four seasons angling club

Fly Fishing Film

2012-01-24T08:26:00.002-06:00

I went to a film screening yesterday which is held at one of the Patagonia store in the city. The film is about an epic journey to Kamchatka peninsula. I've shed some tears...

Eastern Rises | teaser from felt soul media on Vimeo.

Seeking suggestion

2012-01-23T11:03:00.002-06:00

Patty and I are planning on a trip to Yellowstone this summer for two weeks. Initially thought about flying out to Jackson Hole and fish there for a couple of days and then move onto Cody, Cooke City and end our trip in West Yellowstone. Then I realize that we might not truly enjoy the experiences if we bounce around too much.

Currently, I'm just thinking about staging our trip in one or two area (West Yellowstone and Cody) and throw in as many different fishing experiences as possible.

Any suggestions on itinerary, timing, guide services and etc..? Thanks in advance for your help...

A Great Fishing Report

2012-01-16T12:59:00.003-06:00

I recently came across a fishing report from Blake on their site, "Illinois Wisconsin Fishing" and was refreshed by the concise, generous, and thoughtful nature of the report. There seems to be thousands of fishing reports out there on even more blogs, but once in a while you see a good one like this. Thanks for a great report Blake & Team.

Check out this:
http://illinoiswisconsinfishing.blogspot.com/2012/01/trout-river-iowa-driftless-report.html

and more at:
http://illinoiswisconsinfishing.blogspot.com/

ANGLING WORLD 魔魚釣界

2012-01-13T13:40:00.009-06:00

Damn! Wai Loong and his friends how to party! These guys are everywhere and everywhere they find the craziest fresh water beasts! Happy New Year Wai Loong, thanks for all the information. Can't wait to see your photos from the Thailand Jungle Trip.

Check out more at:
http://anglingworld.blogspot.com/

Swimming with Iphone

2012-01-09T19:56:00.000-06:00

I had a dream last night where GF was wading ahead of me, lost his balance, and fell in. Rather than freak out and start gasping for air, like I would do, he started swimming gently across the pool with rod in hand. Good news for all you smart phone users...No more plastic bags, or worrying about taking a call streamside. I wonder if they can do it for cigarettes????

Things make you smile

2012-01-02T11:06:00.003-06:00

Found this metal curb in Brooklyn. Near Pratt Institute to be exact.

Yes boys, Although I love seeing cool videos, we need to go fishing...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Always dress for the PAwty boys. Happy New Year

2012-01-02T08:26:00.000-06:00

micro nymphying

2011-12-30T12:40:00.001-06:00

I miss fishing...

Warm Wishes for my Friends

2011-12-20T23:19:00.007-06:00

It's hard to believe it's already the end of 2011. It's not a feeling that the year went by any faster, it just feels like with all the giant changes happening all around the world, I should have also been doing something (although I'm not sure if more or less). Watching these changes makes me feel hopeful, fearful, ashamed, small, connected and old at the same time. Maybe this is just part of reaching midlife, noticing the waves of change around me, wondering (and worrying) how those changes will affect the world my children will live in. Maybe it's something more simple, like the fact that I fished a lot less than I should/could have, which provided too much time to dive into the crap, none of which made me any more informed or wiser. All I know is that spending way more time in airports than on streams isn't good for me.

I am deeply thankful for a lot of things. Above all my family, our health, and time with good friends. This year, I'm espcially thankful that I was there when my son caught his first cherry trout, that I had a chance to fish in Colorado, and that I got to catch some steelheads for the first time. I guess it's such moments that I will remember about the year (and all the times I got drunk with Soboro). I look forward to 2012 ... like a stream that changes with each season, I hope next year will be filled with lots of good changes that we can laugh out loud about.

I wish you & your family the best in 2012. Thank you for being such great friends.

Happy Holidays.

Closing Statement

2011-12-18T12:13:00.003-06:00

2011 fishing experience has been particularly good to me as I think I made the most improvement with my fishing skill. The most of my fishing hours were spent on this small mountain creek in New Jersey with one specific pattern (Ausable Bomber) mainly to improve my casting skill.

Come to think of it, I've started the season at this creek and I fished it yesterday to be my last fishing trip of the year makes this creek somewhat special for me.

I pretty much had a whole creek all to myself. Not even a single hiker to be seen on trails leading to the creek.

I hope everyone made their good fishing memoirs this year as I have and hope to see you guys next year with even bigger smiles (from fishing of course) from pictures you will post.

Tightlines...

ㅋㅋ

2011-12-18T00:27:00.000-06:00

from my friend Pete, The Esoxman...

2011-12-17T20:36:00.004-06:00

Each year about this time, hear from my friend Pete/ The Esoxman, about his annual Canada trip. This year Pete had 8 Muskie and 6 of them were over 40 inches and one at 48inches. As usual, his son Matt also accompany him on the trip and adds to the count of Muskie encounters. An annual fishing trip like this, with your family is something I think I can get into now, now that my kids are a little older. Pete continues to be a mentor to me beyond fishing.

Looking forward to catching up soon Pete. Seems like we're crossing paths in the air.

Beginning of New Experience

2011-12-16T21:01:00.003-06:00

Since my last saltwater fishing trip, I've tried to tie some flies for stripers. Surf candy is to be exact. The first one I've tied as seen below came out like a fat goldfish with a long tail. Eventually I was able to simulate the fly good enough to fool a striper so I hoped...

With much anticipation along with my newly tied flies, I hit the beach by 4am last sunday only to find that the section where I needed to be is barricaded with a park ranger on guard.

I've decided to stay and practice cast as I know I will be coming back first thing next spring. Striper season is officially over as of this week but I am glad that I was able to take my first step to new fishing venture I am sure I will enjoy.

I like this beverage...

2011-12-13T22:01:00.001-06:00

I love it that America has good beer named after a famous river and has a trout on it. And it's nice and potent too. Cheers from Hong Kong.

Rainbow Fly Fishing Club Winter Outing

2011-12-11T06:03:00.014-06:00

Lee, Soboro, Dr. Shin, Prof Huh, and I attended the Rainbow Fly Fishing Club winter outing at a local trout pond. It was great to see many friends faces we haven't seen in a long while. Prof Huh & Dr. Shin did a lot of work to prepare lunch & drinks for everyone and the meat & fresh oysters brought in from KangHwa were delicious. People fished throughout the day and some caught some big hatchery rainbows but by the afternoon everyone stopped counting (probably from the buzz from all that soju drinking). I personally got skunked by these clever educated trout but I was happy all the same. Good day, good friends, good food all equals good time.

