FlyFishNewEngland.net 7th Annual Fly Swap

FFNE 7th Annual Fly Swap

We are in to our spring fishing season here in New England -- rivers and ponds are freshly stocked, the herring runs are going strong and sea lice laden schoolies are being caught in Rhode Island. And in true fashion of the "occasional blogger", the 7th Annual FlyFishingNewEngland.net fly swap, that happened in January this year, is finally being documented.
It's actually the dead of winter 2020 and one year has passed since the last fly swap. I started to write this post in the spring of 2019 (see lined out intro paragraph above) and am finally finishing just a few weeks before the FFNE 8th Annual Fly Swap.
Better late than never....

6th Annual FlyFishingNewEngland.net Fly Swap

-- 6th Annual FFNE Fly Swap --

It's hard to believe we've been doing this fly swap for 6 years now. I've posted about the 1st, 2nd and 3rd FlyFishingNewEngland.net fly swaps. With a record turnout and the high quality flies submitted, this 6th annual event warranted a post from the "occasional blogger".
This year was the biggest with 15 tiers and 18 total in attendance at our host's (Chris M.) house. We also had friends, wives and significant others join us for the festivities. Several tiers submitted multiple flies (Matt B. submitted 5!) so we had a total of 23 flies for each tier to take home.

Dock Talk 365 Interview

--Dock Talk 365 Interview--

I was a bit surprised to have a fellow angling blogger inquire about a Question and Answer interview for the Dock Talk 365 Blog. What could a "weekend warrior" fly angler say or offer that hasn't been discussed a million times before?

I took a look at Chris' blog, read some of the other interviews and thought it would be fun to give my perspective with some background of why I fish and love it so much. This sentence from the "About Us" helped seal the deal, "Our focus is on the recreational or local tournament anglers who love to spend time on the water and are willing to share their valuable knowledge of their local waters and techniques as well as their overall perspectives on our sport."

2015 Top Twelve Days on the Water

-- First fish of 2016 --

I'll open this long overdue post with the first fish of 2016. A sweet native Massachusetts brookie from a stream with no name. We are now three months into 2016, but I'd like to look back on a personally successful 2015 fly fishing New England waters.

I use the phrase "occasional blogger" in my Instagram profile for a reason. It's hard to provide relevant content to the blog on a regular basis. It's been 11 months since the last post and I hope you'll enjoy this one.

New England Spring Float with Harrison Anglers

-- Harrison Anglers --

To some, the 2014-2015 New England winter was brutal. For me, it was just another beautiful, snow filled wonderland that is rapidly changing into a glorious spring. This is the reason I love New England. Seasonal changes in New England are rapid and intense. Deep snow is morphed into blooming forsythia and the fish in both fresh and salt put on the feed bags.

Nine years ago, my son Matt, bought me a fly rod for Christmas. Six years ago, Matt convinced me to float a Western Massachusetts river with Harrison Anglers. Before that float, I had caught a few bass and bluegills on the fly, but salmonids continued to elude me. Tom Harrison, our guide on that float, put us on fish and I caught my first trout that day on an olive woolly bugger. I didn't know what I was doing then and probably forgot to tip (sorry Tom), but it was a memorable day. Thanks to Tom's patience and guidance, all aspects of my fly fishing game improved and I started having success with catching trout.

Family Fall Fly Fishing Firsts

-- NY & MA Landlocked Salmon --

We all love fall fishing. Here in New England, not only do we have excellent fresh and salt water options, we also get a spectacular display of color as the leaves change. As my favorite time of year, fall is too short, but that's what makes it all the more precious.

With my son, Matt, being about 300 miles away attending school in the Adirondacks, our fall fishing outings together are usually limited to just one around the Columbus Day weekend. We had a great trip last year on the West Branch of the Ausable in the ADK with Matt putting me on my largest brown trout to date (Matt just posted a video "Golden Brown" which captures the beauty of this big brown).

#theartofskunk

-- First 2014 Outing --

It's been a very long, cold winter here in New England and most other parts of the country. In the seven plus years I've been fly fishing, I don't remember the local streams being as frozen over and unfishable as they have this winter.

With Matt (aka Troutdoors) home for spring break, our first order business was to get out to the river and wet a line. We checked flows and they were rising so we knew the spring thaw had finally started.

The title of this post, #theartofskunk, comes from Ariel over at Atom Fly Fishing, who coined this hashtag about 2 years ago. It's become an unfortunate label to many of my Instagram posts, so if you looking for some fish porn in this blog post, leave now.

Troutdoors 2013 Video Wrap

 -- Troutdoors 2013 Video -- 

My son Matt (aka Troudoors Fly Fishing) bought a GoPro over the summer and is becoming proficient with getting some nice fly fishing footage both in Massachusetts and in the Adirondacks where he's attending college.

I really enjoy the edits Matt puts together and this summary of 2013 came out very nice. The best part (boast, boast) is the big brown landed at the end. That is the largest brown I've ever landed and the first on a streamer (a black nose dace - one of the first flies I've tied about 5 years ago).

Enjoy...

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 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.

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!

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.

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.