Meet the Crew Monday; Britt Davenport

5/24/2021

You have no doubt seen Britt on our Facebook Live, Norvise live ties or on her own channel (with her husband Brian) Hackles & Herl. What you don't see is all the behind the scenes stuff she does for us. She takes her position on out ambassador staff very seriously and we are so thankful for that. Here is a bit of a deeper look into Brittany Davenport.

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Getting out of your comfort zone.

5/19/2021

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By Norvise ambassador Brian Davenport.

Everyone has a comfort zone-whether in fly tying or fly fishing. Some folks are comfortable at tying certain styles of flies, or fishing in a certain style. But not too many folks are comfortable with more than a couple types of styles of fishing or tying. The ones that are comfortable with various styles, you can bet they are the ones consistently catching fish.

During the Norvise March Madness competition there were 64 tiers and some very accomplished tiers. Even some of the more accomplished tiers found themselves being pushed out of their comfort zone by the fly categories that were drawn. It’s not that they could not tie the flies, but that the type of flies were different than what they normally tie. Some really awesome flies were tied, as they stepped out of their comfort zone.

As for your comfort zone while fly fishing, I know some fly fishers who follow the motto of dry fly or die. When you consider that trout especially, eat 90% of their food subsurface, that does not give them very favorable odds of consistently catching fish. I also know some anglers that only fish subsurface and refuse to fish a dry fly. They are also missing out in some circumstances, like when a hatch is on. Some anglers are so set to one style of fishing, to the point of they will avoid certain places to fish because they cannot fish it the way they are comfortable with.

My favorite fishing partner loves to fish dry flies, and I mean who doesn’t- it is very cool to see the fish come up and take your fly off the top. But she was missing out on other times because that is all she would fish. However, over the last couple of years she has started expanding outside her comfort zone, to include streamer fishing and swinging a wet fly.

The "Holy Grail" of Trout fishing (Pssst...this only happens about 20% of the time).

Last year we both got out of our comfort zone more, and started to learn and experiment with Euro Nymphing. After reading several articles and talking to some friends about how it is done. We gave it a try on several outings. We had some awesome days on the water, that likely would have only been so-so using other methods.

A nice selection of Euro type nymphs.

We live in central Idaho along the Clearwater River. During steelhead season we swing a wet fly with two handed rods for steelhead, however we are going on the Norvise hosted trip to Steelhead Alley this fall. Tim has said that a lot of times they fish with nymphs and indicators as swinging a fly is only when conditions are right-which doesn’t happen too often. I have fished this way for trout and am not very proficient at it, and have had very limited success- so it is definitely out of my comfort zone. I plan on reading up the technique, watching videos and pestering everyone I know that has fished for steelhead in this manner to learn more about it. Also, on my trout fishing outings this year, I may try fishing with an indicator rig more often, so that I can get better at it and more comfortable with it.

David Delk with his first ever Steelhead on the first morning of the Norvise hosted Steelhead trip. David has been fly fishing for a little over a year and is new to fishing an indicator rig.

Now I am definitely not suggesting to give up your favorite flies that you tie, or your favorite fishing technique. I’m just saying that if you normally fish with dry flies, perhaps work a run with the dry fly and then work your way back thru with a nymph rig. Fish most of the day with your preferred method but set aside a couple hours to specifically fish different types of water and different method.

This also brings up another point-go and fish different bodies of water! A lot of people go to the same body of water and fish the same holes with the same methods each time they go out. Don’t be afraid to step out of that comfort zone and fish a different body of water or a different place on that body of water. If you are willing to step out of your comfort zone it will help you become a more rounded tier and angler and you might just have some great days on the water while venturing outside of your zone! Till Next Time...

Tight Lines.

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Meet the crew Monday...Braden Miller

5/17/2021

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Tonight we look at our ambassador Braden Miller. When you look at all he has accomplished it is easy to forget he is still only 15 years old. We are so fortunate to have Braden on our staff. He (and his entire family) are now family to us. I love this kid like he is my own son and Tyler calls him "the little brother I never had".

For a bit of a deeper look into what makes this fine young man who he is read on...

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Redfish in South Carolina

5/11/2021

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By Norvise Ambassador Shannon Messer

Nose down, tails up searching for fiddler Crabs, Shrimp, Mullet, and Menhaden Shad, Redfish move amongst the marsh grass revealing their location to a keen eye of a captain atop the poling platform. The order is given, "30 feet nine o’clock now, strip, strip, strip", bang fish on! The Scott Tidal 7wt is bent, feeling every burst of strength the angry red exhibits as it comprehends what has just happened. Just as quickly as the battle starts it ends with the redfish coming unbuttoned without warning. Just like that the battle is over. I take a moment to replay the memory tattooed in my brain, dissecting each move. What seemed like hours was only a nanosecond in the battle between fly fisherman and redfish. Redfish won.

Let’s take the time to set the stage, and explain how a mountain Trout fly fisherman ends up on the bow of a skiff in the low country of Charleston, South Carolina. I give credit to my wife of twenty years as she threw out the idea of fishing on our twentieth wedding anniversary. Like many of us, we were looking to travel and explore to celebrate our accomplishment, or let's call it like it is— Tanya putting up with me for all these years. I jumped at the opportunity and we selected historic Charleston, South Carolina.

Charleston was an easy choice for us. We love visiting the area, the food is great, you are surrounded by history, and the weather can be amazing! Every time we visit, somehow, we discover something new. This trip we found Ye Ole Fashioned Ice Cream and Sandwich Bar in lovely Mount Pleasant, SC. While waiting on ice cream we couldn’t help but notice they have a fried bologna sandwich on the menu. If that doesn’t make it a first class food joint your expectations are too high.

