Deadman’s Cast with dieFische
Fly troopers on your feet! Let me direct your attention to Eric Feldkamp, aka diefische, comrade and participant in this edition of Deadman’s Cast. While maybe not his style- I like to think of dieFische as the Fonz of fly fishing. Just that cool. Ayyy. So let’s get started.
AirborneAngler (AA): I hope you don’t mind me pairing you with Fonzie of Happy Days (reference for any whippersnappers following along). Is there another/different TV persona you see yourself better compared to?
Eric Feldkamp (EF): I guess I would have to say that I always felt like a cross between Chris and Fleischman off of Northern Exposure. One part of me is an artistic, adventurous spirit looking for the meaning of the universe while wrapped in my own ego and the other half is a practical, self stressed worrier that seems to find fault in everything. It makes for a rather manic life.
AA: On your website dieFische.org you explain one, not only how to pronounce dee-fish-uhh, but also how it means all the fish. Where did you get your passion for all the fish and be honest- which fish is your favorite?
EF: I’ve been lucky enough to live in a lot of places in my 40 years on this giant spinning orb. Some places have been amazingly blessed with nature and adventure, and others…not so much. When I moved to Austin a while back, I quickly realized that one thing that set it apart from many towns is it’s amazing abundance of creeks and rivers. They are clean enough you can actually step in them without exposing yourself to immediate medical danger. Once the joy of the water was there it didn’t take long to notice the fish and the excuses they provided to get wet, cool off, and get a little leisurely exercise.
After I started fishing religiously, I couldn’t believe how in the course of a conversation people would always ask if there was REALLY fishing around Austin. The fact that there was so much of it EVERYWHERE around here, and that people who loved to fish, but only thought they could do it on the coast or in Colorado were clueless to the treasures in places as close as Barton Springs. THAT was why I started “die Fische” and the passion to experience every option around here.
As far as fish go, I really have a special spot in my heart for the natives. When I pull a Guadalupe out of the water and see those diamond markings, it just feels right. The Rio Grandes (while technically not native around here) have always been special to me as well, when you pull them close they look like glowing star charts with deep hidden meanings. Plus, the sections of river you find them both on can hold their own against any of the big “Fly Fishing Waters”.
AA: While taking a photo of Rio Grande a glaring beam of light bounces off the water blinding you momentarily- but enough to throw you off your balance. In your disarray you slip. Choose your most likely fate:
a) you knock your noggin’ into an eternal deep sleep
b) you fight your way to your feet only to be choked out by tangled fly line
c) choke on a minnow you near swallow submerged
d) or other?
EF: D: Two Gar grab my pant legs, one on each side. They drag me down into the deep pocket of water I’ve fished 100 times. It always looked like it was ten, maybe twelve feet deep, but they take me much deeper than that. Suddenly Rio’s start swirling around my head like phosphorescent ravers on an Ectasy binge. Shortly thereafter I find myself face to face with the King of the Deep, the mighty Channel Cat, he speaks in a heavy, deep voice that sounds like a strange combination of James Earl Jones and Louis Armstrong, suffice to say it’s deep, much like the water that is seeping in every pore. The words are non-descript but comforting and full of love. The lack of oxygen and the relaxed state I’m drifting into take hold, and before slipping away into the darkness, I confess my unbridaled love for my wife, and my son before being entertained for eternity in the after life by the Dance of the Lizard King.
AA: Wow, that is quite a vivid response. Add one more detail for us- which body of water do you meet your demise on?
EF: Pedernales. EVERY time I fish there alone I feel a strange death and rebirth, so dying there wouldn’t really be much of a shock.
AA: Ok, I can understand that. So then, name two rivers- one is heaven, the other is hell.
EF: Heaven? Barton Creek. Every time I go there (when there is water) it blows my mind that this oasis is right here in the epicenter of this crazy urban forest.
Hell? Any major river that has been written off as a sewer pipe for progress. The one that immediately comes to mind is Missouri River in Omaha, Nebraska. In all the years i lived there i would stare at that river and feel some magnetic pull that i was never able to realize because of the immense lack of respect it saw. Floating cow corpses were not uncommon to see washing downstream in the endless stream of muck. It wasn’t until i lived in Oregon, Colorado and Austin later in life that i saw clear water and realized what power flowing water has over me.
