The Jersey Angler

The Fly Fishing Show

2012-01-26T11:53:00.001-05:00

The Fly Fishing Show opens its doors tomorrow at 10:00am. The show which is being held in Somerset, NJ will run Friday through Sunday. I plan on being there all three days to check out the show and provide free labor, staffing the CJTU booth. I will also be attending the International Fly Fishing Film Festival which takes place immediately following the show on Friday night. If you are in the area and have never attended this event it is well worth it. A lot of folks travel significant distances to attend this show every year. It is one of the largest, if not the largest, fly fishing events held.

If you going to be there drop me a line, send a tweet, whatever... I love to put some faces to the names of the folks I talk with on a regular basis.

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An Evenings Work

2012-01-04T21:05:00.001-05:00

Over the holiday break I got together with Lou from Fly and Fin, for an evening of fly tying, chili eating and bourbon swilling. I refilled a couple holes in my nymph box, but it was not the most productive tying session. I had to keep putting my scissors down to pick up the bourbon glass, which slowed things down, but at least I did not stab myself in the forehead. That's a story for another time!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T23:33:00.000-05:00

2011 NJ Fly Fisherman of the Year Wrap Up

2011-11-29T20:11:00.001-05:00

Tightline Productions has just released a short video that summarized this year's Fly Fisherman of the Year One Fly Tournament. The video does an excellent job capturing the true essence of the event. Take a look at it when you get a chance, especially if your a NJ angler and would like to get involved next year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T09:28:00.001-05:00

New Book Announcement

2011-11-22T21:27:00.001-05:00

I ran into my good friend Don Bastian at the Fly Tying Symposium over the weekend. He was excited to announce that he was working on a new book highlighting 19th century fly patterns. The exact publishing date has not been announced yet, but I am looking forward to this one.

Some info on the new book from Don's website Don Bastian Wet Flies ...

Nov22

Don Bastian

And

The Whitefish Press

Have entered into a contract to publish a book on 19^th Century Fly Patterns titled:

The Favorite Flies of

Mary Orvis Marbury

All 291 of the fly patterns from Marbury’s 1892 book will be replicated in a fly tier-

friendly volume including tying recipes.

Featuring:

Hackles, Salmon Flies, Lake Flies, Trout Flies, and Bass Flies –

Dressed by:

Eric Austin, Tom Baltz, Don Bastian, Dave Benoit, Scott Bleiler, John “CJ” Bonasera, Austin Clayton, Matt Crompton, Chris Del Plato, Ronn Lucas, Mike Martinek, Stanley Miller, Ed Muzeroll, Ted Patlen, Bob Petti, Roger Plourde, Paul Rossman, Dave Schmezer, Mike Schmidt, Bill Shuck, Leigh Shuman, Royce Stearns, Kat Rollin, Rick Whorwood, and Sharon Wright.

I would like to personally thank each of these contributing fly tiers. Their individual and diverse fly tying talents will enrich and enhance this project.

This book will present high-resolution photographs of the actual antique flies from all 32 of the original 1892 Orvis Fly Plates used for the painted lithographs in Marbury’s book,Favorite Flies and Their Histories, plus close to 100 additional 19^th Century fly pattern recipes. For this privilege, a special acknowledgement and huge thank-you goes out to Catherine Comar, Executive Director, and Yoshi Akiyama, Deputy Director of the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, Vermont, for their permission, assistance, and cooperation of The Museum.

This book will include an instructional chapter and notes on pattern origins.

The Favorite Flies of Mary Orvis Marbury

Don Bastian

The Whitefish Press

Publisher

The Favorite Flies of Mary Orvis Marbury will present replications of all 291 of the historic 19^th Century fly patterns from Mary Orvis Marbury’s 1892 book, including written and in some instances, updated dressings in a fly tier-friendly format. This combination of photographs and tying recipes will be available to the public for the first time since the publication of Forgotten Flies in 1999.

Exact publication date for The Favorite Flies of Mary Orvis Marbury is not yet determined. However, to reserve your copy of the Limited Edition, please contact:

The Whitefish Press

whitefishpress@yahoo.com – or by writing:

The Whitefish Press,

4240 Minmor Drive

Cincinnati, OH 45217

Tightline Productions

2011-11-18T19:54:00.000-05:00

I recently discovered what I think are some of the best fly tying videos being shown on the web these days. These videos are being produced by Tim and Joan Flagler of Tightline Productions. It just so happens that this is also a local company which makes it kind of cool. I was introduced to Tim and Joan as well as their fly tying videos at the NJ Fly Fisherman of the Year event. My jar dropped when I saw the quality of the HD tying video being displayed on a large TV at the event. I have bumped into Tim and Joan a few times since then and recently asked them for permission to share one of their videos (which they were more than happy to oblige, in fact they encouraged it). Many of you may already be familiar with their work, since it has been featured on MidCurrent and other blogs like Matt Grobert's Caddis Chronicles.

I love this scud pattern. Its simple, effective and very similar to a pattern I tie and use myself. Enjoy the clip and check out some of their other videos on Vimeo

This Weekend - The 21st Annual Fly Tying Symposium

2011-11-17T20:35:00.000-05:00

For all the details click here!

Another one bites the dust!

2011-11-16T20:27:00.001-05:00

The Finesville Dam on the Musconetcong River is coming down! This project began in 2007 with a letter supporting the dam's removal from the owner. Then came feasibility studies, grants, years of public meetings and of course the ever elusive permits.

Finally work has begun on the dam's removal. Once the structure is removed there will be plenty more work to be done restoring the river to its original condition.

This dam removal is the latest in a series of dam removal projects on this river. A number of them have been successfully removed to date and more ambitious projects are waiting in the wings.

My hat is off to all of the individuals and organization that made this happen!

He Could Have Been a Contender...

2011-11-13T20:12:00.001-05:00

Actually, I'm just poking a little fun at my buddy Lou DiGena from the Fly and Fin blog who made a fine showing at the 2nd Annual New Jersey Fly Fisherman of the Year competition this past weekend. I'm poking fun because I am actually a little bit jealous that he made a better showing then me during last year's competition. Lou went into the finals in second place and missed taking all the glory by eight tenths of an inch! Had he been allowed to retain his score from the morning session he would have taken first with a comfortable lead, but the rules called for all contestants to start with a clean slate for the final round of fishing.

This years event also coincided with the 40th Anniversary of the formation of New Jersey's State Council of Trout Unlimited. The fly fishing event and the subsequent banquet was sponsored and hosted by The Raritan Inn and Shannon's Fly Shop. They really put on a fine event and the fund raising banquet for the State Council was a blast. My hat goes off to them for everything they did!

Although yours truly did not participate in this year's fishing competition, I did participate in the post event, fly casting competition. Unbelievably, I took first place! I say it was unbelievable because I competed against some world class casters, but the gods and the winds were on my side (sorry Darren!).

I would also like to congratulate this year's winner. Angelo Conti from the Ernest Schwiebert Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Angelo is only seventeen years old but he out fished them all. Hats off to Angelo, New Jersey's Fly Fisherman of the Year!

Reflections of Summer

2011-11-12T02:00:00.000-05:00

Summer is officially over, for the first time since last winter I froze my ass off while out fishing. It wasn't extremely cold but I was still in summer mode and did not dress as warmly as I should have. The fishing was good, but I am already missing those golden days of summer. As I stood in the rapidly cooling water, with melting snow slowly dripping down my neck, thoughts drifted back to warm sunlit days on the Madison River.

Three Dollar Bridge can get a little crowded (by Montana standards, not New Jersey) on a July afternoon but the fishing can be remarkably good. I will usually walk a distance from the parking areas before fishing, but on this day I just walked to the river bank and started fishing my way upstream. No doubt, fishing in the footsteps of many anglers who proceeded me. It did not seem to make a difference though. The fish came very regularly to small nymphs drifted through likely looking lies.

Some big...

Some small...

But they were plentiful and in a 100 yards of river I bagged a dozen or more fish under a blazing mid day sun. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon. But there were signs that this section of river is maybe seeing too much angling activity. More than once I observed fish that should signs of being hooked a few times. Then I caught this emancipated looking fellow.

More snake than trout, not a very healthy looking fish, I doubt it survived the summer. This was the only day we fished that section of river. After that we looked for water off the beaten track to give these fish a break. More anglers should do the same. The Madison is a big river with fish everywhere. It still amazes me how many people (myself included) flock to this particular place, and how good the fishing could be inspite of it all.

Thank a Veteran Today!

2011-11-11T06:35:00.001-05:00

“We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.”

George Orwell

Thank a Veteran Today!

Fishing Companions

2011-11-07T22:11:00.000-05:00

I had a little company on the river this weekend! Although there are only three bears in this picture there were actually four, mama and three cubs. It was tough to get them all in the same frame as the cubs always seemed to wander off. They were very well behaved and spent the afternoon routing around on the far bank, looking for what ever bears look for in the leaves. They seemed to be finding plenty to eat as they always seemed to be chewing on something.

Its great to see these guys on a regular basis. I know a lot of folks have mixed feelings on the rebounding bear population here in New Jersey, but I like having them around. As long as they stay on their side of the river!

Fall Colors

2011-11-05T20:59:00.001-04:00

Forget the foilage , this is what fall colors are all about!

The Buffalo Bug

2011-11-03T22:12:00.001-04:00

While fishing the Gardner River this summer in Yellowstone National Park I observed a lot of buffalo under fur in the sage brush around the river. When I returned from my trip and was putting away my gear I observed a small amount of this fur jammed into the corner of my pack's waist belt. It must snagged there while we were busting through some heavy brush on our way down to the river. This particular area was loaded with clumps of fur hanging off the brush so I am guessing that is where it came from.

I was just about to dump it into the trash when it dawned on me to try and use it in a fly pattern. The fur in its original form consisted of long crinkled hairs with a light brown color. I don't know if this the original color or if it was bleached out somewhat by the sun. I raked out the bits of debris that where present, gave it a course chop with a pair of scissors and through it in my fur blender (AKA my wife's missing coffee blender) and gave it a whirl. I threw it in a tiny baggie and forgot about it until it resurfaced a few days ago.

My original thoughts were to mix it with another fur since it did not look like it would dub very well on its own. I tried it straight up and discovered I was dead wrong, it goes on thread (even unwaxed thread) like a dream. It produced a very buggy looking thorax on the first fly I tied. I liked the way it came out but I'm not the one eating it.

I had an opportunity to fish it this past weekend and it performed like a champ. I tied the pattern in two versions, one for clear water and one with a splash of color for off color or high water conditions. Flows were running a little high and clear and takes by the fish were about fifty/fifty, so they are both keepers.

The Buffalo Bug

Hook: TMC 100SP-BL
Bead: Montana Fly Lucent 7/64" Coffee
Thread: Uni 8/0 Camel
Tail: Wood duck flank feather fibers
Ribbing: Fine gold wire
Abdomen: DK Quill Body 02
Thorax: Gardner River Valley Buffalo underfur dubbing
Hot Spot: Optional - band of hot orange thread behind the bead

I'm now experimenting with the addition of wing cases of different types. So far a pearl and green flash material is showing promise.

My only dilema is the miniscule amount of material that I have. I'll be lucky to get a couple dozen flies out of it if I'm lucky. When it's gone it's gone!

New Jersey's 2nd Annual Fly Fisherman of the Year Competition

2011-10-26T22:14:00.000-04:00

New Jersey Trout Unlimited (NJTU) is celebrating 40 years as a State Council.

On Saturday, November 12, 2011, NJTU along with Shannon's Fly & Tackle

Shop and the Raritan Inn in Califon will be hosting the 2nd Annual New Jersey

Fly Fisherman of the Year Competition. A banquet will follow follow the competition in celebration of NJTU's 40th Anniversary.

