Andrew Maslar arrived with a trout fly rod

Andrew Russell Maslar was born at Charlotte Memorial Hospital at 12:46 October 31: a Halloween baby. The Doctors were amazed to have such an exceptional delivery because he was born with a fly fishing rod in his hand. He was 7lbs 3 oz and 20 1/2 inches long.

Congratulations to his parents Steve and Carleen Maslar. By the way, he is not smiling in the picture because we told him it would be at least 3 years before he could cast a fly,

Trout University Website Approaches 1st Anniversary

Wow, the time has gone by so fast. We started the Troutu website in October of 2008 for the purpose of promoting catch and release trout fishing as a family sport. Our mission is to efficiently provide useful, relevant information and products to trout fishermen with all levels of experience; and our moto is "Spend a few minutes on the net, and put more trout in your net".
Our goal is to be the "go to" site for all levels of trout anglers.

Our staff grew by Professor Dan Farnsworth a Minnesota native who brings cold weather experience to the University and by Associate Professor Tom Rosenbauer who is Director of Marketing for Orvis Rod and Reels, and Brant Oswald who is a professional guide and writer as well as Director of Orvis West Coast Fly Fishing School.

For consulting, we are pleased to have Jim Casada who is the author of the award-winning books, "Modern Fly Fishing" and "Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: An Insider’s Guide to a Pursuit of Passion". Jim has over 50 years of trout fishing in the Smoky Mountains National Park and he mixes humor, history and trout fishing into his writings.

We also have the entomology and fly fishing expertise of world famous fly fisherman James Marsh who has over 15 fly fishing DVDs available on our site. We are pleased to announce that we will soon be offering his line of Perfect Flies, flies so realistic, you can not distinguish them from the real alive insect!

During the past year, we have added hundreds of pages as well as several products to the site; and since November 2008, when we received our first visitor, we have been overwhelmed with almost 14,000 visits to the site.

We are not resting on our laurels, however, as we plan to add much, much more this coming year. Of course, we plan to make many improvements as well. Happy Anniversary to us!

Line winder to wind line on reels

I tried to find a good fishing line spool holder on the Internet, but I only found the flimsy suction cup models or the expensive ones like Berkley has to offer. By the way, the suction cup models are flimsy and dangerous. I had a pencil sharpener held up with a suction cup, and it started to fall, I caught it but ended up with a piece of pencil lead in my hand. It is still there after 2 years!

So Steve, being a mechanical engineer who loves to design things, designed a simple but effective line spooler. With its simplistic design, it can be very cost effective. Please take a look at it here.

A crazy Idea: Diving Streamers

My son, the mechanical engineer is forever coming up with new ideas. A friend of his has had great success trout fishing for big browns using diving lures. So Steve had a light bulb go off! He turned his attention to combining the best effects of lures with the best effects of flies, and he invented the Diving Streamer.

Often times especially in swift water, it is difficult to get just the right amount of weight attached to the streamer causing it to get to the desired depth and yet be light enough to cast effectively. With the revolutionary and very light weight lip, the streamer is propelled to the bottom of the stream. This Diving Streamer is being developed with the purpose of trout fishing, however, its application could be very effective in fly fishing for strippers, large mouth bass, smallies, etc.

Please send me your thoughts. Aside from looking like Jimmy Durante, is it worthy of additional testing and development or is it just crazy. jmaslar@bellsouth.net Here's Jimmy!

Fishing and camping in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Ema decided to go fishing with her gang over the weekend so she packed up her camper, and hooked it up to the car. I think she was inspired by the DVD on The Great Smoky Mountains National Park which just went on sale this week at the Trout University.

Oh, here she is just pulling away from her driveway. Looks like a very good load for that little purple car.

After taking a closer look of the loaded vehicle I think that she may have forgotten to take her fly fishing pole. I hope that it is on the other side of the car where it can not be see.

I would hate to see her car and camper if she packed for a week at the Yellowstone National Park which is a package of 2 DVDs that she purchased at the http://www.troutu.com/ also.

If she learns about all the other professional level instructional DVD's available at the Trout University DVD Listing she will become a devoted fly fishing angler.

