Blog
Posted on September 29, 2011
Howler Brand Ambassador Conway Bowman is a regular Thomas Jefferson of the aquatic life. He’s a fly fishing guide, surfer, television host, author, father, brand rep and conservationist. Conway makes his home in San Diego and runs Bowman Bluewater, a charter fishing service specializing in targeting Mako sharks with fly rods. He has hosted ESPN shows like “In Search of Flywater” and is a noted pioneer and advocate of catch and release fishing. Cats like Conway fully embody what we love here at Howler Brothers so we’re pumped to have him on the team. We caught up with him at the recent International Fly Tackle Dealers show in New Orleans and picked his brain on a few topics. Check them out below:
You find yourself in Baja and you know that Cabo Polmo is firing, head high and clean. But roosterfish are swarming the beaches as well. You only have two hours, do you surf or fish? That’s a tough one….let’s see. If it is over head and top to bottom tube I’d have to say “surf while I can get it” but, if the roosters are thick, chasing mullet on the beach and the conditions are right (not over head surf) I’m on the roosters all day long.
Why do you think a culture similar to surf and skate culture is emerging in fly fishing? Both sports and the guys a gals who participate in them are into the adventure of getting away from the day to day grind and finding adventure. Both sports parallel fly fishing because fly fishing is a soulful trip where ever you choose to do it. Currently, there is a noticeable shift away from the status trip in fly fishing with the elite crowd and movement towards the more adventure/soul crowd. It’s refreshing to see some dude in surf trunks, Converse high tops and an old vintage 70′s Fenwick fiberglass 12 wt casting to tarpon and out fishing the in crowd! I love that. That’s cool stuff.
No kidding, what’s the highest you’ve seen one of those Makos jump when hooked up to a fly rod? I’ve see a Mako clear the water twenty feet straight up as it was cartwheeling across the bow of my boat. No joke, the Mako is an unreal fish to catch on the fly and they jump higher and are faster then any other fish in the ocean!
How in the hell did you get into fly fishing for Makos anyway? Living in San Diego the nearest trout stream to me is 6 hrs north. However the ocean has always been steps from where I live and grew up, so the salt water and Mako sharks were the closest fish I had to target with the fly.
My pops and I would spend our summers in Idaho, so that’s where I got into fly fishing at the age of 6. I was fishing Silver Creek and Henry’s Fork…back in the early to mid 70′s. That’s where I got my fly fishing chops down. Then we would return to San Diego in the winter (my dad was a school teacher) and I would then target bass and pan fish eventually moving to the saltwater with the fly and ultimately the Mako shark.
Fill in the blank. Sharks are misunderstood because…of the movie Jaws! Worst thing to happen to sharks.
You share a first name with 70’s country music icon, Conway Twitty (see above). Since we know you don’t wear your hair like him, do you take any other cues from him like wearing white sequined jump suits, sporting gold medallions on the outside of a turtle neck or singing songs full of sexual innuendo into long, skinny, “Price is Right” style microphones? Conway Twitty has been a big part of my life from the day I was born. In most cases by default. Throughout my life people ask my name and when they hear ” Conway” they say 99% of the time….”Conway Twitty”? But, to he honest that dude wrote/sang some cool tunes and his hair was insane- plus that Bob Barker microphone and crazy bling that cat wore was awesome. Now that’s coming from a guy (me) who is bald and does not wear any gold, but nonetheless his stuff was tight. I loved the hillbilly slide guitar stuff that ran through some of his tunes. I love the tune “Louisiana Woman” and “It’s Only Make Believe” those are great tunes that I think were #1′s on the charts. In fact, in college I played drums and filled in on some county gigs. And yes, we played lots of Conway Twitty.
Most saltwater guides feel the gravitational pull of Florida. You’re staying put in California because…the waves are bigger….
Insert shameless plug for Howler here…The coolest, hippest shit out there for the surf/fly fishing crowd. Howler totally gets “IT”! They capture the lifestyle of the next generation adventure!!
Posted on September 7, 2011
Managed to sneak in a great morning session at New Smyrna Beach before heading over to Orlando for Surf Expo. Got some quality product testing done as well: the Bruja Boardshorts passed with high marks. Look for the retro styling of the Bruja’s later this fall. If you are going to be at the Expo this weekend be sure and drop by our booth (#839) and say hello to Mason and Chase.
Posted on August 25, 2011
We receive a lot of pictures in our inbox of folks in their Howler duds in various exotic locales all over the globe. We get everything from your basic “grip and grin” shots with fish to people proudly applying monkey stickers to street signs. Until now, we have not gotten anything like the one below from Howler customer Alex Wooley during his trip to Alaska. We do not encourage putting yourself in harm’s way to make this blog but, in any case, we felt like Alex deserved it. If he plays his cards right, he might even be able to land this picture on at least 3 other company’s blogs as Howler finds itself in fine company on Mr. Wooley’s person. We hope he’s still around to enjoy all the glory!
