I will tell you right up front that I haven’t finished this book but, at the pace I have to read with my busy schedule, I felt you needed to know about it. I have a very hard time putting this book down. After each chapter I am hanging and wanting to read the next. Paul Doiron did a great job keeping me on the edge of my seat. He also did a great job researching Maine’s warden service and the state.
So, here is what I know so far. The main character is a Maine game warden, a company has come in and bought up a huge chunk of land in northern Maine and plans on shutting down access to it (sound familiar?) and there is a shooting and the suspect is the warden’s dad. This is not a fly fishing book but is set in our great state of Maine. You will know the towns and locations.
This is going to be a great read the rest of the winter but, if you have the time I bet you won’t put it down. Once I am done I will come back and give you any updates. So go get your copy!
Night of the Hex
Night of the Hex
[media]http://www.vimeo.com/14512208[/media]
If any of you have ever tried to chase the Hex hatch, you know it is one of the hardest hatches to hit. Everything has to go your way; wind, air pressure, air and water temperatures, the list goes on. Around ten years ago I hit it perfectly but, by mistake. I was fishing a small pond in northern Maine and had heard rumors but, had never seen it. I fished this pond all day with not a single rise or bump. With 30 minutes left of day light, the whole pond exploded with three pound brook trout. This hatch brings out the biggest fish! It is something I will never forget.
Night of the Hex is a thirty-one minute film that takes you on the journey of several fishermen in their pursuit of the Hex in Michigan. It takes you on the journey of one fisherman’s first trip chasing the Hex, as well as trips of experienced guides and fishermen and the obstacles they face fishing in the dark, listening for the heart pounding explosions of monster brown trout. Imagine, casting blindly to rising fish and to only hear an explosion some where out in front of you and you set the hook to find a 20 inch brown trout ripping off line!
The footage is top notch and the cinematography really takes you there. I really enjoy how the story unfolds and I think most of you know the pain of trying to hit the hatch at its peak. I was truly entertained by this film and I look forward to more films by Third Year Fly Fisher.
Pale Morning Done
Pale Morning Done
This has become one of my top five favorite books. It is simply a great read and will keep you turning page after page. It is set in Montana in modern day. It’s a story about a guide who has given it up and builds a spring creek on his dad’s ranch. It’s also about controversy and a triangle of close friends and enemies. Marshal is the main character and is torn between a woman who wants him and one that loves him. He also finds himself fighting internally about building a spring creek for people to fish and the exploitation and natural beauty of the creek and its fish. It has suspense, romance, big fish, tragedy, heart break and love but, not in that order. You will find yourself drawn into Marshal’s life and his world of fish, clients and women.
I hope you find this as enjoyable as I have.
Kevin McKay
The Good Life, Film review
Tait and Jax jumped into the pool outside, the steam rose into the air and Kevin waded in behind them. The temperature was a cool 40 degrees while the water must have been closer to 80. It was sunny with a crystal clear, blue sky, the mountains were watching us from a distance and I was in a lawn chair with my winter jacket on and my shades, awaiting a massage. This my friends, is the “good life.”
We were in the tiny town of Bethel, Maine on a chilly March day as we anticipated the premier of Carter Davidson’s third fly fishing movie, THE GOOD LIFE Tall Tails from the East. A dip in the pool for the boys and a massage for me at the lovely Bethel Inn, was prep time before the showing. After that, we enjoyed a great meal at the pub downstairs and walked over with Jim Bernstein, a dear friend and one of the stars of the movie, to watch it in a nearby building. Once there, we enjoyed drinks in the jovial spirit our fellow fishing bums deserved and hunkered down for the viewing. Tait and Jax grabbed their seats in the front row and away we went! THE GOOD LIFE Tall Tails from the East, By Gray Ghost Productions.
