Archive for the ‘Fly Fishing Gifts’ Category
November 24th, 2009 | 
Author: 
The weather is warming up, which means it is time for some fishing. If Michigan is your destination, you can’t do worse than the Lake Hubbard Fishing Resort.
Tucked up in the Northeastern part of Michigan is an 8,800 acre lake called Lake Hubbard. The lake is the 2nd largest inland lake in the State and is a poplar destination for both vacationers and serious fishermen. The lake was important in the early history of Michigan as military outposts along its shores were used during the Indian wars in the area. In recent years, several full service resorts have been built in the area. These resorts offer all the amenities from restaurants to golf course, but it is still the natural lure of the cold and scenic waters of the lake that make a Lake Hubbard Fishing Resort a nirvana for an angler.
The large is large. It spans a full 7 miles across at its widest point from North Bay to Backus Beach. It is stocked with bass, perch, pike, and trout. The real treat here is that strange northern cold water fish called the walleye. The walleye gets its name from its strange eyes that reflect light in the same manner as a cat. This strange eye gives the walleye extraordinary vision especially in dark and unclear water.
This is why the walleye is most active at night and many fishermen like to take advantage of this trait and pursue them at night. However, this misses the chance to combine the hunt for this elusive game fish with a chance to view some of the most scenic views in North America. National Geographic Magazine had an article that selected the ten most beautiful lake views in the World, and the view from Mt. Maria along Hubbard Lake was on the list.
The way to get both the view and a good chance for successful walleye fishing is to take advantage of something the experienced walleye fisherman calls the “walleye chop.” This is a condition that occurs when the sky is overcast and the wind is blowing a bit churning up the water. Although windy conditions generally mean poorer fishing, it is just the opposite for going after Walleye. The walleye takes advantage of his better vision to feed during this period and your lure might just be on his menu.
You can find just about anything you could want from an ideal fishing vacation when you plan that trip for one of the Lake Hubbard fishing resorts. You can play golf and take scenic rides along the roadways that skirt the lake. Although it gets quite cold and the lake usually freezes over in the winter, ice fishing and winter sports are available. The changing colors of fall are breathtaking. Everyone knows the advantages of summer weather in the North. Yet it may be the spring that is the best simply for the fact that it is then that Mr. Walleye gets really hungry.
Just when you thought you had seen it all. Just when you thought what in the world can I get for a unique and different Christmas present,Fathers Day gift,or executive gift– along comes a fun and unique gift just in time for this years’ Christmas season. FLY TACKS, a new product from TWO GUYS WITH FLYS, INK, previously the makers of nothing!! FLY TACKS are handsomely, hand-tied flies from Oregon, that are PUSHPINS. That’s right, no more boring bulletin boards around the office. Who wouldn’t like to have the latest company memo held in place by the ever present – GREEN BUTTED SKUNK? Everyone will notice the latest pay scale increases when they are posted by the always popular – EGG SUCKING LEECH. Got a co-worker that always claims he couldn’t find your message? Stick it to his pile with a MUDDLER MINNOW, and he is sure to get the point!!!!
All kidding aside, fishermen and non-fishermen alike, will enjoy these conversation pieces,and the gold plated pushpins are a handsome addition to any bulletin board.
FLY TACKS are the brainstorm of two really bored fishermen in Oregon who obviously have been spending too much time playing with their flies. After deciding their flies were obviously not going to catch any fish, they found the best use for them – holding up their losing lottery tickets, and thus FLY TACKS were born.
The two corporate moguls, who obviously have no sense of timing, have come out with their product just in time to miss all the Christmas catalogs. They have no budget for advertising and are hoping to cash in on the lucrative free business article strategy. Stoly Hackle, winner of the annual CEO coin flip, is hoping to get thousands of orders so P.D. Good, Production Manager, will be forced to spend the holidays assembling FLY TACKS in his living room. Not to mention the five-dollar bet that Hackle will cash in on if he manages to get five orders from this venture.
FLY TACKS are the perfect gift for every fisherman or fisherwomen on your holiday giving list. FLY TACKS make a great conversation piece in the office, and are the perfect way to liven up the usually dull bulletin board. Your boss will love them!
