More Fan Mail

Dear Roughfisher,

Here's a picture of an admirer of your carp crack! I hooked the fish for her and then let her fight it! She could barely hold the thing!!!!

Image courtesy of Bennett Muraski

The fish was caught on a size 8 orange carp crack, the fish was 32"L and 19"G. no scale though...

-- Bennett Muraski

Thanks for the note and photo Bennett. Well done! I love seeing photos from my readers with fish they've caught on my patterns. Even better when a kid is involved! If you've got any fish porn to share that was caught on one of the roughfisher's patterns, send them my way. Use the contact me form and send me a note.

PSA #7: Free Advertising

Step One: Schlep your wares on your innocent, unsuspecting kids. Note daughter's gangsta pose.
Step Two: Release them out into the public.
Step Three: Wait for the sales to roll in so you can support your Hurricane High Gravity habit.

In the Drink

Finally had a day near 60 degrees and free of rain or snow. A rarity for this spring. Grabbed the kids and headed down to a small spring creek. It was a great day for a hike.




The boy had a great time down by the water exploring, investigating, and watching the stream flow. Must have gotten a little carried away as seconds after this photo was taken he went in for an unexpected dunk into the frigid waters of this coldwater stream. Poor little guy was scared, understandably so, but he handled himself well as he bobbed along in the current until he could get back up on his feet. What a champ.


Found a few Plecoptera flying around. Intolerant of water pollution stoneflies are an excellent indicator of good water quality. Always reassuring to know that a few streams within our watershed are still healthy.


Didn't spot any fish, though the runs we jaunted through were shallow and didn't provide much for cover. I have yet to find a brownie hiding within any reach of the stream. The last time I ventured furthuer upstream with rod in hand, I nearly broke my femurs several times traversing the interwoven crags of downed tamaracs and spruce logs covered over by grass. Not sure I'm up for another risky venture especially since threading a fly through those snaggy runs is about as difficult as escaping injury.

The water is still a bit cold, so vernal spawners like the white sucker likely aren't in the lower reaches of the river yet. In all due time....

Replica Toy Fish

For the kid in all of us (and the real kids too) check out the Replica Toy Fish Company.


Thanks to Simeon Chambers, one of the founders of Replica Toy Fish Company, for contacting me about his toy fish. There are currently 16 different species represented, from muskellunge to alligator gar. Pending future sales, additional species will be manufactured. How badass would it be to have a toy bowfin or buffalo? These are some cool replicas for sure; my kids were drawn to them the second I removed the fish from the package. They are firm and sturdy and accurately colored. They should hold up well to abuse. I wish I had some as a kid.



The best reason to purchase a few toy fish? Because Replica Toy Fish is working towards helping educate our youth about our fisheries. Wholesale pricing is available for Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and other youth organizations.

Caveat Emptor: Products were provided courtesy of the Replica Toy Fish Company, in exchange for review and promontional use.

"Three Months of Summer" fishing contest

Just a reminder to submit your entries for the Fishy Kid "Three Months of Summer" fishing contest. This contest is divided into four categories (coldwater/warmwater/saltwater/brownwater) and will allow all Fishy Kids seventeen and younger to participate. As with everything done on the Fishy Kid website, the success of the contests would not be possible without the support of our Gear Sponsors. We here at roughfisher.com are proud to sponsor the brownwater portion of the contest. Be sure to get your entries in to win a bunch of killer swag, including some deadly custom tied flies by the roughfisher. There's still plenty of time left to participate!


1. The "Three Months of Summer" contest will begin on June 1st and continue until August 31th, 2010.

2. To participate please upload your fishing photos into the appropriate gallery. There are galleries set up for each of the four contests being Coldwater, Warmwater, Saltwater, and Brownwater.

3. Within each contest category there will be prizes given for the following:

Biggest Fish
Smallest Fish
Most Unique Fish
Most Fish
Random Overall Winner

In all there will be twenty prizes awarded during this contest. Contest prizes will come from a long list of Fishy Kid Gear Sponsors such as:

Mountain Khakis
Osprey Packs
Hook & Hackle
Montana Fly Company
Scientific Anglers
Backwater Paddle Company
Patagonia
Fishpond USA
Rainys Flies
Temple Fork Outfitters
Finactic Designs
ECHO
Charleston Angler
Idylwilde Flies
Cliff Outdoors
roughfisher.com
William Joseph
South Fork Rod Company

4. Winners will be randomly drawn from each category and a single photograph may qualify for more than one such as Biggest Fishy and Most Unique Fish. Fishy Kid will divide up all the photos into the appropriate categories and every effort will be made to maximize your submission for the contest by including it in several categories.

5. Definitions of each contest:

Coldwater - Trout, Salmon, Steelhead

Warmwater - Various Basses, Sunfish, Bluegills, Perch, Crappie, Pike, and Musky.

Saltwater - All Ocean Living Fish

Brownwater - Carp, Catfish, Gar, and Drum.

6. Fish do not have to be caught on flies or fly tackle. The purpose of this contest is for Fishy Kids and their families to get outside and enjoy their time together on the water.

7. If you have any questions at all please feel free to send an email to gofish@fishykid.org


Good luck fishing, and have fun!

pinklining

Congratulations go out to Taylor of 40 Rivers fame, for her first carp caught on the fly. She definitely got a younger start than I did, and from the looks of it, catches bigger fish than me too. Papa Alex must be proud.

The only question I have for her is, "what pattern did you catch that carp on"?