Recycled Fish

The following are ceramic pieces I created using recycled clay and recycled glass.

Fly Fishing on a Dime: Tip 1

With an 18 month old we have been going thru wipes daily. I have come up with a solution for the plastic storage bins they come in. Recycle them comes to mind first or use them for gear.

Step one: Use all of the wipes. You choose.
Step two: Put leftover fishing stickers on the bin to look cool in front of girls.
Step C: Put trout reels in for organization or travel.

This particular Huggies bin is holding 4 Abel Trout Reels!

Back in Business

On January 4, 2011, I got up just like any day. I got dressed, had a little coffee, helped my wife prepare our son for school and then dropped him off for a day of fun and excitement. However, on this day I took a different route because I missed the light. This route took me behind Crabtree Mall and to an alternate road so that I could get to the Beltline. I was at a stop sign waiting to pull out into traffic and preparing myself to what is everyday a mad dash to the exit. As the truck pulled away from the turn there was a loud bang and then silence. This made me look into my rear view mirror in hopes that it wasn’t a car or something I collided into. Because I was still moving I attributed the loud noise to a man hole cover I saw close to the intersection and went on my way.

Once I made it to the Beltline, I was on my way. Within seconds another truck was at my side honking madly! He was letting me know that my tailgate was down. Without a moments passing so many thoughts went racing thru my mind! I made it to the side of the street and witnessed in horror as I approached the rear of my truck, all of my belongings had made their way to the rear of the truck bed and dangled off the tailgate. Now this is one of those moments that time slows down and the sound of my breathing was in my ears! My Simms Reel Briefcase which held my most prized material possessions was not in its place. They were no longer in the truck.

In panic, I raced back into the truck and gathered myself as I headed back to the intersection where the infamous loud bang made itself known! Within moments I was at the site with no bag patiently waiting for me. Who could be so low and how am I going to tell anyone, “they fell off the back of my truck.”

From hear I will skip the sleepless nights and fetal positions with safety blankets.

Fast forward to today and all is well. All of my reels have been replaced and I am ready to stand in cold water once again. I have only my insurance company and David F. from GOPC to thank! David patiently helped me reorder my reels while my insurance agent and I are now on a first name basis.

The one thing that I have learned from this is to record and photograph all of your belongings that in a moments notice may be lost. In the heat of the moment, I forgot to list a few items and made them onto the policy at the last moment. With the ease of digital cameras today, take a moment and photograph items and make a digital list so that when you are at your worst, you are prepared!

I will be the guy on the water smiling! See you there!

Cane Poles and Minners’

“A bamboo fishing rod is a meticulously hand-crafted piece of angling gear that shouldn’t be confused for the crude cane poles used by Huck Finn and the boys …”

This was a day to fish the Eno and slay white bass. The Eno had other plans by showing her dirty side. She was a filthy, muddy river with debris floating in all directions. No one was catching fish, and there were plenty of boats to watch. With no fish in hand, we packed up and dragged my skiff back to the house.

Plan B: Crude Cane Poles and Minnows.

Billy is someone I have known for sometime now and he owns/runs Boondinis Sandwich Shop in North Raleigh. His shop and the fly shop I worked at were next door to one another. Lunch for me was common at Boondinis. Billy has a small tack board in his shop that he posts his fishing pics and those he takes with him. These fish primarily come out of Falls Lake and Billy knows the lake well. With 4 cane poles, an assortment of spinning tackle and minnows, we launched onto Falls. I grew up in Raleigh and have spent countless hours on this lake. I know it well. Billy knows it like one of his children. He knows when and how it can be fussy. He knows when it is most productive and caring. Today was a day that we had the sun shining, what I feel were minimal boats and nasty wind. To further the crudeness of the day…cold ones on ice for the layed back foot propping moments.

This was not a day for high dollar rods or reels. Nor was it a day that required strict presentation to elude demanding sippers. Today was a day to appreciate simple fishing and yank in some hard pulling bullies!

Don’t mind the hat. It has no logos that you will recognize.

THE SONG OF WANDERING AENGUS, W.B. Yeats

• I went out to the hazel wood,

  Because a fire was in my head,

  And cut and peeled a hazel wand,

  And hooked a berry to a thread;

  And when white moths were on the wing,

  And moth-like stars were flickering out,

  I dropped the berry in a stream

  And caught a little silver trout.