AA: Please elaborate.
EF: Pollution, arrogance and greed have ruined many a things, but waterways are the most obvious. Just glance at these waters and you can feel it. Killing an environment for short term gains is in my mind the true definition of hell (or evil for that matter).
The flip side of the coin is Barton Creek. It means so much to so many people that it remains clean and healthy in spite of the development around it. Many people I talk to say that when Barton Creek goes to crap from development, that is the day they will sign the death warrant for Austin. I happen to agree, it helps keep so many people (including me) centered that it truly deserves the amazing reputation it has developed. It’s freakin unreal, i just wish the party goers passing through town would realize that and give it the respect it deserves before they kill it (or at least access to it).
AA: When you pass your readers ban together for a dieFische monument. What is your crowning achievement they recognize and where do they place it?
EF: I don’t want to sound like a Oprah Winfrey Do Gooder, but if anything, I want to be remembered for getting people to wake up and realize that the dream is all around them. If you believe everything you see in fly fishing videos, websites, and magazines, then it’s all about the biggest fish and the most remote, exotic locations. It sells reels, rods, and plane trips with guides, but it also stokes the fire that seems to be raging across this country, the dissatisfaction with what you DO have and the hopes to achieve what you DON’T. Die Fische is a movement more than anything else, one of embracing what you have and enjoying it to the max. So you have an Eagle Claw 2WT rod and are catching 6” Bluegill? Do you have the capacity to enjoy that and make the most of it? If so, the joy you feel suddenly equates to that of a dude on a flats boat with a 10WT catching tarpon. It’s all about perspective and appreciation, unfortunately that doesn’t sell DVD’s or magazines so it’s not what you read or hear about.
Don’t get me wrong, I love going to Colorado to visit for family and fish for trout on Eleven Mile or the Dream Stream, but when I’m here at home I don’t pine after those waters, I head to Barton Creek and immerse myself in everything it has too offer.
It can be magical here, and I just want people to see (and experience) that. Those that get it, get it. Those that don’t? I just feel sad for them.
It’s all around you people.
AA: I hear you. I’ve stopped trying to explain at the office that the 10″ Rio I got over the weekend really is a helluva catch. Although I will admit I will never look at another Rio in the same way again. (Normally, I just sing the song in my head when one is on line, “Her name is Rio and she”- never mind). In closing I’ve prepare the following award for you… “Attention to orders! The Department of Fly Anglers hereby presents dieFische of the Texas Hill Country Regiment the Humanitarian Angling Award for his dedication to Barton Creek and all Texas Hill Country Rivers. Your steadfast devotion is inspirational and the epitome of the heart of true fly angler. Your actions bring great credit upon yourself, the Texas Hill Country, and Fly Anglers World Wide. Signed this 5th day of July 2012.”
There you have it folks- the man, the myth, the legend dieFische.
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
Deadman’s Cast with @TimFishmanEmery
Anglers attttttennnntion! Take your seats folks and welcome to another Deadman’s Cast interview. This week we are excited to have Fishing Pro Tim Emery, twitter handle @TimFishmanEmery, on the grill this week. Settle in as we fish filet Fishman into a fish taco- peeking into the ‘what if’ scenario if today he cast his last cast.
AirborneAngler (AA): Tim, welcome, thank you for agreeing to meet up with the troopers on AirborneAngler and surprise- you’re dead!
TimFishmanEmery (TE): O Shit’ that was fast! I was just staring at the water and now I am dead?
AA: Yup, happens that easy around here. So, we haven’t decided how to polish you off just yet. I want to get a feel for the kind of angler you are. But I will let you decide on the body of water you get waxed at. So, where are you on your final day on the water?
TE: I have known this for years! I am driving down a river looking for rising fish. Not sure which river, more then likely the Eagle River near Vail, CO. All of the sudden I see a rise and veer off the road. Bye, Bye!
AA: That’s a possibility. But maybe knowing how, when, and where you picked up fly fishing can help us determine your fate. Tell us all how you got into chunking mock-up variants of fish food.
