Got Enough Gear with You?

Posted on January 18, 2025 by Ed Mitchell

Got Enough Gear with You?

The other day, I came across a photo of Harold Gibbs. Don’t know him? Gibbs is widely thought of as the father of striped bass fishing in the Northeast. I wrote an article on him for Fly Fishing in Saltwater  in 2007. He was hot and heavy into it way back. In 1943 he caught 300 stripers on a fly rod and convinced Orvis to make what is believed to be the first fly rod ever specifically for the salt. It was a 9 foot bamboo rod to throw a GAF line (9 wt). Famed rod master Wes Jordan built it.

So I’m looking at Harold Gibbs when wham it hits me. What no damn hat?  No neck gaiter? What no polarized sunglasses? No foul weather jacket? No fingerless sun gloves? No vest with 38 pockets? No chest pack? No sling pack? No fanny pack? Gibbs where the freak are all your fly boxes back at the house? Where is your stripping basket? Give me a break Harold, a Medalist 1498? Where the hell is your CNC reel machined from solid aircraft grade aluminum? No large arbor, no hermetically sealed ball bearing, and no disc drag? A cane rod, without a fighting butt? Dude, where on earth is your high-modulus, high-performance, super-fast, $1000 rod?  You can’t catch fish like that?

Posted in Fly Fishing in Salt Water, Gear | Leave a comment

The Magnificent Frigate

Posted on January 16, 2025 by Ed Mitchell

The Magnificent Frigate

I’m not a serious “birder” yet I do like watching them over the water. Here in New England the biggest and wildest of the bunch has to be the Northern Gannet. Totally amazing. And their presence marks the arrival of Atlantic Sea herring and one of your best shots at a monster striped bass. That said, in the seven years I spent on the Florida’s Gulf Coast, I saw more birds and more variety than I had ever seen in New England. And the biggest and craziest of those winged critters has to be the Magnificent Frigate.

Honestly, I didn’t know anything about them until one day out on the flats I happened to peer skyward. Hanging high above me on boomerang shaped wings, was the largest bird I had ever seen, remaining effortless aloft. Enormous, huge. With only a wide-angle lens with me, I grab a shot to study later.

Back at home I searched through my copy of  Peter Harrison’s excellent book Seabirds. It didn’t take long to narrow it down to the Magnificent Frigate. Harrison reports the Magnificent Frigate has a wing span of up to 8 feet, and can neither walk or swim, resting only in trees. That got me digging for more online. Turns out Frigates eat, mate, and sleep on the wing – sometimes staying airborne at sea for months at a time. Incredible. About 6 months later I heard there was a Frigate rookery near me in Pine Island Sound between Pine Island and Captiva. I launched their several times hoping to see it.

 

 

Posted in Environment, Looking Upward, Wild Things | Leave a comment

Captains for Clean Water

Posted on January 11, 2025 by Ed Mitchell

Captains for Clean Water

Bought a new hat. Did I need another one? Not on your life. No, I got this for a special reason. Have you noticed that fishing isn’t getting better these days? Damn. Its true pretty much no matter where you go. Why is that? Too much pollution? Too much habitat destruction? Bad fisheries management? Too little political attention? Too much angling pressure? And now climate change? Or is it all of the above? Folks we have to gang together and support any and every effort to reverse those nasty trends. That’s why the new hat.

 

Captains for Clean Waters is a wonderful conservation group in Florida. Here is what they have to say. ” Captains For Clean Water is a grassroots 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that fights to restore and protect our water resources. In 2016, we started as a couple fishing guides that had “had enough” of Florida’s poor water management practices devastating the estuaries we rely on. We were convinced that if everyone knew about the issues, they would’ve been fixed long ago. The solution is known, but has been delayed for decades due to lack of political will and public awareness. So, we set out to change that.” Roger that !

Posted in Environment, Fly Fishing in Salt Water | Leave a comment

Evening Light for Tailing Reds

Posted on January 10, 2025 by Ed Mitchell

Evening Light for Tailing Reds

The tide is down, the light is down, the wind is down and – your hopes are up.  Time to hunt for tailing reds

Posted in Fly Fishing in Salt Water | Leave a comment

Mark’s Girdle Bugs

Posted on January 7, 2025 by Ed Mitchell

Mark’s Girdle Bugs

Awhile back, as a birthday gift, Mark Lewchik gave me some of his great girdle bugs. Man, they are fantastic. Far better than the ones I tie. Everything is right on target.  I mean it. The head, the placement of the legs, the high gloss wing case. Some even have an extended body increasing their life-like look. Hell, if I dropped one of them in your kitchen you ‘d grab a can of Raid!   (This specific pattern is known as Pat’s Rubber Leg Stonefly)

 

Posted in Flies and Fly Tying | 2 Comments