Gear and Guiding with Braden Miller

[00:00:01] Podcast. Welcome to The Ugly Bug Podcast, a production of The Ugly Bug Fly Shop and Crazy Rainbow Fly Fishing. Welcome to The Ugly Bug Podcast. On today's episode we sit down with Braden Miller with Miller Time flies and a young fishing guide that was fortunate enough for us.

[00:00:25] We've been on a fun traveling adventure throughout the West and is getting some fun fishing in. We're looking at lucky enough to sit down and spend a little time with him. Let's start by taking a step away for a quick word from our sponsors.

[00:00:40] The Ugly Bug Podcast is proudly sponsored by Fly Omen, Wyoming Rueded Fly Fishing of Paralympic Cessories, challenging the traditional mode designed by anglers or anglers. Thanks for joining us. It sounds like you're on a fun little fishing tour. Thank you, Brad. Man, appreciate it.

[00:01:00] Yeah. You've got a couple weeks. You made the journey out west and sounds like you fish a little bit of Colorado, a little bit of Wyoming. You've jumped around a bit. Yeah. We started out around the deckers area and then fish a little bit of the canyon

[00:01:14] here and there and bounced around. I don't hear why I'm in now. Sweet. Sweet and you're making the jump back tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. Did you arrive? You were like, yeah. How long is that?

[00:01:26] I think if we push it, we can get done about day and a half. Maybe two. But that's, I think it's for me going to be more like two. You don't hop up on red ball and drive like mad monsters in the infrastructure.

[00:01:40] Just keep dribbling and swallowing out drivers and I like it. I like it. So this summer, what re-up to? Mostly small-mouth riding in small-mouth fishing. I didn't do autonomous naked stuff. I could have in the past. Carp. I've been enjoying lots of carp in high class

[00:01:58] years, well. But other than that, I just haven't been doing autonomous naked stuff or any red fishing. Not a ton of salt this summer but that's been, that's coming up soon. But yeah, I just went and joined small-mouth fishing and taking another

[00:02:13] good position. And there's this small-mouth stuff for you. You're doing that by boat or you guys wait for each number. There are some spots you can wait for, especially if you're going to like richening all that. Not really guiding any of that stuff but running rafts whether

[00:02:27] large or small rafts. Certain reviews you can run hard holes on, but most of our stuff is a raft game. Yeah. So, and re-guiding this summer, just helping out a bit. Yeah, you were a guide in a bunch. I was helping out guiding everybody

[00:02:44] and taking up extra troops. And then also just trying to basically grow a boat for myself here in the future. Yeah. But yeah, it's just working on that. Trying to get that up and growing. Cool. If you dove into purchasing multiple boats yet.

[00:03:01] I have a Smith Fire raft thinking of expanding to another model soon. Now, I've just been a five-but, maybe a stealth draft. One of the whole game models. And then, yeah. Not guiding out a skiff yet or any guess you can say motor vehicle or vehicle vessel.

[00:03:24] But yeah, getting captain's license can expand on that. So what's the captain's license in tail? Other than some tests. Man, I haven't studied this hard and it's been smooth. I've been doing all my high school stuff. So, I can obviously travel on fish and guide now.

[00:03:45] But yeah, it's been a lot of studying and tests now. Yeah, two more tests. I got to finish up and get it go. How many tests is that in total that you have to jump through?

[00:03:55] Believe. It's at least four, but might be five. I think it's four though. Okay. And they progressively get harder right soon. Or they all just... I think you can take them whenever, like whichever for me I was given the option to do

[00:04:11] which everyone's I want to do. That's certain times. So I've got the last two rules around. I got the old chart plotting. Yeah. That's the phone one. Yeah. Yeah. It's always a procrastination of putting the hardest one till the end.

[00:04:27] Unfortunately, that I should have, you know, like always done it the opposite way. No, not necessarily. I've done the same. Right. It's kind of the way. Generally, the way fishermen probably do it right. Makes more sense that way. Oh yeah.

[00:04:41] It's a hard one to win or right when you can focus on it a little more. So the small amount of stuff that you guys, you know, is that mostly streamer based stuff that you're focusing with or do you?

