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It was pushing 100º by 7:00 am and I was cursing myself for wearing a black shirt (which is what happens when you get dressed in the dark). The fishing was unbelievably slow and for an hour and a half I had fished without any success. Carp were feeding out the film but all I had was my box of leeches. Luckily, Jason was kind enough to lend me one of his bread flies to break the curse. After a couple of refusals I found this beauty willing to play along. Ugly fish need love too…
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I truly have been blessed this summer with tons of fishing all over the country. After my trip to Oregon and Alaska, Michelle and I had a day or two in Arizona before we hopped back on a plane and headed back to New York and Pennsylvania for a couple of weeks to see my family. We headed up to my hometown in the Adirondack Mountains and I was able to take a couple days to visit some of those classic Eastern streams and find some willing trout.
My good friend, Tony, and I met up early in the morning and made the drive up through Keene Valley, past the closed doors of Fran Betters’ old fly shop in Wilmington and pulled off next to one of the most beautiful rivers that God created. The West Branch that we spent our day on is full of boulders and classic pocket water that is full of browns and rainbows. I tied on an orange mini-hopper and a copper john (is anyone tired of me fishing this rig?) and hooked up in the first run, when a slim brown trout rose to the dry fly.
From about 7 am to noon, I had consistent action on dry/dropper rig with fish feeding on both flies. Most fish were in the 8-12 inch range although I lost one or two that were a little bit bigger.
It truly was a glorious morning working about a mile stretch of water with fish extremely active. I did have an unfortunate incident with a guide who thought it would be a good idea to park his client 20 yards up the river and cut in on the run I was fishing up. With no one else on the river mid-week, I felt his choice of location was extremely poor to say the least. I swallowed the intense anger that welled up inside of me, finished fishing what I could and moved on to some other water.
We fished till about noon, with many more browns coming to my Sierra Net made by Greg Madrigal. (A couple of net reviews will be showing up in the upcoming weeks.) With the mid-day sun climbing higher in the sky, we opted to get some lunch and visit one of the newer shops in town, the Ausable River Two Fly Shop. The shop was great and full of gear. The atmosphere was spectacular with everyone saying hi and introducing themselves, while several guys were seated just tying flies. It had the feel of a group of friends hanging out rather than an actual shop. I highly recommend a stop here if you get a chance.
It is not really an AuSable River trip unless you stop at A&W for a burger. Tony and I sat around enjoying the wind in the pines and talking about life and our plan for the rest of the day. Unfortunately I had to take off around 6 p.m., right when the hatches start to turn on in the evening. During the heat of the day, the water warms and the fish move into the deeper pools and are not very accommodating.
Without a whole lot of options we sought out shade, deep runs, and foam in search of some mid-day fish. We were disappointed in the fishing but the scenery was magnificent. There is no doubt as to why the Adirondacks is so sacred.
After fishing a couple of hours with no activity, spirits were low. I had worked my way into some faster water and was swinging a Adirondack pattern called the AuSable Ugly. After several passes, I saw the flash of a fish and felt the line go taut. A large rainbow in breached the surface and ran to the head of the run, but after playing him for a minute, he begrudgingly came towards my net. As I dipped the net in the water, he gave one powerful flop and came off the hook and disappeared into the black water in front of me. Although I missed a fine photo, it was a perfect spot to stop for the day.
It saddens me to know that I never took full advantage of this river when I lived in New York in my early years. It took me until my mid-20s and living in the desert to find fly fishing. There is always something special about going home to see family and friends. Now the AuSable gives me one more good reason to hop a plane back to New York…
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Rambling Review – Korkers Hyjack Wading Shoes
Why:
Living in Arizona, I start wet wading as soon as the snow is gone. Generally that means by the end of April or early May, I am lucky enough to leave the bulky, smelly waders at home and don a pair of cargo shorts to hike the small streams in our high country. Typically, I wear my regular wading boots with a pair of sock and a wading booty, but even with all of that material in the boot, it generally is a little loose. I came across the Korkers Hyjack Wading Shoe and thought I would give them a shot. They seemed like they would fit my style small stream fishing perfectly.
First impressions:
The Changeable Soles – The new Korkers design is ingenious. The OmniTrax system is so simple to change out the different soles that they offer. Most any combination that you can think of is available for the bottom of the shoe.
