Barry and Cathy Beck

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Christmas is fast approaching and we are still shipping free! But hurry, time is running out.

   We still have a few spots left in our departure for the Pyrenees, Spain. Join us at Salvelinus La Ribagorza Lodge in Lleida, 1-1/2 hours from Barcelona as we explore the extensive trout fishing opportunities for brown, rainbow and brook trout. October 12-20, 2013. 7 nights/7 days, $4,950 pp. (A great buy in international travel). For complete details, itinerary, and photos look here. Call us soon. Time is running out.

 

  Also don't forget our photo contest.  We've gotten some great entries already but we'd love to hear from you!  Details here

July found us back in Iceland for our second trip. This year we had more clouds and rain, but the fishing was just as good. Once again it was almost all dry fly fishing for big brown trout averaging 4-7 pounds. We used big foam beetles, parachute Adams, and Wulffs. Sometimes we trailed a small nymph but often it was a single dry fly. The river flows north to Husavik where it enters the ocean, just under the Arctic circle. We're already planning to return in late June, 2014. 

   Everybody is talking about the 17-year cicadas that are going to show up here anyday. From Connecticut to North Carolina, this is the year. It's an interesting insect, read more about it here- 17 Year Cicadas.

   Our Super Beetle works perfectly for the cicada. Actually in New Zealand the guides call it a cicada. So, in anticipation of what could be some of the best fishing in 17 years (let's hope so), we're offering our Super Beetle Selection for just $15.95 (regularly $21.95). This offer is good until Father's Day, June 16. Place your order here Super Beetle Selection. .

   Get ready for the Cicadas & Father's Day Too!

 

 

We recently spent 5 nights/4 days at Deep Water Cay for Frontiers with a few client friends for our first visit. Located on the east end of Grand Bahama Island, we flew into Freeport and were driven to the ferry dock and then a short 8 minute boat ride to DWC. We found big bonefish, superb accommodations, meals, guides,& boats.  What a great place for a non-angler &  lots of activities for families too. Bill & Lisa Culbreath do a great job as managers and Lisa and Cathy got to fish together. We hope you enjoy the photos.

 

  Last Thursday we were at the Philadelphia Angler's Club where Barry gave a presentation on Streamer Tactics for Big Fish. Our trout season opened here in northeastern Pennsylvania on Saturday and after several weeks of below average water levels, we got much needed rain and for the opener the stream was a tad high and off color. Perfect water for fishing streamers.

  With Barry's talk fresh in my mind, I thought it would be a good time to talk a little about fishing streamers. Streamers represent things that swim through the water that a trout would like to eat - skulpins, minnows, crayfish, leeches and so on. Things that make a meal. Streamers can be fished unweighted or weighted using lead eyes, cone heads, lead can be wrapped on the hook before tying the fly, split shot can be added to the leader, etc. Unless the water is very shallow, we prefer a streamer with weighted eyes most of the time so we can get an effective jig-like motion when retrieving.

  Most of the time we think the secret in in the retrieve and the depth at which the fly is being fished. If the water is cold and deep the fly has to be deep. If the fish are dormant on the bottom, a slower retrieve may be needed because the fish are not going to move far or move quickly. The fly has to be

    Join us at Boca Paila, Mexico, June 2-9. It's perfect timing for permit and snook, and the bones are here all the time. This is truly the Grand Slam capital of the world. We've hosted more than 25 trips to Boca Paila and it remains the best place for anglers in pursuit of permit as well as a perfect destination for new saltwater anglers. Something for everybody. In addition, the beautiful beach, white sand, tropical setting make it an excellent choice for non-fishing companions or anglers who want to enjoy both the fishing and the R&R. Boca Paila is one of the great buys in saltwater lodges.

 

  2 Rooms left. 7 nights/6 days. June 2-9, 2013. $3,100 pp dbl. occupancy, shared boat/guide. $1,575 non angler. $5,325 single/private boat. See the Details.Hope to see you there!

Tired of winter? Drop everything and get out of town for a few days. Join us in the Bahamas at Deep Water Cay for 5 nights/4 days of bonefish and warm tropical sun, April 21-26. This accommodation is for a single angler ($6,395) or 2 anglers sharing a guide and room ($4,246pp). Get all the details at Hosted Trips or contact Joe Linscott at Frontiers, 800-245-1950. We hope to see you there!

With trout season just around the corner (April 13) here in Pennsylvania, we thought it might be a good time to let you know about a tying video that we posted to YouTube this week, Cathy Beck's Super Beetle. This beetle is a fun, inexpensive pattern to tie and you'll be surprised at how well it works.

