Black River Dreams is a collection of 16 essays written by Maximilian Werner.  The book is 176 pages long and includes no pictures.  But thats okay, cause you don’t need them.  The author, Maximilian Werner, does an awesome job of painting a picture for you with enough adjectives to make Hemmingway blush- yet they’re not overdone.  I think this may be the first book I’ve ever wanted to loan to my friends before I was even through the preface.

From the publisher,

Black River Dreams is a celebration of the fly fishing life. It is also a record of human awakening. Alternately lyrical and meditative, mystical and sensuous, each of these sixteen essays represents an exploration of the intersection between past and present, spirit and body, water and land, trout and people, ghosts and dreams. Whether Mr. Werner is describing his first and last time fly fishing as a boy on a stream in northern Maine; or the experience of sitting on the river bank with a dear old friend who, moments earlier, told him he had cancer; or the many golden evenings he and his wife cast big dry flies to Apache trout cruising in the dim mountain light, he brings an ecologically informed, poetic sensibility to all of his fly fishing encounters.

The stories take place primarily in the New Mexico/Utah part of the country, however there is a little bit of Maine thrown in the mix as well.  But it isn’t the places so much that I remember as it is some of the experiences mentioned above.

There were also some excellent quotes:

“I don’t think a person can ever really know a place until he appreciates how he got there.”

I’d also say that you can never really appreciate a place until you know how you got there.

Another good one:

“Something very old happens when you hook a fish, but something timeless happens when you lose it”

Then there is the idea Werner presents that we take our stories to the river, and not from it.  How true.

To read an excerpt from the book, check out Green River by Maximilian Werner, only a small part of a great essay on the Green.  To read other reviews, or to purchase the book, CLICK HERE.

I haven't named this one yet, but I was stoked to finally tie something I've had pictured in my head for forever now

Well I finally got a chance to play with a couple new toys yesterday.  Singlebarbed’s 6th Finger Scissor, and  HMH’s Starter Tube Fly Tool.

To tie tubes in the past, I’ve either used an allen wrench, or just put the tube directly in my vise’s jaws.  The allen wrench works okay, but I’ve never been able to spin/stack deer hair without the wrench slipping a little in the jaws from all the torque on the tube.  Putting the tube right in my vise’s jaws worked alright, too, but I ran into the same problem when spinning hair, and would sometimes crush plastic tubes.

I ordered the HMH Tube Fly Tool from J Stockard Fly Fishing.  They aren’t one of my sponsors or anything, I just like doing business with them.  Plus, for my recent birthday, I got a $50 gift certificate to use there from my mother-in-law.

Like all poor bastards savvy shoppers, I spent a good deal of time going through the tying materials on the J Stockard site, trying to figure out a way to squeeze everything I’ve been meaning to add to my materials arsenal onto that $50 credit.  The list of stuff that I first filled my shopping cart with looked drastically different than my final order.  My first instinct was to get as many hooks as I could.  Then I remembered that I have been wanting to play with rattles on my carp flies, and Stalcup’s Damsel Body on my panfish flies.  Then I added a bunch of synthetic hair before I ran into the HMH tube fly coneheads and remembered that this is the tying season that I go to tubes for all my streamer patterns instead of regular hooks.  And before you knew it, I was removing just enough stuff that I could add the Tube Fly Tool pictured above to my cart without going over my $50 limit.

Now before I give a glowing review on this product, I’ve got to admit that  after a past experience with HMH while I was writing the DayTripper blog, I really didn’t want to.  I won’t go into details or anything, but I only point it out because I had sworn to myself that I’d never give a positive review for another HMH product again after what happened behind the scenes.

Yet here I am, about to tell you that the HMH Tube Fly Tool is rock solid in my vise- a Danvise by the way, so [tongue in cheek] I would guess that all of you who tie on a Renzetti/ Dynaking/ HMH/ etc., should have no problems with this tool [/tongue in cheek].

After tying a few typical tube patterns like the one pictured waaay up at the top of this post, and being happy with the tool’s holding power, I decided it was time to pull the deer hair out.

I went through my mental rolodex of patterns I’ve been wanting to convert to a tube, and sitting way up on top was the Crayfish Muddler, a crayfish pattern developed by Hatches Magazine Editor, Will Mullis.

