tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094670760207919722024-03-13T09:22:40.033-05:00Snake Guidessalmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.comBlogger465125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-11250142017284995802017-08-03T23:00:00.000-05:002018-06-07T12:08:32.971-05:00R.I.P. Snake Guides Blog 2007-2017I got back from the Bahamas last April and posted the adventure. Some really good fishing trips ensued but I failed to post. I thought I just needed a little time to collect my thoughts and eventually the trips would get written and the photos would hang here. It's August now and I've spent some time over the past months thinking this all through. 10 years. It's been a salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-34770971561783803052017-04-14T22:30:00.000-05:002017-04-28T10:21:33.127-05:00Bahamas...Day 6Bonefish, skiffs, tides, flies, conch fritters, sharks, rum, flats and more bonefish. We've had a good run and today feels like a gravy day. After yesterday, all that is left is taking a deep breath and soaking it all in until we can come again.
I am happy that was my attitude going into today because we got beat down. Badly.
The sun was up and the light was good. On thesalmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-70043610767286498762017-04-13T21:11:00.000-05:002017-04-28T10:15:55.737-05:00Bahamas...Day 5If day 4 is the day you hope doesn't repeat itself, then day 5 is the one of daydreams. Day 5 is the one that defines the trip, skews reality and validates all the airline hassles, hours at the vice and fish that ignored your cast yesterday.
The morning broke with sunshine and only a few clouds. The wind was still present but it was just a reminder to keep your loops tight...not the salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-35837880799433225662017-04-12T22:00:00.000-05:002017-04-28T10:21:21.739-05:00Bahamas...Day 4Aaaah Day 4.
Every trip is likely to have a day like Day 4...Just hope you don't have more than one.
We woke at predawn and the wind was already clipping. I couldn't tell if the lack of light was the hour or the cloud cover. By launch time the sky was partly cloudy. That would become "mostly" in a few hours.
We started fishing shortly after leaving the dock. It seemed salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-61107166776100796242017-04-11T22:00:00.000-05:002017-04-20T20:52:29.162-05:00Bahamas...Day 3Day three in pictoral format...
Sunrise...time to start getting serious
This little lizard opted to spend the night somewhere warm.
The customized push pole ends to keep things q u i e t....
I kept an eye out for bird life but there wasn't much on the flats...
This is exactly what I went to see...nothing like a shallow water bonefish!
CA cocked and loaded.
The drill salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-43974155909750140802017-04-10T20:19:00.000-05:002017-04-19T20:26:29.543-05:00Bahamas...Day 2Coming off the high of a banner first day, I woke early, showered and headed to the main room for breakfast.
The new guys had arrived last night. Two sets of fishing buddies who got jammed in the same flight delays we narrowly escaped. Two of the guys were missing critical gear so everybody rallied to provide flies, rods, sunscreen and whatever else they needed to get a day onsalmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-49260728356223691142017-04-09T22:00:00.000-05:002017-04-20T20:51:59.102-05:00Bahamas Day 1In hindsight, day one would have been a bummer to miss out on.
It is our 4th trip back to this lodge and the first time out with guide Greg Rolle. There are certain locations in this maze of mangrove and limestone and sand and saltwater that I like better than others. When Greg fired up the 50 hp Etec and planed the Beavertail skiff out with the bow headed East, I got pretty excited.salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-69293920941693648842017-04-08T22:38:00.000-05:002017-04-19T07:51:01.581-05:00Bahamas...Pre-Day 1You plan. Sometimes six months to a year out. The week before you leave you write lists and then start assembling gear. The fly boxes are full but you still add another two dozen more flies (which require yet another fly box) to get you through the last few days. It's not the need for flies as much as it is therapy to calm your bouncing knee.
Your house is in order, the salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-13358279254724741562016-08-23T23:30:00.000-05:002016-08-31T14:26:43.204-05:00Late Summer Whities10:00 PM
I was standing near the shore with my camera on a tripod watching the storm roll in, hoping to catch some lightning photos. The water level was up and the wind was starting to blow. The first time I heard it I thought a walnut or some tree fruit had broken off and hit the water. The second and third splash made me think someone was throwing rocks. It took awhile salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-49960116751292078442016-08-14T21:00:00.000-05:002016-08-31T14:06:43.939-05:00ColoradoIt was a 15 hour drive over two days with a stop in Des Moines on the way in and Omaha on the way out. My wife, my two daughter's and the Dog of Thunder were all in on it.
My wife and I decided over the past few years that the Great American Road Trip was worthwhile and something we wanted our kids to experience. It is, of course, a different experience than I had back in the salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-90633536169576039652016-07-30T23:30:00.000-05:002016-08-05T15:09:38.829-05:00When A Plan Comes TogetherI was sitting next to Mr T, having a beer when he shot McSteel and me a text: "You guys open to fish Sat July 30? [redacted] or [redacted] maybe? Recon day."
