WEBVTT - Ep. 37: Dropping Rhymes For Flying Muskies 0:00:06.400 --> 0:00:09.240 Is this the one and only time when the rebel 0:00:09.280 --> 0:00:12.800 crickhopper will actually catch a fish. Sometimes I'll just stand 0:00:12.800 --> 0:00:15.360 there and get bit by like three pithombs. Don't you 0:00:15.440 --> 0:00:19.119 even dare come at me with fruit? Watermelon in Savina? 0:00:19.600 --> 0:00:23.200 Maybe it was the who who have from the US 0:00:23.320 --> 0:00:29.120 customers agent swept his hands Suman nether Wrove. Good morning, 0:00:29.160 --> 0:00:32.000 degenerate anglers. Welcome to Bent, the fishing podcast that has 0:00:32.080 --> 0:00:34.280 grand ambitions to one day get all its hair and 0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:39.120 makeup sponsorships from great Clips. I'm Joe Surmley A Miles 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:41.760 Nulty and uh dude, I think we can aim higher 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:45.800 super cuts all the way and super cut costs only 0:00:45.880 --> 0:00:49.919 six dollars. To believe me, there's no secret. Anyone can 0:00:49.960 --> 0:00:54.600 do it. Don't answer me why they don't. So, just 0:00:54.800 --> 0:00:56.640 to get this straight, I think that that was old 0:00:56.680 --> 0:01:00.800 advertising with the Angler, was that the hair cutting service 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:03.480 they offered were it requires no skill at all and 0:01:03.560 --> 0:01:06.160 can be performed by anyone, by any human. I think 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:08.520 I think that's what they were going for. That that's 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:13.480 what bees were for, weren't they It sucks as it cuts, Yeah, 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:16.000 exactly what do you expect? Man? I mean that the 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:18.880 haircuts there costs six bucks, which is probably why my 0:01:18.959 --> 0:01:20.560 mom took me to super cuts until I got to 0:01:20.680 --> 0:01:23.560 junior high, at which point I refused to get any 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:25.840 haircuts at all anymore so I could grow up my 0:01:26.280 --> 0:01:29.480 sweet sweet locks. Yeah, oh yeah, and I'm I'm I 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:32.680 am fairly certain you were very proud of those locks 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:36.640 back in the day. We just washed the hair well, 0:01:36.840 --> 0:01:38.880 I worked on the hair a long time, and you 0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:42.680 hit it. He hits my hair. I've actually got a 0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:46.600 photo of you with which you sent me from your 0:01:46.640 --> 0:01:50.400 teen years to prove it, and it's hilarious, dud. I 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:52.480 did send you that. I may regret it, and it 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:55.120 honestly if that if that picture had anything to do 0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:58.120 with fishing, it would it would probably be our greatest 0:01:58.120 --> 0:02:01.880 awkward photo of all totally totally see I never had 0:02:01.960 --> 0:02:06.680 long hair, but it was bleached blonde for frosted. No, no, 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:10.600 it wasn't. Now, it wasn't frosted. It wasn't frosted like I. 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:12.519 I did it with the stuff, but I left it 0:02:12.560 --> 0:02:14.440 on way too long, and then you convince yourself like 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:16.160 it looks cool. This is something like the end of 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:19.359 my my punk like end of high school. But I see. 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:21.359 I'm not sending you any of those photos because I 0:02:21.720 --> 0:02:25.160 know better you're right, because I mean in the photo 0:02:25.240 --> 0:02:28.359 that you sent me, you are wearing a fish hook necklace, 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:32.519 like a big thick tribal fish hook like I think. 