Wilderness First Aid Course

December 4th & 5th Tall Man Outfitters hosted a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) course in Gambier, Ohio.  This 2-day (16 hour) course is a comprehensive introduction to wilderness and rescue medicine. Topics include: patient assessment system, critical body systems, environmental injuries/conditions, anaphylaxis, lifting/moving/extrication, patient carries, backcountry medicine, and CPR. This is a good course for outdoor enthusiasts and is the minimum standard for backcountry guides and professional rescuers.Left: Students practice their patient assessment skills in the wilderness context.  Right: A simulated victim with a bleeding head wound.Eighteen students attended the course including foresters from the USDA Forest Service, a professional fly fishing guide, a naturalist for the Columbus Metro Parks and a couple of amateur adventurers.The course was taught by Wilderness Medical Associates (WMA) instructor, Darren Stokes.  Based in central, Colorado, Darren has been an EMT since 1990 and holds a Masters Degree in Outdoor Recreation. He has been a professional Outdoor Guide and Instructor since 1989 and is the Operations Manager at Four Corners Expeditions just outside Buena Vista, Colorado. He is also a volunteer member of Chaffee County Search and Rescue.For more information about wilderness first aid or to enroll in future courses Click Here to go to the Tall Man Outfitters Wilderness First Aid page.

Big Brown Trout

I’ve received many comments and requests for more information on my previous post about big trout in Ohio.

At this time I don’t have too many specifics beyond saying that there will be an opportunity to fish this water in 2008.

In the meantime check out this link for a short movie of the day Patrick, Jason & I spent at the Big Springs.

Big Springs Movie

And yes, that is a 20+ pound brown trout caught on a fly in Ohio.

Ohio Bass Season Wrap Up

It’s November which means many things but most specifically for me it means a shift away from fishing Ohio warmwater gamefish and back to thinking about trout and steelehead. About ten days ago I guided the last day of the season at the Wilds. *Picture right* What a fantastic place. I learned so much there this season. I even learned a few things about bass.

July I caught and landed my personal biggest largemouth bass on a public lake not far from my house. At 25 inches it rivaled many of the lunkers caught at the Wilds. The one that I didn’t land was heavier.

The smallmouth fishing is also winding down as water temperatures drop. At least on the Kokosing this has not been a great season. Water levels were low from June on and the fishing has been the slowest I’ve seen it in a decade. As anglers and optomists we can only hope for next season to be better.

The reports from the Ohio tribs have started. The Clear Fork is also fishing well. Ohio has so many opportunities for fly anglers, it’s nice to travel but don’t overlook what we have in our own back yards.

Big Trout in Ohio

Ohio is not known as a trout fishing destination. Steelhead certainly, but I’ve more than once had people tell me that there are no trout streams in Ohio worth fishing. Boy are they missing out. Ohio not only has three ODNR maintained trout streams but also numerous privately held streams with exceptional water quality capable of holding trout.I recently had the good fortune to fish one such stream, the Big Springs near Newark, Ohio with the owner Jason Brandt. Jason and his father Karl own and operate the Brandt Trout Hatchery where they raise some of the finest gamefish around. To showcase these fish they maintain a stocked stream on the property and also offer the opportunity to fish wild streams elsewhere in the region.I’ve caught a big fish or two in my time. I’ve caught some fish that gave a memorable fight. Never before have I caught so many big fish, every one with such a fighting spirit and so close to home.I caught more than one 20″+ rainbow trout that tailwalked yards at a time and pulled line of my reel such that I had to be careful not to take the skin off my knuckles. I also landed the largest brown trout of my life. The kyped male had a bull-dog head, wide shoulders and a deep butter belly. I even managed a brook trout with striking colors that rivaled the October leaves bordering the stream.Friend and fellow Mad River Outfitters guide Patrick Robinson caught the biggest rainbow trout I’ve ever seen. To top off the day Jason landed a huge male brown trout that he’d been waiting to catch for five years. The fish was certainly over 20 pounds, more likely twenty-five…and we have photos and video to prove it. It was an exceptional day.The opportunity to fish for these trout will soon be available through Mad River Outfitters and the Brandts. Check back for more details. You can reach the folks at Big Springs at www.fieldandstreamland.com.

Bending the Rules on Ohio Largemouth Bass

In previoius entries I’ve mentioned guiding for largemouth bass at The Wilds. Mad River Outfitters offers an exclusive opportunity to fish these amazing waters right here in east central Ohio. I guided this week in the late summer heat. After meeting my client at The Wilds visitor center our day began with a good look at the white rinos, one of the many exotic species on the property.

In the morning we fished a small, walk-in lake with steep banks and surrounded by tall trees. It was nice to have a little shade but the temperature soon went into the 90’s and I was sweating just sitting in the pontoon boat. My client, Vic, caught lots of bass in the clear water but none of them were very large. People come to fish The Wilds for many reasons but one of them is certainly the opportunity to catch some big Ohio largemouth bass.

Any “experienced” bass angler would tell you not to bother fishing in the middle of a 90 degree day, with a clear blue sky. They might even offer all sorts of “scientifically based facts” as to why one wouldn’t catch large bass under such conditions. I’ve learnt many things guiding The Wilds this season but one thing I’ve certainly learned is that most of the rules I believed to be true about largemouth bass fishing can be bent if not outright broken. I’ve seen more than my fair share of 20+ inch bass this summer and they’ve all been caught under full sun in the middle of the day.

After lunch Vic and I headed into the north end of the property. We stopped to fish a nice sized lake that is known to hold some big fish. (Picture Above) It’s deep and has a number of completly submerged trees which provide great fish holding structure. By then the sun was high and very hot and for all its virtues this lake had no shade. Vic caught a few bass but again nothing large. We moved on.

On our way north we’d passed a couple of “pot hole” lakes. These are not big water, small enough in fact that for the most part they’d been passed by many times. We stopped at one that looked fishy. It also had tall trees that shaded about half the water. Before we even got on the water we could see some large bass cruising the shoreline. Soon Vic was fishing and it didn’t take long to realize that we were at the right spot.

First there was the “one that got away” after savagely attacking a large panfish that was hooked on the fly. Vic has some personal experience with 8lb largemouth bass and he estimated this fish to be that size. I was far enough away that all I saw was the turbulence caused by the underwater scuffle. Then there were some very nice fish landed (Picture Left) and plenty of action to keep our hearts pumping. At one point I was watching Vic’s fly, (a large Whit’s Swimming Frog) and about two feet to the left of the fly the water bulged up about the size of a football. I held my breath, Vic stripped the fly but that fish didn’t take.

This week largemouth bass fishing on the fly is my favorite fishing, and I like bending he rules.

Ohio Smallmouth

Today I went fishing with a friend. It’s a simple thing but it’s the first time I’ve been fishing since I got back from Colorado. I’ve been on the water guiding and I’ve been in the fly shop but hadn’t gotten out fishing.

It was a beautiful day and we got out early morning to beat the crowds. In fact around noon after fishing for almost 4 hours we remarked that we hadn’t seen another person. We spoke too soon and were soon overrun with hardware anglers, tubers and a canoe or two.

Right: Noble casts a fly in one of the deeper holes we fished.

Conditions were great for fisherman, perhaps not so great for fishing. We had a beautiful blue sky and low clear water which meant we didn’t exactly slay fish. I was encouraged to see that the bait anglers didn’t seem to be catching anything either.

We did manage a couple of fish, one of which is my record smallest smallmouth caught on a fly. I was fishing a clouser minnow deep and when I felt the strike I literally pulled the fish right out of the water. It was about a 4 inch fish on a two inch fly.