Who else likes streamer fishing? How about streamer fishing for brook trout in South America? We may not all have the experience to answer that second question, but thanks to this video from Dirty Water Fly Company, I can say that my answer would no doubt be yes.
Check out our latest video of the week to see what happens when three companies come together to set up the perfect chance for hefty brookies on streamers. I can’t imagine the thrill of hooking into one of these beautiful fish in such a scenic area.
This video was published by Dirty Water Fly Company. Be sure to check them out on Vimeo.
The video of the week is selected and written by FlyLords team member Conner Grimes.
[This paragraph has been transcribed from a handwritten letter sent to the Flylords’ office from an unknown location]
“To whoever receives this letter.
We all grew up hearing fish tales. Stories that boasted unbelievable catches, missed strikes and lousy net jobs.  These tales gave rise to the term “Pics or it didn’t happenâ€. I’ve been one to exaggerate a few inches on my trout,  but nothing substantial enough to discredit by name. I was browsing Instagram one day when I noticed the “Blue Bow†A trout with these hyper blue, almost fake colors.
It was posted by the Instagram account Trout Row, and it seemed credible due to his large following. It was until I read the comments, and convinced me it was a fraud. A lousy photoshop job to trick the masses, but something Inside me wanted to believe it was true. I tried to contact Mr. Trout Row because I kept telling myself, maybe this wasn’t fake, maybe there was a real “Blue Bow†I sent him a message saying I would like to speak more on this matter, and he said we could chat. He gave me a cellphone number to contact, with an area code I could not locate on a search engine. I wondered why he couldn’t just message me what I needed to know, but it all became apparent in the near future. He answered the phone with a tone of paranoia, almost as if he had been waiting to get something off his chest like he had committed a crime. He went to explain how the Blue Bow was real, and not just a ruse to gain followers. Obviously, at this point, I was stunned, but there were too many facts and comments that seemed to prove it was fake. I passive-aggressively asked him about the Snopes article, because I recently found he admitted the hoax there. He told me he was paid off by the government to tell people it was fake because it was an accidental release of an experimental breed of fish. He quickly said he had to leave after this, and before I could ask why I was met by the depressing sound of a dial tone.
I was left with more questions than answers, at first I was excited to hear this news, but I wanted to know more about this fish. I started to do research online, Until I came across the Federal Fisheries Department, or the FFD. I found the contact information of the lead genetics scientist there, Dr. Ethan Hall, and I gave him a call. I started shooting questions off to him one after another, probably too many for his liking. He explained he could not give me specifics of any genetic work they did, because of security issues. He mentioned something about the “Fish Raceâ€, A program with competing countries to see who could engineer the most temperature range tolerant and colorfully vivid fish, which I thought was a complete joke. I laughed and hung up, but soon after, my wonder overpowered my sense of humor. Could this be like the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States, where two superpowers battled for space travel superiority? There was no way. It wasn’t until I dug further that I realized it wasn’t so crazy at all. I turned to a Russian search engine on the dark web and used a translating app to search Blue Bow in the Russian language. My heart almost stopped when I was presented with multiple pictures of these blue fish.
Exhibit AExhibit B
I was euphoric, and I barely made it halfway down the web page when I felt a blunt object strike the back of my head. I woke up in a daze, barely able to recognize what was going on. There was a loud droning noise, and my ears were picking up a language I could not comprehend. I was blindfolded, and as soon as I sat up, the voices stopped. I yelled out frantically, only to hear the voices growing louder, and with a sense of anger. I was met once again with the familiar strike of a blunt object, And the next time I woke up, I was alone in the silence. This time I wasn’t blindfolded. I was in a large room, with posters littered in foreign languages scattered across the room. I recognized the characters though, they looked almost identical to the Russian typography I witness on the dark web. I came to my senses and realized maybe Dr. Hall wasn’t just trying to bust my chops, Maybe this fish race was real, and maybe I bit off more than I could chew. I have a lot more to say, but the pen I found hidden in this room is running out of ink. I am going to try to smuggle this out somehow. If anybody ever received this letter, please send help, and please bring the Blue Bow to light.
