Arizona Wanderings

Rambling Review: Ex Officio Nio Amphi Pants

November 10th, 2011

8 Comments

Rambling Review – Ex Officio Nio Amphi Pants

Why:

Living in Arizona and being slightly obsessed with the small streams that flow from the mountains, wet wading is a way of life from early spring until the November cold forces me to break out my waders. Typically, I roll in a pair of cargo shorts that keeps me moving quick and freely on the ice-cold creeks. Unfortunately with my legs unprotected, I typically end up scratched and bleeding by dark from the bumps, bugs, and briars that are part of the whole small stream experience. Imagine a pair of pants that are able to protect while fishing but at the same time allow the freedom and mobility that a pair of shorts offer. Enter the Ex Officio Nio Amphi pants.

First impressions:

Lightweight – The Ex Officio Nio Amphi pants are constructed from what Ex Officio calls Nio Nycott which is 100% nylon.

The fit – I ordered my regular size pants and found the Nio Amphi pants to fit perfectly. The pants have a small amount of elastic in the waist that allow for freedom of movement, an extra base layer if need be, or if you just ate to much the weekend before. The gusseted inseam allows for full range of motion on the small streams. The Nio Amphi pants also come with a quick clip nylon belt.

Pockets – I love pockets. The two cargo pockets on the Ex Officio pants perfectly fit a fly box or a spool of tippet and fly dressing. There is one small pocket just above the right cargo pocket that fits my small point and shoot camera rather nicely that I really appreciate.

Field Use:

The first time I stepped out of the stream with the Nio Amphi pants, I could not believe that they were just as light as when I stepped in. The Ex Officio pants have the amazing ability to resist water and even after a full day of wading in and out of the stream, they remain dry and lightweight.

Much of the day on a small, boulder strewn creek is spent crouching or on hands and knees. The Ex Officio Nio Amphi pants allows the fisherman the needed mobility to move around the creek. What I appreciate about the fabric is that it is extremely lightweight yet durable. Moving through brush and scraping against rocks, at this point, do not seem to phase these pants at all. They do have a gusseted crotch and a slight stretch in the material which allows for those slow half-crouched movements which creek fly fishermen seem to always find themselves in.

On a recent trip to a small stream in Nevada, I found myself hiking through some of the gnarliest brush to get to this little small stream. I ended up wandering right through a huge section of stinging nettles (or something of the sort) that left my hands tingling and stinging for the next couple of days. Thank the heavens that I had packed these Ex Officio pants because not only was a I nettle free on my legs, but they actually stood up to the abuse of the thorns and prickers that I walked through. I am pretty much sold on wearing these pants when I know that I am going into uncharted territory or a known thorn-ridden area to fish. It also warms my soul to wear pants instead of shorts in rattlesnake country, even if the added relief is only in my head.

Ex Officio Pants — Ex Officio Nio Amphi Pants

Pros:

Lightweight

Water-resistant

Quick Drying

Well thought out pockets

Nylon belt included

Elastic waist

Cons:

Cost

Prognosis: If you are looking for that lightweight pair of pants for hiking, wet wading, or other outdoor activity, you owe it to yourself to check out the Ex Officio Nio Amphi pants.

* Disclaimer:

The reviews at Arizona Wanderings are my honest opinion. The Ex Officio Nio Amphi Pants were provided 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.

Fly Fishing Nevada: Small Streams and Gambling

November 7th, 2011

30 Comments

I found myself in Las Vegas for a good buddy’s bachelor party not long ago and amidst the turmoil of the weekend, I planned to get out and do a little fishing. My research had started a few months earlier and with the insight from some friends I found myself bouncing over a teeth-chattering, washboard road through the Nevada desert.

Fairly soon, the sage and joshua trees of the desert gave way to junipers and taller pines of the canyon. I drove over a small trickle of water that started to grow over the next few times that I crossed it. Before long I came to several large pools and rigged up the fly rod with a brown mini-hopper.

At the head of the first pool, I laid the bushy mini-hopper in the foam line and saw the splashy take of a hungry trout. I played my first Lahontan cutthrout to the bank took and cradled the fish for a quick picture.

After that first pool, I worked my way up the creek as the canyon started narrow and choke with brush. I found the small pool pictured above in which I could see several trout finning in the water. With no room for a normal cast, I used a bow and arrow cast to put a #20 sparkle parachute and was able to pull a couple trout to hand. With only a few hours to fish, I did not make it as far up the canyon as I would have liked. I turned back towards the mouth of the canyon, and once in the truck, I made my way back in to town. It really does not get much better than a fun weekend in Vegas with a little bit of small stream fishing thrown in as well.

Sharpening Broadheads…

November 4th, 2011

8 Comments

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

6 Comments

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

6 Comments

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

4 Comments

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

6 Comments

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

15 Comments

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