By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

I was guiding the other day, switching rigs from dries to nymphs. I got to that step where I routinely pop a piece of split shot into my mouth as I fumble with the tippet and the dropper fly. As the BB washed around in there, I paused and realized that I was sucking on lead.

Lead poisoning is linked to brain damage, as well as reproductive problems, hypertension, stunted growth among children, and an array of other nasty things -- hence the reason millions of made-in-China lead-painted toys are being recalled at this very moment. I thought, "Wow, this might explain a few of my latest Fflogger posts."

Truth is, lead is dead. It has no purpose or value in the flyfishing context. There are better alternatives that sink just as well, made of tin, bismuth, or tungsten. See www.bosstin.com. Yes they cost a tad more. But they won't make you sick. And they don't kill birds and other wildlife. There are places where lead fishing is outlawed -- New... [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

Talkin’ Story: So cal carpin’ on the fly

4 am comes awful early when you’ve been charging makos on a fly rod the day before and not hitting the rack until late. But, when the call came in from my buddy Johnny H, manager at a local

San Diego

fly shop, about some unreal sight casting to Carp in skinny still water over hard sand bottom I could not pass up the opportunity…

No joke …this was the most unreal sight casting I’ve ever done!! Even better then sight casting to Reds in the Gulf!! Huge pods of big carp feeding on the surface gulping everything in sight.  The morning was clear, slick glass and air temps were hovering around 70 degrees.

Our weapons of choice were 6 wts floating lines and looooong leaders! 15 feet 3x... [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

Only in Colorado! Jeff Rogers sent me this image after floating and fishing last weekend. Halfway through the fishing day he came upon one of our favorite campsites on this specific float overflowing with people clothed in Togas. Apparently there was a serious hippie wedding taking place and this little dude complete with crown-o-holly decided to take a break and whack some fish. Go little toga dude, go.

Thanks for the shot Jeff! [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

We got rain and that means fresh summer steelhead on some of Oregon's finest the Deschutes River, North Umpqua, Rogue....sure there are far more steelhead litararies to write about but these are the mainstays that bring people wide and far to partake in the greatest freshwater gamefish alive. As of last week there has been good numbers for August at the Dalles Dam on the Columbia River, 1000 to 2000 fish days. A good friend of mine and fellow industry sales rep Derek Fergus went 2 for 5 in 3 hrs on the new "FERGUS MARABOU MOAL" which if you don't have yet contact myself. I suggest stocking the entire box with varying colors and they can be used for summer and winter steel as well as salmon. On another note the Rogue River half pounder run will be gearing up in the next few weeks down low and they are a blast on 6wts and elk hair caddis. The adult fish are around but still a little early for bang up fishing..contact  www.trophywaters.net and tell them TYLER sent you.....Goes the same for the North Umpqua this time of year..great for skaters if the water temps... [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

Whenever I have an airport layover, I make a point to sit by a window in the terminal so I can watch the planes take off. I hate flying, but I love going places. And it soothes me, as I wait, to watch aircraft lift away from the runways, if only so I might imagine the adventures to be had.

There goes a Northwest jet. The sign on the gate told me it was headed for Anchorage. I watch it taxi for 10 minutes, convinced that somewhere on that plane is a man (or woman) who will see the Northern Lights for the first time tonight. And tomorrow, by dinner time, they might just scratch the tail end of a run of silvers.

A 757 lifts and sails directly toward the sunset. San Diego? Makos? Tuna? Maybe Baja … Gonzaga Bay. Yet another flight thunders down the runway and banks to the south, then levels its wings. New Orleans? Maybe Miami, and from there, on to the Keys. Ah, the salt, the flats. “Be warned,” I think, “One silver king will change your life.

Off another jet goes... [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

I never quite bought those made-for television flyfishing competitions.

Fly casting … I can see that as a competitive sport, in as much as darts or bowling are sports.  But flyfishing is a pastime, not a sport.  The threshold should be:  If you can smoke and drink beer during said activity, it should not be considered a sport.  Well, okay, pole dancing might count.
          
And golf gets an exemption because people will pay money to watch golfers do their thing. So does pro bass fishing. 

But when it comes to flyfishing for trout in the same river, there are good runs and bad ones, and drawing fishing beats is nothing more than a lottery. If we’re hell-bent on making flyfishing a competitive sport, we should judge it qualitatively, not quantitatively.  Have all the competitors work the same 200 yards of river, with a panel of five judges on bleachers watching every move. 

I can see it now: “Here comes Chet … ooh a nice roll cast right into the run there, on the left side of the river, that’s going to impress.  He’s really tuned in here with that Green Drake.  Whoops, he slipped and stirred the... [ Read Full Post ]