Milo’s Flies

Link: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Cdfoj9kos/?mibextid=wwXIfr

I met my buddy Milo a few years ago and from our first conversation, I knew we were kindred spirits.  Besides the fact that we both tie flies and fly fish, we also have other interests in the outdoors that go beyond passions and are borderline obsessions.  The more I got to know Milo, the more I knew I could learn a lot from him.  He knows Lake Taneycomo like the back of his hand, stacks and spins deer hair like the pros, and when he is on the water he is locked in and doesn't miss a thing.  

When Milo contacted me recently to let me know that he has decided to start selling flies, there was no doubt that his venture was going to be the subject of a blog post.  Milo was not only kind enough to let me post about him and his flies, but he sent me a few to field test as well.  Yes, you can expect a follow up post about these flies but for now, I would encourage you to visit the Facebook page that he has created for his fly tying business.  Feel free to message him through Facebook or email him with custom order inquiries.  

I can attest that not only does he know all of the great trout and articulated patterns, but he can tie anything and I mean that literally!  His flies look great with great attention to detail and he uses premium materials.  He's also on Instagram as well as TikTok and you can find those account handles down below.  I know it would mean a lot to him to get some follows and some orders to get the ball rolling on his business.  As someone who has been down this road before, I can attest that every single order to a startup small business is met with excitement and gratitude.  So if you need some flies for some spring or summer fly fishing adventures, you will not regret contacting Milo.  He's easy to talk to, extremely knowledgeable about a lot of bodies of water, and will send you some flies that will catch fish!

Link: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Cdfoj9kos/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Email: rmiloshewski@gmail.com

Instagram: @ryanmilo19

TikTok: @ryanmiloshewski

My 2,000th Post!

That's right!  2,000 posts!  I can't believe it!  Almost 10 years ago I started this blog because I ran out of pages in my fishing journal.  The library media specialist at the school I worked at suggested that I start a blog and share my fishing experiences with others.  2,000 posts, 712,800 views, and almost 10 years later, I still love posting about my experiences with others.  It has been and will always be my hope that my posts both educate and entertain others.  I'll be honest, if folks like you didn't view my blog and read my posts, I would have quit a long time ago!  The fact that you are reading this right now means a lot to me and I cannot that you enough for your thoughtfulness, time, and energy.  Without you, this little slice of the internet would not exist so please know how grateful I am for you visiting this site.

To commemorate this special occasion, I wanted to share some details about my last fishing excursion.  Last Saturday, Cody (my youngest son), Waylon (my dog), and Justin (a coworker), headed up to our family farm to catch some largemouth.  I wanted to get Cody away from screen time, Waylon to his favorite place on earth, and myself a few more prespawn largemouth in my hands.  Most importantly, I wanted to show my buddy Justin a good time.  He is still new to fly fishing but is picking things up quickly.  I was hopeful that he would learn a little more about fishing a big streamer as well as hooking and landing 15-18 inch fish.  I had a plan in my head, and if I'm being honest, I was pretty confident about putting him on some fish.  Later I realized that my abundant confidence might have been borderline arrogance.

The plan was to throw game changers in the shallows and hook some bass that I thought would be in the 2-3 pound range.  This was my strategy because that was what I did about a 10 days prior.  To make a long story short, that plan did not work.  I fished 2/3 of the pond and Justin fished the remaining 1/3 with one fish being caught.  To say I was shocked would be a gross understatement.  Thankfully, Justin decided to switch things up and helped me shed my cloak of stubbornness.

Justin starting fishing the middle of the pond and allowed his fly to sink before he started his retrieve.  And that was when the fun started.  I don't know how many bass he caught with this strategy but it was enough to follow suit.  I started fishing the same way and the takes started for me as well.  At some point, I even switched to a heavier streamer (the Brave) and caught fish with that fly as well.  As the morning waned, so did our bites so phase 3 of our experimentation began.  

I felt like we had put our flies in front of a bunch of fish and it was time to switch things up.  We went back to my truck and grabbed some medium heavy action spinning rods with fire tiger spinnerbaits.  I had a feeling that the fish would respond two more flash, motion, a faster retrieve, and more vibration in the water.  By the time we were done fishing, the spinnerbaits landed even more fish than the flies!  This was a reminder to me to be flexible and to abandon a plan if it didn't work.  What started out as a slow and disappointing day turned into "one of those special mornings" because Justin reminded me to be flexible!  

We all had a great morning.  Justin learned about streamers, Cody took pictures and talked our ears off, and Waylon ran and played.  I just soaked it all in and landed a few nice bass as well.  On the way home, I started writing this post in my head so it is apparent that I still have a passion for sharing my experiences.  And with that I would like to conclude post number 2,000 with another thank you, a few pictures, and a smile on my face.  While I could keep going on about last Saturday and my gratitude for the views, I will instead bid you a fond farewell...because I need to get to work on post 2,001!