Trout Unlimited goes Locals Care
June 09, 2008
What this means to you.
If you have a Locals Care card, you've probably seen how this organization has helped local charities. The organization has generated thousands of dollars for charities of all kinds through the participation of merchants like the fly shops, restaurants, and other service providers.
Trout Unlimited can now benefit from this arrangement. Let's say you sign up for Locals Care and choose TU as your charity. You buy a 600.00 fly rod (both The Reel Life and High Desert Angler are Locals Care merchants) and whip out your Locals Care card. Once the card is swiped, up to 24.00 goes to TU for its good work protecting and restoring New Mexico's trout waters. Another 24.00 goes to your Locals Care card, money you can redeem at any Locals Care merchant. In other words, you can buy your rod and later use your rewards on a dinner at Pranzo. And TU gets to save more Rio Grande cutthroat trout. In all this, you haven't spent a dime; Locals Care merchants have. Talk about a winner.
I'd like to remind you also to sign the petition to switch the administration of various Game and Fish lands to the State Department of Parks, creating the Pecos Canyon State Park. What this would do is make places like the Mora Creek "campground" into a managed entity instead of the dump it is now. It's a move that I think will leave our heavily used river in a cleaner, less abused state. Heck, if there were only regularly emptied trash barrels, we'd all be better for it. Your fly shops will have petitions to sign, or contact the Upper Pecos Watershed Alliance for more information.
Nice clothes at up to 60% off
April 30, 2008
And Beezy goes big time!
Come check out the leftovers of our winter season; we have some Simms products at 20% off and some Columbia bargains at 60%.
We're also getting ready for the upcoming stonefly hatches, with some basic but new nymph patterns for the Pecos and Guadalupe hatches.
Basically though, no one's talking about anything besides our Ed Miller showing up in Southwest Fly Fishing magazine in an article about fishing the Chama below Abiquiu. His Eddy's Old School fly is featured as well. Check it out while he's still humble enough to talk to us.
More Travel Discounts
April 22, 2008
Mongolia will never be this easy again.
We've reduced the price on our Mongolia trip to $5,000.00, making this trip as affordable as many worldwide travel options with sexier reputations. Contrary to trips to Alaska, B.C., or Russia, the logistics of a Mongolia trip are truly Herculean. In other words, this discount is really a discount; corners will not be cut, just the price. And it's a full two weeks! While not entirely a fishing expedition, this is nothing short of pure adventure. Time is running out.
In other news, runoff has finally hit us in a no going back way. The Pecos is up to 175 cfs and will probably keep rising for another month at least.
Travel Discounts
March 03, 2008
Good Just Got Better
Please note the following price reductions on trips at The Reel Life.
Ohio just went down to 1000.00. This trip was a steal to begin with and is now sinful to pass up.
All California anglers will get the double occupancy rate now, which is 1,450.00.
All Mexico packages are now 1,300.00, down from 1,550.00. That's six days of fishing for bones, tarpon, and permit for 1,300.00.
Runoff
February 25, 2008
What's a flyfisherman to do?
It's been a wonderfully snowy winter all over the west, which bodes well for the summer. If we can just get through runoff, when the streams we're jonesing for will be at their murderous worst. You can go for different species, but that trip for Texas reds will take care of only five days; what about when you get home?
We actually have some great lake fishing in our area. Santa Cruz Lake has some enormous browns and rainbows that go bonkers after the snow melts. Heron's good, El Vado, Abiquiu, and Cochiti. Nice to have a boat, but you can find plenty of good fishing in the coves of these lakes. The Jemez streams should become fishable before everything else. Certainly not lunker water or big, but small stream work is the best kind of warmup there is for the challenges of fishing bigger water in the summer.
Garage Sale Will Be Off The Hook
February 14, 2008
So Will Our Trips to Mexico and Alaska!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
So far, we have gathered quite an array of used and very usable flyfishing gear. We've seen Hardy reels, Orvis, Sage, Fisher, Scott, and Winston rods, tons of flies and lines, a spey rod, and lots of tying gear. We've also been getting lots of excited calls, which suggests that opening day should see a great depletion in our offerings (though new stuff comes in every day). Pete Romero will be here showing off his state record rainbow, much of our womens apparel will be up to 60% off, and we will be drawing the name of our 750.00 shopping spree winner (February 28). Don't miss it.