Thank you Dr. Shin & Prof Huh for getting everyone together. 형들 진짜 수고 많으셨습니다.

cricket trailer flipbook.m4v

2011-12-10T08:26:00.000-06:00

The coolest thing I've ever seen. My next fishing vehicle.

next time we go fishing...

2011-12-06T12:54:00.001-06:00

We should do this next time we go fishing. Damn they look like they're having a good time.

Brown trout from Mt. Fuji.

2011-12-06T04:27:00.011-06:00

I received these photos from a good friend of mine. He spent a few days on a private membership pond on Mount Fuji in Japan. Looks like a beautiful winter is there. Thanks for the photos...cheers!

Fall Run of Herring and Stripers

2011-12-04T09:29:00.009-06:00

Herrings are running strong in NY Bight area and stripers are at the tail end of their fall run. James Cape from Autumn Brook Angling and I decided to hit the Sandy Hook National Park to take advantate of the situation.

"Surf fly fishing for striper is never about the accuracy nor the distance of your casting. It's all about understanding bottom structure in relation to wave movements and putting your fly right in the middle of the structure" James said with smile.

For someone like me who are not used to swinging a 10 wt rod with sink tip which has a heavy weighted fly at the end of line, it is all about the casting without hooking my body parts...

The weather was beatiful. Birds gave us good indication where the bait fish are located. The location of Sandy hook is a perfect location for fishermen for stripers as it is a strategic location to find our target as swift tides are present along the bayside and brings the bait fish with it.

My first striper on fly rod!

It's good to be back doing some saltwater fishing. Most of my saltwater fishing was done on boat but being on surf was definitely different experience. You get to be more aware of the water you are fishing as you really need to study it as to rely on your fishfinder device.

Updates from Nathan

2011-12-03T12:43:00.004-06:00

Nathan hit the waters in Taebaek, South Korea with Matt Awalt for some winter lenok action on drys & nymphs. Nathan - Looking forward to your Red Fish photos from New Orleans! Good luck.

Thanks for the photos & Happy Holidays.

Muskegon drifting with Cusey.

2011-12-01T22:42:00.016-06:00

Drifted down the Muskegon River again today with Phil Cusey. I failed to hook into a steelhead but found few chunky rainbow trout. It was a beautiful winter day and drifting with Phil is always a pleasure. We talked a lot about fishing the Pere Marquette River in the coming weeks. We caught up on our regular rant about the economy, desire for fair weather, and lives as fishermen. Steelhead or not, drifting the Muskegon with Phil is fun. Steelhead will come soon enough.

Advanced Trick Casting: The Shadow Cast

2011-11-30T18:22:00.000-06:00

I really like these guys.

Jesus fish...

2011-11-29T08:28:00.001-06:00

big lenok are here

2011-11-28T11:24:00.006-06:00

Nice to see all the Korean sites posting bigger lenok. This one was caught by our friend GoDo. Winter nymphing always produces the largest lenok, just need to find open waters and be ready to brave the harsh winter in KangWon.

Below photos: South Korean lenok (photos from other sites: Spiderfly, Princefly, Trutta and others).

365fish.net

2011-11-28T10:27:00.002-06:00

I was glad to receive a note from Blake (illinoiswisconsinfishing.blogspot.com) on the recent launch of his fishing forum 365fish.net

It's a fishing forum geared towards the blogging community, and from what I have seen from the success of illinoiswisconsinfishing, I think it will be a great source to share, learn, and discuss all things fishing in the Midwest and more. It has just begun so there's not much there now, but check it out from time to time and register to write on it.

Greeting from Italy

2011-11-27T16:06:00.003-06:00

Greetings from our friend Fabrizio Gajardoni in Italy. I always dream of fishing in Italy one day, and meeting Fabrizio. Dry fly fishing on the Nera River. Check out his innovative and fun flies at:

http://www.gajaflies.it/

LEGO trout

2011-11-25T20:56:00.006-06:00

I visited LEGO LAND in San Diego with the family this past week. While walking around, my son called to me "hey dad, I think there's a trout in here!". I walked over to see what it was, and indeed, it was a LEGO trout. It made me smile in two ways, one because of the fact that my son knows I like fishing and he looked that way. Second because he saw it as a trout. It was a nice day.

South Korea: Char fly fishing

2011-11-25T20:35:00.004-06:00

Hatcheries in KangWon/ Hwa Chun has preliminary success in reproducing the char, "Gon-Deul-Mai-Ki" (곤들매기/Salvelinus malma). The fish disappeared in South Korea during the early 1970s due to overfishing. The eggs were imported from Japan and they grow to about 20-30cm, sometimes larger. If the program continues to succeed, they will introduce the fish to such festivals as Hwa Chun Trout Festival, and create paid streams for fly fishermen.

Although the thought of a million people catching and eating these hatchery Dolly Varden Char makes me uncomfortable, I also think it takes events like this to create funding to reproduce (and reintroduce) these fish into the streams. Unfortunately, the efforts to reintroduce fish like this into the waters based on pure conservation goals alone is always underfunded and the odds of success is marginal at best. Since Korea has only limited cold water species to fly fish for, any news like this is a good one (I think.)

Our friend EuNu ( http://www.rainbowfly.co.kr/) fished near one of the hatcheries and found a few that escaped the hatchery. I can't wait to find one of these at the end of my line.

Good old neighborhood creek:

2011-11-23T00:40:00.009-06:00

Past Saturday, I visited the creek near by my house. Maybe becasue of the cooler weather, much smaller ones are the one that was greeting me. When I was at the only deeper part of the wather in the creek, I was able to finally meet slightly larger one with the nymphing.

nice to meet you GF...

2011-11-19T22:23:00.009-06:00

I met Gone Fishing in a long time.
We were fishing at seohwa creek,
There is a military area near the DMZ(demilitarized zone).
The sound of cannons and soldiers can hear you,
but there is no problem for fly fishing.

