Fly Fish Chick

Okay, so we all know that Mother Nature has spoiled all of my recent attempts at Gulf Coast redfishing, and that it’s starting to make me a little edgy. But whether or not the weather allows me to get out on the water, I always enjoy the people I meet in this wacky little sport/hobby/lifestyle/obsession we call fly fishing.

I am particularly excited about a new friend in Mobile Ala. that I have stalked come to know. I recently had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with Fox 10 Meteorologist Jason Smith and his adorable daughter Emma Krause.

Not only responsible for broadcasting the weather to the Bay area on a daily basis, Jason is an avid paddler, hunter, fisherman, and has his own television program “Jason Smith Outdoors”.

We talked paddling and in addition to sharing wonderful advice about canoeing local streams and rivers, he offered me the use of his canoe to train for the Texas Water Safari! Very, very kind.

Jason gave me a piece-by-piece tour of his boat, which happens to be the same 14’ v-jon boat that The Professor has, although they have tricked them out slightly differently. The boat builder, Mike Lasarge, is a local guy and Jason estimates there are only about a hundred or so of these microskiffs around. They are ideal for local outdoor activities including duck hunting in the delta, running the causeway, and stalking redfish in the marshes of Mississippi or Louisiana.

Of course we talked fishing – conventional and fly. He is incredibly familiar with the redfishing out of Hopedale, LA and I have to say, this in-the-know Weather Man predicted to me (in aching detail standing right in his own driveway) that our recent redfish trip would, in fact, be foiled by the forecast.

He was right.

THANK YOU Jason for a fun afternoon bantering about canoes and boats and push poles and fishing. I realize you report the weather and can’t actually control it, but I’m headed back your way soon and am hoping you will give us hope for a little redfish action in Hopedale?

Weather permitting of course…

I am thrilled to announce that Fire In The Gut Performance Shirts has officially agreed to sponsor Team Paddlefish. I have to say, I am excited about this on so many levels…

First and foremost I can’t wait to try these shirts. Tim Grizzell, founder of FITG, is a former Navy SEAL, athlete, husband, father of three, and inspirational entrepreneur. He designed these high-tech shirts “for the warrior athlete”. They are made from high-tech Cocona Fabrics which maximize a flash dry effect, regulating an athlete’s body temperature and…(attention all fishing guides and single moms on this next point)…and…means you don’t have to wash these shirts after you workout and sweat in them.

Oh, yeah. You heard me. Cha-ching! Finally, high-performance athletic clothing that caters to my innate sense of laziness.

GONE COCONUTS

I really haven’t thought so much about coconuts until I started training for this race, but now I feel like they are everywhere in my life. My nutrition consigliore, Melissa, has me making hemp smoothies with spinach, berries and coconut water. Apparently the health benefits of coconuts are unparalleled.

And now Tim has me wearing coconut shirts.

This special Cocona Fabric is created from heating coconut shells to extreme temperatures, thus creating gobs of miniscule carbon particles that are imbedded permanently into the fabric. Apparently coconut carbon is also used to treat and filter air, as well as used as medicine in Europe and to remove toxins from overdose victims in emergency situations. When it comes to shirts, these coconut carbon particles manage the flash-dry process.

BUDS

I had a lovely conversation with Tim this week as we confirmed the details of our partnership. A former Navy SEAL and avid kayak paddler, he was intrigued with the intensity and sheer challenge of the Texas Water Safari. He shared incredible stories of his bootcamp experience in BUDS – Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL Training. Tim was BUDS Class 188.

Apparently in BUDS you are paired with a swim buddy and must stay with that swim buddy constantly, often tied together and/or paddling around in a boat, involved in long race exercises. Tim described extreme physical tests and recalled the feeling of being wet and sandy for days on end.

Hmm, sounds like the Water Safari all right! I just hope some of Tim’s badassery rubs off on Team Paddlefish.

FIRE IN THE GUT

The “Fire In The Gut” award is presented to the graduating Navy SEAL who displays the best attitude in 26-weeks of BUDS training. Tim has founded his company on the principles of motivation, strong will, and determination. He is focused on quality products that are eco-friendly and believes in giving back with his corporate endeavors.

Whether paddling in a race or loading a driftboat on a trailer on a steamy summer night in Montana, if you’re intrigued with these shirts, click here to learn more and purchase online.

Most importantly, I’d like to encourage you to become a fan of FIRE IN THE GUT on Facebook. Tim is creating a positive online community where he shares motivational messages for the warrior athlete in all of us.

I am already learning so much from Tim. Not to mention, I feel like just a little bit of a badass now that I am formally associated with a Navy SEAL – a big-hearted Navy SEAL, granted – but a badass Navy SEAL nonetheless.

