Trout Bum Diaries

Back to reality, sort of

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:45:00 +0000

Like they say, all good things must come to an end, eventually...

We have spent the last 7 weeks up north chasing steelhead, and now we are back home. Back to work, back to traffic, pavement, houses, chores, and other things that get in the way of good steelhead fishing. The time home has given me the opportunity to reflect.

Jay looking for some late season lovin

This trip has been an amazing experience, a trip of a lifetime, the kind that you wish you could experience every year, but you know it's not always going to be possible, and it will haunt you just knowing that it's out there. For me, Steelhead fishing is what I look forward to the most, the thing that dictates where I live, and what I attempt to plan my life around. I am relatively new to the game, it is just that I became addicted early, and now, it rules me.

Gotta have the pirate flag - 12 day float

Unlike other trips we have been on, some of us knew what we were after, what we thought it would be like. When we traveled through Mongolia last fall, we had no idea what to expect, so we experienced the ups and downs together, it was easier on all of us because we didn't know if we were having good fishing or bad. Brian caught his first steelhead last spring on our trip up north. It was the first time he had ever picked up a double, cast a skagit, or dropped a loop. He picked it up, fast. This trip we watched Brian fine-tune his casting and swinging, throwing lasers every day, sun up to sun down. Thad joined us as well this fall, he had never cast a double either. He adapted, and earned every fish he landed.

Brian, from Florida, throws tight loops

Thad, with a well earned buck.

The fishing wasn't easy. We were on water we hadn't fished before, unsure about access points, unsure if the fish were there, but we kept swinging, and found enough to keep us focused. Sometimes the fishing was lights out, 6 or 7 fish from a pool, grabs on the hang down, grabs as the fly hits the water, spotting fish, catching spotted fish. And other times, it was tough, 5 anglers taking turns fishing different pieces, days and days, nothing. It was steelhead fishing.

Jay and Owens in a feverish tying session - back yard gazebo - somewhere in British Columbia

Like our trip in the spring, we got to build some great relationships and meet some very cool people. People who have given their lives to steelhead, inspiring folks. We nearly killed our old man friend, Tim Pask, who got giardia (which is likely my fault..) and lost a pound a day for 25 days, we almost burned down his house too - read his post on he chum here .

1 river, 8 days, 1 fish

As the trip went on, we all settled into our grooves, anticipating the time we got to spend in flow each day. Before we knew it, the snow was starting to fall, and the water was getting colder and colder. Most anglers had left the area, we pushed on, not every plan worked, we left rivers untouched, and kept searching. Eventually the rivers started to ice, and it was time to head home.

Jay can't feel his hands because the water is 35 degrees

We had heard some positive reports from our home waters and drove all day and all night to find this...

More later.

Nuff Said

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:45:00 +0000

Bum Report v.2

noreply@blogger.com (Jay J) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:41:00 +0000

The Second leg of our current project is underway and with more burps than a mongolian family reunion feast. Sometimes it feels like we have never done big adventures before. We have instilled a new general rule, plan for the worst and then plan for worse than that. I stay awake wondering how did the dudes before us do the real exploring without half the gear we have in our dirty bleeding hands? The only solution i can barely reach with my shivering whiskey soaked brain is they were many thick layers more badass then us. But we are here and we have been on a river side base camp for about a month. We have taken out the AEG iron and are attempting to flatten out the wrinkles of this thing the invincible psychos call fishing but us mortals call steelheading. 2 of us have literally shit there pants but i cant name names because justin and tim would probably be embarrassed. We are now in one piece for the most part and hope to make a great film. We are all clocked in to the greatest part of our job. Life is looking cold, sharp, and brilliant.

Swingin the Blues, Ticks and FFR

noreply@blogger.com (Robison) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 05:09:00 +0000

On the way over to FFR Justin and I swung through Steamboat to hook up with John St John at Hog Island and some of the boys from Gore Creek to spend the day on the Blue.

The Blue has always been on my hit list for Colorado rivers so when the opportunity popped up to swing a fly we took it.

First off I have to say that the put in is completely redonkulous.

Meat was on the menu as far as the fly selection and there were a couple of nice pay offs.

