I am honored to be able to interview / Q&A with my friend, Michael Fowlkes who helped compile and direct this wonderful 12-part documentary on the History of Sportfishing. It will all take place at the Santa Monica Patagonia location of 3rd street promenade. We will screen episode twelve which focuses on conservation and features footage of Yvon Chouinard. Hope to see ya all there –Al Q
I am so sorry to bring terrible news to this blog, but last Monday night my good friend and fly tying mentor, Bob Popovics was hit by a drunk driver in front of Klees Sports Bar in Seaside Heights. He was was helicoptered to the trauma center Monday night. He is currently in the ICU and is heavily sedated. He has had several operations. They removed his spleen. Diaphragm was pushed up into chest, so they worked on that. Understandably, he has some lung issues. Broken left elbow. Broken nose, eyes blackened and swollen. Opened eyes briefly yesterday, was able to wiggle toes. Looks like a long road ahead. Wishing only positive vibes to him and his family! Hold on brother…
–Al Q
I am going to start to sell some cool vintage and fun, fishing gear from my collection. I dig the old fly and fishing gear of the past. Please check out a few of the new items I just put up for sale. I will continually try to update the store, so keep an eye out. I hope some of these items find a new home or a fishing collector where they will be appreciated. Cheers – Al Q
Click here: THE STORE
Ok, I have to admit that I did had a premonition this morning. There were a few good reports up and down the coast that fish wearing pajamas were swimming in the local surf. It felt right. The tide on the beach looked good with a .6 ft swell off a full moon. I set my alarm at 5:30am to take advantage of the first half hour of early light, maybe I get lucky? If it was going to happen it was going to be at low light. I was solo, no one out there except yours truly. Back at the parking lot, my friend Tony was jamming on his trumpet as the sun began to rise out over the eastern horizon, he could be heard from a distance. Being on the sand early in the morning always makes me happy. I made a few exploratory casts and decided to move. The water had some salad and I needed to find a cleaner stretch. As the sounds of Tony’s jazzy trumpet echoed across the distant sand, I made a long cast just behind the oncoming set of waves and on the third crank of the reel handle, it was hammered violently and came to a halt. At first thought I said maybe its a big halibut, but after the fish took off I realized it was not a halibut. The beauty of fishing the surf is always that unknown, that anticipation of what it might be? So I am hooked up as the sun is rising, listening to a live jazz soundtrack and it feeling like I’m in a Fellinni movie. After a quick battle the fish was slid onto the wet sand, photographed and released unharmed. What made it even more special was I landed this fish on my dad’s old fiberglass fenwick spinning rod! A classic! I miss fishing with him. Moral of this story is I rallied to fish even though the odds were never in my favor. Stripers are routinely caught up and down our coastline but actually targeting and catching them is built on perseverance, luck and good karma. I used the standard LuckyCraft 110 minnow, I usually customize them by replacing the factory trebles with red EagleClaw #4s and use only a front and rear hook, no middle hook. I used 15# Cortland braided line with a top shot of 15# Maxima mono line. Retrieve was a slow roll. Karma was good, and stoke was high! stay with it –Al Q
The History of Sportfishing takes the audience on an intriguing journey through the sport’s origins, explores periods of rapid research and development, features key figures in its history, and highlights the lessons learned from both successes and failures along the way. This in depth, 12-part series is the vision of its director and creator, Michael Fowlkes. I am honored to call Michael a friend and appreciate him taking on this daunting task of encapsulating The History of Sportfishing into 12 one-hour episodes…this series will serve as a record to the many achievements and innovations this sport has evolved from and to; it will serve generations and go down as a true classic!
Click here to subscribe!
-Al Q
For more info please CLICK HERE!
Please help support my buddy Conway’s San Diego chapter of Cast Hope this August 24th in San Diego.
This should be a fun camp with my buddy Luong Tam from Tenuki Tenkara – Al Q
Click here to register: Join the 4th Annual Eastern Sierra Tenkara Boot Camp in Bishop, CA!
This one-day event offers seminars, clinics, and workshops for all skill levels. Enhance your skills and connect with fellow fishers in the beautiful Eastern Sierra.
In addition to last year, we have:
1. A visiting Tenkara instructor from SC, Amanda Hoffner, the world’s first International Tenkara woman instructor.
2. Returning speaker Frank Burr, the Golden Trout Dude, a golden trout expert.
What You Can Learn:
1- Golden Trout Presentation: Gain insights into the golden trout from expert Frank Burr.
2- Ask Fred Rowe, An expert fly fishing instructor for the Eastern Sierra waters.
3- Mastering Fly Fishing with Tenkara Rod – Video presentation, Luong Tam
Casting Techniques: Improve your casting skills through a detailed video seminar and hands-on clinic.
Fly Presentations: Learn effective fly presentation techniques for better fishing.
Small Stream Strategies: Discover strategies for fishing in small streams.
Landing Big Fish: Master the techniques for landing larger fish.
And more…
4- Hands-on Casting: Participate in hands-on casting sessions.
5- Casting Tournament: Test your skills in a casting tournament.
6- Bring your vise if you are interested in tying
Note: Lunch included
Date: Saturday, September 28, 2024
Location: Fairground, Bishop, CA
This is a small Simms chest pack great for the surf or stream, Size: 12 inches tall, 13 inches wide and 5 inches deep. It is slighty used but in very good condition, all the zippers work and its pretty clean. Asking $40? This post will come down if someone wants it? Please email me at love2flyfishmedia@gmail.com if you are interested so we cna share info? If you are interested I take Venmo…and can ship it to you. (price doesn’t include shipping)
Cheers
Al
Me and a bunch of fishing buddies decided to check out Blue Bonefish Lodge in Ambergris Caye, Belize this past June. It’s run by our friend, Chris Leeman, his wife his dad and mom and his extended family. Chris was a guide up in Alaska for around 9 seasons working at two top lodges, The Rainbow River Lodge and The Illiama River Lodge. It was there he learned the hospitality business prior to purchasing a piece of property of his own in Belize with his family. His life-long dream was to someday own and operate a fly fishing lodge and low and behold his dream came true.
My guys unanimously agree that Chris’s friendly staff hit it out of the park, they were all well trained, hospital and his guides knew how to find fish. The accomadations were first class. We all had an amazing week of fishing and caught lots of species. Many shots each day at permit, tarpon and bonefish. There were many diverse areas to fish each day. Our group of ten anglers put 18 permit on the board for the week, not too bad, especially since a few of our anglers were new to flats fishing game.
We were ready to rumble. The flies of choice for the smaller permit and bonefish were tan mantis shrimp or EP spawning shrimp. Tarpon ate EP peanut butter streamers in black/purple, chartreuse/white, rabbit toads and glass minnow flies. The bigger permit preferred crabs like Bauer crabs, ragheads and small floating sargasso crabs. The food at the lodge was superb. A great trip, one I would definitely do again, hopefully next year? – Al Q
flies, sand & surf 