Come out for an evening of fun, auctions and tales of lore as we celebrate the

winner of the one fly contest review 2011 fly fishing year or the

"rain / water year" as we have come to know.

Tickets are $60 (and strictly limited to 60 people) and available at Shannon's

Fly & Tackle - 908 832-5736. www.shannonsflytackle.com

Details available at www.njflyfisherman.com and www.njtu.org

Hope to see you there!

IF4 is coming to New Jersey

2011-10-20T21:34:00.000-04:00

The International Fly Fishing Film Festival is joining ranks with the Fly Fishing Show at various venues in early 2012. For those of us in the tri-state area, Somerset New Jersey appears to be on the list. According to Ben Furimsky, "Film Festival screenings will be held immediately following the conclusion of the Fly Fishing Show, about 6:30 p.m. depending on the venue. There will be separate admission charged for the films, but will be discounted for those attending the Fly Fishing Show". It looks like the date for the New Jersey Show will be Friday January 27, 2012.

According the producers of the film festival. “The International Fly Fishing Film Festival (IF4) consists of 16 short and feature length films produced by professional and amateur filmmakers from all corners of the globe, showcasing the passion, lifestyle and culture of fly fishing. From steelhead in Northern BC to chasing multiple species in Costa Rica, the variety of films will pique the interest of all anglers. IF4 contains exclusive content not available in any other fly fishing film event.”

I had the opportunity to attend one of these festivals a few years back in Denver and I can attest that they are a great time. I'm looking forward to attending this one.

For you folks on the other side of the Deleware River the show will also be coming to Pennsylvania on February 18, 2012 after the Lancaster show. I just may make that one too!

New Jersey's Fall Trout Stocking Began Today

2011-10-11T22:55:00.000-04:00

For those local followers of this blog, New Jersey's trout streams recieved a fresh influx of fish today. Fall is the perfect time to get out and enjoy some quality fishing without the crowds of spring time. Below you will find the stocking schedule for the rest of the year.

Tuesday, October 11

MONMOUTH & OCEAN COUNTIES

Manasquan River - 650
Metedeconk River, North Branch - 150
Metedeconk River, South Branch - 240
Tom's River (including TCA) - 360

SOMERSET COUNTY

Raritan River, North Branch - 920

SUSSEX & WARREN COUNTIES

Paulinskill River, and E/Br and W/Br - 1,720

Wednesday, October 12
HUNTERDON, MORRIS & WARREN COUNTIES

Musconetcong River (including Point Mt. TCA, Hunterdon County) - 2,820

SUSSEX & WARREN COUNTIES

Pequest River (including TCA, Pequest WMA) - 1,550

Thursday, October 13
SUSSEX COUNTY

Big Flat Brook - 1,620
Wallkill River - 470

MORRIS COUNTY

Black River - 330
Rockaway River - 1,290

WARREN COUNTY

Pohatcong Creek - 800

Friday, October 14BERGEN & PASSAIC COUNTIES

Wanaque River - 330
Ramapo River - 880

HUNTERDON, MORRIS & SOMERSET COUNTIES

Raritan River, South Branch (including TCA, Ken Lockwood Gorge) - 2,570

Week 2, October 17-21, 2011

Monday, October 17 - No stocking
Tuesday, October 18
ATLANTIC & CUMBERLAND COUNTIES

Giampetro Park Pond - 170
Hammonton Lake - 340
Mary Elmer Lake - 170
Maurice River - 400

BURLINGTON, CAMDEN & GLOUCESTER COUNTIES

Crystal Lake - 170
Grenloch Lake - 170
Oak Pond - 170
Sylvan Lake - 170

Wednesday, October 19
GLOUCESTER & SALEM COUNTIES

Greenwich Lake - 170
Iona Lake - 170
Schadlers Sand Wash Pond - 170
Swedesboro Lake - 170

MIDDLESEX & MERCER COUNTIES

Colonial Lake - 170
Farrington Lake - 340
Roosevelt Park Pond - 170
Rosedale Lake - 170

Thursday, October 20 - No stockingFriday, October 21 - No stocking
UPDATES
10/10/11:
The access road through the Ken Lockwood Gorge in Hunterdon County that parallels the S/Br. Raritan River was heavily damaged by record flood waters. The Gorge will be stocked and fish will be distributed along the entire river stretch. However, the entire road between the lower parking lot and the upper parking lot is now closed to vehicular traffic. Anglers can park at the upper and lower parking lots and walk into the Gorge to fish.
The Big Flat Brook in Sussex County was severely impacted by heavy flooding in August that eroded stream banks and washed out access roads. In Stokes State Forest, the Crigger Road bridge and several stops within the public campground immediately adjacent to the Big Flat Brook will not be stocked due to flood damage.
A section of National Park Service Rt. 615 (Walpack-Flatbrook Road), from south of Haney's Mill down to the bridge in Flatbrookville, is currently closed to the public and fish will not be stocked in this stretch. The transfer truck (a pick-up truck with a tank on the back) may not be able to access some stocking locations in the Walpack area due to road closures and saturated grounds. Trout not stocked at traditional locations on the Big Flat Brook will be redistributed to nearby locations on this stream. Anglers are reminded that even if a location is not stocked, they can be successful targeting trout stocked last spring that held over in these areas.
Anglers who fish Lake Iona in Gloucester County may be aware this lake has been partially lowered for emergency dam repairs. However, at this time it is anticipated that the repairs will be completed and lake refilled in time for fall trout stocking.

Yet Another Reason To Fly Fish

2011-10-03T22:51:00.001-04:00

Apparently all those styrofoam containers littering our stream banks can do a lot more damage than fouling the environment.

Earthworms...An invasive species

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Fly Shop Owner Mauled By Bear In Bow-Hunting Incident

2011-09-27T23:18:00.000-04:00

Fly Shop Owner Mauled By Bear In Bow-Hunting Incident

I was shocked to learn about this incident. We spent a lot of time at the Trout Hunter Shop this summer during our annual pilgrimage out west. I hope Rich heals up real quick. He is a very luck man! Things could have turned out much worse the way the bears have been chewing on folks out there this year!

All may not be lost...

2011-09-23T06:57:00.000-04:00

Photo from NJ Fish and Wildlife website

New Jersey Fish and Wildlife have been working hard to salvage the fish from the draining lake in my previous post. Still no word on what the eventual outcome for the lake will be but the division is working hard to save as many fish as possible.

Here is a report on the situation from their webpage:

September 21 Update:

An additional 1200 fish were removed from Prospertown Lake on Tuesday, September 20. The fish were relocated to Pemberton Lake WMA. The lake will be monitored over the next two weeks to evaluate if any additional removal/relocation is required.

September 16 Update:

An additional 2000 fish were collected from Prospertown Lake and relocated to Turnmill Pond on Thursday September 15. A total of approximately 3000 fish have been relocated thus far. The lake water level will be monitored over the weekend. Another day of electrofishing is planned for early next week.

September 15, 2011

The NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife has been performing a fish salvage operation at Prospertown Lake (Ocean County) since the outlet structure failed earlier this week resulting in the lake's water level dropping substantially. The lake, a popular fishing destination, is located within the Prospertown Lake Wildlife Management Area.

As of Tuesday, September 13, 2011, approximately 1,000 black crappies, bluegills, yellow perch, brown bullheads and largemouth bass have been collected by Division Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries biologists and Bureau of Land Management personnel. The fish have been have been relocated to Turnmill Pond located on the nearby Colliers Mills WMA. Two electrofishing boats are being used to stun the fish, allowing staff to net and transfer them into a nearby hatchery truck.

The failure at the 80-acre lake in Hornerstown is believed to have been caused by the deterioration of the lake's outlet valve coupled with the additional flows from recent storm events. The exact cause of the failure will be determined once the lake drains and a thorough inspection of the outlet can be made. The lake is managed by the division.

Death of a fishery...

2011-09-21T15:28:00.000-04:00

Hurricane Irene hit the northeast pretty hard. Two of my local warm water haunts were destroyed by the storm. Both impoundments suffered a catastrophic dam failure and subsequently bled out. What happened to the pictured lake left is a bit of a mystery. The dam looks intact, but it appears that the floodgates may have ruptured. Water is still rushing out at an alarming rate from the base of the dam but the waterline is no where near the dam at the current time, so I have no idea where the water is coming from. The coves and shorelines are littered with the remains of fish.

On the back side of this high and dry island (to the right of the egret) Icaught my largest NJ bass of 2011, a spawned out female that pushed the scales to the seven pound mark. This was a favorite place to fish. I could be on the water in minutes from leaving my driveway. It was a convenient place to drown some flies after work and still be home in time to put kids to bed.

I saw NJ Fish & Wildlife in there during the week trying to rescue fish from the receding waters. I have no idea what the future holds for this lake. Will the dam be repaired, the lake restocked and restored to it's former self? Or, will it slowly dry out and return to a meandering stream. Only time will tell...

Grayling In the lower 48

2011-09-11T19:15:00.000-04:00

Grayling are a species of fish that have always intrigued me. Usually associated with the far north and Europe, they are an exotic fish for a fellow that hails from New Jersey. On our recent trip to Yellowstone Country we had an opportunity to fish for grayling in the park.

Grebe Lake has a healthy population of both grayling and rainbow trout. The lake is an easy 3 mile walk from the road, the trail is as about as flat as they come for that part of the world. Roughly three quarters of the shoreline is fishable, the rest of it is a tangle of deadfall from the big fire. The lake once served as a hatchery for the park in the early days but any traces of that operation are long gone. If you make the trek you will be rewarded with fine fishing in a wilderness setting. There are a couple of primitive campsites on the lake as well, if a overnight stay interests you, The walk is easy enough to consider packing in a float tube. Just be sure to check with the park on regulations concerning camping and watercraft.

My trips to this water usually occur in mid July and on every trip I have been blessed with blizzard like damsel fly hatches. This year was no exception. As a bonus, the fish showed no preference between the nymph or the adult fly. Top water or down low, it was all up to the fisherman to decide! Last trip out the adult damsels were a subtle olive color and this year they were a brilliant blue.

For nymphs a basic olive damsel pattern would work as good as anything else.

The highlight of the day however, is when we switched over to tenkara gear to take these fish. Fishing with a tenkara rod proved much more effective and a hell of a lot more fun on these chunky, little fish.

Even a ten inch grayling would give you a run for your money, as the bend in my buddy Rick's rod clearly demonstrates. Grebe Lake is a place I find myself coming back to year after year. Its not a place your going to catch a wall hanger, but you will certainly experience quality fishing!

Ironic isn't it...

2011-08-27T13:52:00.001-04:00

A week ago I was concerned about a hurricane ruining my Florida vacation and now I am worried about this same storm trashing my house while I'm away. The storm missed us entirely here in Florida but is now bearing down on my home state of New Jersey. Return flights have been canceled and when we finally arrive home there will likely be property damage and power outages to deal with. However, there is a silver lining in every dark cloud, I just managed to book an extra day of bass fishing. So while Irene is kicking New Jersey's ass I'll be tossing flies in the Florida sun! I just hope my house still has a roof on it when I get home!

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This could be a bust...

2011-08-21T19:20:00.001-04:00

My bags are packed and I'm leaving for Florida tomorrow. I was hoping to try out my Sage Bass Series fly rod on some Florida strain largemouth. I have been very pleased with the rod's performance and it's ability to cast large bushy flies into the wind, but this may be a little tough.

Brookies and Bears

2011-08-12T09:47:00.005-04:00

During my recent trip to the Yellowstone area we spent an afternoon on a small, off the beaten track, piece of water. A short hike, of a few miles, rewarded us with a day of great dry fly fishing. This particular stream was loaded with brook trout. Every piece of holding water held one or more fish. In reality, it did matter where you cast as the fish seemed to be everywhere! The numbers added up quickly, as we worked our way up stream casting flies to fishy looking water.

