One of our Norvise ambassadors recently got some ink in a well publicized magazine. Read on to learn about what the author touts as the brightest young fly tier to hail from the "Old Dominion" state. 

Many of you have heard us talk about Braden Miller. Braden is one of our Norvise ambassadors, a fantastic fly tier, great fly fisherman and all around just a quality human being. These things probably won't surprise you as anyone that has ascended to ambassador level of three major manufactures with in the industry (Braden is a TFO and Fair Flies ambassador as well)  would naturally possess these talents. What you may find surprising is his age, Braden has accomplished this at the ripe old age of 13! That's correct, Braden just became a teenager less than a year ago. We here at Norvise are proud of Braden. Proud of what he has accomplished, proud to have him as an ambassador, and most importantly, proud to call he (and all of his family) friend. Check out the article and give him a follow on Instagram and Facebook. He is a great follow.  

​They didn't make it into the article, but below are the pictures of Braden's Musky taken by photographer extraordinaire Casey Miller. Now, here is where I must mention Braden's parents Casey and Will. Now, I personally don't know too many parents, especially mom's, that would sit on the back of a drift boat in December so their son could catch a Musky with his idol. That is exactly what Casey did. Whether they are driving (or flying him) a few hundred to a few thousand miles to do a show, or freezing in the back of a drift boat in December, Casey and Will are totally on board and supporting Braden every step of the way. You really have to admire strong willed, southern parents that have raised their kids (ALL 4 BOYS!) to be respectful young men and support the kids dreams. Casey and Will, your boys are lucky to have you! 

Braden will be at many of the fly fishing and fly tying expo's this season. We will be posting up a schedule as soon as the dates are available. If you are at one of these shows stop out and meet Braden. Spend just a few minutes with this young man and you will quickly realize the authors comments are 100% accurate. The Fly Fishing and Fly Tying Future is in fact very bright in Virginia and Braden is carrying the torch at the head of the line! Till next time...

                                                                                                                  Tight lines - Tim 

 I had a great piece almost ready to share this week about tips to take better care of your gear. I was almost finished when I came across this. With Spring turning to Summer and many people out on the water, I thought this was a much better post for this week. Many of these things are common sense, but these are tips that bear repeating. I can not claim writing privileges for these tips, I wish I could. This came to me through my Facebook page. I would like to thank the original author for sharing his or her thoughts.    

Please take a few minutes to read these tips and put as many of them to task while you are on the river this spring. Without the fish all of these things we know and love so much would cease to exist. My hope is that we all will benefit from reading this.

1. Use barbless hooks.  Yes, barbless hooks do less damage to your fish’s face upon removal – but more importantly, barbless hooks make it much easier to release your fish quickly and with minimal handling.

2. Minimize ‘air time’.  We all want hero shots – we get it.  You’re not taking the fish home in your cooler and you want a way to preserve the memory.  Keep the fish in the water until your photographer is ready.  Once they have the camera ready and have taken the practice shot, lift the fish from the water, smile real pretty, get the pic, and get that fish back in the water.  If you must do it again, do it again – but minimize the time that the fish is out of the water.

3.  Fight him hard.  Apply as much pressure as you can.  Get the fish to hand as quickly as possible.  Long battles mean exhausted fish, and exhausted fish die more.  Fight hard and fast and get that fish back on its way.

4. Stay away from the rocks.  Fish flopping around in the rocks can do serious damage to their own skulls – they’re just not built for that.  Find a spot to land the fish with as few sharp, hard objects as possible.  Sandy beaches are perfect!  If you’re in a run that’s totally lined with rocky shorelines, keep the fish in deeper water and do not swim him up onto the rocky bank.  You can land any fish that you need to land in a foot of water.

5. Keep your fingers out of the gills.  In normal life, a fish’s gill plates protect its very delicate gills.  Once he’s been tired out to the point that you can grab him, he’s very vulnerable.  Please, please don’t reach up under his gill plates for the grip and grin – that’s a really nice handle but it’s also often a death sentence.

6. Use appropriate gear.  “I landed a 25 pound king salmon on my 6 weight with 6 pound tippet!  It took 45 minutes!”  We’re not at all impressed by that.  That fish was so exhausted that it probably couldn’t even hold itself in the current on release.  Use the heaviest gear that’s practical so you can minimize fight times – see #3 above.

7. Watch for predators.  This one is particularly relevant in saltwater.  Any fish that’s been landed is stressed out and not at the top of its game.  Make sure that you don’t release a fish right into the wheelhouse of a hungry shark or barracuda.  Here’s a great tip courtesy of our friends at Bonefish and Tarpon Trust – if you’re near some flooded mangroves, release your fish there.  That’s a great spot for him to find a place to hide while he rests up.  In fresh water, just look for cover. Thanks again for being a responsible angler! Till next time...

                                                                                                                               Tight Lines - Tim 

For this weeks post we have a real treat for you. Dave Allison is one of our ambassadors from Utah. Dave is a fantastic fly tyer and has shot an entire series of these videos for us. As I was watching this video (I have actually watched it several times) a few things jump out at me. The first thing you may notice is that the hook is stationary for much of the sequence. Typically with the Norvise you are accustomed to seeing the vise spinning and material flying onto the hook. While we can certainly do that, this video shows a great example of a fact that we sometimes forget. If you choose, the Norvise can be locked into position and tied on like a more "traditional" type of vise. Remember, you always have the option to go back to the full rotary tying techniques or as Dave shows here blend the two. Honestly, that is what is so great about the Norvise system. We can do everything any other vise out there can do, but when you add the "spin" function to the mix, the sky is the limit and we can do SOOOO much more! Second, this video does a great job at showing the original function of the Fine Point Conversion. The Fine Point or "midge jaw" as many refer to them was originally designed to open up the bend of the hook so you can tie tales and the like on and around the backside of the hook. This video shows a perfect example of that. The way Dave splits and posts the wings is pretty cool, as is the way he uses the tail fibers to fill in the gap left by the back of the Calf Tail wings...ingenious! Perhaps the coolest technique in the video, and one that can be easily missed, is how he preps the hackle feather by stripping one side of the stem to prevent the hackle from rolling until you get a wrap or 2 on the body. I will admit, I have never seen this technique before and will add this into my tying for sure. 