Fly Fish Yellowstone National DVD Available

The Trout University staff have partnered with James Marsh world famous fly fisherman and videographer to bring you two new instructional DVD's including Fly Fishing Yellowstone National Park and Fly Fishing The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Each instructional DVD package consists of two DVD's with over 2 hours of instructions and information. These are not "watch me catch fish" DVD's but actual teaching and instructing DVD's.

Weather Affects Your Trout Fishing

Yes, clouds and overcast days are definitely better than sunny bright days despite the difficulty in actually seeing the trout.

But, did you know that cloudy and overcast days actually affect the hatches and therefore the trout's eating habits? Learn about this and much more at the Trout University's latest intermediate class "Class 2051 How Weather Affects Trout". This class was inserted in the curriculum at the intermediate skill level since it will be useful very early in a fisherman's learning program.

RIP Mongo Bat

I did a full scale investigation to locate the Mongo Bat tooling. I talked to the old plant manager, salesman, shipping clerk and union steward, all to no avail. It appears that the tooling was the property of Mattel and they have no records that go back that far. It is very unlikely that there would be enough interest is resurrecting the Mongo Bat to warrant the capital required to build new molds. Good bye old friend!

You can not teach bears in the winter

Emma tried to teach the bears Spanish last January, but they kept falling asleep so she is trying right now. But first no hands bike riding. Then Emma began to prepare for the class.

She had a little trouble with the Moose who was asking questions and turned out to be very disruptive. She threw up her hands in disgust! Before you knew it was time for recessonary as Emma puts it and we all went outside to play on the swing.

After swing, the bears were thirsty so Emma invited them into her house for a refressing hot cup of chocolate with honey of course.

Nantahala White Water

So we took the family (10) all up to the Nantahala River for a white water rafting experience. We had been there before and we knew we would have a great ride down the river and perhaps a little fishing as it is one of the premier NC rivers for trout.
Tommy took his fly pole along and also borrowed a spinning rod and pole from me, a double fisted fisherman was he. But, I believe that he choose the rafting over fishing as there was so much commotion on the stream. Here is a good shot of Brian and Tommy in the whitewater.

It got a little worse as you can see from the second picture.

They survived the white water without a scratch and did not fall out this time. On our last trip Marj fell out and nearly drowned.

However, the spinning reel and pole did not survive the trip. It appears that there are a few more pieces of the pole than when we started.

Tip:Trout Fishing with Bugs

Summertime is when the bugs are eating you up. Mosquitoes, ants, etc are on the prowl. Well, it is not all bad news as it is the beginning of terrestrial season for all trout fishermen. Get out your flies or better yet tie your own beetles, black ants, gnat (pictured), inchworms, grasshoppers, or other insects.

These flies are fun to use as they are all top water dry flies. That means that they can produce some spectacular action when the trout hits the surface and takes them in. Also, note that the colorful Brookies, or "specs" as they are often called, are easy prey for the top water flies.

Happy 4th Birthday Emma

Emma said that she was going to say goodbye to three last night because when she woke up this morning she was going to be FOUR! We had a Snow White birthday party Sat and here she is in front of the Dwarf's house.

She has another party tonight for the adults. Since she is already a good trout fishing person, I think that I will give her a cane pole and her very own fly from Trout University.

Trout University Fresh New Look

The Trout University is developing a home page that will be fresh and bold and more descriptive of what we are about: Trout! Please check it out and make any suggestions that are appropriate.

Trout University Profs Bass Fish

Some of the Trout University staff took a short breather from trout fishing and went to Dave Williams pond is South Carolina for a bass fishing expedition. They took a few hours exploring the lake in a small boat. With one paddle it Steve an hour just to circumnavigate the entire pond. Of course there was Marj's truck available so the boat could be moved from storage and between the ponds.
Here is an interesting photo of a bird waiting to be fed just as we wait to be fed from God's word
and some of God's beautiful creation.

Great Trout Fishing Expedition with Emma

It is time for 'Ol Grandpa to brag little bit about his granddaughter and her second great trout fishing expedition which was to Stone Mountain State Park in North Carolina. Her first great trout fishing expedition was to the Catawba River headwaters and it was more productive...more about that later.