As soon as the weather warms up, terrestrials will become active and this is a great pattern to tease up fish. It floats well, is easy to tie, and is a great fly to trail a nymph behind. We've used it for trout all over the world and it never fails. 

The Super Bugger is another great eary-to-tie pattern to use when the water is cold, high, or off color. It's a good search-type streamer and it pushes a lot of water so it gets the attention of the fish even when they may not see it. Both of these patterns are also available for purchase from our store. We tie the Super Bugger in tan, black and olive.

Our water here at home looks very good. We haven't had any extremely high water this spring and now that the weather is warming up, we should have good spring hatches. If you haven't fished our private water on Fishing Creek, you might want to consider a day with one of our guides. We think our freestone water is pretty special and we think you will too. Check out the details and then give us a call to arrange a date. Wherever you are, if you're in trout country, we hope you have a great season!

We're wrapping up our stay in Argentina with only two more fishing days here at Arroyo Verde. We fished for 5 days at San Huberto and the Rio Malleo, 3 days at Quemquemtreu on the Collon Cura, and now we are at Arroyo Verde on the Traful. We've had an amazing run of beautiful early fall days with just a couple windy, cloudy days. Some of our group did San Huberto only, others moved around a bit, and now the rest of us are about to head home. It's been a great journey and we'd like to share some photos with you.

 

  

    Do you have a special anniversary this year?

   A honeymoon?

   Is Safari not checked off your life list?

   Or maybe just a dream of Africa?

 

  

 

This is an exordinary 13 night private safari to Tanzania and Kenya for the Great Migration: One of the greatest spectacles in the natural world. June 18 - July 1, 2013.

No one knows how long the great migration will last. The threat is the Mara River which suffers from less water every year. But for now, it is a robust force of nature with millions of animals on an endless march of life and death and rebirth. As reported by 60 Minutes, a half million gazelle, hundreds of thousands of zebra, and more than a million wildebeest and other animals cross to the Masi Mara followed by predators of lion, cheetah, hyena....and the biggest of all, crocodiles patrolling the Mara River.                                                                                                     

We'll follow the migration in luxury suite accomodation from the luxurious Arusha Coffee Lodge, the elegant Lake Manyara Tree Lodge, the always popular Ngorongoro Crater Lodge steeped in the romance of Africa, and finally always a favorite - Serengeti Under Canvas.                                                                                           

Join us as we experience the great migration of animals following the green grass as the dry season moves the herds 350 miles from the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Masi Mara in Kenya. It truly is an emotional, spiritual journey. It will move you in ways you never thought possible.

Please refer to our web site for details and photographs.

 

 

 

I don't know how many years the Gonzalez family has owned and operated Boca Paila fishing lodge on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, but if I had to guess I'd say close to 50. Generations of saltwater anglers have caught their first bonefish, or permit, or tarpon, or all three for a Grand Slam at this wonderful destination. We have enjoyed hosting more than 25 trips to Boca Paila and hope for many more, but the word on the street is that the lodge has received an inviting offer to sell. If it goes through ans we understand that it's being entertained, it sounds like it might be made a private property. Many of us cut our saltwater teeth at Boca Paila, I know Barry and I did, and we will be sad to see it goes - if it goes. It still remains to be seen.

We are hosting our annual trip to Boca Paila June 2-9, timed for clear water, good weather, low wind, bonefish, permit, tarpon, snook. If we're lucky, we might get them all! Go here for details.

We hope this is not our last trip to Boca Paila, but if you've been thinking about a first saltwater fly fishing trip, this would be a good one. If you've been to Boca Paila before you know the old-world charm and the fishing possibilities that has made this lodge famous in the fly fishing business. Whether a first trip or a return, you may want to do it this year, and we'd love to have you join us in June. Contact us or Bob Artzberger at Frontiers.

 While we're on the subject of Mexico, we still have rooms available at Holbox Island Fly Fishing Lodge, July 13-19. Yes, I know it's hot, but historically it's not any hotter in Mexico in July than it is in Pennsylvania - and we don't have any tarpon swimming around waiting for us to throw a Black Death to them. We've always stayed away from July, but the experts there tell us that if we're serious about big tarpon, that's when we need to be there. Calm seas, plenty of fish, exciting fishing. We're all for it. Fishing runs from about 6:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. followed by our siesta, a swim, cocktails and dinner. Whether you're after baby or big tarpon, what's not to like about this? It's a great trip. Check out the details and join us!

