Merry Christmas 2018

Happy Holidays to all of my fishing friends!

Hope you are enjoying the nitty GRITTY of your Christmas Vacation...

*Pre-Photoshop components "liberated" from Sportquest & Philly.com 

A continuation of prior "Festive Fly Fisher" posts found HERE, HERE, & HERE

E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!

Never thought it would happen in my lifetime...

As a lifelong Eagles fan, I'm still in disbelief. This doesn't happen to "us."

January 1981: Oakland 27 - Philadelphia 10
February 2005: New England 24 - Philadelphia 21
February 2018: Philadelphia 41 - New England 33

Is that last score correct? We were playing Tom Brady, right?

Particularly this team, who lost its franchise quarterback, perennial All-Pro left tackle, all-purpose running back/kick returner, and starting middle linebacker to injury, just to name a few...

Wow. How about those Underdogs.

And yes, plane tickets have been purchased, I'll be at the parade. Maybe I'll see you there...

Tenkara Sasquatch Now A Dolphins Fan?

Tenkara Sasquatch sighting last night during the NFL Draft.
His presence at Charles Harris' draft party indicates TS may now be a Dolphins fan.

Harris looks confused by the situation...

#NBAVote Joel Embiid

Warning: Non Fishing Post

I'm a Sixers fan.

Have been my whole life. If you asked me deep down which of the four Philadelphia teams I would want to see win a championship first, my answer would be the 76ers. They last time they won I was 6 and I knew nothing about basketball whatsoever. Since then, I've been teased by contending teams led by Charles Barkley and Allen Iverson, but by and large, it's been a whole lot of losing.

Having little resources and the "longest view in the room," they chose to intentionally lose games the last 3 years to return high draft picks, hoping at least one would result in a transcendent player. As a fan, I was in favor of this strategy by the way, I'm a "Process Truster." 

Yes, Hinkie died for our sins, and the Colangelos make me ill. Or at least Jerry does, I'm still trying to give Bryan the benefit of the doubt.

It's been a long road, but it finally looks like my favorite team has a pulse. Those years of waiting have provided Joel Embiid, who in tandem with the emergence of some other young talent and above average defensive intensity, have elevated the Sixers from being the laughing stock of the league to just being kind of bad. In recent weeks, not only have they become adept at beating other bad teams, but they're starting to give middle of the pack teams fits as well. 

And we haven't even seen 2016's #1 Draft Pick, Ben Simmons play yet.

But he's coming. Soon.

Yeah, I'm psyched.

All of that noted, today (Monday) happens to be the last day of fan voting for the 2016-17 NBA All-Star game. Sixers center, Joel Embiid is in contention for one of the fan spots. Go vote for him at NBA.com, or simply use your Twitter account to tweet the following: #NBAVote Joel Embiid.

Haven't seen Joel play, no problem, GIFs below...

#TTP / #Lickface

Damn You November!

Sorry for the silence, and for leaving that damn Fozzils post in the top spot on my homepage for almost two weeks...

This time of year is always non-stop craziness in the old Troutrageous! household. I work in internet retail, so a lot of my time (both day & night) is spent making last minute preparations to ensure that all the right gifts are in stock and ready to be purchased for lucky sports fans across the country.

Lilly in Christmas spirit at Magic Kingdom last weekend

Compounding this is the fact that it is extremely difficult to write those big Dallas Cowboys purchase orders this year, considering I'm an Eagles fan. I'll probably be in this state of retail overload and blogging abandonment through mid-February...but it is what it is, happens every year.

Hard at work...at work?  Go Birds! #cubelife

Anyway, are you doing any fishing? I haven't recently, but I think I might sneak out this weekend for a little bit. The weather in the Jacksonville area is downright beautiful right now with highs in the mid 70-degree range. By far my favorite time of year here in the northeastern Sunshine State.

I could try running up to Georgia to chase some trout, but it's evidently all on fire. A damn shame. The Southeast could really use some rain.

By the way, less than a month until Rogue One. Omgomgomgomg!

Finally, and coming full circle on internet retail; if you ever wanted to give tenkara a try (didn't think we could get through this post without mentioning it, right), there might not be a better time to take the plunge than right now. A few companies like Tenkara USA, Dragontail, and Tanuki are running some killer pre-Black Friday deals at the moment, with promises of more deals from others to come. They're all being tracked on Facebook HERE.

