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Posts Tagged ‘salt water’
Sunday, August 29th, 2010
It’s the fourth quarter, folks, and we’re now 75% done with our upper-east odyssey of fish, photography, road miles, fast food, and cheap motels.
Last week, Pete McDonald and I completed the third leg of content gathering for our impending collaborative book release. We started in Freeport, Maine on August 17th with Captain Eric Wallace who showed us a cross-section of his immense sand and mudlflat fishery in Casco Bay. We got to sight-cast to some serious stripers in skinny water, but the bright skies and temps in the mid-eighties had them acting a bit sulky. From there we ran down to Boston and spent a couple of days with Dave Skok and Rich Armstrong. Rich found some really nice fish that were blasting bait under birds in Boston Harbor, and Skok gave us a whirlwind tour of his shore fishing gig and fly-tying enclave. As you might guess from a guy that ties like a billion flies a year, Skok’s office looked like a desk and a vice neatly assembled inside a bombed-out poultry farm.
After Boston, we took the Woods Hole ferry over to Martha’s Vineyard to chase fish with Jamie Boyle. On that leg we got to see first-hand how well a giant hookless musky plug works as a bass and bluefish teaser. While Jamie worked them into a froth with the plug, we dropped flies into it’s wake and caught some honker fish. From the Vineyard, we ferried back to the mainland, drove to Hyannis, and took another ferry to Nantucket. There we met Shawn Bristow who parked us on a massive tidal rip where schools of bluefish up to 15 pounds were surfing down the face of a two-foot standing wave to eat our flies. The next morning, with weather threatening, Shawn parked us over a sandbar where schools of bonito were speeding around and eating sandeels (and flies that looked like sandeels).
On August 23rd, we ferried from Nantucket back to Hyannis as the first Nor’easter of the 2010 season slammed into Cape Cod. Our last two days were spent with Captain Jim Ellis in Barnstable and Corey Pietraszek in Newport, Rhode Island. Despite a driving rain and winds up to 30 knots, we did find a few fish working under birds, and once again I was glad that I had packed along the underwater housing.
In October, we’ll be wrapping up the shooting and interviews with a trip to Virginia, the Lower Chesapeake, and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. From there, we’ll start the tedious process of editing and designing a coffee table book that we’re getting seriously stoked-up about. Best guess for release is late summer of 2011. Jump on this mailing list if you’d like for us to keep you posted of our progress.
Here’s a selection from the shoot, click here to see the rest.
Scarecrows and welfare geese, Casco Bay, Maine
 
(L) Sunrise bass (R) Dave Skok wrapping a herring pattern
Birds, bass and bait
Sunset over Beantown
 
Scenes from Martha’s Vineyard (we couldn’t get within camera range of Obama, maybe because we were wearing buffs?)
Jamie Boyle with a not-small Vineyard bass
This place sells t-shirts, too
Shawn Bristow releasing a green meanie off Nantucket
I’m not exactly sure where the geographic dividing line of hatred is between Yankees and Red Sox fans, but there is one, and it makes the Texas/OU rivalry look like a girlie fight
Captain Jim Ellis: walk softly and carry a big fly box
 
(L) Captain Corey Pietraszek in Newport, Rhode Island (R) Storms-a-brewin
Tags: Barnstable, Bluefish, bonito, Boston Harbor, Cape Cod, fly fishing, Maine, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Newport, Rhode Island, salt water, Striped Bass, Stripers
Posted in Saltwater Fly Fishing | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
This entry is about the incredibly cool photos that I didn’t get
I’m normally neck-deep in redfish this time of year, and there’s typically a matter of protocol that goes along with that pursuit. When I arrive in Port Aransas each June, I first spend a few days fishing–just fishing. No cameras allowed. I have an infirmity for tailing, waking, and noodling redfish; but before I can get serious about photographing, I’ve got to stick hooks in a few of them. Sorry, but that’s how it goes. Why not just fish and keep the camera handy? I’ve tried that and it doesn’t work. It causes a prickly and unpleasant conflict between church and state.
I’m pleased to report that the protocol started off very well, this year. I had five days of glass calm, sunny skies, and perfect tides. I got all of the catching out of my system and I was gearing up for a week of serious photography…
But then Alex came calling. He pushed three feet of Starbucks-colored water onto the flats, kicked the wind up to sixty, and forced me indoors for the remainder of my redfish window.
So, in keeping with my obligation to provide you all with stirring content, each month, I’ve pulled a few favorite shots from my redfish archive to show you what I would have been shooting if Alex hadn’t trashed the protocol. Honestly, I’d like to blame the whole thing on that goofball Jim Cantore, but he’s only responsible for the spinning mass of hot air that comes from the Weather Channel, not the tropics.
This photo was NOT taken during Hurricane Alex
Neither was this one
New photo….(not)
From last year’s collection
A golden oldie
Tags: fly fishing, Port Aransas, redfish, salt water
Posted in Saltwater Fly Fishing | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
 
