Noticed something interesting

I have my list of flies to replace or redo this winter and have noticed a trend that has happened over the years, everything that I tie has gotten sparser! Case in point is the Drunella (Cornuta) spinners that fall after the Drake's over, thru the years I have tied them thinner and the wings sparser, maybe at some time I will regret toning down the wings because of the loss of eyesight but not yet. My caddis emergers also have been getting thinner with less material not that I want to preserve material I just think that most of us have tied flies that are too robust. Most all my spinners now have some 2mm foam on top of the wings to help them float but if they float flush so much the better, years ago we saw trout swing up and reject spinners that seemed to float to high in the surface film, we would cut some material from the bottom of the wing and get them to float flush- boom a take! Even my nymphs have lost some weight thru the years as has their color, most now are med/dark tan in overall color to mimic the bottom of the stream bed, except for olives and stone flies, not to mention cress bugs and shrimp patterns. My cress bug are round but not fat, just pick out the dubbing when finished tying and trim excess fur from the bottom, my shrimp and sow bugs are tied with various colors with pink and orange being the go to colors. My cress bugs are brown/grey or in some streams that have a lot of underwater grass olive is the key.
  The oxy to the above is streamers- I like them big and black or light colors- mostly tandem tied, throw in a few "rainbow" like colors and that is that. Try some Hareline "Ripple Ice Fiber" for your streamers, not much is needed but boy do they look great in the water. If I could figure out how the hell to record fly tying I would post a new fly every week!
  Heads up I just tried some Duku hooks from Europe and they are just crap- soft- hell some of them bent in the vise!

They Just Keep Trying To Kill Our Resources

The Proposed Prebble Mine, subject of 20 years of controversy, 2.2 million public comments, a dozen Congressional hearings, multiple documentary films, media campaigns, ballot initiatives, lawsuits, and the most ubiquitous sticker in all of fishingdom, is back on the table. Seemingly the result of one 30 minute meeting between two men: EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Prebble CEO Tom Collier.!!!!!!!!!
  The above is from an article in "The Drake magazine,Winter 2017 issue titled;Reignited, EPA moves to scrap Prebble Mine restrictions By Mark Menlove, read it and wonder what the hell is going on!

In the same issue is an article "Yellowstoned" Locals fight to protect Paradise Valley from mining By Jesse Robbins,  Can you imagine drilling on public lands adjacent to Yellowstone National Park, read this one and think what the hell is going on.
  I also read another article about the continued assult on Public land in Utah, these guys will not rest until every public land we hold dear has a oil or gas well on and guess what we will still pay $2.75 a gallon for gas at the pump. We are helpless in this fight.

Baby it's cold outside

Spent quite a few days in State College in the past weeks  watching the temp's carefully in the hopes of getting a Christmas or New Years trout but not with a high of 10 degrees most days and a strong wind, so I did the next best thing- took a daily ride along Spring Creek. Above Paradise along Rock Road the stream was clear with only minor shelf ice but in Paradise and up the walk in road it was just covered with ice and only a few open water pockets available, not till the outflow from the hatchery joined Spring just at the end of Paradise did the water become open and remained that way to Bellefonte. I assume that the canyon section must get really cold and battered by the wind but I also assume that just below the hatchery outflow of  Benner Springs the water would also be open. Any section that is open would be a good spot to just give it a chance this week, maybe Friday?
  Most of the time I have been cleaning fly lines and finally cleaning out fly boxes that I have not taken care of, when I'm fishing and need to replace a soaked fly I just toss it back in the box and tell myself that I'll pick it out and dry it when home- ok I do dry them with the box open on my desk but most of the time never take the time to fluff them back up- so that is what I am doing now plus taking inventory. Most of the time I have more than enough flies but I never seem to have enough of the #16 tan caddis CDC bubble back caddis dries that I need, note to self you dumb ass tie more!!!
  I have a new pattern that I have been messing with for a few years and here it is, tan caddis;
#14-16 Tiemco #921
Body; tan Aust. Opp.
Wing; tan CDC under wing & Med dark deer hair on top, with the head clipped
Legs; poly tied spent winged style on the top of the hook then clipped short to just come out past the clipped deer hair head
  Using this has given me a fly that lands just about perfect every time and floats higher on the surface. The best poly is a clear or slightly darker off shade, do not use much and don't tie it in on a bare hook (it moves) when done with the head clipping just turn the fly over and hit it with a bit of glue. I am tying it in both tan and a sotty darker olive for the Grannom.
  Happy tying!