Bye bye belly boat, hello stand up paddle board ?

I've never owned a belly boat. Yes, I've tried it several times in the past. I just don't see myself fishing lakes that much to justify getting one. And maybe it's the static sitting position I don't like?

You've probably heard or seen this recent hype on stand up paddling. Originally a tropical sight like somewhere in Hawaii, these days it's also a leisure activity you can see in the canals of Amsterdam.

The link with fly fishing is made pretty easily. Unfortunately these boards are pretty massive in size no matter how light they actually are. And the next solution would be an inflatable stand up board: easy to carry and basically the same possibilities as the regular boards. Just send $1000 to the guys at Bote and the inflatable paddle board is yours!

How wolves changed the rivers in Yellowstone park

It must have been about 12-13 years since my last visit to the Yellowstone National Park. My first visit to the park in 1992 has been a memorable trip. Not only because of the great fishing but especially the awe inspiring surroundings. My amazement of the diversity of the scenery and wildlife has never been more profound as the day I drove into the park. Watch this video for an amazing tour of the park from above.

Here's an interesting yet very intriguing little documentary on how the re-introduction of wolves in the Yellowstone National Park changed the entire ecosystem and even the rivers as well.

We all know what happens when man introduces an unknown spices (like rabbits in Australia) in to an ecosystem. The wolves have been absent in the park for more than 70 years. Just shortly after the reintroduction of the wolves in the park, the effects were remarkable.

Italy - an unknown jewel?

I've been to Italy several times. Never travelled with a fly rod, but that might change next time.

Flies shipped

Destination: Germany

Mouse order

It has been a while I did some serious deer hair work. Here's a mouse I just tied this afternoon for a friend.

I think it turned out okay. I'll probably burn the eye area to get the eye sink a little bit deeper. Just need to look for some glue to keep the doll eye in place.

Usually I'll use natural grey deer hair for my mice, this time I used bleached hair for the top with some brown hair stacked. The underbelly is white.

Click on the picture to get a larger view.
Enjoy!

Update:
Shipped!

Orvis Superfine Glass (II)

The new Orvis Glass rods are making quite a dimple in the fly fishing scene.