The Mayfly Project Mentor Interview: Heather Sees

“There was one 17 year-old boy. When we got there, he was  off to the side and disinterested. The staff said that if he liked going out and going fly fishing, they’ll all follow.” Heather laughed, “and right then I made it my personal mission to get him on board!”

Heather Sees currently serves as the National Project Liaison for The Mayfly Project. Along with being a mentor for foster children within the program in her native Pennsylvania, she also offers support for other mentors in projects across the country. Prior to getting involved with The Mayfly Project, Heather lived in Colorado. There, she was president of the Greenbacks of Trout Unlimited. This young group of anglers was, and still is, all about conservation, education, and community. And in that context, Heather decided to reach out to kids.

“I signed up initially to be a part of a Big Brothers Big Sisters fishing event,” Heather recalled. “As a kid getting outside was what I liked, what benefited me. I wanted to share that with kids that never got out of the city.” Shortly after that experience, she came across The Mayfly Project on social media. “I reached out to Jess (Westbrook, TMP founder) and asked if they had anything I could get involved with in Colorado. He said, ‘no – want to start it?’”

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Podcast Ep. 76: Why You Should Fish at Home

I’m try not to be judgmental. However, if you long to get out on the water and ignore the ponds in your backyard you’re doing it wrong.

Across the country there are farm ponds, ponds in parks, and neighborhood retention ponds filled to the brim with fish. They might not be trout. But who cares? Bass, sunfish, and even rough fish are legitimate targets for the fly fisher.

In this episode, I talk about a few ways to think about approaching local bodies of water. I discuss gear, species, and ways to leverage your time in town into a learning opportunity. Most importantly, I encourage you to fish and to have fun.

Listen to the episode below, or on your favorite podcast app.

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Fast Flies: 3 Uses for Colored UV Resin

UV resins are a lot of fun to use. Expert fly tyers and beginners alike can open up a bottle and do amazing things with these quick-curing liquids. Certainly they excel as an alternative to traditional head cement. You can build up bodies with the thicker resins, and use thinner iterations for creating rock-solid  thread wrap finishes.

As an intermediate level tyer, I love reaching for UV resins to get flies in and out of the vise quickly. I have all the respect in the world for tying flies the hard way. I have every intention to continue learning and developing as a tyer. However my fishing and my time  don’t demand magazine-worthy technique or results. UV resins help me achieve those results quicker, more efficiently, and (if I may say) in some much more exciting ways.

Recently I have been using colored UV products, specifically Loon’s UV Fly Finish. There are currently 16 colors available in the line from Loon. The consistency of the resin itself is right in the middle: not watery, but not a thick epoxy. It is easy to work with and cures in just over 10 seconds with a good UV light.

Obviously, you can use these colored resins for hot spots. These triggering target points have proven effective on all kinds of fish, and are an easy addition for fly tyers to make on their patterns. But there are other uses for colored UV resin. Here are three ways that I’ve used the product to cut some corners in my tying and produce more flies faster: read more

The Mayfly Project Mentor Interview: Greg Lunsford

Greg repeated my question, before answering quickly and firmly. “Why fly fishing? I think that just learning to cast, there is satisfaction from that. Before they even catch a fish there is accomplishment. And that makes it special for these kids.”

The kids that Greg Lunsford was referring to are the children who participate in The Mayfly Project. The Mayfly Project is a 501(c)(3) organization that uses fly fishing as a catalyst to mentor children in foster care. Their mission is to support children in foster care through fly fishing and introduce them to their local water ecosystems, with a hope that connecting them to a rewarding hobby will provide an opportunity for foster children to have fun, feel supported, and develop a meaningful connection with the outdoors.

Those words are the mission statement of The Mayfly Project. Greg, who is a mentor for the program in Arkansas, summed it up this way: “You can just be there for a kid going through a difficult time. You can help give them an experience. Even if it is just one day it can be very satisfying for them.”

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Podcast Ep. 75: 3 Angles of Short Fly Rods

In my experience, short fly rods are perceived as “small rods for small water.” While there is truth in that, a sub-7′ rod does a lot more than just measure a few feet less than your normal fly rod.

This episode, I share three things that I think anyone using a short fly rod should be familiar with. I talk about casting, presentation, and fighting/landing fish. I also make the case for why you should use a longer rod when you can get away with it on smaller streams.

If you fish small mountain streams or little spring creeks, you probably fish a shorter rod. Are you getting all that you can out of it?

Listen to the episode below, or on your favorite podcast app.

