the fly fishing hunger day 5 part 1

the fly fishing hunger day 5 part 1

a 2 parter because we got up to she loads this day and id be here all bloody night if i went through the lot so i thought a 2 parter would be best .

so after getting up at 5 am instead of 4am (Brian's moonshine to blame) and we had already decide that we were going to back out on Champlain as the top water sport was second to none and well we were both like addicts trying to get our next fix , but this time we packed a couple of 5 wgts and some woolly bugger type flies to see if we could catch those fish we had seen topping the other morning and grab a little sport before we went chasing bucket mouths

well as we drew up to the boat launch we could see the fish were still there eating something although at this point we wernt quite sure what so we finished up out massive plastic cups of green mountain coffee (we were still not quite right following the previous nights escapes) and rigged up the 5 wgts

BREAKFAST IS SERVED

see all the brown stuff in the picture above well that's what the fish were going nuts for its thick with flies there were some kind of small moth like fly I'm sure somebody will know what they are but the water was thick with them and of course the fish were in there having some as well so we started casting and the fish started coming thick and fast yellow perch , white perch , silver perch they were just hitting those woolly buggers like there life depended on great fun on 5 wgts

at one point i had a big sucker(a kind of carp i think) follow my fly right in and then just sat there at my feet long enough for me to get my camera out and take a picture fantastic

as i was chasing fish around the boat launch shoreline i even came across a sleeping catfish of course i dangled a fly in front of it but it was having none of it great to see though

(below) ken does his Cousteau on a white perch these were the hardest fighting of the perch family that i caught they really did pull on a 5wgt

THE HILLS HAVE EYES

Dave don't move theres an arrow in your back or is it a knife .....

so time to get back on the surface flies after the bucket mouths and we decided to get in amongst the thick stuff as that was were the fish were splashing about and i mean thick check the picture below there bass in that there jungle heavy mono weed guards was the order of the day

there was plenty of hot fishing action and we caught loads of bass on the surface and as much fun with the ones that missed the fly absolutely awesome fishing you cant buy fun like that , ken had the biggest of the day on a gurgler and it gave him a fair tussle

by midday the heat was up in the 90s and we had to get off although the bass top water gets frantic the hotter it gets it always wise to look at the overall situation i mean we had a great morning fishing caught lots of fish and still had something special to do in the evening and with water supplies getting low and the sun getting high sunstroke is the last thing you want so we called it a day and decided to head to the local fly shop and pick up some bits and pieces and i wanted to grab a look at a local fly shop anyway

so mid afternoon and we were outside the fly shop and talking about what ken had planned for the evening and that i was looking forward to something completely different but really floated my boat so till tomorrow

tight lines calm waters and loud gurglers

mcfluffchucker

(a cave in Scotland)

the fly fishing hunger evening 4

THE LIFE OF BRIAN

so we gets back to ken place after champlain and he gets a call from his buddy Brian (who i also know through ken) inviting us over for a BBQ well didn't need to be asked twice on that one as Brian has a bit of a reputation as a griller and we needed to hook up with him at some point to arrange a days fishing (Brian's a bit of a legend in them there parts for always having the right fly that's catching fish)

THE FLY FISHING A TEAM
and piss heads

Brian is also famed for having probably the finest BBQ in the state this thing is a state of the art grilling machine hell you can even smoke your own fish or meat on it i was ever so slightly impressed i mean just check out the grill and that's only one small part of it

so excited to be firing up the grill for a visitor Brian bit his own fingers off just to see what they would be like grilled with his special swamp sauce

plenty of beer was consumed and plans put in place for a fish together the picture below shows ken after a few notice his eyeballs are like piss holes in he snow

after some of brains famous Virginian moonshine ken loses the use of his legs and has to sit down for a bit again after some of brains moonshine he also felt the urge to eat his own fingers

the thing is Vermont is such a cool laid back place it was just a joy to sit on brains porch having a laugh drinking beer and avoiding the dive bombing suicide bugs its part and parcel of a good fishing trip to relax and shoot some shit with Friends and we shoot a lot of shit that night i was having such a good time i was forgetting we where out at 4am again er not good but its so laid back and Brian and his lovely lady heir pants were such great hosts we could have just sat there all night nobody would have minded or even cared ...........