A half a month of texts later and we all converged on Friday July 29th at a campground that had a little bar/restaurant and a spot for us to crash for the night. I pulled in first with McSteel right behind me. salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-30658373719254257032016-07-24T22:30:00.000-05:002016-08-05T12:31:21.129-05:00Evening on the Big RiverThere are three channels in the river here...formed by two islands. The smallest channel is behind me. My toes are actually in that channel. I am lying on my stomach on the sand at the downstream end of the smaller island. My elbows are resting on a boat cushion and if I wasn't holding my camera I could reach out and touch the second channel.
At the downsteam end of the salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-38698283923805134132016-07-16T23:30:00.000-05:002016-08-04T10:14:42.184-05:00Summer SaturdayIt was one of those fishing trips that gets planned over a late breakfast at a local cafe.
One of those good cafes too, with a sheen of bacon grease covering the light fixtures, and a full on breakfast and coffee running under six bucks.
"Why don't we go fish later?"
"OK."
"I've got a few things to do but I'll call you later."
"Excellent."
And then you do your "few things" and you make the callsalmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-39783497500730760262016-07-15T21:30:00.000-05:002016-08-04T09:22:47.586-05:00Out and aboutOut and about trying to learn the new camera. Forgive the lack of fish in this post...
salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-45422055404454238732016-07-10T18:04:00.000-05:002016-08-03T18:16:44.088-05:00River RunningI sent RS a message at 7:55 Pm on the 9th asking him to fish today.
He messaged me back affirmative.
It was a morning start, launching a little after 8 AM. The sun was out and the world was our oyster.
As we slid downriver hitting spots and looking for smallies, I noticed a guy downstream and across the river, with a fly rod, working some water and throwing a decent line. We kept salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-56210848857559113962016-07-04T23:30:00.000-05:002016-08-01T00:12:13.009-05:00More WallyDespite the fact that its the 4th of July and fireworks are planned at 10 PM, you've just come off the biggest moment in your walleye fishing career. Your walleye fly fishing career. You say to yourself, "I need to do that again."
You think about how tomorrow you'll drive 350 miles south toward a home that has lakes without hexagenia mayflies and lakes that are full of other salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-16761005516143650812016-07-03T23:30:00.000-05:002016-07-31T23:46:27.724-05:00WallyWe did what we always do, my brother-in-law and I. One guy carries the canoe, the other guy grabs the two rods, a pack of flies, tippet, floatant, bug sauce with Deet and the paddles. We wear our life jackets and one of us pockets 6' of rope that we hope to use as a stringer. The drive is paved, then gravel, then bush. The portage is short...maybe 300 yards.
The salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-3004918177106761412016-07-03T17:41:00.000-05:002016-08-04T09:23:07.256-05:00Just a few pics from the MotherlandSpecial place...the North Shore of Lake Superior is.
salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-61444179412249266872016-06-26T18:33:00.000-05:002016-07-31T18:36:00.370-05:00GarHit the river with MK for a smallmouth stint. Then, the gar arrived...
What a cool fish.
salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-88949358619070813632016-06-12T23:00:00.000-05:002016-07-11T09:18:16.768-05:00The Crash...let's be clear.To watch a young guy, start a guide company and take a section of water (that you've been fishing for a long time) and completely dial it in...would probably frustrate a lot of anglers. I'd be frustrated too except that this guy has given it due diligence, put his time in, paid attention, took notes and figured it out....and taught me a lot.
He calls it "The Crash".
"The Crash" is salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-36126763937539390352016-06-11T17:10:00.000-05:002016-07-11T07:56:21.585-05:00LMB's and the death of a(nother) camera.I hit the local lake mid-day. The water was a little green so I full throttled to the inlet and found clear water running in from the river. I haven't been here for a long time. I climbed up onto the poling platform and pushed up past the park, through the trailer/campground, under the bridge and into a tree-lined section that looked just like the nowhere I wanted to be in. salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-12635832531881965252016-06-10T23:30:00.000-05:002016-07-11T08:44:09.691-05:00June 10th 2016You gotta love when your wife knows you well enough to say, "Honey, there is a mayfly on the door."
She knows me too well.
Also, no fishing tonight either...same story, different day.
salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-23435155898280472112016-06-09T23:30:00.000-05:002016-07-09T17:05:12.641-05:00Not Fishing TonightGuess why...
salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-50149875214491718382016-06-07T23:00:00.000-05:002016-06-14T14:04:01.798-05:00Not Much to Report
Marker sized walleye
Impatient white bass
salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209467076020791972.post-15157421586702471922016-06-07T01:30:00.000-05:002016-06-14T13:36:00.846-05:00Rigging in the BoathouseKZ had a custom grab bar manufactured and pulled the boat in for installation.
What seems like a 90 minute project always ends up taking 4 hours.
Luckily, working on boats is so much damn fun.
This boat is a serious fly fishing platform.
salmobyflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190018542608890013noreply@blogger.com0