A Randall Model 5 Camp & Trail

Posted on April 16, 2025 by Ed Mitchell

A Randall Model 5 Camp & Trail

There are times in life, when you get a bit crazy, throw caution to the wind, spend more moola than you should. Something catches your eye and you can’t stop thinking about it. Relax my friend, it happens to all of us. Still, over time, those expensive items can pay you back in spades, making you proud of your risky decision.

A Randall Model 5 Camp & Trail

For me, one such event was taking a chance on a Randall Made knife. Hand forged by skilled craftsmen and considered by many to be the finest fixed blade knives on the planet, they are beautifully handmade and highly respected. Doubt me? Back in the 1960’s NASA commissioned Randall to make a survival knife for astronauts heading to the moon.

Pictured above is the Randall Model 5, I bought last century. If my memory serves me, with the options I wanted, they were asking a hair north of $250? What options did I pick? Mine has a stag handle with finger grooves, and a 5-inch stainless steel blade. Five is about perfect for general use, does most everything; easy to belt carry; easy in and out of a truck, or boat; okay for carving. The hilt and butt cap are nickel silver. It’s harder than brass and more corrosion resistant.

Back then, $250 was big bucks, believe me. Far more than I was really ready to spend. And there was a snag too. Randall was backordered for 2-years. But that damn delay saved me. I paid for it slowly, sending Randall 10 bucks a month for what seemed like an eternity. It worked.

At this point it has served me well for over 30 years, showing no signs of giving up. I use it  near every day – thrilled with it. And, it would be impossible for me to replace. Today, Randall is backordered for 7- years. Seven years! And with the options I picked, the price would be almost triple. And forget getting one from an online knife dealer. Saw one without any options listed north of a $1,000. Yeah, it was a risky decision years ago, but the right one.

 

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Bill Catherwood “The Giant Killer”

Posted on April 12, 2025 by Ed Mitchell

Bill Catherwood “The Giant Killer”

Bill Catherwood’s Pogy Fly

A couple of days back I did a post on the tragic passing of Bobby Popovics – the finest saltwater fly tyer ever to grace a vise.  And that got me thinking about another great saltwater tyer -the late Bill Catherwood.  Bill is gone about 12 years at this point, but in the fly tying world his flies are still talked about. Look on You Tube and you’ll see his fabulous work. He was often referred to as the “Giant Killer” for his large flies designed for large striped bass. Yeah, Bill was decades ahead of his time. I only have one; it’s the menhaden pictured above. He had a couple versions of this fly. But it has Bill’s signature use of spun deer hair. Perhaps Bill’s most interesting creation was his lobster fly. Occasionally Bill would bring one to the Fly Fishing Shows. Everyone wanted a chance to see it.  Wish I had one to show you. Yes, it imitated a small lobster. How cool is that?

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Edward Abbey, aka Cactus Ed

Posted on April 8, 2025 by Ed Mitchell

Edward Abbey, aka Cactus Ed

Back in 2018, I did a post on Edward Abbey’s funeral, if you want to call it that. No hearse, no flowers, no singing. Four friends threw his body in a pickup and drove off into the remotest parts of New Mexico, to bury him in an unmarked, secret grave. It was the way Abbey’s wanted it to be.

Photo credit: Kirk McKay LA Times

That post has never been popular, and yet I firmly believe Ed Abbey, aka Cactus Ed, richly deserves a follow-up. He may well be the most important environmentalist of the last century. During his life he was called a great many things – an anarchist, arrogant, an iconoclast, confrontational, controversial, shy, a racist, a misogynist, misanthropic, a loner, a drunk, a desert rat, a gifted writer, a visionary, profoundly insightful, bitingly sarcastic, incendiary, awe-inspiring, fearless, untamable, forever ready to fire a salvo across your bow, and forever devoted to our planet.

Desert Solitaire ( A Season in the Wilderness) is his most widely loved book. Published in 1968 by McGraw Hill, it chronicles Cactus Ed’s time as park ranger in Utah’s Arch National Monument. Living in a trailer with frying pan, bacon, eggs, mice, a British Webley 45 revolver, and a rattlesnake under the front steps, Abbey reveals the beauty and spirit of the desert. Brilliantly done, the New Yorker called it “An American Master Piece, A Forceful Encounter with a man of Character and Courage”. The New York Times reviewer called it “Like a ride on a bucking bronco….deeply poetic… set in lean racing prose…of power and beauty”

Is your interest perked? You can find a paperback at a reasonable price – ten bucks? On the other hand, a first edition, hardbound with dust jacket, could go anywhere from $500 to $800, depending on condition and whether it’s a first or later printing. I have never seen a signed first edition. Does it exist? Yup, signed first edition goes for around $3000

 

 

 

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A Modified Kwan

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Ed Mitchell

A Modified Kwan

A Modified Kwan

The Kwan is an excellent flats fly -ready for bonefish, redfish, snook and spotted seatrout. It was developed by Pat Dorsey, a Colorado guide and pro tyer for Umpqua. To my eye, design wise it is a Swiss Army Knife style fly, intended to mimic crabs, shrimp or baitfish, while borrowing from the Borski Slider, the Merkin and the Tarpon Toad. Did I leave anyone out?

When I live in southern Florida, I use the Kwan strictly as a shrimp pattern for redfish. To that end, I tied a modified Kwan, one to suit my needs. Most notably I removed the Merkin type body. It was not needed to mimic a shrimp and was a pain in the ass to tie. Good riddens. Next, I added rubber legs. They are deadly. Love them. But note where I tied them in. Why forward? For two reasons. When tied to the rear, the rubber legs tended to stick to the tail, killing the action. Moreover, the legs were prone to damage, often breaking off after a fish are two.  Up front, the legs offered more wiggle, more action. And if they break, they are easy to replace at the vise. How’s them apples?

For the record, the modified Kwan shown above was tied on a size 2# Mustad Big Game hook, 2x/STD. The tail is sand colored Pseudo Hair, striped with a black marker. Those are EP “eyes”, natural. The body is built up tan thread covered by Bills Bodi Braid.  Which got a coat of Sally Hansen. The legs are mixed Hareline Root Beer and Grizzly. Wanting it to land softly I typically added no weight. Still I did have some in my box with either tiny dumb bell or bead chain eyes.

PS I forgot the damn weed guard, but I do recommend them. Twenty-pound mono does the trick.  And I have at times tied this fly with a pale pink body or a pale green.

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Bluefish have Moxie

Posted on April 5, 2025 by Ed Mitchell

Bluefish have Moxie

It’s odd not having bluefish around. Once upon a time, they were ubiquitous, blitzing in midmorning on running tide, ripping up schools of bait, birds circling, blood in the water. Man, their energy drove the fishing.

In my neck of woods, they were hottest back in late 1980’s and early 1990’s, fading in 1995. By June, you always carried a good number of flies with shock tippets. Forget 40 pound mono! Big blues sliced through that. Yeah you might get lucky and land one, but the next blue cut you off.  I used solid 60 pound tobacco colored wire, secured with a hay-wire twist. Pain in the ass, but mandatory. 

Hell under an summer moon, you could tangle with blues dogs into the teens. I mean it. What a war. The photo up top comes from that early era, decent double digit blue on a popper, with my old Winston fiberglass 10-weight rod. Note my shiny new fly reel. LOL About a year later a blue of 17 pounds destroyed it. Bent the handle over 45 degrees. And forced the spool to rub hard against the frame. Had to trash it. Blues have moxie.

 

 

 

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