0:02:32.760 --> 0:02:35.280 I think that's also been used on certain Salt Life apparel, 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:39.040 one of those everybody knows what I'm talking about, or 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:42.400 it was it has been and and yes I did 0:02:42.480 --> 0:02:45.800 wear one of those four and and you're you're playing 0:02:45.840 --> 0:02:51.200 the bongos shirtless. Yeah, I moved out of the metal 0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:54.799 punk era and I was into a reggae phase. I 0:02:54.919 --> 0:03:02.839 think I did not smoked saying whatever you just play, 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:05.440 that's like a real reggae that's like I I was 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:08.000 listening to like Jimmy Cliff and that's like poser don't 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:11.680 count right exactly. But anyway, look regardless, I will make 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:13.760 sure to post that photo up on Instagram today so 0:03:13.840 --> 0:03:17.239 everyone can bask in your eighteen year old glory. But 0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:21.040 in the meantime, a big announcement today. Listen up, Bent 0:03:21.240 --> 0:03:23.239 has got a great new friend. It's sure we do. 0:03:23.840 --> 0:03:27.800 This podcast is brought to you by the number thirteen. 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:35.400 Got the number thirteen tattude on my neck. Ah see. Now, 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:37.840 while I appreciate the reference there and that was spot on, 0:03:38.160 --> 0:03:48.720 I prefer the Danzig version. So that's on Monday. Danzig 0:03:49.040 --> 0:03:53.160 over over cash. You're going over cash? Seriously, Yeah, yeah, 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:56.480 Danzig does does Elvis better than Elvis too in my opinion. 0:03:56.560 --> 0:04:00.800 Look that one I cannot I serious, They cannot disagree 0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:02.400 with you more than I do. But it doesn't matter. 0:04:02.640 --> 0:04:05.200 It's not the point. The point I'm trying to make 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:07.240 is that we're proud to announce that we've teamed up 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:09.680 with thirteen Fishing to bring all of you this show 0:04:10.120 --> 0:04:12.560 every single week. Yes, and I know a lot of 0:04:12.600 --> 0:04:15.720 you already know thirteen. They make fine rods, reels, and 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:20.280 baits for degenerate anglers, whether you embrace the underappreciated genius 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:25.320 of Dan Zigg or follow the conformists Hollywood polished Joaquin 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:30.119 Phoenix style of music and fishing. Thank you for working 0:04:31.320 --> 0:04:38.320 worst insult into that conformist dude, conformist conformist. But thirteen Fishing, however, 0:04:38.440 --> 0:04:41.440 is not. They make unique, well thought out, badass gear 0:04:41.480 --> 0:04:43.560 to cover almost all your fishing needs, and in fact, 0:04:44.120 --> 0:04:46.840 you can see the goods in action right now on 0:04:46.960 --> 0:04:49.960 our YouTube channel. Because episode two of Joe's new show, 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:53.520 B Side Fishing is Live, Coming in hot from the 0:04:53.560 --> 0:04:56.600 swamps of Jersey. Yeah, that's true. We did get kind 0:04:56.640 --> 0:04:59.000 of swampy this week, but last week I did a 0:04:59.040 --> 0:05:02.280 little Key West chart trip without ever leaving the confines 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:04.279 of my home state of Jersey. So I hope nobody, 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:07.400 if you still haven't seen that, like, get with it, um, 0:05:07.520 --> 0:05:09.839 and I'll tell you what. I asked some thirteen spinning 0:05:09.920 --> 0:05:13.359 rods to take on fish. They were probably not designed 0:05:13.440 --> 0:05:16.240 to handle in that episode, but I mean they crushed it. 0:05:16.320 --> 0:05:19.640 They held up very nicely. Anyway, You're gonna be seeing 0:05:19.720 --> 0:05:23.039 and hearing from thirteen regularly, and we could not be happier, 0:05:23.200 --> 0:05:25.760 truly to be working with them. I've actually been fishing 0:05:25.800 --> 0:05:28.800 a ton of their stuff since last summer, Um, and 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:30.160 a lot of people have asked me about it, and 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:32.080 I've told them all it has been kicking some serious 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:35.160 ass like stuff likewise, I've had, I've been doing the 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:37.960 same and it's it's performed really really well. Yep yep. 