We enjoyed fishing, and
Fly-fishing may ease the spirit.....
It was a pleasure meeting you GF.

Walk through the valley with time and lenok ...

Flowing water and time ...

casting..

lenok

holding a lenok....

winter is comming in the valley...

Nathan from Osan

2011-11-19T16:54:00.006-06:00

Nathan is a fly fisherman from Northern California stationed at Osan, where he works in the Emergency Department. I was glad to hear that a few weeks ago, he finally find time to go fish the east Korean creeks. Good to hear from you, Tight lines Nathan!

Fishing near the border...

2011-11-17T23:51:00.018-06:00

I had a extra day during my trip and so I went fishing with Dr. Shin to fish for lenok near the border. It's peaceful there, other than the occasional ringing of firearms going off nearby (military base), as well as an occasional cannon. As we fish near the bridge, soldiers marching in line watch on. The big lenok hasn't yet fully started their journey down south in this creek, but the smaller ones were present, which signals the start of the migration. It's cool thinking that these fish travel up and down the border, free from all the nonsense that humans/ nations fight about. Reading the caution sign for land mines is a little nerve racking, and you do walk a little slower in areas with thick cover. We bothered a lot of smaller lenok this day, and it was just nice sitting at the banks eating our lunch.

형, 오늘 같이 가서 즐거웠습니다, 그리고 감사합니다. 곧 또 봐요.

My First Bamboo Rod

2011-11-11T12:26:00.004-06:00

For our 15th year anniversary, Patty ordered me a bamboo rod from Oyster Fine Bamboo Rod Company. I will get the rod sometime in January. I feel like a little boy who is about to receive the best gift ever!

A letter from Ulan Bator.

2011-11-08T12:28:00.013-06:00

I received a warm letter from my friend S.H. Yoo from Mongolia. He just returned from his early winter float trip. I like the fact that weather can push back trips in Mongolia for 2-3 days, waiting for the temperature to rise, and water levels to go down. In our world of exacting schedules, it's refreshing. He spoke a lot about the friendship that builds up over the years with the guide & navigator, even with limited communication in words. Thank you S.H., I look forward to seeing you again soon in Korea or China, but preferably in Mongolia.

Family gathering

2011-11-06T13:28:00.000-06:00

My cousin Michael had hiked pretty much all over the world only armed with a backpack. I've invited Michael to join me to go fishing at my favorite stream. Even as a someone who've seen many beautiful scenery, he truly appreciated the beauty of the Northeastern mountain stream.

Giving in to temptation... giant lures.

2011-11-04T18:18:00.007-05:00

It's the fall season here in the Midwest and many species big and powerful are lurking in the waters. I should be chasing steelheads, but so far I'm having difficulty finding quality time to go out. So instead, I am hitting closer waters and in closer waters, the prize fish is the northern pike and if lucky, the good old mr. Muskellunge. I recently visited the local lake near my house and threw out the biggest lures I had (big for bass standards), and hooked a few small bass and a northern. Then on one particular cast, I saw it... a big dark shadow chasing the lure right up to my feet, then dropping and fading into the deeper water.... I've heard that I am supposed to do that figure 8 with the lure, since they often strike at the last moment, but the sight of the big fish had me too excited to do anything. I was able to repeat this (chase but no take) a few more times during the next couple of hours and that was exciting in itself.

As I was about to leave, I ran into a fellow fisherman with one of them giant lures... the kind that I pass by at BassPro Shop and think, "is that for decoration?". He cast the giant lure, splash, slow/ medium retrieve...then the 2nd splash... he had a big fish on. The 2nd splash turned out to be a 39" muskie... a very angry one. The guy is one of the board members at Muskies Inc in Chicago, the same group my friend PeteK is active in. He was friendly to give me some pointers on lure fishing for muskie and we spoke about Robert Tomes (Muskie on the Fly), who gave a talk at Muskies Inc. Fast forward ... I find myself looking at these big lures & steel leaders next to my coffee cup and thinking... wow, that just happened.

I love a little lure fishing action once in a while...

Matthew Awalt - an American fly fisherman in South Korea.

2011-11-02T14:46:00.005-05:00

Matthew is the guy I saw camping out in a one man tent on the DukPoong Valley creek. I was happy to see his site launched. He is an American freelance writer living in South Korea and a highly experienced fly fisherman. His site has a great summary of what to bring to fly fish in Korea, as well as summary of the target species. He is a friend of James Card, and in many ways continuing and evolving the spirit of what James did in Korea. Check out more about Matthew and his fishing adventures at: http://awalts.com/

Beautiful site Matthew! Looking forward to following your adventures.

against all odds

2011-10-30T16:36:00.003-05:00

A cold front hit our area pretty hard this weekend. Forecasted to go down to 17 degree in Adirondack so I went up to our cabin to winterize the cabin.

There were already ankle deep of snow everywhere. Upon arrival at the cabin I've started to winterize the house. While working, I began to calculate the odd of fishing condition.

Temperture: Really cold (sudden drop of 30 degree)
Snow melt: is pouring into streams making it colder than usual and running high in volume
Weather: a storm is brewing (barometric pressure is buillding)

Everything I've learned about the fishing condition told me it is not a optimal (at all) fishing condition.

Howerver, I found myself at a creek staring down at my fly and hoping to see a trout or two with it but the result was ovbious.

Personally and professionally, I consider myself as a pretty good odd calculator but when it comes to fishing, I never go by what my odds are. I guess either I'm still a beginner or the fishing brings out the stupid in me.

I miss Chicago!

2011-10-29T23:55:00.004-05:00

One year ago today I caught my last lake run brown......
Everybody deserves to get at least one.....

Coke from Mexico:

2011-10-29T10:20:00.005-05:00

I can't remember I had this before, but when I was in Yosemite with a guide he bought me a coke bottled in Mexico made with natural cane sugar. After hours of hot sun beating on my body, it was so refreshing.

