West River Artwork - Ben West

While in Indy at the Fly Fishing Expo, I had the chance to meet and connect with quite a few great people.  One of which was a local artist named Ben West.  He's a young and up and coming artist who's got quite the fishy side.  

Ben's booth had a few of his paintings, both large and small, as well as a sketch book that featured some amazing drawings and water color paintings.  

What's great about Ben is he's an extremely knowledgeable fly fisherman and local to the Midwest.  With both a passion for guiding and fishing, he seems to bring both those to life on canvas and in his sketchbook.  

We're hoping to have Ben featured later on this year and get to know him a bit better, but in the mean time, check out his Facebook page here: BEN WEST.  

Early Season

“Any chance you can get away for a day this weekend?” I asked. 

“Possibly on Saturday, but I gotta be back by about five.  Isn’t it supposed to be in the single digits this weekend?” he replied. 

“Yes to both.  But there was a bit of open water last weekend, and I didn’t land a fish.  So, better to freeze my butt off with a buddy, than by myself.”  I countered.  “Pick you up around quarter to five?”

“I’ll let you know on Friday.  Just don’t like fishing when it’s that cold.”  he said. 

We connected once or twice before Friday and with the temps still predicted to be around eight degrees before windchill, I thought the chances were slim. But I felt the tug of the water, and really wanted my first fish of the year. 

My phone went off late Friday evening with a text – “see you at 5”.  We were on…

I loaded up the gear in the darkness of the early winter morning.  As the truck rumbled to a start, I tossed in my fishing gear and cameras, and ran back inside to let the car warm up, pour myself a cup of coffee and fill a thermos of the same.  It was going to be a cold day, I tried to enjoy the warmth while it was available. 

Turning the lights off as I rolled in to his driveway, he popped out the door ready to roll, with an armful of clothes matching mine.    With more clothes than we could ever wear, we were determined to stay warm. 

The three hours went quick and we watched the sun begin to pour in to the valleys, revealing the hill tops, melting the overnight frost.  From inside the car it actually looked warm out there.  The outside temp gauge reading twelve degrees told me otherwise.

Barren corn fields covered in snow can be a beautiful thing.  The rolling hillsides painted in white and brown are a stark contrast to the lush green farm fields and valleys of summer.  Rolling up to our normal spot we noticed it was still frozen over.  As we drove along further upstream, we began to notice spots of open water.  We layered up in the car, tossed on our waders and were headed to the stream in no time.

As we approached the water, I told him to take the lead.  He slowly led the way upstream, working the little open water there was.  With every bend, more and more of the stream presented itself, finally revealing moving water from bank to bank and the chance to make a decent presentation. 

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Working our way upstream around a corner, the familiar rings of a trout rising rippled across the water.  I told him to make a few more casts and get ready.  As I pointed out the spot, the fish rose again.  It would require a bit of a tough cast and he didn’t seem up to it, as he looked and me and said,  “It’s all you on this one.”

Since he was handing over the reigns, I took my time and tied on a size 20 Adams and straightened my leader and tippet.  This was my first shot at a fish in 2014 – I didn’t want to mess this up.  As I readied my rig and got in position, he grabbed the GoPro from his bag and said “Whenever you’re ready, let’s do this.” 

A couple of false casts and I laid out a beauty.  About ten feet ahead, perfect drift, a nice mend, and a slow rise.  As the fly disappeared from the surface, leaving only a slight wake, I raised my rod, setting the hook and connecting with satisfaction.  As I stripped in a cookie cutter Driftless brownie, the cold left my body and the warm sensation of contentedness set in.  The ultimate in my book – seeing a rising trout, and outsmarting him for just a second, and bringing him to hand.

Is it Early Season opener yet?

The Town Ninja

RA Beattie is at it again with Simms Films as he follows a local, Tim Yochum, around Bend, Oregon and his passion for chasing trout.  It sounds like this is the first installment of, what is hopefully, at least a few more.  

These are the types of stories that epitomize many of the guys I know.  Reminds me of myself at bit.  Those of us that don't get the chance to live our lives on the water, often spend it locked up in an office, car or truck, a mill, a workshop, or any other place as far from nature as possible.  The guys with a fly rod and box of flies in their back seat, or trunk, ready to go at a moments notice.  The guys who come back from lunch with a bit of mud on their dress shoes because they were chasing bluegill in a neighborhood pond.  These are the guys and gals who really show the drive.  Honestly, I think the Tim Yochum's of the world are more common than not.  

RA Beattie and Beattie Outdoor Productions seek out anglers who live to fish. In their hometown of Bend, Oregon, Timmy Yochum is one who spends as much of his time on the water as possible and reminds us of the drive to fish. Check out the first installment as RA follows Timmy's adventures.