I started fished with conventional fly gear but quickly switched over to Tenkara as the water was perfectly suited for it. Once I changed over to Tenkara the fish came even quicker. Tenkara is THE PERFECT technique for fishing dry flies on small waters.

Fly selection was simple, a deer hair bee pattern was the only fly needed on that day. These little brook trout were not selective, which was a nice change of pace from the maddening, match the hatch scenario on the Henry's Fork the night before.

The fish were small but they were numerous. Most were little hand sized brook trout with a few 11 or 12 inch fish in the better water. I had a refusal from a 14" fish late in the day. That fish would have been a trophy for this water.

As we were packing up for the hike out we encountered a young grizzly. Things became tense for a few moments when instead of fleeing he rapidly closed the distance between us to about 25-30 yards. He then paced back an forth a few times before finally circling off to our right and slipping out of sight over a hill. I managed to get a few crappy photos. Manipulating a small point and shoot camera and bear spray simultaneously with two shaking hands is no easy task!

Unfortunately, when the bear finally left us, he left in the direction of the trail home. When I zoomed in to take this last picture of the bear disappearing over the hill, I hoped it would be the last we saw if him...it wasn't. We crossed paths with him two more times on the way home, luckily he had no interest in us during those encounters.

Brookies and bears in the backcountry! A wild experience in the place these magnificent creatures, both large and small, call home!

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Location:Yellowstone National Park

Back to the grind...

2011-07-31T20:40:00.001-04:00

I'm back in New Jersey after two weeks in paradise. The Montana trip was fantastic and I look forward to sharing the details over the next few weeks through these posts. Now its time to unpack the bags, wash some very dirty laundry and start planning the next trip out west.

It's no rumor...

2011-07-19T23:30:00.001-04:00

The big bugs are on the Madison and the fish are on them. We had a stellar day today. We did a short float from Lyons to Palisades and put a mess of big fish in the boat, all on Salmon flies tight to the bank. Pictures and more details when I can dump them from the camera when I get home.

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Rumors...

2011-07-18T08:54:00.002-04:00

Once we finally arrived in the West Yellowstone area and got settled in, we checked around to see what's been happening on the local rivers. Rumor has it that the big bugs are still around. All the high-water this year has postponed/prolonged the Salmon Fly hatch. Folks are saying that the bugs are still around and fish have been getting stupid over them. I have hit this hatch a few times but usually miss it because of the time if year I come out. Keeping my fingers crossed...

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Location:West Yellowstone,United States

Reflections at 30,000 feet

2011-07-17T11:30:00.001-04:00

A long day of travel is in store for me today as I make the journey from New Jersey to the promised land of trout fishing, Montana. The journey is required until the day comes when I can pick up the family and relocate to somewhere a little more in line with my passions. So for now, it is a tight airliner seat, on a crowded plane, next to a snoring stranger. As I struggle to hit the keys on this jostled, turbulence ridden aircraft I look forward with anticipation to 10 days of fishing in the promised land and already missing the wife and kids staying behind.

After four hours in the air there will be another five or six hours of traveling on the ground, but come sundown I will be casting to rising fish on the Henry's Fork.

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Location:Somewhere over middle America

Packing for Montana

2011-07-12T06:00:00.010-04:00

It won't be long now. I am starting to get the gear together for two weeks in the West Yellowstone area. The annual pilgrimage is less than a week away. I am tying flies during every spare moment I have trying to get the fly boxes in shape, but I think I am going to come up short as usual. Rod and reel selections need to be finalized, waders and boots need to be washed, and clothing has to be pared down to the absolute minimum to make room for more fishing gear.

This basically means I need to empty the back of the truck into a rolling duffle. N o easy task! As usual, I will pack to much, forget something important and I'll fish with the same six flies the whole trip. It happens every year!

Swapping the waders for a kayak

2011-07-09T09:06:00.000-04:00

Big gun at the ready

As the season changes from spring to summer, my fly fishing shifts from coldwater to warmwater, from trout to bass and panfish. What I like the best about this transition is the switch from wading to kayaking.

I love fishing from a kayak. Make no mistake about it, it's a hell of a lot easier to fish from a boat where you can stand up or at least sit above the water line to cast, but fishing from a kayak does have its advantages. Silently gliding over the water's surface with minimal disturbance allows me to get closer to the fish. I can carry a lot more gear with me as well, including an extra rod rigged and ready to go. I can cast for panfish with a three weight, while my big gun lies in wait in the rod holder. When I come up on that bassy looking spot or a larger fish shows himself, I can quickly change outfits and make the presentation. Its a great way to fish! The kayak gets me into smaller, more remote waters where my bigger boat can't go. I can throw the boat on the roof of my truck and be on the water in minutes once I get to the water. There's no rigging involved, no batteries to go dead and best of all no fuel to buy.

Fishing simplified...

Toothy Critters

2011-07-07T06:00:00.015-04:00

I have been encountering quite a few of these fellows during my last few warmwater outings. The larger specimans usually make short work of the 1x or 2x leaders I typically fish for bass. They are causing me to spend a lot of hours, at the tying bench, replacing lost bass bugs. Some of these pickeral have been real brutes getting close to typical northern pike size, but these smaller guys can usually brought to hand without the risk of a bite through. Even these little ones can make short work of 1x tippet if they get the chance.

I think the next time I visit this particular lake I am going to tie on a short flexible wire tippet and target some these larger pickeral. I am also experimenting with some braided lines as tippet material. So far they are holding up well but I have not hooked any big fish with this set up to really put it to the test. On light tackle they are great sport, they often spend as much time out of the water as in.

The Rising Lippa4Life tool makes handling these fish a breeze. Especially when fishing from a kayak. In addition to being toothy there a bit on the slippery side and a writhing, snapping pike or pickeral thrashing around between your legs on the bottom of the kayak is an adrenaline filled experience to say the least.

Mono or flourocarbon tippets don't stand a chance!

Summertime Fly Fishing

2011-07-05T06:00:00.005-04:00

I enjoy warmwater flyfishing as much if not more than trout and saltwater fishing. Though I have to travel about an hour from my front door to find a decent trout stream, I can walk out my front door and be casting over water in about 5 minutes. The area I live in is peppered with lakes and ponds of all sizes. Since New Jersey's trout fishing is a 3 season affair for me, I need something else to occupy my time during the summer months. That means bass, panfish, carp, and the occasional trip to the beach for some salty action.

Panfish are probably my favorite. Abundunt, scrappy and great fun on a three weight. Early mornings and late evenings can often produce some great topwater action. Probing the depths during the day will produce some of the biggest fish of the day. They tend to school up by size class, so if you locate a good sized fish you bound to find some more in the same area.

You will find these little fish in all colors of the rainbow from drab to brilliant. Not to mention that they are some of the finest eating on the planet. No need to feel guilty about taken the occasional stringer of fish home either. In most waters around here they are ignored and thereby abundant, sometimes too abundant and the population can certainly sustain a few meals a year.

Happy Birthday U.S.A.!

2011-07-04T06:00:00.001-04:00

I hope everyone has a safe enjoyable holiday. God Bless America!

High water nymphing

2011-07-03T06:00:00.001-04:00

My buddy Lou over at Fly and Fin recently posted a video on You Tube featuring yours truly involved in some spring time fishing. These flows are what we have seen all spring and are still seeing now at least once a week when a string of thunderstorms roll through.

Its coming to an end...

2011-07-01T08:22:00.001-04:00

until September that is. Trout fishing in New Jersey is winding down for me until the fall. I personally don't fish for trout in most waters around here during the summer months. I give the trout a break once we start seeing daytime temperature spikes hiting the seventy degree mark. Lately the trend here has been morning temps in the mid to high sixties and by mid day you could see some places hitting or exceeding the seventy degree mark. So there will be some traveling involved when it comes to trout fishing over the next few months, which is not a bad thing. There will be two weeks in Montana in July, a few day trips to Pennsylvania and maybe a long weekend in New England. Local trips will be limited to warm and saltwater venues, again not a bad thing.

My last trip of the spring season found the river high and off colored which has been the norm this year. So it was a nymphing game and the golden stone nymph continued to produce well.

It was a mixed bag of brookies, browns and rainbows. A nice way to wrap things up until fall.

It is great to see these small native fish in the river. If you encounter a fish smaller than 9 inches around here you looking at a native fish. This little brook trout likely was flushed out of one of the tributaries that feed this river, but there are plenty of similar sized browns found throughout this section of water which is great to see.

Not all of the fish were small, these two rainbows stretched the tape past the 20 inch mark. They were in prime shape.

The next trout you see on this blog will likey be from somewhere other than New Jersey...until September that is!

The Neighborhood Bruin

2011-06-16T21:14:00.001-04:00

This fellow has made quite a stir around here of late and has even got his picture in the local rag. Below are some shots taken by a neighbor's friend ( I did not get the name or I would have given them credit) of the bear while he was taking a mid day snooze in a roadside tree. He has not caused any major problems, other than rooting through your garbage if you happen to leave it out unsecured.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

They are finally looking up!

2011-06-10T06:00:00.010-04:00

Its been a difficult season this year. On most days that I have had available to fish I was forced to deal with high muddy water. Lots of fish caught but all below the surface. Things have finally settled down over the last few weeks and there has been some fine afternoon dry fly fishing. There have been some great sulfur hatches but little in the was of surface feeding. The late afternoon spinner falls are another matter all together. Fish can be found boiling on the surface as clouds of spinners descend to the water, just as the last visible light slips below the horizon. It becomes a game of feel and sound. There has been some great fishing just after dark. Fishing in the dark presents challenges. Since I try not to use a light on the water, re-tying flies to tippets can take forever, There is enough fumbling with rod and reel going on, so no after dark photography for me, besides its a short lived game, so there is no time for pictures.

Luckily there have been a few that have been convinced to sip a dry fly while still light enough to enjoy seeing the take. This guy fell for a carpenter ant at high noon...

This one on a sulphur emerger fished in the film.

Its been a long time coming...

Golden Stonefly Nymph

2011-06-08T20:25:00.000-04:00

Golden Stone

This pattern has been particularly effective over the last few weeks. Many of our local streams have seen an emergence of large stone flies in late May. Trout have been keying in on these large nymphs as they move towards the shore to crawl onto to the bank in the evenings to molt into winged adult stoneflies.

Pattern Recipe:

Hook: Tiemco 200R (size 8-10)

Bead: Tungsten brown or black (3/16" for size 8)

Thread: Danville 210 denier white

Underbody: 8 wraps .30 lead wire

Tail: Goose biots (golden yellow)

Abdomen: Tapered thread underbody tinted with olive brown on top and golden yellow on bottom, covered with yellow or clear vinyl d-rib (medium)

Rib: Medium black wire

Thorax: Synthetic or natural dubbing in a golden stone color to match the natural

Wing case: Two Pheasant "church window" feather cut with a wing burner.

Legs: Round rubber (solid or barred)

Tying Instructions:

Although this pattern calls for a lot of materials it is relatively easy to tie.

Begin by mounting the bead and placing 8 wraps of the lead wire on the hook shank, pushing it up against the bead to hold it in place. Place a drop of head cement or super glue over the lead wraps.

Mount your thread behind the lead and wrap towards the bend of the hook, where you will tie in you split biot tail, wire ribbing and vinyl d-rib.

Next build up a tapered thread body and cover the lead wire with thread wraps. Once your underbody is formed, tint the thread with the markers, dark on top, light on the bottom.

Form the abdomen by wrapping the d-rib forward with tight touching wraps stretching the material slightly as you wrap it. Tie it off at the start of the lead wire. If you wrap it with the flat side of the material against the hook shank you will get a nice segmented appearance.

Next, wind the black wire rib forward allowing the wire to fill the grooves between the d-rib.

For the thorax apply dubbing to the thread and dub half of the remaining space on the hook shank behind the bead.

