The Barb, The Pliers, The Same Old Question

This post is about two things related to fly tying and fly fishing: the barb and the pliers needed to remove a hook from a fish. It usually should be an easy deal right? You barbed all the hooks as you tied the flies or you barbed the flies as you stuck them into your fly boxes. Right?

My waders hanging between uses. The telltale sign of hardware store pliers sticking out of my chest pocket.

Admission: Note to self to correct! I have at some point fallen into a habit of not barbing my hooks at the vise. I have become neglectful re this simple task. I rationalize that I will ‘simply’ de-barb the hook out on the water..no muss, no fuss. I suppose that is alright, but I have taken to using old, needle nose pliers. The groves extend up to the very tip and getting the barb between the grooves and flattening the barb has not been effective. How do I know this?

 When I hook a fish, the hook, which should, if de-barbed, easily back out of the fish doesn’t. It stays stuck because of the slightest elevated barb my pliers failed to flatten. I also notice this on the off chance the hook catches fabric. Again, the hook should back out through the fabric without snagging. Hmm? it seems to snag. So, I ask ‘the same old question’ Why don’t you barb the hooks at the vise where the process is easiest? Well, I kind of ask it like that…it is more like a sigh, an utterance and some thought of me at the table blowing off the process and pay for it now.

Beautiful Fly…but, there sets the barb.

So, two, no three obvious solutions: (1) barb them all at the table (2) buy barbless hooks (3) buy better pliers.

I cannot, personally, justify the $125.-175. spendy/trendy pliers suitable for freshwater/saltwater applications you see in shops. I imagine I would if I dealt with heavy wire, heavy mono etc. I know there are less expensive needle nose pliers out there so I will find them, if for nothing else removing the occasional fly that is inhaled deeply by the fish charging up from the rear.

So, the best solution for me, if I am adhering to Catch and Release, is to buy barbless hooks or de-barb all the hooks in advance and then proceed to tie….really no big deal. I just need to break the lazy habit I adopted.  

A Euro style Barbless Hook…Barbless hooks have been available for sometime. I never bought them preferring to barb my own. We see where that went……

Another side note here…a practical on the water issue: if you are teaching someone else and providing them the flies, a problem arises when they hook a fish on a fly you did not earlier barb and did not barb on the water. You assume they know to do that. They don’t. They might not be fully outfitted. Now if they get that fish in, they will most probably stress the fish repeatedly attempting to remove the barbed hook. If they hook themselves the hook will not back out nice and easy. If you are teaching someone make sure they have the tools and that their flies are barbless.

Winona Fly Factory Account Suspended

Awhile back, I stopped by the Winona Fly Factory blog. There was a message from JC that he was taking a break for a bit…a ‘hiatus’. I checked back this morning to see the entire blog account has been suspended. This is deeply saddening. 

I came upon this sign last week. I took a picture of it. It was on a wall in a cabin. It seemed hopeful of making it through a struggle, a journey.

Without knowing the circumstances, I do want to say that Justin’s work at Winona Fly Factory was some of the best out there. His site was innovative, real and inspiring. Sometimes life dishes out such overwhelming, mind/heart crushing events, that we come to a screeching halt to survive…to hunker down, to endure, to grieve, to process, to slowly rebuild, to re-emerge. I do wish the very best to that inspiring young man. 

Fly Fishing: Suspended Midge Pupa

I so rarely use a floating line on a lake. So, when the surface activity is there…out it comes. The fish were working in two to six feet of water, cruising about for emerging Chironomids. Big tails and dorsals swirled inches above the surface. A size 16 pupa pattern was suspended a few inches below the surface ( ‘greased’ the leader/tippet to within 6″ of the fly with floatant).

Every Day in May Challenge Topic: Greenery

EVERY DAY IN MAY CHALLENGE TOPICS

Well now, I live in Oregon, next to the Evergreen State of Washington in the Pacific Northwest, next to British Columbia. Green abounds. I am thankful for it. The lush green. Of course, there are a lot of Portlandians in their eco sense of suffering that will let their lawns go brown. Not I…Green as can be and proud of it! Oh calm down!

