Chasing Their Dreams

Have I ever mentioned that one of the biggest reasons why I love working in the fly fishing industry is that I get to meet the most incredible people? People who are motivated, talented and passionate, and incredibly inspirational. In the past several months I've had the pleasure of creating new relationships with a number of anglers who are pursuing their dreams in this crazy world, and I'd love to introduce a couple of them to you.

Wild Reverence

 

 

Shane Anderson, of North Fork Studios, is dedicating an enormous amount of time and effort to filming a documentary on the plight of wild steelhead throughout their native range. Please check out the website here - Wild Reverence, and "like" the Wild Reverence Facebook page for updates on the filming. 

 

 

Silo4 - A Deliberate Life, and the Fishing Poet

 

 

 

Matt Smythe is part of the team at Silo4 and the voice behind the blog Fishing Poet. I'm sure at this point there aren't many anglers who haven't at least heard of "A Deliberate Life", the first film project from Silo4 and one of feature selections in the 2013 season of IF4. Heartfelt story telling, creativity and a genuine sense of community are evident throughout Matt's work.

 

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On the same note of great people doing great things, here are a couple new ventures from some of the most dedicated women in the sport, women that I am proud to call friends and who are truly a never ending source of inspiration for me.

 

 

Whitney Gould Guided Fly Fishing and Flycasting Instruction

 

Whitney is an incredible angler, superb guide, and one of the best spey casters I know. She is one of the hardest workers in the industry, and is now offering guiding services and instruction through her own website, Whitney Gould Guided Fly Fishing and Flycasting Instruction.

 

Frigate Adventure Travel



 

 

Kate Taylor is bad ass, plain and simple. She is the voice of Rogue Angels, guides in Alaska during the summer and Oregon during the winter, and hosts trips in the Baja for a couple of months in the the spring time. She and partner Justin Crump have started up Frigate Adventure Travel, and recently returned from a hosted trip to Christmas Island.

 

Write 2 Fly-Fish

 

 

 

 

A little newer on the scene but equally as passionate, Lisa Schweitzer is combining her love of fly fishing with her love of writing in her new project, Write 2 Fly-Fish. Lisa is a brilliant writer, an incredible angler, and brings a fresh and unique perspective to the sport.

 

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I hope you'll take a little time to get to know these fantastic people, and support them in their endeavors. And I hope they provide you with some inspiration, to pursue what you love, to push yourself to learn and grow, and to pass some of that inspiration on to others.







Guides Gone Crazy

 

 

I want to be there right now. 

Camera Ready



 

 

I don't often set out on a fishing day with a particular photo in mind that I would like to take. Usually I find things to be much more organic than that - the right light, angle and action tend to just jump out at me, and then I go for the shot. One thing that makes all the difference is keeping my camera in my waders so that when those moments occur I can be ready to take the shot in seconds. Risky? Yes. If I fall in, my camera is most certain to get soaked, but if I keep it locked away in a waterproof bag or pelican case, I can guarentee you I would barely use it. So I take the risk, and it has paid off, time and again. Here are a few shots of my favourite "moments" in the past little while.

Timbre fishing at Kananaskis.

Paula netting a distressed duck.

Pete throwing a stick for Chili on the ice.

Over or under? Paula takes the low road.

Josh spey casting at last light.

Streamer fishing.

Power casting into the wind as a sudden snow storm hits us.

Super ninja Paula leaps into the sunset.

Blue Skies and White Peaks

 

 

 

 

After two weeks of being stuck inside working, it was time to step out for a breath of fresh air. A chinook had made its way to Calgary, and temps were hovering above zero.

 

Four of us piled in the car late Saturday morning and took the drive up to Kananaskis lakes.

I'd never been up there before, and it was more than I was expecting. One of those places unable to be fully captured in a photo, or justifiably described in words. Wide open skies, luscious evergreens, towering snow capped peaks, biting wind, layers of ice...