On top of the hook shank tie and the dubbing you just applied tie in one of the wing case feathers.

Apply additional dubbing to the thread and dub right up to the bead.

Next tie in the final wing case feather and tie in the rubber legs on each side of the fly. Apply a small amount of dubbing to cover your thread wraps and whip finish and apply head cement if desired.

Golden Stone (alternate view)

Solving a Mystery

2011-06-02T06:00:00.001-04:00

I spent a few hours on my favorite trout stream over the holiday weekend and had an excellent day of fishing. I had the whole section of river to myself, which shocked me since it was a holiday weekend. What made it even more enjoyable, was the fact that it was one of those rare occasions where you manage to figure out what your pea brained quarry is focused on and find that little piece of the puzzle that makes for a great day's fishing.

After spending the first few hours of the day picking off a fish or two. I sat down on a mid stream rock and began to ponder all the reasons why the fishing was so slow. I reckoned it could have something to do with the little bit of color that still lingered in the water from the high water event earlier in the week, or perhaps the fish were gorged on sulphur nymphs that have been coming off in huge numbers every afternoon. As I sat on this rock and retied my leader and selected yet another set of flies to present to the fish I spied this fellow crawling up from the waters edge.

This was a good sized stone fly with bright yellow markings on its underside. With no better choices to go with I selected a large golden stone fly nymph as my anchor fly and was rewarded with a fish on my first cast.

And so it began...for the rest of the afternoon fish after fish came to this fly including the big fish in the previous post. Here's a few more quick shots of this fly in action.

The fly I fished was a one of a kind experiment. It was a more detailed version of a soft hackle stone fly that I regularly use. Instead of a soft hackle it has a traditional double wing case and some rubber legs added. When that fly was eventually lost to a fish, my soft hackled golden stones produced well enough but not quite as good as the experimental version. So its off to the vice to turn out some more of what is now a proven pattern instead of a experimental one.

Catch and Release

2011-05-31T22:11:00.002-04:00

Over the past few months I have caught and released this fish on four seperate occasions. She has always been caught in the same spot despite the fact that she has been released several pools down stream from where she is originally hooked. She always does the same thing, a few quick bursts up stream than an about face and a mad rush down stream that requires you to beat feet after her or she's gone baby gone! The fish has a damaged mandible from a former battle and and a very recognizable spot pattern on the cheek. The picture above is from our most recent encounter this weekend, when she took a big golden stone nymph (more on that in a future post).

The first time we met it was late winter and it was far too cold to be messing around with a camera so she was quickly sent on her way but I made a note of the water she was in and that damaged jaw. On that occasion she was tricked by a green rockworm imitation.

Our next meeting took place right before the season opener. This time a pink san juan worm with a gold bead did the trick. I saw this take as she rose up from her spot in front of a log and picked off the fly mid current.

Our third encounter took place a few weeks ago during a high water event. She was in the same spot as always. She is never visable but you just know she is down there somewhere. This time a heavy cased caddis imitation fooled her.

I am going to bid her farewell for the rest of the season and leave her be. Four times in one season is more than enough...

Cabela's 11' Czech Nymph Rod

2011-05-29T06:00:00.003-04:00

I recently purchased a 4wt 11' CZN fly rod from Cabela's. I had to wait a while for it since it was on back order, but its in my hands now and its time to give it a quick review. First off I should mention the price point. At $200.00 it is probably one of the cheaper fly rods on the market today. The rod is manufactured in Korea and the fit and finish on the rod is just as good as rods costing 3 times as much.

I have fished this rod since the begining of the season and have been thrilled with it. The extra foot of reach over my ten foot rods has allowed me a little extra stand off distance for some of the more tricky spots on the river. On some smaller streams I can cover the water bank to bank without even getting my feet wet. This is a special purpose nymhing rod, ideally suited for Euro nymphing techniques.

The rod has a supple tip and a bit of power in the butt section. It presents a cast of nymphs well and the light tip protects fine tippets but the rod's more powerful butt section allows you to quickly bring fish to hand. I won't comment on the castability of this rod because quite frankly there is no traditional casting involved with many of these techniques. Recently I had the opportunity to fish the rod with traditional indicator techiques and it is well suited for that purpose as well. The added length makes mending a breeze but more importantly eleven feet of rod often allows you to keep the line of the water entirely making mending unnecessary.

If your looking for a reasonably prized Czech Nymphing rod you may want to check this one out. The rod is available in 3-5wt and lengths from 9'-6" to 11'.

Fishing in the Rain...

2011-05-27T06:00:00.002-04:00

This spring has been a very cool wet one for us here in the northeast. Great for the trout, not so great for those of us that chase them with a fly rod. I am not adverse to fishing in the rain, but all this rain has kept our streams at or near flood stage for long periods of time. When water levels and clarity drop down to fishable levels its time to drop what your doing and head to the water regardless what the weather is. In between all of this rain we have had some breaks with a beautiful day or two but usually the rivers are blown out or running with the consistency of chocolate milk. I have been glued to the computer, studying water stream gauges on my local waters and dashing out when there looks like there is an opportunity to fish. On days when the streams are just not an option I've been able to slip my kayak into a local pond and chase warm-water species.

This Monday there looked like there was going to be a opportunity to hit the trout streams. Water levels were dropping to fishable levels and hopefully there would be enough clarity to fish. After work I slipped out for a few hours and was not disappointed. There were plenty of fish in the margins and the softer water along the banks. The low light and off colored water made some of the stream's larger browns a little more approachable but landing these fish in high water was next to impossible. Once they headed off down stream chasing them was not an option, so your only option was to snub up on the reel and bid them farewell.

The positive side to this spring's tough conditions will be that there should be plenty of water and fishable temperatures well into June. It was also good to see that the bugs don't seem to have any issues with the high flows. Our sulfurs are coming off like crazy and are getting a break from the fish as they ride rapids unmolested, at least on the surface. So there was no delicate presentation of light colored mayflies to these fish. It was big heavy nymphs, the kind that will put your eye out with an errant cast.

Longing for soft warm evenings presenting delicate dry flies to rising fish...

A Piece of Fly Fishing History

2011-05-25T07:42:00.000-04:00

A few months back I picked up a Thompson Wet Fly Wing Forming Tool. This tool was popular back in the days when wet fly fishing was the standard method of presenting a fly to a trout. When I purchased the tool it came with only three combs I was fortunate to find three additional combs of different sizes on eBay a few days back. I have not used it yet since up to a few days ago I did not have the appropriate sized comb for the size flies I was looking to tie. I'll put up another post with the finished product and the steps taken to get there.

'Gill Time...

2011-05-22T08:51:00.000-04:00

nuff said...

Backwater Paddle Company Piranha Paddle

2011-05-20T19:44:00.001-04:00

Last year I picked up a Piranha Paddle from the Backwater Paddle Company. This multipurpose hand paddle has changed the way I fish from a kayak. It is designed to be used in one hand. This small paddle does not replace your standard kayak paddle but supplements it instead.

This is how it works for me. Once I get in the boat, I use my 7' kayak paddle to navigate to my fishing area. Once I am in place and ready to start casting the Piranha paddle comes into play. With one hand I can correct the orientation of the boat for the optimum casting position. Once the fishing begins, I can slowly quietly and effortlessly work my way down the shoreline casting away and making minor course adjustments with the Piranha Paddle. Simply put it works like a charm.

In addition the paddle has multiple specialized surfaces that come in handy while fishing. The angled serrated forward edge of the paddle is useful for pushing off objects and assists me while launching the craft allowing to push off a shallow bottom until I reach a suitable depth for my regular paddle. It also sees a lot of use pushing off shoreline cover that I happen to get to close to. The hooked portion of the paddle comes in handy for grabbing branches that are holding that inevitable fly that a errant cast caused it to land in a shoreline tree. The hook also comes in handy for grabbing items that inadvertently fall overboard as well as grabbing on to a piece of shore line cover for exiting the boat or holding the boat fast to another boat or floating object.

Now for the best part...it cost me twenty bucks. It is by far the best twenty dollars I have ever spent on a piece of fishing or boating equipment!

Trifecta Plus One....

2011-04-13T22:35:00.000-04:00

Although it's not a rare occurance, pulling off a trifecta on my local river doesn't happen too often. It is predominantly a brown trout fishery with a healthy number of rainbows sprinkled in for good measure. Brook trout are not as common and what is even less common, at least in the area of river I fish, are smallmouth bass. Over the weekend I pulled off the quadfecta...brown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout and the elusive smallmmouth bass.

First at the gate was this fellow. As I said previously we don't see many catchable size smallies on this section of stream.

The Elusive Smallmouth Bass

Second up is the rainbow trout, fairly common in faster sections of the stream and they do quite well in this river.

Next up is my favorite, the brown trout. My best fish from this stream was a brown that stretched the tape past the 28" mark. In the early season, once the chill comes off the day the browns start to feed pretty regularly but they definately show a preference for overcast days.

Some big...

Some not so big...

Finally the brook trout...most of what you catch will look like this.

Typical brook trout

But once in a blue moon you'll be lucky enough to find one that looks like this...

Not so typical brook trout

I don't know where this fella came from but he was in prime shape. Perfect fins and a lean muscular body that has spent a season or two in the river. My personal best for this stream. All and all it was a great season opener!

One final note...
As I was gearing up for the day someone made the comment that I would not be sneaking up on any fish that day wearing my new yellow Fiberglass Manifesto t-shirt. I guess the fish were color blind that day or they loved the new design! Thanks Cameron!

Getting Down Deep - The Cased Caddis Anchor

2011-04-06T07:43:00.000-04:00

Cased Caddis Anchor

Faced with the prospect of high water flows on the season opener this weekend, I spent a few hours working on a few anchor fly patterns. I was inspired to tie this particular pattern by my three year old son. He was walking around the house with a piece of chartruese colored nylon twine around his neck. Not wanting him to string himself up I took it away from him. As I was getting ready to throw it away, I realized it would make a perfect larva head for a peeking caddis pattern. A jig hook, large facetted/slotted tungsten bead, a lead underbody, grouse hackle for legs and a spiky hares ear body complete the package. A basic peeking caddis pattern but this one has some serious weight behind it!

This is Fly Magazine

2011-04-02T06:00:00.000-04:00

The April/May edition is out!

Simms G4 Pro Waders

2011-04-01T06:00:00.002-04:00

Last week my trusty old Simms G3 waders finally gave up the ghost. I have gotten more use out of these waders than any other pair I've owned, so I was sad to see them go. They are going back to Simms to see if there is any chance of resuscitation, but I am not hopeful. Not wanting to fish the season opener swimming in a leaky pair of waders, I took the plunge and ordered a new pair of Simms G4 Pro Waders. A few months back I was fortunate to win one of Feathercraft's monthly giveaways and walked away with a $100.00 gift certificate. That took the sting out of upgrading to the G4's. Though to be honest it still hurt a bit! The good folks at Feathercraft had my size in stock and I had the new waders in my hands in a matter of days.

Simms products are pricey but they seem to last the longest for me so in the end I guess it works out the same as buying several cheaper pairs of waders over the same time period. I'm pretty rough on waders, so I'm very intrested to see how well these G4's hold up. I have seen them reviewed on several sites as "bombproof"...we'll see.

My initial impressions are good so far. They definately feel a lot heavier as there is more square inches of the wader covered in the 5 layer gortex. My main reason for upgrading is extra protection in certain areas. Many of the leaks that developed on my old G3's were in the 3 layer areas that are now covered by 5 layers of material in the G4's. I think I have to give the nod to my trusty G3's in regards to comfort, but I'm sure that's due to more surface area of 5 layer gortex. That being said, I would not say the G4's are uncomfortable, they just feel like waders, instead of a pair of well worn pants. One change I do like is the moving of the seams away from the inside of the pant legs to the tops. This should eliminate wear problems on the seams caused by walking.

