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Riding High: A Season on the Fly from The Fly Fishing Film Tour on Vimeo.

Another EPIC new teaser has been added to the 2012 official selection list for this years’ Fly Fishing Film Tour.  Tickets for over 40 venue events have already sold out!  Don't be left out of the crowd.  You won’t want to miss the best fly fishing films on earth this year.  GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!  This film, along with the other killer film selections, will be shown in Great Falls, MT March 30^th at the Best Western Heritage Inn and in Sandpoint , ID April 20^th at the Historic Panida Theater.  This event is proudly sponsored by Big R Fly Shop.  Tickets are available at Big R and on the Fly Fishing Film Tour website.  Don’t delay, or you’ll be a fish out of water!

 

Regal Vise Review

BOZEMAN—Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will host four public meetings in the upcoming months as the first step towards developing a recreation management plan for the Madison River. FWP is seeking input on how the public views recreational use on the river. This information will be used in the preparation of a draft management plan, which will then be circulated for additional public comment. The goal of the plan is to help preserve the quality of recreational experiences and protect natural resources.

FWP is also seeking applicants to serve on a citizen advisory committee that will be asked to develop recommendations for managing recreation on the Madison River. The committee application form and information about the planning process are available on the FWP website at fwp.mt.gov/recreation/management/madison/default.html. Applications are due by March 16, 2012.
The Madison River is highly valued for the quality of its recreation opportunities and is often the most heavily fished river in the state. Due to this popularity, concerns have been raised about congestion on the water and at access sites, as well as social conflict between different user groups.

The scheduled public meetings are as follows:

Ennis, Wednesday, February 15, 6-8PM at the Ennis Middle School
Bozeman, Thursday, February 16, 6-8 PM at the Comfort Inn
West Yellowstone, Tuesday, February 28, 6-8 PM at the Holiday Inn
Whitehall, Thursday, March 1, 6-8PM at the Whitehall High School

If you are not able to attend one of the scheduled meetings you may complete an online survey at fwp.mt.gov/recreation/management/madison/default.html or comment by sending an email to mrrp@mt.gov. Comments will be accepted throughout the planning process.

For additional information on the Madison River Recreational Plan, please visit the FWP website at fwp.mt.gov/recreation/management/madison/default.html. Any questions may be directed to the River Recreation Manager, Cheryl Morris, at 406-994-6359.

-FWP-

"THE ARCTIC" trailer - by Beattie Outdoor Productions | Fly Fishing Movie from The Fly Fishing Film Tour on Vimeo.

The F3T website has released yet another film for the upcoming tour this year.  The film, The Arctic is the newest adventure brought to us by Beattie Outdoor Productions.  As with all of RA's films, the areas fished are captured well on film and always tend to excite the viewer.  Be sure you don't miss this one the night of the tour in which you attend!

If you don't already know this, I love fishing drag free drifts under bobbers (indicators for the snooby reader.)  I have been criticized for this hundreds of times, and even corked out of my drifts on several occasions in spite of my tactics (TODAY).  Growing up, I learned the importance of knowing what your lure looks like under water.  It's obvious that many people don't think this way when they are fishing.  I couldn't count the times I have seen people lose it because they are not catching fish when using "the exact same thing" as a fisherman that is producing big numbers right next to them.  In most cases, the fisher person locking up on the regs is in the right water, though it may only be one microcurrent away from the unproductive wrecking ball angler. 


CLASSIC MO' RIVER BOWS NYMPHED UP TODAY 


Learning the water you need to be fishing at the right time only comes with experience, and lots of time on the water.  Don't expect to know where and how to fish if you haven't put in your time.  Fly shops and blogs can help, but not too much.  It's like upper level physics, if you don't study, you will fail.  


BIG ROB PATON GETTING IT DONE TO UNDER THE BOBBER


A good piece of advice for you from someone who struggled to fish bobbers correctly is to watch anglers who know how to run a proper drift.  It wasn't until I watched a good buddy run razor sharp drifts until I understood why certain people catch more fish.  I thought I knew how to nymph, I didn't.  I thought nymphing was lame...(selling your soul.)  I considered myself a 0x streamer fisherman.  I usually only fished streamers, even when fish were eating emergers.  When fish started to eat drys freakishly, then I might have tried to throw on that strand of 4x and throw a dry.  I was the guy that was stripping streamers all day, who would once in a while connect with a decent brown.  I'll be the first to admit that I was unknowledgeable.  Sometimes when I look at streamers, I think to myself that they are no different looking than crank bait.  They are called sculpins, but look like needle fish.  Streamer fishing is as close to cranking 6 inch plastic baits as it comes.  This may be why its so fun!  I love to strip streamers when it's on, and when I do it, I usually get rewarded with a nice slab of gold.  


