Frog On The Fly

Cheech: Dude, i'm fish'n friday & saturday. U have a green light.

JayMorr: I'm in!

Cheech: WORD.

So when the text came in, it was a go. 6:00am sharp and the bull frog's were poppin'. A cast to the bank and Kermit was on! Maybe he didn't like the impersonation of the froggy I was throwing?

It didn't take long for the water to explode. Bass were chasin' frogs and the action was HOT! Cheech was crankin his retreives fast and it was almost dejavu from a few weeks past out on the pond. I was shaking my head and hard on myself for leaving the camera bag sitting on the table. I did have my back up - my phone. I busted out the LG Voyager and started snappin'.

The cool morning turned into a hot afternoon and the fishing slowed down a bit as the sun pounded us with it's scortching rays. I started huckin the spin cast and managed to pull a few from the shadows. Cheech has a sweet little setup and switching between fly rod to spin casting was the ticket.

This trip go's down as another great one. I have enjoyed fishing with Cheech. It's all about having a great time and it's refreshing to get out on the water and stick some large mouth. And the Kravers afterwards was filling. Remind me to take a snapshop of the food next time.

RIBBIT!

PS. Sorry Kermit.

~JayMorr

My First Few Shots & IR Photos From The 40D

I have been having so much fun with the new camera body! I can't put it down. I have been taking it everywhere. The Infra Red shots are still coming along and I am learning a lot as I shoot on the new camera. I have yet to get it out on the water mainly from time constraints. My son made the baseball allstar team and I have been watching him play every night. I can't wait to get some IR fishing shots. I have a bunch in mind that I want to take and I am really looking forward to getting out in the next few days. I hope you enjoy the photos.



~JayMorr

JayMorr Got An Upgrade!

Over the past year I took my photography more seriously and I upgraded from several nice point and shoot digital cameras to the Canon XTi. Since moving to Digital SLR I have been a constant student of photography and learning all that I can from anyone in the industry. Most of my learning has come from several individuals over the web who have taken the time to critique my photographs and help me improve on technique and photo composition. I have been spending countless hours as both a lurker and forum poster on several photography websites. I have learned so much, yet I find it exciting and amazing how much I improve each month behind the lens.

This week I picked up my new camera body. The Canon 40D. I debated over and over if I should go with the Canon 5D and get a full frame camera or even if I should convert over to Nikon and pick up the D300 series. With a budget in mind and the thought of $$$ signs from losing my current lens line up, I made my decision on the 40D.

Shooting on a Canon XTi has been awesome. I love my camera. I am confident with the controls, the LCD format and when I learn something new I eat it up! With the 40D there will be a learning curve, the format has changed and the added control is going to give me the boost I have been waiting for in my photography. Over the next few weeks I will try and post some results taken from the new camera. I am anxious to get it out in the field for some birding shots and of course capture some fly fishing moments for some upcoming article assignments that I am currently working on.

I thought I would mention that I am working on getting a price sheet put together on my prints. I have been contacted by many of you who have expressed interest on purchasing some of my photos. I will be completing this task shortly and will make them available on JayMorrPhotography.com. I appreciate all of your comments and experessed interest. It means a lot.

If any of you are wondering what I will be doing with my XTi body, I have thought about converting it over to Infra Red. Having the conversion done will both speed up the shots and allow a better setup with not having to use a filter. I am very interested and excited to get more involved with IR photography and I think the XTi could be a great back up camera for this type of shooting.

~JayMorr

Bass Hunter Part II

We were killin' it all day long. Three and four pound bass were putting a bend in the eight weight and my shoulder was getting soar. Cheech's boat was nice and had me wanting to get something for my family. The more I fish warm water, I think about getting my kids out in a vessel where they can stick fish. The day was beautiful. The cloud cover was gone by mid afternoon. We were making casts to the shadows and the bass didn't stand a chance. Cheech was putting on a clinic and I even managed to get the Heisman trophy shots! The day came and went so fast. We had dinner at a mom and pap shop not to far from Cheech's place and it hit the spot as we laughed about how sick the day turned out. This trip go's down as one of the best and I can say I caught some trophy bass. I can't wait to get back out fishing with Cheech. I learned a lot. His knowlege in patterns, and fishing techniques helped me think outside the box and learn something new! Now we just need to catch some four pound smallies out of a little lake up near Heber :)