I guess that's really all I have to say. I realize this post was just some incoherent thoughts slapped together, but I wanted to my handful of readers know I'm still around.

Stealing The Photo Bin

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, or so I've heard.

If that's the case, I hope Mike over at Mike's Gone Fishin'....Again doesn't mind my blatant theft of his Photo Bin concept. See, I've been up to a lot lately (like dodging Hurricane Hermine), but fishing hasn't really been one of the activities. That said, you might notice a bit of a sports theme below...

The last weekend of July was spent in Atlanta.
It was a timely visit, which included a stroll through Centennial Park
a few days prior to the 2016 Summer Olympics...

The aquarium was amazing. Had never seen a whale shark in person before...

Also took in a Phillies win versus the Braves.
Was nice to see Ryan Howard in person one last time.
He's not the slugger he once was, but he'll always be one of my favorite Phillies.

Checked out some local roller derby action.
Jacksonville took down Detroit in this particular bout in a tune up for WFTDA playoffs.
Say what you will about roller derby, but when played at the highest levels, it's a ton of fun to watch.

There was an NBA playoffs pool at my office this year.
I ended up winning thanks to the Cavaliers, and the prize was a jersey of my choice.
Pretty psyched about the Ben Simmons era in Philadelphia.

There's a place by the house called Maple Street Biscuit Company.
It's one of those "farm to table" type places that are trendy these days.
Food is good, and these cinnamon dessert biscuits are amazing.
Don't be jealous.

Lilly & I had a Daddy/Daughter night last weekend, and we spent it at NXT wrestling.
It was her first wrestling match, and she seemed to like the theatrics, both in and outside the ring.
For what it's worth, it was a pretty good card if you're into that kinda stuff.

Not Fishing: The Sixers & 2016 NBA Draft Night!

Happy Thursday!

I have to say I'm pretty psyched today, as it's NBA Draft day. I know, I know, this is supposed to be a fishing site dammit, none of that sportsball talk here! Right, I get it, but like you should already know that this blog isn't just fishing. And after Lilly, Star Wars, & Sasquatch, I think my next favorite thing is Philly sports, meaning today, the 76ers.

But the Sixers tanked the last 3 seasons, they don't deserve the #1 pick. Yeah, says everyone who isn't a fan. I understand, you're supposed to try your hardest every year. That's what your coaches tell you growing up, heck that's what your parents tell you. But if you don't have an in-house superstar, you know what that gets you? The Atlanta Hawks.

Believe me as a fan, the last three years have been incredibly painful, despite fully buying into the plan and "Trusting the Process." Growing up on a steady stream of superstars like Dr. J, Sir Charles, and The Answer, being reduced to the league doormats - and the punch line of jokes in the national media - has been tough.

But it looks like perhaps it might be worth it. Between tonight's #1 overall pick (which has all but been determined to be LSU standout Ben Simmons), some high draft picks from prior years primed to make their debuts, a slew of other assets accumulated through shrewd trades, and all of the salary cap room in the world to chase a free agent or two, perhaps the Sixers might finally resemble an NBA team again, and I couldn't be happier. 2020 NBA Finals, here we come...

Dear Sixers GM Bryan Colangelo, 

Hinkie set you up to look like a genius. 

Just don't f#$k it up.

With that off my chest, it's like impossible not to smile at this song. I'm going to be humming it all day long. If you hit play, you'll be dangerously close to doing the same...


Anyway, that's really all I had to say today. I really need to get fishing again, especially now that the magazine is done. It's still god-awful hot down here, so hopefully I can sneak out at either dawn or dusk this weekend. I need to wet a line in the worst way...

North Dakota State Baby!!!!

Badlands. Go Birds...

Not a fishing post, who cares.
I bet he catches fish with his bare hands and eats them raw.

BASSCAR - Literally...

It's kinda funny when the term "BASSCAR" gets thrown around in reference to professional bass fishing. You know, those anglers with their clothing and boats all adorned in sponsorships, reminds folks of similarly decorated NASCAR cars and drivers.

Well, this weekend in Talladega, looks like the #4 Busch Chevrolet SS driven by Kevin Harvick is going true BASSCAR...and TROUTCAR as well!

One side Largemouth Bass, the other a Cutthroat Trout

It's actually part of a cool promotion "Trophy Can" that Busch is running...

