Lagniappe

Buy Local

By TB

Buy Local

As we embarked on our “River Ramble” tour of the TU Top 100 Trout Streams we vowed to immerse ourselves in each community we visited.   Part of that process was to always “Buy Local” as our friends at Simms put it.  To that end, we always frequented the local fly shops, the local grocery stores, the local breweries, local restaurants, the local music scene and so on.   We always tried to avoid the “chain” businesses.  Nothing wrong with the chains and big box stores, but we wanted to support the local communities wherever we could.  While there are numerous highlights of this perspective on our journey, here are a few that stand out so far.

Yeti

Our hometown is Austin, TX so Yeti was a natural to handle our cooler needs.  We’re traveling with a 30qt “Hopper” which has saved us on numerous occasions.  Forget the fact that its kept our beer, sodas and water ice cold along the way…. we’ve had a couple of refrigerator breakdowns in the SaraLinda which caused us to make the Yeti our primary frige.   Many thanks to the Texas Apple team who gave us a going away gift certificate that led to our Yeti purchase.

Simms

Our second hometown is Bozeman, MT, headquarters for Simms Fishing Products.   Simms is a quality company making the best waders, boots, jackets and other gear to keep you “dry, comfortable and protected from the elements – no matter what the conditions”.  Barb and I both wear their waders and boots and given how much we’re fishing (over 135 days so far this year), they’ve held up incredibly well.  They also are the sole wader manufacturer in the US…. not just a local company, but local waders too!

Local Fly Shops

I really want to give a big shoutout to all the fly shops we’ve visited so far (see full list at end of post).  It started at Unicoi Outfitters in Helen (GA) and most recently, the Bighorn Trout Shop in Ft. Smith (MT).   Nothing can replace the local knowledge these shops have concerning safety on the rivers, the best spots to fish that match your abilities and what flies you’ll need to catch fish.  They also employ great guides that provide memorable trips on the local waters.

What has impressed us most has been the feeling of community and even family in these shops.   Of course you come in and tell fish stories after a day on the water.  But we were also invited to local TU dinners; into shop owner’s homes for drinks, dinner and more fish stories; told of numerous “Nunya” streams to fish; and gone out to local breweries with shop staff and guides.   These are local folks with a passion for fly fishing, their local fisheries and their local communities.  Of course, we want to support them at every stop along our ramble.

Straub Beer

We’ve had so much fun asking guides and shop owners what their favorite local beers are.  I think we’ve tried every recommendation and more along the way.  There are so many we could call out but so far, one stands out in particular, Straub Beer in St. Mary, PA.  Since 1872 Straub has been brewing the finest beers and has been designated an American Legacy Brewery.

We first encountered Straub in Slate Run PA.  We had the pleasure of meeting a member of the Straub family at the Slate Run Tackle Shop.  Later on, we were invited to dinner at Tom and Deb Finkbiner’s place and when we opened the fridge, every single type of Straub Beer was there…. and yes, I sampled them all.   Awesome beers!  Furthermore, Straub is a major supporter of fly fishing and in particular, the on-going efforts establishing Pine Creek as a world class trout stream.  Given the beautiful brown trout we caught (and released) there, they are well on their way.

Dublin General Store

When we pulled into Irons RV Campground in Michigan, we asked where the nearest grocery store was.  I’d done a little research and found about 30 miles away was an IGA.  However, our campground host said we had to go to the Dublin General Store.  OK… wanting to stay true to “Buy Local” we took the 15 minute drive to the store, sitting pretty much in the middle of nowhere and were blown away.

It’s been in operation for 81 years and if there is one thing its know for, its jerky.  What caught our attention was summer sausage infused with morel mushrooms…. WOW!  And it didn’t stop there.  We found gourmet cheeses, a full service grocery store, a full meat market, a phenomenal beer selection and more.   Half of the store is devoted to food and the other  was essentially a hardware store.  What we learned from some of the other shoppers was that the store is a destination for many in Michigan.  One couple indicated they came up each year specifically to buy jerky, summer sausage and meats.

There are many more we could have mentioned, but to just give you some “local” flavor, these stood out.  We are excited as we continue our ramble to discover even more of these local gems along the way.

Cheers!