Fly Tacks have already been featured in numerous newspapers,like the Times Picayune,Reno Gazette, and Sacramento Bee.The “Two Guys” have appeared on the Portland Oregon morning show as well as several radio interviews.They have even been recommended by Cosmopolitan Magazine as: “One of the gifts to get that NEW GUY you are dating.”
If you can’t trust Cosmo–who can you trust!!!
TWO GUYS WITH FLYS, INK. also have t-shirts and bumper stickers available, as well as several other fly products. All flys are beautifully hand-tied. Some are tied by” ex-friends” who had to meet the original deadline for production!!
FLY TACKS come in two flavors – I mean styles, TROUT FLY TACKS and STEELHEAD FLY TACKS. For $19.95 + $5.00 shipping, handling, and first aid costs. You will receive four beautifully hand-tied flys on gold plated push pins, sent to you in a plastic case, which can be used as a fly box for your “outdoor fly experiences.”
If you get tired of looking at those flys on your bulletin board–simply grab a hammer and destroy your fly tack–and you will have common ordinary hand tied flys that you can go fishing with. PLUS you still have 4 gold plated pushpins that a guy named “Franco” in Rhode Island worked so hard to produce… BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE… no wait….. I guess there isn’t more–so hurry up and order before P.D. does that “nanner-nanner I told you so thing”– I hate that.
Order from: TWO GUYS WITH FLYS, INK., 9 east 4th st., Medford, Or. 97501 http://www.twoguyswithflys.com
Or you can call a live person at: 541-941-0139
“Used” Fly Tacks available for media upon written request.
Fly fishing for trout? Salmon? Bah! For a different experience, it is all about tarpon fly fishing in Florida.
There are a lot of different types of fishing experiences. There are also many ways of gauging the success of any fishing trip. To many anglers, the number of fish that you have in your live well, cooler, or stringer is the way you measure a successful trip. To others it is the enjoyment of the external surrounding environment and the immersion into nature that makes the experience successful. To others, it is the sport. It is the challenge of taking a large fish on light tackle. Fly fisherman understand the idea of challenge.
Tarpon fly fishing in Florida is a good example of the idea of sport. Many people have compared this form of fishing to hunting. The tarpon is a saltwater fish that comes to the shallow offshore flats and coastal rivers to feed. Many tarpon grow up to 8 feet long and some can weigh as much as 200 pounds. The top of their mouth, where the hook must be set, is covered by a bony plate that some have described as being a bit like concrete.
The tarpon is usually sought in the coastal waters of the Florida Keys in a small skiff. The fisherman stands in the front of the skiff and the guide positions it to intercept schools of tarpon that are moving in from deeper waters to feed. The fish are swimming fast, bearing down on the skiff in small schools of giant fish. The fisherman must make an expert cast to drop a fly in the path of the oncoming fish and hope one stops to strike it. Then the hook must be set in that bony upper mouth. In most cases, the fish will throw the hook rather quickly.
If the hook is set, the challenge has really just started. The tarpon is a feisty fish. It may be one of the hardest fighting fish pound for pound anywhere. It will make long wild runs and then suddenly pull with stubborn bull dog tenacity. And they will jump. The tarpon is known for their high arching jumps that can set the fisherman’s heart to racing wildly. In fact, it is common to ask the returning fisherman how many fish he “jumped” rather than how many he caught.
It is really not the catching that is important in tarpon fly fishing in Florida or along the coastal waters of the other Southern states in the tarpon’s range. It is the hunt that is the thing that draws the fishermen. The flesh of the tarpon is bony and not good eating and in many places the fish is protected and catch and release is the norm. It is the human being against the denizen of the sea that this is all about, not putting food on the table.
Sometimes, fly fishing is all about heading off to a foreign and exotic locale. Fly fishing at Lake Taupo is one such example.
There is a place where the fly fishing is excellent. Clear blue lakes and steaming fast moving streams yield up large numbers of monster brown and rainbow trout with breathtaking snow covered mountain peaks in the background. It is the ultimate fly fishing get-away place. You could call it that because it is located on the most remote landmass in the entire World. This is the Island Nation of New Zealand.