And, getting away from Mexico for a minute, we have one room/boat left at Deep Water Cay, April 21-26. 5 night/4 day fishing. Take a short break and get out of town for a few days. Check it out.

 Learn to handle long casts, wind, and heavy flies easier by using a double haul, a technique used to increase line speed making it possible to cast further, cast more accurately, and with less effort. Here are the steps.

 

I've been working with the Mongolia file and I can't stop thinking about the trip. I've got to tell someone about it, so I've chosen you. We are returning to Mongolia in late September for fall taimen fishing at Sweetwater Travel's Eg Ur camp. From the photo, you can tell that this is a beautiful camp on the banks of the river. While it is rustic, it is very comfortable with wood stoves in each ger, hot showers, and good meals in the dining lodge. Fall is an amazing time to be in Mongolia and after a week in camp, we'll travel on to see the Eagle Festival.

 

Hunting with golden eagles has been a Mongolian tradition for a 1,000 years, passed down from generation to generation. The young female eagles are taken from the nest just before they are able to fly and adopted by their new "parent" for eight years before they are allowed to hunt freely. By this time the bond is so strong between the eagle and her owner that he knows she will not leave him when set free to hunt. The Mongolian children trap ground squirrels for the young eagle to eat while she in "in training" for the eight years.

You can view the itinerary and photo gallery on our web site by clicking HERE

I've also found two amazing photo albums on the web and these are the links for them:

https://www.google.com/search?q=mongolian+eagle+hunting&hl=en&tbo=u&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=sjjwUPySMZKq8ATO_IHYDA&sqi=2&ved=0CDoQsAQ&biw=1069&bih=584

http://rogerarnold.photoshelter.com/gallery/-/G0000q3lwx6aULw8/

Along with the albums I found three very informative Youtube movies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFQ4YcLJIs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTPWr7gc2gM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5n_duH-e6E

Traveling across Mongolia to get to the Eagle Festival is an adventure in itself. We've heard about the Eagle Festival for years and we're already going to be in the country so we thought, "why not?" We're working with an amazing company in Mongolia, Hovsgol Travel Company, who is arranging the itinerary and who has been working with Sweetwater/Frontiers from the beginning of the camp more than 15 years ago.

If you would like more information or have an interest in joining us, please contact us or Hank Ingram at Frontiers, 800-245-1950, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

We'd love to have you join us!

Cathy & Barry

 

This is our second day at Los Roques, Venezuela. Weather is beautiful, town is quiet. We're a little bit a head of the tourist season. We're all getting lots of shots at bonefish on the pancake flats and the migratory tarpon are beginning to show in the harbor. Yesterday we jumped one that went about 60 pounds - we're going back there today.

The one thing I was reminded of yesterday was to be barefoot on the deck. I thought we were wading so I had on my flats boots and then we found some baby tarpon along the mangroves so we fished from the boat and I was constantly standing on my line because I couldn't feel it. I finally stopped, took off my boots and fished barefoot, much better. After a while I put on socks because the sun was pretty intense and didn't want to get burned. This is much like snook fishing, they appear and you have to cast quickly. Being ready on deck, fly in hand, line under control and ready to go. It's easy in the breeze to have the fly tangled around the standing line or the line sliding off the deck, there's a thousand things that can go wrong and it will go wrong. You don't get a second first chance.

We found a flock of flamingos. It was a nice contrast from the Pileated Woodpecker that Barry photographed at home last week in the snow.

 

 

 

 

 

Preventative Winter Maintenance

This is a good time of year to think about our tackle, especially rods and reels. There are a few things we could do now that might save us some frustration and expense later on and it will get us ready for the spring fishing – that is hopefully just around the corner.

Take a careful look at your rods & reels for anything that requires factory attention. This is a good time to send tackle in for repair. The warranty departments are often busy in prime fishing season, but can usually get repairs turned around quicker during the slower winter months.

Rods -

Examine the tip top and other guides for wear. Pay very close attention to the tip top as wear usually shows up on this guide from the line traveling in and out of the rod. The tiniest uneven spot or slight crack in the finish of the guide will ruin fly lines. Often your fly shop will have a rod repair person who can replace guides. If not you should contact the manufacturer about replacement.

The ferrule should not show any wear either. However, if the rod has been fished with loose ferrules it will eventually work into a broken ferrule. Telltale signs of this damage will be slight cracks in the female ferrule. If you see anything that looks suspicious, show it to someone at your local fly shop.