Posted on August 12, 2011
The traditional guayabera has always been a shirt we love in form but felt it lagged behind in function. So, we made a bunch of upgrades to our version, the Howler Guayabera, including using quick dry poly-cotton and adding a subtle rear venting. To make sure all these bells and whistles work as planned, we sent one on a recent trip to the middle coast of Costa Rica’s Pacific side. We are super pleased with the results. The shirt endured the road trip heat between surf breaks like Quepos Harbor and Esterillos and kept us cool on a sojourn into the Carara National Park looking for scarlet macaws and trying to catch our dinner. It’s always hard to love one child more than another, but the Howler Guayabera might be our favorite item in the Howler pipeline. Keep an eye out for it this Fall.
Posted on July 14, 2011
Rod and Reel Contest Rules
Guidelines:
Contest will run from July 15th to August 15th, 2011.
Must be a fan of Howler Brothers on Facebook and Twitter.
How to play:
Each day Howler Brothers will post a trivia question on both Facebook and Twitter. The first person to correctly answer the question each day on each of the social media platforms will be entered into the grand prize drawing. The Grand Prize drawing will be held on August 15th, 2011. Additionally, each person that correctly answers the question on each of the social media platforms will receive a discount code towards Howler Brothers gear. You can enter and win the trivia contest multiple times, and each daily win will count as entry in the grand prize drawing (i.e. 5 daily wins equals 5 entries into the grand prize drawing) . If a previous daily winner is the first to correctly answer the trivia question, the person with the second correct answer will also be entered in the grand prize drawing so that at least one new winner is entered each day.
Grand Prize:
Howler Brothers Custom Tibor Everglades QC Reel and Scott 8 weight Rod
1st Runner-up: $100 Howler Brothers Gift Certificate
2nd Runner-up: $50 Howler Brothers Gift Certificate
Posted on June 30, 2011
We spent last weekend field testing a few pieces of new Howler gear in our home waters around the Coastal Bend of Texas. We were particularly pleased with the Pescador Longsleeve as it happily withstood a pounding from both the 20 MPH wind gusts and the blazing 97 degree temperature. Unfortunately, the only cooperative fish were the ones in our redfish ceviche. Stay tuned for more on forthcoming Howler gear.
Posted on June 21, 2011
The Golden Dorado. Like Hansel, Wayfarers and Taylor Swift, the species is “so hot right now”. We went down to Esquina, Argentina back in January to find out what all this hype is about. Here’s what we learned;
1) Golden Dorado are very hungry and have lots of teeth. They are ravenous feeders. Upon seeing a frenzy of them feeding near the boat, our guide and buddy, Oscar Dono, advised, “don’t put your fingers in the water “. He may have been joking but, after watching these fish swallow 10 inch baitfish whole and taking chomps out of each others tails, we happily complied.
2) The act of fly fishing for Golden Dorado is similar to hard labor. You cast HUGE flies on 4/0 and 5/0 hooks that contain the plumage of entire birds on sinking lines over and over and over again. Then you strip, strip, strip, strip, strip until even your stripping guards are worn through. Since stopping casting is not an option, there is zero shame in mixing in some rips with the baitcaster to keep your shoulder from falling off (see results above).
3) The largest Golden Dorado on record weighed 69 pounds. The largest one we caught weighed 12. We can’t imagine struggling with one 5.75 times larger than this.
4) Despite the hard work, there is always light at the end of the tunnel because you can only catch these suckers in places like Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Uruguay. That means the post-fishing refueling session might be better than the fishing itself. In Argentina, the menu says malbec, beef, sausage and more malbec.
5) Golden D’s are delicious especially when roasted on a stick on an island in the middle of a giant delta where the Parana and Corrientes river converge (see results below). In Esquina, anglers may only take one fish a day and it must be eaten on the delta islands.
Posted on June 6, 2011
Nice bit on Howler Brothers in the outdoor issue of the Austin style mag Tribeza. Thanks guys!
Check the full piece out here: http://www.tribeza.com/magazine_content/summer-catch-howler-brothers
Posted on May 31, 2011
Summer Surfboard Contest Rules
Guidelines:
Contest will run from June 1st to June 30th.
Must be a fan of Howler Brothers on Facebook and Twitter.
How to play:
Each day Howler Brothers will post a trivia question on both Facebook and Twitter. The first person to correctly answer the question each day on each of the social media platforms will be entered into the grand prize drawing. The Grand Prize drawing will be held on July 1st, 2011. Additionally, each person that correctly answers the question on each of the social media platforms will receive a discount code towards Howler Brothers gear.
Grand Prize:
Howler Brothers Custom Surfboard shaped by Larry Mayo
1st Runner-up: $100 Howler Brothers Gift Certificate
2nd Runner-up: $50 Howler Brothers Gift Certificate
Posted on May 31, 2011
One of Schuyler Marshall’s handsome poons immortalized in oils on canvas. Good luck in Belize guys…