With Spring around the corner we are trying to get you ladies geared up and ready for the season, locked and loaded with your fly rods and smiles!

Join us in Chilliwack, BC on Saturday May 15th, 2010 for a dry land clinic that will have you fully comfortable with your fly rod and excited to hook into some fish!

Date:  May 15, 2010

Where:  Chilliwack, BC

Time:  11:00-3:00

Cost: $100.00 (lunch included)

Details:  This is a great workshop for women looking to meet other female fishing buddies, as well as women looking to partake in unique and unforgettable entertainment.

Our womens fly-casting workshop is a dry-land clinic, including both a theory and a hands-on session.

For those of you who have excelled past the beginning stages of casting and are looking to improve your distance or fix your bad habits, please contact us at april@flygal.ca to book an individual lesson.

Please contact april@flygal.ca to reserve your space.

Here’s a fish gal who is a personal friend of ours who brings a little sunshine to all who know her.

Thanks Aimee, you’re a breath of fresh air!

First Sturgeon!  (Courtesy of Sturgeon Slayers)

Nice trout!

Like I said, a little piece of sunshine!

Alright, alright….

I hear you…..I’ve been chuckling to myself all morning as I am slowly realizing that I know some of the guys who I quoted on my last blog.

The kicker?  They’re guys that I like….Guys I sincerely like.

I’ve been a waitress long enough to know that women can be just as cheeky.  I will argue though to the ends of the Earth that they aren’t quite as vulgar and they certainly don’t go out of their way to voice themselves online, or anywhere other than a group of friends for that matter….nonetheless, I know what’s said on a girls night out.

Anyhow, fair is fair.

You win….

Off to the river!  It’s Sunday baby!

Ape.

Dear God,

If I have to gag at one more ‘fish of the week’ picture of a topless fruitcake, I’m going to have to make sure my lunch is damn good so it tastes half decent the second time round.

Is this seriously what grown men do with their time?  (Alas, most of you are not this pathetic and I apologize in advance for those who may be offended.)  But really, the whole forum mentality of “I did her” is just so embarrassing….

Reality Example….

***Photo of a hot babe weighing in at maybe 115 lbs***

“How in the hell did you get a picture of my girlfriend?”

January 15, 2010 | Suckit

“Thaaaaarrrr she blows!”

January 15, 2010 | sideshow

“I think I did her”

January 15, 2010 | Tiger Woods

“Dang I like an arched back. It makes me look right past the cottage cheese on that butt cheek.”

January 15, 2010 | Richard Cranium

“I wonder what she was really holding in her hand?”

January 15, 2010 | BBT

“looks like she just felt some skeet hit her back”

January 15, 2010 | psj

“Do you think it was a cock?”

January 15, 2010 | echinsu_ocha

“There’s nothing wrong with that!”

January 15, 2010 | Hillary Clinton

“..lol nice !”

January 16, 2010 | Tom G.

“Enjoy my sloppy seconds!”

January 16, 2010 | Dunkin MaCockinya

“there must be something sticky between her shoulders…

I didn’t think I could still reach that far.

Glad we’re finally out of the waders, there such a cliche and in this case they are just in the way.”

January 16, 2010 | fishhead

“Sista Satan!”

January 17, 2010 | salmotrutta

If it weren’t for the Rogue Angels and Fly Fisher Girl I think I’d lose all faith.

Anyhow, seeing as the response we had in our last photo contest was incredible, I figured I’d announce a “Fly Gal of the Week” photo post.

Yep, this one’s just for fun but I figured it’s a nice break from the “shameless promotion” (for those out there who have forgotten that this is in fact a blog attached to a business website meant for exactly that….business….with a touch of spice and opinion.)

: )

So, if you’d like to have your photo posted next week and keep me from recycling my lunch, I invite you to email me your photos to april@flygal.ca

Did I mention I’m back in BC?!  Yeeoowww!  The Vedder is about to be menaced…..

Hope to see you on the water,

Ape.

I have mentioned Ms. Hannah Belford at times before in this blog of mine.  Hardcore, cool, smart and a good friend, listener and angler, she has created flyfishergirl.com for other serious women anglers to network and educate each other and themselves.

Unlike so many of the other whiney blogs and forums on the net, FlyFisherGirl is to the point with a review section, active forum, school/event updates and kick-ass photos.

Thanks Hannah for staying rugged and looking so damn good while doing so,

You’re an inspiration and breath of fresh air for all of us,

Ape.

A quick teaser from our Iceland trip earlier this year….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYpL4fo_36I

Check it out!

Keep your eyes open for the show, Fly Nation, a Fly Max Films production.

Maybe this year you could have your shopping done BEFORE Christmas eve.

In all seriousness though, Fly Gal in now offering Gift Certificates of all denominations readily available for immediate distribution.  You can even order and then print them out yourself….  How’s that for quick?

Gift Certificates are good for one year from the issue date and can be applied to all Fly Gal merchandise, courses (yes even the traveling kind), guided trips and custom fly orders.

We are currently in the process of adding several new items to our catalogue.  Here’s a sneak peak at some of our new product that is ready for Christmas purchase.

Please contact april@flygal.ca to order.