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:41.640 But the Cash Danzig debate actually reminds me of something 0:05:42.200 --> 0:05:44.360 you brought up a few episodes ago. Um. In the 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:46.240 end of the line, you did about the pistol peat. 0:05:46.279 --> 0:05:48.480 You talked about how how fly fishing went from being 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:51.480 something that that many anglers did because it was the 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:54.279 most effective way to fish small lords to a kind 0:05:54.320 --> 0:05:58.640 of like countercultural rebellious statement in the seventies and eighties, 0:05:58.680 --> 0:06:01.000 to and elite a status symbol in the nineties and 0:06:01.080 --> 0:06:04.080 two thousands, And that got me thinking about fishing sort 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:08.039 of like more broadly, what what does identifying as an 0:06:08.120 --> 0:06:13.320 angler mean? In like, what are the cultural stereotypes about 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:16.000 fishing these days? I don't know. I don't know how 0:06:16.000 --> 0:06:18.200 I answer to that. I feel like I feel like, 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:20.679 on a gut level, I feel like fishing is getting 0:06:20.760 --> 0:06:23.640 younger and in some ways cooler than when we were kids, 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:26.520 you know. But it's like, I don't have anything to 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:28.880 back that up. It's it's it's pretty much anecdotal. Like 0:06:29.080 --> 0:06:32.839 high school and college bass fishing clubs and tournaments seemed 0:06:32.880 --> 0:06:35.960 to be everywhere in the last few years and growing 0:06:36.000 --> 0:06:38.320 really fast. And then and then you got all the 0:06:38.640 --> 0:06:41.599 short films with lots of dubstep drops that have made 0:06:41.920 --> 0:06:45.560 fishing seem more exciting than than the days when it 0:06:45.640 --> 0:06:47.120 was just like, oh, I go out and get sunburned, 0:06:47.160 --> 0:06:50.960 with Grandpa and watch a bobber Like. They're the representations 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:53.040 I see of it make are are definitely trying to 0:06:53.160 --> 0:06:56.560 make it cooler, but that might just be me projecting 0:06:57.040 --> 0:06:59.520 and feeling hopeful, right because you know, you really hadn't 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:02.560 thought about until right now, but you really don't see 0:07:02.839 --> 0:07:07.240 fishing in mainstream media like you know, we we've talked 0:07:07.279 --> 0:07:09.840 about in other places in our company, how help hunting 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:12.600 has portrayed in mainstream media. But I'm struggling to come 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:15.960 up with examples of of of fishing, right, And that's 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:18.800 usually how I gauge social attitudes by anything like how 0:07:19.160 --> 0:07:21.840 how's it looking a major movie or or or on 0:07:21.920 --> 0:07:23.920 a TV show? And I can't think of like has 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:27.240 there been a major movie about fishing since Grumpy Old Men? 0:07:27.440 --> 0:07:35.760 Has that even happened? Oh? Several gone fishing with Joy Glover? Okay, movies, people, Actually, 0:07:35.800 --> 0:07:38.600 did you have you watched that movie? No? Nor did 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:41.280 I see two thousand eights Bait Shop with that redneck 0:07:41.320 --> 0:07:45.240 comic dude, here's your sign and Miley Cyrus's dad O. Yeah, 0:07:45.240 --> 0:07:46.880 you're making my boy. Though I could see those either, 0:07:46.960 --> 0:07:49.440 so those don't count. Now, you're right, You're right, you're right, 0:07:49.680 --> 0:07:52.240 and how particular activities are represented in movies are on 0:07:52.320 --> 0:07:55.239 TV shows. It's sort of like the ultimate, like litmus 0:07:55.320 --> 0:07:58.720 test of how our society views those activities and the 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:03.000 people who partaking them. So fishing's absence, I guess from 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:06.560 the greater media landscape is telling me at least. I 