E-Zine...This is Fly #50

This is a huge deal and I'm stoked for This is Fly. 50 issues, thats crazy. I'm not only stoked for the gents at This is Fly, but also for my friends at Goat Head Sole Spikes for being featured in this monumental issue's Gear Guide! Congrats to all...now enjoy.

Boom...Morgan

And The Winners Are...

Sorry this took so long to get up, I received about 275 entries (individual photos) into this year's 2014 Photo Contest. I spent all day yesterday judging photos and almost called a draw in multiple categories...the submissions were phenomenal, some of the best I've seen. The gear we're giving away this year is pretty ridiculous, seriously, its well over $1,000!

If you need a little refresher, heres how the photo contest worked...

Rules:

-Photos were submitted to us for judging

-Max of 4 pictures per person (one per category).

-The categories were:

• Best Picture
• Biggest Carp
• Prettiest Carp
• Ugliest Carp

-1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners were be selected for each category.

-Submissions were due by August 24th, 2014 by 8am.

So who won and what did they win you win you ask? Drumroll please...

Best Picture -

1st Place -  Ben Eastman won a custom Vedavoo Tight Lines Sling. Ben, you pick the color, as with all Vedavoo products, its made 100% in the USA and made to order! 1 pair of Dizm Eco Eyewear shades -$225 Value

2nd Place - Courtney New won a Handcrafted Wetfly Net (medium) and 1 pair of Dizm Eco Eyewear shades. -$155 Value

3rd Place - Woodson Boughton a Wetfly Farmer John Hat and a Cheeky Fly Fishing beverage koozie and reel pouch. -$50 Value

Biggest Carp -

1st Place - Matt Simms won a mixed bag of 12wt Apparel's newest, freshly-launched gear and colors and set of Goat Head Gear Sole Spikes - $150 Value

2nd Place - Hunter Watson won a Handcrafted Wetfly Net (medium) and set of Goat Head Gear Sole Spikes. -$85 Value

3rd Place -  Seth Green won a BadAxe Design Carp Hat and set of Goat Head Gear Sole Spikes. -$50 Value

Prettiest Carp -

1st Place - Seth Green won a custom, made-to-order, Nature Boy Designs "Con Mas" 550 Lanyard, a dozen Feather-Craft carp flies, and a Feather-Craft "Meat Locker" Fly Box. -$110 Value

2nd Place - Matus Sobolic won a dozen CarpPro carp flies, mix bag of stickers, and a Cheeky Fly Fishing beverage koozie and reel pouch. -$70 Value

3rd Place - Brandon Morrison won BadAxe Design Patch, The Fly Trout shirt and a Loon Outdoors hat. -$50 Value

Ugliest Carp -

1st Place - Caleb Corona won an assorted bag of Bozeman Fly Goods' brand-new Bug Collars, a bag full of Allen Fly Fishing carp hooks, and a BadAxe Design Carp Hat. -$110 Value.

2nd Place - Larry Dostal won a WV Angler Sun Mask (Buff) and a Feather-Craft "Meat Locker" Fly Box. -$80 Value

3rd Place - Chad Shaner won BadAxe Design Patch, The Fly Trout shirt and a Loon Outdoors hat. -$50 Value

Congratulations to all of our winners! Be sure to send us an email at tltffcarpweek@gmail.com letting us know your mailing address and we will have things shipped out ASAP. Please take time to thank the companies that sponsored this year's Carp Week.

Same time, same place next year, the week after 'Shark Week'...Carp Week 2015 is due to be enormous. This year we peaked out at numbers that were completely unfathomable. From here on the blog to our social media pages...well over 20,000 unique views...whoa. You guys are awesome, thank you so much for supporting and following TLTFF!

Boom...Morgan

Carp Week 2014 Photo Contest - LESS THAN 24 HOURS REMAIN

So far we've received about 250 entries (individual photos) into this year's 2014 Photo Contest. The gear we're giving away this year is pretty ridiculous, seriously, its well over $1,000...that YOU could win! I figured, since there is 24 hours left until the contest ends, I'd give you a little more stoke to sleep on once you've submitted your photos knowing what it is you could potentially win.

If you need a little refresher, heres how the photo contest works...