Our new custom hand-crafted leather fly wallets (with hand-cut horn buttons and wool interior).   $130.00

Knit cap with visor.  Keep her head warm and still look hot!   $19.99

(Front)

(Back)

Fly Gal Fitted Zip-Up Hoody (*New in pink/black).  We also have these in White/Turquoise (not pictured).  $44.99

Flex Fit Fly Gal fitted hats.  If pink’s not your thing, then green or yellow are always ready as a backup.   $24.99

*New!  Military style fitted hat.  Available in colors below.   $24.99

Fly Gal Logo Decals (available in blue, pink, white, black, lime green and purple).  $3.00

Don’t underestimate the thoughtful gift of custom flies (designed and tied by Ape)….

A custom order for a New York steelhead bum.

So as if you don’t already have enough shops flashing their sale lights at you tempting you to shop, here I am encouraging you to do the same; only not in shops of potpourri and sales clerks and certainly not in a mad rush of chaos on Christmas Eve.

Happy Holidays, Happy Steelheading!

Ape.

That’s right!  We’ve teamed with Casters Fly Shop and are heading to Southwestern Virginia to help six ladies learn how to cast and fish for rainbow trout (huge rainbow trout I might add!).

Date: April 3rd and 4th, 2010  (there are only two spots  left so don’t delay!)

Price: $625.00 per person (includes two full days of guiding/instruction, all meals and accomodations on Saturday evening in a private and quaint home on the river).

Guides: April Vokey and David Hise

To Reserve Your Spot Contact:

casters@castersflyshop.com

828-304-2400

I would say I’m a fairly honest individual.
I speak my mind, say it how it is, and am always the first to stand up for what I believe.

Call it inappropriate, call it “unladylike”, call it whatever you will….I’d like to speak about this over-sized elephant in the room that keeps whispering in my ear and tempting me to rant for just a moment.

This ugly elephant is whispering about the notorious fame factor.

This “fame factor” is a topic I have found myself overhearing for the past two years about most anybody who manages to have a light shone on them for longer than ten seconds in the fishing industry.

This said, I would simply like to respond to the caddy conversations of whispering scrutiny and stereotyping that a young blonde woman in the sport so regular overhears about being hungry for fame…..

You see “Fame” can be found in multiple variations.

-There’s the desperate and attention starved ‘make a personal tape of private entertainment’ and then “oops!” let it leak on the net.
-There’s the overly obnoxious loud mouth on your local forum who just has to be heard.
-There’s the reality TV star looking to catch 30 seconds of guitar time while serenading a wealthy bachelor.
-There’s the plastic surgery nightmares who simply can’t help themselves and seemingly forget their bra on every mid-day outing.

There are people trying to be famous virtually everywhere you look.

In my neck of the woods (Vancouver, BC) while growing up in both a world of music students (what I originally went to college for), and a world of a straight up shockingly beautiful crew of model girlfriends, witnessing this strive for fame always made my stomach churn a little.

Hell, I just wanted to fish.  Attention from men became boring by the age of 17 and comments based on looks and low-cut tops were nothing short of humorous and mind-numbing.

I pondered why in the world anybody would want fame.  To me it only made sense for three reasons.

1)  To make a living.  (Which undoubtedly is nominal in this industry.)

2)  To have people know who you are so they are willing to pay you to do SOMETHING THAT YOU LOVE, thus allowing you to do it every day.

3)  To inspire others to do right (which in all sincerity feels the best of all three options).

Why anybody would want to be in the public eye for the sole purpose of being the victim of critiquing, judging and God knows what else, I never could quite understand….

So when I made the decision to save my vocal skills for my own personal enjoyment and long car rides, I was ecstatic that I had made the right choice.

For I was going to fish for a living!

There was only one small problem.

I had a mortgage, a truck, and one hell of an appetite for good steak.  How on Earth was I to be able to fish all day and still be able to make my payments while doing what I loved?

The answer was simple.  I had to find clients who would pay me to take them fishing.
To do this successfully would require marketing….aka trying to get “famous”.

But isn’t this how all successful businesses are supposed to work?

Market wisely, provide quality work and then continue the process until the fishing season is booked?

How then is it different when it’s a young angler looking to excel their business so he/she can find happiness in doing what they love?

For me personally, if fame was really that important I’d be posing in bikini bottoms with my arm covering my bare chest and my hair blowing in the wind.

Perhaps I’d be married to a television producer or maybe standing in line for American Idol.
I can tell you one thing….I wouldn’t have given up my singing career.

So there you have it Mr. Elephant, don’t let the door hit your large gray ass on your way out.

Ape.

When Mike Rice of Mud Dog Saltwater Flies told me he was sending some salty flies my way I didn’t give it much more than a second thought.

When a perfectly stocked and strategically organized fly box landed in my mailbox however, I was singing a different tune.

His flies were incredible!  Tied with care by a true saltwater angler, he had me itching to book a trip to the Bahamas.

I was impressed……

Mike hasn’t asked for much.  A pretty low key guy who ties for fun and hangs with his two black labs, he had only one request-  Just for me to fish the hell out of his collection and slay ocean beasts until my arms were sore.

But I just had to send a shout out to his company and say with confidence:

If you’re hitting the salt, hit up Mud Dog…..You’ll be thankful you did.

Thanks Mike!

Ape.

Mike Rice
Mud Dog Saltwater Flies
www.muddogflies.com
cell: 781.254.4533