Fly Fishing on Lake Taupo, or in the many streams that feed it, has to be considered one of the most exciting and satisfying fishing experiences available. New Zealand is located in the South Pacific Ocean separated from even far off Australia by 1,200 miles of ocean. It is thought that the Islands of New Zealand are also one of the most recently settled areas in the world. People first came to the area within the last thousand years. Its isolation has led to the development of a large amount of both flora and fauna that are not found anywhere else on the world.
It may seem surprising that brown trout and rainbow trout are found here. The two prime fly fishing species were introduced to New Zealand waters in an experimental stocking program that was successful beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. The fish took to this new environment like it had been created specifically for them, and began to reproduce and grow large almost immediately. The result is that the fly fishing around Lake Taupo has become a major industry in the country.
There are two or three other prime fly fishing locations in New Zealand, but most locals consider the Lake Taupo region to be the best. There are large selections of first grade resorts in the Lake Taupo area that cater to fly fishing. Like fly fishing resorts everywhere, these provide everything that is needed by either the expert or the beginning fly fisherman.
This includes equipment, training in proper technique, and most important, qualified guides that can lead you to the best fishing locations. Your fly fishing expedition to New Zealand is going to involve a bit of travel. It is a long airplane flight away. There may be some who wonder if traveling to what is very much like the end of the earth to fish is really worth it. Those who have sampled this experience know the answer. This rugged paradise is certainly worth the trip.
So you made the investment in a Bamboo Fly Rod and with the proper care and maintenance your Bamboo Fly Rod will give you years of enjoyment and service. Taking the time to follow these maintenance tips will ensure that your Bamboo Fly Rod will endure the demands that fly fishing puts on the fly rod.
These tips will ensure your purchase of a bamboo fly rod was an excellent choice, after all you have moved up to Bamboo and I’m sure that you don’t want to have to switch back to some other type of Fly fishing Rod!
Cleaning the metal ferrules
I like to use Vaseline petroleum jelly putting a small amount on the male ferrule and putting it in and out of the female ferrule a few times the petroleum jelly loosens the build up and protects the metal from oxidation. Use a small cotton swap or Q-tip to remove any excess Vaseline in the female section and a clean dry cloth on the male section and out side part of the female ferrule. For stubborn stains and dirt build up you can use denatured alcohol just be sure not to get this on the varnish. If you happened to purchase a used Bamboo Fly Rod and the ferrules have oxidized you can use a very fine grit sand paper to remove the oxidation. Use caution not to remove to much metal as this will affect the way the ferrules fit together.
Polishing bamboo fly rods
The Bamboo Fly Rod is more then just a fishing rod it is a piece of art. You should wipe them clean with a clean dry cloth, this is a must if you want to keep it looking great and protected from the effect of the elements like rain, water, and dust. Use a paste type furniture polish and a soft cloth to help protect the bamboo and bring out the shine and gleam of your Bamboo Fly Rod
How to clean cork grips
You can use toothpaste, dish soap, or a mild bleach cleaner what ever you use make sure that you have removed all of the cleaner by wiping it well with a damp cloth. You don’t want to leave the cleaner on the corky as it will dry the cork out excessively and make it start cracking. If the cork grip has a large amount of build up, you can use fine grit (200 or so) sandpaper to remove this build-up just use caution so you don’t damage the cork.
Storing bamboo fly rods
Be sure you wipe your Bamboo Fly Rod with a clean soft cloth to make sure it is clean and dry.
If the rod is going to be store for an extended time it would be a good time to wax the rod. Separate the pieces and put them in a soft rod sack and then slip this into a protective tube. Avoid storing your Bamboo fly Rod in extreme conditions like excessive heat or moisture. Laying the tube flat is the best way to store the rod.
Buying used bamboo fly rods
Used Bamboo Fly Rods can be found at flea market and garage sales some of which are true bargains just make sure you look them over carefully. Check out the Bamboo and make sure that there are no cracks and that the seams are not starting to separate, check the grip for missing pieces insure the cork is not dried and cracking or the section are starting to separate. Put the fly rod together and check the fit of the ferrules they should be snug but not excessively tight, check the guides and windings making sure they are in good condition. If you find a Bamboo Fly Rod that passes these then you have found a true treasure.
By following these few tips I’m sure that your Bamboo Fly Rod will give you a life time of enjoyment and use. Thank you for taking the time to read this article and may you enjoy your Bamboo Fly Rod for years to come
