I interviewed Bruce Chard this week on the show Persuading Permit and it was a big hit. Permit are one of the top, if not the top, gamefish sought after by fly fishers. They are smart, temperamental and elusive. In this interview Bruce explains how you can get more hookups and more fish to the boat using time tested fly fishing strategies and techniques. At the end of the interview Bruce treated us all with an exciting story about how he used a broken rod to cast to a Permit - did he land it? You’ll have to listen in to our show on fly fishing for permit to find out.

The monoMASTER™, a waste monofilament storage device, seems like it’s just what we need to help keep our rivers, streams and lakes free of all the monofilament line we cut off while fly fishing.

Here’s the description of the product straight from the manufacturer:

The monoMaster is an innovative new fishing tool that is a Must Have for every angler. This handy tool is small and lightweight and collects all the waste line that you generate when changing flies or rigs. Hang from a fishing vest, in your pocket, or tackle box. Whether you generate an inch or a few yards of waste, monoMaster provides an easy and environmentally sound solution. No more tangles in your waders, pockets, or tackle box.

It was also featured in Field and Stream’s “Best of the Best” Fishing 2009. You can find out more about it here monoMASTER™

Is it worth it worth $11.95? Does it work? Leave your comments and let me know…

Oh by the way how do you get the mono out of it?

Davy Wotton really shined on our show last night. He knows the White River in Arkansas better than the back of his hand. What impressed me about this river system is how much fishable water there is - over 90 miles. The White River can be fished 365 days a year; however, the thing you need to beware of are the water fluctuations that can take place from the dam releases. This information is available from the dam managers and it would be wise to check out the release schedule for the time you want to fish. If you want to listen to the show go to Fly Fishing Arkansas’ White River. Davy even devluges the fly he used to catch his 25 lb. 6 oz. brown trout. Enjoy!

The Fly Boys have hit a home run with their DVD Raising the Ghost. It made me reminisce, it made me laugh and it brought a tear to my eye. Steelhead one of the most sought after and illusive trophies to be caught on a fly are in serious danger of becoming extinct. Raising the Ghost not only shows the steelhead and it’s wonderful beauty but drives home the need for change to take place for it to survive. You’ll definitely want a copy of this for your library and the make to better 5% of the profits from the sale of the DVDs will go to steelhead conservation. Check it out and let me know what you think…

Your access rights, as an angler, to streams and rivers can be quite different depending on where you live in the world. In the United States it’s varies from state to state and in Europe each country.

In England much of the water is private, which means paying every time you go fishing - from a westerner’s view in the United States this seems absurd yet in Colorado we have arrived at the same situation on many rivers. Landowners can keep you from fishing sections of a river that runs through their land making that section totally private - no fishing at any cost. In Colorado, you supposedly have rights to float a river and get out on the bank or in the water but evidently a number of landowners and sheriffs in Colorado currently believe that the public only has the right to navigate on the surface of the water. This means that even if you follow the law you may still get turned away or harassed because local sheriffs and landowners decide to interpret the law differently than how it is written. Other landowners offer fishing for a fee like in England which is generally too expensive for the average angler.

Montana’s state laws seem reasonable in that you can fish a river or stream up to the high water mark. This means from a public access point you can walk up and down the river or float it freely in your boat. New problems; however, have reared their ugly head recently in Montana such as landowners fencing off public access points making it difficult for anglers to get to the water. You have access rights, but yet you don’t, or at least you have them but at the risk of ripping a nice hole in your waders and putting a painful gash in your leg as you climb over the barbed wire fence.

On Wyoming’s North Platte River if you anchor or step out of your boat in the wrong spot - watch out! The local landowner may be taking a picture of you with his telephoto lens and emailing it to the sheriff. End result, when you take out at the end of the day the sheriff is there handing you a hefty ticket for trespassing!

Likewise, in New Mexico, on the San Juan River you can float through private property but you can’t anchor or get out of the boat.

Where is this all going? Is it just a matter of our population growing too fast creating an unmanageable load on our rivers and streams?. Will fly fishing be available only for the rich and famous?

Share with us the situations you face in your local area and let us know your thoughts on what you think reasonable water rights should be.

The Ask About Fly Fishing Blog is now up and running and ready for your comments.

So what is this blog about? What do we intend to achieve?

We’re starting a conversation of worldwide scope touching fly fishers everywhere. This sport has participants in almost every country in the world and they all have one thing in common - the love of fly fishing.

It’s a sport that requires we learn and practice the techniques and strategies over a lifetime - a rather long learning curve but a thoroughly enjoyable one. If we knew it all we’d certainly be bored, so the learning continues!

We will all learn from the conversations that will take place on this blog and of course there are always several ways to do things and many points of view on many different topics. Techniques, strategies, ethics, etiquette, the environment, water rights, conservation - all are fair game and need discussion.

So here we go, let us know how you feel by commenting on our posts - keep the conversation going and be sure to tell others to join in.

Good fishing,

D. Roger Maves
Host/Producer
Ask About Fly Fishing - Internet Radio