After watching this video and seeing the finished fly I have a lot of thoughts where this can fit into my personal fishing. A great searching pattern or attractor dry, a great imitation of some of the darker staged Mayflies in a size #12 or #14 we get later in the season or a point fly in a Dry and dropper set up this pattern has multiple uses. Gotta love flies that fill multiple voids on the water and with all that hackle it will float like a cork even in the most turbid water. 

You can find Dave on Instagram @westtexasbugs He is a good follow and a great ambassador for Norvise. Thanks for sharing this video with us Dave. Till Next time...

                                                                                                                                                Tight Lines - Tim 

Over the Memorial day weekend myself and a few members of the Norvise crew headed west to chase what was to be a new species for me, The Northern Pike. You may know Norvise has a strong relationship with Steelhead Alley Outfitters, the premiere outfitter on the Alley. What you may not know or realize is Steelhead Alley is a geographical area, hence the name SAO outfitters. Anyone who has fished this area knows there is PLENTY more to catch in the Alley other than Steelhead. Intrigued???? Read on. 

While Steelhead are in fact a large portion of SAO's guide service (Norvise runs a hosted trip out to the Alley once a year) the warm water program can be just as prolific. The 2 guides spearheading the cultivation of the Pike program are Dan Bennett and Josh Trammell.  At 22 and 19 years old respectively, these young men are mature beyond their years. We at Norvise have been fortunate to fish with a lot of different people over the years, let me tell you, ether of these young men can guide me any time, they are that good! 

Going into this trip we really didn't know what to expect, this is a new fishery and we were the very first clients that had been guided for Pike by Steelhead Alley Outfitters. Having fished with these guys before I knew they would work hard and do everything they could do to get us fish. I must admit, on the ride out I was having trouble shaking the thought "this is a new fishery for them and we are the first ever clients on it.' I figured this was going to be epic one way or the other. An epic weekend on the water or an epic failure. I was hoping for the former not the latter.  

In prep for the trip we contacted our buddy and TFO vise president Nick Conklin and picked up a few new Axiom 2 nine weights, and a few BVK reels.  

​We talked to Norvise Ambassadors Nome Buckman-Stark owner of "Predators on the Fly" and Thomas Williams, owner of "Stoney's Custom" Flies and fortified our fly selection. ​

We were rigged up and ready to go with some new gear, new lines, fresh tied leaders and a selection of flies that would make Blane Chocklett smile, still I couldn't shake the feeling that I was not sure if we were "ready" yet. 

While we were driving out on Friday, Tyler and I got into some deep conversation about the trip, our 2 businesses,  our hopes and expectations for the coming year and about life in general. I do enjoy these times with my son as we talk and I can see him start to mature. Some times he will come up with these profound thoughts that make me step back and think to myself, "he is going to be alright in life" other times he says something and I look at him and think "who the hell are your parents" one thing for sure, it is never dull. He could see I was stressing a little about the trip (I tend to do that about a lot of things) and he says "lets just go and have fun, what do we have to loose"? At that point I said to myself if I boat 1 Pike during the trip I will be happy. Well, I accomplished that in the first 10 minutes.  

We were throwing 8 and 9 weight rods. I had one rigged with an intermediate and one with a floater. Leaders were simple affairs with a butt section of 30 pound Maxima Chameleon and a section of 30# bite wire tippet For the sinkers, the floaters got an extra section of 25# between the butt and the bite wire. As mentioned we had a variety of big, nasty meat flies, all of which would be perfect for Northern's. Most of the trip we wound up fishing a fly Dan and Josh have been working on developing specifically for this fishery, a Frankenstein combination of a Deceiver, Hollow Fly, and a T Bone. A large profile for sure, but light and easy to cast. Did I mention the action, oh yeah the action, it is plain ole SICK! 

Well, 10 minutes into the float I had a fish swipe at the fly and miss. Dan says, very emphatically, "get it back in there, now, now now"! So I cast back in where he swiped at it and sure enough a 25" green freight train absolutely crushed Thomas' Sucker Game Changer, I mean CRUSHED it! 

Shortly after this Tyler came tight to his first fish. I am in the front of the boat and I feel him strip set. He says "that is a fish, that is a fish, THAT IS A BIG FISH" 

We continued floating and casting, A lot of casting. The really cool thing is this fishery is so visual. You can see the fly, the take and the fight. it is something every fisherman or woman should experience at least once in a lifetime. 

By the end of the second day we had moved 70+ fish and landed around 20 between the 2 boats. Sizes ranged between Hammer Handles to 2 fish in the 40" class, one was even landed on a on a popper!  We also boated some really nice Smallmouth too. 

I think you could say we had a pretty good trip! Northern Pike quickly ascended to the top of my "Most favorite fish to fish for" list. They are such a blast on fly gear! The picture below is my favorite picture from the trip. Dan was as excited as me when we landed this fish (pretty evident we were happy) This will eventually be framed and put on the wall in my tying studio as a reminder of a fantastic weekend. 

Till next time

                                                                                                                                             Tight Lines...