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NEWSLETTER
#42 - NOVEMBER 2005
If you have access to Microsoft Word, open the
attachment above to see the information below in a
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Leland Fly Fishing Travel Newsletter
TOPICS IN THIS ISSUE:
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A RETRACTION:
WE WERE “CONNED” IN THE FINEST POSSIBLE MANNER
-
DESTINATION DAY
AT THE BUSH STREET SHOP
-
SOUTH AMERICAN
COMBO: CLEARWATER PEACOCK BASS IN THE AMAZON,
PATAGONIAN ANDES TROUT, AND THE CHILEAN FJORDS
-
THE HUNT
AVAILABLE AT
WWW.FFHUNT.COM
-
DEFINING THE
BELIZE MOTHERSHIP EXPERIENCE WITH CAPTAINS
McCORD AND WESTBY
-
REMAINING OPEN
DATES FOR BELIZE MOTHERSHIPS - 2006
-
QUIPS AND QUOTES
We are in the fourth
year of publishing our monthly newsletter with
updates on great fly fishing venues and insights for
our traveling fly fishers. We want to help you
match the right location with your fly fishing goals
and objectives and properly prepare you to fully
enjoy the experience. We’ve been to most
locations and pride ourselves on our ability to
research new sites. One of our services is to
compare and contrast different lodges/outfitters.
Whatever unbiased information on timing and
locations we can provide comes at the same cost to
you as booking direct – i.e., no extra cost.
A
RETRACTION: WE WERE “CONNED” IN THE FINEST
POSSIBLE MANNER
If you read our newsletter in August of 2004, you
may remember the fantastic story about the pike
caught by Andrew Hine who was fishing the Minipi
River system in Labrador (the finest remaining giant
brook trout destination) with his Dad, Jim, and my
son, Scott, and I. Inside that pike was found
a 6 inch long hook plastic hook remover, two mice
and a gold Canadian dollar. I watched that
fish cleaned – it was an 8+ pound pike that was
being cooked and served by the lodge. I found
it unbelievable to watch all that stuff come out of
his stomach…….. turns out, it was unbelievable.
After 15 months of sitting on the truth, the Hines
have come forth with the whole story – that fish was
literally “stuffed” for my benefit and I bought in
100%. In the spirit of great fly fishing
pranks, this is the best I’ve seen and I was the
dupe. What discipline to hold off the “rest of
the story” for this length of time!!!! Jim and
Andrew are joining us again on our semi-annual trip
to the Minipi next year – the plan for revenge is
already in the works.
THURSDAY, BUSH STREET SHOP DESTINATION DAY
I’ll be in the shop
next Thursday, for our monthly Destination Day.
We’ll have slide shows available on a variety of
destinations including our New Zealand tour,
Patagonia, Labrador Brook Trout, Alaska, and Belize
and all the saltwater destinations, etc.
If you’d like to get
together and view slides and discuss different
possibilities, it’s best to set an appointment so I
will have time set aside for you and won’t have you
waiting when you come in. Just hit “reply” and
let me know what you’d like to view/discuss and
we’ll share some fly fishing excitement together.
SOUTH AMERICAN COMBO – CLEARWATER PEACOCK BASS IN
THE AMAZON, PATAGONIAN ANDES, AND THE CHILEAN FJORDS
I’m a big fan of
combining different types of environments on trips
when we have the time available. An example of
that principle is our annual trip to New Zealand
which includes a stop in the tropical South Pacific
(Fiji, French Polynesia, or Christmas Island).
In South America, we have done the same thing by
combining a week in our favorite area of the
Patagonian Andes with 3 to 5 days in the Chilean
Fjords at a very comfortable hotel/spa with a fly
fishing program.
Now, a new
possibility of adding a unique Amazon jungle element
to the trip has been discovered. I’ve often
been intrigued by pursuing the Peacock Bass of the
Amazon, but after further research, was turned off
because most of the operations weren’t really geared
to fly fishing and were “dirty water” fishing
experiences. A referral from a respected
source got me excited about exploring a superior
jungle lodge on a clearwater Peacock Bass fishery –
actually sight casting in crystal clear waters to
Peacocks. Additionally, this lodge has been
recommended as a spot where a non-fishing spouse can
enjoy the overall Amazon experience and bugs are
somewhat limited. The prime time is similar to
the Patagonian fishery – December through early
March.
