Scary Fish Stories- A Salute to Halloween

Seeing as how it is Halloween, I wanted to have a post that was befitting the occasion.  I settled on a Top 10 post with the theme of "The Scariest Things I Have Seen on the Water".  Granted, some of them aren't that scary but just as with any top 10 list, there is going to be a little "filler".

10. Big Brown
Late one night a few years back, my buddy Busch and I were fishing off a dock at Lilley's Landing on Lake Taneycomo in Branson, Missouri.  We were about to call it quits around midnight when something swam between the boat slips that separated Busch and I.  It was so big it made me jump and I thought at first it was a muskrat or beaver.  Come to find out it was the biggest brown trout I had ever seen in the wild.  Busch and I threw everything we had at this dude as he swam upstream but he seemed to be more interested in heading to his nightly hunting ground and swam off into the darkness.

9. Snake in a Tree
My dad and I were fishing an old rock quarry one day near Richmond, Missouri.  We were picking fish up here and there but what had our attention was the number of snakes we saw on the water.  Now granted, I guess it could have been one really active snake, but it seemed like we found a nest of the little critters.  I kept watching them out of fear and curiosity when I saw one headed towards a tree branch that was lazily lapping against the water.  To my surprise, the snake slithered up the branch and up into the tree.  I decided that I didn't want to fish near that particular tree for the rest of the day.  My fears were confirmed when my dad and I heard a splash near said tree and saw a snake struggling to stay on the surface of the water.  Oh heck no!

8. The Unknown Creature of the Niangua
After a long day of fishing at Bennett, I decided that I had a little more energy left in me to fish the Niangua, so I drove to Barclay Conservation Area.  With the sun setting behind me and shining against the cliff on the opposite side of the river, I heard some creature come walking down the hillside.  It made it all the way to the water's edge and then walked along the bank away from me.  It was snapping branches and breaking limbs like crazy and didn't seem to care about the commotion it was was making. To this day, I have no idea what species of animal was making all of the noise.  Sometimes I wonder, could it have been a black bear?  A deer?  Momo?

7. A Kettle of Vultures
One time my buddy Busch and I were fishing the trophy area on Lake Taneycomo.  As the sun was coming up, we noticed that the dead tree behind us on the bank was increasingly becoming filled with vultures.  I think Busch made the comment that he was surprised that one of the branches of the tree didn't break due to all of the vultures.  The words barely left his mouth before we heard a crack and a snap.  We both spun around to see a branch falling to the ground and vultures flying off in a panic.

6. Getting lost on the Niangua River
One time my buddy Busch and I got stuck on the Niangua River after dark.  We were conducting our own float trip and it got so dark that we couldn't see the boat ramp at the take out point.  Aside from that, our trolling motor battery died, we had one oar, the river was low, we had to push through rapids, and my waders got a hole in them.  We eventually pushed the boat to the bank and flagged down a car that was passing by.  They informed us that we missed our boat ramp by about 100 yards and had reached our destination.

5. Falling Out of a Boat
No, I didn't fall out of a boat.  It was worse than that.  My three year old son on our second fishing trip fell out of my two-man boat.  Luckily he was wearing a life jacket and lived to tell the tale.

4. Falling Off the Bank
Yep, same kid here.  One time when my oldest son was four, he leaned forward too far to grab something on the edge of a pond and fell in the water.  This was in November and we were trout fishing at a stocked lake in Kansas City.  Thankfully, the little guy didn't get hypothermia but I'm pretty sure I had a panic attack.

3. Electrical Fire
One time my buddy Busch and I were fishing a farm pond in my two-man boat.  Yep, same boat that has been mentioned.  Anyhow, I guess I got the wires switched on the battery and the wires caught fire when we were in the middle of the pond.  I knew I shouldn't use water to put the fire out but I couldn't detach the connection either.  We sat there in awe and just waited for the wire and plastic to melt and disconnect.

2. Getting Skunked
One of my biggest fears in life is getting skunked on a fishing trip.  I mean, that an nuclear war!  I have nightmares about that kind of thing.

