Wings for an Angler - Lee Wulff

This video is incredible. Imagine learning how to fly and land a seaplane in under three weeks, then flying up to remote areas of Newfoundland for some dry fly salmon and sea trout fishing...

Crazy!!

I get the impression that Lee Wulff was one of those rare talents who had the ability to be really good at whatever he decided to do.

My all-time favorite movie is Bruce Brown's classic surf film "The Endless Summer." To me, "Wings for an Angler" has that same sense of adventure. It really struck a chord with me when I watched last night. These guys had no fear of the unknown. They just went for it. I'm sure they struck out now and then but they certainly hit quite a few grand slams as well.

This is well worth twenty minutes of your time

Product Review: Cabela's Utility Binder

Not fancy looking, but it works

Though my fly tying materials would say otherwise, I really do try to stay as organized as possible. In an effort to efficiently store spare shooting heads, running lines, tippet spools and other miscellany, I came across this review for the Simms Headwaters Tackle Wallet. Now, I think very highly of Simms' products. I usually look to them first when it comes to waders, clothing and accessories. However, I just don't feel like paying Simms prices for everything, especially when there are reasonable (and less expensive) alternatives.

Enter Cabela's Utility Binder...at $19.99, the large size is half the price of the equivalent Simms product. They do the same thing. The only difference I can see is that the Simms wallet uses velcro to hold the pages, while Cabela's binder uses two binder-type rings. Since I live relatively near a Cabela's retail store, I figured I'd go check it out.

It just works...'nuff said

I don't recall how many pages came with the binder. I think it was 10-12. However many it came with, it was more than enough for my use. The whole package was very sturdy and seems to do its job well enough. At half the price of the equivalent Simms product, the Cabela's was a no-brainer. 

I brought it to Russia...it held plenty of heads, tippet spools, spare cleats, spare running line, etc. I probably overstuffed it, but the zipper held just fine. I don't need to carry as much stuff with me when fishing in the U.S. or Canada, so it's definitely big enough. I probably could get by with the medium, but it's only a few dollars less, so I'll opt for the expandability of the large. It's probably a pretty tough item to screw up, but I was happy to save a few bucks considering I was originally going to buy the Simms. 

I probably could written this review in four or five sentences and still conveyed my message well enough, but it has been a good way to delay some necessary housework. In summary, if you're looking to get a little more organized and save a little bit of money in the process, I highly recommend the Cabela's Utility Binder. 

Kola Salmon Video #2

Here's another video of my Kola trip, this one shorter, less dramatic, lower resolution (iPhone 4) and a smaller fish, but I'm not complaining.

This was around 1:30am. This was as dark as it ever got at night. This fish was the first caught of a good run of fish which came through that day. I think there were about six anglers fishing this pool and everyone hooked fish, though it seemed like there was just one sweet spot. This was a killer pool above a HUGE set of rapids. In warmer weather, the bottom end of this pool would make for excellent dry fly fishing. 

My friend hooked three and landed one in a matter of a few hours. I landed this one and lost one about 18lbs later that day. This fish never ran up or downstream. It made several blistering runs straight across stream, directly into the heavy flow. It was bizarre. I've never had one do that before. 

It was a relatively cold night. The air temperature was about 44ºF and the water temperature 54ºF. This was the only fish I hooked on something other than a Sugerman Shrimp and floating line/leader combo. It took a small German Snaelda, tied on a 1/2" brass tube, fished on a floating Airflo Compact Scandi head with a 5.6ips Rio Versileader.

Kola Salmon Video

I would have been happy with pics, but a video is even better! The "film crew" arrived about halfway into the fight. The fish had already made two good runs, despite 25# test Maxima and a drag cranked to about 85-90%. There were a couple of tense moments, especially when he got too close to the rock. The tippet was totally chewed up when I checked it afterwards. I thought the locals were using unnecessarily heavy gear, but now I understand the need for it. I was proud that my little 13', $20 spey rod held its own!

Watch it on YouTube in HiDef...

Next stop, home!

Waiting...waiting...waiting...in Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport. It was a fun trip, but I am ready to head home.

This trip to the Kola River was a case of "be careful what you wish for." For the ease of wading and casting, I was hoping for low water. Well, we got low water alright...too low! It was a mild winter and early spring in Murmansk. The vast majority of the big brutes ran at the very beginning of their season. I didn't realize that low water meant no big salmon! The temps were good, very pleasant for fishing, but a more traditional spring would have been better fishing.

We caught the tail end of a run when we first arrived, then it was almost a week of no fish and low water. The water came up a bit and we got another brief spurt of fish. On my last day, I actually saw grilse, which is totally unexpected this early on.

