The Steel Mill

It dawned on me that when I moved to Ohio I would once again live in Steelhead Alley. I was excited to live so close to water similar to what I grew up on in western New York. When talking with my friend Jamie, we were discussing all of the trips that he and others have taken with project healing waters (PHW). Going to Michigan for King Slamon. Trips to the coast for False Albacore. I thought to myself, I wonder if these guys would like to come fish for Great Lakes Steelhead. I also know I would like to get the guys from my (PHW) chapter down south for some Appalachian Mountain fishing in those beautiful trout streams. So, I mentioned the idea of trading trips with Jamie as well as the lead of my PHW chapter. Well, the idea has really taken hold. I'm happy to say that we are well into the planning and logistics of getting a Steelhead trip set up and also sharing contacts to get my guys down on the South Holston River in Tennessee. I'm looking forward to bringing those guys up and offering my services as a guide to not only get these guys on fish but also hopefully teach them a bit more about Great Lakes Steelhead. 

 I want it to be more of an immersive camp. Fishing by day and discussing tactics, techniques, and locations at night. Sitting around and tying flies with everyone that maybe we had great success with that morning.

 One of the best ways to fight depression is giving people things to look forward to. The light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. I hope by providing these trips I can give guys something to look forward to. Something to work towards. Something to live for. When they tie that fly, they can get excited about fishing for steelhead with it. If they build a rod, maybe it's to come fish steelhead with it. I hope that we can be the spark that ignites several of these "trade a trip" programs. Each PHW chapter has unique locations and unique experiences that they can share with other chapters. Steelhead in Ohio, Brookies in North Carolina, maybe Smallmouth in the Ozarks. The possibilities are endless. Giving guys lots of things to look forward to. I jokingly have started calling this trip the Steel Mill. Obviously, a play on words, but the more I thought of it, it also has meaning. Just as a mill forges steel, we will forge friendships, fellowship, and memories through this program. 

Trout Bums

Jaime and I just wrapped up a solid week of being absolute trout bums. We both landed several fish in the 30 inch plus range. Met a lot of cool people, caught a lot of fish, and had an amazing time. Prospects look very good for our plan to bring Vets up for trips to get guys on Steelhead who normally do not have access to these world class fish. 

Check out these amazing fish!

Steelhead Ally Scouting

 Steelhead scouting has begun. A good friend of mine will be coming up from NC to help me get everything setup for guiding in Ohio and more notably Steelhead. The first few scouting trips have been great and I look forward to getting others on these impressive fish!

Fishing With Stevo!

Hey Everyone,

I have a good friend Steven. He is one of the "crew" as we call ourselves. The crew does a bunch of outdoors stuff together but mostly hang out and drink beer. Stevo (as we call him) had a bad (basketball not motor vehicle) accident a few months back and had to have emergency surgery to put his knee cap back in place. Awesome I know! Well Stevo was kind of bummed because he had caught the fly fishing bug real bad prior to this and had to sit out the whole fall season. He finally got the green light from doc to get out and fish. So to celebrate I decided to take him to a little stretch of water that has great fish but since I we didn't want to push the knee, also is pretty easy to wade. Needless to say it was an awesome day! Not a 100 fish day but one of those slightly hard days when you really have to think and every fish feels like a little win in the chess game. We had a mink watch us from the other bank for a few minutes which was really cool and there were a ton of turkeys, I mean a ton. They were going crazy yelping, purring, and gobbling all day. At one point we even had two of them fly right over our heads. I don't want to bore you with any more reading so here are some great photos of Stevo and I in action. Welcome back to the river Stevo!

See you on the Trail,
Lance

Don't Move Rocks!

Hey Everyone,

I saw this video today and thought it was eye opening. I have seen several Hellbenders in my day and never thought much of them until a couple years ago. I was up in the smokies with some friends on a backcountry fly fishing/tenkara trip. My buddy Jamie came running to me to tell me about a huge salamander that he had just seen. I told him what it was and that it was an awesome sign. I had seen something online that the wildlife resources commission wanted people to report any Hellbender sightings, so as soon as we got back I did just that. I know they are an ecological indicator species and started to think about how beautiful that particular stream was. I started to realize that every time that I had seen a hellbender, the fishing on that stream was exceptionally good. So you may not be a salamander fan but you're probably a trout fan since you're reading this site. So this just goes to show you that if you help to protect Hellbenders you end up protecting everything else.

Here is that cool video.

 

The Last Dragons - Protecting Appalachia's Hellbenders from Freshwaters Illustrated on Vimeo.


See you on the trail,
Lance

What Do You Eat?

