I grew up in Los Angeles and my fly fishing addiction began at the age of 14. Through my teens and early 20's, I fly fished places like Piru Creek, San Gabriel River, Bear Creek, and the LA River; but also made frequent fishing excursions
to the Sierra's, Northern California, Idaho, and Montana. I finally went away to college..... then completed my undergraduate studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1989 with a degree in Physical Anthropology.
It was at that point, that I strived to become a crime scene investigator; so, I moved to Michigan to attend graduate school at Michigan State University, where I was in the PhD program in Forensic Osteology (with an emphasis in Human Anatomy). Following roughly
3 years of research and field work, which included many hours in the morgue, I began to wonder if I was really cut out for that line of work. I enjoyed my research, immensely, but I didn't enjoy seeing bodies rolled into the morgue on a daily
basis.
I understood that fly fishing was my real passion but often wondered how I could make a career out of my hobby. My primary line of work throughout undergraduate and graduate school was guiding and working in fly shops; therefore, in my
mind (I believed) I knew the world of fly fishing and how fly shops worked. With this in mind, I decided to quit graduate school and move to Montana. Those were the days. The fishing was superb (better than superb), and I also realized that the
fly fishing industry was a tough field to make a living in; long hours, relatively little cash, women, and a lot of booze induced nights. You know the story....
Almost 16 years after that decision to quit graduate school, and years of struggles
and unbelievable experiences with the fly rod in places like Montana, Colorado, Michigan, New Zealand, Mexico, and Christmas Island, I'm finally where I dreamed I would be. Making a living, as meager as it may be, in the fly fishing industry
and loving every minute of it. The struggle part is in every individuals life, no matter what we do. Regardless, I'm glad I decided to go with my passion. I know, it sounds corny.
Hot Flies
If you have the opportunity, please visit the Orvis site and rate my flies; but, only if you have used them. The links to Orvis can be found in the Custom Fly section
of this website.
Hise's Fly Section Link
NEW! Step by Step for Tying Hise's Ridonculous Cray (07/08/2008):
This pattern isn't just ridiculous, it is ridonculous. Ridonculous Cray is an extremely time consuming pattern but will last for a long while if tyed properly.
Through the years, it has been effective for smallmouth bass, trout, summer steelhead, and even carp. Fish it under a sink-tip fly line with a short, 3 foot leader. Strip it
and manipulate it like a crayfish would move along the stream bed- strip, strip, strip, pause.
NEW! Orvis Featured Pattern- Step by Step for Tying Hise's Ooey Gooey Grub (06/26/2008):
One of my best selling Orvis patterns 2 years in a row. Simply put, it's a grub. This pattern is meant to imitate the immature stage of a variety of aquatic and terrestrial insects;
caddis larva, cranefly larva, bee and wasp larva, beetle larva, you name it. Just vary the thickness, size and base color to achieve the desired effect. This pattern is productive for trout and steelhead
(particularly winter steelies) in sizes 4-16.
Orvis Featured Pattern- Step by Step Instructions for Tying Medusa:
Who said all worm patterns were a 30 second tie? This pattern is extremely effective in a multitude of angling situations. Be sure to read the recent
testimonial from a "purist" who was made a believer.
Here is a recent testimonial on the effectiveness of Eggi Juan Kenobi. "For Tom Rosenbauer--I recently saw your recipe of a worm and
egg combination. I tied a few up for a fishing trip to North Georgia. Everybody laughed at the funny looking fly; however, I weighted it and on my
first cast caught a 24 inch brown trout. Thought you might be interested.
Best Regards, Jim
Tom replied,"Hi, Jim, I'd love to take credit for that fly pattern but it came from the amazing vise of my friend Dave Hise of Caster's Fly Shop in Hickory, NC. I do highly
recommend it and only wish I could come up with patterns that are as cool as Mr. Hise. I've cc'd him on this e-mail so he can see your thoughtful comments".
Recently, I brought some of Jan Siman's Czech Nymphing Products (from the Czech Republic)
into the store and have been extremely happy with the flies they have been producing. Now we are receiving fly tying products from the UK, particularly from
Paul Whillock (Paul Whillock Products) and Steve Thornton (Virtual Nymph Products). These two gentlemen are probably the best known 'Realistic Art Fly'
fly tyers of our day. Their work is magnificent! So good, in fact, that US Customs confiscated some of Paul Whillock's flies because they believed he was trying to import real insects
into our country. Here is the story from Paul Whillocks diary:
"Browsing through my Diary I happened across one particular entry dated January 29th 2002. ‘US Customs’; I had been invited to tie realistic fishing flies and also display my Art Flies
at the International Fly Tying Symposium in New Jersey, America. I had spent most of the year preparing the flies for my display but, it soon became apparent that the display would not
fit into my suitcase so, under the suggestion of my good friend; ‘Bob Mead’, I packaged the flies, the display bases and Fed-Ex’d the entire shipment to his address in up state New York.
Bob was attending the show himself and the plan was that he would bring the flies along for me however, I received a phone call from Bob 2 days before the show informing me the package had not arrived?