The highlight for the drive into Denver had to be the nice little hitch hiker Justin picked up somewhere along the way. There are only two things that terrify Justin, rattlesnakes and ticks and after watching his reaction to the tick I was wishing we had seen a rattle snake. Naturally the first thing that comes to mind is lime disease and I was always told that you want to fry the little suckers out of you as soon as possible. Our best guess is that he picked the little guy up while he was taking a piss in the tall grass at the end of our float. In his panic he broke out the crackberry to Google tick removal and when he read somewhere that you do not want to try and burn them out he wouldn’t let me near it, so we decided to let the parasite ride shotgun till we could prep ourselves for the surgical procedure that would take place later that evening. With our new companion attached to Justin’s calf we headed out for the 3 hour drive into Denver. Apparently the secret to removing a tick is to grab them by the ass with a pair of tweezers and gently apply pressure as you pull them from the skin and then hold them there for two or three minutes and they will unlatch their jaws and wah lah.

The plan was to document this all on film but unfortunately we were too caught up in the moment so I will just have to let you all know that the tweezer pull is the real deal and Justin still has his leg.

The whole AEG crew made it out to the big show in Denver. While it looked like the numbers were down at the show the numbers looked like they were up at the Drake Fest and Tom found a killer dive bar to host the event this year. Probably helped a little that there was more room, free beer and noticeable ventilation. The films were great and it was good to catch up with friends and fellow film makers. Each year the bar gets bumped up a little higher and it is great to see who the new guys are that have been quietly making some kick ass film.

AEG debuted a short clip from the first half of our new film that will be finished later this spring. We will be heading out towards the end of next week for the final 6 weeks of filming. God willing we will survive the next month and a half.

Until that time we give you METALHEAD

BLOW FEST 08'

noreply@blogger.com (BrianJill) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 22:47:00 +0000

Our first couple day in the keys were manageable with constant winds around 15mph. We ended up getting a few smaller sized bones to the boat and had hopes that the hurricanes would spare us. It only got worse from here. For the rest of our stay there were small craft advisories posted and the winds were upwards of 30mph gusts. Just as any crazed fishing fanatic would do we still headed out each day and continued to get our asses kicked by the wind/water. All we could do was try to stake our in the lee of any small islands and wait for fish to move through, visibility was tough and made sight fishing nearly impossible. I guess that's the risk you take during Hurricane Season. We'll get em' next time...

Flies...Check, Rods...Check, Skiff...Check

noreply@blogger.com (BrianJill) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:23:00 +0000

I'm gearing up for another trip down to the keys and making sure nothing is left behind. This time we're going after big ocean side bones, permit, and tarpon. I've been planning this trip with a couple of buddies for almost 2 months now, tying in my spare time, and stock piling flies for the trip. My boxes are almost full! We're bringing down a few skiffs, a couple cameras, and a serious hankering for some sight fishing on the flats. This time of year can be legendary for bones with some double digit fish possible. The permit and baby poon fishing should be going off as well. We have some big tides in our favor and with some cooperation from the weather we should get some good fish to hand and on film!
I'll report back in the next couple weeks...

How big a number is 200,000?

noreply@blogger.com (Robison) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:05:00 +0000

It’s a pretty damn big number unless maybe you’re Wilt Chamberlin.
In only 9 months tv.aegmedia has racked up over 200,000 watched videos.
What started out as a beta site for uploading submissions for the Fly Fishing Film Tour and a site to house AEG clips the TV.AEG web site is morphing into a pretty sweet collection of fly fishing films, clips and teasers from fly fishing Joe’s across the globe. Clips have been uploaded from all over the world including Finland, France, Scandinavia Russia and South America to name but a few. While the site is pretty much still in the experimental phase we have some pretty good ideas for how to make the site a pretty sweet little hang out.
There are currently over 80 vids for your viewing pleasure on the site with new clips coming in every week.
If you have something you want to upload just sign up for a logon at the site and follow the steps. If you just want to watch the vids you can visit the site without signing in, although you wont be able to rate the videos which currently at this point means absolutely squat.

Canadian Fish Chicks

noreply@blogger.com (Jay J) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:28:00 +0000

Its getting rougher for American North Westerners to run up to B.C. humping after those perfect silver Steelhead legally. A future possibility looms with that in a few years the number of days U.S. citizens can fish in B.C. will be limited to 8 (under a lottery). This will drive Owens to an early dry grave. After much debate and a bit of whiskey we have decided to try and marry off Owens to any legal Canadian resident fish chick to save his life.