1. Fire in the Hole
About 13 years ago, I was on a fishing trip with my buddy Kyle.  We were fishing for walleye and pike on Lake Thompson in South Dakota and the fishing was pretty slow.  To make things worse, the borrowed boat we were using was having some mechanical issues.  It wouldn't always start and it never seemed to be the same solution every time.  While Kyle was trying to fix it for the umpteenth time, he accidentally left the ignition on...I think.  I'm not mechanically inclined but I'm pretty sure that's what happened.  Anyway, he had disconnected the battery to clean the terminals as well as disconnected and reconnected the fuel line from the fuel cell.  Let me paint a little picture for you at this point.  There is a fuel cell with some gasoline on the surface of it and a battery beside it about to be reconnected to the cords.  When Kyle tried to reconnect the cords they sparked and life proceeded in slow motion as a couple sparks landed on top of the fuel cell.  I was fully prepared to jump off the boat at that point due to the future fire/explosion.  To this day I cannot believe that absolutely nothing happened as a result, but that was the scariest moment I have had on the water.  Thanks for the memory Kyle.  I hope you're still alive.

Fly TV

Who doesn't need a distraction from work on a Monday?  Come on, this week is going to be a marathon, not a sprint.  Take a break and watch some sweet fly fishing videos from FlyTV.  You deserve it champ!

Link: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnDj4GODT_QpaemQB4395I9wRwCnZvx6x

A Heartfelt Thank You

You're the best!  You deserve to know that!  The fact that you are reading this right now means a lot.  You don't hear this enough from me, but I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time from your probably busy schedule (because it seems like we are ALL way too busy) to visit this site and read my words.  There are millions of websites on the internet, and there are plenty of them related to fly fishing as well as countless blogs.  The fact that you are here right now, visiting this site makes me swell with gratitude and appreciation.  I started this site a little over 2 years ago and it has grown to be a passion of mine and has become a huge part of my life.  And if I'm being completely honest with you, I would have shut this site down a long time ago if I wasn't getting visitors like yourself.  However, the traffic on this site continues to grow a little, week by week, and I get fired up to see that!  With so many stresses in our lives, and things that are frustrating, this site is a source of happiness and fun for me and I hope it is the same for you.  Again, thank you so much for visiting and please keep coming back!

A Sad Story from Table Rock Lake

I ran across this story the other day and it is both interesting, surprising, and heartbreaking.  While it is loosely related to fishing, it did happen here in Missouri so I had to share it with you.  Feel free to comment below about what strange/sad things you have seen in the wild.  I bet there are lots of folks that have some pretty interesting stories!

Link: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/outdoors/article180453146.html

Low Oxygen Levels on Taneycomo

Wow!I have never heard anything about this phenomena before.  Definitely an interesting read though and some helpful tips on keeping trout alive if you are catching and releasing.

Link: https://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/low-oxygen-levels-affecting-taneycomo-trout

Thunderstruck

Author's Note: I wrote this MANY years ago and it just felt right to share it today.  

My grandma’s house and farm has always held a special place in my heart.  I’ve been going there all my life and have always considered it a big playground.  Within a short walk, there are bean and corn fields, creek bottoms, farm ponds, standing timber, and prairie.  It has been a place that I could carry a gun freely at an early age and was entrusted with said responsibility because at times, there might not be supervision (or another person), for miles.  It was a place where rules and laws still exist but without a constant vigilance of authority.  More importantly, the responsibility of making moral decisions was at my discretion.

This amazing setting that required a great deal of responsibility, also gave way to some of the best memories of my youth.  I was given free reign to drive my first four wheeler.  I shot my first dove close to my grandma’s driveway and killed my first buck at the West Place (a section of farmland to the west of my grandma’s house).  I’ve camped out with friends both outdoors and in my grandma’s basement.  It’s where I caught my first fish and biggest fish.  It’s where my family is from and where they still are.  It has always been a sanctuary and an escape. 

