2010 Year In Review Part 2

Over the last year several CP customers caught some pretty nice fish on our trips. Here's a few more:

Sean Furlong with a massive Cubera Snapper. This fish was not caught off a reef! It was hooked and landed on Sean's Tarpon rig (and fly) up high on a flat in just a couple of feet of water.

If you've caught decent sized Cubera before you know this thing is awesome! This fish is almost impossible to land on light tackle fly. Lucky for us, and Sean, the old devil made a few mistakes.

Darren Soice with a very nice Florida Keys Permit. And in a cold front too!

Curtis Bartlett with a fairly large Tarpon. Any larger and Curt would be having hernia surgery right now. Note the fatigued grimace on the angler. God, Tarpon are fun!

Caitlin Gifford and a fairly hefty Bonefish. This fish was slightly more hungry than the 20 lb. Permit it was following. Two and a half seconds where the guide and I thought she had caught her first Permit, followed by "f^%$%ing Bonefish". However, this fish is no slouch.

And I got to share a skiff with my kid for a week, not a common occurrence anymore.

Chad Dillabough releasing a very nice Tarpon. Note the width across the back (on the fish, not Chad). This guy is an absolute Tarpon hound. I thought I was bad, Chad is absolutely obsessed!

ONLY A FEW DAYS LEFT!!!

The CP Fly Tying sale has been busy, lots of fly tying stuff heading out.

30% OFF Everything Fly Tying. Materials, Tools, Everything!

Like all good things, this too will come to an end.

This sale only runs through Saturday, December 4 so if you

need to stock up on supplies now's the time!

Getting Ready To Travel-Maintenance Kit

Over the next while we'll have a number of posts to help you out (hopefully) getting ready or that big fishing adventure abroad. Tips on what and what not to take, packing, you name it.

The first covers a maintenance kit. When you're out and about fishing around the world it's pretty tough to run down to your favourite fly shop to get something tweaked, tuned, or fixed. So it's a good idea to carry a kit with you just in case.

You don't need to go hog wild and carry a portable fly shop but a few key things may mean the difference whether your trip gets affected. The items I list are what I've come to want at some time over twenty some years of fishing travel.

First thing is storage. I put everything in a Pelican 1060 case. Fits everything I need but small enough to conveniently go in my travel duffel and then my boat bag. Now for what goes in it:

- Zap Gel... Great for that quick, on the spot repair. Nice thing about the gel is it goes where you want it and doesn't run everywhere. Make sure never to use Zap or Krazy glue on mono, it severely weakens.

- Line Cleaning Kit...lines get sticky, especially in the salt. A quick cleaning every couple of days makes your life a lot easier.

- Lubrication Kit...includes synthetic grease for things like engagement pawls (ie: Tibor reels), synthetic oil is a must for that cork drag that gets finicky, and cleaning items like q-tips.

- Spare rod tip tops... break the last 3 inches off the rod, don't have these, you're screwed.

- Tools for reels... Most of the best sealed drag reels don't have much that can go wrong but if you have a certain reel that requires a tool to work on it, carry that tool.

- Spare reel handle and hardware...you can order these from your reel dealer for whichever reels you carry.

- Eyeglass repair kit...Canadian Tire has these up by the checkout all the time and cost about $2. Contains sunglass/eyeglass parts with a little screwdriver. Has every size little screw known to man. I've made use of this kit for sunglasses and a whole bunch of other repairs. Very handy!

-Nail Knot Tool... never know when you might need a nail knot. Repairing a fly line loop, etc.

-Ferrule wax... that rod tip keep coming loose? A little wax will help.

- Aquaseal...fixes so many things.

- UV wader repair and UV light... Need a super quick fix on waders? Got a small rip in your flats boots? This will fix it.

- Scrub brush...actually an old tooth brush. Seems silly but works great for cleaning out hard to get places. Get sand in your reel? This will fix you up.