Owens is single and for the most part, disease free. He likes long walks on the beach and Apple computer products. When not fishing or editing, Owens enjoys baking, fine wines, and knitting. The whole "send picture of boat" is applicable here. Gear chuckin girls apply around back.

Bum Report

noreply@blogger.com (Owens) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:56:00 +0000

At this moment:

Owens
Bed- Jay's couch
Status- Broke, Dreaming of steelhead and square meal
Nickname of the Month-Wishiwouldofblowens

Justin
Bed-Pete's couch
Status- Broke, Dreaming of steelhead and his girly guiding up in Alaska
Nickname of the Month-Justin VonJustin-avich

Brian
Bed- His own bed in Florida
Status- Semi broke/gonna be broker preparing for a Tarpon short that we all wish we could be there for.
Nickname of the the Month-B.J.

Thad
Bed- Pretty sure he doesn't sleep
Status- Breaking tail to find avenues to repair broke status for everyone and most likely listening to 80s music.
Nickname of the Month-Thug

Jay
Bed- Close to sleeping with the fishes which sounds kinda good and kinda bad (never start smoking kids)
Status- Broke and typing for food donations.
Nickname of the Month- No one ever gives me nicknames. Any ideas?

noreply@blogger.com (Jay J) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:32:00 +0000

Brothers of the Flung Fly,

I was just thinking about the Fly Fishing Film Tour. Driving 1000s of miles, meeting 1000s of faces, drinking 100s of local refreshing beverages, and catching 10s of fishes(uhhh) got me ta thinkin. What was the biggest tour stop in 2008? With the finger agility of locksmith and a bit of hunt and peck typing I finally figured the figures. What do you think the biggest stop was?

Howsabout the closest guesser gets the new Fish Bum 1 Mongolia DVD in the mail?

Porcupines, Silvers, and a Pirate

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:19:00 +0000

So I just returned from two excellent weeks in fishing/working/hanging out in King Salmon, AK...it had been a while since I had last visited and I was really itching to get back. I had spent 7 summers prior in the area, commercial fishing, sport fishing, and a little dirt-bag guiding for a few summers as well, my absence was starting to wear on me. Luckily, my girlfriend had scored a job guiding at Alaska Sportsman's Bear Trail Lodge, on the Naknek River, so I was set.

I can't report any truly exciting stories, bear encounters, or airplane disaster, thankfully. I did however, get to spend a morning with my buddies dog who had gotten in a fight with a Porcupine.

Taggish with a face full of quills.

Just before my arrival, I hear the Silvers were showing up in excellent numbers. The small river near the lodge was loaded with fining fish, and numerous evenings were spent sight casting to pods of aggressive Silvers. We were near the top end of tidal influence, and every new tide would bring fresh fish from the salt.

A typical Naknek River Silver Salmon.

Kate doing battle with another chromer.

This bank was loaded with fish, with close to 20 fish hooked in a few hours.

Next stop, fillet table and vacuum packer...

On my way home, I had a message from my roommates about a note that was left on my door. They weren't sure about where it came from but I had a pretty good idea.

You see, for the last year, a dude named Jay Johnson had been working off and on for AEG. You may remember him from the Fly Fishing Film Tour as the loud mouthed bearded man who announced the shows, or the guy who you drank beers with afterwords, or the guy who slept on your couch...

I had been telling him, get us your resume, and we may be able to give you a full time 'job' (if anyone remembers what an indentured servant is from history class, you get the idea of the job I am talking about..). Well, this was Jay's resume, hand written on what looked to be a piece of a brown paper bag.

Did it pass the test? Absolutely! So consider this the official announcement that Jay Johnson will now be working with us full time. Jay will be contributing to this blog, travelling on expeditions, and you will most likely see him again on the 2009 Fly Fishing Film Tour. We have been wanting to have our own pirate on board, and I am happy to say we finally do.

Jay, its good to have you on the team.

Fly Fishing Nation

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:01:00 +0000

Thanks to Moldy Chum for posting the link to Fly Fishing Nation. Check out what a group of young guys are doing across the pond.