"Consumers who find one of the 100,000 gold trophy cans randomly seeded in packs of Busch and Busch Light can capture a photo of themselves with the can and submit it online via Busch.com. They'll then be entered for a chance to win weekly premium prizes including GoPros, sonar systems, tackle boxes, fishing bobbers and more. Five lucky consumers will be awarded the grand prize: the fishing trip of a lifetime to one of four possible destinations to go fishing with professional bass fisherman, Kevin VanDam."

Sounds to me like it's time to put beer snobbery aside and go fishing for a Trophy Can!

More info HERE in the press release.

The Emmys, Eagles, & WWE...with a Touch of Fly Tying...

So did you watch the Emmys last night?
Yeah, neither did I...

Glad to see Seinfeld still winning hardware...

Ended the weekend (whip) finishing up some flies for a Facebook fly swap and lamenting the fact that I wasn't in Colorado.

Perhaps coming to a mailbox near you?

It was a good way to unwind after a long few days of watching roller derby, as well as having my Eagles pretty much suck all of the life out of my interest in the NFL this year. Like, c'mon Chip, really? Really with this Sam Bradford crap?

Dear Mr. Bradford - Upon entry of the red zone, throw it your own team

Jesu...I mean Tim Tebow...would have found a way to win that game...

Oh and to cap it off, greasy haired, red jumpsuit wearing Kane is back? What in the name of Xavier Woods is going on, this can't be what's best for business HHH!

I can handle a Y2J cameo, but don't bring a relic out of mothballs to blindside "The Future"...oh, Rollins was facing an even older Sting in the first place...what year is it again?

You probably didn't follow much of that, did you? Very little fishing content, I know. Even less coherency, whatever. That's what trying to slap together a blog post at 1 AM will do to you...

Tenkara Tuesday tomorrow. Until then...

And So It Begins...

Happy Football Sunday.

Bo Knows The St. Croix Legend X Fly Rod

This rod sort first started to be mentioned online during the summer fishing show circuit, but honestly back then I wasn't paying attention to fly fishing.  I was busy packing boxes and whining about leaving Pennsylvania.  Anyway, fast forward a few months, and I've got a fever, and the only cure is for more salt(water).  And since it's 11:18 PM at night as I'm typing this, the only way to get a fix is gear porn.  Hence the St. Croix Legend X fly rod ogling.

I will start by saying that I friggin' love the cosmetics on this thing.  All stealthed out in carbon matte & black, it's not your classic looking fly rod.  It's kind of got the look of the Oakland Raiders of fly rods...but not the current crop of Raiders...I'm talking the 1960s & 70s Raiders that are in all of the "old" NFL Films.  You know, "The Autumn Wind" Raiders.  Or hell, even the Tecmo Bowl Bo Jackson / NWA endorsed Los Angeles Raiders.  Nobody messed with either versions.

Interestingly enough, it also continues the trend of fly rods moving away from traditional cork grips to composite materials.  I reviewed the Redington Vapen Red on this blog earlier in the year, mentioned some tenkara rods moving in that direction, and even highlighted a Wright & McGill offering from a few years back.  While it might not sit well with traditionalists, so what, neither did the first pair of Air Jordans...

Anyway, I'd love to cast one of these, just to see if it tosses line as badass as it looks.  Appears it could be a killer rod for everything from salty redfish to big freshwater bass.  Not that I really catch many of either, but if I'm in Florida these days, I should probably look the part.  

Has anybody dared muster up the courage to cast one of these?  

What do you think of the aggressive "look"?

Should St. Croix send me a demo (ahem, 8-wt) for pimping it?

We all know the answer to the last question, but I'd love to hear your feedback on any of the above in the comments below.

Big Changes Are Coming... No Joke

I had an interesting opportunity presented to me at work yesterday...  I don't talk about my job that much around here, although I've spilled the beans to some of you at random times, so those in the know might consider what I do for a living pretty cool, or at least interesting.  It allows me to work in sports, and travel to many events every year.  For example, for those of you who are friends with me on Facebook (me personally, not the blog), were inundated with several pictures of hi-jinks in New Orleans last week for the Super Bowl.

To-Be-MVP Joe Flacco Warming up Super Bowl Pregame

Anyway....

Yesterday I was presented the opportunity to go to Jacksonville, Florida.  Permanently.  My department in Pennsylvania is closing this summer as part of a company consolidation, and my bosses feel strongly about my work to date and future with the organization that they'd really like it if rather than accepting a severance package & moving on, I move down to the Sunshine State and work at the Mothership.  In all honesty, some people may re-actively be turned off by such an ask, but I'm flattered, it feels good to be recognized & wanted, especially in a time when others are not as fortunate.

