The Airborne Angler

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  • Mayday Mayday Mayday

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    Day 1 of the How Small a Trout Everyday in May Challenge

    Today’s prompt: May Day. My spin: Mayday. It’s all the same-same right? Wrong. Initially you tell a grunt like me “Mayday,” and I’m going to come running guns-a-blazing, call in an air strike, or grab my fishing net to help you land the big one; fire fight or fish fight dependent. Google and Wikipedia have however explained to me that there is no need for alarm and that everyone needs to rally around- uh, a may pole? Is that like a salt water 12wt or something??? Fail.

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    Well, I have a mayday call of my own. I need a morale boost. Yesterday, two of my LongearHybrid sunfish fell off my scorecard and count for zero points in the Texas Hill Country Mixed Bag tourney. Being hybrid they don’t count as Longear and accordingly fall off. See picture above for a zero point fish (pretty feesh thou). Fail, I say again, fail. So I’m issuing a distress call to rally up some motivation and support. This can be delivered in the form of a Facebook “Like”, a Twitter share/RT/or mention, or any other platform you can send out some props/cheers/rooting me. Posting comments below to sound off to this post or other THCMB battle tracking update work as well! Signing up for COURIER DELIVERY would be the ultimate.

    So here it goes… Mayday, mayday, mayday.
    See you of the high ground,
    AirborneAngler

    Today’s topic of May Day is prompted by the Everyday in May challenge. For more info click here. For all AirborneAngler Everyday in May posts click here.

  • Guerrilla Fly Gear: Improvised Fly Box

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    Nothing may be more classic than an Altoid’s breath mint tin for a fly box. However, for the bring-the-kitchen-sink types like myself and because I chew gum more instead, I propose the new Juciy Fruit 60 piece containers as an alternative.

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    These little palm sized cup containers are great. No real work necessary other than peeling the label. Once the top sticker is removed you can see thru the plastic lid. The lid helps with the gum sure- but it’s easy snap open or close/ big or small is what makes it kind of innovative. For gum anyways.

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    Not convinced its special enough yet? Fair enough, but this has a dual purpose function. They work great for fly tying trash containers as well. Instead of an open styrofoam cup that feather bits get blown out of- this little container makes a great trash container too. Just throw all the snips in there and empty it out without worrying about a spill. Their shape won’t let them tip over like a styrofoam cup either. And once you’re done tying up some flies- empty the booger out and toss you’re flies in. Then you’re good to go. Kind of an all in one and simple eh? Simple, multifunctional, light weight, everything needed to meet AirborneAngler Tac-Tak standards.

    Until next time, see you on the high ground,
    AirborneAngler

  • D-Day plus 15 (D+15)

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    When the conditions are right there is nothing like a good day on the water. When they are not- nothing is more awful. The later was the case today. So why bother you ask? Because I was going through withdrawals with all work and no play.

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    The only thing that made foul hooking a fish too small for points was foul hooking every branch and limb hanging over the water. No excuses on the wind- it was where I was aiming. In fact the sweet spot I was aiming for was over a submerged limb and under over hanging branches; a side cast shot into the wind and hooked in toward the bank. That’s what it took to catch the Longear of the day. Did I mention the lift in the hook set caught the line in said over hanging branches? Frustrating to say the least yet rewarding in hand.

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    The final straw that near broke me was my camera shy Bluegill. I do my best to be ready for the photo-op and a quick release, but it gets challenging when the fish won’t cooperate. It’s a good thing that sunfish are so resilient. However, today bordered on the ridiculous. It got to the point of having to replace and set the fish back in the measure board about 5 times. Each time almost bouncing and convulsing right off the board, onto the bank, and back in the water. It got to the point- and thank my lucky stars no one was around, that I literally verbalized my frustration with a yelling moan.

    “You’re going to DIE floppy!”

    I said it wit the upmost concern for the fish.

    Anyways, I got the shot and he got back in the water just fine. Didn’t up a new species for the contest but I did up the size on the two I already had. Go Rangers!

    ATW!
    AirborneAngler

  • Mr. Whiskers

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    Look, I know my artistic abilities are limited- but I appreciate that some people can’t draw a straight line. Stick figures can be challenging. I’m not one to judge. While I am no Picasso, I like how my iPad or iPhone can add that little extra touch to my fly fishing passions. Because my fly fishing passions can definitely use some kind of mystical/magical help. And don’t let any paratrooper out there lie to you. The Airborne is superstitious, and yes, they believe in magic. Lucky boots, lucky parachute…. whatever.

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    This was my first catfish caught on a fly. Because a flip-flappy bluegill at a young age gave me a bad fish handling PTSD experience, (thank you Mom for unhooking all my fish the rest of that day) I was glad my lucky friend Dave was there for the step-by-step pointers to avoid the cat’s pointers. I’ve since recovered and learned fish handling judo. Mr. Whiskers portrayed here is in a three fingered fin bar.

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    The Blanco River where this picture was taken has been on my mind as of late and has been good to me. It’s riffles, runs, and deep pools hold deep magic.

    (Insert Bullwinkle voiceover) Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbitcatfish outta my hat!

    (Insert Rocky voiceover) Not again!

    Oh yes, again. Magic. Tah-duh!