It looks like they have been putting the AEG Series rods to the test for the last couple months.

The AEG series promo video

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:19:00 +0000

Fresh from AEG Studios...

Teva Games / Green River Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:47:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, Thad and I did a little road trip through the Rocky Mountains. After leaving Thad's house in SLC, Utah, we headed to Vail, CO - home of the Teva Mountain Games. We had been invited by the crew at Costa Del Mar, who was sponsoring the Fly Fishing Competition and also showing free fishing movies all day during the event. The weather was awesome and the turnout for the competition and films was great too.

On Friday evening, Costa held a little gathering and had great food and drinks for all.

Costa Del Mar neck ties for everyone.

The Costa AirStream

On Saturday, Thad and I competed in the fly fishing competition, which consisted of distance and accuracy casting.

Preparing for round 2...the bridge of destiny.

We had left Sunday open in case one of us made it to the final round of the competition, it didn't happen. So what were we to do? Gather up our newly made friends from the Gore Creek Fly Fisherman and head to the upper Colorado, where news of gigantic, orange, flying bugs had made it all the way back to Vail.

The reports were true, Salmon Flies were around.

Jonathan Heard wanted to see what they tasted like.

And we even found a few fish...

An Olive 'Heavy Metal Sculpin' did the trick as well in the dirty water.

After the float, we spent one more night in town. At 6am, the alarm went off and we were on our way to Steamboat Springs, CO to meet up with John St. John from Hog Island Boat Works. John showed us around their facility and had invited us to fish the Green River below Flaming George for two days. So we hopped back in Thad's rig and kept driving...another 4 hours.

Mr. St John and friends inside the Hog Island Boats corporate headquarters.

Launching the new 16' Hog Island LTD.

We could hear the Cicada's buzzing in the trees, and the parking lots were relatively empty...time for our first float down the 'A' section.

Thad selecting his weapon of choice.

A brown that chomped a big dry.

That evening we crashed in Dutch John, a town with a lot going on. John St. John's buddy, Bomar Tipton, from Green River Drifters, lent us his couches and provided some excellent entertainment for the evening. Sorry no photos.

On day two, we awoke to warmer weather and blue skies, perfect for Cicada's.

Thad hoisting a dry fly caught Green River brown trout.

The fish were there and we had a number of eats on top, another great day. Near the end of our float, I convinced St. John to throw something big and meaty, he was a little skeptical about my fly choice, but was convinced when the fish below slammed his offering.

After the float, Thad and I hit the road back to SLC, where we watched the temp drop over 40 degrees. We woke up the next morning to fresh snow on the hills surrounding SLC. Thanks to everyone who made the trip a lot of fun!

New addition to the arsenal

noreply@blogger.com (Robison) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:12:00 +0000

There is just something about a drift boat. Whether it be the sexy lines, dry feet, the built in cooler for beer storage or just the fact that it gets you to where those hard to reach fish like to hang out that make us bank waders take our lives into our own hands.

We had a chance to float down the Bitterroot this past winter in a Hog Island boat for the first time while we had an off day during the film tour. I don't even know who's boat it was but It was at that moment I began to lust for one of these boats.

We heard a rumor that one of these boats was sitting idle along side a shed in Wyoming. A few phone calls were made and then a mad dash up to Hoback Junction to pick up the boat and it was in the water in less than 12 hrs.

Warning: Shameless plug ahead;
This boat is making a reputation for itself as the 4x4 of drift boats and our future mission, put this boat through the numbers and see what it can do. To break it down plainly, we are going to have a lot of fun punishing this boat in ways that would leave others lying on the bottom of a river. It was designed to take a blast from a 12 gage and still keep gunning down the river which could come in handy.

One thing is for sure, the crew at Hog Island are passionate about what they do and rumor has it that there is a Hog Island skiff design in the works.

MacRowdy christening the bow Captain Morgan style with "Rolls Royce" on the oars.

Idaho Cut Bow a.k.a Idaho red neck.

On the way through Ashton Idaho I also stopped in at Premier Fly Shop. It's been a little while since I was up in that area and it was the first time I had been in their store. These guys not only run a killer shop right on the door step of of the North Fork on the way into Island Park but they also turn what has to be the sickest hand made drift boat oars on the planet. I got a chance to check out their operation and to see how they craft their oars. Before I left I had a new pair of their oars in the boat. Their oars and blades are worth checking out, especially their Shallow Draft Diamond.