I’ve shared this refuge with countless people in the past, but none have reveled in its majesty as much as Busch.  He fell in love with the freedom that existed as well as my grandma herself.  For years, he has even called her “grandma” and she adopted him as a grandson.  A trip to her place held the promise of successes, disappointment, but always adventure.  Going to my grandma’s has become a sanctuary for my friends and me over the years.  It is now a place that is stooped in tradition and memories. After so many trips to my grandma’s for so many reasons, it escapes me why we made our first trip there.  More than likely, it was probably a fishing trip that introduced us to a lifelong series of sabbaticals. 

One fishing experience in particular was completely unique and stands apart from others.  We were fishing in a random pond that is located just east of my grandma’s house.  In fact, you could see her house from its banks.  It was surrounded by tall prairie grasses with one small cluster of trees that offered some shade on a small piece of water but no actual sanctuary.  Near these trees was a creek that helped drain the field that separated the pond from my grandma’s house.  No doubt the creek brought the tree seed from a nearby orchard as well.  A long dam ran along the east bank and different aquatic grasses lined the banks all the way around.  The most defining characteristic was how muddy the water was.  It didn’t matter if it hadn’t rained for two weeks or rained that day because the water always seemed to resemble chocolate milk.

As we arrived on my four wheeler, the water maintained its murky appearance.  Our lure of choice was a spinner bait due to the fact that it created so much turbulence in the water.  Our thinking was that the fish might respond well to vibrations and movement more than sight since visibility was limited.  We began working the dam, shade, and grass edges with success. 

The thing about this pond was that most of the fish were carbon copies of one another.  They could have almost passed for albino due to the fact that the water did not require them to blend in with much or camouflage themselves.  It appeared their growth had been stunted, but not like other nearby farm ponds with little to no management.  Fish were not at the eight or nine inch size that was common in some impoundments.  These fish were in the pound to pound and a half range.  The final characteristic was that they were wild as heck and fought hard.  They didn’t get much fishing pressure and responded well to a number of baits.  Once hooked, the fight was on!  This is what really kept our interest rather than the size.

We were having a great time hooking into these enraged bucketmouths.  Busch worked the north side of the pond while I worked the south.  We were both having success hooking and landing fish.  When we eventually ran into one another we discussed something that both of us had been observing for a while.  Dark and ominous clouds were forming to the southwest and it looked like we were about to get drenched. This was unfortunate since we were catching fish and having a great time.  It didn’t take long for us to decide whether we should tough it out or call it quits.

As any good fisherman knows, a front like this wasn’t just the promise of rainfall, but a switch.  This switch made big fish hungry and made small fish head for the depths.  We talked about how if there were bigger fish in this pond, that this might bring them out.  This peaked our interest and the sound of thunder and flash of lightning did little to deter our resolve.  The fact that we were holding six foot lightning rods was mentioned at one point, but never actually taken into consideration.  The rain began to fall and there wasn’t much of a progression to this process.  There weren’t sprinkles or drizzle, there was just rain and buckets of it.  However the only things on our minds was catching more and bigger fish.  Busch and I were notorious for our theories on wildlife patterns and behavior.  More times than not, these theories were just that, but today, we hit the nail on the head.

As I made a cast near the creek, something big took a swipe at my fire tiger colored spinner bait.  The water rolled and boiled and the feeling of optimism was as electric as the air and passed between us freely.  Before long, Busch had a similar experience.  This only fueled our fire and excitement, and we were approaching a feverish pitch.  That’s when Busch got a good hookset on something bigger than what was common for this pond.

It made deep runs and tried to bury the bait in the bottom of the lake.  It ran, rolled, and violently slapped the water with it’s forked tail.  After an epic fight, he finally landed a fish that surprised us in terms of size and species.  He had landed a four pound channel catfish in the pouring rain on a spinnerbait.  As the rain fell and thunder rolled, we were both caught off guard.

Typically, catfish feed on dead or decomposing matter.  We weren’t sure what to think other than our theories on fronts changing fish behavior appeared to be spot on.  It was then a race to see if we had a pattern on our hands or just a freak occurrence.  After my next cast, this event defined the term “pattern”. 