Here's the deal.  I don't know how I feel about Jacksonville.  I've been there several times over the past few years.  It's just like most cities.  There are good parts of town and bad parts of town, I've been fortunate to have found many of the good in my travels.  I know my family will find its way, heck, my wife navigated through cancer...and I'm sure I could probably score a house for Lilly with the swimming pool and trampoline she's always wanted.

But do you know what Jacksonville doesn't have?  Coldwater streams...  With real trout...  What I'd consider legit Tenkara opportunities.  You know how I like me some Tenkara.  Yes, Jacksonville has great inshore & saltwater fishing, even fly fishing for bass, but the former is such a part of who I am...such a part of what I love, and daydream about when I'm at said job, that...I'm...well...confused.

Am I ready to trade in my T! sticker for a Salt Life sticker?

Is this what's in store for me (& the blog?)

I don't know, but I have about a month and a half to figure it all out.

I'm open to advice, suggestions, you name it, because right about now, all are welcomed.

Tenkara Tuesday - Altamont, and the Tenkara Incident

Welcome to Tenkara Tuesday.

For today's installment, I'm honored to present a guest post by Ron Giesecke, a new-ish tenkara angler who has been chronicling his experiences on his own blog, A Tenkara Journey. If you've never had the pleasure of reading Ron's blog, I'd highly recommend setting aside a little bit of time to do such.  His dry sense of humor will draw you in at first post.

In this installment of Tenkara Tuesday, Ron goes a bit unconventional, and examines the many ways to break your tenkara rod - a nightmare to some, but extremely funny when it's not your graphite pole. Please Enjoy!

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A recent sojourn to the McCloud River’s labyrinthine accesses to the native trout waters proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that I can do two things: One, catch the beautiful salmus shasta native trout on my 7:3 Yamame. And two: Rip the Lilian off the end of my rod like a Wrigley’s gum tab.

I did this because I assumed the furled Kevlar leader I had made was the part not connected to the thorn bush onto which I was snagged. I learned quite quickly. So I fired everyone in sight. I fired Jimmy Rivers, I fired a couple people I didn’t even know. I even fired the guy who wrote The Ballad of Hank Williams and provided me the obscure and referential, spleen-venting lava tube upon which to predicate my angst.

But really. If I injured myself the way I thrashed my Tenkara rod, the people I work with would never let me live it down. Take my co-worker, Ed, for instance. In a year and a half’s time, he nearly weed-eated his eye out, and managed to completely pull off his little toe in the loop of a shag carpet when he tripped on the stairs. Mind you, the steaks he was carrying did not survive his attempts to keep them from hitting the floor.

And now, he is known for both attempting to shave off his cornea with a Poulan trimmer and putting his grandson to bed with “This little piggy went to AAAHHHHHHH!” And while he takes the resultant workplace abuse in stride, as well as count to nineteen with unparalleled flair, it occurred to me: It would be better to choose the mode of ignominious failure--to allocate the one-lane avenues of infamy--to carefully select the tide-pools out of which my legs will be relinquished to an Arbitron bonanza during Shark Week.

I figure if I’m going to destroy the top end of my Yamame rod every two months, then I should just go ahead and plow right off cliffs of rock and roll infamy. Find a way to just destroy it on purpose. Publicly. Unapologetically. Then, when I’ve made a complete spectacle of myself, start tweeting about the genetic relationship between my white corpuscles and that of a primary African feline.

There is of course the Richie Blackmore (Deep Purple) approach. Become irate with the lack of shading, pocket water, or even worse--a plethoric presence of fishermen in the only remnants of either. Shove the rod through a bait man’s tackle box, snap it off and yell “Good night Dallas!”

I could, of course, have a great take on the water, with even the dullest Kebari fly causing elusive Browns to raise their fins and volunteer to have their lip punctured. This might invoke the Hendrix “Monterey” option. Gently straddle the Tenkara rod on the ground and then light it on fire. The flammability is so groovy!

On the surface, the Axl Rose option poses some problems, as one must become strung out on heroin, have your rod somehow shipped to the stream-side with others expecting you, not show up and then have the expectants break it for you. You might get nominated for the Tenkara Hall of Fame, but you’ll refuse to go anyway.

