Every Picture Tells a Story

 -- Every Picture Tells a Story-- 

Of all the social networks, I waste most of my time with Instagram. I keep two accounts -- @ginclear for fly fishing & tying and @deanwo for family, work & other random stuff. My affection for the Red Sox, Patriots and Bruins bleeds into both feeds from time to time.

If you are on Instagram, you've noticed everyone posting "Year in Review" videos that flash by the most memorable or liked posts. Both Statigram and Flipagram are two of the more popular sites/apps that provide this service for free.

I thought it would be fun to tell a little story for some of the most memorable pics this year from the @ginclear Instagram account. The year was full of fly fishing firsts in many ways. First fish, first hatches and first time fishing with new friends.

Winter Solstice 2013

-- Winter Solstice 2013 --

It's been awhile since the last post and I thought it would be nice to share some of the simple winter beauty found today in the New England woods, next to the stream, while out fly fishing with my son, Matt (aka Troutdoors), on the shortest day of the year.

The winter solstice is my favorite day. It's the turn of the season and as the days get longer, spring is on the doorstep.

It's been about a month since I've wet a line, and with Matt back from school for the Christmas break, I dragged him kicking and screaming out to our local river.

Instagram Fly Swap III

- Instagram Fly Swap III -

Finally finding time to put up this post about the 3rd Semi-Annual Instagram Fly Swap hosted again by Morgan Kupfer of Tight Line Tales of a Fly Fisherman. Also check out the 1st and 2nd Instagram Fly Swaps.

The call from Morgan went out on the @tltff Instagram feed back in March this year and flies were mailed to the 10 tiers the first week of May.

The popularity of this swap is way up from the first time. It took about 5 minutes to fill up after Morgan's initial post!

As with the previous two swaps, we had a great, well rounded group of excellent tiers including some celebrities. The theme of the swap was streamers - one salt and one fresh pattern.

For each set of flies below, there is a link to the tier's Instagram profile, pics of the flies and names/recipes if they were provided (for those who didn't send in names/recipes - it's never too late. Comment below and I'll add it to the post).

All the flies are "Bad Ass" and those with no names have that name for now. On to the flies...

Best $9 Ever Spent

-- Fishing with Howard --

It all started with a Facebook message a week ago. I had a conference to attend in Broomfield, CO and knew Howard Levett (a.k.a. Windknots & Tangled Lines) lived the next town over. Howard and I have interacted via our social networks for over 3 years. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet and possibly find some time to fish together. Both Howard and I were able to work our schedules to have Friday off and the outing was planned.

First Striper on the Fly

-- First Stripah on the Fly --

Four times a charm, or something like that. Last weekend, a good buddy, Mark, took me to his "spot" in Rhode Island to chase some pre-dawn schoolies on the fly. This was my 4th outing ever to chase stripers.

We went to this same spot last year with no luck, but this time the tides were right and the week leading up to our outing had ideal temps and weather conditions.

5 Things You Won't Find at #F3T

-- #F3T Coming to a Theater Near You --

I'm getting pumped to check out the 2013 Fly Fishing Film Tour next week on 13 February at the Somerville Theater in Davis Square in Cambridge, MA. I've attended a couple F3T's in the past, but never at a legit theater, so this should be a real treat.

Discount tickets for the event are available at the Bear's Den Fly Fishing Company. The Bear's Den will also host two showings on 16 February at Noon and 7:30 PM during their annual Fly Fishing Expo in Taunton, MA.

Having reviewed some trailers of the films and knowing the filmmakers from their past work, this is a show you will want to see.

New England Fly Swap

-- flyfishingnewengland.net Fly Swap --

There are so many great aspects of the sport of fly fishing. Time on the water and landing fish is what we all strive to achieve, but the time spent preparing, gathering information about your destination, deciding what rod and flies to use, how you want to hunt and present your fly to the fish, all are part of bringing a fish to hand.


Fly tying has become an integral part of my preparation. Learning what works from others is not only an educational process, but a great way to share our experiences with fellow anglers. Fly swaps become the channel to both learning and making new, like-minded, friends from which we share our love of the sport.