HOO YAH!! CHARLIE MIKE!!

Via FITG Facebook: “Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a lion or a gazelle–when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.” Sir Roger Bannister, 1st man to run a sub-4 minute mile

After three autumn trips to Mississippi which yielded one small redfish, we decided to cure the winter fishing blues by roving over to Louisiana to look for big reds. We planned two trips in January, one of which was a couple of weeks ago. I geared up and flew to Mobile where the Professor and I kept an eye on the weather for a few days. Alas, Mother Nature foiled our plans: no fishing.

So we were that much more excited for our second trip this past weekend, and we were booked with Louisiana redfish guide Travis Holeman. Spirits were high as the trip grew near. Once again I flew to Mobile and the Professor and I started monitoring the weekend weather. Unfortunately we had to pull the plug on Saturday – clouds and wind. But it seemed Sunday would be cold, calmer, clear and hopefully fishable.

Okay, one day of fishing. At least we’d get one day out of the four we’d been hoping for in January.

So wandering anglers that we are, we pointed the truck west and barreled down I-10 toward New Orleans. Only problem? I was on Day #3 of a multi-day migraine and I really thought my skull was going to implode and pulverize my brain into a dusty mass. My apologies to all the fine folks at that diner in Slidell where I almost got sick to my stomach. My head hurt so badly that I literally thought I was going to be ill from the mere presence of food and I spent most of the meal slumped over the table thinking I might faint.

My biggest concern was feeling better in time for my one day of fishing the next day.

The Professor forced me to eat a little – which helped. And strangely the familiar glow and pulse of New Orleans (one of my favorite home-away-from-home cities) relaxed me and served as a surefire panacea as we drove through town toward the hotel. Despite sleeping in the car I immediately took yet another nap and enjoyed the fact that the relentless pulsating tide of pain in my temples was finally starting to subside. Miraculously, I recovered just in time to step out for an early dinner at Galatoire’s.

I love Galatoire’s. Ages ago, I used to make a regular pilgrimage to Galatoire’s with one of my bestest friends and spend about four hours having a wine soaked lunch with every single course. Thrilled to be back, I poured over the menu options, debating between a filet and the specialty chicken but ultimately accepted our waiter’s passionate plea for the pompano, joking to the Professor, “with my luck, this could be the only fish I see all weekend!”

Grilled pompano with crabmeat, garlic french bread and escargot, bread pudding bananas foster. And a touch of red wine. Granted I veered way off my training diet, but before the migraine set in last week I had been a maniac on the rowing machine, elliptical and treadmill, so I felt I could indulge. Hey, it was only a few hours earlier that I thought I was heading toward the light and meeting my maker in a po-boy dive somewhere off I-10 in Slidell Louisiana, so I was going to celebrate my astonishing recovery at one of my oldest and most favorite restaurants.

After a lovely dinner we tucked ourselves away early despite the call of the quarter. We set three alarms and scheduled a wake up call and fell asleep with visions of big redfish.

We ventured out just before light, followed directions we’d been given and met Travis at Penny’s Cafe for breakfast. Unfortunately the clear skies we were counting on were tucked behind a thick blanket of clouds, and Travis calculated the wind chill was going to be about zero. Nevertheless, we ordered veal cutlet po-boys for our boat lunch and swapped fishing stories over eggs and coffee while we waited to see what the weather was going to do. After a full meal the night before I was trying to exercise a modicum of self discipline with my scrambled eggs but I am here to tell you the roasted biscuits that Travis ordered looked sublime. I can’t tell you how many times I almost stuck my fork over on his plate and shanghaied a bite for myself. Next time at Penny’s, I am getting the biscuits.

We grabbed our veal cutlet po-boys to go and agreed to journey on to the marina to assess the weather.

We kicked around the parking lot for a spell but Travis called Time of Death on the expedition about 9ish. It was brutally cold, the wind was whipping and the clouds were locked-in overhead. As disappointed as we were to lose out on yet another fishing day, we cannot say enough nice things about Travis. He was cool as all get out about it, totally honest and direct about the diminishing prospects and we all agreed to re-book as soon as possible. I was thrilled to get to know him a little and truly look forward to getting on the water with my new friend Travis soon.

Thank God for the pompano. A couple of fishless vagabonds, we hopped back in the truck and hit the trail back to Mobile where we ate our boat lunch on the couch watching Robert Redford in “The Great Waldo Pepper.” New Orleans was great fun, Travis was cool as hell, the po-boy was yummy and my migraine was gone. All good stuff. But when you really break things down, this isn’t exactly the red I though I would have in hand at two in the afternoon this past Sunday.