Hey Everyone,

I was just recently up in the Appalachian mountains for the first ever Appalachian Tenkara Jam. There is a ton of good water up that way but some of the best streams to fish are off the beaten trail so to say. I don't know about you but there is something about hiking back into the high country and catching some eight inch brook trout that is just plain fun. I understand that some folks like big fish I mean who doesn't. However, to catch the only native salmonidae to eastern North America in its home water is a real treat. The only issue is that some of this water can be quite remote and require a hike to get to. I always recommend or advise that when headed into the back country that you go prepared. If you read just a couple post back I covered some simple gear that you may want to bring. I, however, did not mention food. I was in a rather health based grocery the other day and stumbled upon their "bar isle". It was kind of like an organic, protein, super bar mecca. I'm sure any seasoned hiker or backpacker has some favorites that they bring with them as do I but what do you look for in a bar? Be aware that not all bars are created equal. Some are full of sugar and are nothing more than glorified candy bars.

Here is a little list of some things to look for in a great back country bar. I understand that some folks have dietary restrictions so you may have to add to this list.

1. Carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the main fuel source for the muscles and brain. Carbohydrates are pure energy and get used up by your activity. If you are hiking all day or participating in other strenuous activities like running from bears, you will want an energy bar in the high carbohydrate range, around 40 grams.
2. Protein. This important nutrient provides the high amount of energy you need while hiking and fishing and keeps you feeling full longer. Energy bars that are high in protein are great snacks when hiking or partaking other activities that aren’t extremely intense (example marathons). Nine grams of protein is plenty high, but you can easily find ones with well over 20.
3. Calorie count. Calories are units of energy that will result in sustained energy throughout your back country trip. Although not the healthy way to go for day-to-day activities if you are replacing a meal with your bar you may want to find one with 300 calories or more.
4. Price tag. Once you’ve narrowed your search down to a few different bars, the price may be a deciding factor in your final decision. The price of energy bars can get steep, so if you are interested in saving money compare its nutritional content to its cost.

Now if you read any web site you will see that most of the advise is for people that are doing the normal everyday things work, gym, home, kids practice, etc. The thing that we need to remember is that we are hiking, climbing, fishing, and running from bears just kidding. We may not however be eating normal meals that day so although these bars may be the bad kids for normal folk, they are just right for us adventurers. I should ad that bars are not the only choice and there are some foods that are fairly easy to pack, don't weigh much, and are great sources of the above mentioned. If you have a favorite bar or a cool home made recipe share it with us it may just be the next big thing.

See you on the trail,
Lance

Appalachian Tenkara Jam!

Hey Everyone,

I wanted to let you all know about the first annual Appalachian Tenkara Jam. This is designed a bit like the Tenkara USA summit with seminars being done on the first day and on the stream demos the second. It is however the first event of its kind because it is more like a tenkara show. There are going to be some really knowledgeable people giving seminars on all sorts of Tenkara based info. Yes, I will be giving one of the seminars. I plan on doing a talk and tie seminar and show the history of the Japanese Kebari and all the different styles that were tied in different regions of the country. There are also going to be several tenkara vendors that are attending. Yes, I said there will be a bunch of tenkara vendors all under one roof! If you are into tenkara already or have just been toying with the idea of getting a rod, this would be the perfect event for you. This will be the place where you can wiggle test rods side by side. Tenkara Customs will even be there where you can buy a kit and build you own rod! Im obviously excited and could type on about this event forever so I'll stop here and give you the details.

Foscoe/ Grandfather Community Center
http://www.foscoecommunitycenter.com/default.php

There will be presentations on the tenkara style of fly fishing covering topics such as:
1. Overview: Rods, Lines, Flies
2. Kebari History and current patterns
3. Big Fish Wrangling
4. Small Stream Techniques
and more…

Special Guest presentations by:
Lance Milks
Robert Worthing
Tom Sadler
Al Alborn
Bob Ivins
and more…
Day One: Big screen presentations and live demonstrations inside,  tenkara rod building clinic, vendor tables and more…
Day Two: Casting Clinics, Technique Tutorials, Tenkara Rod Building, Stream-side Classroom, Small Group Guides and more…

We have set Day One to begin presentations at 12:00pm. This is to accommodate travel for people needing to come in Saturday Morning. We will still have a full day of content going into the evening. The Foscoe Community Center will be holding/ serving (independently) a fund raising breakfast at the Center that morning. For $8 you will get all the country breakfast fixin’s you can stomach.
For those coming in Friday evening I will be providing maps to local waters should you want to get wet that evening. Hit up the breakfast Saturday morning and go back out for a few more hours on Saturday morning. There is plenty of fishing to be had.

Registration cost is set per person to cover all expenses of this event.
1 day $30.00 this can be for either day for those that cannot attend both days.
2 day $48.00 this is for both days and covers all expenses.