Arriving at the Doubletree Hotel in New Jersey, the awful truth emerged that my flies had been lost or perhaps even damaged in transit.I had no idea where to start looking. After seeing
my desperation, Hotel Crew leader; ‘Eric Leininger’ sprang to my assistance and after spending many hours on the telephone he somehow managed to track my package down to the Customs Office
at JFK Airport whereupon it transpired that my flies had been impounded on account that at least one of the Nymphs was believed to be ‘a real insect’ that had been coated in plastic and
mounted on a fishing hook! Customs went on to say: "Sir, it is illegal to import insects to this Country". Though one of the Nymphs remained in ‘custody’, most of the shipment was eventually
released and mailed to Bob after they discovered my flies were harmless imitations though attached to the package was an import duty bill for $535 dollars!"
The new fly tying materials are, obviously, great for use on 'Realistic Art Flies' but they are equally as useful on 'Functional Flies'. Some of you may have heard of the materials
but have never seen them due to the fact that they come from half-way across the world. Japanese Nymph Legs, Realistic Antennae, and Realistic Insect Tails are various fly tying products from
Paul Whillock's collection and some products from Steve Thornton's Virtual Nymph collection are Flexibody, Nymph Skin, Stoneclinger Head & Wing Plates, and Synthetic Quills. Whether you've wanted to
try your hand at tying 'Realistic Art Flies' or you would rather tie 'Functional Fish Flies', you need to try some of these new editions to Casters Fly Shop material selection. They are extremely rare and useful.
Come by the store or give me a call and I'd be glad to send you some (free shipping on most orders).
In June and July, Orvis and Casters Fly Shop are running yet another promotion. Bring in any old fly rod to Casters Fly Fishing Shop and receive 25% off
a new Orvis fly rod (the Orvis Helios fly rods are not included in this offer). This is your opportunity to get a great deal on some of the finest, best performing fly rods in the
fly fishing industry. Act Now! All rods will be donated to such organizations as the Boys and Girls Scouts of America. Make a young boy or girl scout happy and donate a fly rod to
the cause.
A Tribute to Ali, the Fish Dog
On July 2nd we, the Hise family, lost our best and most loyal friend, Ali the fish dog. She was two days away from turning 16 years old.
I still remember the day I picked her up from the breeder some 16 years ago. I had the whole day planned; pick her up on the way to the
Slide In of the Madison, and show her the ropes by catching some monster trout on the fly. She absolutely loved the new experience. Tons
of new smells, birds to chase, goose poop to eat, grass to consume, and an interesting slimy creature the humans called, TROUT. That is
exactly the way she grew up.
Ali, the world traveler. Throughout her long and happy life she resided in Montana, California, Michigan, and North Carolina, and travelled through
every state in between. Eating, sleeping, playing with her trusty tennis ball, eating, sleeping, and enjoying every minute of her existence.
And did I mention.... eating and sleeping a little more. Father time finally caught up with her and said it was time to take her from us.
She was so close to my ultimate goal of her making it to 16 years old- 2 days.
Please pray for us as we go through this difficult time. It was one of the hardest days of my life when I had to put her down.
In fact, I am still mourning the loss like it was a few minutes ago. Dudie, the Akita, is taking it extremely hard, as well. He is now a
house dog and we are showing him extra attention; especially Olivia and Gabi, our two daughters.
Spring Steelhead Blog
Never give up hope......
We recently travelled to western Michigan to fish for early spring steelhead and I was quickly reminded of the importance of remaining positive.
The first day of a three day trip we experienced temps in the high 20's/low 30's. It was a chilly (and windy) day on the Muskegon river, casting (endlessly) and hoping for a dime bright steelie tugging at the end of the line.
Nothing! The fish of a 1000 casts lived up to its reputation. Actually, more like the fish of 10,000 casts. Our dreams of hanging on to a chromer were shattered until the next dream.
We decided that the best thing to do that evening was to ponder next to a cold beer. There is no better place to do one armed curls than a pub with 50 beers on tap (no domestics) and 200 beers in bottles (no domestics);
so, you could imagine how we felt the next morning ; )
The second day of our journey we wade fished the Rogue river (a trib of the Grand river). The weather was much different than the day before. In fact, we were witness to the
warmest temps that Michigan had experienced all winter. Unfortunately for us, these temps were accompanied by torrential rainfall that lasted throughout the day (and evening). The rivers turned muddy and blew out within an hour of our arrival.
Blanked again! So..... we drank some more beer. I never really gave up hope because I knew we had one day of angling left. I knew that the steelhead game was fickle, at best; a game of feast or famine and
not for the faint of heart.
The question was, where were we going to fish with rivers that were over their banks (in feet, not inches)? Well, we decided to try the "Ace in the Hole", the trusty Grand river.
The Grand is Michigan's longest inland waterway (nearly 250 miles); it is a large, ominous river with a lot of history. Sometimes, a lot of fish. That last day, Mother Grand greeted us with turbid, dirty water, which was bubbling and churning
like a pan of boiling water on the stove. Plus, it was cold and blustery with 30 mile an hour winds and snow flurries; a typical day of steelhead fishing. We geared up, jumped in the boats, and went at it. Our last glimmer of hope
was in the hands of Mother Nature. I wont bore you with the rest of the story because you can see the photos below. All I can say is, never give up hope. We remained positive throughout the whole process and were
treated to Epicdom! Is that a word? Who cares, it sounds good.
Casters Fly Shop
3034A N. Center Street
Hickory, NC 28601
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North Carolina Fly Fishing and Beyond
