Fly Fishing Videos

One thing I have always enjoyed is watching Fly Fishing videos.  If I can’t actually be out fishing, the next best thing is watching it.  This started as long ago as when video recorders became available. 

I lived in California in the bay area at the time, in the mid-80’s.  There were a couple of Fly fishing shops nearby that I would frequent.  One was Creative Sports in Pleasant Hill/Walnut Creek with Andre Puyans.  They had rod building supplies which encouraged me to build my first fly rod.  I went to their fly fishing classes and they had a good selection of videos.  My favorite videos were the Doug Swisher series and the Gary Borger series. These were not only highly instructional but also entertaining.  I could watch them for hours. 

Now that we are in the age of DVD’s, I transferred these old VHS tapes to DVD. 

Also during my years in California there was a show on every Saturday called Fishing The West.  I would record the episodes that included fishing for trout.  I now have these on DVD too. 

Of course my collection has also been augmented by the more recently released videos currently out on DVD. 

The past couple of years I have been taking the bus to work and I pass the time watching these DVD’s on my portable DVD player and noise cancelling head phones.  I will review a few of my favorite DVD’s in future blogs.  Here is my current list of DVD’s from my fly fishing video collection.

0	Title, Author, Comments
1	Advanced Fly Casting: Doug Swisher
2	Advanced Strategies for Selective Trout: Doug Swisher
3	Advanced Streamer Fishing: Kelly Galloup
4	Advanced Techniques for Fly Fishing Stillwaters: Denny Rickards
5	Anatomy Of A Trout Stream: Rick Hafele
6	Angler's Guide to New Zealand: Jack Dennis&Larry Schoenborn
7	Art of Nymphing, The: Marty Howard (World of Fishing)
8	Art of Small Stream Fishing, The:Marty Howard(World of Fishing)
9	Art of Tying the Nymph, The: Skip Morris
10	Basic Fly Casting: Doug Swisher
11	Basic Fly Fishing: Marty Howard (World of Fishing)
12	Basic Techniques & Tips - Fly Tying: Steve Probasco
13	Beaverhead River-Montana: Dick Sharon
14	Beyond the Basics & Reading Water: Bill Marts
15	Blackfoot River Montana: Jim Toth & George Looms
16	Bow River: FFVM(Fly Fishing Video Magazine)
17	Bugs Of The Underworld: Ralph & Lisa Cutter
18	Building Your Own Rod: Dale Clemens
19	Casting Approach to Nymphing Tactics, A: Joe Humphreys
20	Chasing Silver-Andy's Return: Andy(A Tarpon Journey)
21	Clackacraft Drift Boats: Clackacraft & Kelly Galloup
22	Colorado's Major 6, Fly Fishing: Marty Bartholomew
23	Cowboys & Cutthroats: Bill Grunkemeyer
24	Crustaceans & Snails: Gary Borger
25	Damsels & Dragons: Gary Borger
26	Double Haul, The: Rhea Tapping
27	Drift Boat Basics: Clackacraft
28	Drift Boat Fishing 101: Dennis Breer
29	Dry Fly - Fly Fishing Secrets, The: Hal Janssen
30	Dry Fly and The Trout, The: Marty Howard(World of Fishing)
31	Dry Fly, The - Fly Fishing Success: Joe Humphreys
32	Dynamics of Fly Casting: Joan Wulff
33	Essence of Fly Casting II: Mel Krieger
34	Essence of Fly Casting: Mel Krieger
35	Fabulous Big Horn, The: Gary Borger
36	Favorite Flies: Rene' Harrop
37	Fishing Knots : Lefty Kreh