I try to avoid back-to-backers, whenever possible. Pack, depart, return, unpack, wash clothes, repack, depart, return. This time, however, it was unavoidable. The first trip involved the extremely busy schedules of nine people, and the second trip involved tarpon fishing dates that have been carved in stone since 1991. I shall now apologize to my wife, my kids, and my dog. By my calculation: some of you missed me terribly, some of you were pissed, and some of you barely noticed I was gone.
Private Vallarta
On the first leg, I had the pleasure of following and photographing a great group of anglers on a corporate getaway trip to Puerto Vallarta. The plan was to drag lures and baits for billfish, but the conditions for that gig were less than ideal. We had light winds and flat seas, but the water was a little cool and off-color. Despite the lack of large pelagics, there were plenty of dorado around, and the food, drink, staff, and accommodations were all top drawer. Thanks to Sprague Mullikin for pulling the trip together, and to Janice and Bob Carter for sharing their wonderful airplane, villa, boat, and crew.
 
Dang, I Love Tarpon
After three loads of laundry, I packed up again and flew to Key West for my annual tarpon sabbatical. My family is normally in tow on this one, but the school calendar tossed this year’s trip into disarray. The weather was phenomenal for four days running, and the tarpon swam by in droves. The big palolo worm hatches went off while I was there, and the tarpon were doing surface gainers to eat any fly that was orange and squiggly. Thanks to Albert Ponzoa for once again lining me up on a bunch of fish, and for taking the rod and getting sweaty so I could fire a few jumping frames.
Tags: dolphin, dorado, Florida Keys, fly fishing, Key West, mahi mahi, Mexico, Puerto Vallarta, salt water, tarpon, trolling
Posted in Saltwater Fishing, Saltwater Fly Fishing | 9 Comments »
Saturday, May 1st, 2010
Last week I traveled with Pete McDonald to Maryland and New Jersey for another round of fishing, shooting, and interviewing for the new book project.
We started the trip on the upper reaches of the Chesapeake (The Susquehana Flats) near Havre de Grace, MD. Captains Tom Hughes and Sean Crawford put us on piles of post-spawn stripers, but we never connected with the big mamoo that typifies their fishery in the spring.
From there we hoofed it to New Jersey and spent a couple of days with master fly-tyer (and really nice guy) Bob Popovics. Using his tricked-out beach van to carry our mountain of gear, we roamed the sands of Island Beach State Park looking for birds, bait, bass and bluefish. The weather was fantastic (maybe a bit too nice) and we got some great shots of Bob’s fly patterns in play.
For the final leg, we drove back to Maryland and spent a day with John Page Williams and Shawn Kimbro; two avid conservationist anglers that are doing great work on mantaining the fragile balance of fish, water quality, and hominids in the Chesapeake watershed.
In August, we’re planning to hit Maine, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and Rhode Island. In October, we’ll be wrapping up the project in Virginia and North Carolina. This book is coming together nicely, and our best guess for release is Summer 2011.
For continued updates, please join this mailing list. To see the entire shoot, please click here.
That Yaller-eyed Devil loves The Banger
 
