Aurora Borealis History @ Space Weather

INTERESTING HISTORY ON SPACE WEATHER EVENTS

BOREALIS PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP

AURORA BOREALIS OVER KENAI ALASKA (Telegraph.UK)

“Spaceweather.com has an alert service you can subscribe to. I got it about a month ago. It sends you a message when there is magnetic storm event being triggered by a solar storm so you can be on the lookout for northern lights. Pretty cool. These are spectacular events to witness. I’ve seen several good ones and it can be so “other worldy” that you almost have to pinch yourself to make sure it’s not some kind of dream! Hollywood can’t touch this stuff! We are heading into a solar peak and the next couple years are expected to be very active (hopefully not to active) as we are coming out an inordinately long solar minimum. Keep an eye out, if you catch a good one you will never forget it.” Wayne Mumford @ Will Fish For Work

Fly Fishing: Studying the Water

Killroys Fly Tying has an extensive four part series by Bryant J. Cochran, Jr.  on Reading Water.  

Fly Tying: Griffith Gnat (Small, Palmered Midge)

A collage of Griffith Gnats that shows the typical pattern formation.

“The pattern is simple enough for the beginning tier: a size 16-18 fine wire hook; peacock herl, grizzly hackle suitable for a size 18 dry fly and 8/0 or 14/0 thread. The peacock and hackle stem are tied in at the rear and the peacock body is wrapped forward forming a full body and tied off. Then the hackle is palmered forward in wraps similar to a Woolly Worm/Woolly Bugger’s body formation; maybe a little closer wraps. The remaining hackle is clipped off and the thread head is formed. Use a floating line and keep the faith as you fish it in the film, amid the hatch. Don’t horse the fish. ”  (SB 7-14-2009)    

Yes, a scaled down version of a Woolly Worm, with a simple peacock herl body and a palmered, dry fly quality hackle (the hackle barbs should be equal to or only slightly greater than the width of the hook gape. The pattern makes for a very simple tie and a productive midge ‘cluster’ pattern for lakes or streams.

SwittersB & Fly Fishing

Fly Tying: Parachute Pheasant Tail Dry (Uni-’Floats’)

This is a YouTube vid by Nate on how to tie a Parachute Pheasant Tail Dry Fly ‘hopper’ that incorporates plenty of dubbing, natural pheasant tail fibers and a ‘Uni-Bobber’ or as FishKamp suggests ‘Uni-Floats’. The PT Hopper would lend itself to several color possibilities. A ‘buggy’ pattern with the help of some Gordons.

Rivers, Dams & Who Owns the Bottom

RIVER BEDS,  DAMS & OWNERSHIP AT STAKE 

 

Great Falls Dam (Montana)

Avoid The Incoming Tsunami Wave

MISCALCULATING HIGH WATER & THERE GOES THE EXPENSIVE CAMERA AT PLANET 5D BLOG

Fly Fishing: Meniscus or Surface Tension/Film (Floating Nymphs)

I am sure some high school science teacher will take exception to the fly fishing culture incorrectly using the word ‘meniscus’ to describe the surface film and the tension that creates a barrier that separates the upper world from the lower (sub surface) world. Regardless, there is a tension that emerging insects must penetrate. 

This emerging process, factors into your fly tying, on the water fly selection, presentation and observations of insects and fish feeding. 

'Hi Jinx' MIdge Emerger

As a beginning fly tier or fly fisher, you will primarily focus on dry flies, nymphs and expand your awareness to ‘emergers’ that typically sit half in and out of the water, on a curved shank hook. This, of course, is the acceptable norm. Perhaps, do a little research on floating nymphs or unweighted nymphs, tied on light wire, straight shank hooks. These patterns can be presented just below the surface for feeding fish in the upper strata. Not every nymph needs to dive to the bottom nor does every emerger pattern have to be on a curved shank hook, sitting half in/half out of the water.

Fly Fishing: Teaching The Kids Good Ju Ju

For many, the fly fishing season is over until next Spring. It is time to clean  and stow gear, tie flies, study and plan for next year and get through the grey days of Winter. 

In that planning, are you considering the beginning process of teaching your child or a child how to fly fish? Depending upon the child’s learning style, you can introduce some how to materials during the Winter? I would advocate less how to written material and much more visual materials such as videos and movies.

It is a good time to assess what gear you have to share. Rod, reel, fly box, tools, float tube, fins, etc. will need to be put together. Do this in advance and turn over possession of these items to the child. Let them have a sense of ownership, whether new or used.

If you are somewhat intense, focused, self absorbed: realize a trip with the child must be primarily about them…start to finish. Relax and enjoy the teaching experience. More than once, I have wanted a fishing experience to be so perfect that I ended up ruining the experience for a loved one as my negative energies emerged, because the trip was not turning out as I had hoped. Of course, this only compounded the negative vibes. 

It will be easier to anticipate frustrations, missteps, tangles, bloopers and just give the day over to patient teaching, then have to apologize for being an intense, demanding, impatient task master. 

Pick a pond, lake, small stream that is safe, probably productive and go forth and teach and enjoy. Make the planning process fun for the child and create the magic now that will carry them through life. They will remember your gentle hand and encouragement years later. How would you want them to teach their children?

Alexandra Shevchenko’s Hops

Ok, I am an old guy with arthritis and poor coordination. I can barely wade a river without stumbling. So, when I see a young person hurling their body about with reckless abandon I find it fascinating. Given I get dizzy doing a forward roll, well kind of a forward roll, I find it fun to watch.

Alexandra Shevchenko & Friends

Woolly Worm: Serviceable Beginner’s Pattern to Tie/Fish

Whether it is Woolly or Wooly, the Worm’s turn appears to have passed for the ubiquitous Woolly Bugger. From a beginning fly tier’s perspective this is a simple, but effective pattern to tie. I suggest staying with the original chenille or some of the newer sparkle chenilles. The pattern can have the ‘hot butt’ red tag (or other hot colors) but you can go for a natural hackle barbs/fibers tail as well. Short of a few panfish, carp or lake fly fishers, you will seldom encounter this pattern any more.

TYING THE WOOLLY/WOOLY WORM PATTERN

I would suggest, beyond the hot colors style, to tie up the pattern in black, brown, green and yellow with black, brown or grizzly palmered hackle. Natural colors on size 6-12 hooks with a 2xl-3xl shanks. The fly can be more than an ‘attractor pattern’ as it is so frequently referred to these days. You will notice the patterns above do not have the bead head. They could, of course, or have weighted wire wrapped around the shank. You can forgo the weight and use a weighted fly line to sink the fly into the appropriate zone.

Whether the Woolly Worm was inspired by the frequently seen Butterfly Caterpillars or not, it is a fuzzy morsel to be used for all manner of fuzzy, enticing morsels.

Whether Dragon, Damsel, Hellgramite, Stonefly, large Caddis Pupa, Caterpillar or ‘attractor’ the pattern can be mixed and matched with natural to hot colors, slender or chunky, weighted or unweighted the pattern is simple to tie and versatile in its applications.