[00:04:53] Depends not only conditions, but certain time you're like in the spring, you know, we have our pre-sponsed stuff. It's a hard, core-on-bait fish and you can get some later in spring on top order. But most of it's an intermediate sync tip game.

[00:05:08] I'm kind of running, you know, changes in other streamers. Some flies like swing and d's and, you know, some gallop stuff as well. That's probably my favorite other than straight bug fishing form. Like we've been doing recently in the summertime.

[00:05:23] We got our cicadas that, you know, drop out trees coming in October in the fall months and all that. And small amounts of cicadas are a lot of fun. But, you know, they're missing that actually for past two weeks now. Right.

[00:05:36] But, you know, it's hard to cool. I like them. And then, yeah, I mean, the dog days of summer of top order for small amounts is, it's a lot of fun. You can still throw streamers.

[00:05:47] Most of it's not big stuff, you know, unless we get a pretty, you know, drastic change in river conditions. I mean, recently it's been low clear back in Virginia and finally started getting some buff and flows.

[00:06:01] And yeah, got the rivers back up in the Shin and Doe and other rivers at the lows they've been in historic times. I mean, I'm not sure how long it's been since they've been this low.

[00:06:11] And when they're low on clean, if fish just get buggy year buggy year. It comes a lot. I mean, the big fish obviously get a little bit vinegar, but like watching a big fish cruise up off the bank.

[00:06:22] I mean, if you can play the finesse game right with a big small amount that's a lot of fun. Cool. Yeah, sounds like a lot of fun. What's a big small mouth? You know, everybody's looking for a 20. Yeah. 20 is definitely like 20 plus is anything over 20 is a giant.

[00:06:41] 20 is a big one, really big one. But, you know, if you get 16 to 17, 18 and small amount that's still nice. I mean, it's really nice small amount. Yeah. But 20 is definitely a goal mark. Yeah.

[00:06:54] So you throw in six weights, seven, eight, six, five to six is four like there's like more finesse terrestrial patterns. Like anything from grasshopper patterns to wigglies, wigglers or then a big thing for our summer stuff recently.

[00:07:08] Fuku boasts of as well, but mostly like a seven way for, you know, poppers anything like that. And then streamers stuff mean seven weeks probably my favorite small mouth or hot. And then a, a soups throw in seven way for car.

[00:07:23] Are you going bigger than that with your car stuff you're doing? Um, depends on what structure around for the car. We run a lot of large-time stuff. I'll bump it up to like a seven maybe eight, but I really like a six way honestly. Um, but seven way.

[00:07:36] It's not a bad option. Yeah. If we're all around cool. The car, you guys are chasing them. They all commons or do you get some mirrors in there as well or no stir commons? Okay. Um, you different waterways.

[00:07:48] You can find the occasional grass car, but if you can find them here that's pretty special for us. I'm talking to Dustin and sounds like you all have a lot of mirror.

[00:07:56] I'm going about here, but on average, you know, you're going to find a common car for us. Yeah. There they, you guys will have a little more food source based stuff. Then we, you know, our car peer like the pretty crawfish heavy. Right. Really their main diet.

[00:08:11] I mean, they eat some damsels and dragons, but we don't have the berry bush stuff. We don't have that much cotton or your cart kind of all over the map as far as food source or Um, definitely seems like certain times of the year. They're eating different things.

[00:08:25] Um, all year long. I've caught them on, you know, warm patterns. Um, heck, I've had them on squaring me worms before. Um, but a lot of crawfish stuff small though. I mean, nothing, nothing too big. Um, small clawedheads and just, you know, random stuff I tie up.

[00:08:42] Um, caught someone like mulberry stuff this year, but nothing too crazy. It was a very short period that I found them on that. And then we had our cotton with seeds for short amount of time as well. Yeah.

[00:08:55] So those carp and river systems are you fishing them in lakes usually or there's a lot of, uh, lake fishing for them as well. But that mostly is the kata stuff for them in lakes is what I've seen. I don't do a ton of lake fishing form.

[00:09:09] Um, bird axe was pretty crazy for them in the lakes. Um, but all my stuff for them is all river based. Whether it were small mouth fish and a lot of or small mouth rivers have, you know, ton of carp and them.

[00:09:19] And a lot of times they're the bigger carp that I've found. But I've got some smaller systems that aren't pressure as much and the carp are a lot happier. So you know, getting numbers instead of size over sure some other systems.

