Happy Holidays, Y'all.

It's been a slow December on the Sip, but a lot of things are happening behind the scenes here and a lot of new stuff will be posted on in the new year. Meanwhile, I hope everyone has a great Festivus and says, "screw it" and get out to fish whatever open water you can find. It's a great time of the year to fish small flies, tie flies and stoke a wood stove. Life is what you make of it, my friends. I hope you all take advantage of this special time of the year. 

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America's Salmon Forest

Hip To The Sip will be doing more on this later in the month, but for now, I wanted to quickly post some quick vids for you. If you would like to add your voice to the growing number of businesses and individuals that support durable, fish-focused conservation of the "best of the best" trout and salmon spawning and rearing habitat in the Tongass National Forest, please take a minute or two and fill out the congressional letter of support at http://americansalmonforest.org/sign-on/

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Blast From The Past...

I saw this the other day. I had this poster on my wall in college. 

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Pig Huntin'

 Photography By: Scott Wells

btw.... My Irish are going to the Title Game.... BOOYA!

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Sometimes You Get The Horns... Sometimes The Horns Get You...

It's snowing outside and I haven't been able to move properly after my buddy's wedding this weekend. I decided it was a good time to get behind the vice for a bit. 

Winter came quick this year. 

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Happiness

Sometimes, the best short flicks have only nature as it's soundtrack. 

Created By: Scanout.com//Pure Love

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Get Out and VOTE!!!

 

Howdy folks. I ran across this article on ranking the Presidents on their environmental records, and thought I would share it with you. Voting is very personal and I hope you all dive deep into your decision and exercise your right to vote. We have a lot of people out fighting for our country in order to protect this day for us. So take advantage of it and get out and vote.

One of the main things I base my vote on is a President's environmental record. Another fly fishing related topic that is important to me is what the candidates plan on doing with public land. Do they want to mine it? Drill it? Privatize it? None of those work for me and it is important for me to vote for the candidate that I believe will best protect these resources for us.

I hope you all think about what is important in your life and what you feel is important to protect. Then go out and excercise your right to vote. After all, if you don't, then don't bitch about what the government does with your resources.

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Pumpkin Pie

Because Turkey-Day is right around the corner....

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Bows And Browns And Tigers, Oh My!

 

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Purple Rain

Photography By: Ben Sittig

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To Get You Through...

Still recovering from a great trip. I am still defrosting and drying out, so hopefully this gets you through until I post a full report.

Stay tuned!

Photography By: Ben Sittig

PS... My Irish are still killing it...

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Now This... Is How You Tie An EP Streamer.

Notre Dame Bass Fishes Better Than You Too...

I'm gonna let you all in on a little secret. Just across the state line from Michigan in South Bend, Indiana lies not only the finest university in all of the land, Notre Dame. But also there lies a myriad of fly fishing options that are so commonly overlooked it's criminal. I've already opined on the great fall smallmouth action on the St Joseph river here. Today I am going to let you in on a little 140 acre secret called Cranberry Lake. This is a place, where according to Josh Lantz (one of the two guides on the lake, along with Jay Anglin), "You can reasonably catch 20 to 50 bass a day," he insisted. "And some will weigh up to eight pounds." 

Normally, that type of bass fishing is reserved for lakes in Texas, Florida or even Mexico. But Northern Indiana is home to one of these prized lakes. Being a private lake, it sees little pressure and pretty much all methods work here. Lucky for us fly dudes/dudettes, Jay and Josh are both fly fishing guides that target them specifically with poppers, streamers and crayfish patterns. 

Next time you are in South Bend for a game or in Chicago for business, look up Jay or Josh for a day of unreal bass fishing. You can reach them at:www.thecranberrylake.com

oh yeah.... GO IRISH!

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Another Win For The Good Guys

Notch another mark on the belt for the good guys. Rusty Gates started this fight with the Oil & Gas industry regarding drilling under the Au Sable River in Michigan, but passed away before he could see it come to an end. I'm sure Rusty is smiling down on us today. Here is is the press release from the USFS. 

"The U.S.D.A. Forest Service and the U.S.D.I. Bureau of Land Management have terminated the environmental evaluation of an Application for Permit to Drill (APD) a natural gas well in southeast Crawford County, near the South Branch of the Au Sable River.

            Savoy Energy L.P., of Traverse City sent a letter on September 6, 2012 to the Bureau of Land Management indicating that the company is no longer interested in pursuing the APD.

            The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management began work on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed project in 2009.

            Once completed, the EIS would have guided the decision on whether to allow Savoy Energy to drill a natural gas well within the Huron-Manistee National Forests to access minerals leased from the federal government and the State of Michigan."

Bottom Photo Compliments to Beattie Outdoor Productions. 

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Missed Opportunities

These are some of the shots of the trip I had planned on going on for 10 months only to have my life-blood ripped from me by the corporate vampires in the final moments. 

I weep now... deep in Ohio...

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