Recently we saw this fly pop up on our Instagram and Facebook newsfeeds and we just had to find out more. We reached out to Sven Diesel to dig a little deeper into his LEGO fly…
A recent post was sent to me where a tyer was voicing his opinion about the creativity of fly tying these days and used a photo of some Duplo and a hook to make a point. I agree fully with what this tyer was voicing and respect his opinion. Later that weekend as I was building some legos with my kids I had a thought come across my mind of a Lego fly. After chatting with a good friend Pete Rosenau about it, he said if someone could do it, it would be me. So as the Mountain Dew settled in and the hours of the early morning set in, I sat at my dining room table with our “random pieces†Lego bin with a few ideas of what I wanted to create.
I quickly discovered that I had a lot of charcoal grey pieces in the flat sizes and realized quickly that I could do an Adams Parachute. After attempting several times to secure the legos to the hook I was about to resort to either gluing them to the shank or building the body and then heating the hook and simply burning the legos onto the hook.  Then I found the magical piece that slid almost perfectly over the eye. This piece was the key element to building the body. Once I had the body built using the grey flat pieces in the photo, to hold it all together without glue I had to heat the hook at the bend and melt the 1 x 2 flat grey so it was notched and would keep the whole body from spinning. Glue Free was the goal. The body was done. Now the tail and the Feathers and post to worry about.
I tried to use some airplane propellers to replicate the hackle but it looked way to sparse. Similar to my first ever parachute where I wrapped twice and thought I was done. This would not due. I found that I had some wheel parts and noticed the groove in-between the outsides and thought to insert some sort of sword or weapon and how cool that would be.  Then I realized if I used all the pirate swords or shooters my kids would kill me. Then a 1 x 2 grate piece fell on the floor as I was shuffling trying to find other pieces that would work. It almost fit in the groove perfectly. I grabbed a lighter, hit the end for a second so it caught on fire, blew it out then inserted it into the groove and it stayed. Perfect. I found all the great pieces I had in brown, grey and white to replicate the colors used on the Adams parachute of Brown and Grizzly Hackle. I found that I had to cut the corner of the Grate piece to get more Grates in, but repeated the process as before. One layer didn’t look very dense as the fly looks, so I resorted to gluing the grates on top and on the bottom of the middle layer of hackle. A little glue had to be used. I had a few Grates left over and figured they would make a nice tail and cut a white grate diagonally and glued it to the grey grate, then lit a grey grate on fire and placed it on top of it all. Then snapped it in place along with the replicated hackle. The last piece was easy. A white cylinder.
I put it together, took it apart, and put it back together again. I have done this probably 4 or 5 times now and know that it is something that someone could easily replicate themselves. I know that it is not considered fly tying, but it was a lot of fun. Seeing my Lego Loving boys faces when I showed them was awesome. It proves that you can create anything, whether using Legos, fly-tying materials, or stuff you find at the craft store. The key is that without the foundation of tying and having tied a bunch of these patterns, I wouldn’t have been able to do this.
Be sure to follow Mr. Erik Svendsen Svend Diesel on Instagram @svendiesel, and see what he’s whipping up next!
“Hey Mr. Whiskers, wanna go on a fishing trip?†– Said no one… There’s a reason we call them “man’s best friend.” A dog is more faithful than most animals including us humans. We learn so many things from a pup’s behavior, personality, demeanor, resiliency, and most importantly, the willingness to provide their family members with unconditional love and loyalty down to their very last breath. These are the reasons why dogs can be the best fishing companions; however, some dogs may be a better than others for fishing trips. Here is a list of 7 dogs you want on the river!