We use Simple Green on the cork rod handles. Wet the cork, spray with Simple Green, wait a minute or two, and wash off with a soft brush under clean running water. Let the rod air dry overnight to make sure all moisture is gone before putting it back in the tube for storage.

Pledge Wipes work well on the blank to restore a nice clean finish.

Reels -

Follow the manufacturer's instructions for reel lube. Depending on the drag system, your reel may not require and lube.

Look for corrosion on any screw heads, but especially on the reel foot. If you find anything that looks like it could be corrosion or lead to it, clean the area carefully with WD40 using a Q-tip or soft toothbrush (but not your wife's).

We use Pledge wipes on the outside of the reels to wipe away any dirt and to add a nice clean finish.

Look carefully at the line guard where the line comes off the reel to make sure it is not worn. Even the smallest grove made from the line wearing against the guard can make a sharp edge that can ruin the line.

Turn off all drags. If the drag is left on it can weaken over time.

Fly Lines -

All fly lines should be checked for wear and then put away clean for the winter. Use the manufacturer's suggested line cleaner. We prefer RIO's AgentX Line Dressing. Modern fly lines should never be cleaned with WD40 or Mucilin. Our lines today have sophisticated coatings which require sophisticated line cleaners.

To clean, pull as much line off the reel as you usually cast. Lay it in loose large coils on the floor. (If you have a pet cat, put him in another room.) With a clean paper towel put a squeeze of cleaner in the towel and pull the line through it working toward the leader. When you get to the end, fold the towel to a dry spot and pull the line back through. Wind it back on the reel.

Be watchful of cracks and rough spots in the line. If during the fishing season the line came in contact with Deet (di-ethyl-toluamide) from insect repellents, the line will appear as dry and cracked. Unfortunately, it will continue to deteriorate and will need to be replaced. A burr or crack in the rod tip or guide will also ruin your fly line. The leader or tippet can cut through the line if it gets tangled. This usually happens when a frustrated angler pulls on the mono and it cuts into the soft coating on the line. Modern lines are expensive and care should be taken to help them last as long as possible.

Before fishing in the spring replace your tippet material and leaders. Never store these items in the light. Keep them in your vest, desk drawer, or gear bag. Ultraviolet light will cause the mono to weaken and you'll loose knot strength. Always start with fresh leaders on your fly lines and fresh spools in your vest.

By taking time now to look over our equipment, we can save time later in costly repairs, replacements, or fish lost.

We've just added a photo album to our Connect page from our recent trip to Tres Valles, Argentina, for you to enjoy. For those of you who have been here with us, you know what a beautiful destination this is.

As part of our new website Connect Community, we ask that you become a subscriber in order to enjoy all the benefits. This way we can let you know when the blog updates, when we add photo albums, and add to the store. In general, it keeps us all in the same loop and makes check-out from the store easy. You'll also be able to share your own photos, thoughts, and experiences with each other.

It's free, it's easy and only takes a minute. Go to Our CONNECT page by clicking here
Then:
1. Click Join Us Now, It's FREE
2. Fill in your information, agree to the terms and click Next
3. Add as much information to your profile as you'd like, and click Register
4. You can now add a photo for your profile, or just click skip
5. You will receive an email to activate your account with Connect. Click on the link to activate your account to be able to Log In.

Thanks for joining and welcome to our Community! We look forward to hearing from you!

2013 Angler's Wall Calendar

Makes a great gift for your favorite Angler!

Includes September-December 2012, 4 bonus months. Start using it now!

Large boxes to record dates and special events

Moon phases, US and international holidays

North American hatch dates

$13.99 plus $6.50 shipping

Purchase a calendar and sign up for our online Connect Community & receive FREE Shipping!

  ***Price discount will be reflected at checkout***

Click here to purchase it at our online store!

All Beck photos. Calendar By Willow Creek Press

“The fly fisherman's choice since 1975”

 

This has been an interesting week here at Tres Valles, Argentina. We've had a mixed bag of weather but lots of sunshine, typical of spring in Argentina. Lots of wind in the beginning of the week followed by warm sunny breezy days - perfect fishing weather - and finishing up today with very little wind, some sunshine, and some showers passing through the valley. All of the streams and spring creeks are in great shape and we've all enjoyed a new spring creek located in the next valley over. The more we visit Tres Valles, the more we love it. There is no end to exploring new water and discovering new fishing spots in this part of Patagonia. We start home tomorrow but are already looking forward to next year!