The Fit – The Korker Hyjacks fit wonderfully. I am a size 10 and these shoes in a size 10 fit perfect with a 2mm booty. Truth be told I tried them on barefoot and they felt pretty good too.
Field Use:
I have spent the past couple of months tromping around the Mogollon Rim splashing in small creeks chasing wild trout and I love the Korker Hyjacks. Typically what I have been doing is wearing the regular Kling-on soles during the hike and in the water with the felt soles in my pack just in case I get into a really slippery round rock creek. What is truly amazing about these shoes is the ease of changing the sole. It really is simple and quick and no time is lost in the process.
These boots are extremely light weight and comfortable to hike in. The Korkers site boasts 100% waterproof material which makes sure these shoes stay nice and light. Korkers added a nice touch with the “Quick Cinch” lacings which cuts down on the standard shoe laces which retain water and weight. The Hyjacks drain quickly and there is none of the heaviness when stepping out of the stream that comes with the bulky wading boot. Overall these boots are lightweight and “grippy” making them pretty much awesome.
Most of the time at the end of a long day sliding around in the stream, my feet are aching and ready for a break. The Hyjacks gave great ankle support even for a “low top” shoe and protected my ever weakening arches. There were several instances where it would have been nice to have higher ankle support, but overall these performed very well in the gnarly backcountry of Arizona.
Pros:
Lightweight
Waterproof material
Quick and easy OmniTrax interchangeable soles
True size fitting
Cons:
Different soles sold separately.
Kling-On Sticky Soles started to wear around the edges after several hard hikes in the field.
Durability of the mesh sidewall
Prognosis: The Korkers Hyjack Wading Shoe is the ultimate small stream wet wading shoe. A must have for the creek stalking fisherman.
***Update 8/17/13 – The Korkers Hyjack Wading Shoes have served me well. My first pair gave up the ghost after a year of hard abuse, and because I liked them, I bought another pair. The second pair lasted about a year as well and ultimately blew out. Although I like the concept behind the Korkers model, durability seems to be a weakness.
* Disclaimer:
The reviews at Arizona Wanderings are my honest opinion. 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. The Korkers Hyjack shoe was purchased at the “pro” rate price for the purpose of 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.
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Over the past 6 months, much to the surprise of my wife and myself, my flies and t-shirts have been finding their way all across the county and even across the oceans. In honor of some of those who have been rocking the mini-hoppers and Arizona Wanderings t-shirts, this post is for you.
First, Greg Madrigal from over at Sierra Nets has been rocking his Arizona Wanderings shirt and tearing it up on the streams and ponds of California. Greg is a great guy who has a true gift and fashions some of the most spectacular nets I have ever seen. Make sure to check out his site and check out the monster catfish he caught on one of the illustrious Simi-Seal Buggers.
My good buddy Mike from over at “of Dry Flies and Fat Tires,” spent some time on the Rio Grande giving the mini-hoppers some playing time. The minis rose to the occasion and pricked a few fish. Full story here…
Another longtime blog friend, Mike, from “Troutrageous” picked up one of the new Arizona Wanderings t-shirts and found that it had a bit of fishing mojo. More on Mike’s day fishing here…
Another great fishing partner and friend is Eric Davis of Hooked Up Films. On my recent trip up to Oregon, Eric made the magic happen in an Arizona Wanderings T-shirt and showed me how to fish the mighty Deschutes. I owe Eric a great deal, not only because he put me up in Oregon and allowed me to fish with him, but because he has been one of the supportive voices in the evolution of my site. Thanks Eric.
Another success story involves my buddy JohnMark, who I took fly fishing for the first time last fall. He was moving to Colorado, so I convinced him he needed to buy a fly rod, gave him how-to book, and tied him an Altoids tin full of flies and sent him on his way. He finally got a little time and landed his first “all by himself” fish. Beautiful brown JM. Strong work.
Lastly, a big thanks to Tom Chandler over at the Trout Underground where he gave a great review of the mini-hopper as a possible candidate for “the ultimate small stream fly.” Ever since I stumbled into fly fishing, I have been reading Chandler’s thoughts and ramblings. To have him say such kind things about the mini on his site was a little bit surreal, not to mention the subsequent mini-hopper sales. I will be busy tying for some time. Thanks for the kind words Tom.