Winter fishing has driven me to day drinking.

I think Mother Nature is sending me a message to take up sailing as a pastime — or perhaps flying a kite. At the very least I should get on board with a company that harvests wind for energy so I could make some money off of the increasingly evident fact that WIND seems to follow me everywhere I go.

I know, I know. Saltwater fishing guides don’t like their clients to complain about casting in the wind. Fair enough. But a strong gust of wind on a trout stream blows the hatch and my cast, not to mention puts the fish down. So even though it’s not cool to complain about the wind, I do.

Especially since I have apparently picked up another sport where wind is my nemesis: paddling.

Banning and I competed in our first paddling race this past weekend, a simple 6 mile course on Town Lake right here in downtown Austin. The race was loads of fun, super cool people, great scene. But the wind was howling.

There were three alumnimun canoes in our flight, and we had a handicapped start at 10:02 am. I practically used up all my energy paddling in place at the starting line with a fierce headwind blowing us backwards.

My superstar partner and river guide extraordinaire made the brilliant call that we should paddle all the way across to the other side to find some protection from the wind. I’m sure the other teams thought we were crazy – or assumed we were quitting—but when we took an edge of a lead, they followed us over to find some relief from the wind.

Once their flights started, the super sleek race boats got in the mix and overtook us. However we were neck-in-neck with another aluminum canoe right at the mid-point as we made the turn around a pylon, but on the way back they kept the lead all the way to the finish. We surfed back with a tailwind and finished in 1 hour and 36 minutes – just 4 minutes after the other aluminum. Overall out of 23 boats we finished 14th. Not bad!

I must say I really enjoyed this race, even with the pounding wind batting me about like an evil cat with a ratty little play-toy. It was hard paddling into those gusts! But it’s one more step on this journey toward the Water Safari in June. And now we have a benchmark time that we need to beat in the February Town Lake 6-mile race. With regular training I am confident we will improve our time at the next trial…assuming the wind cuts us a little slack.

In the meantime, MANY THANKS to the race organizers, the other teams who participated, and our Team Paddlefish cheerleaders!! Go Team Paddlefish Go!!

This past weekend the Professor and I were enjoying a soggy evening with a little red vino while trying to determine the top five fly-fishing books of all time. We reached consensus pretty quickly on four great reads, but the jury is still out on the fifth slot. Take a look at what we came up with:

1. The River Why by David James Duncan. This is a personal favorite of mine. Adore this book because it’s really just a great love story hidden in a fish story.

2. The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton. I haven’t read it, going with the masses here.

3. Trout Bum by John Gierach. Didn’t blow my skirt up but I defer to the world on this one.

4. A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean. I know, I know. We love to hate what this film did to our secret little sport. But I love it. I love Robert Redford, I love Norman Maclean, I love the writing. It’s beautiful. It’s literary. It’s poetic. And even if you don’t like it, you at least have to admit, without it we wouldn’t have Buster.

5. ????

What’s your ruling? Did we get it right?

Don’t hold your tongue, instead plead your case for the fifth title to make the list.

Time to get back in the canoe. With less than five months to train for the Texas Water Safari, I am definitely starting to feel the pressure. I’m gathering up all my cold weather fishing gear/clothing to resume paddle training this week. I’m not going to look like a professional paddler, that’s for certain, but I can’t justify spending an extra buck on fancy paddling clothes if I can make my fishing gear work. We shall see.

I may not be an expert paddler, but there’s one thing I know something of, and that’s music. And rivers. So in an effort to get my corpulent yuletide fanny off the couch and back on the treadmill, I’ve created a whopper of a playlist with great songs about RIVERS.

I have to imagine a few of you could chime in on this topic. So tell me, my huckleberry friend, what is your favorite river song?

In the meantime, enjoy the flow of these selections…

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT:

2010 DRAKE FLY FISHING FILM TOUR – BACK IN AUSTIN TX

BIGGER BADDER WILDER WEIRDER

TUESDAY APRIL 27th

SAVE THE DATE.

Get out your calendars and mark down the date because we are bringing the film tour back to Austin, my friends! After last year’s red-hot Austin show, we are really going to amp up the energy this year and make it another Texas-style throwdown.

Those of you who have been around FFC awhile know that I am not full of hot air. Last year I told everyone to get their tickets early, I told everyone we would sell out. Sure enough we sold out well in advance and people were clamoring for tickets. Close to a hundred people didn’t get in. Yikes.

For the FFC newcomers, allow me to get you up to speed on the backstory: Last year I met TX Gov Rick Perry on a plane and he promised to help promote and support the show (when I pitched him loudly in front of dozens of passengers constituents.) He and his aide subsequently ignored all of my calls and emails. 