I was excited and a bit apprehensive after we booked our excursion. I did not want to look like I had no clue on how to cast to saltwater fish. The double haul is a cast that we very rarely, if ever, use in the North Carolina mountains. I am a stealthy predator, roll casting in tight quarters to almost invisible trout, which is a far cry from a seventy or even sixty foot cast on the money for a saltwater species. I practiced as perfectly as I could until I felt confident in my abilities to present the fly as instructed by the captain.

The morning was picture perfect, mirror smooth water and chamber of commerce temperatures greeted us as we departed on our adventure. I must have felt like a fresh major league call up to the show stepping into the batter’s box for the first time. Just my luck it would be MLB Hall of Fame Greg Maddox on the mound that day.

The casting turned out to be the least of my struggles. It was the spotting of the fish that kicked my butt! Regardless of what lens I had in my Smith Optics, I struggled spotting moving redfish as they revealed themselves to us. I was able to spot a few tails, but that was it. Don’t ask me if I saw the mullet because it was a big fat no! I now felt like many of the guests that I guide in the mountains at that point. They tell me they struggle seeing what I see, and now I was experiencing what they feel and it was frustrating. Spotting reds was the biggest challenge for me and I was frustrated, disappointed, and helpless at that point. Tanya knew it, and she was supportive as I pressed on.

If you are someone like me who has never tried sight fishing for a new species you should do it. Don’t be afraid of failure, and accept the challenge head on. I am motivated more than ever to seal the deal the next time out on the skiff! I continue to practice, and I look forward to the next opportunity in the near future.

I have had the opportunity to fish in many different places the past three years, and for that I am thankful. I have faced many challenges along the way, but in the end it has made me a better fly fisherman and guide. You will see me on the bow of a skiff again, but this time holding a redfish. Who knows? It just might be the skiff that the @georgia_drifter owns. Till next time...

Tight Lines - Shannon

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More Pre-Spawn Smallmouth

5/5/2021

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By Tim O'Neill

Well, in last weeks blog post I talked about our fishing for pre spawn Smallmouth. I can remember one of my Dad's favorite sayings "Ride it till she bucks" well, we are going to ride this particular tributary until it bucks. This post is about the second of many floats down this river this spring. and what a float it was!

The day started at 5:40am on Saturday morning. I was up and getting ready when I looked out my window and saw my buddy Ed already backed up to our Smith Fly Raft and he was hooking it up to his truck. This was a welcome change from the week before when Tyler was ALMOST A HALF HOUR LATE! To borrow another one of my Dad's favorite sayings "If you cant run with the big dogs, stay on the porch" Apparently my son had gone out howling at the moon the night before and couldn't get out of bed on time...This week it was myself, Ed and Brian Shumaker of Susquehanna River Guides. By 6:00 Ed had the raft hooked up and we were on our way.

After a quick breakfast we had the shuttle car dropped off and we were at thee put in. We were quickly geared up and soon we were headed down river with Ed on the bow, Brian on the sticks and myself in the back.

It was apparent the water had dropped dramatically from the week before as soon as we started fishing. The Sonar Titan line that was so good to me just a week prior was not going to work today. In the deeper holes this would do fine, but I quickly had to switch to my intermediate shooting head for the bulk of my fishing.

We had floated less than a quarter mile and had just hit the top of the first productive run and Ed was tight to a good fish. A solid chunker came to net and with that the skunk was out of the boat.

The skunk is out of the boat!!!

I swear it was on the next cast and I looked up and Ed's rod was doubled over again. this time an eye popper of a Smallie showed itself.

Look at the motor on this guy!

We continued floating, casting and picking up a fish or two. We were coming into the spot, you know the spot, the spot where it is about to go down!!! This was the run where we had put three 20 inch fish and several 18's in the net the week before. We had switched and Ed was on the paddles, Brian was up front and I was in the back.

We would drift a bit, drop the anchor and fish. Pull the anchor, drift, drop anchor, fish. We repeated this several times in the 1/4 mile stretch we simply call "The Run". I watch as Brian put on an absolute clinic on the front of the boat. Fish after fish, one after the other, and big fish too. I don't know how many Brian landed, I lost count. I do I have never seen anything like this. For a bit, I just sat and watched trying to figure out what Brian was doing. I guess the saying "there is no substitute for experience" would fit well here. Now, I did manage some fish, and I would have been happy with the outcome, but I was not having success like Brian. Clouser Minnows were the fly of the day and after a bit of a discussion as to whether they were tied correctly, I got to see the fly in action fished the way it was designed to be fished. I also got to witness the effectiveness first hand. It was impressive.

We took a break for lunch to give us and the fish a rest. We paddled over to the side and sat in the boat and ate our sandwiches and talked about the things three guys sitting in a rubber raft talk about while on the river.

After lunch we switched and I was on the bow, Brian was in the back and Ed was providing the muscle. It was a good thing because after lunch Ed said what do you want to do, I said I want you to row us up to the top of this run and we are going to go through it again. He kinda laughed and said "no, really, what do you want to do" I said I am serious, take me back up to the top of this run...Ed's face looked like that big eyed surprised emoji from your I phone.

In short order we were at the top of the run and started the anchor, fish, pull anchor, drift system again.

In last weeks post I referred to my best day on the smallmouth river as Epic (I still dislike that word). I honestly don't even know how to describe this float...