Her daddy designed a fly fishing vest that was authentic in every way except it had a Cinderella patch, a sippy cup pocket and it was not camo or even tan, but it was PINK! Here she is wearing the vest over her dress as she hates shorts. Of course we did some hiking and here she is trying hard to keep up with her daddy as they pass by the huge stone mountain where there were several people rock climbing or repelling down the mountain, -nobody there was sure which way they were going.

Of course Emma needed some fuel after all that hiking so we had to stop at a picnic table and Emma reached into her back pouch and brought out a huge supply of food, carrots and all.

Emma got to do some swimming and skipping stones as well, but you know, we never caught any trout. However Emma did see one. The ladies visiting the park thought that her vest was darling so we decided to place one for sale on the Trout University Store. The starting price is remarkably low for a hand made unique vest just like daddy's.

Acer Display Strikes Out at Trout University

I wanted a LED display to ease the eye strain as I use the computer so much. So I ordered a new 22" Acer from NewEgg and I was delighted when it arrived. Soon, my delight turned to disappointment however, when I discovered that the controls did not function.

This is where the fun began as I attempted to reach Acer, but I finally got their help number by registering. My call went directly to Bombay and I was on hold for 20 mins. After that the man came on the line and asked me all the information that I had already input including the 25 numbers and letters in the S/R number.

After a lot of discussion, he finally agreed that the display did indeed malfunction and he asked me to return it to Texas for repair with me paying the $20 in shipping. He said that it was procedure for the buyer to pay and I told him that my procedure was that I expected a product to work when I purchased it. Furthermore, if I wanted junk, I knew I could find it in the local landfill. I kept asking to talk to his manager, but he refused.

While this was going on, I multitsked by contacting NewEgg in their chat room and they gladly paid for me to return it for a full credit. I just hung up on the berry pine guy in Bombay. Never, never buy Acer! Does anyone have a good LCD display to suggest?

Catawba Falls Family Fishing Adventures

The Trout University Chancellor has posted a number of videos on Youtube. For his latest family adventure, check the Catawba Falls Family Camping Trip .
In this video, if you watch closely, you will see that Emma takes the spotlight with her somewhat shy look at her first rainbow trout. It appears to be a whopping 3 inches in length, but if you ask Steve about any of the trout that he has caught, he will usually say that he measures his trout between the eyes.

Fly Fishing Vest Tool Caddy and Organizer

The Fly Fishing Vest Tool Caddy and Organizer is the Featured Product on the Trout University store. Invented by an engineer and fly fishing enthusiast from Montana who applied his engineering discipline in the design of the vest. It is truly a great cool way to replace the old fashioned vests which are heavy hot canvas!

It has turned out to be the first innovative change in fishing vests in over 50 years! It is easy to put on, cool to wear and has everything needed by the fly fisherman right at his finger tips.

How to Peel a Hard Boiled Egg Without Peeling!

One night as I returned from a Trout Unlimited meeting, I found my lovely wife in tears. She was sitting in a pile of egg shells and with some tears in her eyes. As most men would feel, I was deeply saddened with this experience so I went to the web for an answer, as most men would do.

Here is what I found, "How to Peel a Hard Boiled Egg Without Peeling" by Tim Ferriss.

Trout Fishing for Kids Website called Trout Stream Explorers.

Our Mayfly needs a name and Trout Unlimited is having a contest to name him. Please go to the Trout University Affiliates page and click on Stream Explorer to enter the contest with a name. Personally, I like the name Morris.
While there, check out the things to do on the website as there are pretty cool things there.

Tick Season here already

Ticks are small spiderlike animals (arachnids) that bite to fasten themselves onto the skin and feed on blood. Ticks live in the fur and feathers of many birds and animals. Tick bites occur most often during early spring to late summer and in areas where there are many wild animals and birds.
But it is important to remove a tick as soon as you find it. Removing the tick's body helps you avoid diseases the tick may pass on during feeding. Removing the tick's head helps prevent an infection in the skin where it bit.

Many of the diseases ticks carry cause flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, and muscle aches. Lyme's Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever are most common diseases resulting from tick bites.

Symptoms may begin from 1 day to 3 weeks after the tick bite. Sometimes a rash or sore appears along with the flu-like symptoms. Go to the WebMD for more information including the symptoms.