As I put more and more force on the thread, the hair spun, and the tool stayed put in my vise’s jaws.  But more importantly, the metal rod that holds the tube didn’t bend, the tube didn’t spin, and I was happy enough with the results that I broke my blood oath to never endorse another HMH product again.

So, if you want to enter the world of tubes, I’d say this tool is well worth the $25.

Singlebarbed’s 6th Finger Scissors worked well, too.  Though I have to admit to setting them on my desk a few times between snips out of pure habit.

Get 30 people together, united only by a common love for fly fishing and the waters of South Uist- an island off the northwest coast of Scotland- have them share their favorite experiences while there, and you get Tales from The Angler’s Retreat from Muddler Books.

As you’d expect when you put this many fishermen together who aren’t writers; you get a few whose story is a little hard to get through.  However, there are others who tell their tale so well that you’re right there in the boat with them.

One of my favorite parts of the book was a short story written by angler Pete Mathews titled, “The Gap in the Causeway on Castle Loch.”  Three guys and a dog are motoring up on a causeway, with two of them having a friendly disagreement on whether the boat can make it over the causeway just below the surface with low water conditions.  The man on the motor thinks they can make it, and before you know it, the other two are bracing for their lives momentarily before everyone in the boat is catapulted into the air, including the poor dog in the front of the boat.

The only thing I didn’t like about this book was that at times, it felt a bit like an advertisement for The Angler’s Retreat, instead of a collection of people’s experiences while staying at the Angler’s Retreat.  What I really liked, in fact loved, was the book’s concept.

Also included in the book are recommended flies for South Uist.  Some patterns are semi-framiliar, such as the Red Tailed Muddler.  Others are foreign, such as the Green Peter.  There are also maps of the island and it’s lochs.

Tales from The Angler’s Retreat is 159 pages long, and sells new for $12.95(US) at the publisher’s website(Click Here).

Or, you can win a free copy by sharing one of your own fishing stories in the comments below!  One commenter will be randomly picked to receive my review copy.  (I’ll contact you via the email address you provide)

http://www.vimeo.com/3862776

Just when I thought I’d seen it all in fly fishing movies, Once in a Blue Moon lands on my doorstep.  The first comparison that ran through my mind after watching it was that this is what you’d get if you crossed Drift with the Planet Earth Series on the Discovery Channel.  In short, this film is more National Geographic than it is Jackass.

From the film makers:

Set amongst the spectacular scenery of southern New Zealand, a most strange and bizarre tale unfolds.  The stuff of folklore, ‘Once in a Blue Moon’ unravels the mystery of an event that occurs briefly once a decade. This strange and unreal journey takes us into some of the most remote and beautiful parts of New Zealand as we follow one anglers quest to document and unravel a childhood mystery and catch the fish of a lifetime.

You see the underwater footage of these monster trout swimming around; you see the footage of these big, fat mice hopping along the bank, jumping into the water and swimming along the surface.  You are on the edge of your seat waiting for a big brown to crush one of them, but it never happens.  The cinematography is absolutely stunning, and the storyline, something we haven’t seen before, is intriguing- the only problem is- I didn’t feel like I saw the entire story.  The whole movie feels like it’s building up for this magical moment when the trout, and the eels, go bananas for these mice.  But all it really does is keep building.  As a matter of fact, I was a little surprised when the credits started rolling towards the end.  It’s as if they unlocked the secret to this mythical “mouse hatch”, and then started shooting off fireworks to draw us in.  You sit there with your head pointed towards the sky, ooh’ing and ahhh’ing at the big booms and the streaks of fire filling the cosmos.  You’re loving every minute of it, the only problem is when it’s over, you don’t feel like you saw the grand finale.

Not to say I didn’t like it.

As much as I felt that there was more story to tell, I still loved this DVD.  On a scale of 1-10, I wouldn’t hesitate to put Once in a Blue Moon in the 8-9 range.  However, I can’t help but feel like it could have easily been an 11 or a 12.

Get yours at the Hatches DVD Store by clicking HERE.  Or, keep an eye on 40 Rivers next week as I’ll be announcing details on how you can win a copy for free…

After fishing for a few hours after work on Friday, I came home to find a package from the Hatches DVD Store on the counter.  I ripped it open and found  Rollcast Production’s new fly fishing DVD, Hustle & Fish.  My wife was taking a nap at one end of the couch while my son was putting the smack down on the computer in Wii baseball at the other.  Popcorn in hand, I popped Hustle & Fish in the DVD player.

