I enjoy getting to know ‘the heart and soul’ of the author behind the flyfishing books I read. It brings a spark of insight into the words on the pages that you may not have actually gleaned from just reading the book. More often than not, I find that the author is really ‘just’ the angler downstream from you – fighting the current and loving life. These interviews also allow me to corner them long enough to find out about their favorite fly. That, my friends, is something you can ‘bank’ right into you fly box. What follows is my ‘interview’ with Rick Passek. Rick, is the author of the Freshman Flyfisher book series and is known as the Flyfishing Fanatic.

1. Why has fly fishing become an important part of your life?

FlyFishing has been so important to me for many reasons. The main reason for starting this wonderful sport was because of my Father. My Father was an avid FlyFisher and we as a family spent many days and weekends on the water. While there, I noticed something different in him. He was a typical German born in the 40’s, tough and strict. While on the water though, he was a wonderful, calm, fun man. This I admired, and this is the main reason for my love of the sport, as it does the same thing for me.

2. If you were invited to the United Nations to make a special presentation about “How fly fishing could change the world”, what are some of the things you have learned from fly fishing that you could tell them?

If I were invited to the UN to talk about how flyfishing could “Change the world” I would talk about the above answer. This sport takes you away from the daily grind and teaches you the love and respect of the outdoors. Because of its graceful, artistic nature, it calms the mind, and the soul. This is a lesson that many people around the world need to learn and FlyFishing would help.

3. Why did you write your flyfishing book entitled, The Freshman Flyfisher? What is your favorite chapter? If you could summarize the book in a few sentences, what is the message you would like to get out to the ‘New Generation’?

Why did I write the Freshman Flyfisher book series? Well that is a simple answer for me. I have always loved this sport, and have always loved to share my knowledge with others, what better way than to write a book? If I were to describe my books, I would have to say that they are “Made Simple”. By this I mean that I have taken some VERY difficult and confusing subjects, and simplified them so that everyone can learn this sport with ease. So many books on the market tell you about flyfishing, But none are really simple, These are. In the first book, I simplified the sport of Flyfishing by breaking it down to the simplest form and explaining it in everyday language. The second book, (Due out next week, March 6th/09) is a simplified book on the insects that all flyfishers need to know. I have once again taken the insects, and explained their lives in a easy to read and understand manner. The message I would like to get out to “The Next Generation” would be this, Conserve you catch, enjoy the sport, and pass on your knowledge to the next generation. If they do this, this wonderful sport will be around as long as the human race will.

4. If you were on an unfamiliar trout stream and you could only take 2 flies. What would they be? Why?

If I were going to a stream that I had no information about, and were allowed only two flies what would they be? This can be a tough question for me because I would research the stream before I went, But let us say I didn’t. I would take a Hares ear Nymph (picture right) and a Tom Thumb, why you ask, simple. The hairs ear and the Tom Thumb are an searching patterns. They don’t represent any one insect perfectly, but represent many insects well. These two flies will be taking by trout as Caddis Flies, May Flies, Mosquitoes, Midges, along with many others.

5. What equipment goes with you into a trout stream today?

What Equipment do I bring? Well, this can again Vary from stream to stream, In a small creek I would make sure to have a 00-2 wt rod loaded with a floating line and have a sink tip as well.  In a larger Stream, a 3-5 wt setup is what I would be taking, again loaded with a floating line and having a sink tip with. I would bring a vest or backpack that will be able to hold an assortment of flies along with tippet, weight, clippers, strike indicators, hemostats, throat pump, water and food (Enough for a few days in case you get hurt or lost). I would also be wearing a pair of good breathable waders and a good pair of felt bottomed wading boots.  I also make sure to have a rain jacket in my pack in case of rain.

7. If you could name a fly (perhaps you already have) what would it be called?

As of now, I have designed many patterns of my own, but have yet to officially name any. If I were to name it, I guess that would depend on what species it was for, colors, etc… I have one that I designed a few years back that I call “The Killer Caddis”, but there are a few flies called that out there. I am known as “The FlyFish Fanatic” so maybe something along the lines of “The Fanatic Frenzy” or something may be appropriate.

