We know that some of you reading this today, could write a book about really good fish stories, “One time I caught a fish this big!” You could talk about dragging a shed out onto the ice and doing some crazy cold ice fishing; or maybe you could tell us about an epic trip to Alaska where you caught a monster salmon or trout.

Heck, we even enjoy a good large mouth bass and cold beer story here at Cloudveil. Salt or fresh, we like it all!

Now, put your money where your mouth is and show the world a photo of your fish … or your friend’s fish … and give us a good story and you could win a Cloudveil Cool Short Sleeve Shirt. All you have to do is post your photo and story on the Cloudveil Facebook Fan page wall and we’ll do the rest.

One winner will be chosen every Monday for the next 10 weeks. That’s June 29 through August 31, for those of you keeping count. You will be notified via your Facebook Inbox and we will announce the winning shot each week on the Cloudveil fan page.

Now, how big was that fish again?

The 11th Annual Summit on the Snake kicks off at 6:30 tonight with the River Film Festival at the Teton Science Schools Jackson campus.

Several short river themed films will be screened, including the National Geographic special “Wild River” starring locals Frank and John Craighead, the original drivers behind the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Also making its premiere in Jackson is “Rivers of a Lost Coast,” a feature-length documentary about the rise and fall of Northern California’s wild salmon.

The centerpiece of the weekend long event takes place on Saturday with an all day symposium featuring presentations on the ecology, geology, history, fishing and native culture on the Snake. $20 advance registration – call 734.6773 – or $25 at the door. Small price to pay to hear some great speakers including: Susan Patia of Wyoming Game and Fish, climbing guide and author Jack Turner, a guy who’s been in the news a lot lately with the tremors and eruptions, Robert Smith, professor of geophysics at the University of Utah, veteran river runner and local author, Verne Huser, and others.

The Summit runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. again at the Teton Science School campus.

Finally, conclude the weekend events by helping clean up this great resource that runs through our valley. River Clean-Up Day begins at 10 a.m. at the Mad River boathouse on 89 South. Volunteers will be given all the proper tools and assigned various stretches of the Snake. Prizes will be stashed along the river to encourage a Hoover’esque cleaning. Then join your fellow volunteers for a post clean-up shindig at Cutty’s.

Please pass the word and let’s have a great turnout. Thanks to Snake River Fund for organizing, and view the official list of festivities at their website.

We would all like to think we are Macgyver in the backcountry, but do you really know what to do when you get a leak in your waders in the middle of the river, or lay down in your tent to find you have a hole in your sleeping pad? The tiniest Do-It-Yourself tips can make all the difference in creating a successful trip or a gear nightmare.

McNett, the industry leader in gear care and repair products has just published a first-of-its-kind resource for gear junkies who are looking to repair gear for upcoming summer trips, or learn how to maintain gear so it lasts season through season.

Everything from how to properly wash a sleeping bag, re-waterproof a jacket, to fixing leaks and tears, to cleaning climbing ropes and repairing worn footwear is included in the Repair Guide.

Once you master these gear tricks, you can move on to more traditional Macgyver skills like building a working motor out of a paper clip, a piece of bubble gum and a rubber band.

If I had to write down at gunpoint the Top Five Places I’d never expect Tom Bie to show up, The New York Times Fashion section would be right up there with a Pampered Chef event in his living room.  Tom has had an illustrious career in journalism and publishing and I doubt reviewing saltwater reels in the Fashion & Style section will be the culmination of that career.

But, it’s a great outlet to see him getting some PR for The Drake, the tri-annual fly fishing journal that he is currently at the helm of.  If you fly fish, and don’t subscribe to The Drake, do yourself a favor and subscribe here. Filled with excellent writing by some of the best fly fishing authors out there, updates on industry happenings, destinations, classic river personalities, and useful views on gear, it’s the authoritative magazine for those that fish.

The Drake has recently brought The Fly Fishing Film Tour into the fold, and although the tour is winding down for this year, there are still some dates left on the schedule, with more stops slated for 2010.

The one thing that I have always loved being a native to Colorado is the surprise of weather that can at times make it seem like the season will never end. Well, this spring was no exception. With almost two months of pure sunshine, cabin fever was not an issue for many anglers including my daughter Madelyn. This is a big year for her turning five. We have mapped out an exciting schedule together to pursue many first time trout for her on different water ways. I am enjoying the every moment of being a Dad, and trout bum at the same time. I hope it flows through her veins the same way it has mine for a majority of my life!

With the endless amount of warm days, Mother Nature had a big surprise in store for anglers with an early ice off on South Parks reservoirs. Opening in late March, the shoreline cruising trout are always a great transition from the river to keep you on your toes. I must say for this season, it has become an addiction. Known for its ability to grow trout faster than most still waters in the U.S., Antero Reservoir is growing the fattest trout I have ever seen. It is not uncommon to land silver bullets that are only 21 inches long, but scale at seven pounds. I can only imagine what these beasts will look like come summer when they are feeding on an endless supply of insects in addition to the multitude of football-shaped scuds. So far, this still water has produced some memorable days fishing and guiding that I will not soon forget. I find myself at times having to take a step back and realize “summer is still on the way.”

