Coaster Research Needs Help!

I was fortunate to attend a presentation at the the recent Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo in Minneapolis, MN, by guide Scott Thorpe entitled, "Coaster Brook Trout- Past , Present, and Future".  The coaster brook trout is the rarest of all Great Lakes sport fish and a true native species.

Coasters are a migratory form of the eastern brook trout, once extremely abundant in Lake Superior but were nearly fished to exticntion.   They are genetically the same as brook trout, but are behaviorally very different.  Their numbers are slowly recovering, but they are still rare-especially in the U.S. waters of Lake Superior.

The Coaster Brook Trout Research Unit is a research initiative of  The Greater Lake Superior Foundation (GLSF).  Each year, the GLSF offers a grant to a graduate student in research on coasters in Lake Superior and its tributaries.  Funding is provided through the sale of the decal shown and available online from the GLSF, www.thegreaterlakesuepriorfoundation.org.  All it takes is $6.00 to show your support!

Castapalooza 2013!

The Northeast Ohio Castapalooza details are coming together quickly.  This years celebration of fly casting and tying looks to be another great one!

When:  Saturday, April 13, 2013, 9:00 AM to 4:00 pm
Where:  Lake County Metroparks Hidden Valley Park on the Grand River
              Off Rt. 528 south of I-90, Madison, OH

This years presenters (so far): 
Greg Senyo- Steelhead Alley Outfitters
Will Turek- Midwest Spey Schools
Neil Houlding- Certified Two-Hand Casting Instructor
Jeff Liskay- Scott Rod/Scientific Anglers/Ross Reel/Patagonia Pro
Jerry Darkes- Great Lakes fly fishing writer
Plus other guests still to be announced!

There will be ongoing demonstrations and hands-on instruction along with displays of gear from local shops.This is free of charge and open to the public.  Come and join us and spread the word!

Special thanks to Matt Zudweg for the great Castaplooza logo!
                                     

New Tubes

I have had a lot of fun working with all the new ProTube components.  This is a great system where all the componets- tubes, sleeves, weights, cones, and discs all fit together.  I am still learning about all the different parts and the versatility they give.

At a recent tying demo at Tightlines Fly Shop in DePere, WI, I tied the following patterns and can't wait to fish them!   Here is what we named them, from top to bottom:  Wisconsin Sunrise, Scandi Crayfish, and The Pink Lady.

First One for Serial #1

I finally had a chance to get on the water with the new Kingpin Great Lake Spey Reel!  Despite 34 degree water I manged to swing up a nice steelie on the Chagrin River with a purple & pink rabbit mini-conehead tube.  Great sound when the fish ran- just like a vintage Hardy!

Pro Tube Products Are Here!

Pro Tube products from Denmark are recently arrived in the U.S.  I am very please to be able to represent this product line in the Midwest and Great Lakes are.  This is simple-to-use system where all of the various tube components are pre-sized to fit together.  In addition, there are several products that cross over well to conventional tying- such as the HD Jungled Cock, FlexiSkin, Soft Heads, and Soft Discs. 
You can look at all their great products and new online magazine at www.prosportfisher.com.

It's Show Time!

The winter consumer shows started this past weekend.  I was in Indianapolis for the Indiana on the Fly Show.  The first show of the year is always a good time to catch up with friends and see how everyone is doing.  Attendance at the show was good, people were buying from vendors, and there were good presentations and demos.

Here Michigan guide and fly tier extraordinaire, Kevin Feenstra, gives a tying demo of some of his signature patterns.  His pet bird, Emulator, was on hand to give kevin some advice and tying tips.  Now we know where all the ideas for those great fly patterns comes from!