A big thank you to everyone who has supported Arizona Wanderings by either buying flies, shirts, or both. I never imagined that I would get the kind of response that I did and the kind words and support have been extremely appreciated. If you have bought flies or shirts and have a camera handy, take some photos of them in action and email them on over so I can put them up on the site.
If you have not picked up a t-shirt…what are you waiting for.
I am back in AZ for the rest of the summer and am tying lots of mini-hoppers, so if you have been waiting to place an order, now is the time.
Thanks again for the support.
Ben
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I have never been on a cruise before and never really saw myself as a cruise-type guy, but when my in-laws invited us to join them on an Alaskan cruise, Michelle and I jumped at the chance. The cruise was a 3 day land portion followed by 7 days on the water. I used the opportunity to fly up to Oregon to fish with Eric and then met up with my wife and her parents in Anchorage. The days flew by and the beautiful landscape was complimented by far too much good food. Below are some of the expeditions that we found enjoyable on our cruise.
We rented a couple of mountain bikes while we were in Denali and rode around on the bike trails outside the lodge. The views were spectacular and the exercise was…invigorating. The ups and downs had everyone’s hearts pumping and lungs burning, but I can see what Mike over at Dry Flies and Fat Tires loves about biking.
While we were in Scagway, we hooked up with a rock climbing outfit and visited one of the local crags. Michelle and I used to climb often but when our local gym closed down our climbing shoes and chalk bags have not seen too much use as of late. Squeezing back into my Galileos and pulling on some real rock was a great way to spend a morning.
Michelle is a phenomenal climber and shimmys up rock so quickly and smoothly. I usually climb a route first and force myself to finish because I know that she is going to flash up when I am done. We had a wonderful time and would highly recommend the Alaska Mountain Guides.
While in Juneau, we booked a zip line trip with Canopy Adventures. The zip line is located in the middle of a rainforest and flies over the ruins of the Treadwell Mine, which was once one of the largest gold mines.
We had a phenomenal time zipping through the trees and flying over deep gorges. Our guides were great and extremely professional, which is always reassuring when you are up in a tree 100′ above the ground.
Our last stop on our cruise was in Ketchikan where we toured the with Southern Exposure Kayaks. We paddled around Eagle Island and literally saw dozens of different eagles in the trees and multi-colored starfish that clung to the rocks. The double kayaks were easy to maneuver and the calm water was serene.
Overall, the cruise was a great way to get an overview of Alaska, but I must confess that I saw only glimpses of mountains and streams that I longed to explore. Before I was back in Phoenix, I already had thought of ways I could get myself back up into the great state of Alaska to camp, fish, and hunt.
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After an unbelievable week in Bend, Oregon chasing big rainbows on the Deschutes and Crooked Rivers, I woke early to catch a flight to Anchorage to meet up with my wife and in-laws for a 10-day land/ocean cruise. I knew that this was a rare occasion to be in this part of the country, so I did a little research and tried to find a guide outfit that would make the most of my time while I was in Alaska. The only real time that I had to get some serious fly fishing in was going to be Denali, and my search led me to Rick McMahan and the Denali Fly Fishing Guides. I contacted him and after a couple conversations with him on the phone, I knew he understood what I was looking for and we arranged for me to get picked up at the hotel for a full day of grayling fishing in the interior of Alaska.
After a cup of coffee and one of the greatest cinnamon rolls of my life, I met up with my guide, Terry Boyd (who took most of the photos used here), and we headed out on the Denali Highway to wade in some of the arctic streams looking for a big grayling. The streams that we fished all fed into the Nenana River which is north flowing glacier river. The Nenana River was a slate gray due to all the sediment from the glacier and only when it clears up do fish actually move into its flows. The feeder streams though do hold arctic grayling in the spring and early summer months, and as the sun stays in the sky most of the day, these fish gorge themselves trying to fatten up for the long dark winter months.
We hit the water and were met my clouds of mosquitoes who feasted on our flesh as we rigged up our three weights. Terry advised dry flies as these grayling are fairly aggressive eaters, and I therefore tied on an orange mini-hopper. Within moments of stepping into the water and casting to a couple of likely spots I was hooked up with my first native arctic grayling. The fish fed heartily and I the mini-hopper worked wonders in these streams.