- Everything packs up neat into the waterproof case for your trip.

Got any ideas we might of missed? Send us a note.

2010 Year In Review

Over the last year several CP customers caught some pretty nice fish on our trips. Just a quick "grip and grin" salute to them.

We had quite a number of customers achieve a Grand Slam in 2010. Some their first, some not.

A Grand Slam is when an angler catches 3 species consisting of a Permit, a Tarpon, a Bonefish, Snook, or Mutton Snapper in the same day ( I know, most of you know that, but some don't).

Here are a few (most photos of the Permit, that's the hard one!)

John Bonin with the Permit from one of his Grand Slams. I think this was also a Super Slam (Permit, Bonefish, tarpon, and Snook in the same day)

Mike Schaalje, not his first Permit hooked but first landed.

Dave Addie....Dave actually hooks more Permit than any six anglers, it's amazing. Only problem is he is continuously figuring out new ways for them to come unbuttoned.

Greg Moffat's first Permit and GS. He was a little happy, calling me on the skiff radio to tell me all about it.

Steve Doolan with his first Permit and Grand Slam. He caught this fish within a half hour of Greg Moffat, his skiff partner catching a Permit. Not bad for a morning.

Eugen Helzl, the Austrian fishin' machine.

Dave Pryce, not his first Permit but his first GS. I got to watch this one, he was my skiff partner. I like to watch!

Sean Furlong giving us his "No Big Deal, Is my shirt pressed?, How's my hair?" look.

It was pretty cool being around for all of these. The "first time Permit" were great, the grins never get old.

There was a whole bunch of other cool stuff that went on around the world on our trips in 201o. we'll have more coming.

As seen through the eyes.....

The contrasts of Tarpon....

The highlights of Turtle Grass.....

Anatomy we don't look always look at......

Bringing out the fall colours in a fall Buck.....

HUGE FLY TYING SALE!

Everything Fly Tying is on sale for a limited time.

30% OFF everything in the fly tying department.

Only for a limited time on in stock items , stock up for tying season

and save some money at the same time.

New Book Review

Just a few weeks ago, we received the first copies of the new book, Babine - A 50 Year Celebration of a World Renowned Steelhead and Trout River written by Pierce Clegg and Peter McMullan.

It's taken me a little while to get to reading it, mainly due to the fact I was on the Babine fishing, and the book certainly exceeds my expectations.

For those of who have been to this one of a kind place, the book expands on stories and history we've heard about during our visits, as well as reminds us once again of all the wonderful things the Babine offers us. Not a "grip and grin" focus, the book speaks to the long history of the river and Babine Norlakes Lodge.

Don't think this book is just for those who fish there. It will entertain and impress even those who don't chase Steelhead. But beware, after reading it you might be checking to see if you can sneak into one of the few open spots during the fall season.

Here's a short overview of the book from the Babine Norlakes Lodge website:

"This book brings to life more than 50 years in the history of the Babine River, one of the most famous of all British Columbia's highly regarded sports fishing destinations.

The idea for the book was sealed with a handshake on the bank of the river with the two men agreeing from the outset that the story of the Babine had to be something more that just another 'how to catch them, where to fish' manual. To achieve this goal they listened to and now present the voices and images of a large and distinguished cast of Babine fishermen.

Contributors include Joy (Madsen) Jenkins, widow of Ejnar Madsen, the pioneering lodge owner who left Denmark for Canada in 1952 when he was 26. The following year Ejnar was working for Mac Anderson, another pioneering visionary whose dream it was to see Norlakes, and its even now remote wilderness setting, recognized as an internationally famous destination for discerning rainbow trout and steelhead anglers. Within a matter of a few years Ejnar and his first partners had bought Norlakes and he had married Joy, then just out of high school. Together they raised their family of two sons and a daughter and welcomed their Babine guests until Ejnar s death in 1983. Three years later the Madsens decided to sell the property and Norlakes continued to build its reputation under new owners, the Cleggs. The ensuing quarter century has given Pierce Clegg a unique view of the fishery and of the entire Babine watershed, one that has led him to become a dedicated and often vocal champion of its fish and wildlife and indeed of its entire ecosystem."