Yosemite Trip:

2011-10-26T00:23:00.020-05:00

I've been thinking about for a long time and finally made a trip to Yosemite area for fishing past weekend. After a hard trip (No fish) to Truckee in July, I decided to hire a guide this time who is specialized in Yosemite area. My guide and I communicated for a week and made a decision to go to Merced River which runs right through Yosemite. I left the house at 4:00 AM and arrived in the area around 8:00 AM. We meet at 10:00 AM at meeting spot and started the day of fishing right away. The guide seemed knows a lot about the area and took me around different spots as accurately as possible relative to time of the day. It was a slow start, but as day goes by I was able to meet number of large rainbows and unfortunately missed a few good size browns. We folded our rods and walked out of the water around 5:45 PM. In the morning, I left the house assuming that I will sleep over in the area and return home next day; but with the good day of fishing, I had much energy left over to return home same day safely. It was one great trip to remember.

I should be there...

2011-10-25T15:05:00.004-05:00

Kings & steelheads are in the tributary waters. Damn it, I hope I don't miss the entire party... 어쩌다 보니까, 낚시를 많이 못하는 가을이 되어 버렸네... 그립다, 고기잡는 그 느낌.

John Gierach - a thank you from Shenzhen

2011-10-24T20:43:00.006-05:00

My work takes me to many different cities in the world, and I spend a good amount of time in China. My trips to China are usually a mix of lot of meetings, a lot of meeting people, and even a fair amount of drinking (with more people). While there are a lot of things I love about China, access to nature isn't one of them (lack of). I am usually okay with this, as metropolitan city & access to nature isn't usually a set, and sometimes I find that this even enhances my appreciation, when I'm standing in a quiet creek. My current trip to China is no different, except this is the fall season, and I can't help but think about the cool water running in the mountain creeks, the hungry trout eagerly checking out the flies floating by ... my ears hunger for the kind of sounds a fall creek makes.

Fortunately, on this trip, I brought along John Gierach's book, Fly Fishing Small Streams. I've been reading it slowly, carefully timing the chapters, so that the book will last throughout the entire trip (it's a short book). I read it in the car from one factory to another, I read it as I wait for samples, and I read it sitting in a small coffee shop, filled with too many people & too much noise. I find that it takes intense concentration to read the words and to tune out the environment around me...

Perhaps "adjust" is a better word because as I read, I use my imagination to translate the sight & sounds to something else... something a little closer to what I'm reading about in the book. I am imagining the people & traffic as the cool running current and the city block/ buildings as boulders and rocks. I still haven't determined what I will select as the trout in this stream, but even without having decided that, the picture in front of me looks a little better. I start to see how this current is flowing, the eddies, and where riffles are formed as people rush past stationary things. The city is a living thing (not only the people but the city itself) and it's wonderful to observe the change throughout the different times of the day. I hope that with training I will be able to see this anytime at call. I described all of this to my friend here, and he looked at me a long while and said - "have you been drinking during the day?". Maybe I am going out of my mind, but if I am going to go out of my mind, this might not be a bad way to go.

John Gierach was quoted in an article in MidCurrent ... “I don’t travel or fish to ‘get away', because my life at home isn’t something I need to escape from.” Right now, I need a little escape and this book is providing me that space. So, thank you Mr. John Gierach, your book is helping one stressed out designer to keep it together at this moment.

2011' fall in korea

2011-10-22T11:10:00.010-05:00

2011' fall and lenok in korea.

Korea is very beautiful in the fall.

In Korea, the fall foliage peaks in late October.

fishing in pajamas...

2011-10-20T10:15:00.008-05:00

Couple of weeks ago, I took the family north to a rented lake house in Upper Peninsula, Michigan. Waking up late, rowing around without any destination in particular, and "build campfire" as the only planned activity for the day was nice. Sometimes, not fishing myself allows me to see clearly the things I cherish most in my life. Should've kept myself from eating so many s'mores...

The golden light of Autumn

2011-10-13T20:40:00.006-05:00

Fall is the "Golden Time" for fishing. Warm cloudless afternoons that melt into cool nights. The last two weeks of September were spent visiting old haunts and soaking it in with new friends. Something about Fall just makes you slow down a bit and take in the sunshine before it disappears for the winter.

Late afternnon BBQ on the Colorado river...

Standing on the old bridge, drinking beer, and watching for a rise....

Colorado River Bow.....

With Danimal on the boardwalk...

Fishing the still afternoon pond..

"Boiling" at dusk.......

Deep in Eldorado canyon looking for Gold..

Found some....

Enjoying the evening from another view..

Catskills Flood

2011-10-12T10:49:00.002-05:00

I haven't visited Catskills creeks recently as the entire region had been flooded due to all the rains we've had. Patty and I had a chance to witness the davastation this weekend as we visited our favorite Catskills creek.

This is a glimpse of what is going on in Catskills. The most of road we were on had some sort of damage which will require extensive effort to fix.

Luckily, our creek suffered but with minimum damage and seems like our little friends were able to survive the ordeal.

flyfishing report from hokkaido(2)

2011-10-10T23:32:00.025-05:00

I got a flyfishing tour to japan with my friends.
Their name is mr Takahara, mr Bae, mr Godo.

We caught the miyabeiwana(dollyvarden) , sakuramasu,
and rainbow from the lake, The name of the lake is "sikkaribetsco".
Miyabeiwana lives there only, One place in the world.
miyabeiwana is very rare in the world.

there were about 30 fly and lure fisher, but Most of them did not catch.
we caught miyabeiwana, so we were lucky.
the day, guide is mr Sawada, he is the best guide in hokkaido.

and we caught many fish at river.
chum salmon, rainbow, amemasu....

It was very cold day at the lake, but the weather is generally good.
so I enjoyed the nature of Hokkaido.

there are many fishing friends in japan.
On this trip, I received a lot of help from friends.
Have a nice meal at good place and also had a lot of fun talking.
They are good friends.
Their name is flyfishing guide mr Simoyama,
hospital director mr Sato, computer programmer mr Watanabe,
sapporo tourist association president mr Hosino,
flyfishing shop dollyvarden manager mr Goue,
and good caster mr Mijoi who is most famous people in japan.
thanks to them, it was a good trip.

front of the Hokkaido central region Sinttokkeu staition.
mr dakahara, mr bae, mr joon

hokkaido rainbow

Sikaribetcheuko River

Sikaribetcheuko River rainbow trout

Breakfast with korea Shinramyun

Piled snow

Buy License and boat rental

I met mr hosino, he is President of Sapporo Tourist Association.

a group photo of members

start....

mr godo caught a miyabeiwana.

he was lucky man that day, why we did not

beautiful sights of sikkaribetsco

sakuramasu

this is a miyabeiwana. only here in the world.

very beautiful fish...

