Daily Cast Archive


Contrary beliefs

Gary Meyer - Tuesday, June 30, 2020

I went fishing again last weekend. After not fishing for so long, going out three weeks in a row almost seemed excessive. But I am glad I did. COVID cases here in South Florida are spiking to levels above what shut things down originally. Ominously, they are beginning to suggest numbering the “waves”. It is quite possible another round of restrictions may be imposed. So, more than ever, the mantra of “Fish now, you are dead one hell of a long time”, is ringing true.

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Sungai Tiang Mahseer

Paul Arden - Monday, June 29, 2020

I’ve talked about this project on Sexyloops before and tomorrow we start! I thought I would share a little bit more info about this project. It really is a first class endeavour and there are aspects about it that I think make it unique. I am aware of other projects similar in nature to this, particularly over in Eastern Malaysia and I fully intend to visit these when time and travel allow.

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Bonefish Blues

Tracy&James - Sunday, June 28, 2020

I am missing Bonefishing – I’m wondering when I will be able to go catch a bonefish or two! For the last couple of decades or so, James and I have had a trip somewhere in the world where we can fish for bones. This will be the first year when we have not been able to do so. I’m thinking this as I doubt we will be able to organise a trip somewhere later in the year. Currently due to the potential 14 day quarantine rules everywhere when you arrive, any planned holiday could take quite a bit longer than the actual fishing trip. There’s also the potentially expensive flight costs and the likelihood of countries having a second spike and further lockdown measures occurring which means the risks associated in booking are high.

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Stalking mosquitos and some fishing

Mika Lappalainen - Friday, June 26, 2020

As normal everything seems to happen at same time. Starting from midsummer which was last weekend Finnish people start their summer holidays. It means that guiding season is really starting, even it will much more quit summer than earlier. Anyway this week I had few trips and some other issues.

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What skill level have you acquired?

Nick Moore - Thursday, June 25, 2020

“If you don’t know where the fish lie, but can cast to cover the water with finesse, you are likely to catch fish. If you know where they lie but can neither reach them nor present the fly naturally, you are not even in the game.” (Joan Wulff) Last time I talked to you about the importance of effective practice in relation to tracking. This time, we are going to look at the concept of practice from my perspective as a pianist. I think if anglers knew ‘how’ and ‘what’ to practice, we would see more fly lines being thrown around in our local parks.

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Back from Denmark

Bernd Ziesche - Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Just back from fly fishing for Atlantic salmon in Denmark I studied asp during the past days. Finally visiting Denmark again though remembered me to how much I need to travel!

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The seduction of boats

Gary Meyer - Tuesday, June 23, 2020

I got out fishing again this past weekend. If I squint, my life, at least fishing-wise, looks to be getting back to normal. We will see how long the illusion lasts. I had plans on a solo canoe trip. The tides and winds were favorable for a location I have an interest in getting to know better, and there was a strong probability that I would get into some tarpon. But when an old friend called, one I might add who has a top-shelf flats skiff and is a complete tarpon nut, I figured that option might just work out better. Besides, there was a strong possibility of rain. In a skiff you can sometimes dodge the storms, in a canoe you got to just sit and take your medicine.

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The 763

Paul Arden - Monday, June 22, 2020

Now this has been an interesting rod to develop! We’ve always planned to expand the Torpedo range both going longer as well as shorter, however at some time in the future, after completing the 9’ range, and not before. However, what actually happened was that way back at the beginning of 2014 we received a rod tube order with rod tubes shorter than expected. Their error not ours - phew! So we cut a deal that Sexyloops would pay shipping and import duties and essentially they would give us these 40 tubes for free. I thought “I’ll just develop a 7’6 rod to fit!!” Now bear in mind this was back in 2014. It is now 2020.

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Shop Talk

Andy Dear - Sunday, June 21, 2020

A few months ago, my family and I moved into a new (to us) house. It's a great place, not only because it sits on a small piece of acreage, but also because it is less than a half a mile from the Guadalupe River, The only problem is that is doesn't have a separate building for a rod building/fly tying workshop!