TE: Vail, 1995- I met a guy who’s good friend was a fly fisherman. He was a fly fisherman. I spent the summer chasing them around. Didn’t catch my first fish until October that year. Man I thought these guys were great fisherman, turns out they didn’t really know what they were doing. I spent the next winter teaching my self how to fly fish. The next spring I met a guy who owned a fly guide service, I told him I could fish. (I was a ski teacher at the time) he figured I knew what I was talking about. Boy was he wrong, he took me to do a corporate event for training, once we were done he looked at me and said “I hired you to guide and you don’t know how to F@#king cast! I said, F@#king teach me” He did and the rest is history. 18 years later, all I want to do is fly fish anytime I can. Even when driving a car off a cliff!
AA: Sounds like you’ve already had one near death experience. But here, we won’t let any raging mad employer have the privilege. Nope this is your fault. We’re going with the veering car and rising fish. So on your decent into the drink your laser beam focus sees a rising fish go full gusto and leap from the water. What species is it specifically and why?
TE: Trout, doesn’t matter what kind. Why? Because the only other fish in the mountains are White Fish and they leave a shitty slime on you. Plus, trout love to eat flies!
AA: Still in a slow motion, almost parachute decent, do you:
a) continue drooling?
b) reach over into the passenger seat for your rod case and rig up?
c) snap out of it and start a Hail Mary or other prayer of choice?
d) ride it out and use the vehicle as a pontoon boat and fish the rest of the day down river?
TE: B and D. I can rig in 8 sec. and use the car as a boat. If there is one fish rising there must be more.
AA: I like your logic. How long do your people wait to call for and send out a search party? Who makes that phone call?
TE: My wife would make the call, she gets a call every morning and night from me, I have 2 small kids they are more important then anything to me. If I don’t call, they will be the first ones in the search party. Good to be loved!
AA: Yes, indeed. Glad to see your a family man. Well, the search party finally locates your final resting place. Your local flyshop commissions a memorial at the location. What is it of and how does the inscription read?
TE: It’s already been planned! (no really) I want a big boulder in the middle of the South Platte River in Denver. I have put a lot of time in to creating an urban fishery in Denver. I spent 5 years working with Denver Trout Unlimited to create and run The South Platte Pro-Am Carp Slam! This tournament has raised over $100,000 for the river. Yes, we use Carp to bring awareness to the Trout. This was hard for Trout Unlimited to understand at first but now they are on board! By the way, have you caught Carp on the fly yet?
AA: No, I haven’t but recently the Texas Hill Country Mixed Bag tourney I’m in has me putting them in the crosshairs. Carp Slam sounds like quite an accomplishment and like you deserve a momument! That’s pretty awesome. While I can’t build you your momunment I can give you an AirborneAngler award. It reads: “Attention to orders! The department of Fly Anglers hereby hypothetically postumously awards the Airmoble Vehicular Assault award, with V device for Valor, to Tim Emery for his actions during the battle of Rising Road Trout on Eagle River. During Tim’s decent he was relentless in his actions to rig up and take the fight to the fish. Never did he surrender his reel or rod. His actions bring great credit uopn himself, the flies he flung, and the fly fishing community. Awarded the 17th Day of May 2012. Signed by my hand, AirborneAngler, Fly Angler of the Texas Hill Country.”
Tim, thanks for joining us today on Deadman’s Cast.
You can follow the Fishman before the afterlife on Facebook, Twitter at @TimFishmanEmery and/or catch his podcasts at www.FishExplorer.com. He’ll friend anyone with fish in their profle. Tim would also like to give a shout out to www.hogislandboatworks.com. He says they have a new skiff coming out that will be a great boat for sight fishing carp and other fish. Until next time- I am signing off.
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
Deadman’s Cast with MOTroutHunter
Orig. Photo (c) 2012 Timothy Lee, used with permission.
In-coming!!! Hit the deck it’s time for another AirborneAngler interview! Our guest comes to us not far from the reporting sounds of rifles and gun fire. This week we have Walt Fulps as he checks in to check fire for Deadman’s Cast. Living not far from Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri- the twitter dubbed @MOTroutHunter guides and lives on the water.
AirborneAngler (AA): Walt, thank you for making time for the Airborne. I do appreciate it, but this is still Deadman’s Cast. So, I am still going to hypothetically pen and ink you into the after life. How do you feel about that?
Walt Fulps (WF): Uh…
AA: Great, glad you’re excited. Now, your twitter profile states you’re a fly fishing guide, instructor, writer, and taxidermist. What is the most interesting thing you’ve taxidermied? Is that the word?