A wake was pushed away from the bank where I threw my lure and I saw the bite before I felt it.  After a hookset that resembled that of trying to get an F-150 out of the mud with a tow rope, the fight was on.  It was almost identical to Busch’s experience but this time I had the added sense of feel.  The energy that surged through the rod was powerful.  I could actually feel the strength and authority of the fish.  More than that, this is why every fisherman gets out of bed early or spends hundreds of dollars on fishing tackle or stand out in the rain.  The feeling of a big, angry fish is unlike anything in the world.

As the storm raged on and the rain fell, we continued to haul in catfish after catfish.  The bites ended with the rain and each of us had landed 3-4 nice sized channel cats on spinner baits in the rain along with an occasional bass as well.  This was what we had come for.  Oddly enough, it wasn’t the bass nor the catfish.  It sure wasn’t the rain or the feeling of being soaked to the bone in a mid-summer downpour.  It couldn’t have been the shivering that took place on an abnormal July day.  It was the story we had.  It was the adventure that we took home with us.  It was something that we experienced together, and something that we would talk about for years to come.  Heck, it might even be a story that we pass on to the next generation of outdoorsmen…or outdoorswomen.  

Another Hank Patterson Gear Review #124

Hank Patterson is back with another amazingly hilarious video!  I hope this kicks you week off on the right foot!

Healing Saturday Honors Veterans on Nov. 4

Healing Saturday, a day full of fun benefitting Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, will be Saturday, Nov. 4, at K&K Fly Fisher of Overland Park, KS. Fly fishing and fly tying clinics, raffles, a silent auction and other activities will run from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Do you want to learn more about fly tying? Do you want some fly casting tips? Do you want to meet some American heroes and see how fly fishing can help disabled Veterans? Then mark your calendar for Saturday, Nov. 4.

The Greater Kansas City Program of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing invites everyone to attend “Healing Saturday,” a day of fly fishing, fly tying and fun at K&K Fly Fisher in Overland Park. The activities will run from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at K&K, and will include barbecue, kettle corn, fly casting and fly tying clinics. We will also have games, raffles and a silent auction, all benefitting Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing.

“We look forward to this event every year,” said Bob Barnett, Program Lead for the Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing – Greater Kansas City program. “It’s great for fly fishers, but there’s something here for everyone, and it all benefits our Veterans.”

Area fly tiers will give demonstrations throughout the day. Among them will be Mike George, a world-renowned sculptor of deer hair flies and an Air Force Veteran. Mike is a nine-time Gold Medalist in the Mustad Scandinavian Open, one of the world’s premier fly tying competitions, as well as a first-place and second-place medalist in the Federation of Fly Fishers competition.

Here are a few of the deer hair creations that have earned Mike George his international reputation. From realistic shrimp and minnow replicas to patriotic designs, his work is stunning in its detail.

In addition, factory representatives from many great fly fishing manufacturers will be giving product demonstrations and providing fly fishing tips and techniques. There will be a silent auction of donated items, including a Mike George fly, and a host of prizes to be raffled.

Project Healing Waters volunteers and participants will be at the grill preparing food and talking about our program. We are in the process of lining up additional guests. Past participants have included World War II Navy Veteran Laurel E. Phipps, and “K C,” who brings out the “W” after every Royals win at Kauffman Stadium.

This is the fifth year K&K Fly Fisher has sponsored our Healing Saturday event, and it has become one of our biggest fundraisers. We greatly appreciate their support of our Greater Kansas City Program. From its start in 2013, Healing Saturday has grown into a national event, with other locations observing their third annual Healing Saturday the last weekend of September. The Kansas City and St. Louis areas have tied their Healing Saturday events to early November in conjunction with Veterans Day.

K&K Fly Fishers is located at 87^th and Grant (8643 Grant St., just west of Antioch) in Overland Park. For more information, contact them at  913-341-8118, website www.kkflyfisher.com, email sales@kkflyfisher.com.