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:09.320 think I'm not totally sure what that's saying. You know, 0:08:09.480 --> 0:08:11.200 I don't know either. I don't know either. I think 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:14.400 like you could look at it as a positive thing, right, 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:17.040 You could say that the fact that you don't see 0:08:17.120 --> 0:08:22.920 fishing splashed around mainstream media is good because we get 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:26.080 to self define at least to some extent, or instead 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:28.640 of being pigeonholed is like the redneck thing or the 0:08:28.680 --> 0:08:31.280 elitist thing, or the counterculture thing. I don't know. We're 0:08:31.320 --> 0:08:33.319 we're figuring that we get to figure out what that 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:35.319 is for ourselves as our own culture. I don't know. 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:37.920 It's a It's an interesting question, and I think it 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:40.520 leads me to wonder because I genuinely don't know what 0:08:40.720 --> 0:08:43.719 is what is the broader cultural attitude about fishing and 0:08:44.240 --> 0:08:46.800 anglers right now? And I feel like I'm too close 0:08:46.920 --> 0:08:50.079 to it to answer it, right, I I I just 0:08:50.240 --> 0:08:53.480 know such a broad spectrum of people who identify as anglers. 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:56.120 And for example, one one good example would be our 0:08:56.160 --> 0:09:01.240 friend river Horse. Yeah, he defies he kind of defies 0:09:01.320 --> 0:09:04.559 simple classification. Um but I did. I've said for a 0:09:04.640 --> 0:09:06.280 long time now I really hope he gets his own 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:11.079 TV show one. Oh, me too, me too? Imagine I can't, 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:14.280 I can't imagine. It would be like Oh, it would 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:17.440 be like a much more serious version of fishing with John, 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:20.920 which I would love to see. But if that does 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:23.240 ever happen, he'll probably get, you know, too big to 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:25.560 hang out with us. So we better better enjoy our 0:09:25.640 --> 0:09:28.199 time with river Horse while we can, and uh and 0:09:28.320 --> 0:09:31.240 get ourselves some sagely wisdom about long hair, fishing rods 0:09:31.600 --> 0:09:41.960 and international travel. Hey, now, this is river Horse coming 0:09:42.040 --> 0:09:47.040 to you with some sagely wisdom. You remember the days 0:09:47.280 --> 0:09:50.760 when the passport was in your hand and you're heading 0:09:50.800 --> 0:09:54.480 out of that country to stick him? Well, me too. 0:09:55.320 --> 0:09:59.480 This is a little story called strange customs, And don't 0:09:59.520 --> 0:10:04.720 you or those days will be back soon. Legs are 0:10:04.840 --> 0:10:09.640 spread for the umpteenth time. There is nothing better to 0:10:09.800 --> 0:10:14.040 dim the postcoit after global road trip than an airport 0:10:14.160 --> 0:10:22.199 cop song and dance random my ass. This is a shakedown, 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:26.280 That's all there is to it. I had warned the 0:10:26.360 --> 0:10:31.120 guys not to stand anywhere near me because it happens 0:10:31.320 --> 0:10:35.480 every time. They had already made it through, and we're 0:10:35.520 --> 0:10:39.760 watching in the wings, laughing their asses off. Maybe it 0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:43.959 was the woo who held. When the US Customs agent 0:10:44.400 --> 0:10:48.480 swept his hands through my another world, his cheeks turned 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:52.800 to light crimson, and then he got piste. Not funny, 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:58.120 it was to me. For some reason. Airport cops love 0:10:58.240 --> 0:11:02.520 fly rods and surfboards. Having hair from my trucker cap 0:11:02.640 --> 0:11:06.439 to my tailbone is the kicker. It gives permission for 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:12.080 individual screenings, pat downs, rub downs, and plenty of questions 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.920 in an airport these days. Long hair is the gift 0:11:17.080 --> 