Also, in case you don't know about it, the Truchas Chapter of Trout Unlimited will be holding its annual banquet on March 1 at 6:00 pm at the Hilton Hotel downtown. The featured speaker is the world's foremost trout biologist Robert Behnke, and there will be tons of fun items to bid on and win. I'm hoping I win the raffle, trip to Vermejo.
Finally, I don't think anyone understands yet how incredible the prices are on our trips to fish in Mexico and Alaska. Somehow we lucked into these offerings, but we're going to lose them if people don't start biting (the lodges will begin selling our spots). To remind, a week's fishing on the Kvichak River is $7,000.00 ALL THE TIME! This is $4,800.00 folks, these rainbows are pure, and they are enormous. And the Mexico trip, well, I have never seen anything like that.
Finally, there is still lots of room on the California and Ohio trips. Those prices are good too.
Trout Unlimited and You
January 25, 2008
What do you know about your resource?
Thanks to several concerned San Juan guides, there is a movement afoot to create a regulation prohibiting the use of more than two flies at a time. Three fly rigs, they say, increase the chances of foul hooking fish and mortality due to exhaustion and wounding of trout. Opponents of such a regulation contend that multiple fly rigs do not increase the chances of snagging trout or killing them. Dr. Robert Behnke, the world's preeminent trout biologist concurs. Opponents also say that our wildlife agencies have more important things to spend their energy on than checking to see if conservation-minded flyfishermen are using two flies or three. Anglers who cause real mortality, they say, should be checked and punished if there is cause to do so. Here at the shop, we have opinions on both sides of this issue.
In other news, a legislator from the Albuquerque area, recently introduced a bill that would allow recipients of certain types of government assistance to fish and hunt without having to purchase a license. He, being the only proponent of such an idea, says that his bill would encourage self sufficiency in welfare recipients and would foster a love of nature in these folks. Opponents find the idea ridiculous, saying that the costs in wildlife and wildlife management funds justify the bill's quick death.
I mention these two stories simply to demonstrate how much goes on, even in our little universe, with direct ramifications on the resource we care so much about, namely our wildlife. Perhaps I'm addressing myself as much as any of you, but we must remember that bad things can happen if people aren't paying attention. Fortunately, there are people who have made it their concentrated purpose to pay attention, people like Trout and Ducks Unlimited, New Mexico Trout, and the Upper Pecos Watershed Alliance, to name a few.
This news episode is dedicated to them, or more accurately, the causes they represent. Without their efforts, their willingness to debate and fight over the issues, our public wild resources would be a shadow of what they are. Let's remember that they can always use our suport in the form of money, time, and labor. And our attention; if something comes up that you think might impact your favorite natural resource, get involved and get informed by contacting one of these groups.
2008 Class Schedule
January 09, 2008
Lots of New Offerings
We're excited about our spring 2008 class line up, which is comprised almost entirely of new offerings. In addition to our beginning fly tying classes taught by Karen Denison, the following classes will be offered:
February 9 - Fly Tying with Tim Herrera. Learn how to tie Tim's Stone Nymph, Stoned Assasin, and his Peabody Leech, a competition-winning fly that drives trout, bass and pike absolutely nuts.
March 8 - Intro to Streamside Entymology with Jesse Lee.
March 22 - Tying Soft Hackles with Ed Miller - Not as easy as you'd think. Learn from a master tyer the subtleties of this centuries old trout fly.
April 12 - Single Handed Spey Casting with Toner Mitchell. Need some extra distance? Up against the brush? No problem.
April 26 - Beginning Fly Tying with Karen Denison.
May 10 - Tying Articulated Streamers with Ed Miller.
May 24th - Nymph Tactics and Rigs with Ed Miller.
May 31 - Basics of Trout Biology with Toner Mitchell.
Please contact the shop for more details and prices. Also, let us know if there's a class you want us to provide.
Garage Sale
January 05, 2008
Also: Stay warm, stay fishing. Duh.
Saturday, February 23 marks the kickoff of our weeklong fishing gear garage sale. From now until then, we will be collecting gear from our customers, our guides, and our store room for sale to the general public. Aside from being a feeding frenzy of great bargains on rods, reels, waders, vests and you name it, opening day promises to be a hoot, with refreshments and fly tying demos. If you have items you want to sell, bring them to us in good working condition. We'll agree on a price, and if your item sells, you will receive a Reel Life gift card in the amount of the sale. Come on in for a rule sheet.