38	Fishing Knots for Fresh & Saltwater: FFVM
39	Fishing the Dry Fly: Gary Borger
40	Fishing The Midge: Gary Borger
41	Fishing the West:Alaska: Larry Schoenborn-TV
42	Fishing the West:Columbia,Pyramid,Lee's Ferry:Schoenborn-TV
43	Fishing the West:Green,Bitteroot: Larry Schoenborn-TV
44	Fishing the West:S.platte,Madison,Big Hole: Schoenborn-TV
45	Fishing Utah's Green River: Marty Howard(World of Fishing)
46	Fishing Yellowstone Country
47	Flaming Gorge the Fantastic: Jerry Cobb
48	Flaming Gorge, part 1, the Lake Trout: World of Fishing
49	Flies, Nymphs, and Trophy Trout
50	Float Tubing For Trout: Marty Howard(World of Fishing)
51	Floating and Fly Fishing: Paul Stauffer
52	Fly Casting - Orvis: Bruce Bowlen
53	Fly Fish Still Waters-Chironamids: Brian Chan & Don Freschi
54	Fly Fisherman-Season One: Fly Fisherman
55	Fly Fishing - The Lifetime Sport: David Young
56	Fly Fishing Colorado: DWR
57	Fly Fishing For Pike: Larry Dahlberg
58	Fly Fishing for Trout: Gary Borger
59	Fly Fishing In Winter: Marty Howard(World of Fishing)
60	Fly Fishing in Wyoming: The Wind Rivers
61	Fly Fishing Large Western Rivers: Vol. 3-Summer:Rick Hafele
62	Fly Fishing Movies: Flyfishingmovies.com
63	Fly Fishing Stillwaters For Trophy Trout: Denny Rickards
64	Fly Fishing The English Way
65	Fly Fishing The Northwest, Vol 1 (Great Fishing NA): Mike Fong
66	Fly Fishing The Northwest, Vol 2 (Great Fishing NA): Mike Fong
67	Fly Fishing Tips & Techniques for Stillwater Float Tubing:Geirach
68	Fly Fishing Yellowstone Hatches:Craig Matthews&John Juracek
69	Fly Tying Basics: Dick Talleur
70	Fly Tying Basics: Jack Dennis
71	Fly Tying Basics: Travelin' Fly Fisherman(Jack Dennis)
72	Fly Tying Made Clear & Simple: Skip Morris
73	Fly Tying: Poul Jorgensen
74	Fly Tying: Vol 2: Poul Jorgensen
75	Fremont River-Utah: Shawn Saunders
76	Fundamentals, The: Fly Fishing Success: Joe Humphreys
77	Glenn Canyon Dam: TV Recording
78	Golden Ring, The
79	Great American Trout Streams Season III - Western Rivers:T.U.
80	Great Fishing of North America: Abe Cuanang
81	Green River Divided Waters: KUED 7
82	Green River Guides Choice: Dennis Breer
83	Hatch, The: Gunnison River_Film Festival
84	Henry's Fork Rainbows: FFVM
85	Henry's Fork: Mike Lawson
86	How To Row A Drift Boat: Hyde
87	Hyde Drift Boats: Hyde
88	Ice Fishing, with Dick Gasaway: David Boyd
89	Ice Tech: In Fisherman
90	Idaho's South Fork Of The Snake: Lamont Hyde(FFVM)
91	Insider's Guide to Trout Fishing: Marlin Gibbs
92	Introduction to Fly Fishing: Gary Borger
93	LaFontaine Originals Volume VI: Beatty, Stimpons
94	LaFontaine Originals Volume VII: Beatty, Stimpons
95	Lakes (learn fun & success fishing lakes): Bill Marts
96	Landing The Trout Of Your Life: Landon Mayer
97	Learning to Fish Utah:R.Almond,Smith,Jensen(Browns of Winter)
98	Learning To Fly Fish For Trout: Jack Dennis
99	Lessons with Lefty: Lefty Kreh
100	Life Cycle of the Caddis Fly, The: Rene' Harrop
101	Madison River: Kelly Galloup
102	Madison River-Montana: Bob Jacklin & Craig Matthews
103	Mastering The Midge: Paul Lasha
104	Matching the Natural Part 1: The Wet Fly:Marty Howard(W of F)
105	Matching the Natural Part 2: The Dry Fly:Marty Howard(W of F)
106	Matching the Natural Part 3: The Natural:Marty Howard(W of F)
