Well, I went for the first time today and loved it. Inherently my taste buds lean French but I did some homework on Vietnamese fare and have to say I am a big fan of the noodle soups, called Pho, and baguette sandwiches, Banh Mi.

My Vietnamese-themed day has me wondering: Can you fly fish in Vietnam?

I am not sure I have the answer for you, but in my perfunctory sweep of Google I found a kickass, new-to-me fly fishing blog called Lo Fi Fly. Would you believe their most recent post titled THE LAND OF DONGS brings up this very same question: where/how to fly fish in Vietnam?!

The writer is en route to Vietnam as we speak for work, but is prepared to peel away and find some fly fishing opportunities. He couldn’t find much info on the web, so I pushed on for the both of us.

I found a website called Executive Adventures that claims to have the only fly fishing operation in the country, including a real “Scottish Highland Fisherman” who, presumably, is the guide. I have the visual of a washed up, ruddy-skinned, red-nosed expat Scot sucking on a bottle of Scotch, serving stale shortbread for guide lunches and peeing from the driftboat right from under his ratty old kilt. But who knows, he could be great.

Before all you Americans of Scottish-descent start sending me hate mail and angry comments, just save it. I got Scot in me. My people have a tartan, I can poke fun.

Anyway, I’m not precisely sure what we’re fishing for in Vietnam, but I read something about jungle perch and snakeheads and a stocked pond. I don’t even know if we’re talking saltwater or fresh but they do say their rigs are 9-12 weights. So could be big fish, which piques my interest. And I love the diversity of the patterns they use, according to the website:

The Mazy Frog of Japan:

The Sea Sprite of Australia:

or…The “Traditional” from Scotland:

Hell, it’s like the UN of fly boxes. I would love a float on a Montana river where I could catch trout on all three of these patterns in one given day.

My keen detective skills (aka sheer panic that SOPA is going to kill the Internet and these are my final days to browse aimlessly) urged me a step further and I searched youtube for “fly fishing Vietnam”. This is the best I could come up with:

While I realize this doesn’t have the high-testosterone action we’re all used to from FFFT clips, I really love this little video for a number of reasons. First of all, it smacks of striper fishing in the Northeast which makes the Globe feel like a cozy intimate neighborhood we’re all sharing. Plus I can’t get over the Lillith-fair, last night of camp sorta tune, which I like — but is a head scratcher. And (spoiler alert) I REALLY love that I patiently watched all three and a half minutes of this guy casting and finally got to see his smile at the very end for that teeny fish. Hey, I’ve been there buddy.

Suffice to say, I am no more an expert on Vietnamese fly fishing than I was when this day began, but I did have some pretty good food at Elizabeth Street Cafe.

My friend Elizabeth (no relation to the restaurant) and I split the house specialty Banh Mi which has Chicken Liver Mousse, Pork Pâté, and Roasted Pork:

And the Pho with Flank Steak:

So will I plan a fly fishing trip to Vietnam any time soon? Probably not, I’m holding out hope for a bonefish in 2012. But will I venture over to Elizabeth St Cafe again? Pho sho, suckas! Loved it. I am dying to try their breakfast menu.

Until my next post…Tam Biet!

(Just go ahead and Google it before SOPA and PIPA kill the web.)

We fished the Big Hole with our friend Eric, co-owner of Sunrise Flyshop in Melrose. I’ve said it before, Eric is seriously one of the hardest working guides on the planet.

The air temp was 17 when we woke up that morning and the water temp was hovering somewhere around 33 degrees when we started our day. Fish were sluggish so we had to go BIG to get their attention. As in big, big streamers.

We caught a number of browns early but the real fun started when the sun came out after lunch and the fish came to life. We had a blast! All of the fish were in the 15-19” range but we each caught several and had some super fun chases toward the end of the float. Nothing cooler than watching these trout hot on the trail of these massive streamers.

Did I mention we were throwing BIG streamers? I threw one fly all day long. Eric had tied it as a prototype so it was the only one in existence. Which was touch and go each of the two dozen or so times I caught it on rocks and in trees and on bushes. I was hung up a lot. But hey, I was trying to get tight to the bank to get these troutcicle fish interested!

 A massive articulated streamers with two giant hooks is simply going to get caught a few thousand times…or so. Right? (Yikes. Sorry for the extra backrowing, Eric.) Luckily we were catching enough fish to mask any potential frustration over my multiple snags.

