I'm going to be attempting to do monthly blog posts updating you on what is going on with my writing and photography work, as well as fishing news and other tidbits. We'll see how this goes!
Well, it seems we're just about there: Spring. This weekend is day lights savings, the Redwing Blackbirds showed up this week in my town, and currently at my house it's 62 degrees. Looking at the forecast, it's going to swing back towards winter coming up, but we're definitely heading in the right direction. I'm starting to "feel it" and the last couple nights had trouble sleeping, as is so often the case for me in the spring. I get amped-up for the change in the weather, and it's always been this way. Even as a kid, I'd have trouble staying in bed when it started to get warm. Started to get green. There is just so much to anticipate in the coming weeks and months.
Now is the time for the deep breath, and the final push. Are your flies tied? Hooks changed? Line refreshed? Waders patched or replaced? Got all your licenses and permits? Trips booked? Did you secure those plugs you said you were going to try? Doing a little strength work to make sure your back isn't killing you again this year? There's a lot to prepare for, and now is the time to do it. Don't wait. Soon, everything will happen all at once, and if you're not ready, haven't thought it through, you'll miss something.
I personally have been pretty lax this winter. I don't want to say lazy, because that's certainly not true. However, with the chaos of 2020, I definitely felt like I needed more unstructured time this winter than ever before. I wanted to just let the days develop (besides work, of course), and just do what I felt like at the time, no matter the time. There was a lot of video games played this winter. A lot of afternoons I was still in my PJ's.
That being said, I've re-upped my trout fly supply, my surf hooks are in and currently partially installed, my reels are off for service, I've been doing a little back-yard fly casting to shake the rust off, and been doing a LOT of planning for the coming season. I'm ramping up, for certain. I hope to finally get on my little stream next week, and anticipate I'll be doing some largemouth fishing in my new kayak, some hold-over striper fishing, and might even be doing some special surf fishing coming up soon. Details on that will come out sometime in the future.
There's more than a few things to share with you this month-
First, I wrote this blog for Lamiglas last week. It gives you a little insight into my thoughts on fly fishing in the surf.
Next, I was recently interviewed by Steve Culton for two pieces in Field and Stream online. They are both interesting concepts Steve came up with, and I was SO HUMBLED to be asked to talk about them. His designation for me is a little generous, and embarrassing. Still, the pieces are worth a look.
Spin vs Fly, what can we learn from each other? https://www.fieldandstream.com/story/fishing/things-fly-anglers-can-learn-from-plug-fishermen/
Moving to the next thing, you'll find articles from me in On the Water, The Fisherman, and Surfcasters Journal in March.
In On the Water, I had a "double feature (long article) about finding your own secret spot. I put in some of my best photos to date, and I've been getting great feedback about it. Originally, it was two pieces that they spliced together into one. It was almost 7,000 words originally, and it could have been 12,000 at least. Possibly 20,000. Anyways, for subscribers, it's here:
In The Fisherman, I had a feature across all-three regions discussing how to best fish sand beaches. Specifically, the article is about focusing on the most important factors, and cutting through all the "noise" and complexity. I give you my thoughts on boiling it down to the essentials, and hopefully help you catch more fish through simplification on these tough pieces of structure.
For Surfcasters, I wrote a piece about catching your first fish of the season, and why it's so important. It's a philosophical, cerebral piece, and I wrote it in response to the disaster that was 2020. Yes, I bring up the pandemic, which is a first for me in my writings (minus a small blog post on Surfcasters, you can find here https://www.surfcastersjournal.com/the-bright-spot/ ). I really enjoyed writing this piece, and it took me almost no time at all. It just poured out of me.
You can find the article soon in the magazine (the latest addition hasn't come out quite yet).
Next, I want to make sure everyone knows of the striped bass hearings going on now up and down the East coast. Our striper fishery is under threat: We need you to attend and be involved!!! You can find out all the details here: https://saltwaterguidesassociation.com/a-guide-to-the-striped-bass-amendment-7-public-information-document-your-comments-needed/
Finally, I just want to make sure you all know the Surf Scenarios seminar series is still going strong. If you're interested in signing up, you will have access to ALL the prior sessions. I get people signing up still every week, and about a 50/50 distribution between those that attend live sessions, and those that just watch the replay. You can email me at indeepoutdoorsmedia@gmail.com if you have questions!
There will be a couple YouTube videos posted in the next few weeks. So look for that too.
Comments