Spey Fly~Dec Hogan~Preparing Schlappen and Tying the Fly

Excellent video tutorial by the humble legend, Dec Hogan. He demonstrates how to tie Glasso style Spey…a pattern Hogan created called the The Mahoney. Hogan emphasizes the red for low, clear water.      

http://www.midcurrent.com/video/clips/hogan_mahoney.aspx

                          http://www.midcurrent.com/articles/techniques/hogan_steelhead_strike.aspx

April Vokey Syndrome (avs) Followup

Yes, April may well be in line for her own calendar, a reel named after her, sunglasses, French manicure outlets, a rod named in her honor…”The Vokey’…or a spey move…’The Vokey’….but, as I said before and strongly alluded to…how frigging cool she can not just cast, but can put a fly in a fish’s mouth and bring the fish to hand. And, as evident at Rogue Angels and FlyGal…there are quite a few women that are doing this…and they just happen to be all the more beautiful holding that tail and belly. I think there are probably some po’d girlfriends and wives out there. I was already in trouble over K8. Mine just says ’dream on’.

http://www.womensportfishing.com/guides.htm     

April's Rainbow

                                                                                            http://www.flygal.ca/

Fish Habitat & Roads (Logging, Runoff and Planning…still failing to mesh)

http://moldychum.typepad.com/moldy_chum/2009/01/bc-fish-habitat-profoundly-imapacted-by-shoddy-roads.html

After all the battles, consciousness raising and supposed oversight, there still sets right in front of our noses the obvious intrusion into the wilderness…roads. And the repercussions of poor planning, maintenance and vision…or is it the old trade off of industry v. recreation. Recreation is no longer the word. Recreation is tent camping, put and take fisheries, off road rampaging, tubing the river. It is bigger than recreation and our fisheries biologist are in the wait and see mode re consequences. Frankly, I imagine many know but either place a low premium on those consequences or are sucked up into budget, balance, recreation, industry equations. Back to basics for habitat should be the never ending mantra.  

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Brazil

Consequences of Poor Planning

http://decolando.net/blog/2008/12/18/fotos-dos-deslizamentos-do-morro-do-bau/

This piece is in Portugese, but I imagine by the visuals and if you know a little Spanish, you can tell the landslides (deslizamentos) were caused by removing normal vegetation and replacing it with banana crops. The roads were built through this deforested area. The results are obvious.

I am a staunch supporter of timber, etc. But, logging roads and forest service roads built without any regard for fish habitat, whether for the recreationist or the preservationist is absurd this day in age.   

Fly Tying Visuals at fish4flies.com

Olive & Gold Buzzer (fish4flies)

This is a very good UK site that depicts a multitude of flies for fresh and saltwater conditions. Fish4flies is in business to sell you flies. For some that is the accepted practice because they do not have the inclination to buy materials and tie. For others this site affords an opportunity to see excellent representations of patterns. For those of us in the U.S. some of the flies are not typical of what we see and there are fun new discoveries to be had. No design concepts, names, fresh ideas. I am certain UK tiers find new ideas cruising other sites as well. It all blends together around the world.    http://www.fish4flies.com/Nymphs/  

Nymph or Nymph (both have positive images)

Waterhouse Nymph

Nymphette

I have come to realize that that old phrase ‘nymphette’ is a serious obsession for some. I mean I wouldn’t mind coming upon a half naked beauty near a stream with no mosquito’s or boulders. I do recall walking around a bend on the South Fork of the McKenzie R. and encountering a bevy of naked hippie girls. They were up above Rainbow, Oregon waiting on a Dead concert. That was a pleasant experience. There seems to be more to this nymph thing. It is a part of that ‘otherly’ experience we all have but may ignore enroute to the water’s edge. We may be focused upon the process, preparation and  presentation. The walk in the woods, the greeness, the lushness, the secret paths and hiding places are lost upon us as we make sure we take the right path toward the sound of the river. Imagination gives way to visualization of the lie, the take, the fight, the moment that dumps pleasant chemicals into our bloodstream.

Yet, most of us relish or accept the mystical qualities of the water’s edge and deeper back into the woods…whether we lay it to God, Mother Nature or some other-worldly force we often possess fanciful images amongst the moss, ground cover and trees.

I do recall an image used by a fly tyer in his book that depicted a nymphal shape combined with a naked female that was sexy and would make a great tattoo. Does anyone recall that nymph book…seems it was about stillwater fishing…

Hamster on a Piano Eating Popcorn (Relentless on the River)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRzTfgds0UI

I once remarked upon that oddity, at least for me, of once you are upon the water and if there is any intensity in your presentation, a damn song pops up from no where and relentlessly repeats itself ad nausea. Right now I could tell you that I have had ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ and ‘What the World Needs Now is Love’…but next time, I pray it is not ‘The Hamster on a Piano Eating Popcorn’.      

 http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/getback/83062/brain-itch-songs/ 

Portland Embibing Age Lowered to 18 y/o

 

Apparently, you only need to be 18 to partake of a Sam Adams!