Southern Culture on the fly

Who is up for 150 pages of Monday morning procrastination? Another great online magazine from none other than here in the Southeast. Full time guide David Grossman from Ashville, NC has put together a killer 'zine with way more info than ads and some great photography to boot. Check out their site, Southern Culture on the fly , where they released issue 0.5 last spring and now have published Issue #1.

S.C.O.F

New Contemporary Sportsman

The latest Contemporary Sportsman is out! What could be better than wingshooting and flyfishing in the same place?!?

Damn Good Read!

Introducing The Humidor

If you don’t know, I dig a good cigar, but a good cigar doesn’t have to come from an island 90 miles from Key West nor does it have to cost more than ten bucks. Don’t get me wrong, I have been lucky enough to have my fair share of Cuban Cigars (real ones) not the counterfeit ones you buy when you go to the Bahamas on a family cruise. I stand by a Montecristo #2 when I have that option but my income and legal matters inhibit me from keeping a few on hand.

You will find most of my cigars I discuss here will be rolled in the DR, Nicaragua and Honduras. Rarely will I spend over $6 a stick “retail” or $3 a stick when ordering online. Currently I have a box in my humidor that I paid $1.75 a stick! Just as with wine there are gems that are easy on the wallet, you just have to do your homework and try different sticks until you learn what you like. Personally, I enjoy full flavored cigars with oily maduro wrappers and Nicaraguan fillers. Some that top my list are the CAO Mx2, Rocky Patel’s The Edge and a Diesel Unholy Cocktail. Each is an excellent after meal smoke with thick velvet smoke and paired with a scotch or bourbon whiskey.  For a nice day time smoke I turn to a lighter mild-medium smoke that I can enjoy on the boat or at a tailgate. Some of the best are Nick Perdomo’s Slow Aged 826, Indian Tabac Classic or Limited Reserve and a Gran Habano Vintage.

Disclaimer* With the exploring that it takes to find excellent cigars that wont break the bank be prepared to smoke one or two that are dog shit. My advice, don’t just buy a cheap box. I always try new sticks in singles or five packs.*

Hopefully I can introduce some new brands to cigar smokers or help someone who enjoys a cigar but doesn’t want to blow ten bucks a stick. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for supporting local cigar shops that bring something to the table, but all too frequently you find a shop owner that doesn’t want to take the time to help you out if you don’t have the coin to spend $250 on a box. But, for those that are willing to help and teach you a few things and know what you like and what your budget is, support them! I have a great shop by my house; Tobacco Cove on Baymeadows Road is the shit. Great people and great smokes, plus every month or so they do a tasting where a cigar rep brings a bunch of samples and they hand out free smokes and have raffles to win stuff. Also, the gem of a serious shop is they have a few sticks that they created just for them. Tom, from Tobacco Cove has a smoke dubbed the Gringo that resembles The Edge from Rocky Patel. It rocks, plus doesn’t carry the same “brand name” price tag. Stop in and introduce yourself and be honest what you’re looking to try and spend, they will point you in the right direct. There are tons of incredible smokes in the $5.50 and under price range to try so you can get a feel for what you like before you order boxes or sampler packs from places like cigarbid and cigarsinternational.

So, check out The Humidor page for what I smoke and reviews. 

The cool down begins

Unfortunately, other responsibilities coupled with sub-par fishing conditions have keep me off the water and the fly rod in the tube lately but the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. Last week after work dad and I got on the water for some low tide action and although we boated a few fish there really wasn’t anything to get really excited about but looking forward is a different story. The fall cool down is starting to happen and is making the fish; both fresh and salt become more active every day.

Saturday morning I was on the water before day light and was greeted with an incredible sunrise along with a howling NNE wind. Since it was less than optimal fly rod conditions I decided to use my time wisely and scout new areas that were exposed due to the low tide. The low water offers the opportunity to see what fish attracting structure lies in the maze of salt marsh creeks plus there is always that chance you will find a redfish cruising the shoreline with his back out of the water. After four wind blown hours the Gheenoe was back on the trailer and headed home… I had yard to mow. 

Seatrout on Fly - White and Chart Fro-Toad

With the lack of success from the morning trip and finally getting all the chores done I spent 30 minutes in the pond behind the house with some bass poppers. Working the bank yielded a few over zealous one pounders, until the proverbial “last cast”. The fish was just over four pounds and certainly made the day, until watching the ass kicking in the swamp later that night. 

Bass on hand painted popper

With Monday looming I decided to erase my case of the Mondays with an after work trip in the Gheenoe to fish some of the places I scouted in Saturday. The tide was high at 4:05p and although I do not like fishing a high as much I knew by the time I hit the water it would be flowing hard and hoped the fish would be moving. Small feeder creeks dumping water over oysters produced about a dozen trout that were carbon copies of one another at 14 inches. As the sun went behind the trees I opted to change over to a topwater plug and on the first cast landed a nice redfish that was slightly overweight to say the least. It resembled an over fed house cat with its big gut and tiny looking head. See for yourself. 

Red on Topwater

Also, this will be the last evening trip I will ever elect not to bring a cigar. The bugs were all over me and if not for long sleeves, pants and a buff it would have been miserable.  

Monday's Sunset

Again I apologize for the iPhone pictures.