0:11:22.280 that keeps on give it. When you call an airport 0:11:22.400 --> 0:11:25.080 cop on the carpet for yet another game of cat 0:11:25.280 --> 0:11:31.080 and very innocent mouse, they turned down right sheepish. You know, Salvador, 0:11:31.760 --> 0:11:35.000 there is a traffic light security device that you must 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:41.040 attempt to pass through. Green means go fish, red, forget it, 0:11:41.720 --> 0:11:45.360 strip search. I've attempted to get through that damn light 0:11:45.520 --> 0:11:49.920 eight times and got red every time, eight for eight 0:11:51.120 --> 0:11:53.679 I see your feet stepping on the switch that triggers 0:11:53.720 --> 0:11:57.439 a light. I told the airport cop in Spanish. He 0:11:57.600 --> 0:12:01.199 looked away fast, with a grin on his face. And 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:06.079 now here in the Caribbean. The security agent looks down 0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:09.440 the barrel of every single one of my eight weights. 0:12:10.160 --> 0:12:14.480 He takes the rods out, shakes the tube. I see 0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:18.439 the ever sparkling shimmer and shine of the Caribbean sunlight 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:22.520 streaming through the windows. I hold my arms wide for 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:28.560 another pat down. Oh shit, he finds the secret stash 0:12:28.760 --> 0:12:31.959 in the breast pocket of my coat. He's got me 0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:37.480 a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich. The backpack has 0:12:37.520 --> 0:12:41.400 been ransacked and rifled through. I've been asked my mother's 0:12:41.520 --> 0:12:45.040 maiden name, the city in which I was born. Even 0:12:45.120 --> 0:12:47.760 the reels have a few feet are lines stripped up 0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:52.000 before they are placed back in the gray band. Let alone. 0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:58.640 The long discussion about what is a river horse? Oh, 0:12:59.040 --> 0:13:02.280 I'm not worried about it. I have nothing to hide. 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:07.280 I've always run clean and wild my entire life, never 0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:11.200 wanting to dim the light. If you can't find yourself 0:13:11.360 --> 0:13:14.160 higher than a kite from simply being on the water, 0:13:14.840 --> 0:13:19.240 then you are beyond lost. By the time I catch 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:22.079 up to the rest of the guys, they already have 0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:27.680 a beer waiting on the counter for me. It tastes delicious. 0:13:28.440 --> 0:13:36.120 It tastes like freedom. I hope you enjoyed our little 0:13:36.240 --> 0:13:41.040 Sage the Wisdom's story today. And remember, I know times 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:44.439 they're a little funky right now, but this world needs 0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:47.400 us to take care of each other, be there for 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:52.960 each other. There are wonderful days ahead. And we all 0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:57.680 know that fly fishermen and women and especially tree hugger 0:13:57.760 --> 0:14:11.160 hippie jerkey viking Texans never get profile at the airport. Nah. So, dude, 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:14.760 did you read his article The Darkest Web? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:18.160 the one about the illegal fishing scene in the Gulf 0:14:18.200 --> 0:14:21.280 of Mexico. Word Like straps on a kevlar vest and 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:24.160 impends himself with the Texas game boardens trying to chase 0:14:24.200 --> 0:14:28.320 down the illegal commercial fish. I devoured that article, man, Yeah, 0:14:28.640 --> 0:14:30.360 it was. It was truly one of the best pieces 0:14:30.400 --> 0:14:32.680 of fish journalism I've read in a long time. It's 0:14:32.760 --> 0:14:36.600 it's it's kind of depressing, right, but it's it's just 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:39.960 so well written and just so engaging, such an awesome piece. 