Shortly after I saw The Lizardman on a plane and contacted him a few times, begging for support. No reply.

Luckily I got a break with localebrity cross-dressing Leslie who shot a video for us. The show was a blast and at the Horseshoe Lounge post-party we plied esteemed author Miles Nolte full of Lone Stars and he was last seen drowning in a pile of plushie toys. It was all good. Except for the terse blog comment I ultimately received from The Lizardman who was peeved that I shamed him on my blog for dissing me.

But nothing – and I mean nothing – mends a minor spat better than the foolproof combination of fishing, films & beer. Ah, the power of the Drake Film Tour! The moment we set the date for the 2010 show I started hounding The Lizardman again, proposing that we kiss and make up…aaaand…that he give us a photo-op. Pretty please? With sugar on top?

Finally, he agreed. So this morning I met the Lizardman at the Alamo Drafthouse, and I am here to tell you he is the greatest guy! In addition to the intense body modification he is a completely fascinating individual — a sideshow performer, a writer with multiple book projects, and an ardent student of philosophy. Turns out his sister and brother-in-law live in Montana and like to fish. And his grandfather was a passionate fisherman in New York who died on the water with a fish on the line.

I am certain the Fly-Fish-Chick-Lizardman Lovefest is just starting to bloom. The Middle East could take a page from our book! And Perry? Pa-shaw. Perry. What is he thinking snubbing me so badly? I am going to try and use FFC as the anti-Oprah effect on his goobernatorial campaign. You know what I say? I say, “LIZARDMAN FOR GOVERNOR!!”

Oh my goodness did I just accidentally launch his campaign for Texas Governor?

But really, at the end of the day, I think we’ve learned three important lessons here:

#1 — I have a strange tendency to incorporate men-with-stuffed-animal pictures when I blog about the film tour

#2 — The Lizardman’s grip-and-grin is infinitely more badass than anything you’ve ever seen on the Drake

#3 — We can do things the hard way, or we can do things the easy way, but no matter what I will wear you down charm you in the end. I believe the Lizardman can attest to that.

So folks I urge you to go ahead and mark your calendars. And stay tuned for information on ticket sales.

Thank You, Thank You Thank You, Lizardman!

No matter! We decided to make the most of it and go anyway. We recruited my cousin and her husband to join us. Despite nosebleed seats and frigid temps we had a blast. On the way in we met other revelers who were passionate SEC football fans, just there for the booze. And we made friends with some Clemson guys seated in front of us, one of whom loved to fish and spent most of the game showing us fishing pictures on his phone and talking about South Carolina sheep-head with the Professor.

Kind of a problem later in the game when he received a text that his friends were detained by police. As he was trying to deal with the logistics of johnny-law, his phone ran out of juice. Oh well. It is my experience fisherman love to talk fishing at the expense of many things.

As it should be.

Cheers to our new Clemson fans, and I hope everyone is gearing up for a full, blue-moon New Years Eve and preparing to watch a lot of football tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy some shaky footage of our adventure at the Music City Bowl the other night:

Merry Merry to all my FFC readers! It’s a perfect time to take pause and say THANK YOU for tuning in and jumping in the mix here at FFC, I truly appreciate your friendship and am so grateful you continue to indulge me in my storytelling. I hope the magic of the holiday season touches each and everyone of you.

And now I would like to share a few, shall we say, artsy Christmas card shots from my dear friend, fishing partner, and celebrity fly tyer Bob Lay:

I am so flattered to be on his Christmas card list! Every year I receive these gems and he has finally agreed to let me post them on the blog. Bob is a great friend and I wish him and his wife & family all the blessings they deserve this holiday season.

Why in the world would I shoot my own Christmas card photos when you’ve got these? They say it all…..MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!!!

I am  in Nashville for the holidays so my dad sat me down at the vise for my first ever fly tying lesson. I’ve been wanting my own stash of buzzballs – as many as I want, whenever I want – so I am now inspired to try my hand at tying. So far, I’ve only watched him tie two buzzballs, but I already know my favorite part is going to be palmering.

Palmering is beautiful! The vise rotates and the hackle unfurls in a uniform motion, fanning out in a perfect three-dimensional pattern. Like a well-choreographed water ballet routine, it evolves right before your very eyes. I love it.

The recipe for the LaFontaine Buzzball is explained quite well in this video by my friends at Headhunters. My dad followed it to the letter:

I’m excited to give this a try. Stay tuned friends, as soon as I can find a break in the holiday hoohaw, I am going to channel my Inner Esther Williams and palmer the night away at the vise…