Rules:

-Submit all photos to TLTFFCarpWeek@gmail.com with the subject line "Carp Week Photo Contest". 

-Max of 4 pictures per person (one per category).

-Picture must be in PNG or JPEG format.

-The categories will be as follows:

• Best Picture
• Biggest Carp
• Prettiest Carp
• Ugliest Carp

-1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will be selected for each category and will win some sick gear from the companies listed above.

-Submissions are due by August 24th, 2014 by 8am.

-Winners will be announced on (Sunday) August 24th through a blog post in the afternoon.

-Any questions can be directed to tightlinedtalesofaflyfisherman@gmail.com

So what do you win you ask? You may want to sit down for this, the prizes are pretty unreal...

Best Picture -

1st Place - Custom Vedavoo Tight Lines Sling. You pick the color, as with all Vedavoo products, its made 100% in the USA and made to order! 1 pair of Dizm Eco Eyewear shades -$225 Value

2nd Place - Handcrafted Wetfly Net (medium) and 1 pair of Dizm Eco Eyewear shades. -$155 Value

3rd Place - A Wetfly Farmer John Hat and a Cheeky Fly Fishing beverage koozie and reel pouch. -$50 Value

Biggest Carp -

1st Place - 12wt Apparel mixed bag of their newest, freshly-launched gear and colors and set of Goat Head Gear Sole Spikes - $150 Value

2nd Place - Handcrafted Wetfly Net (medium) and set of Goat Head Gear Sole Spikes. -$85 Value

3rd Place -  BadAxe Design Carp Hat and set of Goat Head Gear Sole Spikes. -$50 Value

Prettiest Carp -

1st Place - A custom, made-to-order, Nature Boy Designs "Con Mas" 550 Lanyard, a dozen Feather-Craft carp flies, and a Feather-Craft "Meat Locker" Fly Box. -$110 Value

2nd Place - A dozen CarpPro carp flies, a Cheeky Fly Fishing beverage koozie and reel pouch. -$50 Value

3rd Place - BadAxe Design Patch, The Fly Trout shirt and a Loon Outdoors hat. -$50 Value

Ugliest Carp -

1st Place - An assorted bag of Bozeman Fly Goods' brand-new Bug Collars, a bag full of Allen Fly Fishing carp hooks, and a BadAxe Design Carp Hat. -$110 Value.

2nd Place - A WV Angler Sun Mask (Buff) and a Feather-Craft "Meat Locker" Fly Box. -$80 Value

3rd Place - BadAxe Design Patch, The Fly Trout shirt and a Loon Outdoors hat. -$50 Value

I hope you were sitting down for all of that. As you can see, pretty crazy. Even in 3rd place your walking away with $50 in gear, just for sending in a photo of a carp you caught! This is by-far the largest giveaway we've ever done both in value and sheer size. It only happens once a year, during Carp Week, so dig through your computer and phones photo libraries and send those photos in by tomorrow at 8am!

Boom...Morgan

The Fiberglass Manifesto's '12 Days of Christmas'

Via TFM:

This post is just a heads up that the yearly craziness of gift giving called the 12 Days of Christmas starts on the morning of TOMORROW, Monday, December 9th and will run through Friday, December 20th.

As in years past, I've set this up as a series of daily giveaways where all you have to do is send in an email each day to participate and the random number generator picks a winner or winners early the next morning before I start off another giveaway for that day. 

This is the third year of the 12 Days of Christmas giveaways and each time around it's grown a little bigger than the last.  This year's sponsors could not have been more supportive with over three dozen gifts to be given away over the course of the event.

The 12 Days of Christmas is sponsored this year by the generosity of the following gear companies...

BOZEMAN REEL
COSTA 
ECHO
FINN UTILITY
GHILLIE KETTLE
GOAT HEAD SOLE SPIKES
HOWLER BROTHERS
MARSH WEAR
NATURE BOY DESIGNS
ORVIS
PATAGONIA
REDINGTON 
REP YOUR WATER
RIO PRODUCTS 
SIMMS
SMITHFLY 
STORMY KROMER
SWIFT FLY FISHING 
THE LITTLE RED BOOK OF FLY FISHING
TIPPETAC
TOPO DESIGNS 
VERMONT FLY GUYS

The 12 Days of Christmas giveaways are a lot of fun, allow me to highlight gear and companies that I really dig, and of course offers everyone a chance to win some phenomenal prizes.