WF: Probably not in the dictionary, but there definitely needs to be an active verb for the practice, doesn’t there? I’ve done quite a few cool things over the years – elk, mountain goat, bighorns, etc. The most interesting would have to be an armadillo. Never doing that again. What a pain. I still get the occasional phone call from someone asking for strange mounts, like a squirrel rowing a tiny canoe, or a raccoon kicking back drinking a beer. It sounds like a great idea, until I quote them a price. For most folks, taxidermy is too expensive to use as as a mediocre punch line.
AA: Interesting. I suddenly really want a squirrel rowing a canoe. When I need one I will let you know. Now, I fished some of your home waters and it was a great time- but I didn’t see any canoeing squirrels. If I let you choose the body of water you go out on would it be a Missouri body of water? Or a stream bed somewhere else?
WF: To be honest, I’m not all that picky. My perfect trout stream, of course, has to give me at least a fairly decent chance at catching some trout. But the #1 thing I enjoy is the scenery, the wildlife, and being ALONE. It’s hard to fine privacy on Missouri trout streams sometime. So, I’d probably head to rugged terrain with a ton of wadable streams. The Smokies, the Rockies, Northern California, maybe someplace WAAY up north somewhere. And preferably someplace I’ve never been and know very little about. I really dig trying to figure a place out.
AA: Ok, let’s say we toss you up into North Cal and get you on a good trout stream all alone. Nothing but you and the Sierra Nevada’s and the bears. Being in the state of the Golden Bears- lets say you run into one and it eats you whole. This happens just after catching the trout of a life time! What was your go-to/favorite fly that landed you your dream fish?
WF: Loaded question! While I’m not a fan of fishing a big hatch (I’m weird that way, I guess), I certainly do enjoy fishing dries and terrestrials. I’m especially fond of throwing great big terrestrials like a Dave’s Hopper. In fact, fishing a big grasshopper pattern during the summer is probably my overall favorite style of fishing, and I bet I’ve caught 1/3 of my REALLY big fish just that way. But, since it may not be summertime when the bear eats me… Streamer fishing can be great fun when the fish are feeding aggressively, but it takes me away from what I feel is the more delicate nature of fly fishing. So, I’m probably nymphing, and I’m probably fishing a two-fly rig (is that allowed?).
AA: Its your funeral so of course it is.
WF: Well then, my lead fly is going the more obvious, often obnoxiously obvious, fly – something like an egg pattern, a bright yellow wooly worm, or maybe big ugly nymph. My trailer fly will be a more subtle pattern meant to reproduce food the trout are eating everyday. So, let’s say a size 12 Gold-ribbed Hare’s Ear with rubber legs trailed by a size 20 black midge larvae. Of course, adjust the specific fly selection to the specific river of my demise!
AA: So, then what’s your take on fly fishing as a whole? Do only those who dry fly upstream make it into the pearly gates? Or does throwing wet streamers send you straight to hell?
WF: Oh, heck no. Catch the freaking fish! Everybody has their preferences. I’m most commonly nymphing upstream, mending, working a clean drift, swinging out, and picking it up slowly. That said, I’ll throw streamers, dries, emergers, whatever I think will get the job done. I know plenty of hyper-purists out there that are shooting themselves in the foot, and I’ve had some funny interactions with them. For example, there was the client who refused to fish an egg fly, even though that was THE hot fly the week of his trip. So, I bumped him down to an obvious nymph (a big stonefly, if I remember right), which he also shunned. He ultimately ignored my advice and fished small nymphs like zebra midges and #18 copper johns most of the day with very little luck. When we ran out of time and started heading back toward the truck, I decided I’d fish along behind him with the yellow egg fly I’d pitched to him earlier in the day. I caught three fish during our 20-minute walk back downstream, which was more fish than he’d caught all day. After I hooked fish #2, I asked again if he’d like to try an egg fly, but he declined. “No thanks. I’m just happy to be on the river on such a beautiful day.” Glad he had the right attitude, but I have a sneaking suspicion he added egg flies to his box before his next fishing trip.
