About the Rave

This blog is meant to be an open forum, so please let us know what you think. If you’ve got thoughts, opinions or ideas for stories that we should cover, lay them out there. Or if you think we’re missing the mark, tell us, we’ve got thick skin. Most of all, we hope you enjoy seeing what we’re up to and get inspired to go take your own adventure soon.

Recent Posts


RSS
Bookmark and Share

Have something to
rave about?

CostaDelMar.com

Subscribe to The Rave



Archive for January, 2011

Whip me, tie me up and take me out…to the movies

Friday, January 28th, 2011

On The Road, 23 States, United States—

THE STORY:

Twenty-tree states, ten fly fishing films and four years of effort go into the 2011 Fly Fishing Film Tour, a series of short films and trailers designed to energize anyone who plies the long rod. If the tour isn’t coming to your state, you can host an independent showing and prove to the locals that you have the power to control their happiness.  

 Following the genre of the first surf films, cheers, hoots and “Oh my gosh’s” from the audience ramps up the attitude as bugs get lunched, crabs get crunched and fish get munched in dark, sketchy, low budget theatres from Florida to California. Fisheries you’ve heard about, read about, wanted to fish, and at some time know you’re going to fish whether you have to sell your car and quit your job to do it are exposed through the eye of the angler and filmmaker, thus assuring you’re going to sleep poorly for the next night or two unless you go fishing.

Along with each film is a message—whether that’s conservation, commitment, love for the sport or the effects of man on a resource—so you come out of the theatre thinking back on each film and critiquing its direction. And when was the last time you did that after an evening of stale popcorn and Hollywood investment?

THE ADVENTURE:

Every year for the last four years at the Denver, Colorado Fly Tackle Dealer Show, The Drake Magazine hosts an evening of new fly fishing films produced by independent filmmakers from around the globe. The best of these films–designed to enlighten anglers of all abilities and share the core enjoyment of fly fishing—are then selected to comprise the hour and thirty minute or so traveling stokefest known as the Fly Fishing Film Tour.

 The submitted films can be any length under 20 minutes: pick a location, fish species, conservation method, travel destination or band of hero’s for their subjects, but must express the inherent soul of the sport of fly fishing while supporting local conservation efforts. Through the hoots from the audience and the atmosphere of the films, you’ll be taken on some of the best rides to touch a swath of fur and feathers.

 Both freshwater and saltwater genres are covered in the evening, giving the audience a fresh perspective on what they know and a new angle on what they’ve always wanted to do. From dreaming of shunning the 9 to 5 for the life of a trout bum to selling everything for a summer on the Mexico coast, you’ll get the filmmaker’s perspective on the breath of a fishery and the nuances of how the fish, culture and surroundings can reach out and touch your soul.

THE PLAYERS:

The Drake Magazine:

Pretty much a spirit of the sport rag that carries the soul of man, fish and water to the masses, although along its own path of most resistance. The Drake is a quarterly compilation of essays, snippets, commentary and all-out finger pointing at the best and worst of the industry, sport and general knuckleheads who fish—so don’t take things too seriously or you’ll get your feelings hurt.

 The brainchild of Tom Bie, The Drake has a huge following of hardcore fly fishing nonconformists and ambiguous nincompoops, but some of the best outdoor writing and photography in the country. After some thought on the subject of independent filmmaking and a dozen or so microbrews, Bie invested in the Fly Fishing Film Tour that now carries The Drake name.

 The Films:

Oile—Motive Fishing’s documentary on four fish bums traveling through Mexico in a vegetable-oil fueled pick-up truck as they seek the best fishing the country has to offer.

 Heart of the Marsh—Travel through the Louisiana marshlands post BP oil spill and witness firsthand how the redfish populations have flourished in this production from Waterline Media.