My final tally was 5 hooked and 3 landed...about 10, 15 and 20lbs. The large fish was the most powerful fight I have gotten from a salmon. The smallest was the weakest fight I've ever had from a searun fish! I've had a couple 'Naugy salmon who fought harder, believe it or not. I also dropped one that went about 18-20lbs. I could stop it from shaking its head and that was the end of that.

Curiously, all my fish but one took a #2 Sugerman Shrimp (double) fished on a floating line/leader. I tried plenty of other flies, but they seemed to like that one the most. I gave one to my friend Sergey who hooked five fish on it in one afternoon! The 15lb. fish took a small German Snaelda, fished on a floating line and a 5.6ips Versileader. I took that fish around 1am. He had some bistering runs, but never ran upstream or down, just perpendicular to the current several times. I've never had that happen before.

In summary, we didn't get what I think of as "Russian numbers," but it was a good trip anyhow. I fished with several terrific Russian anglers, swapped flies and made some great new friends. Also, I Ianded my largest salmon to date, despite almost losing him "Nova Scotia Style" (wink wink, Marc) and then having him almost leave the pool. All's well that ends well, however. I have some pics and videos I'll post once I do some editing and get some sleep.

I'm not looking forward to a 10 hour flight and a 3+ hour drive, but I a looking forward to being home!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Международное ш.,,Russia

Next stop, Russia...

We're waiting to board our flight to Moscow. The plane leaves in about an hour. Hopefully there will be a lot of big salmon pics to share in my next post!

Good luck to all my friends headed to Quebec for early June fishing!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Kennedy International Airport

Product Review: Orvis Safe Passage Magnum Sling Pack

Magnum Sling Pack

It has taken a few years for me to finally settle on a tackle-management system. I really don't like the vest, especially when using a two-handed fly rod. I tried older Orvis chest packs and a Simms waist pack, but I didn't feel like I found the right pack until I tried the Orvis Safe Passage Sling Pack. It's a great pack, but I always thought it would be nicer if it was a little roomier.

Fighting a salmon-original Safe Passage Sling Pack

Enter the new Orvis Safe Passage Magnum Sling Pack...

I had considered buying the highly water resistant Orvis Gale Force Sling Pack instead, but decided against it (more on that later). Here is the volume breakdown of all three packs:

Safe Passage Sling Pack: 472 cu. in.
Safe Passage Magnum Sling Pack: 840 cu. in.
Gale Force Sling Pack: 1,008 cu. in.

As you can see, the Gale Force pack wins in the capacity department. I decided against it mainly due to the fact that it is one large compartment. I wanted the separation that the Magnum pack offers. Sure, it would have been nice to have the water resistance, but very little of my stuff is loose, so I think what is inside will stay relatively dry.

The Magnum is almost double the capacity of the original and the difference is definitely noticeable. I don't feel like I have to cram anything in there. Most of the time, while salmon fishing, the original Sling Pack is sufficient. For my Russia trip, I felt I needed greater capacity as most of my flies/tubes are substantially larger than the flies I use in North America. Plus, I felt I could use the extra room for storing extra shooting heads, polyleaders, snacks, etc.

Aside from the overall shape, both Safe Passage sling packs have virtually identical features. The original pack does not have a zippered inside compartment, however. I find that inclusion to be quite useful on the Magnum pack. Like the original, the Magnum comes with a velcro-backed fly patch. I don't store flies on the patch as much as I use it to dry flies on, or at least store them after being fished. There's probably enough room in this pack to fit two velcro fly patches if one was inclined to do so.

Fly patch & internal pockets (elasticized & zippered)

I use the main compartment to store my Finsport Fly Wallet (for tube flies) and a large fly box. There is easily enough room for another good-sized box or two smaller boxes, snacks, empty collapsable water bottle, etc.  Sure, you might have to stack things up inside, but I just put the lesser accessed stuff on the bottom and it seems to work just fine. 

Main compartment

My only real gripe is with the nylon waist strap. I can't stand using it as a waist strap. It does, however, come with a buckle that can be (theoretically) used to secure the waist strap around the opposite shoulder/armpit area. I think having another strap would help reduce back strain which can occur from a long day on the water. Unfortunately, the strap cannot be adjusted small enough for me to use in this fashion. It's about twice as long as I need it to be. I'm sure Orvis could have found a way to make the strap adjust to a smaller size. I guess I'm going to cut mine in half and affix an extra plastic buckle. Whatever works, I guess...

In conclusion, I rate the Orvis Safe Passage Magnum Sling Pack 4 out of 5 stars. If I had some options with the waist strap, I might have given it all 5 stars. This is a great pack, especially for those of us who fish with two-handed rods. If there was a way Orvis could fuse the Magnum pack with the Gale Force pack, I'd probably give it 6 stars! Of course, I would be happy to field test any future prototypes, so please put me on the list...