The Mad Duck

Ohhh, Thats MY color scheme. Need my address again?????

Very cool

Looks like a couple of sprigs of Crystal Flash in there as well

Milking is as good a term as any. My instructor always called it strangling. Take all three of the tips the guy in the video gave and put them into play and you should see an improvement. Also anticipation can cause low/right shots as well,but once you get the grip adjusted and get used to where the trigger breaks, that anticipation should go away

Purty

I've been tying lots of EP Flies in baitfish patterns. I've kind of caught the skinny saltwater bug since I caught that Redfish last month. I have been really frustrated with the waste of material when using EP fibers. I asked myself, What can I do to keep from wasting so much material? Hummm? Pull out a much smaller hook, combine several strands of different color fibers,and,.........Make a Glass Minnow

Thank you sir!

Bream EP Fiber #2 Mustad SS Hook and various flavors of EP fibers

Ha ha. I had to do a double take. I read that title as HUGE boobies. I got really sidetracked there for a sec. Yes, those are some nice ones😂

Peace Be His Journey

Just another thought...Go to a different Dr and get a second opinion

Steve. I have had it for years. I also have a good deal of hearing loss due to a lot of gunfire and loud music (used to be a roadie in another life). I got fitted for hearing aids and the tinnitus goes away completely. They are not to bad adjusting to and it its really that bad, go to an audiologist and see if you are a candidate

I was shooting a Canon 7D MkII with a 500MM Canon L series lens I normally shoot wildlife in AV mode. That day was AV, F4.0, ISO 400-600 with varying shutter speeds depending on what the light was doing. White Balance set at auto. Center point focus

Another NINJA rod

Your casting would have to be VERY accurate for aquarium fishing, unless you're at Sea World's aquarium, then I would recommend an 8wt

Fishing in an aquarium is kind of cheating, isnt it Mike? 😜

Ok, fair enough,but, them salty fish are a tough buch 😉

Jeez Mike, You a couple of hours from some of the worlds best saltwater fishing. Expand your horizons Grasshopper. 😋

This weekend, my wife and I took a long weekend and went to Ocracoke Island. On Saturday, we took a charter over to Portsmouth Island for the day. For those of you that dont know, Ocracoke was where Blackbeard the Pirate holed up when not plundering the high seas. It is also where he met his demise. Portsmouth Island was crucial in the early days of the shipping trade in the new world. It was also part of the area blockaded by union troops in the Civil war. Over the years, Ocracoke inlet started to silt in and the shipping trade on Portsmouth basically dried up. The last resident left the island in 1971 and the village there is now abandon, but is maintained by the National Park Service. Anyway, enough history lesson...I packed up a flyrod and some salty type flies I had tied up and off we went. When we got to the dock, the captain looked at the rod in the case and asked if it was a "Fly Pole" I said, "yep, sure is, Why? Are you going to laugh at me"?, he smiled and said yup. He said no one fishes with them. I said. well, I'm going to try anyway. Portsmouth is about a 30 minute boat ride from Silver Lake (Ocracoke's Harbor). We ran to the far southern end of the island and the guide dropped us off. He said for me to walk the flats until I reached the drop offs. The tide was falling and most of the flats were dry and it was about a 1/2 mile walk to the deeper channels. I went one way and my wife went to the beach to collect shells. I trudged across some very wet sand and every step I sunk in about 3 inches. It was some tough walking. I got to the "channel",which was 3 feet deep instead if 4 inches deep. I tied on a brown/white Clouser that was tied on a SS #2 hook. It was the closest color combo to the small mud minnows and shrimp I was seeing in the shallow water. The wind was blowing a steady 15-20 with gusts around 25. It was difficult casting and I ended up having to double haul quite often until the wind started dropping out a bit.I made a few casts and felt a funny tap and came tight on about an 8 inch long Flounder. I kind of laughed about that. A few casts later, I came tight on a 5-6 inch long pinfish ,then another, and another until I had caught about a dozen Pinfish. Great for bait, but not much of a challenge on a flyrod. I moved to another stretch and started working another drop off. As soon as the third cast hit bottom dropping off the ledge, another small Flounder. I have never, until Saturday, caught a Flounder on a flyrod. I managed a total four small Flounder and all the Pinfish and I was pretty happy. My wife walked back from the beach to see if I had caught anything. We stood there talking as I casted. She walked over to where I had set my drybag down and sat down to watch. She was soon snoozing. I woke her to a big whoop. Something sizeable had finally taken my fly. The water wasnt really clear, so I didn't see the take, but I sure felt it. I came tight and the line started burning off of my reel. It went almost to the backing on the first run, but I tightened the drag a bit and slowed it down some. I still hadnt seen the fish at that point so wasnt really sure what I had,but had an idea. Two more long runs and I felt the fish tire out. After a few more minutes, a pretty Red Drum rolled onto the sand. I estimated the fish at 24-28 inches and 5-6 pounds. I had hooked the fish really deep, but fortunately not where it would hinder the fish much. I didnt want to try to pull that hook out,so, I cut the line,had my wife shoot a few photos and released the fish. I can tell you that I was pretty happy to report to the captain what I had caught. He said, Photos or it didnt happen. My wife pulled her camera out and showed him the photos. I gave him my estimates and said I likely weighed more like 8 Lbs. I did not however get any photos of the Flounder or Pinfish. My phone was in my drybag up on the flats. All fish caught on a 8wt that Steve built for me. Try not to laugh too hard at my expression. 15-20 mph winds blows a lot of sand and I was trying to keep the sand OUT of my mouth.

JB Weld,Gorilla Glue and Duct tape. Thats all a man needs to fix anything A couple of weeks ago, while Goose hunting, the sole of a pair of my Muck Bots,literally fell off the boot. the boots are 15 yesrs old and have seen a LOT of miles. I took the boots home and filled the sole up wilt Gorilla Glue,duct taked the boot and sole together to keep it all together while it dried. The boot is now good for another 15 years. I used the Gorilla glue simply because it was easier to get to than the JB Weld..

My favorite ways to cook Doves Wrapped in Bacon and grilled Cut the brest meat off of the bone,lightly sautee, serve on a cracker with Cream Cheese ,a slice of Jalepeno and mint jelly. Dove Poppers!! Deep Fried wrapped in bacon. YUM

Ever tried to skin a Dove? 😳 The skin is paper thin and is all but impossible to cure. Been there,done that.

Goose and Dove season open tomorrow......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!😁

Unfortunately, we're not going through Manteo on our way to Ocracoke. We're taking the Swan Quarter Ferry over, not the Hatteras Ferry. I've been to that shop before though. I think its called OBX On The Fly.

I'm headed to Ocracoke Island in Mid September and am planning on doing some Salty fly fishing. I sat down and started tying some flies for the trip. I'm sure this has been done thousands of times,but I hybridized a Clouser Minnow and an EP minnow. I was trying to replicate the Mud Minnows and small Medhaden that frequent the waters around Ocracoke that time of year. Target species that time of year...Flounder,Red Drum,Trout and possibly Spanish Mackerel with the possibility of lots of little non game type fish.