Now in stock at Country Pleasures. Oh, and another thing, Pierce and Peter are donating all their royalties to the Babine Watershed Monitoring Trust

Whose been fishing??

Not you, I hope. But we'll admit this was in a slightly warmer part of the country...


After far too many hours on the road, we arrived in steelhead country as the sun dropped out of the sky like someone flicked the switch. Every single beam of light illuminating the scenery disappeared in a matter of minutes, oh the good ole north. Our fishing would have to wait for morning.
Ten hours, a full belly of Storks Nest breakfast, and five layers later we headed to the river with a plan. Spot #1 was taken, a shame since it looked great so we headed to #2, a short walk and we came upon a beauty of a run (and it had a log jam!!- I only catch fish near log jams.)
As a true gentleman should do, Brent let me lead through the run but it didn't last long. I have a nasty habit of taking my sweet time, I don't want to miss anything! It wasn't long before Brent leap-frogged in front of me (with my consent, of course.)
It wasn't a great cast, or even a decent cast- like the one before it and the many before that, it sucked! It had been a full year since I cast a spey rod and it was taking some getting used to. The swing on the other hand, was perfect and there was no question when he ate and certainly less when he peeled off a few turns of backing.
Due to the fabulous skills of my personal fish photographer I was able to get a shot of my second steelhead to hand. Not as big as numero one but just as special in every way. A beautiful fish, another river on the list and a great day.

The fly that tamed the beast? Idylwilde's Bruiser.

(For the record, I took the afternoon off feeling like my day was complete and let Brent land three pretty hens.)
More stories from our trip up north to come, stay tuned!

How to make them a very happy angler on Christmas Day

Here are some of our top selling Christmas Gifts, sure to make them grin.

Simms Early Riser Mugs $29.95
Also Available in Stocking Stuffer Edition includes:fly selection, leader and tippet, floatant and more $44.95

Patagonia Island Hopper Shirts: Island hopping the Caribbean or hopping around the snow mounds? $74.00



Sage VXP: Versatile, lighter and smoother for less $
A reinvention of the XP $535
...more to come, keep an eye out!

Country Pleasures Gift Registry

Some of you might not know, but CP has had a gift registry for some time now.

Heres how it works, let us know what your wish list items are, we record in the registry, and friends and family can come in to the shop and see exactly what your "must have" goodies are.

There are several ways to figure out what stuff you want, but don't have, you can check out items on the online store at http://www.countrypleasures.com/store/ or drop in to the shop.

You can then send us an e-mail or tell us in person what you'd like for Christmas, Birthday, etc. and we'll put it in the registry for you.

The registry also makes it very easy for the family and friends who don't fly fish to get you the gift you'll actually use.

Steelhead Camp

Halloween On The Babine from Mike Gifford on Vimeo.

Tying in the shitty weather

Been refilling my Steelhead boxes after the Babine trip. Tying a bunch of Peach and Pink variations (going to the Yakoun on Boxing Day). A little different, we use a lot of black on the Babine.

Double Egg Peach Intruder
A new Prawn pattern I've been working on. Looks cool, hope they eat it!

One side of the box is full again. Kind of got cleaned out in October.

The Hoh Bo Spey. Did some of these in new colors like Peach, Pink, and Cerise. I'll post some photos later. Did I mention they eat the s$#@ out of this bug!

Pair of Intruders, one pink, one peach/orange.

More Digital Messing with Nature

Wonders of Digital Photography

A few altered photos taken this year. Kind of a different look on nature.




Playing god with Aperture........

Babine Photos 4

A nice bright Hen.

Morning Mist.

Fat!