[00:09:30] Well, the small leaves hang out with the carp like same run actually. I have seen them following the schools around especially in the wintertime. When the carp were all screwed up, I think they're just rooting around and spitting crudheads and everything else out.

[00:09:45] A lot of the big small mouth fall around seems like in the wintertime. Permit follow up and a stingray around sort of thing. Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting.

[00:09:55] I think you know, we've seen I've seen trout do it from time to time but I don't know if the trout's brains too small to figure out that. This routinely, that's a great food source. But I'm sure it is right. It's those big schools moving around.

[00:10:12] What what you got planned like fishing in the future coming up here, you got me think like pre-scheduled ready to go or. Yes. So coming up October first we got October going down with Carolina.

[00:10:24] I'll be down there October through November might be a little bit into December but that'll be mixed up with some musky stuff if I wanted to. But October through November I'll be down there helping Jake Jordan guiding for Albeys and. More boards in the ocean as well. Yeah.

[00:10:42] Looking forward to that. That's some of my favorite fishing I've done in meeting for him in the past past three years now. So I'll be jumping in and helping out a lot of them this year.

[00:10:54] Are the most of those trips designed for the Albeys or is it more to chase the red fish? You can definitely prioritize the red fish but on average I mean you're going to catch Albeys.

[00:11:08] If you're going for reds, regardless, it's pretty hard to pass up a pot unless you've hardcore on the reds. All right. The reds don't always show up and they can be a pretty you know, hit or miss thanks sometimes and sometimes they're just.

[00:11:20] Hard to miss you know, I mean they could be everywhere. I think Albe is going to be you know, condition based like it's been in the past certain winds and certain conditions were the Bayer position.

[00:11:33] Not long to coast and whatnot and also inside the issue is when they're getting dumped out by the tide is going to affect it like it has in the past.

[00:11:40] Yeah, but I mean Albeys they're they can be pretty predictable sometimes and other times are just never to be seen. But the reds do they tend to move in and out more with like cold fronts and that sort of stuff as well or.

[00:11:55] Actually, if found seems like they eat the best on like just nasty conditions man like if you're getting hurt and beat up all your running. Try to catch him it seems like the fish and form gets a lot better.

[00:12:06] Yeah, then the Albeys I mean Albeys love rough weather from when I've seen the past and what I've always seen while fishing form. It's just seemed like the rough it is both those fish like it but I mean. If you get north wind blowing in towards you know.

[00:12:22] Albeys. All along the coast it's pretty fun what are that what's the main for a lot of bay and jubies but it changes as you know the year goes on.

[00:12:35] The layer in the year you'll get larger bait so Bay and Chuvies and Spearing and whatnot but earlier in the year you can get a lot of like don't stop bait just real small fine menos I mean pretty hard to replicate them with a fly but you know some really small dubbing patterns or.

[00:12:51] And sometimes they go hand on it and other times they just won't even look at it. Yeah.

[00:12:57] That anchovy stuff do you tie a fair bit of streamers that kind of replicate yeah oh yeah it's you don't have to tie supercom kids stuff or mean though eight surf canies and all that. Right obviously man so what the fly was designed for I believe originally.

[00:13:11] But I mean small like lasers to a patterns and all that with eyes and then just run a number of you if you're isn't just super simple stuff that you can bang out and then.

[00:13:21] Closer of course I mean yeah pretty hard to yourself or fish when that a closet right you guys fishing those on sink tips stuff or it's actually a lot of 40 lines.

[00:13:31] Like lines just standard nine foot lear straight 20 pound or 20 pound to 30 and I mean downsize and if you if they're getting a little picky but. I mean I like fish almost straight 30 because you can just lock drag down. Welfan I'm running. Oh yeah I like it.

[00:13:47] How I get clamping down on them a bit what's your go to real go to real. Go to real. You have one. Yeah you fish and makeos.

[00:13:58] Yeah it's pretty hard to go go go go go go go go the makeo yeah so for always like to make a 9500 but you know you don't even make it for it out. No you get by with.

[00:14:09] No beef ksd over some makes a couple great reals as well form I mean. You can you you can get away with for out is with. Some decent reals pretty fun to clamp down on a makeo though.