Trout Fishing Store Opens at Trout University

The much anticipated eBay store at Trout University is officially opened. At this point, we at the University are a bit cautious with only one item for sale, which is the Fly Tying Desk. However, we have several unique items being reviewed by the staff.

We expect to improve the store front and add these new items within the next few weeks, so please check out the store frequently. Also, as usual, we at the Trout University are open to and eagerly await your suggestions for improvement.

Trout University's New Look

Great News! The website for Trout University Troutu is enjoying great success. As a result, many new loyal visitors come to the website every day, so the Troutu family is growing rapidly.

To make the site more user friendly for repeat visitors to navigate the site, selecting courses, reading blogs, etc, Chancellor Steve requested Tom, the Director of Information Technology, to reorganize the home page. This has been accomplished over the weekend and we hope that our objectives were accomplished.

Steve has assured us that the site will continue to evolve to meet the expectations of the ever growing list of visitors. Please check out the changes at Troutu.

Fishing Vest for Children

I am pleased to announce that Trout University has developed a fishing vest for children. We are in the process of working with vendors to manufacture the vest in volume, but I am going to give you a sneak preview. For girls, the vest will be pink and have pockets for a sippy cup, sun glasses and fishing suypplies; and oh yes, did I mention snacks? If you are interested in purchasing this vest, please go to our web site and use the contacts tab.

Trout University Chancellor Steve publishes ebook!

We at the Trout University TroutU are excited by Chancellor Steve's first publication in a series of ebooks. The ebook entittled "Small Stream Trout Fishing" is available in the Kindle version at Amazon Kindle for the very affordable price of $3.99. Steve said that he wants to keep the price affordable so that everyone can learn to enjoy trout fishing in the small mountain streams such as are found in The Great Smoky Mountains Park.

Steve is planning a CyberGuide series in conjunction with the teaching and classes held at the University. His plans include video guides of numerous fishing trips. Each CyberGuide video will include trail maps, techniques, specific information about the trout population, how to make your approach, what flies or baits that will work on that particular stream, and much, much more. Be sure to check back at TroutU for details about the release of the PDF version of "Small Stream Trout Fishing" as well as others in the CyberGuide series.

Nolichucky River White Water

Some years ago (Valerie would not approve of me telling how long ago) her and I took a float trip from Popular NC down the Nolichucky River to Erin, Tenn. As we floated down the river, I could not help but admire the big pools and wishing that I had my fishing pole for the trout and even for the smallies. Now, I have become friends with Justin Shroyer, the head guide at Appalachian Angler and that wish has a real possibility of coming true. For more about Justin see my interview with him.

Also, we at Trout University have invited Justin to become a guest professor to teach entomology. However, right now, is the busy time for guides, so keep watching for the article.

Tea Party Today

I do not expect this blog to be political, but I am a little unhappy about the politicians in both parties, not paying attention to the populace. They think of themselves as aristocrats and we are the peasants! I will be protesting at the Tea Party at Marshall Park in Charlotte NC today.

Trout Fishing with Felt Soles is Recommended

While surfing the web recently, I came across this picture on the Newbie blog. This toe injury illustrates the importance of wearing the proper footware. The owner of that magnificent toe was wearing sandles when that injury occured. I have never used flip flops or sandles so I never had an injury like that. However, when I first started to fish for trout, I used sneakers. The problem with sneakers is with streams where there is a thin coating of algae, or slime, over the rocks, it makes them as slippery as ice. Also, when the current is swift, you will not get enough traction to maintain control; and actually be carried downstream against your will. So, I have had some nasty spills when wearing sneakers. A friend of mine, added carpet to the bottom of his sneakers, but that was not sucessful either. The carpet was not that good at eliminating the slipping, and it also came off too soon.
What I have learned is that the felt soles on wading shoes and a definite must for trout fishermen. You should get the best wading shoes that you can afford and I suggest Simms or Orvis for the best and safest traction.

Men of Valor Meet in Charlotte NC

This is the final weekend before our Men of Valor conference on April 4th. If you believe you men could use some encouragement, equipping, and fellowship with other men of God during these trying times, then please register for and attend this event.

