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January 12, 2004 Newsletter
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January 12, 2004 Newsletter |
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Last month I talked about the
‘itudes’, well, it didn’t take long for me to test my resolution of maintaining
a good attitude as last week my store was broken into by a burglar and my entire
inventory of fly reels stolen plus the cash in my register. My saving grace is the fact my wife
constantly harped on me to secure insurance and were it not for her insistence,
gratitude would be a term seldom used by me for some time! I should be receiving my re-supply of
reels early this week. Both Ross
Reels and Tibor Reels extended credit terms to allow me time to consummate my
insurance claim or at the worst, allow me some time to sell some reels to offset
the cost. If anyone offers you a
deal too good to pass up on Ross or Tibor reels (they took 25 of them!), new
without a box, let me know their name – I would love to meet
them!
To help me smooth my ‘ruffled
feathers’ and provide myself with an attitude adjustment, I joined up with two
good friends and customers for two days of fishing with Capt. Chuck Naiser www.chucknaiser.com (naiser@dbstech.com) this past weekend. We saw quite a few fish but winter sight
casting conditions prevailed. This
time of the year the breeze/wind generally comes out of the North, and since our
bay system generally runs North and South, and the sun is low in the Southern
skies, and the sight caster is faced with a dilemma. You can pole and drift rapidly downwind
with the sun in your face, or have a very strong and willing guide such as Chuck
pole you upwind with whatever sun you have at your back giving you the best odds
at seeing the fish. Chuck poled us,
for what I estimate, was 6 miles over the two days into the teeth of the
wind. We had numerous opportunities
at HUGE redfish but either our skills were lacking or lady luck turned against
us. One such ‘unlucky’ moment was
not without a lot of hilarity. We
had spotted a group of actively feeding Red Fish about 100 yards ahead of the
boat about 50 feet from the shoreline, however, a rednecked Heron spotted the
action at the same moment we did and the race was on. . . . . .that damn Herron
ran alongside our boat with Chuck furiously poling to get there first, ahead of
the Herron before he spooked the bait and Red Fish – first we were in the lead,
then the Herron. That Herron was a
track star running non stop looking over at us alongside as we were yelling
expletives at him to vacate our area, but he never broke stride. Sometime during the race, the Red’s blew
out of the shallows and disappeared.
Chuck blamed the soft bottom slowed down his poling speed but I think he
may have been a little tired! These
are the moments I so enjoy when fly fishing the flats, or the getting up close
and personal with a pair of Whooping Cranes, or just listening to Chuck’s
entertaining stories and his weak attempt at singing Mexican songs in a language
he doesn’t understand while straining on the pole. Every trip – moments to remember! As my good friend Clay reminded me some
time ago, “sometime when we go fishing, we must
remember, it is not always the fish we are after”! Amen, Clay.
This coming Saturday afternoon will
be a day of importance for me, customers of Chuck’s, and every one of us wanting
to avail ourselves of his experience fishing the salt water pastures over the
past 25 years. Chuck will be
‘holding court’ here in the shop and passing along the benefits of his
experience as well as explaining in detail just how the tides, water flows,
affect shallow water fishing and when and why the times are right for fishing
shorelines or tidal lakes and marsh.
Chuck has compiled this information in written format and will soon be
published in magazines/or newspapers.
This is a chance to get valuable information firsthand and to share
stories and experience, or perhaps, even book a trip. This Saturday –
January 17th from
While fishing, I used the new SAGE
Xi 2 in a 7 weight with a 7 weight Royal Wulff Bass
Taper flyline.
Everyone, including Chuck, thought the rod and line was really, really
good. Come by for a test cast,
perhaps on Saturday and have Chuck critique your cast. I can almost guarantee he will be
‘kinder and more gentle’ than when in the boat with Red Fish tailing in front of
you! I am going to look for
suitable targets I can place at 20 feet, 30 feet, and 50 feet – not larger than
6 – 10 inches in diameter, which is the accuracy required in the conditions we
just experienced.
Thanks, and I look forward to your
next visit.
Dennis O.
Freeman
RODMAKERS
210-479-3477
email: rodmaker@rod-makers.com