 Itu’s Bones—From the freaky underwater scenes on the bonefish cam to the breathtaking South Pacific scenery, follow a commercial bonefishermen’s lifestyle change from harvester to fishing guide in this moving film from On The Fly Productions

 The Waters of Greenstone—Childhood friends from Tennessee sell everything they own, combine all their money and travel to New Zealand to chase the legends of brown trout over 10 pounds. Backpacking into the wilderness they attempt to scale New Zealand’s highest mountain, catch their biggest trout and drink all the beer within throwing distance in this Gambit stone Production.

  Musky Country—Zero2Hero—Proof that Wisconsin has more to offer than a winning football team and the Violent Femmes, follow the Muskie brotherhood as they case the summer season on fly. This production by Third Year Fly Fisher utilizes moving scenery as they hack the weed beds with flies that cast like a small duck.

 Speed, Muscle and Teeth—Watch a 300 pound mako dump a reel in this LDR Media film about Californian Conway Bowman and his passion for the smell of ladled blood and guts, fish carcasses and the hang time of man in the gray flannel suit.

 Wisconsin Smallies and Bluewater—A pair of films from Beattie Outdoors that examine the saneness that is fishing smallmouth bass on fly and the craziness behind chasing billfish in Mexico with fly gear. Go small boating and then push 100 miles offshore, or whatever it takes to get the bite.

 Satori—The latest from permit chase from the Key West boys at WorldANGLING features a new slant on a fishery under pressure from above and below. Spot the fish, make the cast, and try not to use profanity.

 Black Tailed Devils—Another Key West permit chase, this film from 406 productions has more tail waving than the first 20 rows at a Kenny Chesney concert. Elusive, frustrating, titillating and queer—you know everything that goes into chasing permit on fly.

 Low and Clear—The first 20 minutes from Finback Films’ feature documentary about two old friends who get back together to chase fish in the Canadian wilderness only to learn there’s plenty to be grumpy about. Will the fishing mend the friendship or will the friends spend all their time mending lines?

Posted in Fly Fishing Film Tour | No Comments »

Fishery Rebirth

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

Karluk River, Kodiak Island, Alaska–

THE STORY:

Two weeks of unlimited access to the bush planes allow a four-man team to ply the waters of the Karluk River (along with the Dog Salmon River and several others) while trying not to run dry of the beer sponsor’s product supply or become a ten inch column in the local newspaper under the headline: Plane in ditch, six dead.

Following a plan of daily fly in fishing where you pick the spot and hope the conditions allow the plane to land, experience one of the greatest runs of wild steelhead on the North American continent and the rebirth of a salmon fishery that was almost completely wiped out by profit and greed. Take two weeks in October, when bad weather can march in with an attitude and 15 minutes notice and walk the stone bottom of the Karluk to find what preservation, time and nature can do to rebuild a fish population.

Will the anglers and camera crew survive the cold that digs for bones when the sun hits the horizon, a regular fog that prevents the airplane from dropping daily rations of beer and a population of brown bears that feel the river is their beat? Only nature and the inhabitants of the Emerald Isle know for sure.

 THE ADVENTURE:

Only 5000 years ago the island of Kodiak, Alaska was covered with billions of pounds of frozen water (think glaciers) that molded the rocky landscape like Playdoh and forged valleys with their melt-off. Today, the second largest island of the United States after the Big Island of Hawaii, remains a brutal artic environment where the life expectancy of a sea lion swimming in the harbor is about six minutes when the orcas are in town.

 In the early 1900’s, the seaside town of Kodiak was home to one of the largest salmon fisheries in Alaska and supported by the Karluk River then considered the best salmon river in the world. In a historic example of Mother Nature revolting, The Standard Oil Company and most of the king crab and salmon fishing fleets were destroyed by a 30-foot tsunami that struck Kodiak in 1964. 