I cast that colossal fly so many times over the course of seven hours that it actually started to hurt. I swear I think I developed tendonitis in my right arm. The Professor has recently suffered serious tendonitis in both elbows, resulting in two cortisone shots, so he wasn’t particularly sympathetic and maintains I was just “a little sore”. But I am telling you, I was one cast away from a steroid shot myself. Pitiful that just last summer I paddled 260-miles in 73 hours and was AOK, yet somehow I contracted a “sports” injury after a guided day of streamer fishing.

But it was damn worth it.

We celebrated a great day on the water and the official close of the Sunrise Flyshop season (we were the last clients for Sunrise in 2011) with Eric and his business partner Ryan. We watched Game 7 and TCU-BYU at the Melrose Bar and warmed up with homemade onion rings and other bar fare.

Ryan, Eric (of Sunrise Flyshop) and myself. Have I mentioned we are big fans of these guys? Not only have they become good friends of ours, the Professor and I are both keen to tell anyone and everyone about their operation in Melrose. If you need a guide in SW Montana, run don’t walk.

The Professor’s philly cheese steak and onion rings.

The next day we were planning to fish the Jefferson but some juicy intel advised us it wasn’t worth it right now. Which was probably for the best given I was suffering with my inflamed streameritis elbow. I wasn’t up for chucking another 5-pound fly and rowing all day – this time in gusting wind. So instead we opted for something new, a roadtrip over to Willow Creek.

That’s right. After a killer day on the Big Hole with big streamers and big fish, we decided to go dainty on their ass. We wade fished the Willow Creek spring creeks. Smaller water, smaller flies, smaller fish.

I think this little guy was actually smaller than the streamer I’d been throwing the day before. That said, he was lots of fun to catch. I had a few other bumps on the teeny nymph and one good take on an ant, even though the fished missed it. The Professor switched to an ant pattern and outfished me with this beast:

The spring creeks provided nice lite fishing and the scenery on this last-minute audible daytrip was to die for.

One of the many outtakes of my experimentation with the self timer.

After our breezy angling afternoon on the creeks, we sought out the Willow Creek Cafe and Saloon which we heard serves up the best ribs in Montana.

The barkeep was kind enough to switch the TV over to the Carolina-Wake Forest game for me. Go Heels.

In keeping with that juicy Tarheel victory, the North Carolina style mustard-base sauce on these ribs won us over as well.

Another fabulous October Montana trip punctuated by this big sky view for the ride home last evening. Replete with a little picturesque sliver of a moon…

Adios Montana. Catch you on the flipside…in 2012.

Ancillary perks included dreamy weather, a delightfully mellow scene which was mandatory since Little Chick is recovering from a concussion (she’s going to be fine but had quite a scare that started our Friday in the ER), learning about all sorts of books from fascinating authors, and getting up close and personal with the gorgeous Texas Capitol building.

We hustled into our seats just in time to hear Lisa Fain start her presentation. Lisa is a food blogger and I have been following her stories since I started blogging myself in 2007. A transplanted Texan living in NYC (I’ve been there, sister! Having my mom ship boxes of canned Ro-Tel to me in Boston) and she blogs about the unique Texas recipes she grew up on. Which are apparently the same ones I grew up on! Now she has published a cook book with the same name as her super successful blog, The Homesick Texan.

She took every picture in the book herself and the stories that introduce the recipes offer the same comfort and kick that her food does. I knew I loved this bird years ago when she explained on her blog in bold detail how to prepare REAL Texas nachos. Each one individually, not in a junkyard pile with dripping toppings seeping off the edges like an elementary school paper mache volcano project. (My words, not hers.) I’ve been her loyal follower ever since.

I was delighted to see she put the nachos, as well as our mutually firm nacho-stance, in the book.

Little Chick had to get back into bed to convalesce so I spent the afternoon with my nose in this cookbook, nostalgic for the Texas classics I’ve loved since I was a kid. I tore myself away only because we had one more goal for the book festival.

Alamo Drafthouse showed one of my all time fav flicks Smokey and the Bandit on the big screen and hosted stuntman, director, now-author Hal Needham who directed ‘Smokey’. At 80, let me just say Hal Needham is about one of the most charming men on the planet. I mean, he is coooool.

Of course, not quite as cool as the Bandit. Yowie. Hubba hubba.

After the movie, the Professor waited in line to purchase a signed copy of Hal Needham’s new book ‘Stuntman’. Mr. Needham was gracious and funny and we are now big time Hal Needham fans.

