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Posted 14:49, 31 August 2009
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- In the Fishing Pictures section, under "Recent Trips" down at the bottom of the page - have a look here for a load of photos from my recent trip into Bolivia. This is just about the most insane freshwater fly fishing I think I have ever seen anywhere on this earth. More photos will be placed around the site in due course, but for now, please have a look through the extensive collection of Bolivia photos - if you have a spare minute, please tell me what you think. Either email me or leave a comment on this blog post. Sight fishing in crystal clear jungle rivers to huge golden dorado and Amazon pacu on the fly is about as good as it can ever get............
- I have also put a load of new bass fishing lures into the "Fishing Lures" part of the Fishing Tackle page, including a bunch that worked so well on my recent trip over to south east Ireland. Perhaps this part of the world should carry a trademark - "the best shore fishing for bass I know of" !! Photos from this trip will be up on the site one of these days. Things are a little hectic here before I head off to Mongolia on a photo job at the end of this week, and the Bolivia photos needed to be processed first.
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Posted 11:22, 28 August 2009
- I got into Heathrow at around 8am yesterday morning and was back in Plymouth with my family by lunchtime - whatever I do in life, nothing beats opening that front door and being enveloped by my two daughters and my wife. Plus my sheepdog Jess of course. I love doing what I do for my for work, but it's tough leaving my family behind on these trips, and I so look forward to seeing them all again. After this trip to Mongolia at the end of next week I should be home for a while. Until Ireland's call becomes too strong to ignore..........
- Believe it or not, I was very/fairly restrained in Bass Pro in Miami when we were delayed - to be be perfectly honest, I actually enjoy shopping for clothes for my two daughters more than shopping for fishing gear. Is that shadow on my computer monitor my nose growing ??!! No, seriously, I love coming home from the US with a bunch of clothes for them. Being a father has made me soft in the head over my girls. The fact that the small 15lb Boga Grip might have found its way into my bag must have been a mistake........about time I had one of these. They cost, but they are the best fish-grips out there, and my getting one was way overdue.
- It's eyes down at the moment processing the mass of photos I shot in Bolivia - on a trip like that I can do what I call a "primary edit" after each day's fishing/photography on my little 10.6 inch Fujitsu-Siemens laptop that has done me such good service for a few years now. The Compact Flash cards from my cameras are downloaded straight onto a little external hard drive at the end of each day - I then do that rough edit,in a programme called Photo Mechanic (the best photo editing/viewing software I have ever come across, see here), back them up to another external hard drive, try and keyword them if I have time, and then get ready for the next day's shooting. And also have a bite to eat and do this blog. When I am back home and can use my far larger monitors, I do a "final edit" where I go through all the photos again and get rid of any dross I might have missed the first time around. Then it's on to actually processing the RAW files into high-res JPEGs that I can send out to clients and put up on my website etc.
- I spoke with Patrick over in Ireland on my way back down the motorway yesterday, and reports are that the bass fishing is excellent when the weather behaves. I have various plans to get back over to Ireland again this year, but make sure to speak to Patrick here about his bass guiding services. Nothing beats direct access to good local knowledge.
- I also spoke with Mick at Mr. Fish over in Jersey (see here), and they have been getting insane numbers of bass off the surface on lures such as the Xorus Patchinko and the Frosty. I have a feeling that Mick has a bit of secret squirrel lure stuff that he is getting in, so now is the time for me to exert maximum self-control over my wallet !! The guys have also got that new Tenryu Injection in stock - if you have never heard of this particular fishing "wand", head over to an older blog post of mine right here and see what it's all about. I am trying to ignore the fact that these rods are in stock.
- Bass fishing fever strikes again the moment I am home - had a good chat with Nick at Bass Lures yesterday evening, and these guys have got loads of new lures in stock, including those awesome IMA lures that were doing so well on my recent trip to Ireland. They are updating their website daily, so make sure to keep checking back. Their website is here. Anyway, back to the Bolivia photos..............
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Posted 11:23, 26 August 2009
- We got to Santa Cruz airport in Bolivia yesterday morning to be told that our American Airlines flight back to Miami was delayed by over four hours - meaning that I was going to miss my connection on to London Heathrow. Great, all we needed !! So American Airlines put us up in a hotel for the night here in Miami, and I fly back home tonight instead, arriving a day late on Thursday morning UK time. Then I drive back to Plymouth to see my girls. So looking forward to getting home now.
- We have most of the day to kill in Miami, so I guess a trip to a local Bass Pro might be in order !! To those of you who don't know, a Bass Pro "shop" is essentially a fishing tackle and clothing outlet that is about the size of one of our big supermarkets in the UK. Fishing heaven for the tackle tart, but lethal for the bank account. Just about every single thing to do with fishing and hunting that you can possibly imagine, including lots of lovely soft plastics that might work well for our bass fishing. Perhaps these airline delays are simply clever ways to get us spending more money in the US. Me, a cynic ? Never......
- I have had a bit of time now to sit back and think about this Bolivia trip we have just done, because when you are on the spot so to speak, it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new location and lose a bit of focus. Was it as good as I thought it was initially ? No, it was better. Way better. I was going back over the huge number of photos I got on the flight back from Santa Cruz yesterday, and I reckon this particular trip is one of the most special things I have ever, ever done in fishing. Just the variety of photos I have managed to get is off the scale. It is rather helpful that the cost of hard drives keeps on coming down !!
- I fully accept that there are not a whole load of people out there who are going to do a fishing trip like the one we have just done. It is expensive and it is a hell of a long way from home. I would never be doing these kinds of things if it was not my job, but because it is my job I get to see these trips from different angles. I completely understand why there are numbers of fishermen who can and will spend what it takes to access the most untouched and unspoilt fishing on this earth. Some can drop the cash without worrying about it for one second, and some save up for months and months. To cast flies, lures or baits into waters barely touched by mankind is something truly special, and this sight fishing to golden dorado and Amazon pacu in the Bolivian jungle is in the insane category. Talk to the guys at either Aardvark McLeod or The Latin American Fishing Co. about this stuff. If I ever get a chance to go back I would be off like a shot. See you back in the UK. I know I said that on the last post, so hopefully it all goes to plan this time and I get back home tomorrow.