Come summer, Kodiak (nicknamed the “Emerald Isle”) is green with the envy (literally) of serious salmon and steelhead fishermen across the globe. In fact, there are more shades of green across the landscape than you’ll find in a 200 count box of Crayola crayons, while through the green snakes rivers of azure—the most famous of which, the Karluk, hosts all five salmon species, a historic sockeye run and wild steelheads hell-bent to find a mate, spawn and then return to the Eastern Pacific.

Nestled among wild flowers that are tall as a mountain goat, the Karluk River winds a playful 22 mile path from Karluk Lake to the Karluk Lagoon, but getting to the shallow waters of the Karluk aren’t as easy as pulling off the side of a mountain road. First off, there are no roads. And parking spots are limited for the DeHavilland Beaver and Cessna 206 that provide the only access to these remote areas of the river. Then again, let’s not forget the bears.

Long stretches of shallow water and massive runs of salmon add up to one of the largest brown bear populations on the planet, one that draws bear hunters as well as bear watchers, bear carvers, bear artists and bear buddies, much to the chagrin of the brown bears. To say the bears take a pissy view of humans invading their territory is like saying Harry S.Truman liked parks.

THE PLAYERS:

Conway Bowman: One of those guys who looks at the water with his head tilted to the side, Conway is well-known in fly fishing circles as a San Diego, California, fishing guide who likes to target sharks—more specifically, snaggle-toothed mako sharks. He’s dialed in on the California shark on fly gig, and now wants to see what all the hullabaloo is about steelhead, and while he’s at it, maybe take a shot or two at Alaska’s fully agro salmon shark population.

 Kirk Deeter: Extreme adventure junkie Kirk Deeter likes to take his fishing to a new level, one he shares with readers in the Field and Stream fly fishing blog Fly Talk. A resident of Pine, Colorado, Deeter has shunned conventional success for the poverty of outdoor writing and the opportunity to fish whenever and wherever he wants, while most times getting someone else to pay for it. Which begs the question, “What’s wrong with that life?”

 Chris Santella: A former advertising and marketing consultant, Santella opted for the low-stress life of a fly fisherman/writer/hack golfer, a philosophy he’s been able to make a profit off by sharing his exploits with the worker bees who live vicariously through his words. The author of eight books (mostly about great places in the world to visit), Santella travels well, lives off publishing speculation and fishes like a wild man.

 Trent Deeter: Nine years of guiding in Alaska on the back of three years as a guide in Montana pretty much qualify you as a trout bum extraordinaire. As head fishing guide at Kodiak Legends Lodge, Trent  pretty much has the Karluk and the other Kodiak Island rivers down pat, and a good feel for what it takes to make the fish lunch a bug.

Posted in Kodiak Island Expedition | No Comments »

Paradise Lost

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

Aitutaki, Southern Cook Islands

THE STORY:

On a tropical island, you live off the land and water, that is, unless you can make your home a popular tourism and fishing destination. And that’s where Itu (pronounced E-2) Davey and his fly fishing epiphany came to light.

For years, fishing on the island of Aitutaki, was a commercial operation focusing on providing nourishment for the entire island. They netted the shallows as well as the deeper water, then someone explained to the 16-year old net fisherman that the large bonefish that populate the flats are a major attraction to anglers all over the globe. With consistent prodding from Carl McNeil and his occasional travel/fishing friend Bob Wyatt, they convinced Itu to pick up a fly rod and begin casting while intermittently pointing out bonefish to Bob and Carl who would guide him in the intricacies of getting a grey ghost to pin a fly to the sand.

Seven years later, Itu and his brothers are some of the bonefish’s biggest advocates as they try to transform generations of net fishermen into fly fishermen and boost the island’s tourism economy by proving that bonefish are worth considerably more alive. They lead by example, and by proving to everyone that the island of Aitutaki will not always be a paradise if you don’t protect the locals.

 THE ADVENTURE:

Life shifts into low gear when you live on an 18 kilometer rock in the middle of the South Pacific. Halfway between New Zealand, French Polynesia and American Samoa lies the tropical island of Aitutaki, in the Southern Cook Islands where fertile volcanic soil bears tropical fruit and vegetables year-round, and the ocean’s bounty is just a short boat ride from the palm-lined white sand beaches.