Only seconds in, I realized that this wasn’t the typical fly fishing movie.  Instead of trying to squeeze in as much fish porn as possible, Hustle & Fish has a story to tell.

Anywhere on the web where you can buy fly fishing books or DVDs, there’s a blurb; that short paragraph telling you what the book or movie is about.  A typical blurb for Hustle & Fish reads something like-

A one-of-a-kind experience featuring breathtaking cinematography, high stakes adventure, gut busting humor, big fish, bears, sharks, wolves, extremely strange characters & tons of fish porn! Filmed in Alaska, Canada & Washington. 80 min.

Fulfilling Steve’s life-long dream of getting paid to fish should be simple. Make a fishing movie, fish, sell the movie, fish, make loads of money and fish… but will anyone want to buy a hilarious movie about fishing? Will Steve get to go on the epic fishing adventure of his dreams?

Words like that sell this movie short in so many ways.

A little further in, my wife slowly woke up.  You could tell she wanted to fall back asleep, but something had caught her interest.  “No way in hell it’s this movie.”  I thought.  In the past when I was watching the newest fly fishing DVD, she’s either left the room or asked me to watch it when she wasn’t home.  But like most other times in my life when I’ve thought I could decipher a woman’s body language, I was wrong.  It might have been the movie that woke her up, but the movie is also what kept her up.

Now, like a family gathered around the radio listening to the Bob Hope Show in the late 40′s,  it’s the three of us sitting there watching.

The Review

Honestly, I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is about Hustle & Fish that makes it so special.  What I can say is that after watching it, my wife might actually understand why I’ve devoted so much of my time, and myself, to fly fishing.  This movie captures something that just can’t be put into words- it’s also really funny.

The music is pretty good, too.  Not that you’re gonna buy this for the soundtrack, but if the soundtrack was available, I’d buy it.

The only knock I have on this movie is the long fish porn section at the end.  Not that it’s bad, it’s just that I’ve seen and caught fish before.  I’ve seen them jump and take line.  I’ve seen fish splash water and rods bend and fly line go through the air and spey casts and all that other stuff that happens when you go fishing.  Maybe I have a short attention span, or have been desensitized, but watching this kind of stuff on TV just doesn’t hold my interest for very long anymore.

It’s not that I don’t appreciate good fish porn.  Many of the movie’s best moments were during the many fishing sequences earlier in the movie.  The only difference being the narration leading into, or during, them. The narration really sets the tone, and by it’s self would make a damn good essay.

Something else worth mentioning is the fact that I have already watched this movie again.  I’ve seen pretty much every single fly fishing movie thats come out during the past 5 years, and this is the first that kept my full attention the second time around- except for the long fish porn part at the end.

Specs

80 minutes long

$24.99 plus shipping at the Hatches DVD Store

Conclusion

I can’t emphasize enough how much I enjoyed watching Hustle & Fish.  Seriously good stuff- probably the first fly fishing movie that has the ability to transcend being liked by more than just the fly fishing crowd.

If you pay any attention to the 40 Rivers To Freedom Twitter thingy, you might already be reading one of the newest blogs on the Hatches Magazine Blog Network, Flyosophy.  If you haven’t made your way over there, then you need to.  Like, the second you stop reading this post.  Actually, just go there right now and come back to read the rest of this later.

Several times, I’ve had discussions with people regarding who would write a good blog.  Every time, one of the first names out of my mouth has been Sean Murphy.  So needless to say, I was stoked when I found out that Sean was joining the Hatches Blog Army.

Well he’s 6 posts in since he figured out all the buttons and stuff, but each of those 6 posts have been excellent.  I went back through each of them this morning to look for a good quote, and found myself in that same place I was when doing the same for a review of the first Gierach book I read.  That is, there are just too many to pick just one.  And mark my words, the trend will continue.

I just finished reading “The Alaska Chronicles,” by Miles Nolte.  I’m just sitting here with a big smile across my face, like a teenage boy who just got a glimpse of his first naked girl.  Quite frankly, this is hands down one of the best books I’ve ever read.  This is more than just the tale of a guide’s journey through an Alaskan fishing season.  This is literary poetry.

