Author: Chris Hansen

Is this the Final Fly Fishing Frontier?

 Are you out of fish to catch? What’s left on your fly fishing bucket list?  Steelhead, pike, striped bass?  These are pretty simple, you could probably catch all 3 on one trip without a boat if you planned it right.  How about things like tarpon, king salmon, muskie, sailfish, or other commonly pursued fly rod trophies?  These are a little tougher, but still easily accomplished with minimal resources and a little time.  What about marlin? Trevally?  Taimen? How about a tigerfish? These are the kinds of fish that we’re talking about!   Fish that really require a high level of...

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Recreational Tying with Peacock

There was a time when I tied flies a lot.  Almost every night in my smoky one room apartment you would find me drinking cheap beer and adding to my inexhaustible supply of flies.  There were, and still are, certain flies that I can’t ever seem to have enough of—things like trout and steelhead nymphs or smallmouth poppers are good examples of flies that even today I need to keep after.  But back then I worked at a fly shop, surrounded by the finest tying materials and hooks for most of my day.  Since tying materials are pretty cheap, it was easy enough for me to constantly augment my supply of fur, feathers and synthetics.  It was a pretty simple, yet enjoyable existence.  The fun of tying more tarpon flies than 100 guys could use in a 100 years.   I wish I had some pictures of the old apartment.  I’m sure that it resembled a cross between a homeless shelter and a tackle shop.  In fact one night a friend crashed on my floor, he complained the next morning that when he woke up he had rolled onto a pile of crankbaits. Somewhere along the way it appears that the smoky apartment has been replaced by a nice house, a wife and two kids have appeared, and the never ending 12 packs of cheap beer has been replaced by...

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How I Made a Muskie Famous

About a dozen years ago I got a call from a local photographer friend named Jules.  It seems his office was working on a new muskie book, and they needed a good sized muskie to take pictures of.  “Sure, I can catch you one.  When do you need it by?”  I’m thinking I’ll have a month or at least a week to produce.  “We have a shoot on Friday”.  This was on a Wednesday.  “Uh, OK…I’ll see what I can do.” On Thursday morning, Jules dropped off a huge cooler for me to use as a livewell, along with...

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Flappin’ for Smallies

  EVER FISH WITH A FLAPPER? No not that kind.  Not that it wouldn’t be fun, but I don’t think many fish would get caught.  Ever see someone set the hook while wearing heels?  It’s a disaster.   I’m talking about fishing with a Gambler Flappin’ Shad, or as I call it, “The Flapper”. It’s no secret that I enjoy catching fish in a variety of ways.  Much of my summer is spent chasing smallies on the rivers of Minnesota and Wisconsin, and there is no way I would rather catch them than with a fly rod.  On the other end of the smallmouth fishing spectrum for me is fishing with bait.  Not to say that I won’t fish with bait, but I have caught enough fish that I personally don’t need to catch one that ate a live minnow.  When I have a kid or beginner in the boat—different story—I want them to have their rod bent! So, fly fishing is at the top end of the smallie spectrum, bait is at the bottom.  But a lot of what I do falls in between.  Casting “chunk-and-wind-it-in” baits like spinnerbaits and crankbaits are very consistent producers, and don’t require much thought or effort to fish—pull one out of the box, tie it on, chunk and wind.  Try it, you’ll catch lots of fish [especially with a Storm “Sub-wart” crankbait, or with one of my...

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How to get the Smallies to Stay Hungry

The hotter the better.  We get our share of cold around here, so you’re not likely me to complain about it being too hot.  Besides, the hottest days on the water are usually great days for catching, especially on The River.  And it doesn’t get much hotter than Saturday.  So why the heck weren’t the smallies chompin’?  The water was at a good flow, and the clarity was just right, about 2 feet.  I suspect the fact that The River came down about 4 inches overnight had a lot to do with their funk.  For once I was glad to NOT be guiding, as it would have been quite a grind.  Oh I caught my share on crankbaits of course, and I missed a couple of really nice ones on a Dahlberg Diver.  The most consistent producer for me though was my favorite baitfish imitation, the Stay Hungry Streamer.  I got a half dozen or so on it, and it definitely out produced a couple of different craw patterns I tried. I was using an eight weight rod with a sink tip line, and a short heavy leader with a 10 lb. tippet.  When using a sink tip line on The River, realize and keep in mind that you are not trying to catch fish that are on the bank.  And I think it is safe to say that if you...

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