The 15 island group known as the Cook Islands are spread across 2.2 million square kilometers of ocean, which means when you’re out there, you’re really out there. Hopefully you like canned meats and the local version of kava known as bush beer, made from fermenting oranges and yeast. On the triangular-shaped island of Aitutaki (population 2,000), the biggest threats are flying cocoanuts, eating too much paw-paw fruit and falling asleep on a boat and drifting out to sea never to be seen again.    

Surrounding Aitutaki is a massive coral reef, outside of which the water drops to 5,000 feet where wahoo and other ocean pelagics Ginsu the native reef fish population. Inside the reef lies the turquoise waters and massive shallow (and thus wadeable) sand flats of the island’s central lagoon—a place where it’s not uncommon to stop in your tracks and think, “With the exception of Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft: Tomb Raiders, this is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”   

While Aitutaki is known as the place Captain Bligh and his crew on the “Bounty” landed, visited, never wanted to leave and later mutinied after being forcibly returned to sea, it’s also home to some of the largest bonefish on the planet. Big bonefish, many well over 10-pounds–the kind of fish that make serious anglers quit their jobs and sell all their property to chase in the modern-day version of a mutiny.              

The surrounding beaches, reefs and small islands of Aitutaki are steeped in tropical paradise, as long as your temperament abides a lack of flush toilets, running water and washing machines. Getting there is half the fun, but stepping off your plane the sand runway and single airport/customs building will immediately set the tone.

THE PLAYERS:

Itu Davey:  Itu and his younger twin brother built their reputation as outstanding fishermen on Aitutaki. By the age of 16, Itu was known as one of the best fishermen on the island, and in particular for his ability to catch bonefish—big double digit bonefish, the kind you’d want to put on the hood of your car and drive through town.

There were days when Itu would catch hundreds of bonefish. Lots of days. The inherent problem was that Itu was using a gill net to catch his bonefish which eventually went to market and ended up as a plate of fish cakes and mangos.

Itu caught bonefish every day he went out. Fish up to 20 pounds. Fish that made Itu proud of his heritage and fishing ability, that is, until the bonefish population started to dwindle.   

Carl (Bumcast) McNeil: A Jack of all trades, McNeil is one of those guys who works hard at making his hobby of fly fishing produce enough profit that he can travel well and fish even better. Holding a casting instructor certification from the  Fly Fishing Federation allows McNeil to believe he can mold commercial fishermen into top notch fishing guides, while at the same time running a small independent production company called On The Fly which specializes in fly fishing films.

Jeanie Ackley: The brains behind all On The Fly productions, camera lens, editing and basically anything that has to do with the water or underwater photography, Jeanie is also married to Carl which means she also has a flair for adventure. Together, the two hope to convince the commercial fishermen of Aitutaki that a little instruction and a lot of knowledge can reshape an economy while protecting a resource.

Posted in Cook Islands Expedition | No Comments »

Epiphany in the key of P…

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

The Florida Peninsula, Southern United States–

 THE STORY:

Donations from Costa and a four-year commitment to Project Permit from Bonefish and Tarpon Trust will put 6,000 spaghetti tags in the hands of Florida’s most talented, experienced and under-financed fishing guides. It’s up to these professional fishermen to slow down the assembly line fish haul of their clientele to measure, weigh and tag permit caught in Florida waters, the theory being that through numbers the feeding habits of the local bull shark and Goliath grouper populations can be out-flanked so that enough permit survive for recapture.

 By comparing catch and recapture data, BTT, the FWC and Florida fishing guides can learn more about permit movements in Florida waters, hopefully leading to new data that will provide insight into the overall Florida permit population. Then everyone can use this data to formulate the fisheries management rules that will protect the species and improve permit populations for future generations.    

