Fly Fishing Creativity Links (must be the altitude or chemistry)

Erin Block

Jay Zimmerman at Colorado Fly Fishing Reports Blogspot (nice tutorials on flytying and pleasant photography) and his partner in fly lines Erin M. Block at Mysteries Internal (gifted wordsmith and passionate fly fisher) are nice places to visit. Check out both of these sites. They both have a warmth to them that suggests no pretense, totally welcoming. I like the Clown Foot Caddis/Sally that Zimmerman created (note earlier today I wrote about attractor pattens or flies capable of the dry/dropper set up…check out the Clown Foot). And, tell me if you don’t enjoy the insightful way Erin puts words down that resonate.

Women Fly Fisher’s (Once they get it…..)

Women Fly Fishers Long Ago

No, nothing complicated or intriguing to say re women fly fishing. I thought the poster was symbolic of times past and those women that ventured into the sport in a place far away. Did they tag along with the ‘bums’ of the past?  They weren’t pushing a piece for Vanity Fair. They probably weren’t of celebrity status and spoon fed by some guide (least I want to believe that). Just ahead of their times and however they got there, I like it. Many of us pickup a rod to be near those we admire, love or just like to be around. The passion for this sport only ignites for one’s self once you internally get it. Once you are self contained and passionate about the experience then it doesn’t matter who led you to the water. You get it and need it.

Fly Fishing: Attractor Fly (Loosen Up, Experiment)

Standing Out by David Smith

Match, Match, Match: size, color, shape, actions. The majority of your fly tying and presentation will be to match the stage of an insect or fish food source. As a beginning fly fisher you strive for success, for certainty. You will have little patience for far afield experimentation. When you read that article or go into that shop you are looking for answers, specifics that hone into the magic bullet.

But, yes the but, attractor patterns are often touted as something to break up the routine in the fish’s life. Something that stands out, provokes a response. With attractor patterns, be they nymphs, emergers, dries or streamers there are colors, size, wiggle factors that stand out. I don’t have a serious opinion by virtue of not having a lot of attractor patterns. I have had the same Humpy’s, Royal Coachman’s, Spruce Fly’s for years. They have worked on rivers and streams. There are quite a few out there now. I too have to pause and consider a change up to an attractor pattern. It is a psychological exercise to give up on the matching game unless you are just done trying to figure it out and say ‘what the hell do I have to lose. I’m not doing squat anyway.’ 

For the last few years you read more about the dry + dropper (hopper/dropper) combo. That dry sometimes is a large attractor style pattern that acts as a strike indicator and might just take a fish. Other wise I fish attractors in pocket water, seams, skitter them on a lakes surface. I experiment and provoke and have fun. Last resort or maybe just some relaxing experimentation behind that boulder or in under those trees. Think of them as fun.

Red Humpy (Round Rocks)

Spruce Fly ~ Tony Muncy (SwittersB)

Minuscule Dragon Flies

The Dragon Flies and the Lady Bug

See More Minuscule Videos

 

Outdoor News: Grizzly roams free after fatal Yellowstone mauling

100 Yard Gap Closed by Protective Mama Grizzly. What if”s didn’t help here. Grizzly Chases Down Hikers   Offered up as a reminder only. I have only had one random, fairly uneventful incident with a bear out by Stargaven Creek near Sitka. Yes, we knew there were bears. Yes, they were nearby. But, when you hear that nearby people are running in a panic to get to the ‘safety’ of their cars, you do start looking over your shoulder. Then you realize you are cut off from the car. Gives you pause and you do see your vulnerability. Time to exit.    

Frankly some of this stuff plays out so quickly. Last week I was working along the shoreline with an overgrown area behind me. I suddenly heard this rapid, snorting sound behind me and rocks being displaced. I turned and as I did a large German Shepard was powerfully moving toward me. Any gap would have been quickly closed. I squared up. No conscious plan on my part. Frozen, tightening. Had that sudden gut check of ok here it comes and just as quickly the fierce face stopped and the dog turned away running back up river toward an angler 50 yards up stream that I had not seen. The incident struck me at the time as no place to run; didn’t occur to me to run and as usual I self critiqued of what if’s. What would you do? During and after? 

Fly Tying & Fishing: Hello Butterfingers!

With the finger dexterity of a guy that has had his fingers broken by debt collecting mobsters, I stood mid stream last week pulling out one of my fly boxes. Where were those wets I had tied. I selected a fly and then like a lightening bolt the most elementary, most obvious thought popped into my brain….’what if you, right now, dropped that open fly box into the water’  Eek! I thought. Not just at the loss but at how careless I had been. Hundreds of flies, untold hours of tying last Winter. In loose compartments. What the hell did I have all that work in one spot; such enormous redundancy too. Like how many green Caddis pupa’s do I need to have with me? 20? Really? For a few hours fishing. So obviously careless.

As a beginner, or someone that should know better, size up what you are going to need for an outting, an afternoon/evening of fishing let’s say. This does require the effort of studying up. Or going over prepared. But, even then. NEVER take all your flies out onto the water. Take an assortment, a selection of most probables with a few long shot patterns. One box of a few nymphs, emergers, duns, streamers etc. Replenish the box or two boxes prior to each outing and reduce the chances of a catastrophic loss should you dump the open box into the drink. Lordy me!

Also, pick fly boxes with this in mind: opening them while in the water; rod under arm; wind and rain; fingers frozen; mosquito drilling away…so that you can replace a fly you just removed from your tippet and select a new one. How hard is it to open/close (the ones above are not the easiest to open/close. Do the flies fit loosely in a small compartment like above? This is a problem because the fly you select is often attracted to 3 others in the little cube hence extra manipulations over the water. You get the point. Take a good selection of flies with you but not the whole frigging enchilada!