As a fisherman’s friend, the Labrador will wait for fish to rise with you and contains great stamina for long trips. This species is an all-around dog that is prepared for sport. They have an instinct to love water and are known for being the “original fishermen friend.” They were actually originally bred to help retrieve fish and pull fishing lines to shore!
The Australian Shepherd is definitely a popular dog chosen for a fishing partner. This dog is wired to be busy and wants to be a part of whatever you are doing. They will be inseparable from you at times and will be as patient as the angler. Each flip of the cast, both the angler and canine watch the drift until something takes. Easily one of the most obedient dogs when trained properly; they are incredible companions.
You want a dog with tolerance when fishing. The Malamute is the type of dog that shares this patience. They are also a total brute of a species… North American settlers didn’t have these dogs around just for pets… They are sled dogs and can stand the cold, icy days fishing with their crazy owners.
Yes, you can’t have a list without the “classic family companion”, the Golden Retriever. They are well mannered, which will allow you to take them fishing. Did I mention they love water? So be careful they don’t spook the fish! Air Bud was the OG pup athlete that led to this choice. The species is known for its intelligence, obedience, energy, and can be trained to sit with fishing gear… Â Just don’t count on them protecting you from bears or mountain lions.
The “V” in Vizsla stands for Velcro. They have to stand next to you wherever you position yourself… So, make sure you are in a safe area that the dog won’t get swept away! The Hungarian dog breed is a fair swimmer and is a terrific outdoors pooch. Vizslas are also known for hunting and will reach up to 40 mph on pursuit, but it won’t need that insane speed for fishing!
The good ole Brittany Spaniel… A conveniently-sized pooch that you can take on any water vessel with you. They absolutely love the great outdoors; however, this species can be sensitive and will randomly pee out of excitement (who doesn’t though?) … They respond best in a quieter environment, so the peaceful streams are perfect for these guys. You don’t have to worry about them being an issue on the water either, they are loyal and wish to please its owner.
Often mistaken for a smaller Golden Retriever, the Nova Scotia is known for being alert and curious of its surroundings. This is probably why it’s a solid watch dog and natural hunter as well. Just be careful of their scream! Yes, they scream when excited which may turn your peaceful, quiet day on the river into an eardrum burst. Overall, they are an awesome sport dog and truly versatile.
Header Photo by Clay McClure.
This article was written by Flylords Team Member, Collin Terchanik.
Sunday, April 21st at 10 PM one of our favorite groups of anglers return to TV on Animal Planet. Fish or Die is back and we couldn’t be more stoked. Join Jay, Thad, Chris, and Brian as they travel the planet in search of giant fish!
If this trailer doesn’t get you pumped, we don’t know what will.
Mostly sef-shot, the entire series is a document of these dudes getting out in the world with little thought to their own personal safety and make fish happen. With adventures to Greenland, Borneo, and South America, you’re not going to want to miss a minute.
Once upon a time, the Fish Or Die team invited Flylords Founder Jared Zissu to join them on their voyage to Christmas Island. They taught Jared a thing or two on the trip… Check it out below!
“When Costa invites you to go on an adventure with 5 crazy dudes…You don’t say no to that” – Jared
Fish Or Die premieres April 21, 2019, at 10 PM on Animal Planet, set your DVR and gather a crew to watch it with!
Check out this film from our friends at Costa Sunglasses highlighting Oliver White’s lodges in the Bahamas going plastic free. Costa’s Kick Plastic guide and outfitter program has been up and running for a few years now with more than 800 participants moving their operations to plastic-free. The program estimates that they have reduced over 1 million single-use water bottles since the program started in 2016.
If you haven’t started to kick plastic out of your lifestyle, you should get started. Plastic makes up one of the densest sources of debris in our oceans and by simply bringing your own multi-use water bottle you can have an impact.