All this means the “Holy Grail” of fly fishing will always be out there, and whether you use fly, spin or plug tackle you get to fish for permit with the potential to catch one, even if your abilities considerably decrease the odds (Big Tip: Costa 580 lenses in Sunrise or Copper Mirror will help you here).

THE ADVENTURE:

The Florida Keys have always been Ground Zero for permit (at least in the United States), yet even though the economy of the entire island chain is based on tourism, much of which is fishing related, the people who depend on this fish really know very little about them. Once you leave the Keys and travel up either coast of the Florida peninsula, you’ll find less of an Island attitude and more tropical coastline than a small Central American country. And in the bordering waters…even more permit.

 From Sebastian Inlet on Florida’s East Coast to Ft. Myers on the West Coast, permit are snapping rods and breaking hearts off the wrecks, reefs and beaches, and no one has any idea where these fish come from or go when not in town. When you don’t know any of the habits of a species, it’s difficult to estimate the overall health of a population, much less who is impacting their numbers and how. 

 With little knowledge comes even less protection, which is why Florida’s indigenous (possibly) permit population has limited regulation and protection from those wanting to exploit the culinary side of a fish that’s worth way more alive than covered with tartar sauce and flipped on a bun. Yet, how do you monitor a fish population that roams from the Gulf of Mexico through the Florida Keys and along the Atlantic Coast? That’s where the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust come into play.

 The brainchild of a handful of hardcore anglers wanting to protect the future of fish that have doled up an equal serving of joy, pain and humility, the board members of the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust read like a Who’s Who of angling legends. But this isn’t about ego or ability, it’s about knowledge, or a general lack thereof. What started as a organization designed to collect data on tarpon and bonefish and hopefully lead to the protection of the species from commercial and recreational exploitation has morphed into one of the leading scientific data collection groups in Florida marine fisheries (and in particular those of tarpon and bonefish).

 Their willingness to take on permit, a fish not in their namesake title, yet like the bonefish and tarpon one of the most coveted species on the flats and the third member of the Flats Slam, has proven to be an invaluable link to the resources and the credibility of the effort to learn more about a fish with twice the number of nostrils (four) as eyes and a penchant for never letting the fat lady sing until literally in an angler’s grasp.

THE PLAYERS:

Bonefish and Tarpon Trust (BTT):

A unique combination of anglers, fishing guides and scientists whose core involvement are dedicated to research and dissemination of the behaviors, life cycles and overall conditions of the populations of bonefish, tarpon and permit, BTT is quickly becoming the wealth of fishery knowledge on the “Big Three” of saltwater light tackle and fly fishing. The majority of members work voluntarily to protect and preserve the fisheries you spend sleepless nights remembering and willing to do anything to experience.

 Having spent more than $1 million on research, this group of fervent fishermen have transformed a passion into a fishery—one that is supported by scientific research and a vocal army with the single goal of protecting, monitoring and promoting healthy populations of these premier gamefish. So why aren’t you a member yet?

 Florida’s Fishing Guides:

From Capt. Crusty to the Capt. Newbie every Florida fishing guide knows a single permit can make the day a success. But not every fishing guide has the knowledge to locate permit on a regular basis, and most that do target permit for their clients aren’t real keen on sharing the locations where they regularly find fish to the point that a GPS app on your cell phone will get you and your high-tech electronics an unexpected swimming lesson. Combine that with competition for business, reputation and time on the water, and you have the perfect group to strong-arm into adding some extra jewelry to the local permit population.

 Fishing guides are only as good as their last day on the water, so when you live in a world of a daily performance-based clientele you learn over time that the fish you depend on to make your day successful are more valuable alive than dead. Release a fish today, and you can catch it again in the coming weeks, and if someone 60 miles away catches it four months later, you know more about the habits of the fish that make your living than you did the year prior. And when you fish for a living, knowledge is more often the key to success than making things up.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC):

The regulating body of fisheries within the Sunshine State, the FWC is tasked with enacting and enforcing the rules and regulations within state waters. Tops on their list of jobs descriptions is protection of the resource and creating regulations that ensure the continuation of the species and future fishing opportunities.

