While here, I have seen many interesting things in relationship to recycling fishing materials; everything from eyelets being re-taped to poles, to nets mended with shoe-laces and pieces of plastic bags. Apart from these things, while walking along the edge of the Mar, I recently saw a interesting substitution for a bobber.

I stopped for a moment to talk to an elderly man that was sitting along a bridge just outside our compound here in Argentina. The man had gotten there just prior to my arrival and was still setting up his gear; he was using an old aluminum pole with a small, open-bail reel, that, although well-kept, was really showing its age. While talking to him, I noticed something that truly amazed me. The man reached into his tackle box and pulled out a handful of small splints of wood. After carefully fingering through them, he selected about six of them and pinched them to his line about 16 inches above his hook. He then took a piece of kite string and wrapped the splints securely to the line.

It was a really interesting method that, although it caught me off guard, taught me something very interesting about the fishing culture down here: that although the people here may not have even the most simplistic gear that we tend to take for granted in the US, they are perfectly content finding other ways to effectively fish.

Tags: Argentina, Fishing

When fly fishing, there are many variables that can drastically affect the outcome and productivity of your day; unfortunately, most fishermen tend to pay close attention only to the major details, such as line, rod, and reel maintenance, however, it is also the little things that can become huge problems.

I am certain that many of us have faced this problem time and time again: you are fishing for a long while, and when you finally about to give up, a beautiful trophy strikes your line. As any fishermen would, your reaction is to set the hook, however, when you lift your rod and draw your line, the hook seems to be pulled out of the fish’s mouth without ever having even scratched the fish.

Although one can simply write a situation like this off by saying the fishermen has bad timing, or the fish had not taken the fly in yet, there is one cause for this problem that can not be avoided, and is typically the reason for such a disappointment: the hook.

When fishing rivers, it is important to understand the the rocks and small pebbles along the bottum of the stream wear away at the soft tips of the hook, thereby making the striking tip blunt and therefor less effective. It is therefor very important to maintane this piont.

Thanks to technology, this can be accoplished by utilizing a number of different mechanical sharpeners, as well as simply using a hand sharpener. Reguardless of the method, it is very important the you remember to get to the piont.

Tags: Fly Fishing, Hooks

Although I am currently in Argentina, and therefor do not get the opportunity to engage in the cold-water fall trout fishing this year, there is one thing that I thought I should throw out there for all of you who will be wading the waters of North America this coming fall.

As we all know, Northern cold-water fishing is a very popular passtime, and can become very competitive as fishermen attempt to get that last big one in before the season ends. Due to this, fisherman are always seeking advantage, and therefor the use of waders, throughout the entire season, are very popular, however, it is important to keep some very obvious things in mind.

Firstly, waders are undoubtedly a great advantage over having to stand along a bank, however, they are not entirly secure, regardless of weather the bottums of your boots are felted, or assisted by ‘corgers,’ it is important to remeber that they are not hiking boots, and you always face the risk of slipping and hurting yourself. This leads to the next, and probably more important caution I have for all of you is that waders are only waterproof from the sides and the bottums.

I have heard, and witnessed countless scary stories of fishermen being seriously injured, and in some cases drowing do to a simply slip up. What it is important to realize, it that if you fall while standing even in relatively shallow water, your waders have the potential to fill up rather quickly, and it can be increadible difficult to find footing, or tread water with that much extra weight, and therefore can have some very horrific consiquense. Although this is true, there is one very simple way to aviod such a problem.

When using waders, ALWAYS wear a strap-belt. A belt along the bellow, or waiste depending on design, will keep water from being able to so readily fill the waders, giving you more time to react to falling, and will give you opportunity to regain footing and refrane from the effects of the fall.

Anyways, I say all this to say, be careful this fall, and stay safe. All of the problems that we face throughout the rest of the season seem to become that much more dangerous as the temperature of the water drops. So be careful, and happy fishing!

Tags: Fishing, Flyfishing

I recently received a comment about my last blog, asking if such a simplistic means of fishing is possible in the US. In response, yes, it is most definitely possible, and would be just as affective regardless of the location, however, there is a mindset amongst fishermen in the United States that such a style of fishing is somehow a lesser method than traditional casting, or fly fly fishing.

Although the simplistic method of “cast and wait,” is less advanced than others, it is typically reserved for young children who are perfectly content fishing with a stick and shoelace, which begs this question to be asked, “who enjoys fishing more?”

I have had the opportunity to go fishing with a number of great fishermen around the world, and have taken countless adults fishing, and have seen a number of different attitudes arise while fishing with them. I have worked with men that have had a great attitude, and who i have thoroughly enjoyed spending time fishing with. However, I have also been fishing with men who have had bad attitude and seem to have a gift of finding things to complain about.

Regardless of the above, I have also had the opportunity to take a number of children fishing, and have humbled myself to fish with them using a piece of thread attached to a stick, and, although we may not catch a thing those days, I have never gone fishing with a kid who has not completely enjoyed themselves. In this, these kids have taught me a lot about fishing, that it is not about how many fish you catch, or how large those fish are, fishing is all about enjoying yourself, and due to that, I encourage all of you fishermen out there, if you can find a child, two stick, thread, and some worms, you will find happiness.