This is also a very fitting way, within this season of giving, for me to say thank you to the readership that makes writing this website each morning before work (or late at night before bed) more than worthwhile and a lot of damn fun.  Thank you.  

See you bright and early on Monday (TOMORROW) morning. Please don't start sending emails before then.



Boom...Morgan

Trip Report: Pulaski, Salmon, and Chrome

A few months ago I was contacted by Rockstar Fly Fishing's Mike Percelli. about jumping into a new forum, Northeast on the Fly. Through helping out with NE on the Fly and some other conversations, Mike decided to host me on a trip to a spot that he holds near and dear to his heart...Pulaski, NY.

Mike's good friend, Chris Dever, had recently bought and fully renovated Salmon River Outfitters (SRO) and there were beds available. We planned to hit the Salmon during one of Mike's favorite times of the year, mid-October, when the salmon are plentiful (due to their spawn) and Steelhead have moved up river to gorge themselves on eggs. I was down and we set the dates. Three months passed quick and before I knew it, I was packing my gear, charging my batteries, and tying some last minute flies.

And The Winner Is...

Thank you all for an amazing Carp Week. Honestly, y'all crushed our numbers bringing in the most unique views we've ever had in one week let alone one month! We had hundreds of submissions to the Carp Week photo contest and gave away a record number of gear from our amazing sponsors. If you didn't already have the opportunity to do so, please head on over to our sponsors pages and check out what they have to offer, check them out on their social media outlets as well, let the know you heard about them through TLTFF's Carp Week, I'm sure they'll all appreciate it.

For those of you who entered, wow, what beautiful fish, you guys are killing it around the world! Its great to see this unique type of fly fishing take off and be appreciated by so many.

We hope that you learned a thing or two this week, maybe added some new gear or flies to your collection whether it be through one of our contests or through supporting our great sponsors. We really cannot thank you enough for the support! We got some amazing feedback throughout the week that made us realize how great our readers are and why we keep this blog going, thank you.

All that said, lets get on to announcing the winners of this year's Carp Week Photo Contest! With hundreds of submissions received, it was a bit overwhelming going through the photos but over the last two nights we've been going through them over and over and we've finally selected the best of the best.

There were four categories: Best Picture, Biggest Carp, Prettiest Carp, and Ugliest Carp. All pictures submitted were placed in their respective categories based on our perception of them. After cups and cups of coffee...here are your winners as well as runner ups and below the pictures are their prizes.

Best Picture- 1st Place

Jeremy Green

• A pair of black Dizm Eyewear Dempseys (polarized)
• A copy of The Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing for Carp from CarpPro
• Choice of ONE pair of gloves and ONE SUNwt Mask from 12wt
• Cheeky Fly Fishing Stash Reel case
• "Carp Fly Fishing" print from BadAxe Design
• BadAxe Design trucker hat
• BadAxe Design "Carp Fly Fishing" shirt

Best Picture- Runner Up

Dave Kuntzelman

• The Fly Trout "Don't Get Skunked, Get Fly" shirt
• Fishpond USA hat
• Dragonfly Fishing Can-yard
• Gift Certificate to J&M Flies

Biggest Carp- 1st Place

John Bartlett

• A pair of black Dizm Eyewear Dempseys (polarized)
• Choice of ONE pair of gloves and ONE SUNwt Mask from 12wt
• "Meat Locker" fly box from Feather-Craft Fly Fishing
• BadAxe Design "Carp Fly Fishing" shirt from Kevin Morlock at Indigo Guide Service
• Cheeky Fly Fishing Stash reel case

Biggest Carp- Runner Up

Anthony Macchiarola

• The Fly Trout "Fly Fishing Love" shirt
• Redington hat
• Set of Goat Head Gear Sole Spikes

Prettiest Carp- 1st Place

David Litten

• A pair of black Dizm Eyewear Dempseys (polarized)
• Choice of ONE pair of gloves and ONE SUNwt Mask from 12wt
• BadAxe Design "Carp Fly Fishing" shirt from Kevin Morlock at Indigo Guide Service
• Cheeky Fly Fishing koozie
• Free Fly Apparel Sun Mask from WVAngler.com

