More about beads

More about the new jig hooks and the beads that are to work on them;

Allen J100BL #14 & #16 good looking hook but very thin wire, just too thin heck they even bend in the vise plus about 40% of the tung. beads will not fit even after the barbs have been smashed down. Allen beads are not up to standards that are acceptable, more on that to follow.

Umpqua C400BC #14 & #16 Great heavy wire hook s with a very nice round bend, good points and none bent in the vise! Used Hareline Tung beads in 2.8 & 3.3 mm but only 4 out of nice made it past the bend, what a pain in the ass. Tried some normal non slotted beads and they worked as they should even the new "Bug Collars" worked well.

Daiichi #4647 #14 & #16 Nice heavy wire hook but they have a Limerick bend and that means the beads have to be perfect to go around the bend, well non of the slotted beads worked! I tried normal beads and got them past the bend and so did the bug collars.

  I contacted Hareline and was told that the molds for the slotted beads are being reworked to expand the holes to allow for better fit- a work to the wise- wait till the new beads hit the market and that will not be for a while. I'm guessing that maybe one company in China makes all the slotted beads and it does not matter where you buy them you will have the same problem, lots of luck! The beads in question are Tung. black slotted beads in 2 2.3 2.8 3.3mm sizes. It is not you it's your materials.
  I will say that the new Bug Collars seem to be a really great item but time will tell how effective they will be but I know a section of Spring Creek where the rainbows will eat the crap out of the pink ones! Oops almost forgot to tell you that the new bug collars work best with the old style beads not the new slotted ones, they need a concave surface to seat against, so it is standard bead first then the bug collar seated tight against it.

New jig hooks and slotted beads

Tried some new jig hooks from Allen and found them to be way to soft, heck they even bent while tying them but the worst part of them is the G--D-- beads maybe 1 out of 6 or 7 will go on the hook as they should (small hole first) they just will not go up the bend, total frustration trying to use them. I have always been able to just let beads drop from a 1/8" distance and found that I might have had to do it a few times but most times the small end will land face up then it was an easy task to get the bead started on the hook if the barb was smashed down but slotted beads will not lad the correct way! I just tried some new competition hooks from Tiemco and found them to be much stronger but even Hareline slotted tung. beads will not work well again maybe 1 out of 6 works well, if this shit continues I will just give up trying to use them, I like the idea of the hook point riding up for a good hook set and it keeps the bend above the bottom for a better snag free drift. I'll try my supply of normal black tung. beads and see if they are any better, anyone else having the same problem? From what I see it is the inconsistence in the hole diameters of the beads?
  I was at the Spring Creek Chapter of TU last Thursday night to see the results of the creel survey on Spring Creek and WOW is not an accurate description, they are talking about Montana  numbers of Brown trout per mile and the angler satisfaction was at an all time high, this corresponds to the Fish Comm. shocking stat's from a few years ago, Spring Creek trout numbers are high! The Spring Creek Chapter provided the man power to have people go out and conduct the Fish Comm. surveys and the PFC boys ran the numbers. I think the full report might be on the Spring Creek Chapter of TU's web site, just Google it. Along with the survey results the Chapter President gave a presentation of the last years projects and results, impressive is a very good word, any time you go to Spring Creek you will see the results of those projects and they are not done! Join them if only to help this coming year, they make you feel welcome and part of the solution, check them out.

Just a bit too cold to fish then tie flies

In the process of updating  my inventory of flies that need replaced or redone with newer materials or better building techniques of the patterns that I tend to carry the most. Just finished 6 dozen of BWO emergers in dark red brown and darker olive just to give me something different to throw at them, I usually only carry Olive in a med olive brown for most all the Fall, Winter & Spring Olives but for Drunella I carry some very light and bright olive bodies because of the color of the emerging duns OK maybe it's overkill but what the heck I have the time. I just finished some Green Drake emegers (floating nymphs) they are on the drying rack and will be put away this afternoon. Here is an update on UV resin, most all the crap from Clear Cure Goo never really dries tack free and it just is madding, so early this fall I was watching Davie McPhail using "Bug Bond" so I  Googled it and got some from "Deer Creek, UK" and by dam it is tack free, what a pleasure to use. I just received a test sample from Loon of "Flow" and it also is tack free, so if you really want to get a finished tack free fly get either of these and enjoy tying with them but remember that you will still have to use some of the really heavy stuff and cure it then cover it with one of these, seems like a pain but really does not take that much time to do.
  I tried to get some Cat Gut material from Performance Flies but can never get him on the line and I do not trust his site to order on line, so I looked around and used some turkey quill dyed a dark olive that matched the caddis larvae in Spring Creek then coated it with some Bug Bond and it looks really good, I may try it this Thursday but only is the temp's hit 29/32, I have fished in the 20's and it is not fun to clean your guides every cast! Enjoy

Midges!