107	Missouri River Trout: Jim & Kelly Watt(FFVM)
108	Modern Fly Fishing Tactics:Vol 1-Braided Leaders
109	Modern Spey Casting: RIO
110	Montana Trout and the Nature Conservancy: Mike Bay(FFVM)
111	Montana's Clark Fork: Jim & Kelly Watt(FFVM)
112	Montana's River Of Many Returns (Clark's Fork)
113	Montana's Salmon Fly Hatch: Drift Boat Fishing
114	New Challenges, Fly Fishing: Mike Fong
115	New Fly Fishing Basics, The
116	New Ways of Fishing the Mayfly: Roman Moser(English)
117	New Zealand: Jack Dennis & Larry Schoenborn
118	Night Game, The: Joe Humphreys
119	Nymph Fishing Techniques: Jim Teeny
120	Nymphing By The Numbers: Kelly Galloup
121	Nymphing For Trout:Marty Howard(Fly Fishing Tactics/R.Almond)
122	Nymphing, with Gary Borger: Gary Borger
123	Once In A Blue Moon: On The Fly Productions
124	Parachutes, Spinners & a Dun: A.K. Best,S.Stalcup, B.Befus
125	Pat Dorsey's Nymphing Strategies: Pat Dorsey
126	Perfect Cast, The: Henrik Mortensen
127	Pike On The Fly: Barry Reynolds
128	Poul Jorgensen on Fly Tying: Poul Jorgensen
129	Quest for the Record: Secrets to Trophy Fishing
130	Raising The Ghost: Flyboys
131	Rapala-Pro's Secrets for Catching More and Bigger Fish:Rapala
132	Red Gold: Bristol Bay Alaska
133	Rise: Venez,ID,FL,AL,NO,Pat
134	Running Down The Man: Rooster Fish
135	Secrets of Trout Fishing: Henry's Lake: Steve Brown
136	Silver Creek: FFVM
137	Smallmouth Bass: a rising star: Randy Brudnick
138	Strategies for Selective Trout: Doug Swisher
139	Stream Trout Tactics: In Fisherman
140	Streamer Fishing for Trophy Trout: Kelly Galloup
141	Successful Flyfishing Strategies Vol. 1:LaFontaine&Dick Sharon
142	Sylvester Nemes-Soft Hackles: Sylvester Nemes
143	Tasmania, The Source: FlyLife
144	Top 60 Tips: Freshwater Fishing: Boating Magazine
145	Trophy Lake Trout: In Fisherman
146	Trout Bum Diaries #1, Patagonia
147	Trout Bum Diaries #2, Kiwi Camo: A New Zealand Adventure
148	Trout Bum Diaries #3, Mongolia: River Wolf
149	Trout In Stillwaters: Gary Borger
150	Trout of the Tundra: Gary Borger
151	TROUT-Tying & Fishing Effective Trout Flies: Vic Bergman
152	Tying and Fishing Attractors: Gary LaFontaine
153	Tying and Fishing Caddisflies: Gary LaFontaine
154	Tying and Fishing Stillwater Flies Disc 1: Phil Rowley
155	Tying and Fishing Stillwater Flies Disc 2: Phil Rowley
156	Tying and Fishing Stillwater Fly Patterns: Sweet Fly Tying Series
157	Tying and Fishing the Dave Whitlock Originals Vol 1:Whitlock
158	Tying Attractor Flies: Doug Swisher
159	Tying Flies For Spring Creeks & Tailwaters: Mike Lawson
160	Tying Guide Flies-The Dry Fly:Marty Howard's Fly Fishing Tactics
161	Tying Hatch Simulator Flies For Selective Trout:Doug Swisher
162	Tying Lake Flies: Shane Stalcup
163	Tying Western Dry Flies:Jack Dennis&Mike Lawson
164	Tying Western Hair Dry Flies: Jack Dennis
165	Understanding Fly Tying Materials: Scott Sanchez
166	Underwater World of Trout-Feeding Lies Vol. 2:Lifesize Ent.
167	Underwater World of Trout-Vol. 1: Lifesize Entertainment
168	Where The Salmon & Trout Are King: George Klucky
169	White River: Dave Wotton
170	Winston Waters: A Philosophy: Winston
171	Wulff's School of Fly Casting: Joan Wulff
172	Yakima River Trout: Tim Irish