BUGS OF DOOM

so i was sitting there having a great time surrounded by candles drinking beer and enjoying some great company and fantastic food when it came out of the night sky a demon intent on wreaking and breaking my bones a dune bug yes a bug that really does hurt on impact its like a flying rock well i heard the buzz felt the wind past my ear and the bang on the wood behind and then a fizz what the feck....

what had happened was the bug had missed my head by mere inches knocked itself out on the wood and bounced back and landed in the candle the splash from the bug landing in the wax had created a wave of wax that put the candle out ..... just imagine it the fecker had hit you it would be no doubt a hospital trip ouch (they don't tell you about that in the welcome to Vermont guide)

the doom bugs final resting place

I've seen some pretty dam cool gadgets in my time but this has to be one of the best Brian offered me a beer and then took his flip flop of , i thought he was going to hit me with it some strange vermont ritual mabey but he turned it over and the thing had a bottle opener in it so you got your bottle opener in you flip flop no need to go hunting around for one absolutely brilliant

so brains grilling is really stuff of legend here is a chicken yup a whole one that Brian just whacked in half coated with his special coating and stuck it on the grill now i must say when that was ready it came out moist , full of flavour and some of the nicest damm chicken I've ever eaten its worth going back for that alone let alone the fishing and rednecks fun and games ill say right now

BRIAN YOUR A LEGEND




so after a long night and ever shortening beer supplies we left for capsey meadows as we had an early start and this wasn't to be the last encounter with the grill ......

so I've deviated away from the fishing bit today simply because i thought Brian needed a post all to himself because his food and hospitality were so good and i really appreciated it ill be back with the fishing tomorrow where there more shocks in store from the fishing nirvana that is Vermont

c ya tomorrow folks
mcfluffchucker

slow connection

due to my Internet connection at work being very slow I'm unable to update today my trip report so here is a video of Mr pike adventures ken capsey screaming like a little girl as his mum takes a splinter out his finger , sorry its a bit dark but its really worth watching till the end enjoy and see ya tomorrow

the fly fishing hunger day 3

OUT ON THE BIG LAKE

S0 having been broken into bass fishing gently the day before (yea right ken) it was time to split out onto the big lake the mighty lake Champlain I've seen some pretty big waters in my time but this place was just massive here's some facts its length is 110 miles its widest part is 12 miles it has 80 islands borders 2 countries the USA and Canada and 2 u.s states new york and Vermont the lake has a fascinating history and even has a monster like loch ness to find out more about this monster lake click the link below

lake Champlain

that's Canada on the horizon

the border is halfway across the bay

our launch point

crazy as it may seem naming places which is unheard of in the UK Champlain is so big it would take you years to find a spot from a photo just by looking for a house or something on the shoreline , and the map shows just one small part of Champlain but you do need local knowledge to get you on fish or you going to have a very long day

THE BOIL

arriving at first light at the launch point we were treated to bucket loads of what we thought were small bait fish feeding of thousands of sand fly things that were piled up against the shore and slowly drifting out into the bay to be hovered up by the waiting bait fish we decided that next time we came down we would rig up a couple of 5 wgts and throw some bugger type flies to see if we could 1- find out what the fish are and 2 - have a bit of pre launch fun a note was taken and plan was made

INTO LARGE MOUTH COUNTRY

bucketmouths there is a reason they are called that , theres a reason if you throw a frog into a bucketmouth water the frog does a front crawl as fast as it can to get the feck out of the water seriously its like the frog version of jaws the bass like to lie in the thick stuff and when you hook em the first thing they do is try to take you round every grass root and tree stump in the place but armed with the right gear you can stop em doing that and I'm delighted to say the pikesaber proved its muscle yet again by hauling the buggers out and stopping them in there tracks I'm hoping to get a couple of 7/8 weight sabers made for my trip next year for the bass and for carp in this country i think these guys are sitting on a rod range here to rival all others.....

THE PIKESABER ARMED AND READY ON CHAMPLAIN

the mysterious vanishing pike and muskie

so i had planned this trip with pike and muskie in mind but it didn't happen the temps were up in the 90s and the fish were very hard to find and when we did find areas the fish were just not on it , normally that would be a real pisser on any venue in the UK but in the us the you have the option of the largemouth when the sun gets hot they get hungry go on the prowl and hit top water flies fast and furious the sport i had this day with the temps getting up to 96 degrees has turned me into a complete top water addict fish bum the hotter the better for these fish incredible top water action I'm well and truly hooked so much so that I'm already tying top water stuff for next year

MMMM I KNOW A SPOT
I've got to hand it to him ken knew the pike were off the menu and he said OK i know a spot for some bucketmouths he fired up the engine and 10 Min's we where at the spot i think ken has been fly fishing so long i swear the guy can smell fish within a couple of casts he was into a largmouth bass from impossible cover and it took to the air like a good one

ken bagged the first largemouth of the trip

INTO THE THICK OF IT

well i said these things liked the jungle check the picture below to see what we where fishing enough to make a grown man cry us we just stuck on some gurglers and foam heads and fished it those anglers who dare win

