Reno Fly Shop Closing

This past weekend we had a little going out of business party and inventory sale at the Reno Fly shop. It was a great gathering of local patrons, fly club members and Reno Fly Shop Staff. Sad to see Dave closing the doors after many many years of serving the fly fishing community of the greater Reno area. The Reno Fly shop will be greatly missed. Dave is going to continue to run the guide service and keep up with monthly fishing reports for the area. So stay tuned.

Darren Elmore holding down the fly bins so they didn't blow away with all the change in the air.
Tim Haddon, Jason Shields, Justin Olson, Dan LaCount and Matt Heron.
Stefan McLeod was one of the key components in helping organize this great event. He's the Truckee Trout Unlimited Chapter president and a heck of a fly fisherman. Way to go Stefan on getting all the food and beer donated!
The shop ended up having a good day at the register. Nice to see the local support. I helped clean out some of the fly tying materials.
Me, Dave Stanley and Andy Burk.
Doug, Matt, Keith, Justin, Tim, Andy, Dan, Dave and Kate.

And there you have it. Go buy some stuff from Dave if you can make it down there before the end of the month. Then it's good by forever to the Reno Fly shop.

Stand Up Paddle Board Fly Fishing

This past summer i started experimenting with stand up paddle board fly fishing. It's now one of my favorite ways to access the water. Here's a few shots of my friends Jon Slyvich stand up paddle board fishing and surfing in the Lower Mokelumne River this past fall.

Hooked up.
Positioning is tough with a rod and paddle. I've found the best thing to do is strap a milk crate to your board. You can store your gear in there and then use it for a stripping basket while you fish. Another good innovation for fishing is a paddle strap. That way you can sling it behind you while you fish and get at it quick to make adjustments to your position. It's very hard to do in a current situation. You need to be fast and precise.
In between fishing sessions it's fun to surf the little waves in the river. The board can also be a great way to get down most rivers without launching a raft or boat. The cheap foam top boards work best for the rivers. You don't need to worry about bumping rocks and they are very light and easy for one person to deal with and even place on top of a truck or car.

BURL Owl sighting.

The symbol i use in some of my BURL Productions logos is an ancient indian pictograph that my brother and i spotted in the canyon of the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho when we were teen agers. This past summer Jenny Hatch of Cal Trout made that epic 100 mile rafting journey. Before the trip I told her the story of that experience for my brother and i and how the Burl Owl symbol came to be. Along her way, Jenny spotted the same cave drawing and snapped a photo of it. This is the original BURL Owl. I'm not sure what it meant to the ancient hunters but it came to be a symbol of brother hood and friendship for me and some of my oldest friends. Nice spot Jenny!

Creek Exploration.

These are some summer shots of exploring a remote and seldom seen by people section of an Apline County creek with my friend and fellow film maker Kyle Schwartz.

Nothing but some small animal paths to follow in this decent into a remote canyon.
Kyle surveying the low water for any signs of fish.
We came across an old bridge built for an old flume from the early gold and silver mining days of Alpine County. The date on this bridge footing was 1925.
Neat old rock work.
Kyle casts to a productive looking run.
Another beautiful and unspoiled pool.

SOULFISH 2, FISH MODE.

SOULFISH 2, FISH MODE from Mikey Wier on Vimeo.

After many long hours of editing I've got a little trailer done up for SOULFISH 2. It's going to be a great flick. Ok, back to work for me. Many hours of work still to be done.

Hawaiian Bonefish with Duffer

As some people may or may not know, the Hawaiian Islands are home to some of the biggest bonefish in the world. The island of Oahu has some of the best flats to try and sight fish to these giant fish that can reach over 15 pounds. Unfortunately Oahu also has the highest population of people out of any of the islands. So many of these flats could be considered urban due to the amount of traffic they see. These fish are big smart thugs that have ruled these small flats for many years. They are not easy to catch. But when you do, it can be a fish of a lifetime. When Coach Duff gave me a call and invited me over to chase around these trophy bonefish with him, i knew i shouldn't miss this opportunity to get a true trophy Pacific bonefish on film. Big thanks to Coach Duff's Hawaiian Bonefishing as well as Blake McHenery and Brent Dawson for a fun week.

I arrived in Hawaii on Veterans day. The air was thick with pride for our county and I could feel the heritage that Oahu has played in serving our armed forces. Coach Duff is a retired Marine who severed our country for many years. After several tours with 2ed Force Recon in Somalia and the Middle East, Duff has seen more than most folks could ever imagine. His life story reads like a movie script for an action hero. These days Duff is a family man and a dedicated fly fishing guide. I was honored to spend some days with him listening to his stories and stalking these magnificent bone fish. Because of his stent in the Armed Forces, Duff has special clearance to launch on and fish near the military bases on the island. This flat is near the famous airstrip that was attacked during the raid on Pearl Harbor. As we drove by the buildings that still brandished bullet holes from the 50 cal machine guns I felt a cretin feeling of country that one only gets when in the presence of something much greater than themselves. I was proud to be in the Truck with someone who had fought so hard for the ideals we believe in and helped preserve the lifestyle i get to enjoy.
While walking the flats near Hickman i looked down in the sand and noticed a ring sitting there. I picked it up to check it out. It was a titanium wedding band. No doubt it had probably belonged to a solider. I slipped it on. It fit perfectly on my ring finger. I could feel it had energy. Someone else's energy. I began to speculate how it got there. If some happy swimmer dropped it or if some pissed off Solider threw it out there. Either way i felt like Froto taking on the burden of this ring. i quickly took it off and put it in my pocket. I removed it from the Ocean but left it in Hawaii where it belonged. I just simply didn't have time to take it to the volcano and destroy it. We had fish to chase!
A nice tailing bonefish on a calm hawaiian morning. At one point the rest of the crew was off a ways away and i stayed behind to film some swimming crabs. All of a sudden i was sourounded by 3 huge fish tailing right next to me. Unfortunately i didn't have a rod with me. I was armed with only a camera. It reminded me of the wild Turkey's back home. When your just out for a walk or hanging out in the yard, they come right up to you. But as soon as you get a weapon your intentions change. All of a sudden the Turkey's split. Just like a herd of Gazelle can sense when the lions are hungry , so do the bonefish sense your intentions.
Coach Duff with a nice fish. Not easy to catch buy very rewarding when you do.