6. What was your favorite flyfishing moment and why?

My Favorite FlyFishing moment would have to be 4 years back. I went to Engelfeild Bay Lodge in the Queen Charlottes’ with a buddy and My Father (Just before he passed away) We were there for a 5 day trip, and on the last evening, my Father and I decided to troll for Coho Salmon in a small bay opening close to the lodge. While we were doing this, I noticed that there was a HUGE bait ball moving around in a very unusual way, so I decided to get the flyrod ready and have a few casts at this bait ball to see if there were any Coho harassing this bait. On went the Type 8 sinking line on my 8wt rod and I cast just to the edge of this Ball. After a few casts, I had nothing so I changed from a Clouser minnow pattern to a Lefty’s Deceiver Pattern that I tied Just for this trip. I took a cast directly into this bait ball, lefty the fly sink for 30-40 seconds and did a VERY fast irregular strip. Well, 10 seconds after starting my retrieve, FISH ON!!!!!! This was one hell of a fish, I said to my Father, He agreed as the fish took me deep into my backing. I said to him after a few minutes, “This is no Coho Dad” as I could see the wide dark back of the Spring (King) Salmon as it came close to the boat. 25 minutes later the fish came in after several attempts to net it, she was ours. I had NEVER had the pleasure of catching a Tyee, well now I did, and on a flyrod to boot. This was the last Fishing trip my Father and I had together (And he knew it would be) and seeing the smile on his face and how proud he was of me, made this the BEST trip I have ever had.

Thanks for your time and inspiration Rick! I will be checking out your book.

*Hares Ear Photo from maineflyfish.com

The great guys at Northwoods Sporting Journal are providing a free subscrption to Skinny Moose Media Bloggers who have been blogging for a year or more.

I would like to say THANKS!

Be sure to check out their site and see what the fuss is all about.

If you would like to blog with North America’s most incredible Blogging Network check out Skinny Moose Media.

A couple of weeks ago I posted and opportunity for 4 of our visitors to get a chance to win a copy of Kerplunk!. All they had to do was leave a comment/story on the post and share their favorite memory outdoors. Then, my job was to randomly pick 4 winners on January 18, 2008.

I am late, but I did pick  4 winners.

After the imaginary drum role in your head, the winners are Jeff, Kristine, Michelle, and Shupac. I will be contacting via email for mailing instructions.

Congratulations!

Be sure to read their stories HERE! 

I really enjoyed reading this book.

It becomes obvious within the first 2 chapters that, Patrick F. McManus, (the author of Kerplunk!) has captured (in writing) the essence of what makes the outdoors SO special. This book is a non-linear collection of stories about fishing, hunting, and the great outdoors.

I was constantly laughing to myself, as I could relate to almost every experience the author writes about. You will find many instances where your will say to yourself, “I know exactly what he (the author) is trying to say!”

For example, there is a story entitled, “Silent But Deadly”. It discusses the ‘delicate’ topic of dog flatulence. Anybody, who has ever had a dog in their fishing or hunting camp, will immediately identify with this hilarious chapter.

Another favorite chapter was one called,” Uh-Oh”. It is a story about things that guides should not say and it appears to be inspired by real events.

If this book were a blog – it would be awesome! The stories are just the right length to keep you interested and the content will cause you to reflect and appreciate your own outdoor experiences.

It’s a book hunters and anglers of all ages will enjoy.

NOTE: I do not make money from the anyone clicking through the book link. Do not let that stop you from checking out the details of the book. Nor, was I paid for this review. The author and/or publisher has sent me an evaluation copy of the book and I have agreed to write about it on my blog. I appreciate the time the author took to do this.

If you have a fishing or hunting product that you would like me to discuss on my blog, please contact me via the link on the top of my blog.

Randall is the author of the book entitled, The Flycaster Who Tried To Make Peace With The World. You can read my thoughts on his book by clicking HERE. The purpose of this post is share with you some answers to some questions that I emailed to him about flyfishing. I did this with the other various authors who mailed me their books as well.

The questions were:

1. How and why did you get into fly fishing?

2. If you could only use one fly on an unfamiliar trout river – which fly would you use and why?

3. Do you think there may be aspects of fly fishing that our World Leaders could learn about that would help them ‘change’ the world for the better?

His responses:

1. I used to surf fish a little on Long Island. Then for many, many years I didn’t fish and never thought I would again – until my mother passed away from cancer.

Needless to say I was full of grief and, yes guilt. My mother was someone I had made peace with yet.

One day I took my one fishing rod and went down to the Hudson River. Immediately I saw the beauty of the river, the outdoors. Soon I found that fishing helped relieve my grief. I haven’t stopped fishing since.

2. Initially I would have two choices: An Adams, which takes fish on any river, or a Woolly Bugger. Because I don’t know the stream, and because most takes are subsurface, I’d choose a Woolly Bugger and cover as much water as possible.

3. I will get back to you on this one…

Several weeks ago, I mentioned that I was given a copy of the book, So Many Fish So Little Time, to review and post about it. It is really a GREAT read (my review is here)! I asked the book promotion people if they could forward some questions on to the author for me via email. The great people behind this book agreed to my request and Mr. Williams provided some awesome answers. Enjoy!

1. It may have been mentioned in your book, but how and why did you get into fly fishing?

I sucked at flyfishing when I was a kid. No one taught me how; they just bought me a flyrod at K-Mart and sent me on my merry way to the river. I spent most of my time dealing with wind knots, popping off flies and employing a Red River rig. Continue Reading