Local Fly Shops We’ve Visited and Supported (so far in 2016)

Unicoi Outfitters; Helen GA

Blue Ridge Fly Fishing; Blue Ridge GA

Brookings Cashiers Village Anglers; Cashiers NC

Hookers Fly Shop; Sylva NC

Tuckaseegee Fly Shop; Bryson City NC

Davidson River Outfitters; Brevard NC

Hunter Banks Fly Fishing; Asheville NC

Four Seasons Outfitters; Richwood WV

Backwater Angler; Parkton MD

TCO Fly Fishing; Boiling Springs PA

UpCountry Sportfishing; Pine Meadow CT

Housatonic River Outfitters; Cornwall Bridge CT

Hungry Trout Fly Shop; Wilmington NY

Ken Tutalo’s Baxter House; Roscoe NY

Slate Run Tackle Shop; Slate Run PA

Kettle Creek Tackle Shop; Renovo PA

TCO Fly Fishing; State College PA

Savage River Outfitters; Swanton MD

Old Au Sable Fly Shop; Grayling MI

Père Marquette River Lodge; Baldwin MI

Bighorn Trout Shop; Ft. Smith MT

Bighorn Blast

By TB

Our time in the Bighorn River area near Fort Smith MT was an absolute blast.  We toured the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, sampled local food, stayed in a campground of nothing but fly fishermen and had an epic fishing time on the Bighorn River.  Our trip with Merritt Harris of Bighorn Trout Shop was beyond amazing.  Big, wild brown and rainbow trout were in every run, riffle and pool.  We sampled indian fry bread at our usual stop near the Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument.   Cottonwood Camp served as our basecamp for our time in the area.  It was a stone’s throw from the Bighorn so each evening we’d fish until we couldn’t see our flies anymore.  Then we’d throw a streamer hoping to feel one more tug before heading back to the SaraLinda.  We hope you enjoy the short music video of highlights of our trip.  For now, we are on to Bozeman MT and the Gallatin River.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Michigan, fishing the “Fab Five“.  We also had a great time with family camping at Holland Beach and at Hartwick Pines State Campground.   The “Trout Town” of Grayling was a treat from awesome fly shops like the Old Au Sable Fly Shop to great food at Spikes Keg O’Nails and Goodale Bakery.

Fishing the 4 TU Top 100 streams, theAu Sable, Manistee, Little Manistee and Pere Marquette as well as the Pine was a real treat.  We caught (and released of course) dozens of little brookies and a handful of really nice sized browns.  While we missed the “hex hatch”, we fished dries and twitched/stripped streamers to lure the fish to our nets.

Please enjoy this tribute to our time in “Pure Michigan”.  We’re now rambling on to points West.

What makes a “Top Trout Town”?  In 2009, Forbes Magazine published its list titled “North America’s Top 10 Trout-Fishing Towns“.   The author admitted that it was totally subjective but listed out 10 communities rich with trout fishing opportunities.  Fly Rod & Reel published its list of the “Top 10 Trout Towns” with some criteria: Pitfalls, Big Draws, Best Eats, After Hours, Kick Start with Caffeine, and Kicking the Dirt.  A book has even been written about the subject by Bob Mallard, “25 Best Towns Fly Fishing for Trout“.  As we travel around on our River Ramble, we are visiting many of the towns in these publications and more.   Of course, we are finding our own criteria for our own personal “Top” list, including important characteristics like:  local watering holes, best local beer, great local coffee, unique local eats, fly fishing economic benefit to the community, best live music, etc…  We’ll share more on all of these along the way and will likely be changing our minds along the way as we visit more and more of these locales.

To date, we’ve visited trout towns that are on most “Top” lists including:  Asheville, NC; Roscoe, NY; State College, PA; and Grayling, MI.    Absolutely all are great but they also are all different.

Asheville is a major city with a large regional university and very diversified economy.  It happens to set close to some of the most incredible trout fishing in the east.  It’s the largest city in an area I’d like to suggest become a new state devoted to trout fishing.  It would include Northern Georgia, Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee.  There are numerous “TU Top 100” trout streams in the area.  While Asheville is awesome, we actually enjoyed a much smaller community that someone described as “Asheville 100 years ago”, Sylva, NC.  It’s closer to most of the NC trout streams, has a main street with multiple fly shops, has some unique local eats, multiple local breweries and a great live music scene.  If you’re in Asheville, take a trip out to Sylva and visit Innovation Brewing, grab a meal at Evolution Wine Kitchen (yes, they have a great selection of craft beers and great food pairings for it) and if you’re lucky, go listen to Bird in Hand playing nearby.