~JayMorr

Bass Hunter

(Click to enlarge the photo)

When I got the phone call from Cheech to fish the pond, I had no idea what layed ahead. I was told two things:

1. Bring your eight weight.
2. You will catch the biggest bass of your life, guaranteed!

The biggest bass of my life? NO WAY! The weather was "iffy" and the chance of rain and wind was the forcast. I hoped for cloud cover and no rain, my Canon Xti does not have a weather seal on the camera body. I packed hoping for the best. Cheech and I loaded up his vessel. It is a boat that has seen its share of trips. The battle wounds show through the camo paint job and the painted jaws share a story of good fish karma. I was amazed at the size of the pond. It had to be over 150 acres of fishable water and it didn't take long for both of us to get in the hunt and stick some large fish. I had seen some pics from both Stout and others who have had the privs to hit the coveted water front properties. The decks and tiny motes that protrude out into the community water offer prime lies for large bass. And today large mouth was on the menu. Both Cheech and I worked the banks, pounding weedlines and structures. Cloudy, I decided to throw on the popper frog that cheech had tied up. "WHAM", out of nowhere I missed the hook-set on the biggest large mouth I had ever seen. Cheech continued to laugh as I missed the next two on top. He was hooking big fish and had a nice set up with the breenish senko. I ended up trying a few out on the fly rod and had a nice technique with an under arm side cast on the fly rod. My first bass of the day and it came in over three pounds. We were bustin large mouths all day long and with the sun shining through mid day the fishing got incredible. We joked around about the word "EPIC", epic has nothing on this day...it was better and we got the glam shots to back it up. The pond was on lockdown and fishies feared the Bass Hunter.

...to be continued (in a few hours )!






~JayMorr

At The Vise - The Black RLD

I recently did an article for Flyfisher Magazine and received permission to link it on the blog. Fly fishing for Carp has grown over the last couple of years and so has the reputation of "The Black RLD". Attached is the article with some history on this fly pattern and how to fish it. Tie a few up in various colors, and give them a try!

~JayMorr

"PIKE!"

(click on photos to enlarge)

Memories of Brainerd Minnesota still haunt me. Ten hours of Hockey each day and my fishing breaks to the pond out back of the A-Frame cabin seem like a lifetime ago. I will never forget my first Pike that I caught and the fight it gave me on my Southbend using a large Blue Fox Spinner. Looking back on that day I remember the excitement and rush that I felt. It truly was a fish of a lifetime for me. When I first heard mention of catching Pike in Utah I thought "P-L-E-A-S-E"! While guys are out dredging the Middle-P there are a few that have been quietly fly fishing outside the "norm". Stout (Brent) has been hunting Tiger Muskie, Pike, Wiper, Carp, Lake Trout, Bass before it became cool and turning guys on to a different style of fly fishing. His personal goals to catch some of these species all on the fly has inspired a challenge. For a few of us the chase began a couple years back. Some of these species have short windows for catching them, and timing is everything. Timing, weather, and then locating the fish... it's work; but the rewards are great. Pattern after pattern have been narrowed down to a select few, size, color. And different techniques with line weight and presentation dialed in. Stout's payed his dues! For some the thought of pounding the water all day with the hopes of only getting a shot at one fish is not worth their time. For others it is about the challenge, and a shot at playing a fish of a lifetime. In the end it is about doing something different and learning something new and the returns are great for those that pay their dues! Stout couldn't make the trip this time but both Jason and I were eager to scratch PIKE off our list of species still left to be had on the fly. It was slow but the anticipation of a ferocious take keeps us both on guard and working the banks. Off the point Jason hooked up on a baby Pike and it put a bend in the 8-weight. Although a baby it fights hard. Hooking into a small Pike vs. a Forty+ inch fish puts things in perspective. The day was mostly met with long casts to the bank and the occasional take from a "Smallie". The Perch were absent and so were the Walleye. The day ended with a nice hook-set on a meandering Carp. The day was beautiful and one of us was able to now claim "Pike On The Fly"!










~JayMorr