[00:14:22] I don't want to go back from Christmas Island we fished a few makeos down there and it was. It was very nice to have with some of those bigger GT's right to get all the way to 100% drag and one turn and.

[00:14:38] Yeah they're seeing you get to play yeah definitely a work art yeah but yeah I think you're spot on with there's a lot of good reals out there but.

[00:14:48] I don't think any I'm come I mean seegler seegler other than a makeo mean seegler's probably the closest thing that I found that. Mean the drag power yeah if you mess with the shieldens at all. I haven't now yeah they're pretty.

[00:15:03] Game westerns well third old school court drag system but okay you know remote locations they love them just because they can still work on them and fix them versus the sealed system that.

[00:15:13] Obviously if you're in the middle of the say she else you can't really figure that one out right so be screwed yeah. The shulms are really I think it's like. Makeos shulten I think the new hearty real like.

[00:15:31] I will find says indoors but like you think it's pretty much those two brands that they're asking to bring down yeah they don't want. You know just in case they got to repair it they've got parts and pieces and things that they can.

[00:15:44] Do to get it back to functional if it happens to be messed up right so oh yeah yeah yeah yeah. Yeah yeah mr. Allen seegler's mess around makeos. No less up messed around with TFO of course or this real so mean yeah number of brands but.

[00:16:02] Top two that for me have been makeo and seegler yeah the what kind of rod I mean what weight rod are you guys running for the big bullreds and they all be stuff for always my favorites and nine weight.

[00:16:16] Nine you can use ten if you really want to get the handle of my guess you can use eleven. Lair in the season we get your buffalo alby so you know real big ones I'll tell you know 20 plus pounds sometimes.

[00:16:28] Those are going to be you know you definitely want probably a 10 11 mean if you can 12 I guess but. I mean you can get away with the 10 weight pretty much for all that the drum I prefer 12 but mean 12 to 10 weight you'll be okay yeah.

[00:16:48] Fighting them not really with rod just using the real I mean I'm not using the rattle straight rod them and using the drag yeah. Do those cast have to be pretty far generally I mean.

[00:17:01] To see me moving the bait pretty quick once a had some water yeah depends for albies I mean you can have when they pin the bait right up to the boat.

[00:17:10] I mean they're just caught them and just drop in the fly on the water and become blind sweep it up but I've also had them you know get them weather called sippers and they're just not a ton of bait around not a whole lot of.

[00:17:20] You know tired or when moving anything around and they're just coming up into bait or two and you've got to get your fly in there whether it's 20 feet away or 60 70 feet away and within seconds or you're not going to fish but I mean.

[00:17:34] I mean on average you get a nice pot of bait up or bait ball up and then you've got a pot of albies working on me you get probably a minute to you know if you.

[00:17:43] Well enough time to get a 30 40 50 60 foot shot at him right what kind of boat you guys running for that it's a 20 foot 21 foot Jones brother marine okay designed down there for that area specifically great boat.

[00:17:58] So is the casting deck in the front is a pretty deep yeah so you're not going to get thrown off or anything you don't know where you can lean right in the rail and I've been on.

[00:18:09] Other boats where you know you got to step up on a deck and you got sees your slosh around your line all around your feet it's you don't worry about any that yeah. Do you guys run a.

[00:18:20] Well mind tangler pad or anything on the floor to help don't probably need to really yeah you can bring a strip and basket if you wanted to but.

[00:18:30] Most time not really I mean not getting tangled up really unless you're you know scraping feet on it twist the line up and inside of it. Other than that I saw S.A. just recently released like some crescent moon.

[00:18:46] Disks basically right that did are much like the carbon marine. But seem to be like a third of the price and yeah that's like you know those will be pretty handy right I can think of you my boat says it would be pretty nice.

[00:19:01] Oh yeah, whether it's on the skiff or you know stuff like that yeah, yeah, helping keep things straight it's amazing when you hook those fish like.

[00:19:10] How that line is stacked at times and making sure your feet are clear and yeah not wrapped around the reel like I have one what the trout really. I've had not had it happen anything really in fresh water in the carpet.