Fly Fishing the Middle Provo River

I first hit the lower Provo River.  This is a river I used to frequent often.  In fact, I have fished every section of the lower Provo from the mouth of the canyon to the Deer Creek Dam.  I was quite disheartened on this trip.  Walking down the railroad tracks I noticed a lot of the trees and shrubs between the river and the tracks had been bulldozed.  Private property signs were all over the place.  This is not the same river I had been used to.  Since I was there I gave it a try.  I fished my favorite stretches that always produce in the fall.  The water was somewhat off color, not the usual low clear water that is typical in the fall.  I didn’t even get a strike.  I tried a couple different sets of flies - those that, from experience, always work in the fall on the Lower Provo.  I gave up after a couple of hours and decided to try somewhere I have never fished before, the Middle Provo River.

The Middle Provo is the stretch that is between Deer Creek Reservoir and Jordanelle Reservoir.  This section, historically, had been straightened, dewatered and utilized for irrigation.  A few years back, it was reconstructed to its original course.  This is now the stretch of river which is most recommended in the state.  It is also known as always being crowded. 

There are official paved parking lots with outhouses and signs.  I pulled into the parking lot and there were eight other cars.  The parking lot on the other side of the road and a few hundred yards down had just as many.  This was in the middle of the week, not the weekend.  I hiked along the river, passing several fishermen.  I asked if the trail went far.  The fisherman I asked said that he thought it went the entire length of the river. 

I figured the further away from the parking lot, the better.  Sure enough, I kept hiking and never found the end of the trail.  In fact I crossed the river and the trail on the other side kept going as well.  This river definitely has easy access.  In the stretch I hiked I found three guides each with two or three clients. 

I started fishing and quickly caught a small brown trout.  A few minutes later I caught a slightly larger one – not bad for a first time visit.  These fish I caught on the usual small nymphs I use for the Lower Provo and Weber rivers, Pheasant Tails, etc.  I would have liked to have had my 4 weight rod and been dry fly fishing.  I did see quite a few fish jump.  This part of the river is smaller than the Lower Provo and Weber and would have been easy to fish with a dry fly.  The hike along the trail is pretty.  They have done a good job making the river natural with plenty of trees and shrubs. 

In fact, there are even bird houses in the trees here.  I will definitely come back and try this river again.

By the way, I traveled up and down the river for miles and never did find that black bear.

Wolf Flat Camp

Friday we only had 8 miles to float to our destination, the Wolf Flat camp.  There is also a boat ramp at Wolf Flat.  I looked at the map to see if this would work as a takeout spot but this would be a long drive for a shuttle to get to the nearest bridge to cross the river and then to get to the ramp. 

The day started out calm, bright and clear.  Looking around the camp it looked like the skunk hadn’t done any damage.  We floated around the next bend in the river were the river forked.  Where the two forks came back together there was some deep, slack water next to fast water flowing by. 

Using Pale Morning Dun dry flies again, we cast right next to the fast water and ended up catching ten or so cutthroats. 

These weren’t big fish but they were sure fun to catch and it was a nice way to start the day.

Another fun spot was a mile or so down the river across from a cabin.  Again there was some deep water right where another fork entered the main river.  This is where we had lunch.  By now we had finished all our yummy pastrami, roast beef and cheese sandwiches and only had peanut butter and honey sandwiches left.  I fished downstream where there was turbulence caused by the other fork while Nick fished upstream where the river became deep and fast.  I didn’t even get a bite.  Meanwhile Nick had a strike from a large trout and he kept fishing in the same spot, hoping it would strike again or if one big trout likes a certain spot, chances are another one will too.

There are a few cliffs along this stretch.  Each time we would pass another section near cliffs it would seem like déjà vu because they all look the same.  We kept taking turns rowing and fishing.  We kept catching a few here and there. 

We were fortunate in seeing another moose and another golden eagle. 

As the day wore on, the wind kept picking up. 

By the time we got near the camp spot at mid-afternoon, the wind was really making it difficult to cast.  We kept our eyes open for the Wolf Flat ramp or camp spot.  We even stopped were we thought it should be. 

I walked back along the shore to ask another couple of fisherman if that was the camp.  They said Wolf Flat was still around the next bend.  Around the next bend there was still no ramp.  Nick and I discussed our options.  By this point it was too windy to fish and didn’t show any signs of letting up.

We decided to just row the additional four miles to our takeout point at Byington Poplar since we weren’t going to be fishing the next day anyway.  We would be in a hurry to get home for the party celebrating Porter’s, Brooke’s, Janessa’s and Nick’s birthday’s which all occur during the month of October.

I started rowing hard toward our destination.  It felt like I was rowing uphill against the wind.  Nick then volunteered to row.  We did pass a couple other campgrounds through this section that we were unaware of.  These were called Rattlesnake Point and Clark Hill.  If we hadn’t decided to just go home for the night these would have worked out well.  In fact, I marked these sites on my map and we will keep them in mind for future trips.

At the take out at Byington, there is a metal box where you can place your rainbow trout heads to participate in an incentive program.  The aim of this program is to reduce the number of rainbow trout in the river.  The cutthroat trout are the native trout of the river.  The rainbows compete with them and also breed with them, diluting the gene pool. 

After a long day of rowing, 12 miles, Nick and I were anxious to hit the Golden Corral again.  We ended up getting home at 1:00 in the morning.  In the end, it was a good thing we came home Friday night.  This gave us time to unpack, do laundry and put everything away before the party.  It also gave Nick time to get packed and head for the airport at 5:30 Sunday morning.  Unloading the cooler in the morning we were pleased to find that there were still big chunks of ice left and that the milk was nice and cold.