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Ed Shenk, 1927-2020

It was absolutely a leading question, because I wanted one. He had made dozens over the years. I had plenty of chances to buy them in the past. I had never pulled the trigger, but now I was ready. So I asked if he had any of the little fiberglass rods available.

“Oh no,” he said. “Just the one. It’s the original that I landed Old George with.”

Ed Shenk passed away on April 10, 2020. He was 93 years old. Shenk lived in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and he fished the LeTort Spring Run.

Ed liked to fly fish the LeTort with streamers and tiny flies – using a very short rod. Partially from reading his book as a young man, I learned to fly fish the LeTort with steamers and tiny flies – using a short rod. Nothing as short as the 5’6″ fiberglass model he was referring to when I asked him if he had any left.

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This is My Favorite Spot

This is my favorite spot. It is my go-to, my sure-fire. I don’t believe in luck, but a man who does would call it his lucky spot. The fish I catch there with consistency reinforce this designation. I do pretty well. But having a favorite spot is more than catching big/lots of fish. When you find it, you know it. I’ve known it in other places at other times.

There was the spot where the spring creek widened below a bridge. Here, a small island and some rocks created multiple channels. A number of fish could take cover in parallel. The structure broke up my approach. It was always good for a trout, and in a stream that didn’t give up fish easily – maybe two.

There was the spot with the big plunge pool. Even on a busy stream it was somewhat secluded. Scampering up to a position where one could cast to and/or land a fish wasn’t for everyone. The pool held a number of fish. Catching one always put the rest down. I’d hope for a brookie, or one of the wild browns.

There was the spot with the steep drop-off. Post-spawn, big bass would hide up in the weeds and wait for cruising baitfish. Being shorebound, I’d cast over the fish and hope my movement didn’t put them down. From my vantage point,  the largemouth would move away from me and all I’d see of the take was the gills flaring.

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Podcast Ep. 74: CoronaCast, Week 4

Depending on how you look at things, a lot is happening… or not a lot is happening.

Still, I have a few things to share. I got an interesting email from a handful of entities within the fly fishing industry that I wanted to talk about. Also, I have a tip on how to pack your gear in light of quarantine once this is all over.

I’ve had some great feedback over the past few weeks, and I’d encourage you to reach out if you have any questions or comments.

Listen to the episode below, or on your favorite podcast app.

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Wading Means Moving: Redington Benchmark Boots

Wading is simple… in theory. You stay upright and you stay dry. Don’t go too deep and don’t go in fast water. In warm weather you wear sandals or lightweight shoes. The rest of the year you wear waders and boots.

As with everything else in fly fishing, wading footwear has been designed, redesigned, and re-redesigned to accommodate the demands of anglers. Sandals are  precision molded to keep debris away from tender soles. Wading boots have been constructed to provide sturdy support for the most extreme, demanding conditions.

But what about most fly fishing situations? And what about most fly fishers?

Less is more when you need to move. While they have a place, over-engineered boots have become the standard. The only problem is that they don’t fit the needs of the active angler. Four hours here or there on local water doesn’t require something built for week long Alaskan expeditions. Furthermore, big and clunky is not ideal for hitting the trail and hopping on rocks.

On the other end of the spectrum, ultralight wading footwear is meant to be used by itself. Wet wading is fantastic. But sometimes the water is cold.  Sometimes a little more ankle support or toe protection would be helpful. Sometimes getting wet isn’t ideal, or even just not preferred.

There is an option that splits the difference and really is the best of both worlds: a lightweight wading boot. One example of this solution is the most comfortable wading boot I’ve ever worn.

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Trout on a Razor’s Edge

Especially on the East Coast, things are so incredibly close. The places where you are miles from something are few and far between. With such a significant percentage of the country’s populating living a few hours from the major National Parks and Forests, there is a good chance that you’ll be sharing the backcountry most days you’re out and about. There is no (legal/ethical/non-sociopathic) way to guarantee you’ll be alone. Pursuing the “no-lines” might be one of them. It won’t necessarily result in trophy fish, but the fish will invariably be trophies to you. And ultimately, you’ll be walking in your own line.

That was how I ended the article “Fly Fishing the Blue Lines? Try ‘No Lining'” (link below), It explains how there is more water out there than even the maps let on. In the world of small stream trout fishing, more water means more fish. Everything I wrote still holds true. There are ways you can find more and different fish if you just put in the road and trail miles. There is something incredibly rewarding about the whole experience.

But there is also an ethical question that is worth exploring: If you find a small, remote, somehow-untouched-by-man population of native trout… should you catch them?

I’ll go ahead and give you my answer. It is yes. Go for it.

…most of the time.

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