BROWN I TOOK ON A STRIPPED STREAMER YESTERDAY ON THE MO.


THE SIX INCH 'BOW THAT WAS HANGING OUT OF THE PICTURED BROWN'S JAWS

Whatever it is that you are doing, do it right.  If you are pulling around streamers at the right pace and depth, it will probably be worth blowing your shoulder doing it.  If you like bobber fishing, get technical with your leaders, and present your flies the way fish want them.  If you are soaking bait with a gear stick, use small barbless hooks, its the least you can do.  If you are using this trickery, be nice to the fish, because I know as well as you that you will catch them.  The gear guys I watched today caught ALOT of rainbows.  They were using small hooks and quickly released every one they caught.  I applaud these guys for that, and realize that we all have our place on the river if we are holding a MT fishing license.  Sticking a size 4 hook in a 16 inch rainbow's face is like sticking a clothing hanger hook in yours.  This goes out to all breeds of fisher people.  Please be nice to the fish, it's all alot of us have. 

Renzetti Vise Review

In the Big R Fly Shop in Great Falls, Montana, we carry Nautilus Reels.  It was there I saw the FWX 7/8 for the first time.  Every few days, I’d open the case and play with it.  That’s pretty much how I choose a reel.  After I hold it a few times, I can tell if its the one.  I figured I’d play with the Nautilus until sometime this spring.  When I could stand it no longer without a fly line, I would likely get one.  Then low and behold, I received a package in the mail this past week.  In the package was the perfect trout spey reel along with a card from Paul and Johne.  Paul and Johne are two of my long time guests in Alaska and we’ve shared some memorable days on the Kenai River.  They must have decided I needed a nudge to continue putting them on fish or maybe they felt bad about the gifted Ross Canyon 3 that I’d had stolen a few years ago.  In any event, thanks very much guys. You were Spot On!

I set up the reel in the shop last week. For backing, I loaded the spool with 125 yards of 50# Spider Wire Stealth Braid.  Its super slick, super strong and packs down tightly on the spool.  It will also slice through the water easily if a big fish should run it out there.  To my backing braid, I looped a 33 meter shot of 30# Loop LTS flat nylon Shooting Line.  The LTS shoots incredibly well and adds little bulk to the reel.  It also slices through the water easily, which is great when a fish is already towing a skagit head and heavy tip.  I tie a non slip loop knot at both ends of my LTS.  To the terminal side, I added an Airflo Skagit Compact 390  grain head with a length of 22.5′.  To the Skagit head, I loop any of the tips in the Medium MOW series from Rio.  The 10′ tip with 7.5′ of T11 is my favorite for most trout spey conditions.  To my MOW tip, I loop on 3-4′ of 12# Sunline FC Super Sniper.  Then I tie on the fly du jour with a non slip mono loop.

On Sunday, I put this outfit to the test.  The Nautilus FWX 7/8 is incredibly light in the hand and a pleasure to fish. With my backing/running line set up, there is plenty of spacing for a skagit head on the spool. I had a chance to get the drag pulled, and it was buttery smooth. This was the first time I’d tried the Skagit Compact 390 and it worked perfectly on my Sage TCX 6119.

If you need help setting up your perfect trout spey, stop on by.  We have lots of options in the store and can special order just about anything you need so you can get your spey on.
 

"Geofish: A Mayan Prophecy" trailer - by MOTIV Fishing | Fly Fishing Movie from The Fly Fishing Film Tour on Vimeo.

 The Fly Fishing Film Tour website just released a new teaser today by Motiv Fishing, formerly known as AEG Media - the creators of the Trout Bum Diaries series.  This film, Geofish: A Mayan Prophecy documents a trip deep into the jungles of Belize.  The mission:  to find undisclosed fishing areas on the other side of the deepest and most rugged jungles.  It is the second film in the series, the first was Geofish: Mexico.  If you liked this film or any of the Trout Bum Diaries series, I'm sure this film will not fall short in great film, adventure and fly fishing.