Flysmallie

Thanks Mitch.

Thanks man.

I hope you enjoy it.

My boss was giving me some instructions on a little project yesterday. He said: It’s not due till the 17th so you got at least a couple of weeks to work on it. Had to explain how calendars work to him. He doesn’t get treated any differently than anyone else by me.

I truly appreciate that Glen. That does mean a lot to me. Pros get paid. Period. But that’s okay. The only times I tried to make some money I absolutely hated it. People are horrible. I already have a job dealing with whining people and I’m not a fan.

Well okay. But remember you are the one that asked. LOL It was a long road to end up here. It has been a project looking for a subject for a little while. Just as COVID was kicking in I was gearing up to do something in the music industry. This video should have happened then. And it should have been a journey in a van with a band doing a string of shows throughout the southwest. Then everything shut down and that opportunity vanished. I tried to line up a couple of music videos and every time I got a band interested they broke up. COVID was a tough time for music. So I just continued on with concert photography. But late last year I shot a show and it took several days for my hearing to recover. It wasn't a particularly loud show, especially where I was hanging out, but my ears are trash. I have never taken care of them and that is my stupidity. So after that my wife suggested getting back to nature. She never liked the music stuff anyway. Since then I've been looking to fulfill this video need. I have all the stuff, just needed an idea. I have been planning on doing a smallmouth video this summer, so when this trip came up, I knew it was a perfect chance to get in a little practice. And that video of my buddies fishing, that was supposed to be a few minutes, has morphed into this. Just my friends. They are not rainbow trout experts. They are not Crane Creek experts. They have fished it way more than me for a lot longer than me, but that's it. I didn't seek out any experts. I will say that I met 3 out of the 4 on here. The other I've known for a lot longer but he was a past member here as well. I love these guys. A few weeks before our trip I asked them if they would have a discussion about Crane Creek and the fish. I didn't want them to research anything. I just wanted their thoughts and stories. And the last thing I will say about these guys is that when you need someone to catch a fish on video, these are not your guys. I still love them though. The video was shot with two Nikon DSLRs, two GoPros, a drone, and there are even a few clips shot on an iPhone. I don't have professional gear. Audio either came from one of the cameras or from an audio recorder. I need to up my audio game. I wish I would have had mics on everyone. It's a learning experience. And it was all edited in Final Cut Pro and few things done in Photoshop. A mere amateur is all I am. But I'm not trying to be anything more. Just need something to occupy my mind.

Here, Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, etc.. Hopefully it won't be a total disappointment.

I don’t know. I just know it’s always sharp when it’s done.

Another vote for this one.

In the months of March and April I spent a lot of time on Crane Creek. On the upper, on the lower, on public water, on private water, I have been all over that creek. Most days I had someone fishing with me, and a few days it was just me and a bunch of cameras. I myself, in the 8 days I spent on the creek, only made a handful of casts. Most days I never carried a rod. This is not a regular fishing video. We aren't showing any techniques. We aren't proving nor disproving any legends about the McCloud Redband Rainbow. And while there is discussion on the legends, we don't shed any new light on those stories. And we sure as hell aren't selling anything. This is truly, the pursuit of a legend and some good times amongst friends.

I don't do it enough anymore. Used to have a lot of fun chasing catfish.

Sometimes just sitting there watching a couple of poles is pretty interesting.

Boring

I prefer a swivel. More to tie but those cats like to roll.

I tried for years to find a craw pattern that I really liked that wasn’t a difficult tie. I’d rather not be worried about getting something back that took a long time to tie. I’d rather have a cheap easy fly that I’m not worried about busting off. My biggest issue was the pinchers. So I eliminated them and came up with this. Not sure if the fish think it’s a craw but they do eat it. Hook, barbell eyes, rubber legs for feelers, marabou belly and a little deer hair over the top.

The best kind! Plus it smells better!

It wasn't a complaint!

Took me to a porn site.

So if you can't push it on downstream then how do you get rid of it? Seems real easy to just say pull it out. But the difficulty has increased if you don't want it dislodging and heading towards the tracks. What a mess. Glad I'm not in charge of that one.

That's okay. We are sending the sewage from Springfield down the James to replace it. Fish should be keying on dirty syringes soon.

A floating worm. They really can’t fish it wrong. Used to do it all the time with my nephew when he was a kid. His dad would get upset that he was either fishing the wrong side of the boat or not paying attention, but he always caught more than his dad. The bonus is when they see a fish come up and eat that worm, they will never stop fishing it.

I have no desire to go there either.

The amount of whiskey required to get me into someplace like Precious Moments is terrifyingly close to the amount of whiskey you don’t want me having before going into someplace like that. Best to just leave me in the car.

Unfortunately not everyone feels the same way and their ignorant decisions and comments make it tougher on everyone.

I'm at 1.22 for the year, our year ends this month, but that doesn't include me or my sales guy. Plus that's actual and no everyone is utilizing all the benefits that are available. I've always hear 1.33 so I had to see where I was. We don't have DEI meetings but we don't care who you are or what you look like if you want to work. And we don't put up with any BS. If you are creating issues you will be gone, makes no difference who you are. Everyone should have the opportunity to go earn money in a safe environment, but that doesn't mean I'm going to accept your drama.