DATE: 06 Jun 2011, 5:24 pm / MOOD: Other

A while back I blogged a bit on here about my cross country motorcycle trip. Here was my original post in case you want to check it out:

http://www.fishingrecreation.com/blog/view/158/Cross-Country-Fishing-Trip-on-my-Motorcycle/

Unfortunately my motorcycle broke down and I got stranded in Little Rock and that effectively ended my trip.

Well good news! My motorcycle is completely fixed and is ready to roll. I hit up the east coast on my last trip so for this next leg of the trip I am going to hit up the west coast. I also found a really great website with a wide variety of harley accessories that will help to ensure that I cruise in style and that my trip is a success. I can't wait to get started. I am taking two weeks of vacation time in September and then I will be ready to roll. Watch out for me in places like the Gunnison, Yellowstone and the Owyhee river!

I am on a budget so if anyone has any ideas about cheap places to stay I would certainly welcome them. Also, if anyone has a couch to crash on or extra bedroom and they don't mind if I crash there that would be really awesome. Wish me luck!

- Bigfish44


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DATE: 05 Aug 2010, 4:48 pm / MOOD: Other

My boss knows that I am a big fisherman and offered to let me have the day off work if I would take her son and some of his friends fishing in a local pond near Bridgeport, Texas. I jumped on the opportunity to get outside and out of the office. At the same time, I knew that there was no guarantee that all of the kids would catch any fish and I was concerned that they would get impatient and frustrated. I had never acted as a fishing guide before and knew that with a bunch of little kids with no fishing experience my job would be especially challenging.

Luckily the fish were hitting that day and we had a lot of fun. Everyone caught at least one fish and most caught several. We were catching largemouth bass and bluegill. I started everyone off on live bait (minnows and worms) and once we ran out of those I let some of the kids fish with some of my artificial lures. One kid did really well with one of my spinnerbaits. The kids probably caught about 15 fish between them (there were five kids).

I spent most of my time untangling lines and baiting hooks, but toward the end of the day I did have a bit of time to fish with my fly rod. I got into a couple bass and landed them cleanly with my Brodin Net.

All in all, it was a great day! Hot... but very successful.

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DATE: 22 Feb 2010, 10:30 pm / MOOD: Other

As promised... here is my Lake Livingston report. I was down there for a few days for a bachelor party and got to fish for part of one afternoon. The water was high and cloudy so we didn't have much luck. We did manage one nice fat 3.5 pound largemouth bass though.

Once things start heating up I will start posting more reports.

Peace and happy fishing.

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DATE: 12 Feb 2010, 12:18 pm / MOOD: Other

It's been too long since I have been fishing... but next weekend I will be going to a bachelor party on Lake Livingston, which is located northwest of Houston. We always do some fishing while we are there, mostly for catfish. There are some really nice catfish in that lake and they make for a great meal.

My biggest concern right now is the weather! The weather has been insane this year; it has been crazy wet. I got a foot of snow yesterday (I live in north Texas). Hopefully the weather doesn't screw up my fishing.

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DATE: 26 Aug 2009, 1:11 am / MOOD: Other

Went fishing on the White River and Buffalo National River in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and had a lot of fun. It was my first time to the area and I had some pretty good success.

One thing I am beginning to seriously wonder is what percentage of trout fishing rivers you can do really well on just nymph fishing with a hare's ear over a pheasant tail. I have fished all over with this setup - the South Holston, Yellowstone and Slough Creek, the San Juan, and a bunch of other places. I am not saying that this combo is always the most effective setup - a lot depends on the conditions - but it just works all over it seems. I don't even visit the local fly shops any more. I just show up, even if it's a new river, and start fishing. Usually I get a lot more fish into my Brodin Ghost net than other anglers out on the water regardless. I don't say that to brag but just as a matter of fact.

I think that if you're dry fly fishing than matching the hatch exactly is a lot more important - for example if you're dry fly fishing the Owyhee River. I don't do a ton of dry fly fishing though. I am a nymphing guy because I can usually clean up nympth fishing.

Anyway I digress... the Ozarks are a sweet place to go fishing. The White River has some monster trout and the Buffalo is fun for smallmouth bass. Watch out for snakes while you're fishing though - I saw two copperheads out there.

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DATE: 10 Aug 2009, 1:26 pm / MOOD: Other

How To Stay Comfortable Out on the Water

If you are uncomfortable while you're fishing than you will likely be focused on whatever is causing you discomfort and this will distract you from catching fish. Discomfort will cause your fishing to be much less pleasant. Here are a few things that I use/ do to stay comfortable out on the water.

When I am battling lots of big fish and wading a big river for hours on end, I can often suffer from back pain. The Back2Yourself exercise program has been extremely valuable to me. My back pain has essentially disappeared.

A good pair of waders will keep you dry and comfortable out on the water. I recommend the William Joseph V2 Waders. A good jacket such as the Bass Pro Qualifier GoreTex fishing jacket will keep you warm and dry if it rains.