 

We fished for a couple hours, and with one hit between the four of us we really didn't care. Never has a fishing trip reminded me that its not just about the fish: it's about getting out and feeling alive.

 

 

Thanks Timbre and Darcy!

Show Weekend!

Show set up Thursday morning.

So happy to see this girl. Love her to bits. Aidan Darby-Miller photo

 

Fly Fusion and IF4 booths.

The Western Canadian Fly Fishing Expo is over, and I can't quite believe it. It was a fantastic show, with attendance at an all time high. The chaos started Thursday morning at Spruce Meadows with the show set up. I showed up early to help with the overall set up, and then helped Josh with the Out Fly Fishing outfitters and Echo booths. Before heading over to IF4, Josh, Stevie, Nick and I stopped at the river to test cast a few rods. We had a spectacular turnout at IF4, and we premiered the most recent addition to the IF4 line up - Sheebang - which was very well received. Afterwords we headed out for a few drinks, and even though Puj couldn't come out to Calgary, he was still there in some capacity.

 

Stevie and Josh testing spey rods.

We missed you Puj!!

 

Ryan and Chris in the M&Y booth.

Patagonia....love it.

Stevie working hard at the Echo booth.

Out Fly Fishing outfitters booth. Thanks to everyone who stopped by!

Friday, Saturday and Sunday were a blur of new faces and old friends, seminars, presentations, casting, dinners and late nights. Our booths were all busy as good be, and show attendees were happy to stop and say hi, ask questions and take information. We were thrilled that the Expo silent auction raised over $5000 for Food for the Hungry Canada, and their clean water project in Guatemala. I want to personally thank all of the exhibitors I called to harass for donations for their incredible generosity.

 

The morning commute to Spruce Meadows.

Ape presenting at the casting pond.

Tying flies. Diane Michelin photo

Late night dinner and hockey with great friends.

I was able to crank out a few flies at the OFF booth, and traded a couple for one of Diane Michelin's amazing prints. It was a privilege to meet such an amazing woman, finally. Her artwork is absolutely outstanding - check it out here: Diane Michelin; Fly Fishing Fine Art. Naoto took a set of flies home to photograph, a new pattern I'm calling Candy Stripe. Take a look at them here: Naoto Aoki Photography. While you're at it, flip through his albums, I've been a fan of his photography for years.

 

The first tie of the Candy Stripe.

My beautiful print by Diane Michelin.

The flies for Diane.

Sunday came way too fast, and we ended the weekend by dancing the night away in downtown Calgary. It was so great to see some good friends again, including my amazing April, Nick Laferriere (another amazing artist, designer for Fishbum), Stevie Morrow (Dean/Bulkley River guide, comedian), Ryan Heitz and Roger Baker (M&Y), James Cunningham (North Haven guide and great friend), Rick Whorwood (guide, instructor, fellow GLoomis pro staffer), Chris Seipio (GLoomis/Airflo rep), all the Pieroway boys, and so many more. One of the best things about this industry is all the amazing people. Thanks for another amazing show and more amazing memories.

 

Until next year!!!!

 

 

Ms. V

 

 

 

It's been almost four years since my last post dedicated to the lovely April Vokey. Since that time, she and I have come a long way, in both our friendship and our personal lives. I've known Ape for almost nine years (ahhh! that makes me feel old), and never did it occur to me when I saw her first come through the door of Michael & Young how important she would become in my life. Assertive, with her long blond hair and hot pink high heels, she baffled me on our first introduction.

 

Ape fishing the Vedder at last light. Spring of 2005 (I think)

Nothing like having someone run from the bar above you to help finally land a beautiful wild steelhead. April Vokey photo

At that time I knew hardly any women that fly fished, and none that were younger than I was, and definitely none that looked like April. Talented, passionate, and beautiful, Ape is one of the most important people in my life today. We have had our issues, but with time and effort on both our parts, we were able to get past the unnecessary drama and create a friendship that is incredibly special and unbreakable. Ape has been a rock during my worst moments, and I know that if I'm in need I can call her and she will be there for me, no matter what.