       

Fly Fishing: Gravel Guards (Simple Protection)

Putting on gravel guard. SwittersB

The elastic gravel guard (in this case Simms) is an inexpensive investment in protecting your stocking foot waders. The guard fits tight over the top of the wading boot and keeps a lot of gravel and grit out of the boot to cut abrasion against the neoprene stocking feet. You adjust the tension. One end has a velcro strip which provides strong closure. I have used these for years and find them a great investment. Although they are not really necessary, I use them when fly fishing lakes as well. Some stocking foot waders have a built in gravel guard that does an adequate job of filtering out gravel. 

Gravel guard in wrapped and the velcro grip provides a nice seal. SwittersB

 

Fly Fishing: Hook Set~Slip Strike

If you have transitioned to fly fishing from gear, as I did many years ago, you may have a tendency to practice the hook set as you did when setting that ol’ treble hook loaded with Power Bait or whomping that 4/0 shrimp/egg cocktail into a Chinook: you snap upward hard and wait for the throb. I have found it better (most often, not always) to keep the tip down toward the water and set more to the side while stripping the fly line to the rear. A strip set of sorts. I found this particularly helpful last week while fishing beneath trees and shoreline vegetation, which protruded out over the water and the feeding trout.

The strip set can be used on rivers and in a boat or pontoon rig. There will be always be exceptions dictated by the location of the fly line and how much slack/mends you have thrown in. However, if the line is mostly tight and the rod tip is following the movement of the line, a slip strike hook set will keep you tight to the fish. If the fish is big and the current plays in its favor, carefully let the line slip back out of your fingers until the fish is tight to the reel and the drag. If the fish is a dainty one, then you will often strip the fish in until you reach for the leader (wet those hands before touching a fish).

All  things considered, it is a good idea to avoid sweeping, upward hook sets with expensive rods. Of course, regardless of what direction you move the rod, knowing your surroundings and what if-ing now and then in advance helps avoid that broken rod.

A hook set to the shoreline side, beneath overhanging trees. My rod hand/stripping fingers pinches the line. My left hand stripped/set back at the take. If I need to (bigger fish) I can let the line slide back up through my right hand fingers until the line is tight to the reel.

Waders: Your Crotch is Ripe (Sweat, Dribbles, Bad JuJu)

CLEANING THOSE STINKING WADERS, INSIDE & OUT

I periodically wash my waders inside and out. Months of walking, sitting on a pontoon boat, sweating and dribbling creates a visual and olfactory slight to the senses. I mean when I remove God’s gift to fly fishing: my breathable waders, they look disgusting. Despite my somewhat fastidious ways, I end up with disgusting waders.

I don’t mind the stains on the outside so much. They give me that ‘been there, done that’ appearance. But, boy howdy, those yellowish stains in the inside are embarrassing (I know I never wet my waders, but……) when I remove them. So, read the above link for a safe way to delicately wash your waders with a very diluted powdered detergent. As many sites will say DO NOT use liquid detergents or other harsh cleaners. Read Crashq’s 2 Comments also about what to do as well as what NOT to do. A shot of Fabreze might help too now and then. 

Fly Fishing: Observe & Study

One of the enjoyable aspects of fly fishing (and also of fly tying) is the why of it all. This is then followed by the how, what, where, when of it all. You observe as you pass through the wild. You take it all in. Insects on the rocks, on the water, in the air, on the shore side bushes. Birds scurrying about and maybe the fish visibly feeding.

You observe what is going on and make a selection or many selections in attempting to solve this transitory puzzle. Maybe you are partially or totally successful; maybe you zero out. If so, only a few will really be certain of the why. The rest will ask why and launch into followup study.

This past week, I had occasion to work over a sporadic hatch of PMD’s and two types of Caddis. I worked the convergence of currents below an island. As I watched the slashing rises down stream, I noted the pattern of rises just inside a seam on the slightly faster water side.

I only saw a few insects alighting and steadily drifting toward shoreline vegetation. I put on an a PMD emerger, a PMD dry, a PMD floating nymph. Nada. But, a greenish yellow bodied, brown hackled wet fly sporadically took fish as it swung into the area of the seam. But, there were a lot of missed/hits and bumps. Why? I noticed drag. I noticed when I reached beyond with longer casts, I through quite a few upstream mends to avoid the drag. This resulted in the wet fly sinking more before it came around and started to rise….bang.

Now, I kind of new, by now the theoretical why of this…the fish turned off by drag; the rising fly simulating an upwardly emerging something. But, I wanted to study the why a bit more. I turned to David Hughes fine book: Matching Mayflies.

SwittersB

 I researched the why and reaffirmed and improved some of my correct but muddled thinking about how mayflies emerge toward the surface. This studying of the various ways mayflies emerge from the nymphal confines was beneficial as to how I would tie various patterns in the future and as to how I would present them.

Also, tucked in Hughes book was a bit about presentation in exactly the same kind of shoreline slack water/adjacent to faster water I had encountered that same day. The casts were perfect but the offered mends did little to get the fly down or avoid drag even while I missed fish after fish. Hughes offered up: present from farther upstream and inside more; reach cast with a wiggle stack.

So, my why’s from the stream were researched when I got home to research (or you could call a friend, talk to a fly shop). I developed some what, how, where, when info (I am the who) and am eager to get back out there and try it out. This is, as I say, one of the enjoyable parts of the sport. Observe and then ask why as you pass through.