World champion fly tier Mike George will demonstrate techniques for tying deer hair flies. Mike, an Air Force Veteran, has been tireless in his support of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing.

Fly fishing tips and techniques will be demonstrated by factory representatives from many noted manufacturers at Healing Saturday Nov. 4 at K&K Fly Fisher.

Memorable Fish #1- The Biggest Bass of My Life

There are some moments in fishing that you will never forget!  There are certain moments in time that are indelibly etched into the fabric of your mind and you can recall them as easily as a memory from yesterday.  If you think hard enough, not only do the vivid colors of the trees and sky come rushing back, but the smells and almost the taste of the air seem to be in the present.  Maybe you can even hear the sounds of the water, the laughter of a friend, or the feel of a rod in your hand.  Hopefully we all at least a few moments like that!  I have been blessed to have a few moments like that myself and I felt inspired to write about a one of them tonight.

I'm a lucky guy, I have no problem admitting that.  I don't mean lucky in the sense that I always win on scratch-off tickets, I mean lucky in the sense that I feel like I have had some amazing moments take place in my life that were memorable and meaningful.  Fishing is a love, a passion, and a source of never-ending contemplation, joy, and reflection.  From the places it takes me, to the people that I share the experiences with, to the fish that might or might not get caught, I am forever haunted by moments that are as vivid as photographs but as long lasting as cave paintings.

One of the first fish that I really remember extremely clearly is a fish I will never forget and still plagues me to this day!  It was a day in late April about 13 years ago.  The sky was overcast, the wind was out of the south, and I was fishing a farm pond.  The pond wasn't much bigger than a couple of acres and surrounded by sprouting corn on all sides.  On top of that, there were only 3 places on the bank that allowed you to make a cast.  The rest of the pond was surrounded by timber and scrub brush.  I fished the south side of the pond without any success so I maneuvered to the north end of the pond where the bank was wind-swept.  I figured the bait fish would be on this side of the lake and so would the rumored bass that grew to tremendous size.  I had yet to catch one of these leviathans or any leviathan for that matter.  You see, I was on a quest...and not a quest for fun like Clark Griswold.

You see, I had adopted an unhealthy obsession.  Since the moment I found out that my buddy Busch caught a trophy-sized rainbow at Bennett Spring 2 years before and had it mounted, I felt inclined to match the feat.  I had it in my mind that I was going to catch and mount the first 6 pound bass that I caught.  I set my sights on 6 pounds because the state of Missouri classifies that as a trophy and my dad told me that he thought my best luck at catching such a fish would come from a farm pond that we had access to.  Seeing as how I didn't have an engine or boat, I was inclined to agree with him.

So there I was, standing in 6 inches of cool water in my black rubber boots with a spinning rod in my right hand and a spinnerbait in the other.  I had fished every inch of water that I could reach but had saved the best for last.  It was a pocket of water under a small tree with dead cattails on each side of it.  It looked like the perfect place that a big old female bass would lay to ambush food that was passing by or to sit on a nest she could protect.

I had made about 10 casts to the spot and not gotten a bight.  There was something telling me not to give up and that the place just looked fishy enough to warrant more time and dedication. It felt like I was Spider-Man for a minute but instead of a Spidey-sense, I felt a fishy-sense.  I knew there was a fish in this spot and I was going to catch it!  On what felt like my 100th cast (probably 20th cast), my line went tight.  For a moment I thought I was snagged on a log but if that were the case, wouldn't I have gotten snagged on a previous cast?  Slowly, the log started to head for open water and I realized it wasn't a log.

My heart raced and things went quiet.  Excitement, stress, and adrenaline took the place of quiet and solitude.  The fish jumped once and thankfully stayed hooked but in the process revealed itself as the object of my desire.  This was a bass that looked like it had the potential to go 6 pounds.  This was my trophy.  This was my moment.  The fight lasted a couple of minutes and finally the old girl started to wear out.  As she got closer to the bank, I could see that this was indeed the biggest bass that I had ever hooked.  I started to walk backwards into the tall, dead grass behind me in order to beach the old girl on the soft mud bank.  That's when disaster struck.

