Product Review: Mountain Khakis Granite Creek Pant

Remember how badass those Mountain Khakis Alpine Utility Pants are I told you about? I'd like to introduce you to their flats friendly brother, the Mountain Khakis Granite Creek Pant. When I'm not in my waders when fishing, I'm in these pants, no exceptions. I've put several pairs of these pants through their paces over the past two seasons and all I can say is wow.


Highlights of the pant include the UV 50+ rating for fighting the sun, the quick drying material preventing you from feeling soggy with jungle rot, key pocket placement and enough of them to stash your tippet and flies so that you can fish minimalist if you want, and of course the reinforced heel cuff, nothing is more important on a pair of fishing pants than protecting your cuffs from getting fragged and frayed out in the aquatic arena.

The nitty gritty:
Retail $82.95
6.3oz 100% Brushed Nylon
ScotchgardTM Treatment
UVA-UVB 50+
6 Pockets with Mesh Pocket Bags
3 Zip Security Pockets
Cargo Pocket
Quick-dry, Lightweight & Packable
Diamond-Shaped Action Gusset
YKK®Zippers
Reinforced Heel Cuffs
Triple-Stitched Seams
Mid-Rise, Relaxed Fit

I've blasted these pants out on the Great Lakes flats, the concrete and rebar battlefied of the South Platte in downtown Denver, my homewaters out on the prairie, and everywhere in between. These pants are also right at home for those hot, humid July evenings in the country, at the lake, or for grabbing a few cocktails out on the town. Best of all, after all that abuse, these pants still look like they're brand new. I couldn't ask for a better of pants for the summer.


Images property and courtesy of Mountain Khakis

Christmas Wishes

Merry Christmas from the roughfisher!


Wishing everyone out there a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! If anyone wishes to catch 30 pound plus fish on the fly like like the fish seen in the photo above, put in a good word to Santa. I will be hosting a trip to the mystical flats of Beaver Island and the land of giant carp July 12-16 of 2013. Check out carptrip.com for some preliminary info. More details will follow soon after the new year.

Only Santa knows if you've been naughty or nice. Hopefully you've been good!

CarpPro ISSUE 1

The premier issue of CarpPro has gone live, and no better way to start off the newly revised format than to kick it off with fly fishing only content.

Be sure to give this issue a read; it is the only fly fishing magazine issue devoted solely to carp on the fly. Lots of excellent content from contributors like Kirk Deeter, Barry Reynolds, Kevin Morlock, Mr. P, John Montana, McTage, and many others. Oh yeah, and I managed to squeeze in a little piece about fishing Lake Michigan and finally unveiled the secret recipe for the Mustache Ride and Landing Strip fly patterns.

Must Read Now!

hiver

I walked on water.


Okay, so maybe I had a little help. The majority of the small and medium sized lakes in the region locked up with ice over the past week. Blanketed with recent snowfall, the frost line is as deep as six inches in some areas already. Coupled with low river flows, I can pretty much count the season as over. Even as a die hard angler, I am not reluctant to call it over, as fish were few and far between in early September, seeking the refuge of deeper water. Any efforts at this time spent searching for fish worthy of a drift seem futile, and more like a fool's quest.

Seems only reasonable that my days now be spent behind the vise, on icy treks across frozen lakes in search of fish through a freshly augered hole, celebrating the ups and downs of college hockey, traversing billowy drifts of fresh powder underneath my snowmobile, and warm comfortable evenings at home with the family, waiting, waiting, waiting, for that first sign of spring when I can once again drift a nymph.

Bonsoir.

Carp Crack: It's an Epidemic

If you haven't checked out the Fall issue of the Drake yet, you're doing yourself a great disservice. Among the accustomed fine photography and literary work is a Scuddlebutt piece by Pete McDonald of fishing jones fame, featuring yours truly.


This is not a an egotistical pandering for your kudos. As per the usual, Pete naturally captures what we ponder and perceive on ink and paper, an arduous task for any writer in a sport as panoramic yet enveloped as fly fishing is. His frustration during his endeavours with pursuing the wily carp are poignantly captured in this anecdote. Read the piece to see how his journey ends against the carp.


On a recent trip to Denver, I had to make pilgrimage to one of the finest fly shops in the nation, Trout's Fly Shop. Aside from the obligatory bullshit sessions with shop celebs Will Rice and Michael Gracie, every staffer in the shop from owner Tucker Ladd down to the shop dog, knows their stuff and they most definitely know how to run a fly shop. It's always a trip seeing your own signature fly patterns in the fly bin, even better when you see customers riffling through the bins and picking out your flies among the other fine offerings Trout's has to offer. Humbling to say the least.


In commemoration of the success of my Carp Crack pattern, I will be offering a special bonus with any Crack Pack order during the month of November from my online store. Simply purchase a 12 Pack of the Crack Pack and enter the promo code: DRAKE (or mention it in the order comment section) during checkout and I'll throw in a free Ruffian, as seen in the photo above. Order the 24 Pack and I'll throw three Ruffians!
This hot fly pattern is not yet available in stores.

The Ruffian is the baby brother to the Carp Crack, and has been my go to pattern this season. Effective in burnt orange, tan, olive, and black, this fly has been deadly on everything from smallies to carp. Burnt orange, however remains my favorite. Order your Crack Pack today and get hooked up!