Hook Update

The last couple of nights I have been tying Drunella (Cornuta) spinners using a quill body dyed black and finished with Loon UV resin on Firehole 419 Size 16 Competition Dry 2XG Light and when I try to whip finish the shank bends 45 degrees to me! I can push them back but we all know how metal gets fatigue and will fail. I e mailed Joe from Firehole and got an absolute shit response in essence telling me that over 2 million hook have been sold and no one has complained and that they were designed to be a bit soft in temper! Well so long to them, I have boxes of the same hook in sizes 10 thru 20 and have zero confidence in them any more, maybe it was a chance but not when it happened to 3 out of 12 flies, I would blow a cork if the same thing happened again as it did years ago during a superb Trico spinner fall on Bald Eagle using Vivars hooks!
  In my mind that leaves us with Tiemco, Diachii and Fulling Mill and of course Mustad as reliable options. The only reason I'm not nuts about Mustad is that they are not easy to get any more and some of the older numbers have changed but they are still a dam good hook. I still love to use Mustad 3906 for all my wets and some caddis emergers. If you need Mustad try J.Stockard in Kent, CT they have a really good selection but make sure you up the postage to the $6.00 charge to get them much faster.
  No fishing on Monday but George Daniel has posted a great video on YouTube showing him fishing in the high water, he did really well- watch it.
 More later

Just When it was getting good!

Just when the water was getting in shape this shit will hit us again, rain then a good day then rain again, over and over again. Water up then down a bit then up again, the key is to find water that you can handle, smaller streams or divide the larger streams into fishable sections that you can handle. Fish slow and deep or if it's streamers make sure they are deep and fish slow, remember dark days fish dark flies and light on light days but don't be afraid to change that up.
  Still tying a ton of flies and loosing quite a few to my waster bag, old age and fingers that don't quite work as they should have resulted in numerous lost hooks and flies. Yesterday I took the bag off and spread out the contents on newspaper to look for the flies and hooks, well only found 1 hook and 1 completed fly, the rest? I have a habit of keep the waste bag between my legs while I'm tying and make sure all the waste goes on the bag but sometimes stuff drops and into the bag it goes with all the trimmings in it they become lost, oh well just and another reason to tie more.
  Am now tying new brown stone fly nymphs and yellow stone nymphs with a new style from some one in Europe, can't understand him but I can just watch and learn. Also tying a new set of BWO spinners for Summer with stripped hackle for the abdomen and the UV cured over it- who knows if they will work well?
  I'll try to get some pictures to post after I fish on Monday!!!

A new idea for a midge adult

Quite a number of years ago I was wading across Penn's at the bottom of the Fish Comm. cabin Station #22 and notice a line of fish just rising like crazy, well to my delight it was a fall of caddis adults all of them had delta wings spent on the surface! I tried to line up the casts with an adult caddis and got zero interest from the fish! I worked on a design for a spent caddis and found after some tying that all I needed was a body (I used 4 colors) a Zelon wing and the same colored fur for the wing wrapping and head. What I did was tie the Zelon in spent winged style then jamb thread in front of them and figure eight the fun around the wings all the while making sure to add a bit more in front of the wings to make the delta style. I tie them in various sizes from #14 thru #20 Brown, Black, Tan and a few Dark Olive and keep them in a small box in my vest, this has saved my ass a few times and most especially on the Missouri River during their epic caddis mating falls!
  Yesterday I was getting ready to grill and noticed two adult midges mating on the side of the house and how the wings were swept back and the legs were very noticeable, I quickly made some notes and a drawing to keep for that night. Well here it is a delta winged midge adult. #22,24 & #26 ringed eye hooks Tiemco or Gama.8/0 black thread, some macramé yard (white/clear) and black Aust. Opp.( I used opp. because of the guard hairs). Tie a thin body of thread and tie in the macramé yarn (sparse) spinner style and tie the wings back a bit with the thread applying pressure to the front of the wings to begin to push them back, I stop now and add a touch of Loon thin UV resin and hit it with the torch then add the Aust Opp. around the wings in a figure eight motion but using more in front of the wings to get them swept back, then tie off and trim the wings to length just past the bend of the hook! This is just what we have been looking for, another midge pattern to fool the fussy fish in the winter. I have used just spent winged adults in the past with great success but some time they just want something different, well they have it now. Best part if it is no hackle was used on it.
  I remember many times on Big Fishing Creek in the winter the trout would just line up and sip midges all day long, hey I'm going Tuesday! It's better than fighting for crap paper in the store.
  I'll post a picture later. I also tie them in grey and light tan/yellow just to give them something different!
 

The Sparrow

While going thru my stock boxes I found 18 #12 Jack Gartside Sparrow's that I tied about 35-40 years ago! I have use something similar for Green Drakes and in the Fall & Winter for spay style fishing, just drifting the fly quarter downstream and thru the drift and at the end giving it a bit of a small wiggle or short strips- it works. The pattern uses one of the easiest materials to get , Pheasant cock back feathers (well we used to get them), a tail of pheasant shaft feathers, body of cream fur with a silver wire ribbing followed by a iridescent green/purple back feather larger than normal tied in wet fly style followed with a few turns of an after shaft plume at the head, easy to do. I have also done them in all black, these are good for the Winter. I use about 7 turns of .025" lead wire at the 1/3 portion of the shank. Give them a try during the Green Drake but give them some added action to mimic the fast rising nymph to dun hatching of the Drake.
   Speaking of tying we better get our early season boxes front and center, don't delay this year because it looks as if everything might be early or at least on time.

The Virus

Where do you go to find some space- GO Fishing!! Going to the stores only confirms that we as humans are pack rats, why else would anyone have to buy that much toilet paper, our local grocery store was sold out! What the hell, lets just walk into the woods and fish for trout not, avoid the crowds but stay away from Spring Creek because the lure and minnow guys are out in force now. Bald Eagle is off limits now ( or soon to be off) so our options are limited. Penn's is a great choice because we have so much water available to us. Olives and Brown Stone flies are coming off now and I'm sure the "Chimera" Little Black Caddis is not far away. Now would be a good time to fish brown stonefly nymphs and Chimera "orange & black" caddis worms. Orange Glo Brite thread hit with UV finish and then given a black fur or syn. dubbing head is a sure winner for this time of year. If your on Big Fishing Creek (NOT on Sunday) be on the look out for Blues Quills any time soon, in shit weather they come off in droves and the fish feed big time on them. I remember a few years ago my friend Paul and I spent most of the day in one pool catching a lot of fish on #18 Blue Quill emergers fished in the film, the outside world did not have any effect on us- so get out there and fish now.
  Use the drive thru and avoid the crowds if you need food or take your own along. When your home clean your lines and tie more flies!