I mentioned this in the fishing report, but it bears saying again: if you get too cold while fishing, you will stop fishing, possibly while the fish are biting. Or you should stop fishing. Or you'll just plain die of hypothermia. I would say that staying warm is the single best way to maximize your odds of catching fish in the winter. The comfortable angler is moves more efficiently, has fewer accidents and makes better fishing decisions. He or she can tie knots and spends more time fishing than jogging in place on the bank.
Take every measure to keep your head, neck, and fingers warm. Try not to get your fingers wet; not touching fish helps achieve this, so fish barbless and use your forceps to remove hooks. Maybe you don't have to measure every fish. Bring a thermos of hot liquid in your vest. Eat a complete and adequate breakfast, stay hydrated, bring high calorie food for lunch, and get plenty of sleep the night before. Get a good wading jacket that stops wind and has a hood; the difference a good hood makes is enormous.
School is in session
December 14, 2007
So is Christmas
We're putting together our winter class schedule, which will have plenty of new options. Aside from our normal beginner fly tying classes taught by Karen Denison, we plan on having other fly tying classes taught by our guides, as well as in house discussions on entymology, knots, and travel. The field classes will likely include several on slack and tight line nymphing, single hand spey casting, pike fishing, and mending. The prices range from 40.00 to 150.00.
We also have some new items in the store that will make super holiday gifts. The new BIImx rod from Winston tops the list, a great fast action rod for all you salties, streamer huckers, and long distance dry fliers. ExOfficio, Simms and Patagonia products are taking up most of our floor space this season, products that are extremely high in quality and worth every penny. We also have a full fly tying section, a great book selection, and gift cards. Magazine subscriptions are great stocking stuffers, as are memberships to Trout Unlimited. Time is running out!
Northern Pike in the Rio Grande
December 08, 2007
Great Winter Option
Who knows when winter will finally come this year; it is not normal for it to rain in December, though it has become more so in recent years. Some of our rivers are running muddy these days, and some, like the Rio, are running muddy and high. This makes for difficult trout fishing, as the trout metabolism has shifted into low gear (though not as low as it would if it were as cold out as it should be), they are harder to fish to, and they can't see flies as well in the dirty water.
Pike are in a similar position in terms of metabolism, although as naturally cold water fish, they have to and will eat if water temps rise to the upper 30s to the mid 40s, a real possibility with the weather we've been having. The difference between pike and trout, however, is that while winter trout often limit their food intake to smaller fare, pike eat fish and sometimes big ones. Add to that the fact that some of the easiest hunting territory is near rocks and the bank, and you will see that pike are generally going to be easier to locate and fish to with the water in the shape it's in. We're getting reports every couple of days of pike being caught or hooked; one of our customers said he lost quite a large hen fish on a deceiver.
So there's fishing to be done on the Rio. Pike are worthy quarries; they hit like a ton of bricks, are insane fighters, are nice to look at, and we've heard aren't bad to eat. Fish big bunny, marabou, or feather streamers near the banks using a floating line and heavy fly, or fish the same flies on a sink tip. Vary the speed of your retrieve too. Sometimes pike will turn cautious at a fly going too fast, only to pounce when it slows down. Or they will sneak up on a slow mover and attack when they sense it's getting away.
If you want to get the basics down, it might be a good investment to go out with one of the several pike aces on our guide staff.
Winter Reading List
November 29, 2007
For when the snow blows outside.
Here are some of our favorite titles for those of you who might want some refreshing reading over the winter:
Czech Nymph - Will definitely improve your game.
Mastering Pike on the fly - For the Rio in spring.
Barr Flies - Best new tying book out there.
Creative Fly Tying - Best old tying book out there.
Active Nymphing - Read with Czech Nymph.
Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die - Exactly
Modern Streamers for Trophy Trout - A must.
49 Trout Streams of New Mexico - Gorgeous book.
Landing the Trout of Your Life - But first you have to hook it.
Seasons of the Trout - Important new perspectives.
And here are some DVDs that you can watch over and over again:
Trout Bum Diaries Vols. 1 and 2 - NZ and Patagonia
Running Down the Man - Roosterfish quest in Baja.