-TR

The Loop AEG Series

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 23 May 2008 18:53:00 +0000

The Loop AEG Series 9' 5wt fly rod.

AEG was formed by a group of fisherman who sought to make change in the world of fly fishing entertainment. AEG’s first film was shot during a 5 month trip throughout the Argentine region known as Patagonia. The 4 man crew hop-scotched from river to river, lake to lake, and just about every piece of fishable water they could find. 3 months into their trip, they found themselves at the doorsteps of Estancia Las Buitraras, a fishing lodge operated by Christer Sjöberg of Loop. The crew was welcomed into the lodge and Christer listened to the stories of the road and river. He loved the idea of the project, and from that point forward, made a commitment to support AEG.

Here is a short video clip of Christer, shot this January in Argentina, talking about how we met.
http://tv.aegmedia.com//view_video.php?viewkey=70fd093ee8a9bf8ae7d0

Fast forward 4 years to the fall of 2007. AEG has now filmed in Iceland, New Zealand, and Mongolia, all using the rods and reels from Loop. Christer came to us and asked us to develop a rod that we would put our name on. We said we would love to!

The fall of 2007 and early winter of 2008 was spent testing different rod tapers, durability, and trying to come up with the perfect balance of important elements.

'Product Testing' - A first generation AEG Series 5wt, Argentina

One the most important things we kept coming back to was a rod that could stand up to months and months of fishing abuse. On long trips, fly rods see the elements every day, sometimes avoiding the security and protection of a rod tube for weeks. The combination of sun and water, wet and then dry, can often lead to a traditional cork rod handle falling apart.

The Result : A blend of cork and composite material which only gets better with time.

We ended up using a process that blended cork pieces with composite and synthetic materials. The final product is one of the most consistent, durable, and sensitive handles on the the market! After months of testing, particularly the past month in British Columbia, where we encountered non-stop rain, the handle is only getting better, smoother, and best of all there isn't any cork filler to pop out and expose the imperfections in cork that are so common in fly rod handles today.

Aside from durability, we wanted a series of rods that worked for each situation. Have you ever noticed how certain rods in a series are 'sweet' while other are just 'ok'? Instead of making rods that all share the same feel and compromising on the ups and downs, we wanted to make a series where each is considered 'best in their class', where every rod feels a little different, but is specifically tailored to a fishing situation.

The 9'6" 6wt & 9' 5wt rod tubes.

Here is what we came up with...(in product description form)

9’ 5wt 3pc - $370

The AEG Series 9’ #5 3 piece is the result of countless days of on river testing and tweaking to the existing rods in the ultra-specialized Loop lineup. Dry flies, nymphing, streamer fishing, this rod can do it all. We call the action, Fast with love, meaning the rod has the stiffness to effortlessly handle big fish and throw a long line, but it is also easy loading for the ‘normal’ fishing conditions that we are faced with 95% of the time. We are convinced this rod offers the best combination of performance value on the market and many have commented that is feels as good or better than many $600 rod . Give it a cast and see for yourself.

9’6” 6wt 4 pc - $390

The AEG Series 9’6” #6 4 piece is a big trout, summer steelhead, and bass machine! It loves to throw streamers, sink tips, and indicator rigs. It’s Medium/Fast action is a pleasure to cast, even when weighted down from the sub surface techniques often required to pull the largest trout. Lake and estuary bound anglers will love this rod for it’s ability to cast an intermediate line nearly a mile, and bass anglers will see right away that no bug is too big. If you’re only going to own one rod for medium sized fish, this is your stick.

The finished rod. Graphite finish, green wraps.

Each piece has rod info and rod alignment dots.

If you are interested in testing out a Loop AEG Series rod, shoot me an email - justin@aegmedia.com and I will get you in touch with the boys at Loop for a demo. You will be hard pressed to find a better rod out there!

If you would like to purchase one of the rods, or any Loop products, please visit the Loop Tackle Online Store Here.

Problems and Solutions

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 16 May 2008 05:47:00 +0000

Sorry for the delay. After our last blog post we had hoped to have arrived in a steelhead shangra la. A place rumored to be full of unpressured, unwary, and extremely large fish.