Prettiest Carp- Runner Up

Josh Gutierrez

• Redington shirt
• Loon Outdoors Classic Logo hat
• Set of Goat Head Gear Sole Spikes

Ugliest Carp- 1st Place

Gabriel Bizeau-Régis

• A pair of black Dizm Eyewear Dempseys (polarized)
• Choice of ONE pair of gloves and ONE SUNwt Mask from 12wt
• Nature Bay Designs custom "Carp Week" NBD 225 Lanyard and Hat(ch) Patch
• Cheeky Fly Fishing koozie
• Hat from Fishpond USA

Ugliest Carp- Runner Up

Miles Christmas

• Fishpond USA shirt
• Loon Outdoors Classic Logo hat
• Cheeky Fly Fishing Stash reel case

If you are a winner, you have one week from today (August 25th, 2013) to respond to us by sending your name and address to tightlinedtalesofaflyfisherman@gmail.com with the subject "I WON".

Please take a moment and pat yourself on the back, job well done. I have to say, we have some amazing photographers and fisherman follow us, it really gives us the motivation to keep TLTFF going.

Thank you all again, stay posted for more upcoming giveaways and don't forget to gear yourself up for your next trip with stuff from our sponsors!

Boom...The TLTFF Crew

Carp Week 2013

Scroll down for Photo Contest...

Some of you may have been following us for awhile and seen the promotions we've been doing for this year's Carp Week. Last year was a huge hit, thanks to you, so this year we thought we'd not only bring Carp Week back, but make it twice as big. This week has a lot of greatness packed into it, thanks to our awesome contributors and friends. Just to give you a breakdown of how the week will pan out, we wanted to give you a play-by-play as to what we have in store.

Everyday at 7am, like we've always done, 3-4 posts will go live. One is guaranteed to be a sick carp-related fishing video (Daily Reel). The rest will be either interviews with industry experts, reviews of carp-related gear, knowledge from the geniuses of the carp world, and info on how you can win free gear! Every day we will be giving away a dozen flies from some of the best carp fly tiers we could get, flies that are tried and true and can help you put a nice bend in your 6, 7, or 8wts.

The best part about Carp Week is not only that you can exponentially expand your knowledge of fly fishing for carp, but you can win awesome prizes from fly lines to t-shirts, to original artwork, to hats and much much more! Just to give you an overview as well as a shoutout to our amazing Carp Week sponsors, here's who's on board this year for gear...

• 12wt.
• BadAxe Design
• CarpPro
• Cheeky Fly Fishing
• Chesapeake Fly Co.
• Dizm Eyewear
• Feather-Craft
• Fishpond USA
• The Fly Fishing Consultant
• The Fly Trout
• Goat Head Gear
• H&H Outfitters
• Indigo Guide Service
• J&M Flies
• Loon Outdoors
• Nature Boy Designs
• Redington
• Risen Fly
• WVAngler.com

And here are our featured fly tiers...

• Chesapeake Fly Co.
• Feather-Craft
• Indigo Guide Service's Kevin Morlock
• Main Stream Fly Co.
• Mario Garza Flies
• Roughfisher
• Waters Edge Fly Co.

We have an unbelievable amount of gear to giveaway this week so keep your eyes on the blog every day to stay in the know as to how you can win! To start the week off right, we have a huge fly giveaway brought to you by Feather-Craft Fly Fishing (see Daily Dozen Fly Giveaway - Day 1 post above) but we also wanted to get everybody in the know about our Photo Contest. This year we will be holding a photo contest just like last year but this year with a few changes...

Rules:

-Submit all photos to TLTFFCarpWeek@gmail.com with the subject line "Carp Week Photo Contest". 

-Max of 4 pictures per person (one per category).

-Picture must be in PNG or JPEG format.

-The categories will be as follows:

• Biggest Carp
• Best Picture
• Prettiest Carp
• Ugliest Carp

-One winner and one runner up will be selected for each category and will win some sick gear from the companies listed above.

-Submissions are due by August 17th, 2013 (last day of Carp Week) before midnight EST.

-Winners will be announced on (Sunday) August 18th through a blog post.

-Any questions can be directed to tightlinedtalesofaflyfisherman@gmail.com

-Contest begins now...GO!