While they may be heavier and not as comfortable as the G3's they should hold up a lot better busting through brush, kneeling, sitting etc. One thing I do love about the waders is the pocket set up. The waterproof zippered handwarmer pockets will come in handy for early and late season fishing. There is enough storage on board to eliminate a vest completely on those short trips to local waters. In addition, the handy flip out tippet pocket I had on my G3's is still there. On top of that there is a docking station for an additional zinger, a fly patch and a tab to hold a pair of forceps, features that will certainly be useful. Finally, the wader has belt loops and comes with a wading belt to round out the package.

The real test will begin next weekened and hopefully continue for a few seasons! I'll give a full report once they get a little stream time under their belt.

The Little Dark

2011-03-30T06:00:00.001-04:00

As promised, here is a little more information on the this "new" pattern. Last fall I started playing around with a few small dark colored generic nymph imitations. Using Fly DK synthetic quill material as a abdomen allowed for a neat trim profile. A little silver wire for ribbing, synthetic peacock dubbed thorax for a buggy apperance, a strip of mylar for the wing case adds a little flash and a black tungsten bead to supply the weight and the Little Dark was born. This pattern has quite a bit of flash to it. The Fly DK Pearl synthetic quill abdomen gives it iridescence and the silver wire and mylar wing case add quite a bit of sparkle.

The first two trips of the year as yielded excellent results for this new pattern. The river at the time was seeing a lot of small black stone fly activity which may have accounted for its success. I will have to see if it continues to produce through out the year.

Recipe:
Hook: 2xlong nymph hook size 14-18
Bead: Black tungsten
Thread: Black 6/0 Danville
Tail: Dyed black pheasant tail fibers
Ribbing: Small silver wire
Abdomen: Fly DK Pearl Synthetic Quill
Thorax: Synthetic peacock dubbing
Wing case: Mylar

If you need a source for the DK synthetic quill check out Performance Flies. Kevin is a great guy to deal with and has always been my source for this fantastic fly tying material.

The Pheasant Tail Anchor

2011-03-28T06:00:00.016-04:00

I thought I would share the details on this incredibly effective pattern. I have mentioned it a few times on this site but have never really given a pattern recipe for it. I am constantly amazed how well this disproportionate fly performs. The tungsten bead on the head of this fly is three or four times the size it should be.

I tie it in two basic versions, one with a gold bead and one with a black bead and small orange hot spot.

Pheasant Tail Anchor - Gold Bead

Pheasant Tail Anchor - Black Bead

I should mention that I mainly fish this fly as part of a Polish or Czech nymph rig. With my normal three fly set up, this pattern would be tied in the middle or anchor position. It is the heaviest of the three flies and helps bring all of the patterns down to where the fish are.

A few quick notes on tying this pattern:

A slotted bead is a must! It is the only way you will get a bead this size on a #12 hook. You must be careful on how you position this bead on the hook. Slide it up and away from the hook point so you don't impede the hook gap and possible reduce the hooking ability of the fly. A drop of super glue in the slot will hold in place if you need to.
Tie the body as slim as possible, 6-8 fibers of pheasant tail is all you need. I ensure I have a smooth under body which will often take a quite a few wraps of thread to close the gap between the hook shank and the lead under body in the thorax area. Don't allow too much thread to build up, you want a slim tapered under body on which to wrap the pheasant tail. I wrap the pheasant tail straight on without twisting with helps keeps that slim profile.
Feel free to experiment with the legs. The pattern fishes well as described here but may be even more effective with a few turns of rust brown CDC at the collar. I tie the pattern both ways. Feel free to omit the legs all together. They are usually the first things chewed off the pattern after a few fish and the fly continues to work!

Pheasant Tail Anchor Recipe:
Hook: Size 12 Dai-Riki 730 (2x long nymph hook)
Bead: 3/16 gold, faceted & slotted tungsten bead
Weight: 8 wraps of .020 lead wire (under the thorax area)
Wing case: Peacock green mylar
Thorax: Peacock herl
Legs: 8 pheasant tail fibers (4 off each side)
Ribbing: Small gold wire
Abdomen: Peacock tail fibers from the tail
Tail: Peacock tail fibers (6-8)

Last Day of the Winter Season

2011-03-26T10:25:00.000-04:00

I was able to get out on Sunday, on the day trout season closed before the season opener on April 9th. The weather was a bit more seasonable with the high just hitting 50 degrees. The river was in great shape with normal spring time flows and good clarity. It was all rainbows in the morning with browns becoming more active by mid day.

As usual for this time of year nymphing was the way to go, but the fish were more active, willing to move a bit more for the fly. As on my previous trip the "spanker" was the bomb, with most of the fish taking this pattern. This time I fished it on the top dropper so they were taking it higher in the water column.

My pheasant tail anchor pattern with its giant over sized tungsten bead continues to rack up the numbers. Why this fly is so effective is a bit of a mystery to me, as it produces well under all conditions. I originally tied it to only act as weight to bring other flies into the zone, thinking the over sized bead would not be attractive to the fish. Either the fish don't notice the bead at all or they are actually attracted to it, the jury is still out on that one.

Another pattern that has been bringing up some nice browns has been a pink tungsten beaded San Juan Worm. Rainbow trout don't seem to have any interest in this pattern but the biggest fish of the day (always brown trout) have been taking it.

This chunky brown my buddy Rick caught is an example of the fish showing a preference for the "pinky". This fly is tied a little differently than a traditional San Juan Worm. In addition to the bead that is threaded onto the chenille before being mounted on the hook it has a thorax of shrimp pink vinyl d-rib. I don't know if adds effectiveness to the pattern...it works so I'm not changing it.

The vast majority of the fish caught where rainbows and I did see some sporadic takes on top as fish were feeding on the abundant stone flies and midges that were flying about. I think the reason the Lil' Spanker was working so well on the top dropper is that fish were taking it as a sunken adult stone fly. Most of these stone flies were returning to the water to lay eggs so I imagine a number of them were ending up in the drink.

Nymph fishing was so effective I never bothered going on top. In fact I ended up with two back to back doubles which has never happened before. Four fish on two casts!

By the end of the day arms were tired, flies were chewed to shreds and there were loads of fish caught with a few real good ones in the mix. I hope the season starts as good as it ended!

Winter is Finally Over!

2011-03-24T06:00:00.001-04:00

This was a long tough winter for me. In a normal winter I will usually get a dozen or more trips under my belt before the season closes before opening day in early April. This year it was looking like opening day would be my first time on the water. As luck would have it last Friday my scheduled cleared at the last minute and I was on the water by noon. The weather was unseasonable warm but the water was high, just coming down from flood stage earlier in the week. Not perfect conditions, but with the season closing in two days there really wasn't another choice.

The day started a little slow but as the water warmed the fish turned on. It was a Czech nymphing game as the high water had the fish pushed to the banks and in the softer water around the breaks, but the fish were there and they were eating. The high roiled water allowed you to fish close most times not even getting your feet wet.

The fish were in great shape and looked like they passed through the winter in grand style.

Most of the fish were rainbows, but as the water warmed the browns started to wake up.

This is a new pattern this year and it produced very good. I'll put up the pattern recipe in a few days.

The fish of the day was a big hen brown who ate the fly right on the bank in front of a log.

With any luck there would be one more trip out before the season closed Sunday night...

Killing Time

2011-03-23T14:33:00.001-04:00

I'm away on business and have a few hours to kill each afternoon. The portable tying kit is a pleasant distraction and is keeping from blowing my hard earned money in the casinos.

I have been reproducing a simple stone fly soft hackle pattern I found in the jaw of a 22" brown trout I caught over the weekend. Thanks to whoever was the original tier of this obviously effective pattern. A simple, impressionistic pattern that had obvious appeal to at least one big fish. I'll let you know if it works for me...

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Location:Boardwalk,Atlantic City,United States

Delektable Lil' Spanker

2011-03-22T06:00:00.001-04:00

If I ever cross paths with Ben Romans I am gonna buy that man a beer! I have been working my way through his book Montana's Best Fly Fishing. In his section on the Madison River he mentions this fly. I tied up a dozen and got them wet this weekend. This pattern out fished everything else I fished two to one so it has earned a permanent spot in my box. You can find a review on the book on the Chronicle Outdoors blog.

Here is the pattern as described in the book.

Hook: #14-18 Tiemco 5262
Thread: Brown 6/0 Danville
Bead: Gold
Tail: Eight fibers of mallard dyed woodduck gold
Body: Six fibers of brown pheasant tail, covered in super glue (I omitted the super glue)
Rib: Counter wrapped gold wire
Thorax: Peacock Ice Dub
Wing case/legs: Light blue dun midge flash
Hackle: Natural gray CDC
Collar: Dark Hare's Ear Plus dubbing

Representing T.F.M.

2011-03-20T09:53:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday I received a little gift from Cameron of The Fiberglass Manifesto blog. Within 5 minutes of opening the package it had found a new home. I love the new logo and I think it looks pretty damn cool on the back of my ride!

The Line Up

2011-03-18T20:39:00.000-04:00

Finally made it out on the water today and these were the top producers of the day. The second fly from the top was a new fly (for me) and really produced well. You'll have to wait a day or two for the details...

Feather Craft Fly Fishing Gear Giveaway

2011-02-22T06:00:00.002-05:00

Feather Craft Fly Fishing has started up another gear giveaway. This month they are giving away SUMO Rod Mounts for two lucky winners. This is an excellent opportunity to throw your name in the hat for some fine new gear!
The only affiliation I have with Feather Craft is that I have been a long time customer and I just happened to be one of the winners in their last giveaway. So the least I could do is give them a plug.

I ended up with a $100.00 gift certificate. I was shocked when I received the e-mail that I was a winner. If I can do it so can you, all you need to do is drop your name (and e-mail) in the hat. Just click on the banner above or the link below and visit their site!

Feather Craft Fly Fishing Gear Giveaway

Soft Hackles

2011-02-21T19:38:00.000-05:00

Soft Hackles

One of my favorite soft hackles is the classic Woodcock and Hare Lug. Over the years I have fished a lot of soft hackle and hare's ear patterns. Whether its tied with the classic silk abdomen and dubbed thorax or a complete body of hare's ear dubbing, both styles have worked well for me. I inadvertently experimented with this old stand by of mine today. While tying this afternoon, I became distracted by my three year old and grabbed a package of spiky squirrel dubbing instead of my usual hares ear. The yellow silk that was intended for the abdomen became the ribbing and was also exchanged for wire for a little extra weight on flies that will not be fished in the film.

Granted simply changing dubbing is not a huge departure from the norm, but I really like the way spiky dubbing on these soft hackles look, they will definitely catch em...

Fly Fishing Looses Another Legend: Dick Talleur

2011-02-20T01:07:00.002-05:00

The world of fly fishing and fly tying has lost another great man, Dick Talleur.

"Richard W. Talleur passed on Friday February 18, 2011, after a brief illness. Originally from Clinton Corners, NY, Dick enjoyed a long career with AT&T. After retiring from AT&T, Dick took his favorite hobby and first love, and made it his life. Dick was an accomplished fly tier and fisherman, and a well-known and respected author of several books on fishing and fly-tying. Dick loved his sport and, with his many friends, supported the continuation of fly fishing and the practice of catch and release."

Rest in Peace...

Wet Flies...

2011-02-14T14:30:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend I went out to the Fishing Creek Angler B&B for a weekend of fly tying under the tutelage of a master fly tier by the name of Don Bastian. I have known Don for many years, fished with him a few times and spent many hours at his table at area fly shows chatting about traditional wet flies. He is THE authority on traditional wet flies and probably one of the best tiers in the world of these forgotten patterns. Hatches Magazine has been showcasing some of Don's work with their feature on the Ray Bergman Collection. This photographic collection of traditional wet fly patterns, recipes, and notes, when completed, will contain four-hundred eighty-three flies selected from Ray Bergman’s books.

