Fly Fishing for Sanity…

As you know, my buddy Keith and I started NBD about a year ago.  Due to my trip, we took a short beak but are now back and selling more gear than ever!

We’re now producing lanyards as well as custom rod tubes for all your fishing adventures!  Check em out on www.natureboydesigns.com!

We’re also taking pre-orders for our new “California Native” short sleeve shirts!

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I had the chance to go out with my buddy Lou Galvan and Captain Dave Trimble, of On The Fly Fishing Charters, this past weekend.  Needless to say, Trimble knows whats up and he’s an excellent guide!  If you’re ever in SoCal and want to fish for shark…you must call Dave…he’s that good.

Started to day about an hour away from the coast.  We set up our chum slick and immediately started our hunt for Mako Sharks.  Within an hour, we had our first little guy next to the boat.   Lou let me go first and within a few shots, I had my first shark on the line.  The fish was only about 40 lbs, but he had my rod bent and my body was getting a nice little warm up.  He took a couple long runs and we got a nice little aerial show before I got the fish back to the boat.

Lou ended up hooking into two nice sharks as well before we ended the day with the fattest of them all.  I got to fish a giant beast of a fish and probably had one of the most incredible fights I have ever had on a fly rod.

Hope you enjoy some of the pics from the trip.  We only got a couple pics with the shark, but you get the idea from my bent rod.

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Just finished an epic day fishing for snakehead in Thailand.  I’ve been in Chiang Mai for the past few days and finally got out on the water.  Started the day super early and headed to a lake about 2.5 hours out of the city.  Got to a beautiful reservoir while the sun was just breaking through….breathtaking to say the least.

I didn’t really know too much about the snakehead fish before my trip…besides the fact that they’re terrorizing some fisheries back in the States after being introduces illegally several years ago.  If you don’t know about this fish…you should cause they are freaky!

I also knew the fish eat almost every living thing that shares the water with them…so I figured some topwater action was in store.  Got my Diesel 8WT ready with my sick Galvan T-8, and put on my trustworthy frog pattern.  Oh yeah.  Within minutes I was getting strikes on the fly, but the fish were SUPER quick and there was absolutely no chance to set the hook!  Considering that bass fishing is one of my absolute favorite methods of fly fishing…I was really shocked at the speed and viciousness these fish would try to take the fly.  I quickly learned though that these things are aggresive and will usually just bump the fly the first time around…but with an accurate cast right back into the zone, the fish will take the fly the second or third time it’s presented.

After 4 or 5 strikes, I landed my first snakehead on a crease fly pattern that my boy George Revel tied…when he was like 16.  I had three of these flies and seemed like the fish were only really interested in this pattern.  Frogs, shads, pole dancers….all of them received attention from the fish, but the crease fly is what really made them feisty.

It was an absolute trip fly fishing for snakehead in Southeast Asia with gorgeous scenery and surroundings all day.

Here are a few pics of my day…please enjoy!

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NEW ZEALAND ROCKS!

Sitting back and reading some of my entries from the last month made me realize that words and pictures just don’t justify my experience here in New Zealand. I’ve had one of the best times of my life, and can truly say that I’ve rediscovered a passion for trout fishing.

Before I arrived, I knew the fishing would be challenging, but nothing can really prepare you for whats in store once you are actually on the river.  A lot of the things you hear are true…the rivers are pristine, the water is clearer than clear, the fish are spooky, and the fish are BIG!  The first day or two takes some adjusting to….crawling on your belly through heavy brush, just in hopes of being able to get one perfect cast with perfect presentation to the biggest trout you’ve sight fished for is not an easy task.  On that note…it probably takes at least a couple of days to just learn what to look for when you’re trying to see perfectly disguised fish that look like everything else in the river.   BUT…the few days of paying the price to learn pays off with some of the best trout fishing on the planet.

From what I have gathered from locals and people who have been fishing here their entire lives….2011 has been a tough season.  Heavy rains and flooding for the entire month of January really set things back.  Fortunately, I was able to still get on the water as much as possible.  I don’t deny that the fishing could have been a lot better…but I still leave this spectacular country having experienced some of the best fishing I could have dreamed of.

Also, what you hear about the Kiwi’s is completely real.  I’ve honestly never met a community of people who go above and beyond any expectations, to try to make your day a little easier or better.  Everywhere I have been…the people have been amazing.  This was really obvious after the Christchurch earthquake as well.

Regardless of being a fly fisherman or not, New Zealand is a very special place.

Slept in a little today and headed out to one of my spots around mid-morning.  Arrived at the same time as one of the locals that I have been fishing with and sharing stories with everyday.  We geared up and headed out to the same pools that I have been passing over each day….not in the mood to nymph lately.  I did notice that my buddy has been catching some nice fish the past couple of days when I see him at the end of our sessions, so I decided to give some tight lining a shot.

The area was slightly crowded, but fortunately, there is tons of water to share at this location.  Upon arriving to the pool, I quickly noticed some nice fish cruising the flat sandy bottom.  I quickly made a few casts that presented the fly perfectly to the fish, but none of the fish would even look at the flies.  I changed my flies out and used a small nymph that I was told would never catch a fish in NZ…ha!  First cast with my tiny, buggy looking fly hooked into a pretty good fish to start the day off.

The fish made some nice runs back and forth, and each time I went to net him, he would take off into another quick run.  Sweet!

Attempted to tight line some more…but no results.   So I decided to throw some buggers towards the banks and slowly retrieve the fly with small, gently strips.  Nothing…then I saw a big brown trout make its way into a deeper channel before I lost site of it, so I immediately cast to the top of the pool, hoping that the brown would take it.   Sure enough…after my first cast landed into the pool….SLAM!

Fish on!

I was sure the fish was a brown…he was taking my line out gradually, slowly, and chugging along like a locomotive….but all of a sudden there was a huge splash!  The fish jumped about three feet into the air and I quickly saw the chromed out, silver rainbow.  My reel was screaming even with my hand palming it as hard as I have ever palmed a reel for a trout…but she wouldn’t stop.  Slash!  Splash!  Upstream….downstream….to the left…to the right….at one point, the fish was literally swimming in tight circles around me!

After a nice fight, I was able to land the beautiful hen.

Its raining now and not sure if my last few days in NZ are going to be very fishable…Thankfully I have had one of my dreams come true….I’ve caught some epic trout in New Zealand.

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