 A hodgepodge of scientific, administrative and law enforcement bodies who have opted for public service and dedication to the resource over financial solvency, the members of the FWC are the state’s last line of defense against exploitation, whether that comes from commercial, recreational or the long list of profit-motivated sectors. There is no time for humor when you’re trying to ensure the existence of a species, and it’s even easier to promote, enact and enforce these protections when you have the scientific data to back them up.

Posted in Project Permit | No Comments »

Into the Arctic

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

Kamchatka, Eastern Siberia, Russia—

THE STORY:

Six Class 5 experienced kayakers work their ways from river to coast braving extreme conditions, crazy rapids and runs, a hungry native bear population and the mechanical soundness of aged helicopters to study and document the native salmon populations. Scientists estimate that between 1/6 and ¼ of the entire Pacific salmon population spawns on the Kamchatka peninsula, and in some areas you can cross the river by literally walking across the backs of fish.

With no dams or habitat destruction to threaten the salmon, the burden has turned to man—in essence, poachers looking for salmon eggs to support the Russian caviar industry. Between the Russian Mafia, well-financed and outfitted poachers and individuals looking to make enough money in three months to cover their bills for the rest of the year, the poachers play a game of cat-and-mouse with the limited law enforcement charged with protecting the fish stocks.

Join our party through thirty-three hours of transit as they hump 150-pounds of freeze-dried food, six kayaks all the gear and two massive camera bags through the Kamchatka wilderness. You’ll be shocked, awed and horrified at what happens next.

 THE ADVENTURE:

Kamchatka sounds more like a Russian greeting than some of the most desolate arctic tundra on the face of the planet. Work your way up the western U.S. coastline and into Alaska, when you hit Kodiak, turn left and if the currents of the Bering Sea don’t throw you off course, you should hit the leaf-like 600 mile long Kamchatka Peninsula.

Once forcibly depopulated to become a major military outpost during the Cold War, Kamchatka was reopened to the population in 1989, and to tourism in 1990, which is why there is less than one person for every kilometer on the peninsula, most of which live in the capital city of Petroplavosk. Once you are outside the city, it’s you, 114 active Holocene volcanoes, wolverines that don’t like hats and nine major river systems, which is why kayaking is the best form of transportation…once the helicopter lands.   

There’s only one major road through the Kamchatka Mountains, if you could call it a road, so Cold War era military helicopters are utilized to transport the kayaks and gear deep into the arctic tundra, where the plan is to be the first humans to kayak the rivers…ever. Along the way are Class 5 Rapids and the opportunity to name a run. Good options that come to mind are: Gifford’s Broke Neck Pass; Hazboun’s Skull Cracker; or Smith’s Drowning Pool. Break a leg here and there’s no Walk-In medical care. Just crawl your way to shore and wait for the helicopter to get there, hopefully without becoming bear scat.

Did I mention the bears? Kamchatka is home to one of the densest brown bear populations in the world, with footprints, scat and sign on literally every shoreline. Any time you find bears in these concentrations you also find fish—in this case native populations of rainbow trout, dolly varden, pink and sockeye salmon and Pacific salmon that outnumber the humans 100,000 to one.

THE PLAYERS:

Robert Bart        30  Hood River, OR   Educator 

Jay Gifford         30  Hood River, OR   PR, Fundraising Kayaker

Jeff Hazboun      32  Corvallis, OR       Biologist             Kayaker

Shane Robinson 36  Seattle, WA       Cameraman/Legal Kayaker

Bryan Smith       33  Squamish, BC       Director             Kayaker

Ethan Smith       28   Portland, OR         Web Geek       Kayaker

Posted in Kamchatka Expedition | No Comments »