The evening meal is yamane Fry.

it was so delicious.....

flyfishing report from hokkaido (1)

2011-10-10T09:24:00.044-05:00

mr bae catched big amemasu

me too...

mr takahara is landing,

big amemasu

chum salmon

mr godo is landing

with mr godo

godo and fishing guide mr muracami

muracami and me

mr muracami

mr takahara

guest house "uan"

top of the mt' akan

mr takahara and guide murakami

my big rainbow

train station ikeda

small train at ikeda

with my japenese friends at restaurant

ski jump

this is one fishy looking fly

2011-10-04T19:59:00.004-05:00

found it on the web.
if I were a fish, this is the first thing I would eat.

nymph lamp...

2011-10-01T16:53:00.003-05:00

The Nymph lamp from Site Specific Design (Brooklyn interior & furniture design company). It measures 19″ tall x 15″ wide x 31″ long. I like it but not sure I want to pay $2,600 for it.

kushkokwim mountains to the sea

2011-09-30T08:58:00.001-05:00

Fly fisherman, photographer, and all around good guy Danimal went on an unsupported Alaskan float with his brother-in-law this summer just to prove that $5000/week lodges are a waste of time. Dan sent me a slew of fantastic photos of his voyage and I chose several to share with the club. We hung out last week in Colorado and he gave me many details of the trip like how long he went, the name of the river, and how much it cost; those details just slipped my mind as I thought about myself wading among thousands of salmon without anyone within a hundred miles. I propose a club outing one day to the wilds of Alaska, where we can have have Danimal show us the ropes of fishing and keep us from getting mauled. Thanks Dan.....

Dan and Cman were dropped of high in the river system by float plane and spent several days drifting, catching, and no doubt drinking..

He told me that the grizzlies were everywhere but being stuffed on salmon left them to go about their business..

There were lots of fish to catch including sockeye and char. The real quarry however were the wild and native rainbows following the sockeye..

Alaska: the last great place.

Largest fly in the world...

2011-09-29T09:02:00.004-05:00

I happen to be in Logan, Utah for some meetings and found this right next to the hotel...the largest fly in the world. It was for Roundrocks Fly Shop (unfortunately I went after closing hours). I also found the Logan River flowing behind the hotel and there were some pretty big fish in there. I kicked myself for not brining anything but I will next time.

Make Your Own Cane Fishing Rod.

2011-09-27T07:56:00.001-05:00

I found this on Moldy Chum and I love everything about this video. Very Cool Michael Bronco!

Make Your Own Cane Fishing Pole from michael bronco on Vimeo.

Fall Run

2011-09-25T18:45:00.003-05:00

Visited my favorite wild trout stream today. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of large browns I've caught today. I have always caught more brookies in this stream than any other trout but I guess the browns are occupying the stream to spawn.

box full of crap...

2011-09-22T15:31:00.009-05:00

Upon returning from my last trip, I was determined to clean out my fly boxes and reorganize with a clean sheet. I found myself standing next to the river with 4 fly boxes full of flies, and still paralized like a zombie, just staring into the box and thinking... shit I don't have the right fly. I took all the flies out of every box I had, put them into the fly storage boxes and now I'm trying to re assemble the fresh fly boxes. Problem is that I was really eager when I started fly tying & I tied on boxes full of flies... the really ugly kind ... that don't looklike they will catch fish. Maybe all fly fishermen go through this once in their fly tying journey...ending up with lots of flies you don't ever use. I should probably throw it all away and start fresh by tying "good" flies that I'll actually use, but the frugal side of me won't allow that. So I was wondering how you guys organize...

- what is your way to organize a fly box? size, type, ?? My aim is efficieny...
- should I keep flies in the storage boxes and assemble the 'carry box' each time I go out?
- how many boxes do you carry on a single day trip?

I am entering a new stage here with fly boxes... it may end up ultra efficient or it might end up me on the river with no fly to catch any fish. Either way, I am determined to trim down on the flies I carry. Thoughts?

One more from the big C

2011-09-19T22:47:00.002-05:00

Thanks for the great words guys and the great time. You came to Colorado during some adverse and highly unusual weather. You still managed to hit the water hard and bring in some fish. I want to invite you and other members of the angling club back for a trip in the future with hopefully a little less challenging fishing. The great thing about what you have created here GF is that it has allowed me to meet and fish with people on the other side of the world and I hope to bring you all to my back yard in the future. Following are some of my favorite images from the trip.....

Hot Dogs and raging river.......

At the South Park kids pond....Those bastards killed Kenny!

Charles getting eaten by a Rainbow....

Dream Stream sunset....

Back at the ranch.....

My wife fished for about three hours, carried our baby through beaver pond willow madness and.....

nailed the biggest fish I've seen in almost a year!

Colorado report 3: Photo Essay

2011-09-19T19:20:00.006-05:00

Colorado report 2: Cutthroat Creek

2011-09-19T17:55:00.010-05:00

As GF mentioned in the previous post, this trip will be remembered for many things. Since GF did great job describing the trip in overall sense, I will write about one particular trip to a local stream which was not too far from where Mrlee grew up.

One thing you immediately notice about this particular creek is how close it is to the major highway you just got off of. You can hear roaring tires echoing through the valley. Not my idea of fishing in Colorado but, the sheer beauty of the creek eventually takes over and let you block out the noise and help you get lost in fishing.

This is a cutthroat creek with gin clear water running through it. Cutthroat is native species in Colorado. My first encounter with the species! I guess there is certain amount of anticipation and excitement that comes with catching the first of its kind as I found myself jittering with excitement. They are known to be the easiest trout to catch with hook and line and the statement was correct as I met many of them cutts.

The weather wasn’t optimal as rain turned into hail and eventually to snow with nasty wind accompanying the elements. With Mrlee’s help, I was able to catch them with hopper dropper rig in the beginning. As long as you maintained dead drift, they went for your fly without any hesitation. I’ve notices that the cutts’ reaction to flies is similar to brookies I catch back in the Northeast streams which is fast and furious. Especially with dry flies, I’ve noticed them shooting up to take my ausable bomber from their deep bottom comfort zone in a blink of an eye. After a few premature set, I was able to time their takes and eventually had a proper introduction with the kind.