Seven of us spent a weekend eating and drinking far to much and even managed to tie a few flies. We actually did quite a bit of fly tying, much more than anticipated. Our hosts Lee and Mary Ann at the Fishing Creek Angler were awesome and the accommodations were excellent. I would highly recommend this B&B that caters to fisherman and features a full service fly shop.

I have always been fascinated and somewhat intimidated by these beautiful flies. I am still fascinated but no longer intimidated, with the knowledge gained this weekend I will be spending a lot of time perfecting traditional wet flies.

Portable Fly Tying Kit

2011-02-10T22:56:00.001-05:00

At long last I finished this project. I have been meaning to do this for years and a recent article in by Dave Hughes in Fly Fishing and Tying magazine gave me the incentive to get off my butt and get it done! His article supplied a great checklist that I used as a starting point for putting together my kit. Since it is a long list I put it up in the pages section of the blog see it here. I'm sure I will tweak this along the way and I will update the list as changes are made. Check it out, and as always your comments and suggestions are encouraged.

The Gear Shower

2011-02-08T06:00:00.001-05:00

The Gear Shower

The folks from the Clean Angling Coalition sent this to me and I thought I would share it. Aquatic invasive species cause both economic and ecological damage in waters around the world. Invasive species continue to spread to new waters despite general awareness about them. This is likely because many people don’t know what actions to take or how to help. The most effective way to prevent the spread of invasives is to Inspect, Clean and Dry all gear.

Press Release for the Gear Shower:

The Waterworks/Lamson praised for new product in fight against invasive species

February 3, 2011 – Livingston, MT. Cleaning gear is one of the best tools we have in preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species. Recently the Waterworks/Lamson, an innovative fly fishing company, released the Gear Shower™ which helps anglers clean their gear stream-side after a day on the water. The Waterworks/Lamson is an active partner in the Clean Angling Coalition an effort that works to promote Inspect, Clean and Dry practices to prevent the spread of invasive species.

“We are happy to offer a product to anglers that makes cleaning a simple part of each fishing day,” says Ryan Harrison President of the Waterworks/Lamson.

The spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) from one body of water to another is a serious and growing ecological problem. Once an invasive species is established in new water, it can be impossible to eliminate. The method recommended by experts is to rinse gear after fishing at the take-out so that the AIS are not transported away from the site. And that’s where the Gear Shower™ can play a positive role. Fill the Gear Shower™ with tap water from home and use it to rinse away all visible material from gear at the take-out.

“We are thrilled to see this kind of product innovation and availability for anglers,” praises Leah Elwell Program Director of the Clean Angling Coalition. “The Gear Shower™ is a positive way to help engage anglers in the fight against invasive species.”

The Gear Shower™ is very easy to use: lower a vehicle window an inch or more and hang the shower. Tap water gravity-fed flows through a shower head with on/off switch, allowing for the 2.2 gallon capacity to clean boots, waders and other gear. Gear Shower™ retails for $49.95 and one dollar from each sale of Gear Shower™ will go to support the Clean Angling Coalition in their efforts to promote clean angling practices.

To learn more about the Clean Angling Coalition and best cleaning practices visit their website here.

Tuxedo Nymph

2011-02-06T23:40:00.000-05:00

Tuxedo Nymph

Recipe:

Hook: Standard Nymph Hook size 14 or 16

Thread: 8/0 black

Tail: Black and white barred feather fibers like teal or gadwall flank feathers, even finely barred grizzly hackle will work in a pinch

Ribbing: Small silver wire

Abdomen: Black synthetic dubbing

Thorax: White ostrich herl

Bead: Black (glass, brass or tungsten)

I have only been fishing this nymph for a few seasons but it has produced well. I would categorize it as a general attractor nymph since it does not really imitate any specific food form. The idea for the pattern came from flies like the prince nymph, I believe the contrast of the dark body and the white wings on that fly contribute to its effectiveness. The contrasting black and white color scheme on this pattern maximizes that contrast.. I will often fish this fly as part of a team of flies employing various euro-nymphing techniques.

I usually tie the fly as indicated in the pattern recipe however on the fly pictured I tied it on a 2x short #12 Gamakatsu S10-2S hook. It has the hook shank of a #14 but the hook gap of the larger #12. This should improve the holding ability for landing the larger fish that live in my home stream.

Variation on a Theme...The Warmwater Chub

2011-02-01T23:11:00.001-05:00

Bob Jacklin's South Branch Chub

One of my favorite streamers for my local waters is Bob Jacklin's South Branch Chub. Bob Jacklin resides in West Yellowstone, Montana and owns and operates Jacklin's Fly Shop. Bob grew up in New Jersey and spent a lot of time fishing my home river the South Branch of the Raritan. He developed a trim little streamer pattern called the South Branch Chub which proved deadly on this and other local rivers. When he moved out west he took his patterns with him and they worked well in the Yellowstone region as well.

When I first tied this pattern it introduced me to a new fly tying material, Monga Ringtail. Monga Ringtail is a wide striped (bared black & white) tail with average hair length of about 2". It makes for outstanding streamer hair wing flies. The fur is fine, easy to work with and has great action in the water. The length of the hair it limits its usage to smaller streamers, which is possibly the reason it is not more popular as a fly tying material.

One of my most effective streamers last year for crappies and large mouth bass was a small streamer loosely based on this pattern. The fly retains the teal feather and black & white monga ringtail wing, but it is tied fuller and lacks the dubbing wax coating. The South Branch Chub is tied very sparse and the fibers are slicked back with a light coating of wax. Changes were made to the body material, a red throat was added and doll eyes and an epoxy head replaced the fragile and expensive jungle cock.

The Warmwater Chub

I have never fished it as a trout fly but as a warmwater pattern it excels. Pickerel, Bass and Crappie jump all over this streamer.

Recipe:

Hook: #8 TMC 777SP
Thread: Black UTC 140 denier
Body: Pale Olive Bug Yarn
Throat: Red hackle fibers
Wing: Black over White Monga Ringtail
Over Wing: Teal feather fibers
Eyes: Small doll eyes coated with epoxy

This year I have been tying this pattern substituting Clear Cure Goo for the epoxy and have found it to be a great substitute. I like to give it a finishing coat of clear nail polish to avoid stickiness you sometimes get with UV cured products.

The Big Event...

2011-01-19T06:00:00.001-05:00

Well it's finally here! The Fly Fishing Show is coming to New Jersey this weekend. The show is taking place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Garden State Convention Center in Somerset, New Jersey. Show hours are Friday 10 - 6, Saturday 8:30 - 6:00 and Sunday 9 - 4:30. These shows take place across the country but the New Jersey show is one of the largest. I love these events for now other reason than to catch up with old friends. I can barely make it down an aisle without bumping into someone I know. If you can make it out to New Jersey this weekend I highly recommend this show. If you live in the tri-state area you have no excuse not to attend.

I will probably be there all three days. Being the president of Central Jersey Trout Unlimited, I will be spending a good deal of time at our booth in the lobby. Stop by and say hello, if I'm not there the fellows at the booth will likely know where I'm at. I hope to see you there!

Fish Like A Guide

2011-01-17T19:28:00.000-05:00

The folks over at Kype Magazine recently sent me a copy of George Douglas' new book Fish Like A Guide. George is the publisher of Kype Magazine. Kype is a quarterly magazine with distribution throughout the USA and Canada. You'll find it on the news-stands of major book stores and other retail outlets, including sport and fly shops across the country.

I look forward to spending some time with this book over the next few weeks. George shares his insight as a guide to make you a better fisherman. From my own experience a good guide can take years off the learning curve for novice fisherman. Even now with over 35 years of fly fishing experience, I still learn something every time I fish with a good guide.

As I stated earlier I just received the book but I'll come back to it when I'm finished and give everyone a full report. In the meantime if you would like to check a copy for yourself you can find it here.

The Generosity of Others

2011-01-11T06:00:00.001-05:00

Kevin Comptin is a incredible fly tier I have had the pleasure of meeting several times over the years. I have incorporated many of his innovative designs and tying techniques into my own fly tying. Unlike some in the industry he is always willing to share ideas and help others better their fly tying.

Right before the holidays I had the opportunity to speak to him over the phone. We spent almost an hour discussing fly fishing and fly tying. During the course of that conversation he commented on a pattern I had posted last month. He observed that I got the pattern close but was a little off on identifying some of the materials. He graciously explained his exact tying methods as well as providing a detailed description of the materials used. While speaking to Kevin at the Fly Tying Symposium he handed me the fly fresh out of his vice simply saying "give this a try". The fly looked very promising so I set off to recreate it the best I could. Since Kevin never told me the name of the fly I was left to my own devices to give it a name. This was the pattern dubbed the "Copper Bead" by a friend due to it's prominent oversized copper tungsten bead. I have fished the fly every time I have been out since tying them up and it has been a top producer.

I am happy to say that I now have the pattern's proper name and the exact pattern recipe. In fact Kevin was kind enough to send me a sample of the tungsten wire dubbing brush as a well as a sample of the actual dubbing used to create the body.

As I mentioned earlier I was a little off in the material selection when I recreated this pattern, but the version I tied proved quite effective none the less. I am very pleased that I will now be able to reproduce the pattern as it was meant to be tied. Though, as Kevin pointed out, all of this business of exact patterns doesn't amount to a hill of beans. It's all about sharing information; be it fly patterns, new materials or innovative techniques. As Kevin eloquently stated in a recent correspondence "In the wild end, it's friends, not fish, that matter.", true words indeed.

So with out further rambling...

The Brush Hog

The Brush Hog as it was meant to be tied:

Hook: DOHIKU nymph hook (size 6-8 if my notes were correct)
Bead: 3/16" copper tungsten
Ribbing: Fly DK pearl
Tail: Coq De Leon fibers
Abdomen: Tungsten wire dubbing brush made with a mixture of red fox squirrel, lite brite, and copper flash mixed (very sparse)
Thorax: Black seal

If you plan on visiting the Fly Fishing Show in Somerset, NJ next week stop by and check out Kevin's table, you won't be disappointed! If your looking for the DOHIKU hooks Kevin is the only supplier I am aware of you can grab them at his site Performance Flies.

A Portable Fly Tying Kit

2011-01-09T21:49:00.000-05:00

This is a project I have been thinking about for a while now. I do a fair amount of fly tying on the road. Several times a year I participate in fly tying demos for my local TU chapter. I am also involved in teaching fly tying for the same organization. Then there are the fishing trips; anytime I fish more than a day's travel from home I usually pack some sort of tying kit. More than once, a tough day's fishing has been saved by a pattern tied in camp or cabin the night before to match some local bug.

Until now, the game plan usually consists of throwing a bunch of materials and tools in some sort of container and calling it done. What happens more times than not is I'll settle in to begin tying and realize I have forgotten the ribbing material, the dubbing or some other critical component I need to complete the pattern. For now I am planning to build this kit around trout patterns since this is the fish I pursue most often.

My plan is to stock the kit with materials and tools and leave them there. Lord knows I have accumulated enough materials and supplies over the years to do this without a problem. I may need to pick up a few items but for the most part I should have everything I need in my current stock of supplies.

I was fortunate to receive not one but two Fish Pond tying kit bags for Christmas this year. The Road Trip bag is a compact solution that will require careful consideration to what goes inside. The Tomahawk bag is the everything but the kitchen sink approach to a portable kit. I am still on the fence about what approach to take when I put this kit together.

Marco Polo Tying Kit

I want to design the kit around the Marco Polo kit I picked up last year. That should take care of the vice and most of the tools the only question is what materials to stock.

I would love to hear from folks who maintain a separate kit for tying on the road. What do you include in your kit. Do you maintain a seperate stock of supplies or raid your home kit for materials every time you hit the road. If you keep a seperate stocked tying kit is it filled with basic materials, or do you stock it with materials for specific patterns you wish to tie?