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:43.920 The scene with the shark fins. Yeah, anyway, you gotta 0:14:43.960 --> 0:14:46.400 read it. You gotta read it. It's free. Google the 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:48.680 Darkest Web river Horse You'll find it. It's worth ten 0:14:48.720 --> 0:14:51.720 minutes of your time, especially if you like river horses style, 0:14:51.800 --> 0:14:55.560 which we do. He's unapologetically freaky, and he's proud of it. 0:14:55.880 --> 0:14:58.960 Yeah he is, and judging by some of the submissions 0:14:59.040 --> 0:15:01.800 we get, so are many of you. So we're gonna 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:06.120 highlight one particular individual who lets his freak flag fly 0:15:06.320 --> 0:15:09.640 high in this week's Awkward Moment in Angling. This is 0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:11.440 the part of the show where we break down fishing 0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:15.240 photos sent in by you listeners, because really, other than 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:18.280 like Christmas cards or or senior pictures, what genre of 0:15:18.320 --> 0:15:21.840 photography is more ripe for ridicule than fish picks? Well, 0:15:22.080 --> 0:15:28.480 to take a picture a lave. I don't think I've 0:15:28.600 --> 0:15:32.880 ever found myself wondering what a fish fly freak might 0:15:33.000 --> 0:15:36.160 look like, or even contemplating that such a creature might exist. 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:40.720 But once listener Andrew Patorski send us an email titled 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:44.680 Lake St. Clair Phish Fly Freak Award photo, I became 0:15:44.720 --> 0:15:48.400 immediately curious, like, what's what's the fish fly? How exactly 0:15:48.480 --> 0:15:50.440 does it get freaky out. I don't know. I can 0:15:50.520 --> 0:15:53.400 answer the first part of the question because in Michigan, 0:15:54.160 --> 0:15:56.840 uh fish fly is a common name for Hexa Genium 0:15:56.880 --> 0:15:59.560 may flies. The hecks, which are okay, you know, the 0:15:59.600 --> 0:16:02.520 hecks which are large, Yeah, which are large insects that 0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:05.920 emerge from the lakes and rivers of the Upper Midwest 0:16:06.000 --> 0:16:09.680 every summer, sometimes in just insanely massive numbers. And the 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:13.560 swarms they're sometimes so huge they show up on weather 0:16:13.720 --> 0:16:16.840 radar like a snowstorm, so thick that they can cover 0:16:17.480 --> 0:16:20.560 streets and cause traffic to slide off the road. Yeah, okay, 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:22.360 not now, I know what we're talking about. So like 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:25.960 for for fish and anglers, both the hecks are there. 0:16:25.960 --> 0:16:28.560 They're kind of a big deal, very much there there. 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:30.920 They're these inch long bugs that live most of their 0:16:30.960 --> 0:16:34.520 lives burrowed in the substrate of lakes, ponds and slow 0:16:34.560 --> 0:16:37.600 moving rivers where when they're when they're down in there, 0:16:37.600 --> 0:16:40.800 they're they're pretty safe from predators. But when the conditions 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:42.920 get just right, all the bugs at the same time 0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:45.760 swim to the surface right around dusk, they sprout wings, 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:48.400 they hatch out of the water. They mate mid air 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:51.920 in these massive swarms and then lay their eggs back 0:16:51.960 --> 0:16:54.560 in the water and die. And that whole process takes 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:57.920 less than two days, and during that window, birds and 0:16:58.200 --> 0:17:03.960 dragonflies and especially fish feast on all that easily available protein. Yeah, 0:17:04.080 --> 0:17:06.359 hence the reason people call them fish flies in certain 0:17:06.400 --> 0:17:11.480 areas because yeah, and I actually was once told, um 0:17:11.880 --> 0:17:15.240 it was it was lake walleye guys in Michigan or 0:17:15.320 --> 0:17:17.760 maybe Wisconsin. I don't know, but they coined that term 0:17:17.840 --> 0:17:20.240 fish flies because they'd be like, we ain't catching any 0:17:20.280 --> 0:17:22.359 wally eyes right now because of them damn fish fly, 0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:25.800 Like they didn't know what hexagenia was, you know. Um. 0:17:25.960 --> 0:17:28.800 And the whole thing