And because I know you are probably now humming along to the Smokey and the Bandit theme song (which we sang out loud in the theater at the end of the movie) I thought I would share one of the all-time greatest Jackie Gleason scenes of all time. Enjoy….

I’m headed to Montana on Wednesday for a little fall fishing so in the words of the Bandit….I’ll catch you on the flipside.

 You see, unfortunately a couple of weeks ago, the motor was stolen off our boat. It’s been the cause of endless ire and frustration, especially since they no longer make these two stroke motors. The Professor has been living on Ebay and Craigslist trying to find a replacement (not to mention looking for someone trying to sell his stolen motor.)

So with a bittersweet sense of ceremony we launched the boat with the new-to-us motor and launched a new era for our little v-john flats boat.

Fishing was tough, we only saw a few fish and they were quite skittish. But the weather was sublime and it felt great to be out on the water.

Besides, take out “A” for Angling and Launch quickly turns to Lunch –which we found just down the road from the boat launch.

So if you happen to come across a two stroke Yamaha motor anywhere on the I-10 corridor along the Gulf Coast, give us a shout. We’re still hot to find our hot motor. But the good news is we have plenty to keep us busy and grateful. A great day on the water. Killer hotdogs. And the launch of Paddlefish, which made for a wildly entertaining week last week.

Thanks to each and everyone of you who have already purchased the book! I can’t tell you how much I am enjoying your feedback. If you haven’t had a chance to buy it yet, don’t be shy…I am happy to take your order and ship your copy!

I hope Monday morning is treating everyone well and launching you into a good week.

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.”-Henry David Thoreau

Before he left we enjoyed a very decadent Saturday together which kicked off at the famed Salt Lick. The weather was gorgeous so while waiting on our table we lounged outdoors at the Salt Lick Cellar where we tasted wines from the Salt Lick vineyard.

Then, it was time for the show. 

I am happy to report that after his debut visit to the Salt Lick, the Professor deemed that it “well exceeded all the hype.”

He flew away to the 406 yesterday but I decided to keep the Austin culinary adventure alive with a visit to the much ballyhooed Izzoz Taco trailer.

I am still heartbroken since my true love, Nueva Onda, closed its doors but I realize I need to try and find a new breakfast taco relationship in the hood. At Izzoz I abandoned my usual controlling, special order mentality and tried to be open to selecting something straight off the menu.

I almost pulled it off. I ordered the Fried Avocado taco (lightly tempura fried avocado was pretty damn good) and the Old School taco – but I had to exchange the cheddar for queso. I mean really. How could you not?

All in all it was a good date with Izzoz. But let’s be honest, it’s a rebound relationship, I’m not over Nueva Onda yet. I really like Izzoz — as a friend.

Then I had to try another relatively new neighborhood spot, La Patisserie, a little french coffee shop and bakery.

The french music was lovely, the pastry case fantastique…

I went with a classic pan au chocolat slightly warmed…

Which disappeared before my eyes.

Le fin.

I could go on and on about oysters at Casamentos, burgers and bloodys at Port Of Call, beignets galore, pompano at Galatoire’s, gnocchi at Lilette, Lucky Dogs off the street, live music at the Mapleleaf, and the all-around hilarity of time I spent in the Quarter and the Marigny and uptown. But I will cut to the chase. Few spots have a hold on my heart like the Chart Room.

I have logged many a late night spinning tunes on the Chart Room jukebox. Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Patsy Cline, David Allan Coe, Frank Sinatra. In fact, over the past few years many of you have asked about the blonde photo of me that I whimsically chose as my FLY FISH CHICK avatar. Here’s the scoop…

That blonde wig photo was taken in the Chart Room on Halloween. For the record, I was dressed as an angel. There’s a halo that isn’t showing up clearly in the picture.

So to all my fishing friends who are hitting the ground in one of my all-time favorite cities, steal away from your laborious convention work and treat yourself to some time in the Chart Room. Play a tune on the jukebox for me.

PS. I love the New Orleans style bloody marys with the marinated green beans. The perfect antidote the day after a night at the Chart Room. Grab one at Port of Call with their signature burger piled high with grated cheddar cheese. Yum, Yum, Yumbo-ya-ya.

In terms of the fishing, highlights include: floating the Missouri with my new niece (the Professor’s niece) who tricked a few fish into eating on top including two takes on a fly we were told would absolutely not work. Next was floating the Big Hole with the Professor, Little Chick and my parents. Highlight was how hard Little Chick fished and the big rainbow that came unbuttoned on her. Yesterday we all had a blast on the Madison where we caught a record number of trout in the 6-10 inch range.

