Zach Matthews
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Joao –
You live on Madeira?! That’s amazing. Do you speak Portuguese as your first language? Do they still make the Madeira wine there? And are there really trout?
Please start a new thread if you can trout fish on Madeira and tell us about it.
Zach
PS For the curious: https://goo.gl/maps/1kgs9
Bernd thank you for the post. That was very interesting; I need to re-read it and digest a bit, but your comments on standard deviation make a lot of sense.
In most casting competitions here in the U.S. they measure to the farthest point the line travels, because you’re absolutely right; typically the fly doesn’t turn over. I’m not sure which of those methods this shop used, but hopefully they were at least consistent about it…
Zach
That looks awesome David. The Supreme is just a little too much boat for the Hooch–our gradient is steeper than the White or most of the east Tennessee tailwaters–or that would be the perfect striper craft. My fear would be getting sideways on a rock with current pounding you down here.
Zach
Mike that’s a really cool video. Obviously you were underwater–were you scuba diving or just free swimming?
Travis do you know if there are any plans to modify the mold to allow for the rockering/tunnel hull you describe? And also am I understanding correctly that on the Supremes, thanks to the rockering/intake slot, the jet drive is actually protected by the hull, so when you run over rocks and things the jet doesn’t hang down any further than the hull itself?
Travis I sincerely hope we are in for a run-down on your Hog Island next. I am very interested in those boats myself.
Zach
Hey David –
The key on the flush decks is to throw water on them; that will hold the line on there except in a pretty stiff wind. And even then you can back up and toss your line down into the well of the boat in front of the center console, or if that doesn’t work you can use a Fly Line Tamer or its ghetto cousin the pop-up laundry basket:
One more boat you might want to look at for a budget skiff is the Mitzi or the older Dolphin Superskiffs. I saw a used Mitzi for sale in Arkansas one time for $12,000US fully outfitted with 40hp two-stroke motor. Again there’s the shipping issue but that’s a very versatile boat.
The reason I recommended the plastic skiff up above is that is in fact made of HDPE plastic — not fiberglass, so it’d be super durable given how far you are from our domestic U.S. boat factories.
One more good option is the straight up Panga. There’s a US manufacturer but those things are available all over the world and may be the most versatile craft I’ve ever been in.
Zach
That is cool Dave – I meant to follow up on this the other day. Are you saying that the brookies didn’t necessarily move down here during the last glacial cycle per se, but rather at some point during the several glacial cycles prior to that? That would be interesting because it would also mean, assuming they are genetically distinct, that these particular brookies’ ancestors had survived earlier interstitials like the one we are in now. (Although I don’t think any of the past gaps between ice ages have been as warm as the one we’re in right now).
Zach
That’s really interesting Brian. I used to work at Lost Springs Golf & Athletic Club in Rogers. One thing I learned there was that if you don’t clean the tea jug that sits out all day with bleach, every single night, eventually the scuzz on the walls of the jar will go rancid and give your tea a terrible flavor. Once I realized what I was tasting we got those tea jugs clean as a whistle — but now I always taste-test my tea in a restaurant before consuming. Nothing grosser than getting that flavor and knowing exactly where it is coming from.
Zach
Good tip, Brian. Thanks man.
How much longevity were you getting out of your kegs once you tapped them? I’m assuming you had a CO2 system.
This all came about when I threw a party in the fall and ordered a torpedo keg of our local brewer Red Hare’s Long Day Lager. It was really delicious and we had a couple growlers’ worth left at the end (which I just transferred over and drank). But it occurred to me how nice it would be to have the ability to just pull a couple pints off–I’d probably go for a double tap array with two different beers. However, it would definitely take me at least a month to drink a torpedo on my own, much less two. I think it was like 56 beers apiece.
Zach
Thanks a lot there Eric. Did you do a side-serve or a top-serve with yours?
I actually also got a home brew kit for Christmas — probably the cheapest one on the market. Any advice? Is there a particular type of beer that’s easier to brew than others? I love beer but I am not a huge fan of the super hop-heavy brews that seem to be so popular on the microbrew scene.
Zach
They’re not terrible, David. Similar to a well-equipped larger Gheenoe. The $900 Craigslist boat is probably not in play from Oz.
As for specific cost I am not sure. Travis Wiles owns one so you might be able to PM him, and I have found the guys at the factory to be very nice if you can get ahold of them on the phone. There’s also a podcast interview with owner John St. John when he details what is going on with these boats–they were new when we recorded though so prices may have changed.
Zach