The Hatch - A beautiful film that even nonanglers love.
Landing the Trout of Your Life - Batboy returns.
Bugs of the Underworld - See what trout see.
Location X - Tarpon nation.
Small Window in Ohio
November 21, 2007
And We Crawled Through It
We're back from Ohio, sore fish fighting arms and all. A much needed rain fell the night before our first day and blew out all the streams, which became torrents of mud and leaves. As you might imagine, no steelhead were caught that day. Day two began on the Ashtabula, with dropping water levels and much improved visibility. It looked like we would strike gold, but after we'd taken a beating, we realized that the fish had been waiting for rain for so long that they simply ran past us when the water came up. We landed a couple that day, but nowhere near what we expected. The Ash had dropped and cleared even more by the third day, and we began catching fish at the first place we stopped. A new run of fish was clearly in from Lake Erie, and we spent the rest of the day with rods bent and cameras flashing. We estimate that we hooked over 50 fish that day, an incredible event of synchronicity, fish, fishermen, and water all being where they should have been at the same time. After dropping our clients off the next day, I and trip host Will Turek fished for a spell on Conneaut Creek, caught a couple pretty steelies before the stream blew out again from some distant storm upstream. Showed what an incredible stroke of luck the day before was.
I'd like to thank Will for putting it all together and Jerry Darkes for his guiding expertise. Most of all, I want to thank clients Camilo Gomez, Kevin McPartlon, Tom Borah, and Andy Hick for sticking with it through the tough times and for their always interesting company. I'm so glad you guys got the fish you deserved.
Stay tuned for a spring trip for Erie steelhead. We'll have streams full of fish then and plenty of sight fishing.
New Angler Born
November 08, 2007
Madison Kira Lewis
Though many of you may not know him, our missed and beloved guide, Tony Lewis, is now the proud father of a baby girl. And though many of us bemoan our increasingly crowded fishing waters, we at The Reel Life are more than willing to make room for who we are sure will be a kind, intelligent, and skilled fly fisher. Congrats Tony and Candace!
Last call, Ohio fence sitters. The trip begins next Monday. Recent rains have brought in a new punch of steelies and streams are predicted to drop and warm. This means active fish and plenty of them. Call quick and let's get you going.
Note to self: Keep on fishing.
November 01, 2007
Just in case recent worried comments at the store are a trend, I wanted to remind you all that fishing is still quite good all around northern Huevo Mexico....
Just in case recent worried comments at the store are a trend, I wanted to remind you all that fishing is still quite good all around northern Huevo Mexico. See our fishing report for details.
The Ohio report stands as it was: we have one slot left, and today's report from out there is that there are tons of fresh steelies in the streams and the water is crystal clear. By tons, I mean up to 20 chromers per hole. And they are smacking flies hard. You won't see 950.00 trophy fishing trips every day, so you might not want to pass this one up. Let us hear from you.
Ohio Trip
October 23, 2007
One Spot Left
Just wanted to let you all know that we have one spot left on our November 12-16 Lake Erie tributary trip in Ohio (see our travel page). Recent rains have brought up the stream levels, which is basically the starting gun for steelhead to leave the lake and begin their run. Fish have been swimming up out of Erie sporadically in recent weeks, but now they are coming in droves. This is small stream fishing for big, supercharged fish that are extemely vulnerable to the swung fly. I don't need to tell you what a hit on a downstream tight line feels like, but just in case you forgot, it's a charge. Multiply it by 100 and it's something that won't let you sleep at night for a week afterwards. In other words, it's getting smacked by a steelhead up to 32 inches long in Ohio, up to 15 times a day for 3 days.
And this can all be yours for only 950.00 and a short, still relatively cheap plane ride on Southwest. It's is the best fishing value anywhere, convenient, challenging from a fish fighting perspective, and definitely rewarding.
Travel Night
October 13, 2007
Yellow Dog Comes to Town
Jim Klug of Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures gave a wonderful presentation last night on worldwide flyfishing travel. The show focused on fishing in the Carribean: the Yucatan, Belize, Venezuela, and the Bahamas. All of us learned tons about the great variety of activities available to the flyrodder, his or her significant other, and children. Jim described how surprisingly easy it can be to fish to bonefish, permit, or tarpon. I say "fish to" because catching any of these species, permit and tarpon anyway, is never easy, but it was a comfort to know an angler can at least be in the game with these spectacular fish.
