Tim chats about the Jersey coastal scene & Hurricane Sandy, the importance of good fly photos and his awesome project, The Flybrary.
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| Clear Cure Goo Pro tyer Tim Geist working the proper version of The Jersey Shore |
Clear Cure Blog: Hey Tim, what's new? Any exciting fishing trips to report?
Tim Geist: Exciting trips (laughs)...yes, I would love to go somewhere other than Jersey to fish this year!
Sadly, just when the fall run of stripers and blues got going here, Hurricane Sandy came through. A lot of access along the beaches and jetties I normally fish is restricted now. Between the two storms, we probably missed the best three weeks of the fall run. Funny, when we were driving back from the Symposium last weekend, we were joking about all the blitzes and bait slaughters that were untouched and unseen by fishermen this Fall...all the unscathed pods of big fish that went through...aaaahhhhh!
Normally in Jersey, it is rare to see mob of fish and bait without a crowd of pluggers and bait chunkers harassing it. The big bass came through and not many shore anglers (or boat guys for that matter) really saw fish.
I did have some fun right up through the week before the storm, though! Northern Monmouth County was classic, with bass and blues in the 15-20lb range. I saw a few guys dragging some big fish off the beach, too.
CCB: What's your home water situation looking like for the upcoming winter months?
TG: We trout fish here a bit on the warmer days during the winter and we have some resident striped bass that winter over at power plants which we target...but it's winter, so I'm settling in for some intense tying and Flybrary work. I have a few sets of flies to shoot and I made some great contacts last week at the Symposium. My arms need some rest, too.
CCB: Tell us about the Flybrary. The photography is stunning and the concept is brilliant. How did it come together for you?
TG: Thank you! The Flybrary is coming along; I'm very happy with it so far. Come to think of it, last year at this time it wasn't even an idea...but it had been brewing for a while.
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I was always looking for a better online tying reference, plus I wanted to index my own tying, in case I lost a prototype or gave a fly away. A few years back I met Ted Patlen through Coastal Flyrodders. Well, when I saw Ted's fly collection, my jaw dropped. Among other trout classics and fancy salmon flies, Ted basically has collected the roots of saltwater tying. Gibbs & Brewster and Peabody & Catherwood. He has given me full access to them and I am so grateful.
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After we hung out a few times, I came to find out that he got all these wonderful flies by trading over the years at shows, etc. So I started photographing his collection of flies. I knew I wasn't that great of a tyer, so if I jealously wanted a collection of flies like Ted's, I had to come up with something to trade. Over the years, the one thing I noticed about many great tyers on the internet was their inability to take a good photo of their work and publish it on a forum or website. It's always a crappy cell phone pic, or now, with Instagram...forget it! I think bad photography takes a lot away from some brilliant work because so much is "lost in translation."
There is something about holding a fly in your hand; seeing it and touching it up close. I also see a lot of younger tyers reinventing the proverbial fly tying wheel. You know, there is a lineage to fly design, and it is constantly being added to and built upon, especially with the emergence of new materials (including the likes CCG epoxies, eyes and flex-tube). I wanted to document the history of fly design, past and present.
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I'm also hoping, as more people send me flies and trade for photos, I'll begin to see some new trends among great tyers, even from men and women that you may have never heard of. It's a long term project that really has just begun.
There's a little Facebook page for people that want to see more fly porn in their Facebook feed instead of their sister-in-law's cat. Also, you can check out theflybrary.com or connect from my site, tcgeist.com.
Please send me some flies....I want to fish them too :)
CCB: Any hot new fly patterns you'd like to share with the masses?
TG: Before Sandy, I tied some bonefish flies one night with my buddy, David James. Among other extremely oversized shrimp and crabs, I saw David throw together this crab. The legs are stiffened with CCG Flex (ever so lightly) and the body is made with Nature Skin Bodies by Hareline (covered with CCG Hydro). It's a very light-fishing fly, although you could weight it I suppose, and I imagine it has a soft flutter without spooking nervous fish. He called it his "shaggy crab."
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| The Shaggy Crab. Photo by Tim Geist |
Dave is fellow free tyer who tinkers and builds tricks out of neccessity & durability. But on a side note, he caught his largest bonefish (9lbs) on a Crazy Charlie hybrid. Go figure.
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Thanks to Tim for checking in with us & supplying some great examples of his pics over at the Flybrary! We're definitely looking forward to more fly porn from Tim over the winter!
