Fly Fishing the Ozarks » brian wise

Fly Tying Video: Kelly Galloup’s Articulated Peanut Envy

Brian Wise — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:44:01 +0000

Rolling on through the awesome Galloup line of streamers, the Articulated Peanut Envy is somewhat of the little brother of the Circus Peanut. It is a little smaller, a little lighter, but still fishes tremendously well. I personally like this fly drifted on a twitch as much as anything, it has a great sink rate which isn't too fast and isn't too slow and it moves like crazy in the water. I do a slight modification compared to the commercially tied fly in the fact that I tie mine on keeled hooks (a bent shanked hook) to get this fly to ride hook point up in the water without having to add dumbell eyes.

The Articulated Peanut Envy.....

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2011 Greatest Hits Video.

Brian Wise — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:57:53 +0000

2011 brought with it some pretty epic adventures. From massive flooding that all but killed the Spring guiding season, to incredible water after the floods, monstrous fish chasing streamers, and a trip north in search of (vainly in search of) Musky. I couldn't have dreamed up a better year--period.

Thank you guys so much for watching these videos, fishing with me, and hopefully having a great time right along with me as I flew through this year....you are the reason I guide, shoot video, and have this blog.

2011 Greatest Hits......

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Fall, 2011 Video

Brian Wise — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:51:23 +0000

Looking back what can I say about Fall.....I thought we were shot, dead. The main culprit, LOW water. You see, there are two different distinct portions of the Fall season-what we call "Pre-Spawn" and what we call "Post Spawn." Pre-Spawn is obviously early Fall where we are coming out of Summer, Summer generally means little to no rain so we have low, dead clear water.......and this is the time when 90% of people book guide trips. The Fall colors 'are' really pretty but man, fishing can be uber tough! The leaves drop, as do temps, as do guide trips, and then we usually start to get rain......rain, our saving grace. BOOM fishing comes back, this is our Post-Spawn fishing. This is a two-fer; with rain we have obviously better water, and post-spawn fish are trying to come back from a hard spawn--that is a double whammy that we LOVE....and exactly what happened this Fall.

As I type this the river is slowly coming down from a GREAT rise and I am getting ready to pound the banks with Justin Spencer from Sunburst.....the Winter is looking very promising.

Here you go guys, Fall 2011....a video for the ages (ok, not really)

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Fly Tying Video: Galloup’s Articulated Butt Monkey

Brian Wise — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:04:59 +0000

In the second video of the "series" I show you Galloup's Articulated Butt Monkey. This is one of my favorite flies in the Galloup line of big streamers. The materials allow movement within the fly without the fisherman imparting any movement at all. Most of the other flies in his line rely on the fisherman moving the fly to get their CRAZY awesome action--this fly can stand alone.....and when the fisherman 'does' start to move it, it basically comes alive as you will see in the underwater footage at the beginning of the video. I kind of want to give it a treat and pat it on the head like a dog.....

Again, without further ado....Galloup's Articulated Butt Monkey (full material list below)

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(if possible watch in HD in full-screen....and don't be scared of the beard, it is gone now in a horrible trimming accident)

Rear Hook: Mustad 34011 #4
Thread: Black
Undertail: Marabou
Body: Estaz
Overtail/Body: Rabbit Zonker (in this case barred)

Articulation: Beadalon
Spacers: Glass Beads

Lead Hook: Gamakatsu B10s #2
Eyes: Painted Lead Eyes (attached to the UNDER side of the hook)
Body: Estaz

Over-Body: Rabbit Zonker (again, barred this time)

Gills: Lazer Dub
Head: Wool

Fishadelic VIDEO Friday!!?!!?

Brian Wise — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:49:58 +0000

Good buddy Randy Hanner tying his "Wedding Crasher" streamer....

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North Fork of the White River Summer 2011 Video!!

Brian Wise — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 10:00:55 +0000

Right this second it is in the low 40's, wind blowing like crazy, and the leaves are almost all gone. This Summer however was EXACTLY the opposite, crazy hot...NO wind...and did I mention Crazy-Hot? I had one of the best Summer's I can remember in a long time, fished with friends a TON....watched my eldest become a "real" fly fisherman, and then I watched him take the next step and start to do what he wanted to do in the sport (which happened to be throwing streamers on an 8wt) AND I got some great video of the biggest brown I have had caught since I started making these videos..SCORE!!