IST STRIKE

well it had to go down in the champlain hood the first largmouth to the mcfluff feck me do these things go there like a train with no brakes and when you do get them to the side of the boat the feckers swim round in circles , luckily i picked up the bass thumb technique quite fast the day before on carmine so i had it in fast

THERE NOT CALLED BUCKET MOUTHS FOR NOTHING

even the small fish fought like stink and with fly fishing its not all about size even on my pikesaber these fish but up a right bloody fight hey i was happy

so by lunch time the temps had pretty much got to unbearable levels and being on the water obviously made things worse sunburn wise despite using factor 50 so it was time to get back in get some lunch and get some flies tied for an early start on carmine in the morning but this wasn't to be my only encounter with the fish of Champlain

mmmm maple syrup waffle or a pastrami and Swiss sandwich the hand made capsey sandwich won hands down

nothing better at the end of a hard days fishing than to throw yerself into a rednecks hammock and grab 40 although your redneck may be a bit upset you stole his favorite spot

so that's another day gone and although with the high temps i still managed to bag 6 largemouths all on topwater not to bad but the best fun was the 30 or 40 fish that hit the flies and missed that is what has made me a top water addict

the buzz is in the hit

c ya tomorrow fellow addicts

mcfluffchucker

the fly fishing hunger day 2

TIME TO FISH

so as you can imagine myself and ken chatted into the wee small hours looked at flies and generally chewed the fat with quite a lot of laughing thrown in so we decided a 4 am start would be the best thing as temps were due to rise in the afternoon and would make fishing slightly uncomfy so we made a plan to fish local (lake carmine) till lunch time come in get some lunch and tie flies for the rest of the day till it was beer time , sounded like a good plan to me .

4am coffee time

without a doubt our guide ken makes the finest damm wake up brew in the world grinding his own beans and brewing up enough coffee to keep you awake for days at a time and there big cups as well this was to be a morning ritual for the rest of the week big coffee then down to the local shop for breakfast donuts and supplies for the day

a Scotsman runs through it

well on the way to carmine we decided to check out kens local river which i was going to fish later in the week although it was only around 5am the water was lovely theres something that still gets me going wading around barefoot in rivers an absolute joy first thing in the morning

first view of carmine

over the last year Ive seen a lot of kens pictures of this place both fish and stunning views so to actually see it in the flesh was something else quite stunning , and there be fish to be caught

locked and loaded

so with the boat loaded and launched it was time to set up the gear , far easier to do this at the bank side than on the boat as i was setting up i could actually feel it getting warmer although it looks quite dark in the picture it was quite warm

AND THERE OFF

so ken fired up the engine and we where off , i just sat back and enjoyed the view this was kens playground he knows the water like the back of his hand its a case of when we stop we fish no questions asked and let me tell you every time we stopped the boat and fished we had fish either first or second cast let me tell you theres a lot of so called experts out there who blow there own trumpet Mr capsey is not one of those the guy constantly put me on fish all week in a number of locations and conditions people like him are few and far between but do you here him boasting about it , no never the guy has to rate as one of the finest fly anglers I've ever fished with he is so in tune with whats going on in the water its like the guys got a sixth sense and i know he will hate me saying that but the guy has probably forgotten more than some will ever learn........

CAPT CAPSEY FIRED UP

FIRST CAST FISH

so your fishing a completely new location with untried flies you know what species your fishing for your just a bit unsure as to what your going to start with so i say to ken what should i start with "oh hell those black nosed dace clousers you tied up they will love those in here buddy"

well i didn't need to told twice on a dace went and i cast a fairly moderate length of line and started to short strip straight away , the water was only about 5 ft deep and crystal clear so i didn't need to get it down to far , halfway in bang my first carmi fish was hooked , turned out to be a gorgeous looking yellow perch and an average sized fish for a yellow perch i was more than happy a new species "cheers ken the fly worked then LOL"

A SMALLMOUTH

second cast i pulled one of my target species a smallmouth bass man these things go like rockets and just don't give up after a crash course in bass thumb i had it in the boat photographed and realised i was more than happy i could catch those things all day they really are like small freight trains and they don't understand the word stop ..........i need another fix already

AND IT JUST GETS BETTER

look at the feckin size of that thing ken shouted as i thumbed a big smallie into the boat , my black nosed dace had done it again now i was a very happy boy , i really cant explain how much these things fight I'm addicted already this is simply the fishing version of crack , if this goes on I'm going to end up not going home

i had some rubber legged flies that i had made a few weeks ago (see earlier blog~) and i thought they may do well so i stuck one on and hey presto another species this time a rock bass and they are just as scrappy as there larger cousins what a blast on a 7wgt