But...

We never made it to the steelhead water of our dreams. Instead, other complications with the trip prevented us from ever leaving the dock. Every morning we woke up anticipating the high tide, ready for the all day ride to the secret stream, but to our dismay, there was always something preventing the trip. This lack of fishing opened the door to one of the best parts of the trip.

During our extended stay in 'base camp' we were awarded the opportunity to speak with two amazing men, Gerald Amos and Bruce Hill. Gerald and Bruce run the Headwaters Initiate, based out of Terrace, BC. One of their missions is to connect local community leaders with one another in an attempt to stop some of the destruction that is taking place in their area. One of the stories they told us about is about a place called the Sacred Headwaters, which is at the headwaters of the Skeena, the Nass, and the Stikine Rivers. Royal Dutch Shell wants to drill for coal-bed methane gas in the Sacred Headwaters. They explained that a group of First Nations people have been blockading the road into the area for the last three years and just a few days ago, there was announcement made that there would not be any drilling this summer. Read about the story here via The Cleanest Line. It is amazing to think that such a small group of people can stop such a large, and potentially dangerous project from ever taking place.

These types of stories continued about different watersheds, and different communities, all banding together to make a difference. This was the most inspiring part of the last month.

Now we are back in Oregon, and all I can think about is how to have the same impact on my home waters as the folks up north are having on theirs.

Our next film project is going to be unlike anything we have attempted in the past. We are still hoping to produce a fun and exciting film about steelhead fishing, and we are taking almost a year to do it. But this time we are also going to be making an additional, stand alone, film about the current state of wild steelhead. The second film will look at specific regions around the west and show the viewer what is happening to each. We will touch on the historic run sizes, current run sizes, and the things that are happening now that are helping and harming wild steelhead. Our goal is to inspire people to make a difference on their home waters, because if we don't start making some changes, we won't have steelhead to enjoy in the future.

Over the next several months we will be interviewing steelhead experts to get their take on the current state of steelhead. As we learn more and more, we will be posting to the blog. Stay tuned.

Photos from the last few weeks. by Erik Argotti

Casting for spring steelhead, early May. Notice the fresh show.

Fishing in and around old growth forest is an amazing thing.

Bruce Hill.
Gerald Amos.

So this is the place?

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 02 May 2008 06:41:00 +0000

This last week we were dropped off in the middle of nowhere. We didn't know what we would find, we had heard rumors of fresh steelhead, untouched, unfished. We arrived to a river, low like the previous stream we had fished. But we couldn't get picked up for another week, so we had to make the best of our stay. We explored all of the water we could, bounced our way up and down the creek, and even had the sense to bring a crab trap. Here are photos from the week.

The crew.

Part 1.

Part 2.

And we managed to catch a few of these...

Owens cracking the 20lb mark.

Brian, showing us how to do it.

- We are back out again tomorrow...reports to follow.

-Justin

Stuck!

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:37:00 +0000

Here is a short summary of last week. We launched our boat into the saltwater to do some recon on a few creeks and rivers that are rumored to have steelhead. We made it to our first , found low, cold water, and made camp. The next day we planned to leave and explore another, we were met with severe wind and pounding waves which made us head back to our little creek...we were 'stuck' there for 6 days, too windy to leave. It also rained, and snowed, and was generally miserable from dawn to dusk..we did find a few fish though. Here are a few pictures from the trip, all photos by Erik Argotti.

We are back out to the wilderness again tomorrow...I will post an update on our return.

-Justin

The search has begun

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:33:00 +0000

After 25 hours of driving, three road side camping stops, and nearly 90 gallons of special veggie fuel we have made it to where we start our trip. Here are a couple photos from the last few days.

Our one and only day with blue sky...river side base camp.

A typical day, mid 30's, rain, wind, and the occasional snow shower.

Fishing the clean water line.

Argotti, the 'photographer' scores...

We are off in a few days to a week of exploration, we are following a few hopeful leads, but nothing is ever for sure in steelhead land. We will post updates when we get back.