In three inches of water, I felt the line go slack.  The multicolored spinnerbait came whizzing by my head and the beast was lose.  Realizing her sudden release by her captor and seeing freedom on the horizon, she started to flop and orient herself for her escape.  I hesitated for just a second (which might have cost me dearly) and then started to sprint for the water.  I saw her huge head pointed to the middle of the lake and new she was about to make a break for it.  The thought of jumping into the water never really crossed my mind, it was just instinctual.  Water splashed from my boots, water sprayed from her tail, and then we came into contact with one another.  Luckily, I stabbed into the water with both hands and got a grip on her tail.  I thought I had a chance at finishing the catch, but with two strong shakes of her massive, slimy tail, she vanished like a ghost in the wind and was gone.

I stood there dumbstruck for about a minute and tried to come to an understanding of what had just happened.  I remember feeling wet, cold, and wind blowing into my mouth as my mouth agape.  I then uttered (yelled) some words that are inappropriate for this site and slapped my rod on the water a few times.  With my head hanging low, I began the long walk back to my truck.  The grey sky seemed to fit the mood and it felt like the temperature dropped a few degrees.  I remember the squish of the mud as my boots made each imprint.  I will always remember the colors, smell, and tactility of that day as well as all of the highs and lows.  It took me awhile to get over that lost moment...obviously because I am writing about it 13 years later.  However, in the long run, it strengthened my resolve and gave me a memory I will never forget.  I can still picture it like it happened yesterday and is a memory I will never forget or lose the feeling of!

Streamer Chronicles S2E1 -- Rich Strolis

Another great video from Brian Wise and Fly Fishing the Ozarks.  It's always cool to hear someone else's story and appreciate where they came from as well as where they are now with their fishing.  Rich Strolis is a pretty fascinating guy with DEEP roots in fly fishing!

Pictures from Bennett Over the Weekend

I wanted to pass along a few pictures from the weekend especially since I don't get on trout water very often.  Specifically, I live over 100 miles from the closest trout stream so these moments are pretty special to me.  You will also see my buddy Pat in a few pictures as well as the two tags that he caught in the Holland Trout Derby at Bennett Spring State Park.  Have a great day and I hope you enjoy a little of my amateur photos.

Congratulations to Brayden!!!

Tomorrow, I will have some pictures to post from last weekend's trip to Bennett and the Holland Trout Derby, but I wanted to make sure that my new buddy Brayden was put front and center.  I saw Brayden and his prize catch as I was strolling toward the park store and I had to share this with everybody.  Congratulations to you Brayden and I hope you have many more catches like this ahead of you!

2017 Holland Trout Derby at Bennett Spring State Park

If you're going to Bennett Spring State Park this weekend (and I hope you are) then make sure you are aware of the 2017 Holland Trout Derby that will be going on.  I am usually the last one to find out about things and this event is no different.  I only found out about this amazing occurrence a year ago, but I plan on making it a tradition.  I got some information from Weaver's Tackle Store and wanted to pass it along to you in case you were curious or wanted more detail.  By the way, if you really are going to Bennett this weekend, PLEASE say hello if we run into one another on the water.  You probably know what I look like by now but I probably don't know YOU.  Don't be a stranger and just remember that I am a guy just like you.  The only difference is that I spend my free time writing nonsense like this!

Link to Weaver's: http://www.missouritrout.com/weavers/report.html

Fly Slaps Cofounder Interview

I have been extremely fortunate in the last couple of weeks to exchange some emails with Corey Kruitbosch (a cofounder of flyslaps.com along with his son).  It has been my pleasure to get to know such a genuine, polite, and sincere guy.   You can learn more about how he and his son got the business started and how profits will go towards a college fund for the young man.  It's a short read and pretty cool story.  Aside from that info, Corey was polite enough to answer a few questions for me and I wanted to share some more of his story with you.  I hope you enjoy it and maybe send some business their way.  I am also proud to announce that an ad has been placed on the left side of this page so if you ever need to access their site, it is just a click away!