What was my favorite part of the trip?  The first thing that comes to mind is Nick having so much success with dry flies that he tied himself.  The biggest trout of the trip were caught on Nick’s dry flies.

Lufkin Bottom - Day 3

Thursday we only had five miles to float to our camp spot called Lufkin Bottom.  This stretch of water has some good cliffs, islands, gravel bars and deep holes.  We took our time at each stop. 

Around the first bend in the river we were met by two eagles sitting on a branch next to each other. The weather was perfect with little wind. We stopped on the other side of the river were it braided near some cliffs. 

We caught a few white fish here but not the numbers of trout we were hoping for.  I tried my luck with big streamers and had one hit with a rust colored Dungeon (the type my wife wears as earrings) but that was it. 

While fishing, Nick discovered a moose nearby.  This was a good start for the day.

Right after pushing off again, through the stretch we had just fished, Nick quickly caught another whitefish and then a nice cutthroat.

Nick tied on another dry fly, and he caught the fish we were after – a big brown. 

Catching a brown of this size on a dry just adds another level of excitement. 

Try it again.  Sure enough, Nick caught another good brown. 

Not as big as the previous one, but still good size.  Nick continued to catch a few more. 

Maybe it’s his turn to row now.  Just kidding, I think I caught a little cutthroat somewhere in there.

The Lufkin Bottom camp was just past another Eagle Reserve.  This seemed to be the most used camp of any we had camped in.  This is also the camp were we had a sandwich-stealing raccoon visit us last time we were there.  This time we made sure all containers were secure and even placed the totes on top of the cooler. 

Nick and I woke up the same exact instant to a sound right outside the tent.  I grabbed my camera, certain to get pictures of the raccoon this time.  I shined my flashlight out the tent’s mesh window.  It wasn’t a raccoon.  It was a skunk!  I took a picture but the reflection of the flash on the mesh made it so nothing could be seen. 

The skunk, seeing all the lights, quickly scampered back into the woods.  Thankfully never to be heard of again.  He knew we had a clean, secure camp. 

Now Andrew, Nick’s son who love’s animals can say “guess what, dad saw a beaver, a bald eagle, a golden eagle, a moose and a skunk!” Oh yeah, I also caught a garter snake earlier in the day.  I love wildlife too.  I think that’s a major part of fishing, all the wildlife you see.

Nick's Blue Winged Olives - Day 2

There was frost in the morning and the water still on the tent was frozen.  The water in the boat, however, was not frozen.  I was hoping we could just pick it up as ice and throw it out of the boat.  Instead we used one of our buckets to bail the water. 

As the first couple of fishermen floated by through the fog, one yelled out “the fish are still asleep, don’t worry about hurrying onto the water. “  It reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean, boats floating by in the fog. 

As the sun came over the mountains it burned away the fog.  The cows started mooing and we could see them on the other side of the river.  They all seemed to start mooing at the sight of the sun. 

We sat our wading boots in the sun to thaw out. 

We only had 6 or 7 miles to float to our next camp site so it left plenty of time for fishing.  We pulled over at every good looking gravel bar or feature of the river. 

By the end of the second day float, we had each caught cutthroats, rainbows, browns and tons of white fish. 

Up until now we were using stone fly nymphs that we had so much success with on previous trips.

Nick noticed fish rising near the shore in front of the eagle preserve and started using a Blue Winged Olive dry fly.  He started catching quite a few cutthroat and even caught a large brown. 

These were caught on flies he tied himself and he gave me one to use.  Further attempts with a dry proved successful.  This tipped the scale to finally catching more trout than white fish.   Also, dry fly fishing is “real” fly fishing.  When dry fly fishing is successful, this is the way to fish.  Dry fly fishing is very visual.  You get to see the fish rise and take the fly.  If you miss the strike, it is still fun to see the rise.

Our next camp site, Dry Canyon #3, was just past the eagle preserve.  Again we set up the tent to dry.  There was still daylight to burn so we fished some more.  In front of the camp site there was a deep hole. 

The trout thus far were all medium-sized so I put on a streamer to try for one a little more substantial.  I caught an even smaller trout at this attempt.  Nick caught quite a few more trout before it started getting dark and was time to start warming up supper. 

We traded sleeping bags every night.  The Cabela’s Alaskan Guide sleeping bag was rectangular and therefore more roomy and comfortable.  It is rated 0 degrees.  It did take longer for feet to get warm and each time you repositioned yourself your feet would feel cold again.  The North Face Dark Star sleeping bag is mummy style and my feet were warm immediately.