is a nighttime game because, like 0:17:28.840 --> 0:17:31.840 you said, these bugs are nocturnal, so that's when the 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:35.159 fish eat them. And then what happens is theoretically they 0:17:35.200 --> 0:17:37.000 eat them all night long, so they're full the next 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:39.600 day and don't eat anything, so the walleye guys get 0:17:39.680 --> 0:17:42.240 up and can't catch walleye because they're full. And the 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:44.800 hex hatch is one of the best times a year 0:17:45.160 --> 0:17:48.879 to get a crack at a really huge brown right 0:17:49.000 --> 0:17:50.959 on a drive month the kind of fish that are 0:17:51.000 --> 0:17:54.600 usually hidden and really wary. It's kind of why it's 0:17:54.600 --> 0:17:56.320 such a big deal in Michigan because you have those 0:17:56.480 --> 0:17:59.040 tight streams of all that deadfall. Those fish are tucked 0:17:59.040 --> 0:18:01.880 in throughout the day. Um, but they'll they'll come out 0:18:02.560 --> 0:18:05.680 and and feed aggressively when those bugs emerge, and they're 0:18:05.720 --> 0:18:08.080 they're best known to trout fishermen, but just about every 0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:10.520 fish will eat them, including panfish, like I said, Wally 0:18:11.240 --> 0:18:13.119 um and bass. So that answers the first part of 0:18:13.160 --> 0:18:15.160 the question. We know what a fish fly is now, 0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:18.520 But to answer the second part, what's a what is 0:18:18.600 --> 0:18:21.440 a fish fly freak? Which I have a hard time 0:18:21.520 --> 0:18:25.080 saying fish fly? It does it doesn't grow right off 0:18:25.080 --> 0:18:26.760 the tongue. But to answer that, we got to go 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:29.520 to the photo right And now I'm gonna start by 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:33.480 by setting the scene. It's nighttime and the freak in 0:18:33.600 --> 0:18:35.960 question is standing in front of a railing with a 0:18:36.000 --> 0:18:38.439 body of water in the background. He's well lit from 0:18:38.480 --> 0:18:41.760 above and all that seems to indicate that he's standing 0:18:42.080 --> 0:18:46.639 under a large floodlight and dock fishing, and it seems 0:18:46.680 --> 0:18:48.480 he's having at least a little success. Right He's holding 0:18:49.160 --> 0:18:51.920 a very average large mouth in the standard large mouth 0:18:52.000 --> 0:18:55.080 lip grip. But I can't really tell I can't really 0:18:55.119 --> 0:18:58.160 tell how he's feeling about the catcher anything else, because 0:18:58.200 --> 0:19:01.840 his his face is completely obscured. Yes, and by obscured 0:19:01.920 --> 0:19:06.639 you mean covered completely top to bottom by fish flies. 0:19:06.840 --> 0:19:11.120 Right in this photo like Andrew has no eyes, no mouth, 0:19:11.240 --> 0:19:13.120 no no. It is something out of a horror movie. 0:19:13.320 --> 0:19:17.440 And the Mothman prophecies comes to mind, even though I 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:19.479 don't know if there's actually a scene like that. It's 0:19:19.520 --> 0:19:21.720 just it's just what pops in there. Anyway. There's just 0:19:21.920 --> 0:19:25.520 one little slice of cheek showing, but that's about it. 0:19:25.800 --> 0:19:29.080 The rest is almost entirely hex may flies. In fact, 0:19:29.960 --> 0:19:33.280 just about every exposed surface in the photo is covered 0:19:33.320 --> 0:19:37.440 in bugs, except the fish itself, which is strangely clean. 0:19:38.000 --> 0:19:42.280 I don't quite get that. Um, But even the background 0:19:42.520 --> 0:19:46.320 is just a blur of flying insects. The only physical 0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:49.680 attribute of Andrew that we can really make out is 0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:54.119 his beard, which isn't truly it's impressive. It's some impressive 0:19:54.200 --> 0:19:58.040 facial hair. Um. It appears to at least be a 0:19:58.119 --> 0:20:00.880 foot long, and and and amazon only in jungle thick 0:20:01.359 --> 0:20:05.080 and it's a particular image however, right it also seems 0:20:05.600 --> 0:20:08.800 to have become like a tangled breeding ground for these 0:20:09.200 --> 0:20:12.080 these giant bugs making sweet love and his beard. I 0:20:12.200 --> 0:20:16.480 think they really, they're just all over it. The photo alone, 0:20:16.560 --> 0:20:20.240 just the photo by itself is fantastic, right, and