AA: Just happy to be on the river? Yeah, he lied. Probably fishing them now. Well, after several hours of eating you whole the bear in question keels over and dies. Serves him right. However the park ranger who found the bear can clearly see something (You!) inside. After an autopsy they find you inside. What do you want done with your remains?
a) cremated and ashes spread over the water?
b) cremated with the bear as you are now one and spread over the water?
c) sent home close casket and private service?
d) have taxidermy work done on you and the bear posed in your final moments?
WF: I would never wish that kind of taxidermy job on any of my colleagues! It’s bad enough when someone drags his deer two miles down a dry creek bed to his truck and then expects to me magically repair the resultant bald spots on his mount. That said, I don’t care what they do with me, but I would love for my friends to get together and have a bear BBQ in my honor with a keg or two of home brew from the Public House Brewery right here in Rolla. It bears noting (pun only partially intended) that it must be Kansas City BBQ – plenty of molasses in the sauce!
AA: Fair enough, I would be interested in bear brisket- bring it on! Lastly, on hearing of your demise the local fly shop, guide customers, and readers erect a MOTroutHunter memorial in your name. Three parts, what is it of? What does the inscription say? And where do they place it?
WF: I’ve actually toyed around with an idea for some time – a sculpture that looks roughly like a fisherman casting a fly rod, cobbled together from pieces of driftwood. THAT would be cool. I wish I could say I truly have a favorite trout stream where I’d like it displayed, but I’ve gotten to the point that I appreciate most trout streams to equal degrees for their various qualities. So, I’d say maybe near the Roubidoux Creek in Waynesville, MO, where I first learned to fly-fish. But, then again, I’d be just as happy if it was erected where that Forest Ranger found the bear. And the inscription, of course, would read “Sometimes you eat the barr. Sometimes the barr eats you.”
AA: If I start collecting drift wood I will send it your way for that explicit purpose. That’s an awesome idea and you need to do that! Please invite me to the christening if you do. Well Walt, I wanted to thank you for sharing time with us on the AirborneAngler. I’ve prepared a closing Fly Fishing citation for you, it reads: “Attention to orders! The Department of Fly Anglers has awarded the Golden Bead-headed Bear Boxing (GB3) award to Walt Fulps, MOTroutHunter, for bringing a bear to hand in the California Sierra Nevada’s during a lifetime ending campaign of trout hunting. His dedication to isolated streams and eating the barr, even when it eats you, has displayed exemplary fortitude in the quest of executing the perfect cast in perfect places. His dedication and perseverance bring great credit upon himself, the flies he flung, and the fly fishing community. Awarded the 2nd Day of May 2012. Signed by my hand, AirborneAngler, Fly Angler of the Texas Hill Country.”
You can follow Walt before the afterlife on Facebook, Twitter at @MOTroutHunter and/or set up a guided trip, or request a taxidermied-canoe-rowing squirrel on missouritrouthunter.com. Until next time- I am signing off.
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
Deadman’s Cast with OneBugIsFake
Welcome everyone to the first AirborneAngler series: “Deadman’s Cast” interview. The premise is simple- what if today you cast your last? My first interview is with angler and FlyStock organizer Brandon Robinson, @OneBugIsFake on the twitter.
AA (AirborneAngler): Hey Brandon, thank you for joining me today for Deadman’s Cast- your last day on the water. So, let’ s start, what is your favorite fly color and pattern?
BR (Brandon Robinson): Thanks for having me. Well, olive streamers are generally my go-to choice, but it depends on the fish. Big Guads eat small, so I fish small. Highly aggressive trout eat big, so I like to chunk articulated to them. Rainey’s Carp Tease in olive is a good search pattern though. There, we will just go with that. This was not the opening question I was expecting, seems weak. Ope, nope, I got it. I see what you did there. You’re gathering contest intel. If you are sweating it that bad, I’ll buy you a handful. Pobre niño.
AA: You’re sharp and volunteer excess information readily. We’re off to a great start. No- this is not an intel search into the Texas Hill Country Mixed Bag tourney. That implies you have intel to being with. So, a fatal wind knot loops your false cast and olive Rainey Carp Teaser straight into your eye. When you try to remove it you bleed out and die. What body of water did you die on?
BR: I wear safety glasses when fishing for that exact reason. Therefore I reject your scenario, and propose a new one. Keeping with the “Death and Fly Fishing” theme, If I knew I had a few hours left and wanted to fish: What river would I choose?