(L) Dashboard bling (R) Bob Popovics wrapping and curing
One of Bob’s creations in play
Stripping streamers at daybreak
Logbook at Nick & Betty’s Tackle Shop – Seaside Park, NJ
Pete McDonald on The REAL Jersey Shore
In Maryland they call them “Rockfish”
The Judge’s Shack – Island Beach State Park
Sunset casting on the Susquehana Flats
Tags: Bluefish, Chesapeake Bay, fly fishing, Maryland, New Jersey, salt water, Striped Bass, Stripers
Posted in Saltwater Fly Fishing | 5 Comments »
Saturday, January 16th, 2010
After the New Year I got in a couple of Texas coastal duck hunts with my son, Blake, and friend Brad Smythe. I shot my first ducks around Rockport nearly forty years ago (damn I’m old), and until I reached my teens, I wasn’t even sure that ducks would land on fresh water. I’ve hunted them in lots of places, since then, but I always enjoy returning to the spot where I once had to stand on the boat seat to shoot coots off the water with a side-by .410.
We had exactly the fowl/foul weather that we needed to get the ducks moving, so instead of stacking away more cloudy-day shots with standard color levels, I decided to play around with Photoshop. Using high contrast, sepia layers, and vignettes, I came up with a variety of tones and saturations. Some were taken all the way down to grayscale, and in others I let a few of the highlight colors pop through. As much as I often lament the loss of our film culture, I do sometimes enjoy a little nerdlike post-processing.
If you’re needing shots for an upcoming article or promo, I’ve got a pile of duck hunting images in my online stock photo archive. I’ve also setup a cool (new to me) form of delivery using iDisk. High-res downloads are available within minutes, as long as I’m not too far from my desk. My keyword system is based on species, location, and action words; here are few sample phrases to get you started:
Sample Duck Hunting Keywords
duck hunting covers
pintail flying
hunter shooting ducks
duck hunter calling
lab retrieving duck
Texas coast duck hunting
In a couple of weeks I’ll be heading to New Orleans to fish/photograph bruiser marsh redfish with Captain Bryan Carter. Stay tuned for some cool, new views.
 
Tags: duck hunting, ducks, hunting dogs, salt water, Texas
Posted in Waterfowl Hunting | 2 Comments »
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
Last week I traveled to the Northeast to shoot the first leg of a new book project. Over the next year, I’ll be working with writer Pete McDonald to produce a large-format pictorial (that’s a pitcher book for you Oklahomans) on the ravenous and eclectic fly fishing culture of striped bass, bluefish, false albacore, and other hard-pulling, bait-crashing, surf-busting species. We knew the weather would be suspect this time of year, but we were still hoping for more sunny days than not. That didn’t happen.
It was raining when I flew into Laguardia and it was raining when I left. It also rained in between…a lot. We did have one nice sunny day, but the rest of the time it rained…a lot. We also had wind from every point on the compass, and we lost an entire fishing/shooting day when the seas climbed to eight feet and the beach sand blew at paint-peeling velocity. Despite the conditions, we made do and got all of our bad weather photographs out of the way. This trip forced me to scheme and finagle, and my underwater housing came in particularly handy on the last day when the driving rain would have otherwise made shooting impossible.
The second installment of this project has not been scheduled, but it looks like we’ll be heading back up there sometime this spring. Our plan is to follow the fish in a circuitous route from Maine to the Carolinas. This book will eventually arise under my Departure Publishing imprint. Hop on that mailing list if you’d like to keep abreast of our progress.
A big thanks to everyone that helped us out on the shoot: Paul Dixon, Jason Puris, and Jim Levison in Montauk. John McMurray in Jamaica Bay. Captain Mike Warecke in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, and The Salty Fly Rodders of New York out at Breezy Point.
Here are a few selections to get you started. If you’d like to see the entire shoot, please click here.
Victory among the rocks at Breezy Point
Underwater striper near the Connecticut River
 