I will post more on the subject, including the final inventory when I finish putting it all together. I'll even try to put up a review of the two Fish Pond bags as the look like they both are perfectly suited for the task.

The Fly Tying Manual...

2011-01-03T22:32:00.001-05:00

It's been quiet around here lately because I started a project a few weeks back that has morphed into something quite unexpected. Our TU chapter runs a six week fly tying course every year. As one of the instructors I thought I would put together a little pamphlet reviewing some of the patterns that would be covered in the beginners course.

That "pamphlet" has turned into a 100+ page Ebook containing detailed tying sequence photos, and tons of information that would be useful to the beginner tier. I have enjoyed the process of writing it and I am pleased on how it is turning out.

I am on the tail end of this endeavor so please bear with me, things should get back to normal in a week or two.

I also want to apoligize for all the missing photos on the blog. Apparently there is some sort of bug with the iPad Blogger app. I lost all of the photos associated with blogs posted from the iPad. Hopefully I can get the issue resolved.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T11:31:00.002-05:00

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!

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Snowbound!

2010-12-27T20:36:00.001-05:00

I had planned on spending the day after Christmas on the water but Mother Nature had other plans. I spent the day digging out and hopefully will be able to make my way out to the river in the next few days if I can get day time high temperatures out of the twenties.

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Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T19:09:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas!

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Another way to add color...

2010-12-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

A more subtle way to add an attractor color to the fly is to add a little thread dam before mounting the bead on the hook. I like this method better than adding a band of color behind the bead.

Recipe:
Hook: Scud 14-16
Thread: Fire Orange 6/0 Uni
Bead: Gold tungsten
Abdomen: Turkey tail fibers
Ribbing: Gold tinsel
Thorax: Hares ear dubbing with extra guard hairs added

Aaron Jasper's Fire Fly

2010-12-15T06:00:00.003-05:00

The Fire Fly

This is a new pattern for the box this year, although I have tied and fished very similar patterns I like this particular fly a lot. At the International Fly Tying Symposium I ran into my friend Aaron Jasper. Aaron, who is become well known as a master of Euro Nymphing techniques, was tying this pattern. I like the looks of it so I added a dozen of them to this year's box. I have only fished it for a few weeks but it has been fishing well enough to earn it a compartment in "the box".

Aaron Will be releasing a new DVD this month entitled European Nymphing Techniques and Fly Tying I plan on reviewing this video on the blog once it becomes available so stay tuned.

Aaron Jasper's Fire Fly

Rather than post the recipe you can see the originator tie it himself. My buddy Lou from the Fly and Fin blog posted a video of Aaron tying this pattern at the show.

The Nymph Box - Hot Beads

2010-12-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hot Bead Nymph

Another way to add some color to a fly pattern is a "hot bead". You can now find fluorescent beads in both brass and tungsten in what ever colors you desire. Some of my favorite colors for these Euro patterns are hot orange, red, & chartreuse. This blue wing olive nymph is transformed into an attractor pattern with the addition of a hot orange tungsten bead.

Recipe:
Hook: Scud size 14-16
Bead: Tungsten (hot orange) sized according to hook
Thread: Brown 8/0 Uni
Tail: Brown hackle fibers
Abdomen: Olive biot
Ribbing: X-small black wire
Thorax: Hares ear dubbing
Wing Case: Black thin skin

Another variation on a hot spot micro-nymph

2010-12-08T06:00:00.001-05:00

Micro Hot Spot Nymph

This pattern is very similar to the one in the previous post. Substituting materials makes this version a much brighter fly with more flash.

Pattern Recipe:

Hook: DOHIKU bead hook (14-16 can substitute a standard scud hook)
Bead: Gold tungsten
Tail: Woodduck flank fibers
Hotspot: Hot Orange Uni 6/0
Ribbing: Synthetic pearl quill
Abdomen: Synthetic brown quill
Thorax: Synthetic peacock " eye"dubbing (it has a gold tint to it that does not pick up well in the photo)

Back to the box...

2010-12-06T06:00:00.001-05:00

Hot Butt Micro Nymphs

The next group of flies I refer to as Micro Nymphs. They really don't represent any particular species of aquatic insect. The flies are small and buggy looking, never larger that a 14 or smaller size 22. I will fish these flies in the point position or on a dropper on a three fly rig. They need a substantial anchor fly to bring them down in swift water. I will also fish them on a long spanish or french style leader in skinny water especially in the low flows of fall and early winter.

Hot Butt Micro Nymph

Pattern Recipe:

Hook: DOHIKU bead hook (14-16 can substitute a standard scud hook)
Bead: Black tungsten
Tail: Woodduck flank fibers
Hotspot: Hot Orange Uni 6/0
Ribbing: Synthetic pearl
Abdomen: Turkey tail fibers
Thorax: Synthetic peacock dubbing

Kype Magazine

2010-12-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Open publication - Free publishing - More trout fishing

The Box...

2010-12-04T06:00:00.001-05:00

Pink Czech Nymphs

Another compartment in one of my Czech nymph boxes that needed to be filled is the one that held Pink Czech Nymphs. For reasons known only to the fish, this particular color combination was particularly effective this past season. I tie four variations of this pattern, tan back or pearl flash back with either a bead head or thread head. Interestingly enough, my friend Lou from Fly and Fin posted about a Bugs of the Underworld video segment that appeared to show a caddis larva with a pinkish hue. I know he does well on the same water with a similar pink grub.

Pink Czech Nymph
Hook: Knapek Czech nymph hook size 12 or 14
Thread: Uni 6/0 brown
Bead: Black tungsten (optional)
Underbody: Sticky back lead tape
Shell Back: Tan Thin Skin or pearl flash back
Rib (inner): Small gold wire
Rib (outer): Small red wire
Abdomen: Pink UV pink Ice Dub
Hot Spot: Yellow synthetic dubbing
Thorax: Olive and black hares ear dubbing
Gills: Light gray after shaft feather

Another Peek in the Nymph Box...

2010-12-02T06:00:00.004-05:00

Big Bead Flashback Pheasant Tail

This odd looking fly is one of my all time top producers. Another anchor fly this pattern was originally designed to bring other flies on a Czech nymph rig to the bottom. The shocker was that it almost always out produced the other flies in the set. I tie it in two versions the flashy gold bead version shown above and a more subdued version with a black bead and hot spot (shown below). A slotted tungsten bead is essential to this pattern. It will allow mounting an oversized bead on a smaller hook and you can position the bead so it will not interfere with the hook gap. This fly also has a couple turns of .20 lead wire on it that helps hold the bead in place. In a word...HEAVY!

The Big Bead Flashback Pheasant Tail

Hook: Dai Riki 730 size 12

Bead: 3/16" Slotted Tungsten (gold or black/faceted or smooth)

Thread: Uni 6/0 brown

Rib: Gold wire

Tail: Pheasant Tail fibers

Abdomen: Pheasant Tail fibers

Thorax: Peacock herl

Flashback: Green flashabou

If you look through some of my fish images on this site you will see this fly hanging off a lot of fish lips!

A Peek Into The Nymph Box...

2010-11-30T19:09:00.002-05:00

I had high hopes of getting out several times over the holiday weekend but a nasty cold kept me close to home. So instead of fishing I started my late season fly tying in earnest. I have loads of near empty fly boxes that need refilling and a few new patterns to add to the arsenal.

I did get out the day after Thanksgiving but I paid for it dearly over the weekend. The fly that produced the best that day was a anchor pattern inspired by fly tier Kevin Compton owner of Performance Flies. This slim pattern sinks like a rock and is an effective fish catcher. Dubbed the "Copper Bead" by my friend Aaron Jasper, one of the founders of Trout Predator Online, it is now one of my go to flies for fish holding in deeper fast water.

"The Copper Bead"

The Copper Bead

Hook: DOHIKU model 302 size 6-12
Bead: Copper tungsten
Thread: Brown 6/0 Uni
Tail: Wood duck fibers
Rib: Pearl synthetic ribbing
Abdomen: Hares ear dubbing mixed with copper flash or copper metallic dubbing (dub the body as thin as possible with slight taper.
Thorax: "Tiger Beetle" (black/orange) zelon dubbing

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I'm already looking forward to that leftover turkey sandwich served stream side tomorrow!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The International Fly Tying Symposium

2010-11-23T06:00:00.001-05:00

Work In Progress

I attended the International Fly Tying Symposium this past weekend. I actually enjoy this show a little more than its big brother The Fly Fishing Show, which takes place in January. This event is smaller and more intimate. You have an opportunity to spend more time with the tiers and not feel like you need to move on so someone else and step up to the booth and take a peak or ask a question. It's also a great place to catch up with old friends and make new ones. It seems I can't walk down an aisle without bumping into someone that I know. I spent a lot of time with various tiers and picked their brains. There is an incredible amount of talent at this event. The event attracts world class fly tiers from around the globe. Some of the talent at this event are not the featured celebrity tiers, it's the folks attending the show. Strike up a conversation with someone and they are likely to reach into their bag and produce their latest secret weapons in the world of fly tying. Some of the best ideas I walked away with came from folks like me who were their to learn but brought along some of their own work to show off. Over the next week or so I'll put up some photographs and share some of the wisdom I gathered.

Going Home...

2010-11-21T21:02:00.000-05:00

Be there or be square...

2010-11-18T23:20:00.000-05:00

Black...White...Brown

2010-11-13T06:00:00.004-05:00

Thank You

2010-11-11T21:51:00.000-05:00

Thank you to all of our Veterans out there. For all that serve and have served, your service and sacrifice to protect our freedoms goes unnoticed by many, but not by me...THANK YOU

New Jersey’s First Annual NJ Fly Fisherman of the Year Contest

2010-11-11T07:12:00.002-05:00

I've have been meaning to put up a post on last weekend's one fly tournament. I'm not big on the whole competitive fishing scene but since this event was for charity I decided to participate. I had a great time but I was a little disappointed in myself. I finished first during the qualifications for the finals, but I was a few inches shy of taking it in the finals. The pisser is I only needed an 8 or 10 inch fish to take first place. I had that opportunity many times throughout the day. In fact I lost over 100 inches of fish before I had the first fish in the net. I lost five fish in the 20" class before in had my first fish officially measured. Including one that was actually in the net but managed to get hooked to the net as well and was able to leverage itself out. During the finals I had a 21" rainbow that was hooked out side of the mouth and could not be scored. In fact in the last seconds of the tournament i missed a fish on my last cast (you can see the missed strike at the end of the video on the Fly and Fin blog). I did however earn the title of "The Most Exciting Fisherman", on account that I definitely had the most fish hooked but my landing game was not up to par. To modify a line from the movie Jaws, "I think I need a bigger net". Rather than recap the whole event I have copied a write up on the event from the new site njflyfisherman.com

"The One-Fly contest took place on November 6, 2010 at the Raritan Inn Bed & Breakfast, Califon, NJ. The Inn showcases nearly a mile of private waters on the South Branch of the Raritan River. A fully restored 1850’s barn housed the Traditional Angler Day and a presentation dinner.