Follow these links to check out the speakers and topics and the schedule of workshops.

Please join hundreds of men from our region for the Men of Valor discipleship conference at Central Church of God in Charlotte, NC, on April 4, 2009.

Kids and the Environment

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a site especially meant for teaching the children to be responsible with our environment. They have a creative interactive approach to teach the children about the environment with a selection of games, comic books, and cartoons. It also includes downloadable activity books, coloring books and more.
To learn about this and more go to Trout University Class 1012 Fishing With Kids, scroll down to Extra Credit and click on Environmental Kids Club.

Mongo is where it is at, bring back the BAT!

I can remember the good 'ol days playing with the Mongo bat. It was a large, large plastic bat that was so ideal for playing ball with the entire family. With the Mongo bat, you could hardly miss the ball, and when hit, the ball went flying with super speed.
It was so versatile that it could be used with virtually any ball of soft material. the inventor said that it could even be used, in fact, developed for use with a tennis ball. However, the bats purchased from Wal Mart were not sturdy enough to be used with a tennis ball. No matter, I just want the Mongo back.

Playing with the family in a park or the back yard is more fun and more exercise than cyber exercise like Wii. This video of the Mongo Bat will demonstrate.

Waders: Now, The Rest of The Story!

If Paul Harvey were still alive that is what he would say about our wader experiences. When we went to Alaska, the neoprene waders were great, but in NC where the weather is mild, they are so uncomfortable. The lite weight waders that I bought last year were super lite and cool but my grandson borrowed them to fish in a ravine and when he brought them back, they were shredded beyond repair. They simply do not hold up to the NC underbrush.

However, we bought the Orvis Tailwaters XT waders at the Orvis Warehouse Sale for about $38 which is about 10 cents on the dollar, because they were refurbished. We took them out Saturday to the Great Smoky Mountains Natiopnal Park and they were great. As we crawled thru the underbrush to approach the wild trout, they did not even get a scratch. So, for NC mountains, you might consider purchasing those waders.

After several attempts to retire, I am an author!

Retirement is easy, I can quit whenever I choose. Not so! I have retired several times, but now I find myself an author. I have published several articles on Associated Content. Also, I am a full professor at the Trout University where I have written several on line classes for teaching the art of trout fishing. So, now I am working on the computer about six hours per day and I have applied for a part time job outside the home as well.

North Carolina Trout Fishermen Prefer Pizza

Yes, it is somewhat secret and most will not readily admit it, but the preferred food after a tough day in the NC mountains is; you guess it Pizza! Personally, I have never considered it a sucessful trout fishing trip until I have hungrily downed my share of pizza washed down with Coke. However, I have learned that some other fishermen have the same appetite as well.

Orvis Helios Fly Fishing Rod a Sucess

While at the recent Orvis Warehouse Sale in Charlotte, NC, I had a good close up opportunity to review the new line of fly fishing rods. It's the Helios line, the lightest, strongest and most flexible fly-fishing rod Orvis has ever produced.

These rods offer the latest technology in resins, to reduce the weight. That technology coupled with a new lighter reel seat, makes them the world's lightest fishing rods . The Orvis team spent over two years to develop and perfect the new line, but it has paid off in sales, which are going thru the roof!

As I looked over those beautiful rods, I could not help but wonder what roll in the development of the rod, was played by my friend Tom Rosenbauer, Marketing Director for Orvis Rod and Tackle.

New Jersey Trout Fishing-Better Than Ever!

A fisherman contacted our web site http://www.troutu.com/ requesting information about trout fishing in New Jersey and pennsylvania. I have some friends who have fished the Pennsylvania waters and just one friend who had fished the New Jersey waters near the Deleware Water Gap. Of course, I have emailed them for more individual information and I am waiting for a reply. In the meantime, I have discovered that a lot of factors have combined to make New Jersey a great trout fishing success story. Many of the streams that course down and through the steep, wooded terrain of the Ridge and Valley and Highlands regions, as well as the rolling plains of the Piedmont, provide the cold water habitat that trout need. New Jersey has over 500 miles of streams with water quality capable of supporting trout reproduction and/or adequate for the year-round survival of trout. A 20 lb. brown trout of your dreams wasn't caught until 1995 in Round Valley Reservoir...... and I thought that the only trout in NJ were in an aquarium!

