Winter Solstice and Holiday Cheer

-- Merry Christmas --

We have reached the tipping point between night and day. A winter solstice for 2012 is finally here. There were plans for wetting a line today, but high winds and downpours gives solitude and reflection a seat at the table.

2012 has been an interesting year. High school to college transition for our son, Matt, a spirited election and a world facing many economic, social and environmental challenges. Where to go from here?

As long as the rivers flow, I know where my direction will be.

As we look forward to more day than night, we wish all hope for a prosperous new year and tug with every cast.

Thanks so much for your continued support and following. I will close with some holiday cheer from Matt's Troutdoors Productions.



Best of Troutdoors 2012 from Troutdoors on Vimeo.

Instagram Fly Swap II

- Instagram Fly Swap II -

In mid-August, Morgan Kupfer of Tight Lined Tales of a Fly Fisherman and originator of the first Instagram Fly Swap, put out the call for a second Instagram Fly Swap. Previous and new tiers signed up. Baitfish and carp patterns were picked and the group of 11 tiers got rolling.

Below are the tiers and their patterns for the swap. Like the first swap, I was blown away by the quality and unique patterns that everyone put forward. Great work by all!

I've added recipes/links if available. I also took some creative liberties and made up names for flies that came without names or recipes. 

Trout Stocking the Nissitissit River

- Nissitissit in Jan 2012 -

We have some beautiful rivers in Massachusetts and one of the local favorites is the Nissitissit.  It is unique in the state having both a "fly fishing only" and catch & release section.

Twice a year, in the spring and fall, the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife will stock a selected set of rivers with a healthy amount of 12+ inch rainbows, browns and brookies. The Nissitissit is one of two rivers in the Northeast District to receive the biannual stocking.

Given tight state budgets and very short staff with the DFW, the state does a phenomenal job with raising healthy and vibrant fish then distributing them through out the Commonwealth.

Chasing Bass and Carp on the local ponds

- Warm Water Action -

When the summer heats up and the trout start to hide in the cool deep pools, we are fortunate to have ample warm water fishing opportunities on the local ponds.

Matt's Troutdoors Productions but together a nice video about targeting these great fish on the fly.

 Enjoy the action!

Altitude Sickness

Forgive me for not posting for some time now.

My son, Matt, and his friend, Michael, remixed their video from our Rocky Mountain fly fishing last July.

Makes me want to get back to Colorado very soon.

Update: Michael's remix made the Orvis Friday Film Festival last week! Congratulations, Michael!

3 Days, 2 Hatches, 1 Town, Roscoe

-- Fly Fishing in Roscoe, NY --

Matt, Michael and Mike are at it again -- this time on the Beaverkill River in Roscoe, NY.

The boys and Michael's Dad spent their school break fly fishing in the Catskill region of New York. Roscoe or "Trout Town, USA" had some great early season action with prolific caddis and Hendrickson hatches.


Red & blue quills, Hendricksons and caddis dries were the ticket.

Matt put together another "Troutdoors Productions" video to share their adventure.

3 Days, 2 Hatches, 1 Town, Roscoe from Troutdoors on Vimeo.

Enjoy the fish and dry fly action.

Happy Easter and Anniversary

-- Summer Vacation in RMNP --

It's been one year and one day since the birth of the Gin Clear blog - an Experiment in Creativity. A lot has changed in my life over the last year - two jobs, a son heading to collage, a daughter celebrating her 21st birthday and a loving wife, always putting up with my BS who lets me go fishing, was elected to her third term as town selectman.

The highlight of the year was our wonderful vacation in Colorado - our first fly fishing family vacation.

During the year, I've been virtually immersed into a passionate and welcoming social fly fishing community - blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Vimeo, YouTube, Goggle+ - every interaction is positive and supportive. If only the rest of the world was this way.

 I truly enjoy being here. I appreciate that you are actually reading this and occasionally have a nice comment to add. I appreciate the great content everyone in this community shares and contributes. Through your words, images, art, videos and deeds, I see people who care about their families, the environment and the future. It's refreshing.

Happy Easter! Enjoy this special time with your family and friends.

Oh yeah, just like a year ago, the Red Sox are off to a stellar start, 0-2.

Thanks for visting.

Instagram Fly Swap -- Part 2A

-- Graphics by @phishtitz --

Here's a follow-up post about the First Instragram Fly Swap. Of the original 9 participants, we have 5 that completed their flies, 1 that dropped out and 3 that plan to finish up in the coming weeks. Instead of waiting, Morgan, our host, distributed the first set of flies. These are shown below with tying instructions here. This will be a long post, so let's get started.

@mkupfer32 Flies

Our swap host, @mkupfer32, of the blog "Tight Lined Tales of a Fly Fisherman tied the MK Caddis Dry (center) & Glass Caddis Pupa (lower left) for trout, and the Bass Gurgler Popper (upper right) & B-Ass Clouser Streamer (upper left) for bass. I believe these are all original creations by Morgan.

Changing the World One Fish at a Time

We live through the eyes of our children. Not sure who said this, but I truly enjoy being a parent and watching my kids turning into adults. My son, Matt, is in his senior year in high school and is very excited to be attending Paul Smiths College next fall to study Fisheries and Wildlife Science.

While we are very proud and excited for Matt, we will miss having him around. This guy got me started in fly fishing and tying -- we go to the fly fishing shows, we've spent a lot of time on the water together and share our love for the outdoors in ways that are hard to put into words.

Matt had a school assignment to create a video with the theme "What did you do to Change the World". His choice was to show how he brought the love of fly fishing, conservation and the outdoors to his friends and family.

I will miss my favorite fishing buddy next fall, but I look forward to visits and continuing our fishing companionship during the next phase of his journey through life. 

Instagram Fly Swap -- Part 1

-- Taking over the Dining Room --

It's been about two months since my last post for no other reason than not having much news or good fish porn that warrants blog space. It was unseasonably warm in New England in November and December, so we were able to get out to the local streams, but no fish were brought to hand. The temps have finally settled into the normal range for this time of year (5 degrees F this morning), so my attention has turned to fly tying and, with another good cold week, ice fishing. I'll save the ice fishing story for a future post.

The Christmas tree came down, decorations and lights packed away and "occupy dining room" is in full swing. What really got the tying cranked up was getting involved with the first ever Instagram Fly Swap.