Gary Green swatch commonly found now in fabric stores

Green has surrounded my life. Once my mom got a special on pants at Sears. They were green and she bought several pair. That was all I had to wear to school for a solid year.

You would think that would have cured me of wearing green. Yet green is my favorite color. In fact, the family has taken to calling my favorite color Gary Green. Actually, it is Forest Green but not when I am wearing it.

I actually spent 32 years of my life wearing a uniform comprised of various shades of green. I never tired of it. Ironically, I have green eyes but often forget that until it is raised in  conversation.

Gardening, fishing, clothing, walking through the woods to the often greenish river…even a tossed Green salad delights me. The sun shining down on a windy Summer day, the light filtered through giant maple leaves…a soft green.

My back yard is a lush green, the vegetation healthy along the spring creek that trickles by.

Steelhead Green is that perfect shade of river when the clarity improves from mud brown into shape…into possibilities after waiting for the river to drop into shape. (Riverwood Blog…Santiam River)

The watery home of a beautiful trout, momentarily brought to hand…a perfect shade of Gary Green Water. The water surrounded by tall green trees and edged with green grasses and reeds created a beautiful green. Glorious contrast. In fact, Green is a wonderful canvas for contrast and beauty.

Even the cap, is a pleasing shade of green. I bought the cap, not for a reminder of the denim jeans, but I anticipated the chance to display a beautiful fish with the cap in the back ground. My ‘true religion’ is being outdoors, at one with nature, surrounded by water and greenery. The essence of spirituality and religion…for me. Did I mention God loves Gary Green?

Tomorrow’s Every Day in May Outdoor Blogger’s Challenge Topic: Bugs

Scream Time: Woolly Buggers…The Fish Can’t Help It

I know, I know. So original right? I have written about this so many times, I understand. But, with the stillwater fly fishing effort a float, I have to come back to two patterns that have phenomenal success. On a recent outing these two patterns accounted for 80% of all the fish caught and that was quite a few. And, one pattern in particular, Gaviglio’s Minnow Bugger racked up well over half of the 80% takers. 

This was my wife’s Minnow Bugger, minus the hackle, after releasing another fish. Several times the hits were so jarring, her tippet came away minus the Minnow Bugger. NO! I don’t have any financial~commercial interest in this pattern.

The Little Fort Leech (LFL) and the Minnow Bugger (MB) are straight up Woolly Bugger patterns with a few exceptions: The tails are either stacked with a hot spot of red (LFL) or stacked with two colors of equal length marabou (MB). Sparkle chenilles for the bodies and the rest is standard fare. That’s all I can say. Just so profoundly successful over all the other WB’s I concocted from basic drab colors to the provocative foozies…the Little Fort and Minnow Bugger patterns kicked some tail.

 The Gaviglio Minnow Bugger was placed in my palm just five years ago by Bob Gaviglio at the Sunriver Fly Shop. The Little Fort Leech was first found inside the Little Fort (B.C.) Fly Shop twenty + years ago. I have gone straight, basic black WB’s and they don’t match the LFL. The Minnow Bugger seems to outshine all shades of basic green and more. Ok, I promise I will never mention these two patterns again.

Another Dine and Dash Attempt after consuming the Minnow Bugger. What more can I say?

The Damsel….On The Edge….And, The Lost Net

On a recent trip to a lake, the wind was relentless for hours on end. Anchoring up was the only option as kicking or rowing was too demanding and unproductive against the winds. So, I found a narrow strip of quiet water along a reed line near shore. And, here I caught fish and a net.

I anchored in this quiet strip along the reed line. In close to the reeds the water was maybe 3′ and as it moved out toward the black arrows it quickly dropped to 6 feet. Most of the fish were taken as the fly settled down the drop off rather up near the reeds. I wasn’t seeing any working fish near the surface.

I was using a Size 14 Georgi’s Damsel in a unique ginger color. I met Georgi Harley on a B.C. lake years ago and she introduced me to the ‘instar’ color option.

I worked the Damsel pattern parallel to the shore line. Not the optimum presentation path, but the best I could do under the circumstances. It was a successful plan. At one point, I caught something else though….a landing net.

