Holiday Greetings

I would like to wish each and everyone a

Happy New Year

and

Many Great Days On The River

Merry Christmas

To all a good night and may all your dreams come true.

Happy Holidays

This time year always reminds me of Joni Mitchell’s song The River’s.

The Last verse has a very deep meaning to me.

It's coming on Christmas

They're cutting down trees

They're putting up reindeer

And singing songs of joy and peace

I wish I had a river

I could skate away on

You see I have a river and enjoy the winter on the river.

Merry Christmas

and

Happy New Year

SUE AND AARON

Tying Events

We will be hosting fly tying round tables ... starting off with the techniques for weaved body flies. Stay tuned for details and how to participate.

New Patterns

Peacock River Witch

- The hackles are peacock hurl woven in Grant's style.

- The forward hackle is four hurls per cluster and rear hackle single per cluster.

- The body is Peacock Kreinik woven overhand style.

New Patterns

Boar's Bristle Caddis

- The Hackle is woven Grants Style with boars hair.

- The body is woven Kreinik in the overhand weaving style.

Thanks Guys

Had a good Day On The River yesterday. Thank to all those who came out to cast and a special thanks to all of those who help me every week. I am still recovering from the swine flu and my casting showed it ... my sense of timing was off.

Happy Thanksgiving

To everyone, I would like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.

Day On The River

The Day On The River is canceled do the high water. Gauge depth at Carnation was 50 ft and no bar left at Fall City.

Back from the Swine Flu

I will be back at the Day On The River this week. I hope the water will be workable, but only time will tell.

The Swine Flu Comes To Visit

The bags were packed, the reservations made, the car was rented, and the flies were tied.

My wife started not feeling well and I tried not to dwell on it to much. Then the words I did not want to hear, “I think I have the flu.”

She was right, and so we had to cancel. Cancel our anniversary trip ... but spending a week with my wife is rare time for me ... so important nonetheless.

Needless to say, the Day On The River will be held without me. I will be taking care of Sue and as it should be.

GOOD LUCK GUYS,

Aaron

31 inch Steelhead

Day on the River regular with 31 inch Steelhead buck from local Seattle river.

Rod: Decho 12'6" 6wt spey rod
Line: Rio AFS 400gr shooting head with 10ft intermediate poly leader
Fly: Blue/black leech

Casting Lesson - Tip Path

Here we have a mini-lesson on the importance of the tip path in fly casting. Remember that the "tip follows the butt" and cast accordingly.

History of the Day on the River

The Day on the River program started as way for a group of my friends to learn how to Speycast and use each other's rods to experience different rod/line combinations.

Out of these special times with friends came two important aspects of the day on the river: an opportunity to polish instruction skills, and an opportunity to create the "Tryrack." Both adhere to my philosophy of "try before you buy."

The "Tryrack" affords the customer a chance to pick a rod and line most suited for their casting style before they lay out hundreds of dollars for equipment that may not be compatible. The "Tryrack" contains rods of all weights, lengths, and tapers. Makes range from Meiser, zpey, Winston, Sage, Echo, etc. The "Tryrack" also contains lines ranging from longbelly, midbelly, scandi heads, skagit heads, and various custom lines.

To recap the history of The Day on the River ... I started it in October of 1995 shortly after moving to Washington from Ketchikan, Alaska. The late Bob MacGloflin was working at Swede’s Fly shop in Woodinville, Washington and one day ask me for speycasting instruction. I was honored by the request and said that I would gladly give him a hand with his casting. I added that anyone else who wanted to learn should be there also. The first class of casters from the original "Day on the River" were Bob MacGloflin, Rusty and John Reid, and John Peterson. John Reid is now a FFF Master Certified casting instructor. Over the past 14 years, quite a few speycasters have participated in the "Day on the River" and I have gained a great deal of knowledge from them. The "Day on the River" is popular with both novice and experienced spey casters. I would invite anyone who is in the area on a Saturday morning to join us.

The Shop in Carnation, WA

Day on the River 7/11/09

Another beautiful Washington summer's day on the river was highlighted by a visit from the 2009 Speyorama woman's distance casting champion Whitney Gould. Unfortunately we did not get any footage of Whitney casting ... but we have footage of the regulars casting the Rio AFS line.

Directions to Day on the River

The Day on the River is held every Saturday (9am to Noon) underneath the bridge at Fall CIty.  Parking is available along the Redmond Fall City Road.  Come join us to cast rods from the "Try Rack" or just talk fly fishing with the regulars.  The Day on the River is free and open to anyone with a passion for fly fishing.  Click photo for larger higher resolution image of the where the event is held. 

4th of July SALE

This Saturday's "Day On The River" will not be held due to the 4th of July holiday.

Instead, we are having a 4th of July Speyshop Inventory Reduction Sale. I will be liquidating most of my fly tying materials. Saving of 50% off the listed price.

Please drop by and stock up on tying supplies. For the out of towners, feel free to contact me via email (speybum@comcast.net) or phone (425-333-4446) to get in on the sale.

We will be back on the river in Fall City next weekend.