Each NJ Trout Unlimited chapter and three Watershed Associations - Upper Raritan, Musconetcong and So. Branch - were invited to select one member each to participate. The 13 participants had a beautiful day on the river. A tough battle in the qualifying rounds identified three finalists for the afternoon. Bart Lombardo of Central Jersey was the most exciting fisherman of the day working a crayfish pattern with lots of fish on and garnered a slot in the finals. Keith Bologno representing the Uppper Raritan Watershed was a focused and skilled vaccum in the waters catching lots with a crafty selection of an emerger fly pattern. Bill Silvia landed in the finals with an 18" rainbow in the final minutes. After a hearty lunch the three hit the waters with a fanfare and audience on the banks. As the finals wound down Keith Bologno was a clear leader. With one minute to go Bill Silvia tied into a 21" bright rainbow streaming down the river. Bill landed him to lead to an unanticipated and dramatic tie. After consultation of the judges / guides of Jim Holland, Brian Cowden, and Don Tredski a one-fly, first fish final was set and the two leading sportsman headed back to the waters. An epic 2 1/4 hour stretch of catch, hook, land (nearly) drama closed out the afternoon with BILL SILVIA landing an 18" rainbow to capture the honors of 2010 NJ Flyfisherman of the Year. Many thanks to all who supported their contestant, attended Traditional Angler Day, enjoyed the dinner presentations, or plan to attend next year !"

If you want to check out some video from the event visit the Fly and Fin blog. Lou was on hand with his new camera and shot some footage of me in action. Fortunately he did a good job editing and didn't post any of my blunders.

The folks at Hardy North America , Shannon's Fly Shop and the Raritan Inn really did a great job putting this event together. I am looking forward to next year's event!

To wrap up congrats to Bill Silva from the Ken Lockwood Gorge chapter of Trout Unlimited the New Jersey Fly Fisherman Of The Year!

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The Jersey Angler's First Year

2010-11-10T06:00:00.019-05:00

The Jersey Angler is one year old today. This blog started out as an experiment. The motivation was driven by friends of mine from other parts of the country that wanted to keep in touch with the fly fishing scene here in New Jersey. As it turned out I enjoyed the blogging experience and the process of recording my various adventures on the water and sessions at the tying bench.

What really amazes me is the readership. At the time of this writing, the blog is being read by folks in all fifty states and over eighty countries. If I can believe google analytics over ten thousand unique individuals have checked in at least one time to read what I have posted and I have scores of folks that check in on a regular basis. I never dreamed that my words would reach so many people in such a short time. That's not to bad for a blog that was designed to keep a couple of friends up to date on the goings on here in New Jersey.

Looking back there were a couple bumps in the road. Dry spells that were created when life or work got in the way. For the future I will try to avoid that by having material prepared in a advance so I can keep posts coming on a regular basis.

So what's in store for the Jersey Angler in the future? I have learned a lot in the past twelve months. And hopefully that knowledge will enrich the content on this blog. I may be transitioning from my present career to one more inline with this blog's content in the near future. I am unsure exactly how that will pan out but I am excited about the prospect.

I've met a lot of great folks in the last year and have made some new friends along the way. I'm looking forward to many more years of sharing information on the pursuit of fish with hook and feather.

Getting Fat...

2010-11-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

The fish are busy putting on their winter fat. Our fish are in great shape this fall. The ones that made it through the hot dry summer still managed to put on some weight. Now that things have cooled off a bit they are eating machines, bulking up for the leaner times of winter.

The End of the Rainbow

2010-11-02T06:00:00.001-04:00

End of the Rainbow

This simple pattern has proven deadly of rainbow trout. After years of this fishing this pattern it has caught nothing but rainbow trout. No browns, no brookies only rainbows and quite a few at that.

Pattern:

Hook: Standard Nymph size 12-16

Bead: Tungsten

Thread: Grey 6/0 uni

Body: Tapered body of gray uni-stretch, gray floss or gray thread

Rib: Small gold wire

Thorax: UV pink ice-dub

Bigger Fish...More Leaves

2010-10-31T06:00:00.015-04:00

I headed out to the river expecting the worse. Bright sun and a river ladened with leaves. When I first arrived, things didn't look so bad, some leaves but definitely fishable. Then the wind picked up...leaves started tumbling from the sky by the bushel. In no time at all the river was once again leaf soup.

Soup's On

This time there would be no messing with streamers or wet flies. It was time to get underneath this mess. Nymphing, though still difficult with all the stream borne debris, produced some bigger fish than the previous trip. No monsters but definitely better fish. Effective patterns were the Pheasant Tail Anchor and the End of the Rainbow (I'll describe it in a future post).

Leaves were not the only things in the water

My buddy Lou of the Fly and Fin got top honors of the day with this fat male rainbow. This fish was taken on a caddis larva out of a foot of water.

Phat!!!

More Fall Fishing

2010-10-29T06:00:00.000-04:00

This trip could have been one of the best of the year, conditions were perfect if not for one thing...leaves. The day dawned cloudy, wet and warm. The forecast was a 80% chance of rain but no wind and temps in the mid 70's. I thought for sure it would be the perfect day for chucking big meaty streamers or swinging big bright soft hackles. When I arrived on the banks of the stream my hopes were dashed, it was literally a flowing soup of leaves.

There was absolutely no way to retrieve a streamer or work a set of wet flies with out fouling on the debris floating down stream. By picking out current seams out of the main flow you could find clearer water and willing fish. But since these were not prime lies the fish were smaller. I did get smashed by one bruiser of a brown trout as he grabbed a 10" rainbow I had hooked. The fish had fought it's way into a deeper pool and the brown came up to eat. It chased that fish right up to my feet and just waited there for almost a minute. I could have touched him with the tip of my rod. I guess he could not figure out where his lunch went and was expecting it would scoot out from some unseen hiding place. I tossed the rainbow back into another current seam and hoped he made it back to the safety of shallow water. The day produced loads of fish but nothing bigger than 12".

Winged wets proved more successful than soft hackles. Due to the leaves in the water my usual soft hackle presentations were out of the question. So it was short casts to small sections of open water and a hand twist retrieve of the flies. The winged wet fly presented a better profile under these conditions. Drab colors with some flash seemed to work the best.

The International Fly Tying Symposium

2010-10-27T06:00:00.001-04:00

If you are in the North East in late November you may want to consider attending the International Fly Tying Symposium. This event is touted as the "World's Largest Fly Tying Show". There are fly shops and manufacturers selling their products and over 100 fly tiers from around the world showing off their skills. This show has always been a place to stock up on needed supplies for my winter tying season. I already have a long list going of needed materials for the long winter months of fly tying.

In addition to the show itself there are classes available, some free, some will set you back $70.00 or so. I have taken a few of these classes over the years and have always walked away with a smile and a little more knowledge. This year I plan on sitting in on my friend Bob Jacklin's class. Bob has a fly shop by the same name in West Yellowstone. He is giving a class on West Yellowstone Patterns. This is an area I visit very often so I am looking forward to spending some time with Bob. For those that don't know Bob is a transplant form NJ and was actually one of the early members of my TU Chapter, Central Jersey Trout Unlimited.

One of the biggest draws to the show is their program venue. Many big names in the industry will be on hand to present on a variety of fly tying topics. Another good friend "Ozzie" Ozefovich will be presenting one of his fantastic underwater videos “Underwater World of Trout - See Flies from Perspective of the Trout, not the Angler”. I have actually had the honor of a cameo role in one of his videos.

So come on out to New Jersey and check it out. If you live in the state you have no excuse. If your heading out to the show drop me a line, I would love to meet up with some of you.

Bamboo Day

2010-10-24T11:10:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend my club on the South Branch of the Raritan River did something a little different. We rolled back the clock 50 or 60 years. Fishing would be done with bamboo rods and the only flies that could be used were dry flies or wet flies. Fortunately I had recently taken possession of my first bamboo rod. This rod was built by a local rob builder and friend, Art Port. Art had fished with me last fall and at the end of the day he opened up his truck and let me look over the 30 or so rods he had in the vehicle. I was looking for a 5wt primarily for fishing wet flies. So we picked out a half a dozen rods, strung them up with some soft hackles and cast them in the "home pool" of our club. I stood in the river making a few casts and actually connecting with a few fish and Art stood on the bank handing me the different rods to try. It was a tough decision but I settled on a Garrison 209E, a 7'9", 5 wt designed by Everett Garrison and written about in Hoagy B. Carmichael's book, A Master's Guide to Building a Bamboo Fly Rod. Art built an identical rob for me with the only changes made being a flamed blank and blued hardware.

Yesterday was my first opportunity to fish this rod, and it performed wonderfully. Fishing wet flies is my favorite way to target fall trout here in New Jersey. I prefer a longer rod for this style of fishing and bamboo has some limitations when it comes to length especially if you want to keep the weight down.
But the softer action of bamboo is absolutely perfect for fishing wet flies. The action on this rod was perfect for fishing wet flies. Yesterday the fish preferred soft hackles on the swing. The fly patterns I picked up from Blue Ribbon Flies worked very well. These two patterns were the top producers of the day.

Full Dressed Red

September's Song

This fly rod handled fish up to about 20" in length with ease and despite its softer feel had quite a bit of backbone which helped in bringing some of the larger fish to hand.

At the end of the day I had the opportunity to do a little dry fly fishing although my "dry fly" was a size 18 Starling and Purple fished in the film. The rod was a pleasure to fish dries with as well. We could never identify what the fish were taking but it did not matter since they eagerly gobbled up the small soft hackles on a dead drift.

I gave the rod to my buddy Lou from Fly and Fin at the end of the day and he did well picking up these surface feeders on small soft hackles, picking up a couple of fish in a few casts.

This could be the start of a very expensive addiction...

New Jersey Fly Fisherman of the Year Contest

2010-10-21T14:17:00.007-04:00

I learned last week that I had been selected by my TU chapter to participate in the 1st Annual New Jersey Fly Fisherman of the Year Contest. This event is taking place on November 6th, 2010 on the South Branch of the Raritan River at the Raritan Inn

This is basically a catch and release "one fly" tournament, although you may bring three of the same flies out on the water with you. So I guess it is technically a "three fly" tournament. So the question is dry fly, nymph, streamer or wet?

Also occurring at this site is a "Traditional Angler Day" open to the public and hosted by Hardy North America. Hardy will be showcasing their bamboo line of fly rods. Hopefully they will bring along their glass series as well. I feel that glass rods are as much a traditional component of fly fishing as bamboo. Once I figure out the fly dilemma the next question will be glass or bamboo.

Later that evening there is a banquet which is also open to the public. The proceeds from this event are going to improving the local watersheds. I am looking forward to this it should be a good time.

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Tenkara Net

2010-10-18T22:11:00.002-04:00

(Photo from Tenkara USA)
I recently acquired a traditional Tenkara net from Tenkara U.S.A. Actually I received the net from my buddy Rick who shares my passion for all things Tenkara. Tenkara U.S.A.'s net appears to be well constructed. The fit and finish of this product is far above the $67.95 price point. It is a beautiful looking piece of equipment.

(Photo from Tenkara USA)
Two things intrigue me about this design. First is the overall shape of the net. The circular hoop and the bent handle are different from it's western counterparts. The circular hoop stems from the fact that traditionally these nets are constructed from a single tree branch with a pair of perpendicular branches (Tenkara U.S.A.'s net appears to be made from two pieces of wood). These branches are brought together and fused to form the circular hoop for the netting. From what I have learned the bent handle allows the net to be carried on a belt by simply inserting the handle behind the belt. This design keeps the net at the ready and keeps the actual net away from the body allowing the fisherman to move about freely. Another benefit allows you to quickly tuck the net into your belt or under your knee when kneeling to go hands free which would come in handy for photographing your catch, reaching for your forceps, etc.

The net is a fine almost monofilament type material with an ultra fine 2mm mesh. It's claim to fame is that hooks will not snag in it and the fine mesh is gentle on fish. Since the net is still unused I cannot attest to either claim yet. The fine mesh looks like it would be destroyed if a hook did catch in it and the coarseness of the net material has me wondering about the "gentle on fish" issue. By all accounts this is a net designed for smaller fish. It would feel right at home on some of the smaller wild trout waters in my state. I think if I attempted to use it on my home river I would be staring at a jagged hole in the bottom of the net after my first attempt to land a larger fish.

The blog at Tenkara U.S.A. has some interesting posts on how these nets are made. As well as more details on the design behind these interesting pieces of angling equipment.

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