I dredged this mucky mess up to my ‘toon’ and hoisted the smelly mess onto the apron. It was a perfect structure beneath the water for all manner of aquatic critters to find their little spot.

The picture really doesn’t do justice (sorry for the blurry focus) to the amount of activity that was taking place in the nooks and crevices of this lost landing net. Damsels, lots of grey-olive scuds and larva wiggling about. It was very revealing as to color and size of insects.

Once to shore, I took the landing net and hung it over a fence post. Someone, if not the original owner, will maybe cleanup it up and make use of it. Of particular interest was a discussion I had had with a man hunkered down in his truck waiting out the wind. He wondered aloud if there were scuds in the lake. I had no idea at the time. Now I do. Some stillwater fly fishers immediately put scuds at the top of their fly list. I have some mental block there and forget scuds. I really need to fix that oversight.

Every Day in May Challenge: More Fish Not For the Dish

EVERY DAY IN MAY WRITING CHALLENGE: TODAY’S TOPIC…’MORE FISH’

‘More Fish’: Whether a ‘trophy’ fish or a little 5″ gem from a small stream pocket, I enjoy the beauty of fish that I catch or those that others around me catch. I haven’t killed a trout in years. I don’t particularly enjoy eating them. I do enjoy a bit of halibut, salmon, sturgeon or sea bass. But, for the most part, I stick with catch and release….careful release. I know some abhor the grip and grin pose. I confess I will hoist the fish here and there when it is a special gift. Over playing a big fish on too light of rod will put the fish at risk upon release. Getting the fish in for release in a timely manner gives far better odds the fish will survive.

I recently fished with my wife. As you can see, she already has mastered a key element in relaying fishing lore…..exaggeration.

Oh my….my wife hasn’t learned that her left forearm is blocking over half the length of the fish! Of course, she doesn’t care about such things and is just happy to bring the trout to hand.

TOMORROW’S EVERY DAY IN MAY WRITING CHALLENGE TOPIC: GREENERY

 

Every Day in May Writing Challenge: The Fly, The Creator

The Fly…hmmm? I tie flies. I tie lots and lots of flies for every imagined possibility. Here is where my mind obsesses, plans, is compulsive (note I avoided putting OC with D). I enjoy it and I have enough flies + boxes to supply a youth group, but I won’t. Nope those little gems are my creations and I share them on the water, but not otherwise. They are the Hope & Change (the real shit, not the BS) of my fly fishing experience. I love tying, creating, imagining and finally seeing it all come together as the fish comes to hand.

A few lake patterns by SwittersB

Tomorrow’s Every Day in May Challenge Topic is Fish!!!

Every Day in May: Line

Drawing a line in the water is non-complicated for me: WF Floater or a Clear Intermediate. I haven’t missed a Double Taper floater until recently when I added some shorter rods into the mix for small stream presentations. No, usually, I am tossing for some distance on a bigger river or lake. I have little if any brand loyalty here. SA or Cortland or….doesn’t matter to me. My only line caveat is go with the newer Camo Intermediates as the older ‘clear’ lines coiled badly in colder waters. Beyond that take care of them, clean them, don’t bind them, don’t stretch them unless via a fish.

The line in the water stretching out, away on a lake…little curls playing away and perhaps riding the small riffles on the surface. The fish takes or plays and the little curls pulse away with little waves sent outward; a strike indicator as it were. The fly is too far away or not visible in the low light. The line’s straightening out in a jolt is the cue.

Tomorrow’s Every Day in May Topic: Leader

AMEN BROTHER EDWARD! I WILL OUTLIVE THE BASTARDS…IF I FISH

“One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am – a reluctant enthusiast….a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.” 
― Edward Abbey

Just a couple days out in the chapel fishing. That’s where I’m headed. Oh my yes, the number crunchers are still crunching and writing me at 7pm; the insecure decision makers are wringing their hands…I must mentor better; the world weighs heavy right now on those about me truly trying to help the needy. I will be back in short order, no worries. I got Every Day in May covered too… ‘the moment’ awaits. Besides, I really need a few fish pics to savor later.

After awhile this is a poor substitute.