Most fish were between 12 and 16 inches and Terry put me in some really prime runs that held tons of fish. I added a #16 copper john behind the mini-hopper in hopes of picking up one of the bigger fish hanging out on the bottom. We fished one section of the stream and must have picked up 30 fish between the two of us. As the bites were starting to dry up, I laid a cast near the opposite bank and as the mini-hopper slowly drifted within inches of the bank, it dipped beneath the surface indicating that something had happened under the surface. As I lifted the rod, I saw the deep purple and turquoise of a bigger fish. I played him closer to shore and landed the biggest arctic grayling of the day.
The fish were out all day and we switched to a couple of different streams to change up the scenery. By the time we were done, I must have landed over 60 fish in the 6 hours on the water and about half came on the dry and the other half on the dropper. It was an unbelievable day in some of the most beautiful country that I have ever fished in. Terry Boyd and Denali Fly Fishing Guides were spectacular and put me on some great untouched water that took me into the heart of the Denali Wilderness. I highly recommend this outfit if you ever get a chance to get up into Denali.
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There is nothing truly as grand as that first night sleeping in a real bed after a long fishing trip, the feeling of being able to clean using a real vacuum from Vacuum Sealer Research
after a long period of time I slept so hard that I felt like a lead weight sunken into the leesa queen size mattresses. After looking at some river flow reports and weather forecasts, we opted for something a little closer to Bend. Eric also wanted to give the Titan Expedition Vehicle a little trial run before an upcoming adventure. Eric has recorded on Hooked Up Films the building of his epic masterpiece and details why and how this project came about and was built. Definitely check out what he has done.
We opted to fish one of Eric’s favorite rivers, the Crooked. The Crooked River is a tailwater that flows out of Prineville Dam. Although a little bit higher than he normally fishes it, the river looked good and fishy, so by 10’clock we were on the water with Eric’s best fishing buddy, Rascal. To say that I was impressed with Rascal, is an understatement. This pup scoured the bank, peed on everything, and watched as we fished. As much as I love my pups, I am pretty sure they would have been in the middle of the river scaring fish or finding trouble somewhere. Rascal proved his quality as a fishing partner.
Fishing on the Crooked was a little bit slower than the Deschutes, but we managed to pick up some fish. Most were in the range of 10-12 inches with a couple of “shakers,” as Eric calls them, showing up in the 4-8 inch range. We threw everything we had and found that red seemed to be the color. For whatever reason, we had consistent strikes on our indicators. When we switched to dry flies or hoppers, not much happened. Big fish continued to rise and strike our indicators but ignored everything else we offered.
We stuck with it and still landed some fish. Eric landed a beauty (above) on a red nymph that definitely pushed 17 or 18 inches. I was able to pull a few nice ones as the wind continued to blow harder. After a fruitless hour, we opted to make camp as the light faded and it was nice to sit around the fire and feel it warm us as the wind put a chill in the air. Lasagna and corn on the cob rounded out a nice evening, although Rascal looked on in astonishment, disbelieving that we would eat all of it and not leave him any.
After a night in the T.E.V., I was more than a little jealous. After years with a regular truck camper on his vehicle, Eric thought of everything, when he planned and built this unit. I am just trying to come up with a way to convince him that he should build me one too.
Day 2
Scrambled eggs and oatmeal. Is there anyway else to start a quality fishing day? The sun warmed the canyon as we broke camp. We drove to some fresh water and slowly started to fish the pocket water of the Crooked River. The fish were there and Eric pulled a few rainbows, while only whitefish seemed to be interested in my fly offerings.
The morning was beautiful without cloud in the sky, which unfortunately did nothing to help the hatches. The pocket water was the best producer so we fished every rock and seem with great care. I rounded the corner of the river and way a great looking couple of rocks in the middle of the river. Not wanting to lose an opportunity I carefully waded out to my waist. (I found out there is a hole somewhere in the crotch of my waders, but that is beside the point.) I was able to make some great looking drifts, even if I do say so myself, and was pleased when my indicator dipped below the surface. A solid hookset followed by a couple of headshakes, let me know that there was life on the other end of the line. The fish came out of the water, a welcome relief which let me know that it was not another whitefish, and I carefully played the fish to shore.