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Fishadelic Foto Friday!!

Brian Wise — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:25:58 +0000

Fishadelic Foto Friday....I tied the Patagonia Fish...edition

Lake Vermilion, Minnesota Trip Report and Video.

Brian Wise — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 23:45:12 +0000

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Lake Ver’ making a Million Casts.

Thinking back on Lake Vermillion... Musky fishing can be equated with an adventure race. In a race there are parts where the course is smooth and comfortable. Then, there are places that hurt! Both happened on Lake V.

For the first two days it was up hill but smooth. We were casting,enjoying the new sites sounds, and smells of the North Woods, it was great. It was amazing to watch the sky full of the mountainous clouds billowing and grand. The loons called lazily over the north woods water and there were dozens of bald eagles. North woods eagles were like buzzards in Ozark County, everywhere.

Yet by day three the hurt broke the surface. Brian manages to impale a giant purple popper in his shoulder. We all know Brian can cast 107’ feet like he was brushing his hair, but this cast made me cringe as a gust of wind crumpled it.

THHWAAACK!

Have you ever taken a 2/0 hook sunk to the bend in yourfriend’s shoulder?

We managed to remove it and what did we do, kept casting.

Thoughts of “Why are we still here?” “God, if I just catchone I’ll end my musky career right now”, “This is starting to get ridiculous”Thoughts that never cross a fly fishing guide’s mind begin to take over. Soonyou cast out of desperation to catch THAT fish, knowing that, the next castwill be “the one”.

And it is! The next cast that you place right in the meatslot, watch it hang slowly, thinking “that is the one”. Then you notice castingslack is in the trolling motor right as big head comes out from under the logand chews your fly like laffy taffy. While your falling out of the boat to setthe hook… That is when IT happens… THAT is when your chance comes, and goes,like THAT!

The high that comes with musky fishing is also in similarityto a race finish. The adrenaline of hooking a fish as long as your leg matchesand perhaps surpasses that jolt of knee buckling energy that hits at the finishline of a long and exciting race.

That’s on your next cast though. Not this one. Try again…

Fish are the excuse to adventure into the wilderness, butthey end up only a sliver of the story. We gain much more than a “grip andgrin” when we set out with friends into unimaginable adventures.

There is nothing in this world with as much value as good friends.

Fishadelic Foto Friday!!

Brian Wise — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 10:17:56 +0000

Drift Boating the North Fork of the White

Chippewa River, Wisconsin – Muskie Report and Video!

Brian Wise — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:35:20 +0000

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Muskie Musk.

We leave our family for 9 days for 10,000 casts toward a Muskie.

Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) from the Ojibwa word maashkinoozhe, meaning "ugly pike". Muskie like to cruse “patrols” looking to destroy whatever critter they choose. This is no ordinary fish. They are the apex predator in any water they live. Eating anything they can possibly fit in their toothy mouth. This is not a fish for the light of heart, mind, or body...

North of Hwy 8 live the Maashkinoozhe. Tea colored rivers from the rust belt harbor the elusive fish. We cast flies that are larger than some house pets to a fish meaner than a doberman pincer on Starbucks. We arrive at camp around 1am, since we had to catch the evening rise on the Driftless, we drive by night. We set camp, charge camera batteries, and rig our titanium bite leaders.

Sunrise and we rise, off to the musky river where hopefully the guy remembered to drop a johnboat off for us. Sure enough it was there. Now, nobody in the boat had ever casted for muskie before this, but it was easy to see why the fish loved this water. Slow pools with submerged vegitation haunted us as we casted furiously. We floated by submerged logs and gawked down into the amber water in hopes to see one. The river was very similar to home. Steep rocky riffles gently sweeping around the corner into deep slow glassy pools, we had confidence in this type water. Reading seams, drop-offs, shadows, submerged vegie, and woody debris there were fishing places everywhere! Yet….where were the muskie?
Two days straight of casting 10wts and flies the size of a muskrat and no toothy critters.
But...we did catch a few smallmouth bass that could have passed as bait in these waters. Powerfull dark and deep were the smallmouth bass here. We could catch smallmouth in the Ozarks so we quickly threw them back and kept casting, and casting, and casting.....all the way to Lake Vermillion.