Tags: Fishing

The past weekend I had the opportunity to tour Rio de Plata, the largest river in the world. While there I had the opportunity to meet a number of men fishing along the dikes that ran along the waters edge. After speaking with there fishermen, I found that the general method of fishing was very simple, using a double-jig unit. Due to the fact that the land surrounding the river is highly developed, there is not a lot of room for unnecessary casting, thereby ruling out the use of spoons or other types of spinning bait.

Furthermore, the targeted fish is a large bottom-feeder in the carp family, making bottom-fishing very effective. The setup that is used by most fishermen is very simple, it consists of a steel leader attached to a heavy lead weight. Along the steel leader there are two tag leaders that each hold a large hook.

On each of the two hooks there are two typical baits that are used by that Argentine fishermen, white rubber jigs, or live minnows, typically two or three minnows per hook.

To fish such a unit, the fisherman casts the line as far as possible, places the rod in a holder along the waters edge, and just waits. Although it seems like such a simplistic means by which to feed your family, it was very interesting to see the talent that it took to reel a fish in the air from a dike that is twenty feet in the air.

Tags: Argentina, Bait, Fishing

I’m currently located in the beautiful South American country of Argentina. After having been here for about two weeks, I have finally been able to access a ‘reliable’ internet source. In the short time of being here, I have been able learn much from the natives here about the local fishing.

Behind the compound at which I am staying, there is a large saltwater inlet, in which, there is a large number of big game saltwater fish. While walking back to the compound from a local town, I spoke with an older man who bait-casting small minnows along the coast of the inlet, and seemed to be reaping the benefits of many years of wisdom.

Furthermore, I have learned from a local missionary, that one of the largest international saltwater fishing companies is located in a nearby city. I will be headed into Buenos Aires this coming Saturday, and will be searching for a distributor, hoping to get a bargain on fishing gear. Furthermore, this coming weekend we will most likely be heading farther north to attempt to reel in some big ones!

Tags: Argentina, Salt Water

During my stay in Cape Cod, I had the opportunity to discuss the recent decline in fish populations due to the spike in the population of jellyfish. Although there is always a high number of jellyfish in along the coasts, there has, in resent years, been a strong increase in the number of these little soldiers.

This increase has had some drastic, direct affects on shoreline fishing. Due to this rise, the population of feeder fish has had an inverse affect, creating a drop in their numbers, causing the larger trophy fish to remain off-shore, no longer coming into shallow water to feed.

Tags: Fishing, jelllyfish

While fishing in Cape Cod, an environmental phenomenon occurred that had many of the fishermen questioning the state of the water. The first evening out, the ocean seemed to take on a red hew; an event that began to spur questions among the people present.

The “Red Tide” has been, throughout history, associated with many myths of war and gods, however, in reality, such a tide is caused by the blooming of specific algae in the water. The color of the algae can range from brown, to green, and is only visible during a large bloom, when the density of the algae is high enough to make the single-celled organisms visible as a mass.

Although Red Tide may occur often, they are not typically a threat unless they reach a piont where the algea is removing more oxygen from the water than can be sufficiently replenished. This will cause fatalities amoung small bait-fish species, thereby causing larger game fish to remain offshore, sometimes resulting in larger fish-kills, as occured in Florida during the Florida, and California Red Tides.

Tags: Red Tide

Today I broadened my horizons, and my eyes were opened to an entirely unfamiliar style of ‘fishing.’ The target of this adventure was not a floppy fish at all, but rather the hard shelled Quohog, the one member of the seafood family that I most dread eating. However, more distasteful than its flavor, is the method at which we came about possessing them.

The method was simple, wade into the muddy waters near the oceans edge, and tread water so that your feet just barely settle below the mud. After you have properly established your position, and have become familiar with the smell of the manure-like mud, slowly squish your feet around just below the mud and feel around for any hard objects. When you have stumbled across target, usually marked by a stubbing of a toe, or a cut along the bottom of the foot, use your toes to bring the object in question to the surface to reveal if you did, in fact, find a Quohog.

After a number of hours, and the recovery of many glass bottles, shoes, and golf balls, did manage to fill our two pecks of Quohogs, and had a wonderful evening of scrubbing and boiling those disdained creatures.

Tags: Fishing, mud, quohog

As I stated a few weeks ago, I have the opportunity to stay in Cape Cod for a week, pushing myself to the limits, casting late nights for striper. Last night, a couple of friends and I headed to the Cape Cod Canal, in search of our trophies.

When we arrived at the canal, we adorned our rods with Slug-Os, and began our quest. After hours of slippery slopes, and sand flies, we walked away completely ‘skunked.’ Why, you might ask, am I telling you fail stories? Simply because today I don’t want to discuss techniques or equipment, but rather simply make a pitch for fly fishing.

Although I do enjoy the occasional excursion, handicapped by the use of spin-rods, nothing can beat the thrill of catching a large cow on nine-weight. Furthermore, regardless of its productivity, the simple joy that comes from casting a fly-rod, due to the skill that is involved, makes it that much more fun.

In my mind, the simple action of casting, then reeling, then casting, then reeling, just seems to get to me after a short while. All in all, I simply wish to suggest that if anyone out there has never had the opportunity to cast for striper; try it.

Tags: Cape Cod, Striper