It doesn’t have to be confined to rock, or even be intentional. It just needs to be infamous enough to have a life of its own. Like that “Agony of Defeat” guy from the old Olympic promos. I have no idea who that man is. All I know is, as a kid I watched this guy spin off that ski jump like a Vita-Mix blade and hit the ground in a pile of anthropological rubble day after day, all the while rooting for Bruce Jenner.


Which reminds me. Bruce Jenner never snapped his vault-pole in ’76, gigging himself at the ninth rib, but I would have loved that. Somebody did it, but I don’t remember who--or where it happened. Just remember: a twenty-yard dash, carbo-loaded resolve, and a 6:4 Ito rod with the extender option will not help you clear a ten-foot cyclone fence. Of course, if you’re trying to break your Tenkara rod, you wouldn’t want to. Just make sure you get it on camera. It won’t make you anyone’s hero, but then again, the finely-paved road of stardom that took a Wheaties-box, 1976 decathlon champion and veritable Smithsonian Institute of Testosterone HAD to have been T-boned at the intersection of Brawn and Agility to wind up keeping his maiden name on The Kardashians like that. So maybe “high profile” IS a liability.

Come to think of it. Maybe the indiscriminate accident is better. Me? I can buy a new tip for seven bucks. Chemical face peels are for life.

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About the Author:

Ron Giesecke is a writer, musician, family-man, and garden-variety renaissance schmuck from Redding, California.  He is new to Tenkara, but not averse to its magic.  His blog, A Tenkara Journey, can be found HERE.

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Are you a Western tenkara angler?  Do you have a story, pictures, video, fly recipe, or simply a fishing report from one of your recent tenkara adventures?  If so, Troutrageous! wants to hear from you for a future Tenkara Tuesday post!  Feel free to send and email HERE, or check out this previous post for more information.

Back Behind The Wheel

It's been a few days since the last post around here...and Russell Westbrook's shirt has received far too much play.  Unfortunately, last week's slowdown in blog posting was not due to an extended fishing weekend, but rather a weekend of work (with admittedly a little play) down in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Ric Flair appearance at Walmart...and I was a few days early...crap!

This is just a post to get back in the groove a bit and set the table for a full week's worth of fishing-ish posts.  So what's in store for Troutrageous! readers leading into Memorial Day weekend?  How about a few overdue product reviews, perhaps some bad Photoshop, and yes, the return of Wednesday Nibbles.  Sound good?  Well, you know I don't really care what you think anyway.

Oh, and for those of you that don't do Instagram or Twitter and haven't been following along there, here are a few pictures of last weekend.  No rainbow trout, but lots of brightly colored cars.

The Look Of A Winner

Being born & raised in the Philadelphia area, the 76ers are my favorite basketball team.  As such, I'm rooting for them pretty avidly in this year's NBA Playoffs...but if/when they get bounced, my interests will immediately turn toward Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder, for no other reason than shirts like this in post game press conferences...

Zazzy Pop?

Want one for your summer BBQ?  Only $115 (ouch!) from the home of the alligator polo, Lacoste.  Or then again, try on an equally awesome shirt for size at a slightly lower price...

Damn I've Been Quiet

So no post since last Thursday.  Yeah, I just didn't feel like writing anything.  I also haven't done any fishing lately either...we haven't had a good rain in these parts for weeks and the water levels are extremely low.  Too low for mid-April if you ask me, but what you gonna do?

Well, I'll tell you what I did instead of fishing (or blogging)...  

I bought a new tenkara rod.  Because nothing compensates for not fishing better than buying more fishing stuff.

I power washed bird crap off my roof.  They live behind my shutters.  Good work outta them.

Speaking of bird crap I watched that hockey team in Pittsburgh act like donkeys and pretty much suck hard for 3 games.

I ate 3 Taco Bell Doritos Locos Taco Supremes.  I should have ordered 12.

I schemed a fishing trip to a new and exotic location in the beginning of May.  

I took the dog for a walk in the park.  He tried to take a leak every 10 feet.

I got recruited for a top secret fishing trip on the side while out in Utah for that tenkara thingy.

I EZ Seeded and Turf Builded...or is it Turf Built?  No red-headed Scotsman appeared.  

I went to the grand opening of a cupcake shop....what?...yeah, I really did.

Do you guys care?  No.  I just felt like writing something, so deal.

Fishing returns tomorrow.  Maybe...