Where to start with the food? One day we ventured to Augusta to look at the art at Latigo and Lace. We left with many goodies, including a 1950s vintage leather western jacket and some cowboy boots Miss Kitty wore in Gunsmoke. We celebrated our shopping across the street at the Buckhorn Bar with copious amounts of fried food including jalapeno cheese tater tots, mozarella sticka and cheesy curly fries.

That night we feasted at home with family on delicious ribeyes grilled to perfection by my brother-in-law Randy. My mother cooked the rest including off-the-chart mixed berry cobbler, topped with homemade whipped cream that niece Margaret made with nephew Jack’s careful consultation.

Sadly the next evening wasn’t nearly as delightful. My mother, Little Chick and I dined at Izaaks in Craig which is under new management. I had heard negative reports and wow, they were right. Across the board the service was so atrocious and it was such a negative experience we are struggling to ever go back. To be fair, the manager was very apologetic and my mom’s pasta was delish. But they have some work to do there.

We turned things around the next night in Sheridan with the Professor on the grill. Incredible pork tenderloin, grilled vegetables, roasted potatoes, topped off with key lime pie. All made for great leftovers on the river the next day…

Then we had a splendid family dinner the next night at the Old Hotel in Twin Bridges!! Calamari, rabbit cacciatore, scallops, steaks, risotto. It was fantastic and we loved our server Rachel, who by the way had just eloped with her new husband after they had only spent three days together. Romantic!

And of course, after fishing the Madison yesterday, we couldn’t pass through Ennis without stopping in at our favorite: Banditos. Great to see our friend Scott and take my parents for their first time. After we all shared the Queso Fundido appetizer of cheese, potato, peppers and chorizo, I had the crab enchiladas. They were so good last night that I might just have the leftovers for breakfast.

Today we are switching gears. Less food, more fishing. After many chores we will head back over to the Missouri later today. While my pounds are on the rise, the Mo has finally dropped and is holding steady round 10k. No time to worry about the bathroom scales, our minds are on fish scales. Stay tuned for the report…

(One more update from the past week. We finalized the PADDLEFISH manuscript and sent it to the designer. We are in a new phase! The book is in layout, they are working on a map and cover design, we are trying to pick the interior photo shots. Progress!!)

We loved it so much we asked our Man to serve it with every meal. Yes, including breakfast.

No doubt thrilled to be rid of us at the end of the week, he was gracious enough to send us home with the recipe:

3 limes
3 eggs
1 pack cream cheese
1 can sweet condensed milk
1 Graham cracker crust
Zest lime, then juice
Food process
Bake at 350 for 20 min
Room temp then refrigerate

This key lime pie might be just the comfort food I need this Spring as I am otherwise virtually inconsolable. As many of you know, this is the time of year I venture to Exuma Bahamas for my annual bonefishing trip with my parents. Sadly, this year, I am breaking the four-year streak and won’t be able to make it.

I have been a whining fool over it. Of course I should shut my key lime pie hole and just be grateful that I was able to sneak in two days of fishing on my Belize Girls trip in January. But honestly it stings. It really stings.

I thought I would share a look back at the recent years in Exuma:

2010…

To see the 2010 video montage and trip report visit the post Bone of Contention

2009…

To see the 2009 video montage and trip report visit the post Even Bonefish Get The Blues

2008…

To see the 2008 video montage and trip report visit the post Mama Told Me There’d Be Days Like This

2007…

No video post for 2007. That predates the blog!

So there you have it. A look back at the past four years in Exuma. Looking at the pictures is like pouring salt in my saltwater wound. But hey, at least I had two great days in Belize and who can cry with key lime pie?

Try your hand at the recipe and share a picture of your key lime pie to flyfishchick (at) live (dot) com

I’m off to Live Oak Florida for Springfest. Don’t forget to tune in to see my episode of Bass2Billfish this Friday 1:30pm EST and again on Saturday 11am EST. Let me know what you think!

Cheers! Catch you on the flipside….

The latest conservation/culinary concern involves genetically modified salmon, often referred to as Frankenfish. This is seriously scary stuff.

Fly Fishing blogs have long been advocating diners and chefs choose wild salmon over farm raised, since supporting farm raised salmon increases the chance that the farmed salmon would escape and co-mingle with the wild ones. With Frankenfish the fear is even more intense. No longer mere country-bumpkin farm-raised salmon, these genetically engineered freak fish are a mind-boggling threat if integrated with our delicate wild salmon population.