Make sure that you carry water with you. Dehydration is a sure way to inhibit your performance and cause you discomfort.

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DATE: 05 Jul 2009, 1:17 am / MOOD: Other

So I was driving down I-40 and the little Honda Rebel completely died on me. I talked to a mechanic and there's a major engine problem. So the cross country trip is up in the air right now... I am stranded in Little Rock. PRAY that my motorcycle is under warranty - I got it used so I have no idea. Hopefully I don't have to return to TX and just pick up with fly fishing Lake Texoma. Man this is a bummer and a half.

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DATE: 02 Jul 2009, 9:53 am / MOOD: Other

I have been out on the road for my cross country motorcycle trip for over a week now and it's been great. I set out from Texas and battled 100 degree heat each day for the first few days until I hit the coast. I camped at the beach at Edisto Beach State Park and had a blast swimming in the ocean.

From there I headed up into the Appalachian Mountains. I can not tell you what a relief it was to climb up out of the heat into the mountains. Near Asheville, North Carolina I got on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the early evening in order to take a more scenic route to my destination. This is a really famous route through the Appalachians that cuts through a number of different states. I would have to say that flying down this road at sunset on my motorcycle has been the highlight of the trip so far. The termperature was perfect and the scenery was breathtaking. I almost didn't want to take pictures because I didn't feel as if the pictures would do the area justice. I also saw two bears at sunset! I have spent a ton of time in the mountains and had never seen a bear. To see two in one night was amazing.

From there I headed to my hotel in Johnson City, Tennessee. This awesome guy named Travis gave me two free nights at one of the hotels he manages! And I didn't even know the guy until yesterday. We went fly fishing on the South Holston River in eastern Tennessee all day yesterday. We started out below the dam and then drove to a number of different spots downstream. The South Holston is a beautiful fishing river that holds a good population of rainbow and brown trout. The river is shallow in most areas but there are some deeper holes. We caught a lot of fish yesterday on a dry dropper setup. The fish were hitting both our top fly as well as our nymph. The fishing got slower later in the day, but we also were fishing further downstream at that point, in an area where the fish population is not as dense as below the dam. All the fish we caught were small, but there are some big ones in the river, if you can get lucky enough to hook into one. I didn't even have to use my Brodin Fishing Net - the fish were small enough that I could hand land them. This was the first fly fishing that I had done in a river east of the Mississippi so I was glad to see that my same flies and techniques still worked. The only bad part of the trip was that I ripped my old waders, but I got a nice new pair of William Joseph V2 Fly Fishing Waders so I guess it's not so bad :)

From here I am headed out to the White River in Arkansas. If anyone wants to meet up over there or has some tips for me for fishing that river let me know!

I will leave you with some words by the Eagles:

Take it easy
Take it easy
Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy.
We may lose and we may win.
But we will never be here again.
So open up while climbing in.
And take it easy.

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DATE: 01 Jun 2009, 10:56 pm / MOOD: Other

So I quit my job to take a fishing trip. My last day is next Friday. It's been a life goal of mine for a while to take a cross country motorcycle trip and I figure that if you wait until circumstances are perfect than you will never get stuff done... so I just figured that now is as good of a time as any.

I am going to take this opportunity to fish all of the places that I have always wanted to go to but never have: Henry's Fork, the Madison, the White River and a bunch more. I am looking for suggestions for other can't miss places to fish.

I am planning to head out to South Carolina first and then work my way north and west. I am going from one coast to the other. I am bringing my collapsable fly rod with me. I am planning on doing mostly fly fishing but would love to do some spin fishing too.

I am also hoping to find some people to meet up with to fish at the places I go. It would be good to have some company and since most places I go will be new to me I would surely be more successful fishing with someone who knows the area. Also, if anyone is willing to put me up for a night that would be sweet too. I am planning on camping a lot in my Marmot Aeros 3P Tent but camping can get kind of old after a while (especially if it's rainy). If you or anyone else you might want to fish with me or put me up for a night please let me know :)

I am going to post fishing blogs about my journey on this website.

The best part of this trip is that it's going to be cheap! You should see the deal that I got on insurance by looking at NetQuote.

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DATE: 25 May 2009, 11:21 am / MOOD: Other

Day 2 of my San Juan fly fishing trip:

It was sunnier and nicer for most of the day which was nice. I fished the same cut in the catch and release water below Navajo Dam. First cast I landed a fat 20 inch rainbow trout which was nice. Hooked into a fair amount of fish throughout the afternoon. They were hitting tiny midges - Yong Special (an andy kim fly, zebra nymphs and size 24 red midges. Hooked into maybe 15 fish or so. It sure is tough to land the fish with the small flies and light tippet though. At least I have my new Brodin Ghost Fly Fishing Net, which makes landing those big fish a lot easier.

A huge thunderstorm hit in the late afternoon and dropped the temperature quite a bit. I waited it out and tied on a san juan worm. I often have a ton of luck fly fishing a san juan worm after big rain storms but not today. The fish weren't interested. At least my William Joseph V2 Waders kept me nice and warm.

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