1. How did you and your son come up with the idea of starting an online business together?

The idea itself came more from me, as a dad. 1) I wanted to have a project where the two of us could spend time together and do something fun! 2) I wanted to teach him that being a entrepreneur can be both achievable and gratifying!

2. What made you want to focus on fly fishing stickers as the main product of your business?

Jack and I are both a little nerdy when it comes to computer stuff. Jack has been interested in learning how to program and build websites... So, doing a ecommerce website together seemed like a perfect fit and stickers seemed like THE perfect project! We both love stickers and there are so many cool fly fishing stickers out there .. we thought it would be a great idea to get them all on one website.

3. Do you have any other business ventures that you manage independently and/or with your son?

Yes... Surprise! (lol) All of them revolve around fly fishing! Its is a great industry with amazing people!

http://i9studios.com – Web Development for over 20 fly fishing outfitters and Utah Stream Access Coalition.

http://guidepointer.com – Developer Booking and Reservation management for the fly fishing industry!

http://western-fly-fishing.com – Photographer

4. What do you see as the future of flyslaps.com?  Do you hope to incorporate other products or diversify in any way?

Who knows! Right now our only plan is have fun! After that we will to keep filling in our sticker offerings and make sure we create the best source for fly fishing stickers that you an find! :)

5. What kind of support have you had from patrons and the fly fishing community?

The fly fishing community is amazing! Our business is extremely small and everyone has really going out of their way to help us get our project on its feet. The response has been really incredible! From marketing departments for big fly fishing companies to fly shops, artists and fly fishing magazines, everyone has been incredibly supportive! It really is a community of people who care and are willing to go out of their way!

New Shirts!

Awhile back (months actually), I posted a survey asking folks to respond to some t-shirt designs that I came up with.  After the votes were tallied, my good buddy Busch started down the long road of turning these thrown-together ideas into a reality.  After teaching himself about digital imaging and spending A LOT of hours in front of a computer screen, the design was accepted by a t-shirt company and a couple of weeks later it became a reality.  I absolutely love how they turned out and let me be abundantly clear when I say that they would not have been possible without all of his time, dedication, and hard work.  Busch, thanks for making this happen!

I'm interested to hear what you guys think as well!  Feel free to leave a comment below as well as if you have any future ideas.  These turned out so good that I'm already wanting to work on the next design.  I will be taking a few shirts up to Rainbow Fly Shop in Independence, Missouri, in the next few days if you're interested in acquiring one.  If you REALLY want one and can't get to Rainbow, shoot me an email and I'm sure we can work something out.  Each shirt will cost $20 bucks and I'm just trying to break even at that price.  I'm not looking to become some fashion designer or t-shirt baron.

Email: showmeflyguy@gmail.com

Short Film on Greater Kansas City Program Earns Regional Emmy Nomination

A short film about the Greater Kansas City Program of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing has been nominated for a Regional Emmy Award. The 10-minute film, by David Simmons of Thill Media, was one of several sponsored by KCPT in conjunction with the release this month of Ken Burns’s documentary on the Vietnam War. KCPT received a total of 11 regional nominations this year.

Simmons, himself a flyfisher, interviewed participants in the Greater Kansas City Program. He also attended several fly tying sessions and accompanied the group on a fishing outing to Rockbridge Trout Ranch near Ava, MO, in the research and production of the work.

Simmons presents his film with compassion, sensitivity and humor, amid the beauty and serenity that inspired the Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing program. The participants describe the program as life-changing and life-saving.

The film, titled “Veterans Coming Home – Healing Waters,” can be seen on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Huwr2aUDIg

Pictures From The Weekend

I was fortunate enough to hit Tobacco Hills Lake at Guy B. Park yesterday and got into a few fish.  Nothing big and no gaudy numbers, but that just made me appreciate the ones I DID catch even more.  It also seemed to make them a little prettier as well.  Funny how that works.  I caught them all on a John Deere jig about 18 inches under a strike indicator.  Most of them were in shallow cover and mainly in shaded areas.