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Salmon Opening in Norway

Viking Lars - Saturday, June 20, 2020

I wasn’t there, unfortunately, and neither am I going this year (not that I do every year anyway), but I’ve been following the opening weeks on the Gaula, which is the Norwegian I have visited the most. This year was particularly interesting as there was a lot of snow in the mountains, and it was reported that it was unusually dense = more melt water.

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Midsummer

Mika Lappalainen - Friday, June 19, 2020

Today is longest day of the year. I don’t know how it is working because sun has not been setting for two weeks now. And won’t set for next two weeks. But anyway it is breaking point and tomorrow everything is heading towards winter. There will be over two months fishing season left so no worries.

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down to one hand

Tracy&James - Thursday, June 18, 2020

My 2020 seems to be going from bad to worse for me currently. I slipped on the bank of the river Elwy whilst I was litter picking a couple of weeks ago, a fairly trivial slip where I lost my footing on a steep slope due to dry, dusty ground combined with inappropriate footwear. As my feet slid from under me I found myself sat on my arse heading towards the river. I doubt the distance travelled was more than 2 feet and my first sensation on coming to a stop (luckily before getting wet) was of the thistle that shot up the back of my shorts, however soon after the throb of pain in my left wrist started.

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Skjern Au - Outside The Box

Bernd Ziesche - Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Having watched many fly fishermen fly fishing for Atlantic salmon in very different rivers throughout several countries it seems fair to summarize that over 90% of fly fishermen are fishing the classical down stream swing only.

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Release

Gary Meyer - Tuesday, June 16, 2020

It seemed like months since I had a real fishing trip… and essentially it had been. After multiple rain events, and their associated heat and humidity, finally a decent day of dry weather appeared on my radar screen. The problem was, I had some issues with the van and I was afraid to drive upon the highways. What was I to do? Call a fishing buddy, make some improbable predictions, and suggest we go fishing, of course.

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False idols

Martyn White - Monday, June 15, 2020

Recently I've been involved in a few unpleasant discussions online. Generally it's been about salmon flies and what the "inventor" decreed their fly should be. It must be awful being one of these "inventors"- or an acolyte-, so convinced that the colour combination you "invent" is unsurpassable, while also being so insecure that a fly someone else ties for themselves causes extreme umbrage.

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A stroll---Part 4

Andy Dear - Sunday, June 14, 2020

During the summer of 1989, the master negotiator of all things hunting and fishing, Wilton L. Dear Jr. came through again with another exceptional fishing hole...make that TWO fishing holes. As the crow flies, these two were just a few miles north of Boots Stuarts' lake that we visited the week before last. And like Boots' lake, both of Freddie's played a monumental role in my development as an angler.

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Danica time

Mika Lappalainen - Friday, June 12, 2020

Last Saturday we opened our fishing season. Water was and still is really high in the rivers. We fished one smaller river which has been really good especially begin and end of season. With high water we had some difficulties to reach river itself. We both caught some graylings and it was decent start for season. Most important was that we had good time and nice anniversary day.

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Effective practice and tracking

Nick Moore - Thursday, June 11, 2020

I work on my accuracy most days (in the garden), and when I have more room, I focus on my #5 competition distance casting. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank James and Paul (and many others!) For helping me break through my PB barrier, so my current PB is now 114’ 10” with a #5 MED. The stroke still needs work, and the hauling could be a lot more efficient, but I think this is why we are addicted to it! Following James’ advice, I have made a 60’ shooting head out of an old barrio GT125 #5 for carry practice, and it is a lot of fun!

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Preparing For A Salmon Trip To Denmark

Bernd Ziesche - Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Next week my friend Florian and I will be travelling to Denmark to chase Atlantic salmon. The border will re-open June 15. Of course we'll be the first ones to cross!?