Damn, that is a tough one. It won’t be a Texas river, but I would have to say I would head for the South Toe River in Western North Carolina.
AA: Interesting. Well, while fishing the South Toe River you stub your toe are unable to walk out drowning in the water. You just die. Feeling sorry for your mishap the local fly shop erects a monument on the bank in your memory. What is it a statue of and what does the inscription say?
BR: I just die? I am not that easy to kill off, buddy. That seems like you might be projecting your own fears, Mr. Over-the-waders… Fine, I’m dead and Chris or Matt raise money to erect a monument in my memory… Due to lack of funding, they would probably just put one of those roadside wooden crosses. That would be kind of funny actually, everybody that shows up after would wonder how a car wrecked that far from the highway. I like it.
AA: Not all of your fellow anglers could make the memorial dedication but your favorite fly blogger did attend your funeral. Who was it and what did he/she say passing your eye patched corpse in closed or open casket?
BR: Now you’re just trying to get me in trouble. Doesn’t matter, my favorite bloggers don’t even know me. Wait, where did the eye-patch come from? Am I a pirate? Can I be a pirate? A kick-ass fly fishing pirate. I bet I look freaking sexy in a pair of breeches, dead sexy — get it? HA! Screw you, that was punny.
AA: Right. Well, I forgot to mention that when you stubbed your toe and fell- you still foul hooked your eye. Now it has a patch so it can be open casket. Anyways, you are a proud Air Force vet and also creator of the recent famed “FlyStock” Fly Fishing event supporting Project Healing Waters. That’s totally awesome and thank you for your service. But which branch of service would you rather have joined?
BR: I wouldn’t say FlyStock is famous, maybe next year. Thank you for your service as well. Coast Guard. Totally should have been in the brown-water navy. I’m kidding. If my Dad hadn’t of talked some sense into me, I probably would have joined the Corps. Dad made a valid point though, pick something that would provide you with a life afterwards. I chose to learn a trade and I am glad for it, no regrets. I love the Air Force and thanks to a handful of great friends, I love the Corps. I still call them all on November 10th too.
AA: That’s very patriotic of you. Well, because of your Coast Guard comment I radio St. Peter to deny you access beyond the pearly gates. He owes me for saving his bacon back in ’03 during the invasion and agrees you should be punished. Sentenced to hell you are:
a) fly fishing a skunk for eternity
b) spinner reel fishing forever
c) still fly fishing but being out classed by me
d) all of the above, or
e) other
BR: A) At least I’m fishing. B) Close, but still fishing. C) Wake up sport, you’re dreaming. D) Huh? E) Hell is a place where I catch every fish, every time; without even trying. It would be great at first, but it would lose its novelty quickly when nothing presents a challenge anymore.
AA: I can agree with that. Ok, well now you have 5 seconds to list 3 words your fellow anglers will remember you by forever, what are they?
BR: Atypical, funny, cheap. Atypical is just a nicer way of saying, “not normal” and I don’t think there is a soul that will argue that one. I like to think I am funny, at least funny enough for people to enjoy my company. Cheap, as in I didn’t always have to have the nice things.
AA: Thank you Brandon, in closing I’ve generated a final Fly Fishing Award citation for you. It reads: “Attention to orders! The Department of Fly Anglers posthumously awards the Penny-wise Atypical Humorous award to: Brandon Robinson of OneBugIsFake. Brandon has brought humor into the lives of those around him constantly displaying the fortitude to fly fish in any futile condition on to victory. Despite the number of broken fly rods at his own expense he never ceased to bring a smile. His dedication and perseverance bring great credit upon himself, the flies he flung, and the fly fishing community. Awarded this 11th Day of April, in the Great State if Texas. Signed by my hand, AirborneAngler, Fly Angler of the Texas Hill Country.”
Cue taps folks and that’s a wrap. So there you have it everyone, Deadman’s cast with Brandon Robinson. Our buddy OneBug is not gone yet but I do recommend he get some steel toed wadding boots. Keep wearing those safety glasses too. You can follow Brandon before the afterlife on Twitter at @OneBugIsFake and/or catch up with him on his blog, onebugisfake.com. Until next time- I am signing off.
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
The AirborneAngler 