The Middle River Group, LLC

fly fishing, conservation and politics.

Fly Fishing Instruction

BioLite HeadLamp 200

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Most of my fly-fishing is in daylight. But experience has taught me that when you need a light you don’t want to fool around.

Since my search and rescue days I’ve always had a headlamp in my kit. They are essential gear for that and for most of my camping trips. Truth be told they are pretty handy for skunk patrol when Lily takes her evening turn around the backyard.

When I came across the BioLite HeadLamp 200 I was intrigued enough to buy one and give it a try. I’m happy I did.

Photo credit: BioLite

The BioLite HeadLamp 200 has a lot going for it.

  • First of all it is comfortable and extremely light weight (under 2 oz.) I wear it with a hat and hardly notice it.
  • The 200 lumen spotlight is very bright. At full power it illuminates a good distance (about 150′ +/-.)
  • The brightness adjusts easily if you want to conserve power or reduce the illumination.
  • It’s rechargeable via a USB. It’s a micro port so keep track of the cord.
  • The headband is super easy to adjust, making it quick and easy to accommodate my head or hats as need be.
  • The light has detents in four positions so when you set it it stays put.
  • There is a red light setting if you need to preserve you night vision while reading.
  • You can activate a strobe setting for both the white or red light. A good safety feature if you want to get attention.
  • It can be easily locked in the off position to prevent it from accidentally discharging.
  • It’s water resistant (IPX4) which means you don’t want to dunk it in the water. If it’s raining, I’d cover it from above. I wear mine under the bill of my ball cap and it pretty comfortable.

BioLite has an informative video showing all the features of the light.

The run time is listed as three hours at full brightness and 40 hours at lowest setting. I bought a BioLite Charge 40 PD as a backup power source to go with my backcountry kit. It’s a little added insurance and can be used for my iPhone, which I use for photos and navigation.

I like buying stuff from companies that do good deeds, BioLite is no exception. According to their website: “When you purchase an item from BioLite, a part of that sale is re-invested into our work in sub-Saharan Africa. Together, we have helped over a million people cook, charge, and light daily life with products that enable families to feel safe, nourished, and connected.”

Here’s to a bright future (I couldn’t resist.)

Disclosure: I paid retail price for these products. I did not get a pro-deal nor any form of compensation for this review.

There is a path

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“I have found that fly-fishing can be a state of mind still found in quiescent pockets of solitude the moment one has unlocked the secret code of knowing where to look. And for me a bamboo rod will always be the perfect mantra to help find the way. For those who seek, there is a path. “

Jerry Kustich, In Dec. 2021 Sweetgrass newsletter

Could not have said it better.

Koala 2.0 phone harness

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The fact of the matter is I drop things.

One of the things I try not to drop too often is my phone but it happens. Various iPhones have bounced off floors, roads, and into streams more often than I care to admit. I’ve hard-cased them, and the new ones are water-resistant, and I’ve never lost one in water too deep to get it out, but it’s just a matter of time before I drown another one.

I’ve kept my eye out for a good way to keep my phone attached and the Koala 2.0 phone harness from Hangtime Gear looks like a winner.

Photo: HangtimeGear.com

The harness is made of heavy-duty silicone that stretches to grip your phone at four corners. I’ve got an orange one, so I can find it easily if need be. There are three other color options.

The tether is part of the harness and is 14″ from clip to case and stretches pretty easily to my arm’s length. It’s likely I will attach the whole rig to some orange paracord to increase the reach, making it easier to shoot pictures while I’m fishing.

It comes with two attachment options, a clip that closes with a cam mechanism rather than a spring and a small carabiner. Both are made of polycarbonate plastic. The clip has a burly grip (rated to 50 lbs.) making it easy to attach in various places, not just loops like with the biner. It’s an intriguing little item. Here is more detail on the clip from the Hangtime website:

“Certain locations offer a better grip than others. The best spots we’ve found are:

  • The edge of a sewn seam, like on your jeans pocket.
  • The edge of a zipper, like on the pocket of a ski jacket.
  • Nylon straps, like on a backpack.
  • On the other hand, some locations that aren’t quite as secure are very thin fabrics and fabric edges without a sewn seam.”

They also have an Instagram post showing how the clamp works.

The Koala 2.0 is guaranteed; if it breaks, they’ll send you a new one. Simple as that.

I’m adding this to my fishing and guiding kit this year. Juggling my phone in the field just got a lot less stressful.

Disclosure: I paid retail price for this product. I did not get a pro-deal nor any form of compensation for this review.

What I learned about fly-fishing from guiding

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One of the privileges my life has afforded me is the opportunity to be a fishing guide and instructor. I’ve been doing it for the better part of 20 years. For the most part its been a part-time hustle but its also been an important part of my life every year. Those 20-plus years spent on the water with guests has proven to be one of the best learning experiences when it comes to my own fly-fishing.

When you stand beside someone coaching them on how to fish successfully you invariably draw on lessons you have learned from a variety of places. You use that experience over and over whether it is casting technique, knot tying, fly selection or reading the water. As you do it time and again, you learn what works and what doesn’t.

The bottom line, guiding has changed my perspective on fishing. As an angler I have one perspective, and that can lead to tunnel vision. That’s not always bad, you need to stay focused on the fishing. As a guide I get a bigger picture. I can assess the obstacles to success and suggest adjustments according. I’m much freer to think about the next fly change, the next piece of water, the weather or what have you. As an angler, guiding has helped me to break the tunnel vision mode and look around figuratively and mentally.