For complete information please go to the Trout University Blog.

Orvis Warehouse Sale in Charlotte.

Today, I went to the Orvis sale at the Metrolina Fair Grounds in Good ol' Charlotte. I was the first one in the warehouse as soon as they opened the doors at 9:00 AM. I scurried to the waders and picked up two pairs of Tailwaters XT waders for $39 each. They are $329 each when purchased from Orvis and not on sale. Wow, I saved about $600!

Trout Fishing Ethics.

It is our responsibility to leave the resources and the pristine outdoors no worse off for our being there, and to respect the rights of others as well. Here are a few rules to follow.

First, the Law:

Always purchase a valid trout fishing license as these fees help to maintain the trout population.
Take time to understand and adhere to the regulations as they are there to enhance the fishery.

If you keep the fish, pay close attention to catch limits.

Next, the Fish:

Practice catch & release with single barbless hooks.

Do not play the fish longer than necessary as it may exhaust the fish beyond recovery.

Wet your hands prior to holding the fish, the slime on the fish is needed by the fish to survive.

As you release the fish, slide the fish back and forth in the water to pass water thru his gills.

Next, about property:

Pack it in -pack it out: Do not leave trash behind, especially plastics, cans or dirty diapers.
Do not trespass on private land; always ask permission and obey the answer.
Respect the owner's property and do not break any fences or leave any gates open.

If in a public park, obey the rules and respect the rights of other.

Picturea are the courtesy of

Troutu web site.

Cold Weather Trout Fishing in NC

With the snow on the ground here in Charlotte NC as well as most areas of the South, We bundle up, gear up, and head out to fish! Fishing in the cold months is a great time to fish for larger, warier, brown trout. (As long as you're dressed for the weather.) Besides, it's a great way to beat the crowds. Check out the snow!

Giant Trout Caught by103 Year Old Man

One day while on the internet, I found a story about a 103 year old man who immigrated from England to New Zealand , where he caught the 4 pound trout. I am certain that I will not live to be 103, but if I do, I would most probably be curled up in a fetal position. Erik-King-Turner said this about trout fishing "I like the scenery and thinking about how to persuade the fish to take a fly." He also said "I eat everything you are not supposed to have." Imagine, living to 103, eating everything you are not supposed to have, and catching trout that weigh in at 4 pounds.

Trout Fishing Requires Stealth

I recently attended the Fly Fishing Show at Charlotte NC and heard some tips from the master fishermen. Here are some of the best tips:

1. Stay low and close to the water level. -remember a low profile is alwasy best.
2. Take advantage of big boulders, fallen trees, etc. to conceal your location.
3. If you are on the bank, blend in with the trees and rhodendrons as much as possible.
4. Be patient and move slowly.
5. Make your first cast your best cast.
NOTE: If you have a favorite tip that you would like to share, email me at jmaslar@troutu.com

Grandpa Joe was as full of tricks as a pet ‘coon.

As regular readers of this newsletter know, my paternal grandfather was in many senses a boy trapped inside an old man’s body. He only had two or three short years (six months or so each year) of formal schooling, and although literate, he barely merited the description.
Yet Grandpa Joe was as full of tricks as a pet ‘coon, so fiercely independent he would never work for another man (or listen to much advice from anyone), and an abiding source of intriguing information which an adoring grandson absorbed in sponge-like fashion.
Although I don’t know for certain, I doubt if Grandpa ever ventured as far as 200 miles from the place he was born. I do know for a fact that he figured the high country of the Smokies was about as close to an earthly heaven as anyone could imagine. On that score I happen to think he was exactly right.
Grandpa didn’t particularly care for February. He always maintained that it was the shortest month of the year because it invariably featured nasty, depressing weather. Also, it was a time of the year when Grandpa Joe was likely to be seized by what he described as “the miseries.” This was a catch-all term to describe his suffering from arthritis, general aches and pains associated with old age, and the sort of depression normally characterized as cabin fever. Mind you, Grandpa was too much of an optimist to let some pain leave him down in the dumps for long. Read more about Grandpa at Troutu.com.