The day after Christmas and Saturday past were the days to fish Spring Creek, Midges and warm temp's were the norm, Friday not many guys around but Saturday was different! Just find a place and wait till you saw the rise forms, in pools, tail outs and even the soft edges in the riffles, it was an epic two days. This coming week should be good till at least New Years day but what the heck make sure you have your 2015 license and go any way, nymphs, streamers or dry's just go. Happy New Year to all!

Money Talks!

OK most of you know that I do not like the present PA Fish Commission because they have no balls and will bend at the first sight of a storm, case in point now they want to pass a new department change in policy- "Stocking of Class A Trout Water", what the hell are they thinking? I know some of you hate TU but if not for them we would not know about this change, I have not seen any other organization telling anyone about this. If you read any of the current or older scientific studies that have been done on stocking of hatchery fish over wild fish populations you know what it does to the resident fish, hey wonder why Montana stopped stocking years ago- they believe in good science not this crap we have here, some rich ass hole or a gas company wants to stock fish to either cover up a kill or make sure some rich ass hole can catch a fish. What a shame our Fish Comm. has become a political toy and the director nothing but a figure head, I sure am glad I lived my life when I did, sad to say we have seem the best and it will not get any better from here on. Hell just look at the Susquehanna River no one wants to take any responsibility to help that body of water or better yet tell us what is going on with the bass population, hey guy's maybe you could just stock a shit load of bass and call it cured!
  I think that maybe you could send a e mail to the PA Fish and Boat Commission and tell them that stocking a Class A trout stream is a bad idea, I did and I have not gotten any reply, typical of any political organization the hell with the common people and coddle to the money guys- screw you! I for one have no respect for anything they do going forward but know if you have money you have power with them and the resource is not number one any more, it is money to survive.

Post Snow Storm

We got a healthy 7.4" at my house on Thursday and that blew the planned two day trip to State College now it was only to be Friday. Arrived to find nothing eating on top so it was to be the new dark olive caddis larvae, #2457 #16 with a black nickel tung. bead, it worked very well accounting for 8 nice browns in a few hours BUT if you did not get a strike within a few feet after placing it where you wanted it the fly & your shot would be covered with that dark green shit, what a pain in the ass to get off and clean your hands after, had that crap on the rod handle and my waders and oh how it stinks! After lunch at Sheetz I started to see rising fish and not just a few but a ton of them, they were in places that I have not seen them before, soft pockets on the edges of all the riffles, most of the times you see them in pools and not where they were today. OK tied on a #22 Grif's Gnat using 6x (if I use 6.5 or 7x I get a wonderful mess in a few casts because my stroke is a bit to fast) took a lot of fish from 5" to 14"what a trill to experience, no one else around! Would have loved to have been there on Thursday when it was snowing, I have fished in a storm before and the silence is just wonderful as is the tempo of the trout, I think they sense that they are a bit more protected and ten to feed with more gusto. If it is snowing go and experience it or if not go the next day BUT do not wear felt soles to walk in the snow because you will be wearing 4" heels.
  Oh never saw any Olives but really did not go looking for them, I had a 80 yard riffle to play in.

Not this week

No fishing this week because of PA deer season, with the color of our Simm's wader's it would be very easy for someone to mistake us for a deer- hey don't laugh they shoot cows! This week I have been tying experimental caddis larvae to use next week. If I fish Spring Creek in the area below Paradise it is a safe bet that I won't be shot for a deer but again one never knows. The month of December usually has the brown trout in a funk and not really aggressive in feeding but one would think they should be after expending all that energy spawning, it's just not a great month to fish. I'll post something after two days of fishing next week.
  A note about the fur I'm using, it is Aust. Opp. not beaver, all the beaver that I have really does not have the dark olive color that all the caddis have on Spring Creek, about every other time you had to clean your nymph off you would see a live larvae attached to your hook- OK let's tie some that imitate them!