Yellow Dog is our destination travel partner, offering trips to all corners of the globe in search of everything from sailfish to steelhead to peacock bass. For each type of trip, they offer a range of prices and accomodations, and each location/lodge has been visited and endorsed by Yellow Dog staff to assure the highest quality of service and fishing for traveling anglers of every budget.
I write this to remind you that The Reel Life's travel program is not limited to our hosted trips. Right now we have availability for our trips to Ohio, Argentina, California, and Mongolia (go to our travel page), but if you have a hankering for something else, anything else, please contact us. With Yellow Dog at our side, we can take you where you want to go.
Spawning Browns, etc.
October 08, 2007
The Reel Life's September Montana trip came off as a great success. Thanks to the gang for the wonderful company and energy....
The Reel Life's September Montana trip came off as a great success. Thanks to the gang for the wonderful company and energy. The Madison, Jellystone, and Jefferson were generous with their hard fighting rainbows and browns, and Ennis turned out her best. We're planning already for next year's Montana adventure(s).
Depending on where you fish in New Mexico these days, you will be encountering brown trout that are either spawning (higher elevations) or are preparing to. Though you probably already know this, trout require well-oxygenated pea- to bean-sized gravel on which to lay their eggs. As you encounter such gravel in fast water, take the time to look for paired up fish. If you see any, and it's quite possible they will be the largest fish in the area, resist the urge to fish for them. Spawning is very energy intensive, and disturbing spawners taxes their ability to successfully reproduce. When you consider that a two pound female trout can hold up to 3,000 potential trout, the cost of failure is a diminished fishery for anglers. Also, if you find gravel but no fish, fish may nevertheless be using the bed. If you see spots of very clean (colorful)gravel among more uniformly olive or brown gravel, that is a good sign that the eggs have been laid or are about to be. Leave the area just to be sure. While we encourage anglers to take advantage of prespawn aggressiveness in trout, hitting them in the act is something that benefits none of us. Remember, you can always catch those big fish later, and if someone catches them now and kills them, they will, thanks to our responsible behavior, have covered their bases with plenty of new trout.
Hot Flies
September 14, 2007
Trends in fishing success.
Some recent additions to our fly bins have been receiving rave reviews in the trout world, and while some of us believe that it's the angler and not the fly that are responsible for most landed fish, you might want to give some of these a try.
Royal Flush nymph
Yellow Madonna streamer
Twin Lakes wooly bugger
Stalcup's hopper and cricket
Slickwater caddis
K's Brachy pupa
Hogan's sipper
Hogan's Yuba caddis
Hogan's Good and Plenty
Anything designed by Hogan Brown
Or just fish a prince, elk hair caddis, royal humpy, copper john red, Tim's leech, or secret fly.
For those of you who haven't received our newsletter, we have a good amount of sale items these days. All Orvis products are discounted up to 50%, all Helly Hansen at 50%, and a good selection of Filson and Watership hats, mainly in small sizes. Shipping is on the house.
Finally, in conjunction with Las Campanas and Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures, The Reel Life will be hosting a travel open house at Las Campanas on Friday evening (call for time and directions) October 12, 2007 at Las Campanas. Jim Klug will be discussing the world's best saltwater flats locations. We will also briefly go over The Reel Life's hosted trips, including our San Juan trip, California's central valley, Argentina, as well as a fishing excursion to Mongolia in September 2008.
Our New Simms Dealership
August 30, 2007
Arriving September 5.
The Reel Life is delighted to welcome Simms products into our store next week. Known as often-copied, never-equalled innovators in wader technology, Simms has brought the same expertise to their clothing designs, luggage, technical wear, and vest products. These items are all made in America; they're durable, functional beyond your dreams, and good looking too.
Many of you who have visited us recently have seen our small yet growing selection of fly fishing DVDs covering technical, biological and, for lack of a better term, explorational aspects of our beloved sport. The Hatch and The Trout Bum Diaries, volumes I and II are our current favorites. These titles have taken armchair fly fishing to a new and extremely entertaining level and will help heal any winter fishing jones you may come down with. We'd love to hear about your favorites so we can get them in the store.