    See you on the high ground,
    AirborneAngler

  • Field Fish

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    In lieu of being able to fish for lunch- opted for the next closest thing at hand. My pen and my field book- both literally at hand. I call it field fish for two reasons. Field expedient methods are often rough as is this sketch. I also drew this in a field book- reason number two. No real science to it but it just helped bridge the gap between fishing and not fishing. What’s your bridge?

    20120422-142357.jpgThis was the first fish I caught on my first self tied fly.

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    See you on the high ground,
    AirborneAngler

  • 04/20/2012 Follow Friday @RodrickHawgBrown

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    This week we have a special Follow Friday for you fish fans from the AirborneAngler HQ. Sun Tzu, master of warfare teaches us that, “if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.” -Sun Tzu, The Art of War.

    Well, fly angling man this week you need to open up your scope and bring Roderick Hawg-Brown in your crosshairs. He has a great blog and a neat series of posts called: Letters to the Predator. So take aim and shoot him a question. Just don’t come crying to me if he happens to crush your soul- and or fly rod for that matter, just for the sake of humoring us all.

    The best thing about Roderick is that is that he ‘speaks the truth’ (signature closing line and true statement). So, if you’re bashful, sensitive, don’t think your rod can handle the bend, then this Follow Friday may not be for you. For the rest of my troopers brave enough to take a peek and see the elephant- or hawg in this case, march to the sound of the guns and give a follow.

    You can follow Roderick on Twitter at @RodrickHawgBrown, and check out his site at roderickhawgbrown.com

    See you on the high ground,
    AirborneAngler

    Previous AirborneAngler Follow Fridays

  • D-Day plus 3 (D+3)

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    After work I tracked down to Barton Creek for some sunfish action. I was able to pull this little guy out of the water with an OD green popper. Typically, such a small fry equals a non-event in the log book. However, for the tourney meeting the minimum catch size counts- and that’s something to get excited about!

    Also, the Leaderboard for the contest went up today and things are looking good. Stay tuned and feel free to leave me some motivation in the comments.

    ATW!
    AirborneAngler

  • It’s the Little Things

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    I’ve been wanting to draw a Parachute Adams for the whole Airborne theme I’ve got going on. Surprise right? But trying to get the photo for inspiration using an iPhone to shoot the picture was almost challenging. Shifting auto focus nearly got the best of me. Almost.

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    After a few shots and the steadiness of hand required to lay down and arm a trip wired claymore land mine, I got the shot I wanted. Or at least a shot could deal with anyways. As tough-guy as that may sound with explosives and all, the irony is the song that was playing in my head. As I was drawing this small fly instead of U2’s, “The Sweetest Things”, the cadence remix in my head ringing over and over was ‘its the little things’. All in the same tone. I know you can hear the chorus. Real macho right?

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    Anyways, sometimes it is the little things in life we take for granted. The smallest things can bring us such great joy. Just like a size 18 (I’m totally guessing because it’s not the size 6-10 streamers I throw a lot of) Parachute Adams can bring in a good sized trout. Who’d’ve thunk right? And that my friends is the sweetest thing.

    See you on the high ground,
    AirborneAngler

    PS
    Don’t judge. Ooh oh oh the sweetest things.

  • D-Day Minus 0 (D-0)

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    First days are rough. First day of school I think I cried hated it. First day in the Army- I know I hated that too. Even first days of things you like can really be rough. The first day of the Texas Hill Country Mixed Bag tourney was no exception. It blew. No literally,it blew really hard with a wind out of the south-east.

    I prepped hard the night before. I looked over the map and weather info over every body of water I knew I could fish. All of them forecasted winds from 13-20mph. Despite its challenges the water was productive. Many fish did not measure up to the minimum requirements but was still fun. I tried to focus more on learning how to fish despite austere conditions and work on my cast. In my mind everyone else was playing the POG and staying away well protected away from the wind and water. The thought made me feel better anyways. I needed some form of motivation after all the fighting. Fighting the wind, fighting my line, fighting the measure baord, fighting the fish to stay on the measure baord. But this is why we fish right?


    Airbonre! ATW!
    AirborneAngler

  • Fly Fishing Film Tour F3T Swag!

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    You know that awkward moment when you realize you’ve geek-ed out on something hard, I’m proud to admit I’ve hit it. Point and case- I got my monkey (pimp HowlerBros logo sticker)! Last night I was in swag hog heaven. Vendor booths fly flicks- it was better than getting sick at the fair.

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    Howler Brothers sponsored the 2012 Austin Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T) at the Paramount Theater this year. Originally scheduled for the Alamo Draft House they had to shift fire to the Paramount before it all went down. The venue did not disappoint. Learning to appreciate fly fishing I find implies learning to appreciate all things vintage. The Paramount is exactly that- vintage, and made a very suiting location. As a new fly angler I did not know events like these existed until a few months ago. As soon as I did my ticket was purchased and I was counting down the days.

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    Now, having grabbed every sticker I could and gorging my eyes out over awesome fly film footage; I am content enough to vomit up this sad excuse of a review. Point blank it was awesome. I meet cool people, drooled over the coolest of gear (Diablo Paddlesports yaks), and dreamed the night away on how I would be making a headline in next year’s premiered videos. Thanks for the good times.

    See you on the high ground,
    AirborneAngler