Last week, Sport Fishing Magazine published an article outlining a new and disastrous overhaul of Puerto Rico’s fishing laws. For those not aware of Puerto Rico’s status: the island is a U.S. Territory in the Caribbean. Decimated by Hurricane Maria in September 2017, Puerto Rico has attempted to rebuild its economy and infrastructure without much help from the United States Government. As many island countries are, Puerto Rico is very dependent on its ocean economies, which have a significant impact on Puerto Rico’s economy. Much of this economic impact is due to tourism and recreation, which account for nearly $100 million. Yet, the Puerto Rican Government is considering massive modifications to their fishing laws that would greatly benefit the commercial fishing industry at huge costs to the immensely beneficial recreational sector.
Dr. Craig Lilyestrom Ph.D. of Sport Fishing Magazine highlighted the contents and expected outcomes of this “outrageous new law”. Senate Bill 1014, which has passed Puerto Rico’s Senate, needs approval in its House of Representative before it can replace the current fishing law:”Law 278″. According to Dr. Lilystrom, the bill would:
give commercial fisherman greater leniency in regards to punishments for rule infractions;
“Limit recreational angler’s harvest to no more than 30 pounds of fish per month. (This will eliminate valuable fishing tournaments, and could mean keeping a single tuna or dolphinfish would be breaking the law.)”
and, in practice end recreational fishing and the $100 million impact for the Island.
These outcomes are only a couple of the examples Dr. Lilyestrom provided, but the picture is clear: there is no logical explanation for this bill. We will be sure to update you as more information becomes available. Thank you Dr. Lilyestrom, for your reporting. You can check out his article here.
This article was written by Flylords team member Will Poston.
Every fly fisher has that next dream trip in mind. For you maybe it’s Montana, maybe Slovenia, for me, it’s Patagonia, Chile. As a 24-year-old artist, this would be no small thing to pull off. I was going to have to get creative.
Sarah Landstrom Brown Photo by Marcelo Dufflocq
In the past, I have been able to negotiate art exchanges for Fly Fishing Trips. After I had the idea of fly fishing in Chile, I knew I wouldn’t be able to let it go until I found a lodge that appreciated art and would be willing to do such an exchange. If you’re anything like me, once you have an idea, you can’t let it go.
Packing In photo by Mike Idell
I’ve had experience in the past with trading custom artwork in exchange for trips to Iceland and Alaska, but when it came to Chile I knew no one. So thank goodness for modern social media, because Instagram became my jumping-off point. This is basically when the stars started to align.
Horse Rolling by Mike Idell
The Estancia De Los Rios Lodge outside of Coyhaique, Chile is a place that is not only limitless in artistic inspiration but staffed with some of the kindest people I have ever met. I had never before seen a lodge where everyone working was so actively appreciated and happy to be there.
Bernardo Laughing Photo by Mike Idell
The horses, the food, the seclusion etc would have been far more than anyone could ask for on a trip. But then there was the fishing.
Hands Photo by Mike Idell
There is no way to describe the fishing, other than it was like going back 10,000 years and seeing untouched water. The fish would tail in full pods feeding near shore. I watched a large trout chase my smaller trout only to be outcompeted by a third massive trout that grabbed my trout right off the fly. These are wild fish behaving in the way they would naturally, unimpeded by people.
30+ Brown Photo by Mike Idell
By the final days I had decided, along with my partner, that it is very likely that there aren’t other places left like the Estancia De Los Rios. SO THANK GOODNESS that people like Marcelo and his team are the caretakers of such a special place. It’s been less than a month since I’ve left and I still can’t stop thinking about how fortunate I am to have seen such a place.
Sarah Brown Photo by Mike Idell
As a reminder to all of you out there dreaming of your next fly fishing trip, no matter how you get there, don’t have overly inflated expectations about the fishing. It can be so dependant on seasons, conditions etc.
Bernardo Machete Photo by Mike Idell
Let yourself appreciate the place first, and allow the fishing to just be a bonus. I know I am not alone in believing that the quality of your fishing has a lot to do with your attitude. So just take in the beautiful places you’re in, and the people who helped you get there. In my experience, the fish will show up.