B.C. Photo Essay

Fresh home from a little excursion to Terrace British Colombia. I went with pro snowboarder Eric Jackson and we met up with April Vokey. The three of us fished for five days with Nicholas Dean Lodge head Guide Dustin Kovacvich and Guide Sky Richard. Big thanks to Chad Black for helping set everything up.

Sky with a nice one. Sky is a master steelheader on the swing. He's never used split shot or indicators.
E-Jack swinging the big stick.
Sky with another beauty.
April is the real deal. She's intelligent, funny and a dedicated angler. Being beautiful is just one of her many great attributes.
Mossy trippy land.
Dustin and E-Jack shootn the shit on the rocks.
April concentrating on her swing.
Ohh Yeahhh, there's lots of nice steelhead around here.
Sky with yet another nice fish.
Even I got in on the action. Nice hen on the last day.
April with a respectable fish.
Fish 2 for april out of this pool.
Fish 3 for this pool.
Eric with a nice little buck.
April Sky and Eric getting ready to fang the white water.
Dustin and I with a fun little buddy.
Tying back in the hotel.
More hotel Jam sessions.
Fun crew for a fun week. Wish i didn't have to leave. Canada is awesome!

See more of our adventures in SOULFISH 2, coming soon.

Truckee Cutthroat Classic

On the 23 and 24 of Oct, Dave Lass and I competed in the first annual Truckee River Cutthroat Classic tournament held in the NV section of the Truckee River. The event was sponsored by Trout Unlimited and Patagonia and organized by long time friend and Patagonia worker Kevin Weddel. There were 8 two man teams. The rules called for 2 8 hour days of fishing on assigned beats. The team with the most total combined inches of trout after the two days won. There was also a Truckee Slam award for teams catching all 4 major species of game fish in the Truckee. Brown Trout, Rainbow, Lahotan Cutthroat and white fish. Justin Olson of the Reno Fly shop and Mike Sexton of team USA placed first with over 900 inches of fish! Mike put a hurt on the Truckee like no one had ever seen. Dave and i pulled second with just under 300 inches worth of fish. Dave also got the grand slam!

Dave Lass and I with A nice Truckee river rainbow i pulled in during the tournament. My first fish of the weekend was a nice fat TR Brown but he did the deal on me, got down river and popped off. This 19 inch bow ended up being out best fish landed. They are all such beautiful fish down there.

Truckee River Day 10-17-2010

On Sunday the 17th of Oct over 80 volunteers gathered together on the little truckee river to celebrate river day. In a joint effort organized by Trout Unlimited, Cal Trout and the Truckee Water shed council, volunteers helped to close and restore an illegal OHV trail on the LT.

Volunteers working to restore the trail.
So many great people showed up that it only took a few hours to complete the project.
Dave Lass of Trout Unlimited helping head up the operation.
Big thanks to everyone who came out to support the efforts.

Egypt Teaser

Fly Fishing Egypt from Mikey Wier on Vimeo.

Check out this little promo short i put together for William Joseph for helping sponsor Brent and I's trip to Egypt. Much more to come in the upcoming release of SOULFISH 2. Check out all some of the new line at www.willamjoseph.net.

California Green Rush

California Green Rush from Mikey Wier on Vimeo.

Tahoe Fly Fishing Guides Day

Every year around the end of the season we have a guide appreciation day at the Tahoe Fly Fishing outfitters. This years outing was on the Sirrini Ranch on the California Nevada state line section of the East Walker River. We fished, bbq'd burgers, drank beers and shot some guns. Now that's a fun day with good friends.

Jon Copeland getting that rod bent.
Jon releases a nice rainbow in the scenic waters of the Walker.
Jon was the MVP of the morning session with several nice rainbows and browns.
Mike Curtis nymphing a run.

Mike C releasing a nice bow.

With so many good anglers on the water fishing nypmhs and streamers, i figured i'd hold it down with the dry. I've been fishing a 7 foot bamboo rod that Dave Stanley of the Reno Fly shop lent me for the 50's shoot. It's a super fun little set up for classic up stream dry fly fishing. Flows were a bit high on the river and now ideal dry fly conditions. Still managed to get a few grabs on the surface. This was my fish of the day. Nice fat brown on the dry, 5x and classic bamboo. What a take and fun fight.

The Tahoe Fly Fishing Outfitters crew. Peter, Victor Babbit, Mike Curtis, Jon Copeland, Brendon Burnside, Dan Cockrum, Jared Beer and Mikey Wier