I not suggesting everyone has to be a guide to learn the secrets of fly-fishing, far from it. As I tell my guests or friends, time on the water is a great teacher; the river teaches and the fish grade.

What I am suggesting is that time spent with a good guide whether that be a professional guide or a more accomplished anger can help you enjoy your time fishing more and likely will increase your skill.

I came across an article in Hatch Magazine, 5 ways my fly fishing changed after I became a guide, that captures a lot of those lessons and rings true based on my experience as a guide. As the author Jacob Friesen points out, a lot of “fishing” is vicarious. Besides continually validating my fly-fishing experience and increasing my knowledge, this vicarious fishing is a marvelous psychic reward.

Friesen’s article is well worth a read, it will give you some great insights. Hope you enjoy it.

Orvis Fly Fishing | Correcting Common Casting Mistakes

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I’m a big fan of Pete Kutzer, I think he is one of the finest casting instructors I’ve ever known. He’s put together an exceptional video of the five most common casting mistakes. He talks you through what the mistake is and then gives you pointers on how to fix it.

This is a video you need to bookmark so you can quickly refer back to it when you casting needs a bit of a tune up.

Check it out at Fly Fishing Video Lessons – The Basics of Fly Fishing – Chapter Eight: Reading The Water – Correcting Common Casting Mistakes.

Knot Knowledge

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Below are the knots that most fly anglers use and are the ones I show people how to tie in our fly fishing classes. I’ve broken it down into two categories, basic and good to know.

In the basic section I’ll list knots that get used in order I most frequently tie them. In the good to know section I’ll list knots that I routinely use just now as often.

Fun fact, everyone one has favorites and opinions. I’ll leave those discussions to keyboard anglers and bar top debaters.

I’m a big fan of the Orvis Fly Fishing Learning Center. I’ve pulled the links for these knots from there. There is a ton of good information on the site so be sure to check it out.

BASIC

Loop Knot – This is my “go to” fly to tippet knot. I use it because it lets the fly swing freely from the tippet. Tip: the smaller the tippet the more wraps. I use 4-6 wraps for 3x-6x tippet. 3-4 wraps for 0x-2x.

Here are the links to the Orvis animation and video of how to tie the knot.
Non-Slip Mono Loop Animation
Non-Slip Mono Loop Video

Clinch Knot – this knot is fast and simple to tie. I use this to tie dropper tippet to the bend of the hook on a dry dropper rig.

Here are the links to the Orvis animation and video of how to tie the knot.
Clinch Knot Animation
Clinch Knot Video

Surgeon’s Knot – After tying flies to tippet, this is the knot I wind up tying most often. The blood knot is neater, but the surgeon’s is faster and easier for many people, myself included.

Here are the links to the Orvis animation and video of how to tie the knot.
Surgeon’s Knot Animation
Surgeon’s Knot Video

Loop to Loop Connection – not a knot per se, but how to connect two loops to each other. Used most often to attach leader to fly line. If your leader doesn’t have a loop at the butt end you can use a perfection loop (see below in the good to know section) to create one. Tip: upgrade your selection of leaders, all good one have loops in the butt end. If your fly line doesn’t have a loop in it things are a bit more complicated. You can cut the loop off the leader and attach it to the fly line with with a nail knot. Tip you don’t want to be doing this stream side.

Here are the links to the Orvis animation and video of how to tie the knot.
Loop-Loop Connection Animation
Loop-Loop Connection Video

GOOD TO KNOW

Blood Knot – Sometimes called the barrel knot, it’s the classic tippet to leader knot. Learning to tie it is a right of passage for many guides. If I have time, the light is good and my hands don’t shake to much I’ll use it, but most of the time the ravages of old age and hard living have me retreating to the Surgeon’s knot.

Here are the links to the Orvis animation and video of how to tie the knot.
Blood Knot Animation
Blood Knot Video

Perfection Loop – When you need to put a loop in the end of your leader or tippet this is knot for that. This is an inline loop meaning the center of loop stays centered with the line. You can use a figure eight or surgeon’s loop but they are not as neat.

Here are the links to the Orvis animation and video of how to tie the knot.
Perfection Loop Animation
Perfection Loop Video

Nail Knot – I mentioned this above to tie leader to the line if you can’t make a loop to loop connection. Tip: If I’m going to the trouble to Nail Knot a leader to the line, I’ll go ahead and make a loop connector on the fly line with a short (6-8″) section of 15-20 pound mono. I’ll Nail Knot that to the line and fashion a Perfection loop to the other end. This makes changing leaders that much quicker and easier. I have been known to do this with a new leader, by Nail knotting it to the line cutting it at 6″ at the butt end and adding two Perfection Loops. Next time I change leaders the work has been done.

Here are the links to the Orvis animation and video of how to tie the knot.
Note: they use a tool for this knot, you can also use a small diameter straw, toothpick or finish nail in place of the tool.
Nail Knot Animation
Nail Knot Video
Here is a video from Grog Animated Knots showing how to do it with a tube.

Albright Knot – When you replace your fly line you will need to attach it to the backing. This is a good knot for that.
Tip: I add a little UV Knot Sense to the knot for added security. If you are going after big game fish then use a Bimini twist.

Here are the links to the Orvis animation and video of how to tie the knot.
Albright Knot Animation
Albright Knot Video

Arbor Knot – This is the final knot (pun intended.) This is what you use to attach backing to the reel.

Here are the links to the Orvis animation and video of how to tie the knot.
Arbor Knot Animation
Arbor Knot Video