Flowers Photo by Marcelo Dufflocq
For those interested in traveling on a Hosted Trip to the Estancia De Los Rios with myself @sarah_landstrom and photographer and angler Mike Idell (@mike_idell) please contact me at slands@saic.edu . TIGHT LINES! РSarah Landstr̦m
The project will use reclaimed water from the surrounding area to create the low salinity water needed by the game fish species native to the area, the most interesting being, Snook, Tarpon, and Redfish. Reclaimed water is water that has been processed and cleaned after use by humans. And according to Bart Weiss, Director of Hillsborough County Reclaimed Water Dept., “It’s the first time I know of that utilities and scientists propose using reclaimed water to help fish and ecosystems.â€
From BaySoundings.com
“The 25-acre property, once home to Bramco Tropical Fish, has been abandoned since the 1970s. Since then, the hundreds of shallow ponds where tropical fish were grown have been overtaken by invasive species. Hillsborough County and SWIM, working with the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust, will restore the site to a mosaic of habitats from uplands to very low salinity areas to intertidal lagoons and islands. The goal is to meet the specific needs of recreationally important fish including tarpon, redfish, sea trout and snook.â€
It’s incredible to see municipalities working with fishery conservation organizations to leverage unused lands for the benefit of the environment. We look forward to seeing the progress BTT makes via this project and hope to see more responsible uses of reclaimed water!
When the holidays come around, I lock up my cabin in the snowy mountains of the Eastern Sierra’s and take a trip to the warmer climate of Southern California where I grew up. The holidays are always a special time for me to visit family and overeat Mom’s home-cooking. But aside from all the great food and family get togethers, this trip is also a chance for some epic winter bass fishing with my brother, JD Blackamore.
At a young age we both began fishing in Southern California, and my first fish on the fly rod was a Largemouth Bass when I was 10 years old. As you can imagine, I have a very nostalgic passion for chasing bass on the fly. My brother still resides in our hometown and has the bass bite dialed in, as he’s become an accomplished conventional bass angler. Our two opposing styles create good competition, but with that, each style can learn and benefit from one another.
JD informs me that jerk baits have been producing in the early morning hours, so I tie up a few streamers which closely resembles my brother’s conventional lure. In the fly world, it’s quite difficult to replicate the erratic movement and noise created by jerk baits, so I must adapt my streamers to what these bass are keying on; smaller fleeing baitfish.
It’s tradition for us to hit the water on Christmas Eve morning, and before sunrise, we set out to do just that. A thick blanket of fog greets us on the lake and provides an eerie backdrop. The shoreline is dominated with overgrown brush and trees, making casting difficult for my 9 foot long fly rod. Just out of sight, I hear JD swing on a fish and I walk over to see the catch. He mentions where the fish are located in the water column and how fast his retrieve was, notable intel. I now focus on my retrieve, varying speeds with pauses and quick rips, and soon my line goes tight! I quickly strip-set and feel the heavy head-shakes on the end of my line! My fly rod is at full bend as I finesse the fish to the bank!
We each landed a few more fish to close out the day, but my brother ultimately edged me out in the “totals†column. It’s not often I get to fish next to a conventional angler, and each time I do, I try to walk away with a new idea or technique to apply in my own fly game.
There are obvious advantages and disadvantages between the two styles of fishing. 22 years into this sport and I’m still learning new techniques to outsmart fish with a fly, especially bass. It’s been quite a learning curve, but through the years I’ve come to enjoy the intricate challenges of fly fishing. It’s important to never lose your optimism and curiosity of what might lurk beyond the following bank. Your next cast could change everything.
Returning to my home waters and taking time to relive childhood experiences that initially got the rod and reel into my hand is quite meaningful. Time spent on the water is always a very wholesome experience and to be able to share that experience with my brother, along with some laughs and a few cold beers, is the way to keep the tradition alive.
Article from Seth Blackamore, you can follow along with Seth on Instagram at @seth.blackamore.
