Great Outdoor Blog

Stop by and check out the new Vibram FiveFingers in our Raleigh ,  Greenville, Charlotte, Chapel Hill & Wilmington Shops.

barefooting (bare•foot•n) n. 1. The exhilarating joy of going barefoot without leaving yourself exposed; 2. any activity requiring unconventional footwear offering the protection of a thin, flexible Vibram skin; 3. an intelligent way to deepen your connection with your natural surroundings.

M’s & W’s FiveFingers Sprint: Hook and loop closures along the heel and instep provide a comfortable secure fit. A thin, abrasion-resistant stretch polyamide fabric fits low on the foot—for comfort and quick drying. A flexible, non-marking TC1 performance rubber sole is razor siped to enhance grip over a variety of terrain.

SPRINT IS BEST FOR: Light Trekking, Bouldering, Pose Method Running, ChiRunning, Fitness Training, Yoga, Pilates, Sailing, Boating, Kayaking, Canoeing, Surfing, Windsurfing, Flats Fishing, Travel

$80

Bristol Bay, located in southwest Alaska, is home to pristine waters and habitat that sustains world class trout and salmon populations and the largest sockeye and king salmons runs remaining. Wildlife is abundant in this area. The proposed Pebble Mine will create North America’s largest open-pit gold and copper strip mine. The Pebble Mine complex, covering some 15 square miles, would include the largest dam in the world, 2 miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide, made of earth not concrete, to hold back the toxic waste created in the mining process.

Experts agree that the Bristol Bay fishery will ultimately be destroyed. The land to be mined is currently owned by every American citizen and is managed by the US Bureau of Land Management. Trout Unlimited and numerous other conservation minded organizations have committed themselves to stop mining in this region. For more information on Bristol Bay go to www.tu.org/bristolbay.

Save Bristol Bay Raffle

To raise money for this project, Triangle Fly Fishers will raffle off a limited edition fly fishing outfit. View the Raffle Flyer here (PDF).

Visit triangleflyfishers.org for more info

STOP PEBBLE MINE

The Pebble Partnership, comprised of the worlds second largest multinational mining corporation, Anglo American, in partnership with mining junior Northern Dynasty, wants to create one of North America’s largest open-pit gold-copper mega mines within a much larger potential mining district in the headwaters of Bristol Bay. The Pebble Mine complex, covering some 15 square miles, would include the largest dam in the world, larger than Three Gorges Dam in China, made of earth not concrete, to hold back the toxic waste created in the mining process. Over its lifetime, Pebble will produce 2.5 BILLION TONS of waste.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

The Pebble Mine site lies on state land in the heart of WORLD CLASS TROUT and SALMON STREAMS, a land veined with brooks and rivulets, riddled with pools and puddles. In addition, Bristol Bay is home to the WORLD’S LARGEST commercial wild salmon fishery; many of those fish spawn in the Kvichak and other tributaries in the Iliamna Lake area.

While Pebble directly threatens the health of our Bristol Bay fisheries, equally disturbing is the Federal Bureau of Land Management and Department of the Interior’s proposed land management plan which recommends opening over a million acres of pristine federal wild lands in Bristol Bay to hard rock mining, a dangerous move for fish and people living in the region. Not only would the planned “Bristol Bay Mining District” mar the region’s remarkably wild and beautiful landscape, but it risks grave consequences for the health of all living things downstream.

The harvest and processing of Bristol Bay fish generates nearly $320 million a year and provides jobs for some 12,500 people. Sport fishermen spend nearly $60 million a year to experience the prize fishing in this area.

Year after year, Bristol Bay produces MILLIONS OF FISH worth hundreds of millions of dollars, like no other place in the world.

BLOG Time:
Check out filmmakers Travis Rummel and Ben Knight of Felt Soul Media’s blog about the production of their documentary on Bristol Bay’s world renowned fisheries and pristine waters. See some amazing photos and laugh about the day-to-day challenges of the production of this amazing film. »Read their blog

Learn More @ www.savebristolbay.org

First of all, do not panic. Unless the rod is somehow holding the door closed on a burning car with a baby trapped inside, which is highly unlikely, time is on your side.

Do:

Get a helper: Four hands are better than two. Both of you clean your hands. Get rid of anything that would make your hands slippery like grease from your fried chicken lunch, Dapper Dan hair treatment, 10W40, etc. Also clean the rod. Use rubbing alcohol for this. Now get one guy on either side of the ferrule and pull. Make sure your hands are away from the guides and you are pulling straight!

Chill Out: Often the reason the rod is stuck is that it was put together when cool and now it’s warm. This tightens the connection. Lay the rod on a table and put a bag of ice on the ferrule for 20 minutes or so. Then follow the instructions above. In the field I’ve submerged rods in the river for a while to cool them off. I’ve never had this fail.

Do not:

Twist the rod. Use pliers, wire cutters, vice grips, bench vices or any other mechanical equipment to hold the rod. Use the guides to get a better grip on the rod. Heat the rod with a lighter, blow torch, candle, match, friendly dragon, or any other heat source (heat is really bad for epoxy.)

- Scott Wood, Fly Fishing Product Manager

Our Triangle class will focus primarily on Trout. This is partly a response to our customer’s requests and partly to take advantage of this very unique location. Clearwater Lake in Chatham County is a cool, clear, spring fed lake that has been stocked with pond raised rainbow and brook trout. The last hour or two of this class will be on the water casting to and, hopefully, catching trout. Read more about our full day class

• Oct 20 - Chapel Hill
• Nov 10 - Chapel Hill

» REGISTER ONLINE

By Tim Glover, Wilmington Shop Manager

So…can you catch flounder on a fly rod? This question came up recently with a customer getting started in saltwater fly fishing. This gentleman had a hard time picturing a bottom-dwelling fish chasing after a fly, and he thought of fly fishing as taking place in the top of the water column. These are fairly common (and perfectly understandable) assumptions about fly fishing…but, yes, you can catch flounder on a fly rod.

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Walt Cary will be on the sales floor at our Cameron Village Shop on May the 12th. He will conduct tying demonstrations at 10am and 1pm, and answering questions all day.

Popping bugs are one of the few patterns that fly anglers across the country have come to rely on for nearly every type of fishing situation. Whether you’re fishing for largemouth bass in a local farm pond, chasing smallmouth or trout in your favorite river, or just happen to be lucky enough to catch breaking saltwater fish, poppers can often mean the difference between success and failure on the water. Good quality poppers are hard to come by—which is why Walt’s Poppers stand head and shoulders above the competition. (more…)

The Great Outdoor Provision Co. Fly Fishing Class is a very comprehensive one day course with two instructors for 8 to 12 students. We’ve packed a lot of information into an 8 hour day, including: casting, knots, equipment, fishing strategies and fly selection, for coldwater, warmwater and saltwater species. Beginners can expect to learn the skills that will allow them to catch fish on their own, and intermediate level fly fishers can advance their casting skills and fill in some holes in their technical knowledge. We provide all equipment, including a textbook, as well as lunch and drinks. Just bring a willingness to have fun and learn, but register early. While we do have multiple dates in 6 locations across the state, they fill up fast.

» MORE INFO

by Rudy Hayden - Charlotte Manager

Spring is near and I was anxiously waiting for warmer temps and stellar fishing. I was overly confident in saying to others and myself, “I won’t fish any other flies but my own until I catch something”. I recently became hooked on fly tying after taking three really good classes with Sam and Scott at the good ole’ GOPC.

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Lighter, stronger and easier to cast for anglers of all skill levels. Entirely new level of fishability!

Sage Rods are now available in ALL of our Fishing Shops!
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