topmouth

spring's coming

Still suffering from the unusual winter draught, the mother nature is slowly recovering and morphing into a different shade. March, 2009. Gangwon-do, Korea

Going fancy!

During last club gathering at Chang-kwang reservoir near Seoul Korea, one member impressed everyone with Italian espresso after lunch. With the equipment such as military field burring element and stove top espresso coffee maker, he smoothly simulated the seen that he normally performs during his break time in the creek.

Hwacheon Trout Fesival (Korea)

Trout I like you!

Over a million visitors, a whole lot of fishing, drinking, and photo taking.

okay, back to girls in swimwear

excellent

http://fishbeer.com/

Excellent writing, interesting perspective, & good laughs. One of my favorite blogs to read that actually has interesting writing beyond photos of hot chicks holding big bass in their swimwear.

perfect takes

this video is so awsome.

whoa - nice … um… fish.

rock on.

tying station…

I have determined that I will set up a permanent tying station in my office area. I have been struggling for years on how to set up this room of mine … more specifically, how I will making this room functional between fishing and my day job. A need for balance between being organized, having easy access to fly tying materials, and having some sense of aesthetic values. Till today I have resorted to keeping most of the things in boxes & containers and taking it all out when I tie, then putting it all away, but this is a drag. I looked up how other people have their tying situations set up, and here are some images I found...

Fish to catch in Korea

My friend Charles is heading to Korea for his friend’s wedding, and he plans to do some fly fishing while he is there. I thought it might be helpful for him to get a view of some of the fish he can expect to catch there. Here are the species I recommend targeting, and he can expect during the early spring season.

산천어 (Oncorhynchus masou)
Likely the most prized fish to catch, mainly because they are so pretty. They are smaller in size, but is representative of Korean trout. If you fly fish in Korea, you must meet this fish. You can find them in small mountain creeks.











열목어(Brachymystax lenok)
Another highly prized fish, and again representative of the Korean prize fish. These guys get a bigger in size and are aggressive when they take the fly. You can find them in small mountain creeks, usually in larger pools.









무지개 송어 (Rainbow Trout)
Not a native, but rainbows are always fun to catch. They run, they’re aggressive, and there’s a lot of them around.











강준치 (Culter erythropterus)
Some fly fishers ignore this fish, but to date these guys give the best fight and are sized to do it. Bigger fish, usually in larger, slow moving rivers. This is Gone Fishing's special.









끄리 (Opsariichthys bidens)
I don’t know what these guys are about, but they are super fun to catch. Aggressive at strike, and feisty fighters for their size. This is Ksanchun's special.













갈겨니 (Zacco temmincki)
Simply put, blue gills of Korea. They smell like watermelon. This is Soboro's special ... although he will deny it ;-)








쏘가리(Siniperca scherzeri)
I’ve never met these guys, but from what I hear they are the predator fish in these parts. All the other fishermen I meet just keep saying, “if you catch this fish, watch your hands. They have spikes all over their back”. I guess lots of people get spiked by these guys when they thrash around.








Large Mouth Bass & Blue Gills
They have been introduced in the late 70s as game fish, and since then have caused a lot of destruction of the eco system in Korean waters. They are sought after as game fish, but there are many concerned with these and other invasive spieces.

* 사진에 관하여: 제 친구가 한국에 처음으로 낚시를 하러 간다고 해서, 바쁘게 사진을 찾아 올리느라고, 허가 없이 사용한 사진이 많습니다. 일단은 죄송하다는 말씀 드리고, 만약 내렸으면 하는 사진이 있으시면 답글로 열락주세요, 바로 내리겠습니다. 용서해주세요.

The River Why

Some people like reading the book, then watching the movie. Some like it the other way around. The latter is usually less disappointing, and actually can aid a little bit when reading the book. Of course it kills the opportunity to invent the faces & voices of the characters, which is a valuable part of reading. I’ve done it enough times that if I'm in the zone with the book, I can kind of tune the movie scenes out. I’ve also had enough times reading books and watched poor movies of it, but even then, if I liked the story enough, I will sort of imagine "through" the movie. I’ve heard of this book “The River Why” by the author David James Duncan, and I've heard it’s good. The movie is in production and will soon be out. I will wait and watch the movie first, mostly because I think the book will be good. It’s always good to have shots of a hot looking girl (Amber Heard) with a name like Eddy, fly-fishing intensely. Looking forward to this movie then the book.

http://www.theriverwhy.com/

trout parade!!

This looks like a fun party to be at.
http://www.troutparade.com

open water

At times it felt like this winter will never end, or just be much longer than I can be patient. I sense Spring in the air, the water is flowing again in the rivers and the lakes are glimmering with small waves. The sight of open water after a cold winter is a beautiful sight. As with each winter a short tribute to the season that has come and gone. I have fly boxes full of flies I have tied over the winter, some proven and some invented. New lines on most of the reels, clean boots, and lighter clothing that I can actually move it. Okay, ready to fish now.