Good place for chowder after a day of taking waves in the face
Birds over bait near Montauk Point
Bluefish gnashers (and goo)
Postcard weather at Jamaica Bay
Tupperware?
Stripping for stripers
A schoolie in the surf
Obligatory fall color shot
Tags: Bluefish, Breezy Point, Connecticut, fly fishing, Jamaica Bay, Montauk, New York, salt water, Striped Bass, Stripers
Posted in Saltwater Fly Fishing | 3 Comments »
Friday, September 4th, 2009
In August I tagged along during the Texas Legends Billfish Tournament on a boat called Catchin’ Up out of Port Aransas. Being that this was a money tournament, and because the money fish in Texas live a long dang way from the dock, we packed along our toothbrushes and called it a 260-mile roundtrip sleepover.
We were blessed with glorious weather during the days. But at night—when we needed to sleep? Not so much. From dusk to dawn, both nights, we had 4-5 footers running one direction and a 15-knot current running the other. Even with our chute deployed, we could never get the boat to turn completely downsea. Beyond that minor inconvenience (hurl) we ate well, the boat was fabulous, the BS level was quality, and we caught a few fish, to boot.
About 4am on our our first night, Bob Johnson was keeping watch when a juvenile broadbill snacked on one of the light stick rigs. A 50-pounder had won the swordfish pot the year before so we were hopeful that this one might also qualify. At noon the next day we put a wahoo in the box, and later we had a brief fight with a money fish. It wasn’t a huge blue, but a marlin release would have racked up some needed points. We had her on for about six jumps (during which I fired one frame) and then she was off.
When we got back to the dock we learned that we were no more wealthy than when we left. A 145-pound broadbill won that pot, and one of the boats had released 4 billfish. Thanks to Hank, Bob, Bucky, Hobbs, and Mickey for letting me hang out and shoot some pics.
Click here to see the full photo spread.
Captain Bucky Bonner watching the spread
Sunset 130 miles from the dock
Bob Johnson setting rods at daybreak
My one image of a greyhounding pile of cash
Port Aransas locals watching the weigh-in
Tags: billfish, blue marlin, broadbill, deepsea, Gulf of Mexico, offshore, Port Aransas, salt water, swordfish, tournament, trolling
Posted in Saltwater Fishing | 1 Comment »
Sunday, July 5th, 2009
Key West
This was our seventeenth year (parents, siblings, kids, et al) with the same dates, same guides, and undoubtedly some of the same tarpon. In some years we’ve hit it perfectly (late May/early June) and in other years the planets were mis-aligned. We had some goofy west winds and poor visibility that hindered a few days, this year, but the tarpon performed on cue when the conditions were right. Click here to see a few shots from this year’s Key West Trip.
These are Redfish
At the end of June, the wife/kids and I arrived in Port Aransas for our annual redfish sabbatical. For six straight days we had glass calm flats that were covered with tailing fish. And then, by divine coincidence, the blasting winds arrived right alongside the annual migration of July 4th revelers. As I sit typing this report, the ferries are carrying those crowds away and the winds are forecast to lay again by Tuesday. Click here for a sampling of what I’ve shot, so far.
Need Upland Bird Images?
This month I’m featuring images from my upland bird hunting archive. If you need shots of pointing dogs, prairie hunters or flushing birds, I’ve got a large selection of images From Montana to the Texas Brush Country.
Coming Up
Later this month I’ll be putting the rods away for a quick assignment shoot for one of the outdoor television networks. By some miracle they’ve managed to gather their entire fall talent lineup into a single location for a two-day media event. I’m glad I wasn’t the one in charge of scheduling that one. The shots will be a mix of candids and stages that will be used for their 2009-10 ad campaigns. Check back next month to see the images from that shoot.
All of these shots are available (really big) by FTP delivery and I can usually get them to you within minutes as long as I’m not too far from my desk. Stock usage rates are priced on request.
Drop in and have a look…
Tags: Florida, Florida Keys, fly fishing, kayak, Key West, Port Aransas, quail hunting, redfish, salt water, tarpon, Texas, upland birds
Posted in Saltwater Fly Fishing, Upland Bird Hunting | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
One can never be too careful during a global health crisis…
Last month I ignored the media’s warnings of Imminent Death by Pig and traveled to the Yucatan with friend/publisher Tom Bie. We were on a mission for Playa Blanca lodge to explore their backcountry waters via kayak and canoe. For six days we paddled, portaged and picked our way through an immense and elaborate maze of mangrove flats, creeks, lagoons and swamps. Instead of including a bunch of mundane rhetoric, I’ll let the following photo sample tell the tale. Look for some of these shots and an accompanying story in a future issue of The Drake. To see the full photo spread, click here.
Tags: bonefish, fly fishing, Mexico, Playa Blanca Lodge, salt water, snook, tarpon, Yucatan
Posted in Saltwater Fly Fishing | 1 Comment »
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