  When I had laid it on the floor

  I went to blow the fire a-flame,

  But something rustled on the floor,

  And some one called me by my name:

  It had become a glimmering girl

  With apple blossom in her hair

  Who called me by my name and ran

  And faded through the brightening air.

  Though I am old with wandering

  Through hollow lands and hilly lands,

  I will find out where she has gone,

  And kiss her lips and take her hands;

  And walk among long dappled grass,

  And pluck till time and times are done

  The silver apples of the moon,

  The golden apples of the sun.

Eno River: Weather Guy Got It Wrong

Today, March 11 was to be my last day on the water before I have to head back to work on Monday. I woke up with the notion that there was to be a sun shining and fish biting. Myself and the gentleman on the weather channel need to be on the same page and communicate better!. David F. from Great Outdoor Provision Co. joined me at 9am to make the short drive up to the Eno. We both had high hopes. The Eno was plan B to the Roanoke which apparently is blown out. We knew that with the rain over the past day there was a likelihood of the same on the Eno. We arrived to find the river muddy but not high. The sun was shining so we loaded the boat into the water and made our way to some spots I had fished before. The wind howled and the sun was blocked by clouds as soon as we made the first turn. We made several attempts at a run that produced fish in the past. No good, so we moved onto a smaller river (Flat River) to seek shelter.  The Flat and the Eno come together to form the Neuse…I think?? We cast to the usual suspect spots (eddy’s with a foot or two of water) with nothing to show. It wasn’t until the sun peaked out that David hooked our first fish of the day. Within minutes, he hooked the second. The sun disappeared and so did the fish. Today was a casting clinic with strong winds as our lesson plan. The wind, was so bad that we made a run back to the main channel and then called it a day. There were two or three other boats and they all looked as battered as we were. I will have to say though….the fish we are catching do have some size and weight to them. Today’s fish were on intermediate lines with white clousers size 6.

Everyone should check out the grill at Exit 182. While, fried and greasy, it looked like the right kind of vittles for a cold day on the water. Cheap too!

Tomorrow, Saturday will see scores of boats on the water and I think I will stay home. I am looking to next Friday in hopes of finding them again. Good luck!

One of Two on a cloudy,windy day!

Eno River: March White Bass

After seeing Ed in Great Outdoor Provision Company the first week in March, I have been on the Eno looking for spawning white bass. His mentioning that he and Pipes did well inspired me. It has been a fruitful endeavor and I’m appreciative that this is so close to home. On the days that I have gone, I have fished with two local TFF’rs, Chris K and Sep. Our first day was quite uneventful to say the least. However, Mike and I tried it again on Tuesday, March 8th after dragging the boat all the way to the Roanoke River. The Roanoke was too shallow and not wanting to destroy my prop or even motor, we dragged the boat back to the Eno at Red Mill.
This proved to be the better decision. Sep and I worked hard and floated the river in the skiff banging the bank with everything in the box. It wasn’t until it got warmer that we found a channel next to a muddy bank that we started ripping very nice fish. They weren’t following a pattern other than here and there hits. When they did hit, it was a blast seeing these fish rip for deeper cover. The fish we did catch seemed to have some weight to them. When the fish truly show up, this will be a great spot to hit them!

I’m looking forward to the next time on the water, tomorrow!!

March White Bass

Lost Cove Creek and Harpers Creek

Fly T-Shirt

These t-shirts were hand printed this past week on Hanes 50/50 Heavyweight t’s.

I printed a small number of t’s so there would be some uniqueness to them!

Each shirt is $15.00/ $20.00 shipped in NC

Whats left….

2 Large Blue (not light blue as shown)

2 XLarge Blue

2 XLarge Tan

1 XLarge Gray

wagregjr@gmail.com

Clouser Fly T-Shirt

White Bass Print

Haw River White Bass Run Woodcut. click image

Limited Edition of 12 on Japanese Rice Paper

Print Size 12 x 3

Paper Size 16 x 7

$65.00 each

$70.00 Shipped

$10.00 from each print sold will be donated to Triangle Fly Fishers (Trout Unlimited) in the purchasers name.

wagregjr@gmail.com