we're 0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:22.160 not even making fun of it. It's just a it's 0:20:22.200 --> 0:20:23.879 just a great photo. But I think I think the 0:20:23.960 --> 0:20:27.600 backstory that Andrew sentis in an email just gives the 0:20:27.640 --> 0:20:30.399 whole thing another layer that I appreciate. He wrote, a 0:20:30.480 --> 0:20:32.440 hex hatch like this up in northern Michigan is what 0:20:32.600 --> 0:20:35.200 dreams are made of when you're going after trout, But 0:20:35.320 --> 0:20:38.159 fishing for warm water species with conventional gear during a 0:20:38.200 --> 0:20:40.560 hatch like this on Lake St. Clair can be a 0:20:40.720 --> 0:20:45.080 nightmare because the fish aren't hungry. At that time of 0:20:45.119 --> 0:20:47.080 my life, the only time I could get together with 0:20:47.160 --> 0:20:49.800 buddies to fish was during the evening, which happens to 0:20:49.880 --> 0:20:52.119 be when the fish flies, what we call these may 0:20:52.160 --> 0:20:55.359 flies in the area, hatch and become incredibly dense. Anyway, 0:20:55.480 --> 0:20:57.800 it's extremely tough to catch anything during crazy hatch like 0:20:57.880 --> 0:21:00.359 this on the lake, but I noticed a weird pocket 0:21:00.440 --> 0:21:03.399 of fish fly carcasses that collected under a particular light post. 0:21:03.840 --> 0:21:06.920 Bass and bluegill would occasionally rise to engulf mouthfuls of 0:21:06.960 --> 0:21:09.560 the spinners, and so I ended up tossing an unwaited 0:21:09.680 --> 0:21:13.520 single tail grub green pumpkin zoom fat albert into that 0:21:13.640 --> 0:21:17.879 pile and caught this small largie. Andrew also noted that 0:21:18.400 --> 0:21:20.240 that he does like to fly fish, and he does 0:21:20.320 --> 0:21:23.720 target trout, which really just dials up the irony of 0:21:23.800 --> 0:21:26.400 this particular photo. Yeah. As I say, once you once 0:21:26.440 --> 0:21:29.280 you get that context, I think the picture goes from 0:21:29.359 --> 0:21:33.760 just being odd to legitimately being funny. Because there's there's 0:21:33.760 --> 0:21:35.200 poor dude in the middle of one of the most 0:21:35.320 --> 0:21:39.720 famous hatches in fishing, one that's known for bringing giant 0:21:40.200 --> 0:21:43.240 and elusive browns to hand, and he's holding the dinker 0:21:43.359 --> 0:21:46.680 bass and fishing with a green pumpkins soft plastic. The 0:21:46.760 --> 0:21:48.639 only thing, the only thing that would make it funnier 0:21:48.720 --> 0:21:50.440 and more ironic, is if he had like a push 0:21:50.520 --> 0:21:52.479 button reel, like a push button now fit, and that's 0:21:52.520 --> 0:21:55.080 what he was using. Um So, I mean, even though 0:21:55.119 --> 0:21:57.080 I can't see his face, I can imagine it, you 0:21:57.160 --> 0:21:59.960 know what I mean? Yep, yep, I've got a prettyular 0:22:00.040 --> 0:22:01.960 deal what might be going on behind all those bugs 0:22:02.000 --> 0:22:04.480 and beard uh And if you out there want to 0:22:04.480 --> 0:22:07.360 see what the fish fly freak actually looks like. Check 0:22:07.400 --> 0:22:10.560 out Joe on my Instagram pages at Joe Sormelli onety 0:22:10.600 --> 0:22:12.879 eight and at water Miles. Yeah, and if you have 0:22:13.000 --> 0:22:15.359 an awkward fishing photo you think is worthy of getting 0:22:15.400 --> 0:22:19.040 picked apart on this show, send it please to Bent 0:22:19.240 --> 0:22:25.480 at the meat Eater dot com. I've never actually experienced 0:22:25.520 --> 0:22:27.920 the Hex hatch in my life. Yeah. Yeah, I hate 0:22:27.960 --> 0:22:30.240 to say it, but but me either. Man. I I've 0:22:30.560 --> 0:22:34.600 I've interviewed, No, I haven't. I've I've mouse fished in 0:22:34.720 --> 0:22:37.679 Hex territory later in the summer, but I've never been 0:22:37.720 --> 0:22:40.639 there up in Michigan or anything for for the hecks, 0:22:40.760 --> 0:22:43.960 and I've interviewed tons of guides about it. I've I've 0:22:43.960 --> 0:22:47.879 written articles based on their info, but I've never actually 0:22:47.920 --> 0:22:50.920 gotten there myself. And I love I love night fishing. 0:22:51.000 --> 0:22:52.800 You think I would know, I haven't picked it. It 0:22:52.840 --> 0:22:55.360 seems like something you would go do. I so, having 0:22:55.440 --> 0:22:57.840 never done it, I assume that it's like the salmon 0:22:57.880 --> 0:23:00.240 fly hatch out here, meaning it's cool, but it's it's 0:23:00.240 --> 0:23:04.320 also overrated, And by that I mean it's there's so 0:23:04.560 --> 0:23:08.040 much hype right that there's no way that it can 0:23:08.160 --> 0:23:10.320