Long-Time Lurker Comes Clean

[Capt. Slayer]

Fellow Tidal Fishers,

I’m a long-time lurker who has decided to heed Brandon’s call to come out of the woodwork.

To introduce myself, I’ve been fly fishing since I was a sophomore in high school in Arlington (that’s 25 years ago, by the way) and initially learned to fish in Big Hunting Creek, Shenandoah Park, and Mossy Creek. After college, I took annual trips for 12 years to Montana and got a really good feel for the trout fishing out there until chronic drought, getting married, and the feeling that trout had lost their mystery made me shift my focus to saltwater. Since then, I’ve fished with guides in South Carolina, Louisiana, Destin, Belize, and Islamorada (the first time there on my honeymoon, no less), as well as with Brady and Bo. Two years ago, I bought my dream boat, a 2005 Jones Brothers Cape Fisherman 1910LT (the Slayer’s Delight), which I’m still getting the hang of. My wife and I have two young kids, a daughter 25 months and a son 9 weeks, so I’m in that phase of life where I don’t get out too much any more.

That being said, I still dream about getting on the water all of the time, and I’ve found Tidal Fish to be a great tonic for keeping my sanity.

I am known as “Slayer” among my fishing friends because of an unfortunate incident in a northern New Hampshire trout pond in 1986 when I was accused of driving the hook too vigorously into the mouths of small brook trout. I was dubbed “John the Fish Slayer,” and the name has stuck. I wear it with pride.

In thinking about what I could offer that others might find interesting, I kept coming back to a tribute I wrote for the family of one of my dearest fly fishing friends who died almost five years ago (I believe the cause was addiction related). Paul and I fished extensively in Montana and in this area. He introduced me to saltwater fishing on a trip to Harker’s Island, and I credit him most directly with making me interested in fishing the salt. What I’ve put together is quite long, so I’ve included a link to it, but for those of you who are interested, there are some good anecdotes about fishing Montana as well as the tale of a near disaster floating the South Fork of the Shenandoah. What better way to memorialize a friend than to introduce him to a group of people he would have loved. Here’s the link:

http://homepage.mac.com/john.mcdermo...ing_with_Paul/

I’ve got a couple of other items and discussion topics that I may post in the future, so I’ll try to do my best to stay out of the shadows.

--Slayer

[JMadert]

John, excuse me ... "Slayer", you are a welcomed addition to this board. Enjoyed your post. Now don't be a stranger.

[boondoggle]

Welcome. Checked the rest of your website out....purty dawg and A Comfortable Range is a good read.

[Tissy Furnes]

Way to come clean Slayer and get with the TF program.

Nice tribute to your friend.

Looks forward to your participation.

[saltfly]

I’ll add my well come as well. Just post some good pic’s. If you have been lurking a while you have got to know how much I like them. As for how you got your nickname. Bwahahahaa I would bet that there aren’t many on here who haven’t thrown a few fish in to their back cast at least once.

[Flying Fish]

Slayer: Welcome to you and to your fine nickname. This is a great board, and when you meet the people in person, you'll know why.

Flying Fish

[Capt. Slayer]

Thanks for the warm welcome everybody.

Boondoggle – I’m glad that you got a chance to check it out. Had you already read A Comfortable Range?

I don’t know if any of you are bird hunters, but I’ve also been going to South Dakota to hunt pheasants annually since 1984. My brother Jim wrote a great book called “A Comfortable Range” (available on Amazon) that follows his quest to turn his dog Speck into a great bird dog. Here’s a glimpse of what boondoggle is talking about (both the book cover and Speck with me on the Ft. Pierre National Grasslands in central South Dakota):







Saltfly – I love pictures as much as the next guy. Here are a couple to whet your appetite for what Slayer can deliver:

The Slayer's Delight:


A big redfish I caught north of Charleston, SC:


The biggest brown trout I've ever caught (22.5" at Slide Inn on the Madison in Montana):


I have a meeting outside of Philadelphia tomorrow afternoon through Wednesday, and I was thinking that I might stop and go shad fishing near Port Deposit on my way up, but having just seen all of the flooding on tonight’s news, I’m likely out of luck. It's probably going to be a couple of weeks until I finally get on the water.

--Slayer

[JMadert]

Yep, you'll fit in nicely with this crowd Slayer. Who do you fish with in Charleston ? Or,
was that a DIY trip ?

John

[boondoggle]

Since you caught that drum in Charleston, it's a spot-tail or channel bass but never a redfish. I do miss the low country of SC. It's where God goes to bed at night!

I skimmed the draft/copy of A Comfortable Range that you have on your website.

[saltfly]

hey I've seen you around. I'm sure of it. I don't forget faces but names. bwahahaha Did you come to the U of M fly show when their was a show? And your right good pic's. Yep you will do fine here.