I hope y'all are as syked as we are for a super-fun week. Make sure you spread the word by using the hashtag #CarpWeek and 'like' and follow @TLTFF on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for exclusive content! 

For your chance to randomly win some gear, use the hashtag #CarpWeek on all posts, we will be selecting a random winner at some point that has used the hashtag during Carp Week.

During Carp Week, please send all contest entries, questions, or any correspondence to TLTFFcarpweek@gmail.com.

Boom...Morgan

CCA Kent Narrows Catch & Release Fly and Light Tackle Tournament Roundup

I apologize to those of you who may have been waiting to hear about the tournament, I was waiting for a press release to come out but we're still waiting on that from the local paper and frankly, I'm tired of waiting.

CCA Kent Narrows C&R Fly and Light Tackle Tourney Sponsor Banner

There's Still Time to Sign Up!

There's still time to sign up for the CCA Kent Narrows Fly and Light Tackle C&R Tournament on June 1st! Check it...

Mark it on your calendars folks...June 1st, the TLTFF Crew will be there and we've pulled together some awesome sponsors like Loon Outdoors, Goat Head Gear, Risen Fly, and 12wt!

The CCA Catch and Release Fly and Light Tackle Tournament will be held on June 1, 2013.  Face off against some of the best fly and light tackle anglers in the Chesapeake Bay.  The entry fee is still only $40 per angler.  That includes all the beer and food you want at the party as well as the comraderie that has developed amongst this group over the last ten years.  We'd like to thank our key sponsors listed above.  Without their generous donations, this event would not be possible.  So come and join us.  Maybe you will have the bragging rights for 2013!  Tight lines to all.

Lines in at legal fishing time approx 5:30.  You must be in line for photo check in by 3:30

Three prize divisions:  Fly, Light Tackle, and Kayak.

Rules and regs can be found here.

Click here to register NOW!

Boom...Morgan

Carp are Overly Sensitive When it Comes to Finding Food or Being Caught

Via Carp Fishing Tactics:

Like humans, carp are dependent upon their senses when it comes to food. Carp can smell, taste and see the food that they plan to eat. They have a highly developed olfactory system that allows them to sense any dissolved substance in the water. The lining of their mouths contains chemically sensitive cells that allow it to determine whether food is good or bad. The carp can see by using both eyes. However, if an item is immediately in front of and below its mouth, the carp relies on its barbuls’ sense of touch and taste to detect items...

Check out the rest of this awesome article by clicking here. Thanks to Matt over at Goat Head Gear for turning us on to this great piece of fishing knowledge!

Boom...Morgan

FlyFishilicious' 10 Affordable Gifts

Check it...from Jen over at FlyFishilicious:

  ~ Fly Drying Wine Cork $2
http://www.etsy.com/listing/96060012/fly-drying-wine-cork-for-fishing

A unique alternative to the usual fly drying patch. Attach to your own vest or lanyard.

~ Christopher Fave Hand-Tied Leaders
Custom Dozen Special $30 Click Here
I never go anywhere without my ChrisFave leaders. I love the mix I have in my bag and I find I always have something just right for the fishing occasion. High Viz, Dropper, Dry/Dropper etc. These would be great stocking stuffers for the fly fisher you love.

~ Klean Kanteen/Loon Outdoors Stainless Steel Pint Cup $12Click Here

100% of proceeds will go to help fight Pebble Mine AND all donations from sales before December 31st will be matched by Sportsman’s Conservation Fund! What a wonderful gift to give all around!

~ Goat Head Sole Spikes $18.95
http://www.solespikes.com/sole-spikes/

If your beloved fly fisher doesn’t have spikes on the bottom of their wading boots (go and check if you don’t know) – I beg you, please buy them some of these. There are more reasons TO have these on your boots, than to not have them. Safety first. And again, a super great stocking stuffer!

 
~ Original Buff $20+http://buffusa.com/sports

They have warm weather Buffs, cold weather Buffs, Buff gloves, headbands and even scarves – so many colors and choices you are guaranteed to find something your loved one will kiss you for. Get one, you have no excuses!

For the other 5, your just going to have to head over to FF for yourself! Keep an eye on TLTFF this week for our gift guide for the fly fisherperson in your life!

Boom...Morgan