Not only did I find myself repeatedly laughing out loud, I found myself drawn back by the words I was reading.  Words on a page just like these, but put together so eloquently that they could provoke an average joe fly fisherman into pondering deep, philosophical thoughts.  Thoughts he has no business pondering.

From the moment I picked this book up, to the disapointment of having to turn the final page, I was there in the wilds of southwest Alaska; braving the mock charges of colossal Brown Bears, jockeying for hierarchy among a group of unlaundered fishing guides, racing a jet boat through boulder strewn rapids, and being annoyed by narcissistic “sports”.  I was there inhaling fresh blueberries at the edge of a remote pond filled with voracious northern pike.  I could feel the warm beer flowing down my throat while I sat stranded on the river bank after my boat died on a Bristol Bay tributary.  As I sit here typing, wide eyed, unable to hold back this big shit-eating grin across my face- I’m still there.

The Alaska Chronicles will be available in March ’09 via Departure Publishing.  One of this budding publisher’s goals is to seek out accomplished writers who seek to challenge the traditional boundaries of sporting and expedition publishing.  Instead of releasing the carbon copy volumes you’re used to reading, they aim to publish something truly unique.  And that they have with The Alaska Chronicles- 216 pages, and 40 beautiful b&w photos of novel awesomeness.

It’s like Gierach, just better.

Click Here for your chance to win a free signed copy, other reviews, an excerpt, as well as a free wallpaper download.

After about 10 trips in these boots, I’m finally ready to give them a review.

Why I Bought ‘Em

There were a few basic things I wanted out of whatever boot I decided on. They had to have cleats, they had to be comfortable, and they needed to be durable.

Normally, gear I buy needs to be affordable, but the first two pairs I had my eyes on(LL Bean River Treads II with Aquastealth, and Chota STL Plus), were both about $130. The Citico Creeks ended up being about $80 straight from Chota’s website, including shipping. After seeing how quickly the last pair I owned deteriorated after moving out to NY, a pair that I thought I’d have for another 2 or 3 years- I was ready to spend as much as I had to so I wouldn’t have to buy another pair next year.

When I originally intended to get new boots this Spring, I went into a fly shop with the intentions of getting The Chota STL Plus. A boot that a friend owns, who puts serious miles on his boots each season. If they’ll hold up for him, I figured, they’ll hold up for anyone.

The guy working in the shop mentioned that the Citico Creek was basically the same boot, but without the QuickLace™ system. I tried them on and they felt great, so I decided to save about $50 and go with them, instead of the STL Plus.

Getting Them Dirty

The first day I wore these boots, I really didn’t do much moving around. So I was a little cautious about giving them the thumbs up right away. The second trip, I probably put about 5 miles on them- on a river that has baptized me 3 times. Having the removable cleats on the bottom was awesome. I found myself haphazardly going places I normally would use extreme caution- if I dared wading through them at all. Since the cleats are removable(they’re just machine screws), I was, (and still am to some extent), worried about them working their way loose. However after about 10 trips in them so far, they’re all still tight. It’s not that I’m worried about losing individual cleats- you can get a replacement pack for like $7- it’s more that it seems to me a cleat sticking halfway out would probably increase the chances of “stripping” out the pre-drilled hole, or it might have me falling on my face(something I have little trouble doing already).

Comfort-wise, they’re great. Wearing these all day, on rugged, boulder-strewn terrain is no big deal on my feet. In fact, I’d say they don’t feel much different than they do after wearing normal hiking boots all day while hiking up Adirondack and Catskill mountains. I did have a little back stiffness on that second trip that someone mentioned might have been due to the cleats, however I think it had more to do with a lack of time at the tying bench this Spring.

Warranty

According to their website, Chota only offers a one year limited warranty(material or workmanship defects). If a friend hadn’t battle tested and recommended their products, I would have forked out the extra $50 and went with the LL Bean River Treads II boot and it’s unlimited lifetime warranty. If they do fall apart due to poor workmanship in the first year, or the second, I’ll be sure to let you all know about it.

UPDATE: After one full season(about75 trips), these boots are still going strong

Overall Impressions

I like’em, I like ‘em a lot! Assuming they’ll stay in one piece for a few seasons, I would highly recommend them to people looking for a comfortable boot, with removable cleats, that doesn’t want to break the bank.

Here’s a link to them on Chota’s website it you’re interested, or, check em out at your local shop.

Chota Citico Creek Wading Boots