One of the reasons
I’ve not heard much about this particular lodge is
that it is almost fully booked with repeat clients
so the big fly fishing marketers don’t pay much
attention to it – not enough space to sell.
However, limited spots are open each season, but
planning far in advance is recommended.
To actually combine
all three of these (Amazon, Andes, and the Fjords)
would be a three week adventure allowing for travel
time; however, combining two of them can be done in
14 – 16 days. I already have this combo trip
“penciled in” on our fly fishing travel calendar for
either late ’06 or early ’07. If any of you
may be interested in joining us or examining a trip
on your own schedule, hit reply and let me know and
we’ll get you additional info.
Fly Fishing Greatest Adventures: THE HUNT now
available at www.ffhunt.com
After several years of gathering the perfect photos and 18
months in production, our book is finally in print
and now available through the website
www.ffhunt.com The early reviews and
comments we’ve had on the preliminary copies have
been very encouraging and rewarding.
Descriptive quotes such as
“….without
a doubt, the finest collection of fly fishing
photographs ever….” and "THE HUNT is one of
the great fly fishing classics of all time” have
given us warm, fuzzy feelings. Many comments
and the review from the publisher of Fly Fishing
the West magazine are on the web site.
Many more magazine reviews will be coming soon.
Price is $45 and we hope it will provide some relief
for your Christmas gift giving anxieties.
DEFINNING THE BELIZE MOTHERSHIP EXPERIENCE
We get many very positive reports each year from all
the repeat clients who fish Belize with Martin
McCord and Charles Westby from their motherships
Meca and Seaduction. The following report
comes from a well traveled and seasoned salt water
fly fisher, John Bobbitt, about his experiences
(excerpts only - the full report is available):
“This was the fourth year that two of my sons and I
fished Belize with Captain Martin McCord using
his mothership as our base. In the early
years, we took the standard 7 day trip, but we’ve
elected to go for 10 days the last two years because
we enjoy it so much. Martin and his crew make
you very welcome and work very hard to make sure you
are comfortable, well fed, and on to fish.
Excellent guides. On the average day, you are
in the skiffs fishing the flats for at least 11
hours starting at 6:00am and continuing, with meal
breaks, to dark or sometimes later.
Although there are destinations where you can catch
more of a specific species (usually bonefish), there
are very few places you can go for the diversity of
species that can be found in the coastal waters of
Belize. I have never found a better deal.”
Each year, we have clients who take their first
tarpon, permit, snook, and/or bonefish on a fly
fishing with McCord and Westby. It is my
personal favorite saltwater experience. I spend
three weeks a year fishing with them and have for
many years. It does require casting skills,
including the ability to double haul, to fully enjoy
the experience as salt water provides challenging
casting situations. We have a video/DVD
available on this adventure. The web site is
www.flyfishbelize.com
REMAINING OPEN DATES FOR BELIZE MOTHERSHIPS FOR 2006
Now that the repeat clients from ’05 are rebooked
for their ’06 dates, we can release the remaining
open dates for next year. The Seaduction
charters for one or two people ($5,800 for 7 nights)
and the Meca for 3 or 4 people ($8,800) or a joint
charter for both boats for parties of 5 or 6.
Dates Open Seaduction Meca
1/4 – 11
xxx
xxx
1/15 – 22
xxx
2/15 – 22
xxx
xxx
4/28 – 5/5
xxx
5/9 – 16
xxx
xxx
7/3 – 10
xxx
8/16 – 23
xxx
9/15 – 22
xxx
xxx
Oct, Nov and Dec – all open
QUIPS AND QUOTES
Nancy Badovinus, after a fall trip to the Missouri
where she fished with different guides, had this
comment about what she looks for in a good guide:
“I want to fish with a predator – someone who
approaches the water as a hunter.” Great
description of what to look for in a good
guide!
Either phone or drop
us an e-mail if you have questions or would like
more information about any of our destinations.
An enthusiastic traveling fly fisherman,
Don Muelrath
Fly Fishing Adventures
888-347-4896
flyfish@napanet.net
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