Fly Fishing Fair

CASTING EXPO & FLY FISHING FAIR
JIMMY GREEN MEMORIAL
LAKE TYE, MONROE
9:00AM – 4:00PM, JUNE 20, 2009

From event web site (jimmygreenflyexpo.com), the fair's objectives are to:
-- Drive awareness and excitement about fly fishing to people new to this historic sport
-- Provide opportunities to learn about fly fishing through instructional demonstrations and skill workshops
-- Connect new and seasoned anglers with the local fly fishing industry leaders
-- Challenge anglers of all skill levels in casting competitions

Learn, Meet, and Complete. Free food and drinks. Two fantastic raffles. Bring your family and friends and come see what makes fly fishing such a fun and enjoyable sport!

Day on the River from May 30

Sunshine and summer run fish are on everyone's minds this time of year. Time to practice in preparation for the opener.

Click on HD for best picture.

Looks Like A Good Summer

With the advent of warmer weather, more and more people are heading to the water with idea of catching fish.
It is nice to see more and more people using the rivers ... maybe a sign of a healing.
Follow my twitter at http://twitter.com/Speybum

Zpey 10ft 4wt Switch Rod

This week's "Virtual Day on the River" took a trip up the Snoqualmie Pass (east of Seattle) to test the new Zpey 10ft 4wt switch rod from Zpey's "Lean Green" series. Aaron Reimer has tuned this rod with a perfectly matched Vogg 156gr Scandinavian shooting head and running line. The combination makes for effortless single hand spey casting as well as double hand casting using Zpey's unique ergonomic curved bottom handle. The Zpey rod proved to be an exceptional match for both river and lake fishing with effortless 70ft casts ... even resulting in a nice native brown trout.

Zpey rods are available Aaron's flyshop.


Click on "HD" for best quality.

Day on the River from April 18

Spring has arrived in Washington: bringing welcomed sights and sounds to the Day on the River. Cherry blossoms cover the well worn trail to the Snoqualmie River and the song from newly arrived birds can be heard over the river's roar.

Some highlights from this Day on the River include:
- Sage TCR 14' 9wt with 85' Carron Jetstream Line
- Extreme wake boarding on the river


Click on HD for best picture.

Day on the River Mar 7&14

This installment of Day on the River includes footage from both Mar 7th and 14th. We had snow on the 7th and sun on the 14th ... and fun on both days.

Rods on display included the following:
- Meiser 15' Highlander 10/11wt with custom line
- Echo2 12'6" Scandi with Rio AFS 400gr
- Sage TCR 9129 with Rio AFS 640gr and Airfo 600gr Compact Skagit


Don't forget to click on "HD" for the best quality.

Day on the River from Feb 28

This week's arsenal of rods on display included the following:
- 17 foot Clan spey rod
- Sage 8129 with 570gr Compact Skagit
- Guideline 13'7" 8/9wt



Don't forget to click on "HD" in the bottom right button.

Day on the River: Feb 14

Some outstanding footage of spey casting was captured from this week's Day on the River. A good turnout with spey rod enthusiasts of all skills and styles. This week's "virtual day on the river" video contains the following:
- Dog vs spey line
- Clan spey rod with custom competition line
- CND Salmo Salar with custom 900gr line and sink tip.



To view in High Definition, click on "HD" in the bottom right button. Double clicking on the video will also take you to YouTube where you can see a larger High Definition version of the video (make sure you click "watch in HD").

Day on the River: Feb 7

This Saturday's Day on the River included familar and new faces. Good weather, new rods, and a run away boat added to the excitement. The new Zpey Switch rod was evaluated and received positive responses. See video for High Definition footage (click on "HD" in bottom right button, or double click on video and select "watch in HD" for larger HD version).

Day on the River: Jan 31

A sunny day with temperature in the high 40's brought out a large gathering for this week's Day on the River at the bridge in Fall City. Today we tested a variety of rod and line combos. One of the tested combos included: Guideline's new switch rods with the new compact scandi lines. Very nice balance for both single and double hand casting.

In addition we have a short "virtual" lesson on the fundamentals of the line "lift" in speycasting.


Once again, click on "HD" in the bottom right button in the video or double click on the video to go to YouTube where you can see a larger high definition version of this video. Also make sure you subscribe to this blog and pass on the link to other spey enthusiants who may find the information useful and entertaining.

Day on the River: Jan 24

With the break in the weather, this Saturday's Day on the River included familar and new faces. The sun even came out for few hours. Below you'll find a virtual experience for those who were not able to attend.


Click HERE to see a larger High Definition version on YouTube. Make sure you click on the "watch in HD" on the bottom right of picture.

This week's discussions include the following:
- Perry Poke and Skagit line
- Sage Z-Axis 8129 with CND GPS line

Virtual Day on the River

I have decided to provide a virtual "Day on the River" experience for those who are not able to attend the weekly events held on the river every Saturday morning at 9:00 am. Each week we will provide insightful video clips from the previous week's actual "Day on the Water" event. In the videos we will demonstrate useful information on spey casting, rods, lines, and a virtual lesson for those who are interested in learning more about the art and science of spey. I look forward to your comments and new topics for discussion at our Virtual Day on the Water.


Click HERE to jump to YouTube where you can see a larger High Definition version. Make sure you click on "watch in HD" on bottom right of video on the new page.

In this video we discuss the following:
- Problem of overpowering with the top hand
- Sage 8129 Z-axis with Rio AFS
- Beulah Switch 6/7 with Rio AFS