Roscoe, NY, bills itself as “Trout Town USA”.  Banners up on main street proclaim this proudly as do signs in many of the towns businesses.  The Roscoe Beer Company is in town and distributes a very nice Trout Town American Amber Ale that I sampled liberally.   Just down the road is Catskill Brewery.  The Roscoe Diner is a fixture among fly fisherman in the area.  The town supports 4 fly shops that lure fishermen with everything they’d possibly need.  Guides abound for fishing area rivers with drift boats on every corner of town.  We had the pleasure of working with the team at Ken Tutalo’s Baxter House River Outfitters.  Two of the three TU Top 100 Trout Streams flow right through Roscoe and a third is a short 15 minutes away.

State College, PA, is the home of Penn State University and we’re told it’s also known as “Trout Bum U”.  Within an hour drive are three of the TU Top 100 Trout Streams.  If you go out to an hour and a half, you add 3 more TU Top 100’s and at least 3 other trout streams that could have been on the list.   Being a university town, you have all of the benefits that brings, including some great local breweries like Happy Valley Brewing Company.  You also have a PSU Ag Department creamery on campus that serves up some of the best ice cream you’ll ever find.  TCO is a great local fly shop that provides great flies, supplies and most importantly, info on where to fish.  We spent two weeks in the State College area and could have spent 2 months…. easy!

Finally, we just visited Grayling, MI,  which has the Au Sable River flowing right through town.  Old Au Sable Fly Shop sits right on the river and provides everything you could need for fishing the area.    Just outside town, flows the Manistee River, another of the TU Top 100.  The Au Sable is home to the founders of Trout Unlimited itself.  Couldn’t really find any “local beers” but did find a great local eats spot, “Spike’s Keg O Nails” which celebrates the town’s fly fishing and paddling heritage.  The are proud supporters of the annual canoe race on the Au Sable.  To satisfy your sweet tooth, the Goodale Bakery in town has everything…. and I mean EVERYTHING!  They are even a distributer for Albie’s Pasties, a northern Michigan concoction that was scrumptious.   What we found in Grayling was that while it is a great town with two world class trout streams, it’s really more of a paddlers town with more kayak/canoe rental shops by far than fly shops.

If you pinned us down according to our criteria at this moment, we’d probably say Sylva, NC should be on any “Trout Town” list just as much as Asheville.   We love Asheville but Sylva was closer to the fishing and more intimate.   But so far, if you wanted to say pure “Trout Town”, they’ve already coined it, its Roscoe, NY.  If you wanted to fish a dozen or more quality trout streams in an area, State College is your town.   If history, some cool river boats, an incredible hex hatch and some paddling is on your list, head to Grayling.

This year, we’ll also be visiting towns on most “Top” lists including West Yellowstone (MT), Bend (OR), Jackson (WY), Ennis (MT), Missoula (MT), Bozeman (MT) and Hailey (ID).  We’ll also be reporting on other “Top” towns we find along the way.  We have a favorite but will save it until we fish there…. so stay tuned…. and….

Ramble On!

We had a blast fishing the TU Top 100 rivers in Maryland: Big Gunpowder Falls, North Branch of the Potomac and the Savage.  Who knew Maryland had such great trout streams.  Given the proximity to DC, its really quite amazing that these streams don’t see even more pressure than they do.  We sure seemed to have the rivers to ourselves a lot during our stay here.  Please enjoy “Maryland Memories”, our video montage of our time in Maryland.

Our first stop was to fish the Big Gunpowder Falls river near Monkton, MD.  Our base was the Backwater Angler fly shop.  Make sure you stop in here and visit with Theaux Le Gardeur.  He knows this river inside and out.  He’s the “Riverkeeper” for the BGF river.  He and the young guys in the shop do a tremendous job of giving you the flies and the river intel to have a great day on the water.  He also hooked us up with Micah Dammeyer of Knee Deep Fly Fishing who guided us on an afternoon/evening of fishing.  At 6’6″ Micah is never more than “Knee Deep” in any part of the BGF river.  You can read his guide talk here.

Next stop was to fish the North Branch of the Potomac with Harold Harsh of Spring Creek Outfitter.  We were in a small raft  floating down rapids and fishing holes in between.  Had a lot of fun and caught lots of beautiful rainbows along the Maryland/West Virginia border that the NB makes.  Hear more from Harold’s interview here.