The biggest challenge this winter and spring was completing my next book because the weather and fishing was so good. I am happy to report that the project is complete, and in Dec 2009/Jan 2010 “Sight Fishing for Trout” Stackpole Books will hit stores with pages full of detailed info on hunting trout. I spent last summer pursuing Char in the Arctic Circle. This year’s travels are up to AK to fish the opening week on the Kwugake River with good friend John Barr. Then 10 days travel to Wyoming and Montana to visit some long awaiting trout.

To end the year I am going to hit a speaking tour for the promotion of the new book, and, of course, fish as I go in CA, CO, OH, UT, NC and PA. I am pumped to meet new anglers and rivers in areas I have yet to visit. As the quotation goes, “The only way to avoid hearing ‘you should have been here yesterday’ is to fish everyday.”

I wish you all success on your adventures in the great outdoors this year!

Tight Lines,

Landon Mayer

www.landonmayer.com
Colorado Springs, CO

Cloudveil athlete Landon Mayer’s first book is called How to Catch the Biggest Trout of Your Life. Watch for his second come next winter.

Jackson Hole will always be called home for my wife Heidi, our two girls Haley and Payton and myself so it was not unusual for us to find ourselves there over Christmas.

What a blast we had.

Heidi and I got to ski that great series of storms that produced five feet in five days. Thanks to Athlete Hamby, Heidi and I got the call that they were pulling the ropes on the lower faces and we had two laps of untracked. Thanks, Curt. We also taught our four-year-old to ski. By the end of our 10 days Haley was skiing off the Gondola. If you have children than may be you can understand how proud I was of her.

OK OK enough of that. I have been busy since January.

I have made three trips to Panama looking at starting a new lodge that would focas on the world class fishing Panama has to offer. This would be a multi-species, multi-tackle lodge. It is a good thing my Spanish is as good as it is … Otra Cervesa, por favor. Well, we will see how this all works out. The last trip I took the girls and we had a blast. And yes I did some fishing The Black Marlin bite was great as was the inshore fishing for Rooster fish and the many different snapper.

When I got back from the last trip to Panama, I went straight to Key West for the ESPN Mad Fin. This was my fourth year and I was determined to win. RT and I had great practice days. We put a plan together and won the 2009 Mad Fin. The shows will be airing on ESPN2 for the next 12 weeks on Sunday mornings.

I am in Flamingo Cay right now and got to fish with Fitzs and Dotty Cocker. This is one of the greatest couples you will ever find in the fishing world. They travel on quest, setting woman’s World Records on fly.

Last week we were able to set four new records for Dotty.:

Blacktip Shark:
I. 20 pound fish on 16 tippet
II. 32 pound fish on 20 tippet
III. 56 pound fish on 8 tippet

Lemon Shark:
IV. 105 pound fish on 12 tippet

I leave FC next week to rejoin my family in Crooked Island where we will spend the next month playing as a family. Then it will be back to JH around June 1.

Love life, Live long,

Carter

According to Fly Rod and Reel, Cloudveil athlete and long-time Jackson guide, Carter Andrews, is the de facto Godfather for anglers wanting to fish Crooked Island.

In our our little corner of the world, the fly fishing industry, there aren’t many places left to be discovered that will really ignite a spark. I say this tongue-in-cheek to a degree, as I have spent much of the past six plus months flying back and forth to this little chain of island in the south Pacific, you may have heard of them, Hawaii.

While recognized for decades as a destination for blue water species, shallow water or inshore fly anglers have – for the most part – written it off as a family vacation spot not worth the effort of packing a fly rod to. Well scratch that because this is going to quickly become a buzz for those looking for challenging fly fishing for species such as trevally, trigger and bonefish.

Yes, bonefish.

Bonefish are sometimes referred to as the best possible segue for freshwater fly anglers to catch the fever for saltwater fly fishing. However, often times bonefish are quickly left for more challenging species such as permit, tarpon and giant trevally and the reason is typically they are too easy and too small.

Well, Hawaii is about to change all of that.

Hawaiian bones are large on average, somewhere around 5-7 pounds, potentially larger, on average! Reference this against a place like Belize where they average to 2-3 pounds. Last couple of trips over have been riddled with weather issues to the tune of 25 mph winds constant for over a week and tough visibility but in the end, the smallest fish landed was 5 pounds and the largest was nearing 10, this doesn’t hold a candle to the whale sized ones that one will often see but not get a good shot at or be refused by, those are closer to 12-18 pounds and I promise this is being conservative.

Here, they are not easy either so the chase becomes much more of a game than just simply finding and putting a cast somewhere within 20 feet of them.  Fly long casts at bad angles to wind and hoping you hook one far enough from the edge of the flat to stop him before he/she runs you off the edge and takes at least your fly if not your whole line!

Come and enjoy when you get the chance, Oahu is the island of choice and do enjoy more than just the fishing, there is much to do.  More images here:  http://www.emeraldwateranglers.com/hawaii_photos.html

Cloudveil athlete Dave McCoy is the owner and head guide of Seattle-based Emerald Water Anglers, LLC.