G was a bad ass.

Paul Miller Fly Strikes Again : Dad Shows That He Can Do It Too

My Dad is a fishing machine. When I think that I am doing a good job putting time in on the water, my Dad has spent 2-10x more time on the water fishing with world class guides (though I wouldn't admit this to their face) and fishing legends (I didn't know there was a Fly Fishing Hall Of Fame until you sent me the email) in exotic locales and blue ribbon rivers . I am proud of you Dad. In this photo he shows off a "smaller" Delta Striper that fell for a Paul Miller. Kick ass.

Denison Dam and Paul Miller Fly

Denison Dam has been generating between 10am and 5pm. Found good numbers of small fish hanging on the edge of the currrent. If you could mimic the final few kicks of an injured shad drifting down river then a strike was almost guaranteed. I don't think I once had a hit on the swing. There was one monster hit which broke me off immediately and quickly became a 10-15lbs fish (but I'm pretty sure he wasn't worth the cost of a Paul Miller fly). That fly had some crazy natural movement and looked sexy as could be but it is hard for me to justify such cost per fly for anything other then a fish of over 20lbs. Phil has again continued his reign of terror on buffalo. His cousin's son assisted in the landing of the fish. The kid makes one good net.

Texas Coast (the long lost edition and the best day of redfishing ever)

I worked my way into one of the back lakes and happened on the most beautiful sights, school after school of redfish working their way through the lake I was in. I stood in the same spot, never moving, for over three hours and caught fish after fish after fish. It was a race to see if you could land the fish before the next group spooked, but they wouldn't spook. They would just mill about swimming happily between my kayak and myself. The anchor rope didn't even bother them. The sun began to set and I left tails. (I haven't seen fish in that lake like that day since).

Denison Dam

Denison Dam has been generating non-stop and it seemed as good a day as any to give it a try. There were lots of scattered little fish, no monster takes and the biggest was about 5lbs on a long line release. White Clousers and white decievers worked the best. Phil did manage to catch a buffalo that he promised ate his dead drifted clouser. It put up a pretty good fight and is a cool fish to catch on fly.

Guatemala - Blue Marlin on the Fly

Wild Mango Trees!

Shrimp farms. Every place we went had guards armed with shotguns.

Dinner was perfect every night.

Cam Sigler flies

After years of talking about it we decided to pull the trigger and try our hand at sailfish on the fly. We stayed at Sailfish bay lodge and were greated by the friendliest staff that did everything they could do to make us feel at home. The fishing was unusually slow. The first day we raised one sailfish that turned jet black as it attacked Phil's Cam Sigler fly. The strike was head on, which is nearly impossible to get a good hook set on billfish, and the hooks missed their mark twice before the fish vanished off into the blue. The second day I was up to bat and didn't raise a fish. The last day I was up to bat again at least until I had a fish strike the fly. early on we raised a blue marlin that swam under the teasers forever and never showed any interest in the fly but inhaled a bonito thrown to it. Unfortunately the hook broke and never set on the fish. We had a quick visit by another sail on the inside teaser that vanished as quickly as it showed. Phil and I decided that we would switch after lunch and he would try his luck the remainder of the day. As lunch was being cooked a Blue Marlin crashed the teasers. In slow motion my fly hit the water, I popped it and moved my rod tip from side to side and held the most retarded pose as the marlin inhaled the fly. The hook set perfectly in the side of the mouth and the fish tailwalked and porpoised for 100yards before the reel fight began. The fish sounded and I began the longest tug of war of my life. 2..5hrs. Line was gained and line was lost and the same 80ft of flyline was fought over for an hour. The shooting head finally appeared, then the fish glowing electric blue. The deckhand had me back off the rail as he began guiding the line and the fish up. The leader and the yellow line appeared and the deckhand and captain and Phil all cheered and as quickly as it began, it was over and the Blue Marlin swam off. I was left with cramping arms, a sweat soaked shirt and the biggest smile I've ever had on my face. The crew estimated the Blue at 300lbs.

Going Coastal

Of course we stopped and have now decided that it will be a tradition to stop in on every trip to the coast. The shop was exactly what it should be and the owner was perfect. Everyone should stop on their way down and say hi to Amber and stock up on booze for the trip.

Food is kinda a big deal.



Good Old Fashioned "Fat Boy Breakfast."