Our final stop in MD was on the Savage River.  We had an absolute blast fishing this river and its tributaries.  We caught many small brookies in the tribs that were gorgeous in color and spunky for their size.  When we got on the Savage with Charlie Laffey and Mike Evans of Savage River Outfitters, we were treated to some amazing browns.  Their size and fight were a real treat.  We highly recommend this fishery and for sure heading to SRO for guiding, flies, tips and perhaps even a glass of wine by the river out back with Mike and his wife.  Check out his interview on the banks of the Savage.

Today we are celebrating our 100th day on our adventure fishing the Trout Unlimited Top 100 Trout Streams.  The SaraLinda has traveled 3513 miles thus far.  We have fished 26 of the Top 100 streams and have fished 44 streams total.  The gallery above is a sampling of the beautiful fish we caught today fishing the Savage River, Middle Fork and Crabapple Run in far Western Maryland.

What we found early on was that Its Not About the Fish, but its about the people we are meeting.  That is still true today. From all of our guides (check out their interviews), to the fly shop owners, the musicians sharing their music with us, the campground hosts who’ve helped us out tremendously and all the people in the local diners, coffee shops and breweries we’ve visited.  Its really been a blessing meeting and becoming friends with them all.

We are in Maryland for another few days before heading to Kentucky to fish the Cumberland.  After that, we’re headed to Carmel, IN to see the grandkids over the 4th of July before continuing our adventure in Michigan.

We hope you are enjoying tagging along with us on our ramble.  If you have any questions or even better, have any suggestions for things to do in the areas we’re visiting, please please send them along!!!

Cheers ?,

Tom and Barb

We’ve been blessed this entire trip in meeting and being befriended by so many people…. From Jimmy and Kathy Harris and Ron Thomas in Helen, GA to Tom and Deb Finkbiner in Slate Run, PA…  to all our guides we’ve enjoyed and who’ve taught us so much about fishing and the incredible places where their local trout live…  to the musicians who’ve shared their songs and stories with us…   all of the fly shops and their staffs who’ve put us on the flies and fishing spots for fun and successful fishing.  While you might think our journey is about fishing the TU Top 100 Trout Streams, it really isn’t.  As Andy Wagner, our guide on Spruce and Penns Creek says, “fishing is just an excuse”… an excuse to get together with old friends, make new friends, break bread together and be a part of a community of people who share your same “excuse”.   This has been our biggest “aha” moment of the trip and it was really brought home when Andy took us on a side trip at Penns Creek.

There are many fishing, hunting and “sportsmen’s” camps dotted along the streams we’ve fished in Pennsylvania.  After we’d spent the morning on Penns Creek, Andy took us to one of these camps which is known as “The Shanty”.   Imagine a small, one room cottage with no electricity, no running water, no phone and the nearest road is at least 1/4 mile away.   Inside is a wood stove, a sink, two sets of bunk beds, a sofa, a few chairs, a propane stove, a kitchen table, several kerosene lamps, some books and other items.  Food, supplies, water (beer), propane, wood, etc… all have to be brought in via lawn cart along a path left by the railroads that runs along Penns Creek.   That is the “physical” characteristics of “The Shanty”.   But kind of like “its not about the fish”, its really not about the physical characteristics of this camp.  Its about the people who built it and the people who now occupy and care for it and its history.

Thanks to Andy, we were honored to have met one of those people, Jeff Zim, a retired teacher and school principal.  Jeff shared the history of The Shanty from when it was originally built to its current set of characters who inhabit it.  The real history of the camp is in the hearts and minds of the people who’ve been fortunate enough to have stayed there, shared a drink and a cigar on the porch and fished with Jeff and the “Shanty Posse”.  It’s in the stories experienced and shared.  Barb and I were privileged to have spent a while sitting with Jeff and hearing some of those stories.  Most of them didn’t involve fishing at all, but the characters who share our community “excuse” of fly fishing.

Many of Jeff’s stories included one of his primary “posse” members, Bob Ranck.  We laughed so hard at some of the stories centered around “Ranck”.  What seemed to emerge from all the stories was that Bob got it more than the rest of us, meaning he really knew and lived the saying  “it’s not about the fish”.   From all the stories it was clear, “Ranck” was a character.  I wish we’d have had a chance to meet him as well and he could have been there to share his side of the stories being told.  They were priceless!

