Highlight Reel of Flyfishing the Green River 4/5/2014

Check out this short clip of an awesome day of flyfishing on the Green!  It is more or less the debut of Western Fishing Unlimited Productions!

Brown Trout Release

I bought a new camera and started testing it this weekend!  Stay tuned for new (and longer) videos!

Fishers of Men: Fresh Fish

Photo courtesy of Jeff Wettstein and Rick York

The Japanese have always loved fresh fish but the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. To feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and traveled farther than ever. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were no longer fresh and the Japanese did not like the taste.

To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats.They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish.

Also, the frozen fish brought a lower price. So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish would stop moving. They were tired and dull, but alive. Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish.

To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks, but they added a small shark to each tank. Sure, the shark would eat a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state satisfying the Japanese market.  The fish are challenged and this made the difference.

Have you realized that some of us are also living in a pond that most of the time is tired & dull? We need a Shark in our life to keep us awake and moving. Basically, in our lives, sharks are new challenges to keep us active and tasting better...  If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily conquering those challenges, you hone your skills and develop your character. You think of your challenges and get energized. and you get excited to try new solutions.

  Attribution

Jigging for Browns at Fontenelle!

A few weeks ago I was fishing with a friend and I got completely humbled! I can usually pull my weight and then some when it comes to catching the numbers and quality fish but on that day I got beat on pretty much every level. I watched him closely and quickly picked up on his strategy.  He introduced to me a new way of fishing with jigs that I had honestly not considered.  Typically when fishing with jigs I would simply cast them AFAP (as far as possible), leave my bail open and allow them to sink straight down to the bottom. I would usually employ a fast and aggressive retrieve, jigging hard and allowing a brief pause while reeling in the slack.  Jeremy taught me a new technique: begin a slow retrieve immediately after the jig hits the water, use quick but very short switches of the rod only a few times per cast, be prepared for very soft hits and set the hook hard  If I hadn’t personally seen him tear into two great rainbows on the first and second casts, I wouldn’t have adjusted my fishing strategy.  

A few weeks later I was back to the same reservoir where Jeremy and I fished but in a slightly different area. I was accompanied by Shaun and Jason (aka Boogs) Harris, who are always great company and fun to fish with!  I went with a 3/8 oz.  black jig and followed the technique I just described.  The water was very murky and most of the fish were in the upper column of water. We started catching great fish like these right away and within a short time we had hooked into six browns.  Had Jason not decided to take a nosedive off the ice sheet and into the icy water we may have been able to catch a few more! All things considered, it was another awesome day on the water!