To quote Chris Wood TU Capitano,

“The FDA is close to approving genetically modified salmon for human consumption. This decision could be disastrous for wild salmon in the U.S. and around the world. We simply can’t let it happen.

Click here to read more about the negative effects of Frankenfish on the Deneki Fishing Blog.

I’m an easy sell on this conservation conversation. I don’t like scary movies at all, so Frankenfish really don’t do it for me. And while I kinda like Gene Wilder, I like my Salmon Wilder.

Just last night I experimented cooking my own wild salmon dish:

• one pound wild salmon, skin side down on a pyrex dish lightly coated with olive oil
• I seasoned the top of the salmon with fresh thyme, salt and pepper
• I baked it low at 200 degrees for 50 minutes (until fish flakes)
• I served the salmon over sautéed spinach and a puree of cauliflower/polenta/goat cheese

The Professor was impressed. My new wifey points skyrocketed. And I earned some good fishing karma.

Win-Win-Win.

JOIN THE VOICE OF TROUT UNLIMITED IN A RESOUNDING ‘HELL NO’ TO FRANKENFISH! CLICK HERE TO CLEANSE YOUR PALETTE CONSCIENCE.

While Melissa doesn’t fish herself, she is a longtime FFC reader. She is a yoga master, big-time skier, and has conquered some mountain climbing treks that make me dizzy just hearing about them. She is an athlete, mom, wife, chick friend, nutritionist, blogger and all-around angel.

Over a year and a half ago when I announced my intent to train and compete in the Water Safari, Melissa chimed in with what was one of her first comments on FFC. I was blathering on in this post about doing a low carb diet, which she immediately refuted, citing it as an unsound strategy for my training. Boom, I promoted her to the official Team Nutritionist.

That’s just how we get things done around here. Little did I know she would become my Health Consigliore for a year!

Having never met or spoken before I was fascinated to learn her credentials and agog at her willingness to help. Melissa has a very successful blog called Gluten Free For Good with fabulous pictures, recipes and resources about gluten free and healthy eating.

After a detailed phone consultation she sent me a packet that I completed and then she followed up with a detailed analysis about  my nutritional action plan.

The first thing she did was start me on a cleanse which I decribed in a post called Dawn Of A New Whey on the Chicken Fried Therapy blog. It was a drastic change to my diet for sure. After the three week cleanse, Melissa stuck by me for over a year, introducing me to things like chia seeds, hemp protein powder, bison burgers, flaxseed crackers, organic chicken apple sausage, quinoa, millet, kale, coconut water, and goat yogurt.

(Note: do not travel to the Bahamas with chia seeds and hemp protein powder in unmarked ziploc bags. That was a dicey day in customs.)

I wouldn’t say I have gone gluten-free for goooooood, but I am infinitely more conscious about what I eat and drink. I have all but excluded traditional diet sodas, refined sugar, wheat and gluten. (Except the past month of wedding and holiday celebrations which has been unabashed gluttony.) And I am strangely addicted to my chia-spinach-fruit smoothies. All in all I have lost 16 pounds since Melissa put me on that original cleanse. Not a ton. But my whole way of eating has changed completely.

I live in the gluten-free section of the grocery. There are so many options now, the pasta I serve is gluten free and it is delicious! They are making more and more gluten free choices everyday. Although knowing Melissa she would want us to eat foods that exist naturally as gluten free. She’s a funny purist like that. And one of those who practices what she preaches. She is funny, sweet, realistic and positive. She is a true Rocky Mountain Rockstar in my book.

I’d like to create a line of flies dedicated to Melissa with patterns such as The Ch-ch-ch-chia Pet Parachute Adams, The Hemp Protein Power Streamer, The Goat Kefir Caddis, and the Organic Buzzball.

While Melissa doesn’t really endorse supplements (she believes you should accomplish everything with real food and fish oil) this grasshopper is flying without a master now and I have discovered Maca Powder. Your welcome, ladies.

Melissa is a genuine goddess badass. She would send these amazing care packages throughout the year of training, along with sweet cards and notes of inspiration:

Melissa was with me 100% of the way from the day I announced my goal to race, all the way to the wall in Seadrift and the finish line. I am eternally grateful for the lasting influence she has made on my life! And to show my appreciation I am going to quit my wedding-holiday-newyear-bowlgame-backslide and get back to a healthier Melissa-endorsed eating regime pronto.

Viva la Chia!!!

(this warranted another showing)