High altitude definitely took a toll with my breathing. I guess aging is also a factor as I’ve been here before to snowboard in younger days and never had a problem with the altitude sickness.

This creek will stay in my heart for a long time not only because it is my first encounter with the cutts but I felt like a real fly fisherman for the first time as all my learning and practices came into hand naturally. Of course, being with right company made it that much more special.

Thanks guys for a great trip to remember, especially Mrlee for awesomely customized trip!!!

Colorado report 1: Rocky Mountain High

2011-09-19T10:49:00.031-05:00

I just returned home from visiting MrLee's home state with FishFinder. All trips to such destination fishing spots are exciting, but being there with close friends makes it truly memorable. MrLee had a well detailed & personalized trip planned for us, right down to each special meal. We stayed a night in Denver to fish the mountain creeks for cut throats and then quickly moved onto the DM Ranch. The shortness of breath from the high altitude was something I needed to get used to, and I drank more water each day than I've ever did. Being our first fishing visit to Colorado, MrLee made sure we try different types of Colorado waters... mountain creeks, streams in the meadows, and even a lake. It's hard to believe that we managed to squeeze in so much variety in 4 days. Enjoo cooked up some sam-kyup-sal & Jjigae the second night to make us feel home (thank you!) and there is no better place to have some buffalo meals than in Colorado. Nara may be too young to remember this trip, but I am sure she will later appreciate the fact that she was on such beautiful fishing trips.

The snow capped mountains in the far distance really gave me a different perspective on space, and I tried to remember when is the last time I looked so far into the distance. As I fished some of the places, I secretly wished I would run into John Gierach, so I could ask him permission to translate his book. Each landscape moment was mesmerizing, and FishFinder and I stood there in deep agreement about the beauty of this land. The fishing was good and all of us hooked into some nice fish. However, it is one of those trips where the friends, landscape, and experience takes up so much of your heart, fishing becomes secondary. That's good in a way, it will ensure that the next trip here can be all about fishing.

Thank you guys for a great trip. See you again real soon.

....lenok fishing at the beginning of autumn

2011-09-15T03:12:00.013-05:00

I went lenok fishing with my friend,
at the beginning of autumn.
I went to the creek first time,
it was very beautiful and good condition for fishing.

Going Deep In The Name Of Trout Research.

2011-09-12T15:31:00.002-05:00

This is a great article, very helpful.

http://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gallery/kentucky/2007/01/going-deep-name-trout-research

Adirondack Brookies

2011-09-11T11:42:00.014-05:00

I've been eyeing this creek which is located not too far from our upstate cabin. There is no trail leading into the creek so you sort of have to bushwhack into the creek and follow upstream. Took me awhile to locate the creek, but what a reward it was when I found it as this undisturbed water contained very hungry brookies in every pockets of water.

The creek is narrow and steep and contained almost dark copper like color which you get to see all over on brookies I've caught.

Jackpot ineed!!!

Dispatch from the frying pan

2011-09-10T11:14:00.003-05:00

took the family up to Aspen for a few days and fished the famous frying pan river for a morning of shear frustration. The fish were everywhere. In the run in the picture below there must have been over a hundred trout actively feeding on several species of tiny flies. I mean tiny. The fish I caught were on size 24 blue wing olive emergers, but most of the fish just ignored me. I hooked well over 20 trout; however, most of the fish went on eating without any attention to my offerings. I've had some truly spectacular days on the pan and some incredibly frustrating ones. It's amazing to look down into a pool and see hundreds of fish that barely pay any attention to you. The river was healthy and people were fishing everywhere.

Nara's first fish

2011-09-07T08:17:00.005-05:00

The little stream is very close to town. I fished there almost everyday after work when I lived here. Every turn and twist is imprinted on my brain. I took the girls out for a cool overcast afternoon on the old creek to see how the fish were doing. As the sky began to drizzle a little we stepped into an old familiar run and saw the little yellow flashes of the browns darting around taking small emergers. We took our time working up the bends, seeing how old holes had been filled, new ones created. Eventhough the flows were low in the late summer, the fish ate with abandon and we seemed to be catching them wherever we set the fly. It was just one of those magical afternoons.

My daughter is so curious and wants to touch and feel everything. She meets her first trout......

Mom takes one after a long dry spell of fishing.....

Let me get one Dad!

My little friends, still doing fine.....

It's good to be home

2011-09-02T09:06:00.002-05:00

Woke up this morning at 4am with a nice case of jet lag. got in the car, drove to the spot, tied on a B/C, two casts and Whamo! Got back in the car and was making coffee in the kitchen when the wife woke up. no one the wiser. Thank you hopper hater....

1st Taiwan Fly Casting Workshop!!

2011-08-28T11:48:00.006-05:00

This weekend, we invited Raffaele Mascaro, a Board of Governor and Master Casting Instructor of Federation of Fly Fishers, to be our instructor.

This is the first time we have this kind of workshop here, but it won't be the last time. We will keep invite some other experts to be here.
Thank you Raffaele, you let us see what is truly fly casting!!

Colorado...see you soon.

2011-08-26T09:39:00.005-05:00

first visit to mrLee's home state for me... very excited about the trip to the legendary state. Any advice on flies or other will be appreciated.

Best of salt and fresh water

2011-08-24T18:47:00.003-05:00

Best catch from recent trips.

sorry about the dress code...wanted to get rid of the farmer's tan.

a brown with exceptionally beautiful red hue

2011, .... summer vacation at okinawa in japan

2011-08-22T00:19:00.017-05:00

our family spent a holiday by the seaside
at okinawa in japan.

the Renaissance hotel

she is my wife.

my son(right) and his cousin.

..... at Italian Restaurant.

on the fishing boat, early in the morning

...was waiting to go.

..... Then he caught fish.

I caught maguro, gasuo, and buri.

it was so big, about 60cm, 1m ....

I almost caught a big GT, but lost it

.... had a fantastic summer vacation.

symbol of okinawa, lion...

a Midwestern morning.

