I finished reading Rick Passek’s The Freshman FlyFisher Book today. He’s taken a very different angle to helping introduce fly fishing to new anglers wanting to join the club of obsessed fly fishing folks. He doesn’t write like a quote “writer”. He writes like an extremely knowledgeable friend or fly shop owner would. It’s a very casual style that is easy to follow and read.

The book consists of 126 pages which makes it not too short to desire more substance but also not so long as to intimidate new anglers. It’s not full of fly fishing history or details about knots or types of fly lines… its full of useful, practical information. He also references videos on his site at http://www.rp3flyfishing.com/ when the instructions are a bit too difficult to portray in writing. This is a nice touch.

The chapters are:

• Rods, Reels and Fly Lines
• Flies
• Boats
• Accessories
• Locations and Basic Lake Biology
• Skills to Master

He also includes a Recommended Reading section and some Fishing Log Pages.

So, who is this book for? I think it’s an excellent book for any new fly fisher. Although I’ve been fly fishing for 8-ish years, I picked up some great advice as well. It’s compact and easy to carry around. When I first started and was out by myself on streams in GA, I tried carrying a couple of books to use as references. I wish I had this book with me. If you are a newbie in a northern US state or likely anywhere in Canada, this book is a must. If you are teaching a fly fishing course, you should definitely consider this book as a possible textbook.

One note, although I mention that the book would be great for all new fly fishing students, it targets the British Columbia province of Canada. He gives specific fly fishing shop info along with lake and river advice for BC. The book reminds me of all the fabulous fishing opportunities in our northern neighbor country. I’m so ready to take another trip up North.

Next up, Rick’s The Freshman FlyFisher’s Insect Guide. I’m ready to get down and dirty into the bugs. Review coming soon….

Wow, couldn’t believe the turnout at the Austin edition of the Fly Fishing Film tour at the Alamo Draft House. Phenomenal. There are a ton of angler and angler wannabes in this town.

So, flicks I liked:

• Eastern Rises
• Nervous Waters
• Hustle and Fish – though the trailer they showed didn’t sync up with what I know the subject of the film to be.

Things I didn’t like:

• Bison Burger at Alamo Draft House- I could smell it on it’s way down the isle to my seat, and not in a good way. I guessed it would be like buffalo burger or hamburger… nope.

Overall, excellent evening. The video of Leslie (Austin’s celebrity cross dresser – yes, Austin is wierd) fly fishing/ballet/fencing/?? was hilarious. And his warning to the audience to turn off your cell phones or he will sit in your lap was very effective. They should start all movies at your local theatre with Leslie’s warning.

Got here a bit early. Looking forward to the start of the show at 7:00. Enjoying a Shiner Bock in the meantime.

I was hoping to post a fishing report about my incredible Guadalupe trip on my birthday but I’m afraid I can’t do it due to a boneheaded move on my part. At the end of the fairly uneventful trip, I was carefully pulling the two sections of my favorite fly rod, the Favorite from Headwaters Bamboo, apart with the tip waving madly inside my SUV. Just as I thought to myself, “it sure would be awful to break off a guide at the end of the trip by yanking too hard”, I successfully separated the two sections as I noticed the tip slapping the inside of the car, breaking off cleanly. Enough said… broken tip… crappy day. I did find out what a red horse sucker is though.

I love to support local companies and products. If you do too (and I’m sure my readers fall into this category), take a look at these very affordable lanyards from Water Walker Custom Fly Fishing Lanyards. Here’s a custom one that he did for Michael Gracie.