Kevin, Tait and Jax are among many anglers in this fantastic film that highlights the triumphs and even a couple of tribulations of the beginning, middle and end of an angler’s day. How each explains the world of fishing and how it meshes with, or is “the good life,” captures the audience. The Atlantic coast is the host as the tour starts with our very own Kevin McKay in the Florida Keys catching sharks and peacock bass! With beautiful footage and the right amount of humor, we are immediately drawn into one fisherman’s story if his version of “the good life.”
A moving clip of women in varying phases of recovery from breast cancer are shown as they tout the good life as the hope they feel when fly fishing at ‘Casting For Recovery’. This is a camp women attend where they learn fly casting and fly fishing techniques as well as how precious life is and how hope is really what fishing is all about each time you cast a fly!
Later in the film you see Tait and Jax shown as sneaking out of school to grab their dad’s boat to head to the local crappie and bass pond, to catch and net a few on their own. Sitting on a large rock the two boys tell their tales of what it is like to fish with each other. Of course, this makes a mom proud, what can I say!
Another fisherman in the film is Jim Bernstein from Eldredge Bros. Fly Shop in Cape Neddick, Maine. Here Jim tells of the concerning case of the change in striper population decline over the past five years or so. In addition, he is concerned about the chemicals found in fish coming out of our oceans. His passion for fishing, as he describes the early morning ocean scene, is obvious.
Each story told is different, yet tells the common theme of the good life and how simple that really is to achieve. It really makes me wonder why everyone doesn’t fish. I have my own life, and the thing about fishing is it makes you stop and realize how good you have it no matter what you have.
For me, watching THE GOOD LIFE just simply makes me want to get out and fish. The footage and scenery is fabulous. The choice moments of slow motion of that fly line paired with the aerial views from above add to the movie’s sense of peace. The music is awesome and the tales are great. I laughed and cried the first time I watched it. It also makes me grateful that my compact family of four all love to fish together and that we are indeed ALWAYS, living the good life.
Kevin and I review movies annually it seems and we have our favorite producers you could say. Carter Davidson is definitely right there. You might think it’s because my family is in this film. Perhaps. But, it is also because Carter has a gift for sharing the experience of fly fishing in a way that points straight to the heart of what viewers want to see in a film about fishing; beautiful fish, scenery, good music, some laughs and emotion.
Some photos from the first showing in Bangor,ME. at the Sea Dog:
Mike thanking Jax for drawing his name for the Grants Camp two night stay
MetalHead ( AEG’s last film)
Today felt like Christmas! When I got to my mailbox there was a yellow envelope from Creekside Media. I wasn’t really sure what it was. I wasn’t expecting anything but, when I saw MetalHead, a big smile came over my face. I was very excited to get home and pop this film in. This is the last movie from AEG (Angling Exploration Group). AEG started the Adventure fly fishing film industry with Trout Bum Diaries: Patagonia, then Kiwi Camo to Fish Bum: Mongolia and the final one with MetalHead.
MetalHead is a film about five guys doing a trip on the west coast for wild steelhead. They show you some huge rewards that come from putting your time in and doing your homework before a trip.
I must say this was the best one by far. I enjoyed the other three and up to this point, Patagonia was my favorite. In MetalHead, they had me right from the start with the building of the boat, and it never stopped from there. I enjoy seeing what it takes to put together a trip like these guys do. They take you through the trials and tribulations of a trip of this magnitude. You can feel the pain of the guy that gets left behind to the ribbing and teasing of the guy who craps in his pants. Unlike the other films, this felt like a trip I could actually do, so it drew me in more.
So as a test, to see if the film was as good as I thought it was, I put the film in my computer and walked away, as my 7 year old and 10 year boys were in my office. An hour later they came out. I could here them laughing at the funny parts and saying, “Wow!” at the exciting ones. I few times I was called into the office to see some huge steelhead.
When my 7 year old came out of the office I asked him what he thought and he said “That was awesome!” Right after, my oldest came out and he said, “Those were some huge fish!”