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No Bells or Whistles

Martyn White - Tuesday, June 9, 2020

About 3 years ago I discovered the ballpeen craw a crayfish fly but didn't realize how good it was at the time. I used it on an off and caught bass carp and barbel on it, but I had other crayfish patterns that I'd fished for several seasons, incumbency was their friend. Then last year I fished old bucktail patterns exclusively for bass so only used the new crayfish when chasing carp, to the exclusion of the larger bass style crays I'd been using previously. This year, I've not been out so much obviously, but the new crayfish has been outfishing the bigger more elaborate patterns incredibly consistently. And now I think about it, it's easy to see why and I wish I had recognised it sooner. I should have; years ago I read a study that the research arm of Berkley did as they tried to develop a more effective soft plastic crayfish for pitching and flipping jigs. Basically they tested baits with various numbers of appendages, from none to all the squiggly bits you can imagine. The result was that overwhelmingly the most attractive shape was a pincerless little lump, they never made that bait though as the market research showed it wouldn't sell! But the fish preference is what's interesting, I've used it to inform my crayfish patterns and I'm sure it's a big factor in the effectiveness of the Clouser crayfish.

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The Three Months

Paul Arden - Monday, June 8, 2020

That was the longest period for me without fishing for about thirty years, back when I used to have winters and close seasons and all those terrible things. I’m going to be frank with you, I really don’t know what it was all about, particularly for me who doesn’t normally live anywhere near people, having to live next to people because they have a disease really made no sense to me. Going fly fishing, on your own, in a remote area, living in the wilderness, has zero social interactions and is about as safe as you can be. Three months without fishing? I don’t normally go three days without fishing! Next time, and I hope it’s not in about six months time, because next time I want to be sailing around the world, because living on a jungle lake is obviously not remote enough.

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A stroll---Part 3

Andy Dear - Sunday, June 7, 2020

For most of the path that it cuts through the limestone cliffs of Bandera County, Red Bluff Creek is not all that impressive of a waterway. It's narrow, very shallow, almost, if not completely dry in many spots during certain seasons of the year, and overall, not someplace you would give a second thought as having the potential to be a quality fishery. There is however a dammed up stretch just south of the small town of Pipe Creek Tx. that had a monumental influence on the direction and trajectory of my life as a fisherman.

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Fly design vs. fly pattern

Viking Lars - Saturday, June 6, 2020

There are fly designs and then there are fly patterns, and they’re not the same, in my opinion. A fly pattern is a combination of materials and colours into fly - all using known fly tying techniques. The pattern can be original and excellent and beautiful and effective. And against this stands a fly design.

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Summer is here

Mika Lappalainen - Friday, June 5, 2020

After extra long winter and snow season it has finally arrived. Summer. There is still some snow here and there but mostly on shadow places and north side of hills. Almost two weeks now sun has been shining and it has been around +20 celsius or more. Sun is setting next time around 3rd of July.

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Take it Home

Tracy&James - Thursday, June 4, 2020

Now that some of the restrictions on everyday activities are starting to be lifted throughout the UK people are venturing out again to enjoy the countryside. Taking walks, picnicking, barbequing, drinking and then leaving piles of rubbish behind – things are definitely returning to normal. Actually I’ve been shocked and appalled of late with all the social media posts regarding fly-tipping and general littering at our beauty spots. All of mine and Tracy’s social media friends are fishing related (we apply the ‘is he/she holding a fish or a rod in their profile’ type filter, if so, they’re in) as such we know they all care about the environment, as no doubt everyone who reads Sexyloops does. The fact that so many of them are reporting issues along the bankside, from Scotland to Southern England, suggests that this is a very widespread problem in the UK.

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The Purge

Martyn White - Tuesday, June 2, 2020

My smallmouth bass fly boxes have been built up over a few years of experimenting, copying convention lures and adapting patterns I've found online to try and make them suitable for matching the local forage here in Japan. Obviously there have been failures as well as successes.

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Two articles and a Triangle

Paul Arden - Monday, June 1, 2020

This will be quite a long FP since I have two articles, one from Gavan Hennessy, who's been living and fishing in California for some years now, and another from Carol of Colorado Fly Fish on Catch and Release practises, a video from Lee on teaching his Triangle Method, all of which I shall be uploading throughout the morning and linking to in a wildly exciting and organic page that evolves while you are reading it.... But first a call for some help!

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