The New Ride

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:31:00 +0000

The last time we checked with our boat building fanatic, Johnny Wolden, the boat was still coming together. After a trip to visit his shop last weekend, we were surprised to see the progress. The next series of photos are from our test run (with 9.9 motor..) through the paint process, and then to our first run, right here on the Rogue.

Here is the boat after it's maiden voyage. Who's that near the bow of the boat? Its Auggie, all the way from Mongolia!

Here is what the boat looked like when it first entered the paint shop. Steve Maris from Enumclaw Auto Rebuild did the painting.

The materials for the job.

After one coat.

And the second coat.

After paint, we took the boat to 4 Seasons Marine to get the new Evinrude installed.

And finally the test run...she moves, very quickly!

Next week we head north, boat in tow, to see what kind of action we can find with the local steelhead populations of British Columbia. Stay tuned for updates along the way.

Fish Bum Vol. 1 Mongolia is FINISHED!!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Owens) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:05:00 +0000

Enough is enough! We’re calling it a wrap on this feature; the post-production brutalities of creating Fish Bum I Mongolia are finally over!!! I guarantee you that Brian Jill, Chris Keig and myself would still be here today plugging away on cutting and pasting, mixing music, looking for new shots, recording comm. etc. well into next week if my fellow colleagues hadn’t thrown the towel down on this project. The punishment of sitting in one position for fifteen + hours a day has finally ended! For the last four months my most energetic activity has been brushing my teeth. It’s indescribable how much your body can change when one refuses to move.

Our wellbeing and current state of health was on par with the worlds most devoted video gamers. I seriously wonder at times what would happen if we were to devote the hours it took to make this movie towards mastering the video game ‘World of War Craft’? Brian and I would probably be world champions by now… or not. Who knows? All I know is the metamorphosis of Brian’s body over the course of this project was very impressive to say the least. It looks like he swallowed a small bowling ball. He’s not very happy about the situation either. I keep telling him it’s an accomplishment that’s noticeably displayed by the physical change your body undertook, which in-turn vividly marks your commitment towards this project, you should feel proud! My physique most resembles a little Irish Jaba the Hut who’s afraid of sunlight. You don’t see me complaining.

Our new DVD series title name Fish Bum has bumped the old Trout Bum Diaries title name into an early retirement. It took us a while to let go of the Trout Bum Diaries name; it also took a while to accept the reality of there’s more to the sport of fly fishing than just catching trout, hmm. My apologize if I offended anyone, but you can’t let Howard and all the other saltwater guru’s have all the fun. Many PBR’s have already paid homage to this retirement.

I’m excited about the first DVD release of the Fish Bum series. Filming Vol. I Mongolia was an unbelievable experience. It’s hard to describe the Mongolia adventure in words, which is why Brian, Keig, and myself have been locked underground since Nov. assembling this feature. I just finished watching the feature on my computer for the first time in its entirety and I like how this project came together. Anytime you mix Russian convoy vehicles, rafts, camels, horses, nomadic Mongols, 5 dirtbag’n fish bums, and taimen (the worlds largest trout), together in the same film its bound to be an interesting story. -Buckle Up!

Ps: I would encourage everyone to take a moment out of your day to exercise. Practice what I preach not as I do.

-Owens

Only 14 Days....

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 19:09:00 +0000

Until we start the production of our next film...Fish Bum 2: The Journey

We will be traveling up and down the west coast during the end of March and throughout the month of April. Our goal will be to find steelhead, throw flies to them, and capture some of the craziness on film. These trips include a 3,000 mile road trip, a tug boat, and a two hour float plane ride, not necessarily in that order...

A buddy of ours, John Wolden, is building our new ride inside his barn in Mt. Vernon, Washington.

Here are shots from the first day of welding:

Las Buitreras

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:00:00 +0000

We are now staying at Estancia Las Buitreras at the Loop Adventures camp, saying this place is 'nice' doesn't do it justice, it's beyond nice, too nice for us actually! So why are we here you ask? We have been traveling with Martin Falklind of EcoFilm ( a Swedish fly fishing media company...), he is producing a series for Scandinavian TV, and for one of the segments, we are his subjects. So here we are, staying at a nice camp, eating nice food, and fishing for resident and sea run browns. Life is good.

Here are a few photos from yesterday:

photos by Erik Argotti

Fish Bum 1 : Mongolia

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:57:00 +0000