Smallmouth Fly Box Property

My wife and I just signed a purchase agreement for a small piece of property on the Snake River.  Nothing fancy....just some raw property without a well or septic system.  A place to camp, kayak and fish with our boys.  

Driving down the dirt road to the spot

Small clearing off the road....needs some attention.

A little lawn mower and chainsaw work will make a big difference. 

View of the Snake Rive (East) towards the St Croix

View up river (West)

View of the shore structure

The Cross Lake dam project is complete upstream of the property, so the river looks really good.  The project the Minnesota DNR did on the dam looks fantastic.  Nice pools for spawning...

Cross Lake Dam Before (Photo Courtesy of www.minnesotawaters.org)

DNR overseeing the reconstruction process (Photo courtesy of the Presspubs.com)

Dam after project completion

View downstream from the reconstructed dam

Great smallmouth fishing right off the property.  Will be great to have a place to put down some roots and build some memories.

Snake River Dam Removal Project in Minnesota

Here is a very cool document about the removal on the old dam on the Snake River near Pine City, Minnesota.  Here is a link to the DNR article called MN DNR Recent Stream Restoration Projects.

The dam was removed to restore spawning habitats for Sturgeon and other fish species.  The restoration project looks really nice and now the sturgeon can spawn upstream.

Joan Salvato Wulff - IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame

An amazing athlete competing in a male dominated sport....just awesome!

One heck of an airboat driver too!

Salar, The Leaper Part 1 & 2

I am a big Lee Wulff fan.  These clips are just fantastic!

New/Old 6 1/2' Garcia Model 2535C

I got my youngest son a very neat little 6' 6" Garcia 2535C fly rod.  These little rods are getting hard to find, but one came up on Ebay for a fair price.

The 2535C is a short fiberglass rod that throws a 7 wt line like a laser.  Looks like the rod was made in 1965.  A perfect rod for my boy!

Lee Wulff made these short rods famous years ago, I find them useful when fishing out of a kayak.

Tim Holschlag's Smallmouth Fly Fishing DVD

My mother-in-law was nice enough to send me some cash for my birthday, so I ordered Tim Holschlag's new Smallmouth Fly Fishing Revealed DVD.  Tim did a great job putting this DVD together.  My boys watched it with me and we all learned a ton.

The video was very well done and Tim's narration was clear and concise.  The topics covered on the DVD are as follows:

• The Crayfish Hop (This is my personal favorite)
• The Twitch & Tease
• Reading the River
• The 10 Best Flies
• The Swing and Pause
• The 70-Foot Hop
• The 2-Leader System
• The Slow Poke
• The Fast Water Hop
• The Float Fly
• The Old Reliable
• Tackle & Rigging Details
• Cost is $24.95

My favorite parts of the DVD were The Crayfish Hop and the section on reading the water.  I took Tim's stream side seminar a few years back and I was a little rusty.  The video footage answered all of the questions I had from the stream side seminar.

I also ordered a few packs of Tim's (large) strike indicators.  They are simple, light and bulletproof.   I like the fact you can see these indicators from far away and the stay put on the line!

The DVD, flies, strike indicators, other gear and plenty of tips are all on Tim's website www.smallmouthangler.com.

I can't wait to get out and try the things I learned from this DVD.  We all know Tim has written the most comprehensive smallmouth books out there, now he has the DVD to match.

Another Beautiful Day!