[00:19:22] Yeah, I mean solar you get a little bit tension as lunche it's like spaghetti going on. Yeah, flying. Yeah, it's flying. And it's the times you just feel hopeless you see it like wrap around the back of the reel and you just like yeah yeah I go.

[00:19:36] Yeah, that's cool on that one. Yeah, but it's a lot of fun. So other than you know captain's license guide license stuff is that really that you know after you're done in November is that kind of.

[00:19:51] Focus on school for a bit and get things get things hammered out there and then you to it again next year you got a little not quite not quite.

[00:20:01] I've worked in on school like around everything else obviously the school is important working on it you know before everything else. I mean that's the main thing.

[00:20:10] Yeah, I did get finished and get knocked out but I mean I'm 90 some percent of the way already finished with all my high school stuff so I'm just being done able to do that online you know.

[00:20:22] Guess it's you know I'm able to take my time to do whatever I want wherever as long as I have you know internet of course sure I've just been taking my time on it and obviously I'm going to get it done before. Yeah, I'm just trying to.

[00:20:36] Yeah, I would be pretty sad you know. But yeah after October November going to I can I'll still I had the option I could still run out being drum stuff and December but.

[00:20:55] So I'm just trying to be really happy with the people that you know, I'm just trying to find out the details and I'm just trying to find out the feelings about what you need to do.

[00:21:09] But if not I'll just stick with the musky and winters mama stuff from there and then Going out December I've got Some stuff like fly shows and all that Not doing as many as I do in the past but

[00:21:25] Doing the international fly tying to Pizzam and then also got something already lined up for shortes Is it's got Bob and the other something like that cool where a bunch tires and yeah Everyone some people in industry

[00:21:39] Joe time right where is the fly tying supposed to him out this year that is in It's in Jersey I can't remember exactly where I don't have that the venues move probably two or three times now in the past couple years So, right I'm not exactly sure

[00:21:55] How to be fun. Yeah. Yeah, if you don't want to those before these symposium I've done fast. Yeah, it's uh Obviously it's one of my favorite shows um doing so as we do in a couple classes and then also a future tire stuff so

[00:22:08] Be fun. Yeah, you got new patterns you've been messing with you kind of take a step back from that for a little bit Not a ton recently I've been messing around with anything crazy Just a few like kind of simple guided sparrows just get some simple stuff now

[00:22:24] We're all the box. Yeah, but Just game changer patterns. Yeah depends on scenarios and all that but other than that just changers man. Yeah Have you tried I haven't seen anyone try it use the new like Lip sauna changer

[00:22:43] The plastic blips so you got new that program. I have not on changers. I used him in the past on Some I mean, it's been a long time

[00:22:53] Been a few years from instance. I've used them but yeah, I mean there was some stuff that I had a work form But I haven't used him in at least three years now. Yeah, nice

[00:23:02] You know here mind. I think he did an update to their newest one and it's kind of got me intrigued to try to I don't know probably just make it look like a Rainbow trial with whirling disease

[00:23:13] Tiding crooked. He just keeps playing a circle or something but who knows it might work. Yeah. I mean, it's something different They probably don't see a lot so yeah Still doing stuff with TFO you're gonna help them out with any shows this Something season yeah, should be at

[00:23:31] Yes, it's the T I get so mixed up with so there's so many shows now. Oh, yeah, I'm not doing anything out west this year No Colorado sure no California show just stick into Few of the basic shows like the Edison show

[00:23:44] Yeah, might help out with a few here and there but other than that just trying to focus on Work working and school and then awesome big money something awesome and then As far as fun travel plans you got anything else

[00:24:01] Tell you working quite a bit. So I supposed to be doing another trip with my family up to Pennsylvania and Ohio for you like run Steelers and rainbows and then the Other than that my

[00:24:16] Floored the next spring yeah, that's upcoming spring so yeah, and then once you're on it We know we do family trip but I'll be down there already You'll be down there awesome. Well, thanks for joining us and travel safe on the way home

[00:24:29] Hopefully we'll see you back out here in Wyoming shortly. Yeah, that's right. Thank you Thank you for listening to the ugly bug podcast if you've enjoyed this episode Please consider subscribing and leaving a review on apple podcasts and Spotify

[00:24:46] If you have questions or feedback reach out to us via email at info at Uglybugpodcast.com or leave a comment on our social networks