2011-08-20T16:10:00.018-05:00

Headed up to Lake Delavan in Wisconsin with our old buddies David & Ross. It was treacherous but beautiful. Hard thunder storm, baby northern pikes, small & large mouth, and plenty of blue gills. It was good catching up, getting soaked, and feeling summer passing us by.

prayer of the woods

2011-08-17T14:27:00.002-05:00

hope

2011-08-16T23:34:00.012-05:00

Took the boys out to Blue River in Wisconsin. We initially headed up to the Big Green but was overwhelmed with the amount and thickness of the wild bushes. It's somewhat manageable for an adult but for the kids, they were swamped and could not navigate. It's amazing how different the place looks from the colder seasons - which is nice. The river was flowing low and the fish seemed to have been seasons to the bright sunlight and many fishermen trying to fool them. They seemed highly sensitive, scattering away very far away. We fished until we felt like, which was pretty short on this day. We decided to enjoy the river and just waded around a bit and found some rocks to sit on. We caught a few creek chubs and a small, single trout. I stood around with the kids, thankful to see them enjoying themselves in nature. Fish or not, it seems there is no such thing as a wasted fishing trip, with the kids.

There was a nice bench planted at the edge of the parking lot ...had a nice sign on it. I guess for a fisherman, that is one of the most wonderful thing friends can do for you...even the design is perfect for sitting to get in/out of waders. Things like this gives me hope in us.

son's first cherry trout.

2011-08-12T21:24:00.013-05:00

I took my son to my favorite fishing spot in Korea. He caught his first cherry trout on a fluffy CDC caddis fly in small pocket. We were initially nymphing but when we saw couple of fish go after the indicator, we switched to fluffy dries. We fished for only 4 hours but managed to catch plenty of cherry trout and some rainbows. On the drive back, my son said to me that the reason he likes fishing is mostly because he gets to spend time with me... I need to do more things with my two sons that is not fishing.

Thanks for being so honest with me son.

lenok & soboro

2011-08-09T09:22:00.011-05:00

Went out lenok fishing with Soboro & Mrlee. Unfortunately, a thousand vacationers had the same idea of going out to the stream. Still we managed to find a few fish here and there. I slipped and dove into the water more than twice this day. Got the camera back up running, but I left it in the car to dry out after the first spill so not many photos. It was hot, populated, and still worth it. It was Soboro's first time out this year, he tells me he's been busy drinking and golfing. He still had the touch, caught the most fish all day.

8/10/2011 - Fortunately, while I was busy falling into the water, Eunu kept her camera dry and continued to take some photos. She sent me some pictures from her camera.

Back to the beginning

2011-08-07T12:43:00.017-05:00

When we first got Tia 14 years ago, we realized that she was an athletic dog at this particular hiking trail as we watched her run and exploring the trail. At that time, I never knew this trail and the creek in it contains wild trouts as I wasn't into fishing.

It was nice to be back and enjoy once again with the whole family.

This is Tia 14 years ago...

Tia 14 years later...bit more white hairs but still loving the outdoor.

rain and rainbow

2011-08-06T09:38:00.014-05:00

the rainy day, we went rainbow fishing.
I had a nice time with friends I haven't seen for a while.

Added to the list

2011-07-30T13:07:00.004-05:00

I found a new creek in New Jersey which is home to wild trouts. Didn't know what to expect as the northeast heatwave is still lingering but yesterday's rain definitely helped out. To secure the success, I've started to fish super early.

I caught mainly the browns. I guess it was too warm for the brookies to be active as the water temperature was around 69 degree. Either way, so glad to add this particular creek to my list.

massive rain hits S. Korea hard

2011-07-27T22:24:00.012-05:00

There are over 30 people dead from landslides and dozens still missing. This is the worst flooding I have ever seen here. Here are some images from the news...it's hard to believe these are images of Seoul. Stay safe everyone.

at Incheon airport

2011-07-24T01:12:00.011-05:00

On my way to Shenzhen, I saw a fishing rod near a cosmetic stand and wondered what it was. Turns out, it's a promotion game one can play to win cosmetic samples. I also passed by the wall I applied the FSAC sticker on last year and was happy to see it still there. It's nice to be reminded of the thing I love to do.

after the rain .... (2)

2011-07-23T23:46:00.011-05:00

after the rain...

2011-07-20T10:19:00.013-05:00

The monsoon has left the peninsula and the water levels are dropping back to normal. Who knew these little fish could bring so much joy to my heart. I headed out to our favorite creek with Dr. Shin and Guroda-san to meet some cherry trout & baby rainbows. I threw some dries & nymphs and here are some fish that came up for photos today. The water level should be perfect in a couple of days.

신박사님, 운전하시느라 고생 많으셨습니다. 저는 옆에서 indicator 내려가는 꿈만꾸면서 잠들어 미안 합니다. 다음에는 제가 좀 하겠습니다. 항상 감사합니다.

This beer is for you:

2011-07-18T01:44:00.004-05:00

I know the weather hasn't been on our side this summer. To cheer you up, I am raising a bottle of this wonderful beer for you. I hope you all have great summer.

It was just nice to be out:

2011-07-12T01:35:00.010-05:00

I took one of my friends Michael out to fishing in Truckee past 4th of July weekend. This was first fly fishing trip for Michael, so we had a short learning session before we enter the water. Michael actually had other fishing experience in the past when he was growing up in Germany near Baltic sea. No wonder he wasn't complain even if we didn't see any fish all day. The cold beer in the ice box got us going though. It was and it was supposed to be tough fishing with the cold and high water condition since snow in the mountain was still melting past week. We returned back home safely with the promise that we will return soon.

We asked and found another smaller creek, but here also had similar water condition. We also met couple came from near by town to fish, but they seemed also had no luck with the fish.

workhardfishhard...

2011-07-10T21:59:00.004-05:00

you have to love the Brits.

check out more at: http://www.workhardfishhard.com

Footage from the last trip

2011-07-09T17:17:00.003-05:00

Catskill Creeks

2011-07-08T19:23:00.006-05:00

Just came back from two day trip to the Catskills. Instead of hitting well known waters, we checked off three of lesser known creeks from the list. As hoped, we did very well but the scenery along with the vibrant colors of fish we've caught are something we enjoyed the most.

from the Esoxman

2011-07-05T22:17:00.004-05:00

My good friend and my original fishing mentor Pete sent me his recent catches from his annual trip up to Canada with his son. Pete writes:

"4 days were rain, wind. cold water and some tough fishing. The rest of the week turned out pretty good. I had 8 muskies and my son had 3. I had 5 over 40" with one at 48". All in all not a bad week."

