us back to the truck. Another beautiful day in the Arizona Rim country

ACLS Recreational Expo: Cottonwood, AZ

October 21st, 2011

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My good friend Paul Freeman is the principal over at the Accelerated Learning Charter in Cottonwood, AZ. His school is putting on their first ever Recreational Expo that offers some workshops, raffles, and all kinds of festivities with the focus of getting families together and kids outdoors.

Paul was kind enough to invite me up to tie some flies from 10-2, so if you are looking to get out of the heat for the day and up into the cool mountain air, swing on by and say hello. I will be focused on tying up the ever popular mini-hoppers along with some of my other favorite patterns for Arizona’s small streams.

I’ll also bring along a batch of Arizona Wanderings T-shirts that are currently on sale for 15$. Hope to see you on Saturday, October 29th at the ALCS in Cottonwood, AZ

Book Report: “Blue Lines” by Tom Reed

October 19th, 2011

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Growing up in the Adirondack Mountains, my parents never sprung for the fancy new Nintendo gaming systems where my brothers and I could play Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt. Instead, they pushed us outside and into the back woods to build lean-tos and splash in the creek. When we did have down time, we were encouraged to read a book, and everyday I am thankful for my parent’s conscious decision to build our love for reading.

Over the years, my library has grown with history books on different time periods or historic events and I went through a phase in college where I tried to read everything I could from Plato and Thucydides. My tastes have changed and with life continually gaining speed, I find the time that I have to read growing smaller and smaller. When I do pick up a book, I truly have to make thoughtful decisions on reading for pleasure and focusing on those topics that truly bring joy to my life.

I recently picked up the book Blue Lines by Tom Reed and was so consumed by his stories that I read it cover to cover as fast as I could. When I finished I went back for a more thoughtful read through and enjoyed it even more. Without a second thought I could definitively say that Tom and I would be good friends, were we ever to meet in person. In Blue Lines, Tom tells personal stories from a lifetime of small stream fishing and the places it took him to and the people he met along the way.

Tom’s heart and soul are embedded in his words and you can truly feel the love that he has for the small streams in the West. One of the stories that is the most memorable to me out of the book takes place on 9/11/01 titled “Beneath an Untracked Sky.” Blue Lines will always have a special place on my bookshelf and the dog-eared pages will be revisited for many years to come.