Places like this, and more importantly, people like this are so very special.  Barb and I want to thank Andy for bringing us up to The Shanty and introducing us to Jeff.  HUGE thank you to Jeff for opening his heart and his stories to us.  It meant the world to us both.  And even though he wasn’t there in person, he seemed to be there with us in spirit… a special thank you to Bob Ranck for creating this incredible place and keeping a warm and welcoming front porch for passers by to become friends.

 

There were no guides to be had for Kettle Creek so we went to the local fly shop, Kettle Creek Tackle Shop, for help in picking flies and spots to fish.  We never know quite what to expect when we go in “blind” to a fly shop with our story of fishing the TU Top 100 Trout Streams.  Most warm up pretty quickly to help us out (we must look desperate) but sometimes it takes a visit or two, which was the case here.  However, once we got to know the shop and its staff, they were awesome in getting us onto the right flies.  As for spots to fish, we kind of stumbled onto them.  However, what a stumble we had!

We caught fish each day on dry flies in numerous spots.  We even got to fish a couple of tributaries including the Cross Fork which brought us some beautiful brook trout.   Barb and I both love fishing small streams for wild brook trout.

The area along Kettle Creek was just gorgeous.  We stayed in Kettle Creek State Park in the SaraLinda.  Had a couple of great meals (and beers) at Deb’s Cross Fork Inn in the little town of Cross Fork.  And visited the Ole Bull State Park several times for picnics and “rest stops”.   Ole is actually a man’s name and is pronounced “Oly” like the beer.  There were several creative fishing camps along the road like the “Oly Cow Camp” and one titled “Oly S#%t”.   Fly fishing people have a unique sense of humor.

We hope you enjoy this short music video chronicling our time along Kettle Creek.

Pine Creek Valley begins up in the Pine Creek Gorge which is affectionately known to locals as the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.  There are many small towns along Pine Creek but the one we focused on was Slate Run which houses the Slate Run Tackle Shop and Wolfe’s General Store.  The proprietors of the store are Tom and Deb Finkbiner.  We spent a lot of time in the store sharing fishing stories, getting provisions and some of the best deli sandwiches anywhere.  Tom, Deb and the entire team at the shop were so incredibly helpful and friendly.  We even had a chance to have dinner at Tom and Deb’s with many of the team and other guests.  We made so many memories in the valley but the ones we’ll carry with us forever are the people we’ve met there.

Straub Brewery is an ardent supporter of fly fishing and in particular, the work being done by Tom and others on Pine Creek.  Of course, we always support the local economy and had a few of these refreshing brews.  We met Hana at the store who is a part of the Straub Brewery family and had great stories.  We sampled our way through a variety of the beers but one of my favorites was the Kolsch.

The valley is really in the middle of wilderness on all sides.  Tom told us that the estimated population of Slate Run was about 19 but the bear population at last count in the area was 92.  We never got to personally see any bears but saw pictures each day from people who did.  Given we were out fishing daily in the wilderness we were actually quite relieved we’d not seen a bear.  However, from the pic in the gallery, you can see we saw great locations for bear dens.

In addition to bears, another danger in the area is rattlesnakes.  There is actually a rattlesnake festival happening in a couple of weeks nearby.  Julie, our fishing guide, was reminding us as we hiked along the streams not to reach out and balance ourselves on the rocks.  These rocks are home to rattlesnakes.  It was a constant balancing of quietly sneaking up on fishing holes and pounding our shoes on the ground to scare away snakes.

While we caught many great browns and rainbows from Pine Creek, we were most excited to fish for little brook trout in both Cedar Run and Slate Run.  We drove way up into the watersheds to get to the homes of these beautiful fish and used all our stealth to catch them.

Finally, we’ve caught up to spring in PA.  The flowers are blooming and the fragrant smells are everywhere.  We are very excited for warmer weather and no more snow…. hopefully.

We are on to Kettle Creek for the next few days and then even more fishing destinations in Pennsylvania.  There are more trout streams (10) in PA on the TU Top 100 Trout Streams list than in any other state.  Fish on!

Connecticut was brand new to Barb and I.  It did not disappoint.  We fished two rivers, the Farmington and the Housatonic and caught some beautiful fish.  We also sampled some great food and stumbled upon a great music venue, Infinity Hall in Norfolk CT.  More importantly, we were lucky enough to attend a concert there that featured local CT artists Kerri Powers, Black River Union and Atlas Gray.   They guys from Atlas Gray were gracious enough to let us use their music as the narration of our time in CT.  I hope you enjoy the video and especially the music by this amazing group of musicians.  We loved all of the Connecticut Color.