Tight lines Pete.

drinking soju & catching fish.

2011-07-05T10:41:00.022-05:00

We got on the road at 3:30am and got to the creek just in time for sunrise. Got geared up and started drinking soju by 6am. The water was running kind of high but the fish were cooperating and taking all kind of flies. I did okay with a simple San Juan worm and by mid morning switched to dry flies. Had the chicken again for lunch and fished the lower creek in the afternoon. Joon and Godo did real good and both caught plenty of bigger cherry trout. We saw the giant lenok again but decided it would be best to let him be. Finished the day off with a delicious dinner and got home before midnight.

즐겁고, 편한 하루 였다. 아침부터 물회와 소주 한잔. 점심먹으면서 생각 했다... "아, 이렇게 행복해도 되는건가?" 그리고 모두 동의했다, 여기서 더 완벽하려면 남어지 친구들 (조나단, 현철, 소보로, MrLee) 만 같이 앉아 있으면 된다. 날씨를 지켜보면서, 계속 대화를 하기로 했다...화/목 위주로. ㅋㅋ

No more solitude

2011-07-03T10:59:00.015-05:00

Told patty about the last fishing trip and she demanded that I take her there so we went out today.

I have a feeling my solitude fishing days are over...

wild things

2011-07-01T18:09:00.015-05:00

Played hooky today and decided to hit my favorite wild trout stream in NJ. Supprisingly, many people came to hike and luckily no fishermen.

The day was hot and humid but the trees provided plenty of shades and the water was cold enough for trouts to be active.

I've never caught so many trouts in this stream as I have today. I guess all the rain we've had recently made them hungry.

Right before I landed this brown, a young couple who were hiking saw me casting and the man blurt out as they passed me "what a fucking poser, there are no fish in this water". Even before I had a chance to respond to his statement with some evil and dirty language, I get an explosive take from the brown.

"You are a fucking idiot" the female companion said out loud I guess for me to hear. I smiled at her and she smiled back at me with embarassment.

after the storm

2011-07-01T00:37:00.009-05:00

MrLee and I took a stroll out to a local fishing pond to try our luck at some after storm fishing. As expected the water was muddy, high, and things did not look promising. Mrlee with his light spey outfit rolled out some casts and soon found a skygazer pulling at the end of the line. Mrlee's first catch gave me inspiration and I found one at the end of my line too. Overall the day was slow, a few fish here and there but not steady. It was hot as hell and by noon time we had to call it quits. Good catching or not, it's just good to be able to fish with my friend mrlee regularly. Regular is a good thing.

hey look, we have a open day!

2011-06-29T00:51:00.004-05:00

Hey guys! looks like sat is gonna be a break from the rain. Do you think:

1) there are any creeks that's worth trying? 비가 오긴 왔어도, 혹시 가능한 계곡이 있을까요? 긍정적인 마인드를 최대한 발휘하고 있는 중입니다.

2) hit the bass? Low waters made bass fishing poor last time but perhaps it's better now? I'll call the bass boat guy to check. 배스나 때리던지요.

3) give up and meet somewhere and get trashed on tequila and talk about how we wished we were fishing? 술이나 때리던지요.

flyfishing season at hokkaido in japan

2011-06-28T23:13:00.010-05:00

flyfishing season at hokkaido in japan
- green colour: sea amemasu(this amemasu is a homing fish)
- light blue colour: brown trout
- dark green colour: cherry trout
- strong purple colour: iwana(amemasu live in the valley)
- orange colour: rainbow
- light orange colour: taimen
- blue colour: amemasu(amemasu is fish-like creature from Ainu folklore.
It lives in Lake Mashu in Hokkaidō)
- red purple colour: karafutomasu

Fancy Tree House for Kids Who Love Fishing:

2011-06-27T23:17:00.004-05:00

I thought to share this fancy kids' tree house concept with the fishing. It had very nice details.

I was just happy to meet fish:

2011-06-26T18:49:00.006-05:00

After about 20 trips to the shop, local fly shop friend told me about a small creek nearby where I live. I keep thinking to make some big long and fancy weekend trip to Sierra but not thought about going to that small creek. Past weekend realizing that it is going to be take some time to make a long tip, I decided to drive to look for that small creek near by my house. Since there were so many off roads in that mountain area and didn’t have a specific directions, and drove round for awhile, I almostgave up and came backhome.When I approached one small off road with a small picnic area, I saw a small stream running right next. The size of that creek was so tight that my 8’6” #5 rod was just fit to swing. With my experience from this kind of creek and thanks to my fly fishing teacher GF, I was able to throw first cast successfullywith the side casting. With the first cast, I was able to catch about 9” baby rainbow. I was able to catch with the every cast in every pocket of water. I was just happy to meet fish.

There were purple butterflies all over when I walked down to the water (If you look carefully).

monsoon is here.

2011-06-25T09:22:00.003-05:00

It's been raining straight for the past 3 days...and the rain is here to stay for another 15 days. The rivers are already blown out everywhere and it's going to be a long while until we see a trout around here.

Change of Scenery

2011-06-22T12:22:00.003-05:00

Finally able to dock the boat last week. Hosted my cousin's family for little bay fishing. Bluefish are everywhere chomping on anything they can get their razor sharp teeth on.

The kids had a blast and it was nice for me to change scenery as well.

Love of Fishing is Contagious

2011-06-21T11:56:00.008-05:00

Since one of our beloved dog passed away, Patty and I have a lot more time to fish together. As GF mentioned in the prior writing, the right company can make a fishing trip more memorable...

Akan Lake, Hokkaido Japan.

2011-06-21T04:44:00.021-05:00

Our friends Mr. Bae & Prof. Huh just returned from their weeklong trip to Hokkaido. They fished for Amemasu (sea run Iwana) at Akan lake and rainbows in the valleys. They were joined by Mr. Bae's friend Michael from Singapore. Thanks for the great photos Prof. Huh, looks like you guys had a great time.