1st days total for me

63 smallmouth bass

17 yellow perch

8 rock bass

88 fish in total to the fly i really think you cant complain at that ken had around the same as we were matching each other fish for fish pretty much

stay tuned for more fishy adventures in the u.s.a tomorrow

mcfluffchucker

(a cave in Scotland)

the fly fishing hunger

there was many ways i could have got up to pike adventure land but as i was on a budget i decided to go via new york city and catch the train from there up to pike adventures land , the reason for this is that i have been to new york many times and the flights are cheap and i know my way around so i opted for this route so i started my journey from Edinburgh catching the early train to London from there its a short hop to London heathrow via the tube and then onto the plane

total miles so far

Edinburgh to London heathrow

408 miles

London heathrow to Newark liberty airport

3.453 miles

touchdown

after an uneventful flight and some surprisingly good food from continental and a few great movies (the book of eli awesome film ) i touched down and cleared customs then went and caught the bus into Manhattan i had to take a quick picture of a yellow cab for my son he insisted

a flea pit awaits
i apologise in advance if your from new york but every time i go back it gets worse i mean not only did i have to fork out stoopid dollars for a roach infested hotel room with no windows the Continental breakfast i was offered involved me walking down the street to bloody subway where i was presented with a bit of toast but at least the coffee was good , i returned to bug central and picked up my bags and left , i was no sooner out the hotel door when i had some big African coming up to me offering me skunk at 7.30 in the morning , it has to be said that i left the chap a little confused when i said "although i really appreciated the offer i would have to turn him down as UK border laws prohibit me from importing live animals to the UK , i walked off leaving him scratching his head

Amtrak rocks

without doubt if you are traveling great distances via train then comfort is something you really need and Amtrak provided just that plenty of legroom big seats that recline bloody hell after traveling on the east coast mainline in the UK i felt like i was traveling business class this leg of the journey was quite long taking nearly 10 hours so i really did appreciate the creature comforts and the food was pretty good as well

so long new york

the Manhattan skyline departed into the distance and made a great view although by this time i was thinking stripers in the Hudson river and to be quite honest i was glad to see the back of it , while i was thinking of getting the train i realised although it was a long journey i was going to be traveling through the states of new york , Massachusetts , Connecticut and Vermont and let me tell you that on a train journey of 10 hours that's a hell of a lot of water to rumble past and what could be better for an angler than tons of water to droll at

born in the USA

an all American cheese burger and coffee "large"

and all this and a Hershey bar for around 5 dollars you cant go wrong and it tasted fantastic not like the rubbish you get on UK trains

right I'm telling you now i was feckin scared going through Massachusetts i kid you not the whole state looked like the Blair witch project look at the picture below its a skull by the track yes a feckin skull get me outta here

however I'm sure its a lovely state with plenty of good fishing but i was very creep ed out

mighty American rivers

the Connecticut river is massive i travelled along it for at least an hour before i lost sight of it if you look closer you can see a boat in the middle, along its length i saw numerous anglers chucking lumps of plastic no fly anglers though but what a sight this river is simply stunning

so 10 hours later i exit the train at st albans in Vermont and i felt most relaxed it really didn't feel like i had travelled that far and i arrived refreshed and ready to go

i was picked up by Mr pike adventure himself ken capsey in his massive truck and was given a big can of energy drink and some beef jerky to fire me up i was really so ready to get a rod in the hand and get casting some fluff this would have to wait till the morning though as it was time for a drink and a catch up at pike adventure towers

total miles travelled

4.726

fun to be had with ken

off the scale

see ya tomorrow for day one

mcfluffchucker

(a cave in Scotland)

jungle fishing

OK so before i get into the day to day stuff of the trip to the USA i thought id share this video that ken shot of the kinda stuff we were fishing in i used the pikesaber and a rio pike / musky wf10 floating line and the saber was fecking brillient for getting these fish out off the jungle the rod performed above and beyond what it was made for enjoy the video

see ya all tomorrow for day one of the trip

mcfluffchucker

a cave in scotland

tying flies for next years bass hunt

back from the states

had an outstanding trip to the states

cast

watch the fly on the surface
fish on
OK so the trip to see my bro ken over at pike adventures was awesome the tally for me alone was

251 fish (all on the fly)

7 different species

and a ton of beef jerky

Vermont rocks

catch up with all the adventures this week

mcfluffchucker

(jet lagged and home sick in a cave in Scotland)