Holding the meaty fish in my hand was inspiring, and as I looked around, I knew that my time in Oregon was coming to an end. Savoring the moment, I released the strong fish back into the current to fight another day. Rascal sat on the bank and his wagging tail told me that I had done good. Tough to beat a day on the water with a good friend, good dog, and a good fish.
Everyday on the water is a learning experience. It was challenging trying to figure out what to throw for these fish, but rewarding when we were able to trick them. We spent another hour fishing the Crooked before calling it a day. The Titan Expedition Vehicle wound its way back toward bend and we crested several hills that boasted some breathtaking views of the mountains.
Back at the house we cleaned out the camper, washed gear, and decompressed on the back patio before heading out to dinner. I cannot say enough good things about Eric, his wife, Mellissa, their pups, their house, and Bend. It was a great week of fishing and I look forward to getting back up and wanderings around the beautiful Northwest country.
Thank you Eric, Mellissa, Sprint, and Rascal. Until next time…
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Our final day on the river found us cooking the last of our eggs and diving into some instant oatmeal. The black coffee as always helped to prop our eyelids open. Knowing that some of the best fishing was behind us and that most everyone was all stacked up on this section of river, we decided to take our time, enjoy the river, and not push ourselves too hard.
Just downriver of our camp, Eric anchored the boat mid-river in a gravel bar, which gave us an opportunity to fish a great looking riffle section. We pulled a couple of decent fish from the riffle and then pointed the boat down river.
As we continued to work water, less and less fish were coming out to play which we had planned on. Most of the guides were ahead of us and we figured we were fishing water that was already stressed. So we (and when I say “we” I mean Eric) put the oars to work and pushed on ahead.
At the beginning of our trip, Eric imparted some wisdom on me. He said, “Two things can kill you on this trip. Whitehorse rapids and rattlesnakes.” He went on to warn me that he does not ever go a trip without seeing at least one rattler. So the whole trip in the back of my mind, I am conscious about watching where I am stepping and overall just being careful. By day 4 though the last thing on my mind is snakes. After securing the boat, Eric and I made our way through some tall grass to fish one of the fishy looking spots in a riffle when Eric stops dead in his tracks. He points out a coiled rattler sunning himself in the tall grass. Warily we move around him to encounter another snake coiled and rattling at us in a menacing tone. We did not have much choice and fished the water that was in front of us, but getting out was going to be a trick. The eddy was too deep to walk through back to the boat and the entire bank was covered in this tall grass and large woodpile, where presumably the snakes were living. These snakes held two grown men at bay while we planned (read “worked up courage) to walk through the snakey habitat. After arming ourselves with a couple of stout sticks we beat the grass and hopped, skipped, and jumped our way though and joyfully climbed back into the boat.
We started to eat up river miles and joined a train of boats headed for the take out. As we drifted, we rounded a corner and saw a couple of boats leaving the bank a couple of hundred yards ahead. We figured they had just fished the bank but has we floated towards the bank where they left, we could see and hear fish rising to the surface and sucking down on some sort of bug. Deciding that it was too good of an opportunity to pass up, we backed ourselves in and started working the bank. There were midges on the water and some other small bugs, but the fish would not come up for anything small we offered. I worked through several other flies and then opted for some foamy stonefly patterns. Bingo.
I pulled five fish from the pocket water and lost a monster. Once I hollered down to Eric what the scoop was, he started bringing fish in as well. I inevitably filled my waders again when I stepped on what I thought was a rock, which turned out to be a four foot drop. There is nothing like slopping around with a couple gallons of water in your waders, while happily pulling big rainbow trout out of the river. It truly was a great ending to the fishing and we both felt this was a the best way to end our float.
The rest of the trip was uneventful and as we broke down our rods and stowed away gear, I could not help but smile, thinking back over the previous four days. It was a remarkable trip filled with good fish and great memories. The river will not be forgotten and I look forward to the next time I can get back out in the drift boat. We opted for a greasy burger, fries, and extra thick milkshakes at a local joint in town before heading back to bend for a shower, a real bed, and more fishing.