 

Fighting my first sturgeon...I had no idea what I was in for. I think I'm giggling and grimacing in pain at the same time. April Vokey photo

Speaking of running, Ape flew over these car sized boulders to take this shot. April Vokey photo

I'll never forget the day I received a call at work. My call display showed that it was Ape, and I answered with a bright "Hey, how's it going?" The response was a quiet, shocked "Not great. I almost died last night." My panicky questions were answered with the news that she had been involved in a head on collision that quite easily could have taken her life. We were at a very rough point in our friendship at the time, and yet, drugged and broken, she had called me. Watching her through her recovery and knowing how much she still deals with because of the accident, I have to say I have never seen so much positivity and perseverance, not only to  recover her health but to become a better person to herself and her loved ones.

 

Within a few weeks of her car accident Ape was crushing fish on the lakes. This one was around 12lbs, and the only fish caught that day.

Enjoying the sunshine and a beer after catching an invisible fish "this big!" on the Sauk with K8.

Spey casting practice with Bruce Kruk and Greg Wolf on the Columbia.

Many of my best fishing memories include April, including when I finally landed my first winter steelhead on the Vedder, and my first Thompson steelhead without Aaron. We were the female element with a group of friends on a rained out weekend on the Skagit, the pair of crazy Canucks fans in the bar in Key West, the idiots who drove 22 hours to Idaho to fish for 2 days in the Casting 4 A Cure event. She was there for one of my best days of steelheading ever on the Bulkley, and took me out to hook my first sturgeon.

 

Loading up the boats on the Hoh.

 "Endless rain and the Skagit at 65,000 CFS = a bunch of friends stuck in the cabins for five days = a lot of beer = Mike Mills skinny dipping in the Skagit River while the rest of us watch and laugh from the warmth of the rigs at the boat launch.....awesome!" quote from Chris Andersen

No one can pose in waders like Ape.

You might find it strange to hear that we rarely talk on the phone. Neither of us are "phone" people, we do much, much better one on one. Ape's got an incredibly busy schedule, with hosted trips, schools and seminars all over the world, and personal trips and summers guiding on the Dean. We're lucky to see each other a couple times a year.

 

Ape and Colby, somewhere in Montana, en route to Idaho.

Her first brown, and on the dry, at the Casting 4 A Cure event on the South Fork of the Snake.

Bulkley River, 2010

She and I have very, very different personalities: Ape is fiery, self motivated and outspoken, an extrovert who says what she means and has an insane work ethic. She doesn't take shit from anyone, and will defend her beliefs and her loved ones with fierce passion. I'm sweet and quiet, the introvert, admittedly a little lazy, with a desire to please and an aversion to conflict.

 

Apparently our laughs and chatter could be heard across the river. Only Ape can get me to out of my quiet zone while fishing. Annette Lauder photo

Oh look, still laughing... Annette Lauder photo

Fish on! Fantastic day on the Bulkley.

I think we balance each other out, as we can talk about absolutely anything, and have for days in a row. We spent 24 hours a day together on our seven day trip to the Florida Keys, and it was one of the best trips of my life. Relationships, business, family, men, sex, fishing, you name it, we've discussed it. It's a privilege to have someone in my life who I can be utterly honest with. Ape compliments me, hugs me when I need comforting and kicks my ass when I need a push. One of the best parts about a great friendship is having someone who believes in you; its an incredible gift to have someone who makes you believe in yourself, and I never feel better about myself than when I'm with April.

 

Best trip ever (despite hardly catching anything) in the Florida Keys.

My first tarpon, so happy to have Ape there with me. April Vokey photo

Business owner, guide, professional fly angler, conservationist, tv host, columnist, instructor, fly tier...a list of dynamic descriptions for an amazing woman I choose to simply call my friend.