2-27-11 Fish On

Today I decided to step away from the vice and rock out on the water. A drive to the Salmon River with my co-worker Dustin took place. We stopped at the local fly shop to get the lowdown on the river today...The lower fly zone was shoulder to shoulder due to warm weather and the beginning of a major stone fly hatch.




We ventured lower in the river hoping to pick up some fresher fish....To the Staircase batman....Apparently no one has been fishing this area, no broken trail and three feet of snow let us in on the secret....



A trail we made...Stomping down the embackment and up the tracks ended with me face planting over the tracks and into the snow. A quick rollover and back on my feet....Well...more like a turtle trying to roll off of his back I would really say. I am wearing new waders today...I bought neoprenes due to the leak in my breathables. The boots are so heavy on the new waders, on top of Korkers attached to them that I can barely lift my feet. On we trudged. "Look" I say..."check out that bald eag..." bam....face first in the snow again...Oh my...one of those days has begun...

We fished and fished...swung speys, stripped streamers, bottom bounced every nymph in every size and color...notta....We walked back, loaded and switched areas...To the Compactor...We arrive...fish, fish, fish....a hookup, it rises, then takes off leaving me with my fly in a tree....Onward..We continue fishing there for an hour or tow...Now the day is counting down....Decision time...We have barely seen a sole all day...perfect fishing....however...we really want a solid hookup...Shoulders down...to the lower fly zone we go...

The common pools were over loaded with people....So down river we went....Dustin and I discussed some photo angles that would be cool if we landed anything today....We fish and fish...then finally I have a hookup...This fish ran me out almost to backing, then made me chase it 500 ft down river before landing...Only to realize that Dustin was nowhere to be found. So these are the photos that I managed while my partner was apparently chasing minnows....Enjoy...

2-25-11 Flashback Swimming Damsel Nymph

This is a flashbask damsel fly nymph I made on a size 6 streamer hook bent like a swimming nymph. Should be a killer on the smallies and bluegills.



Here is a pheasant tail nymph with sili legs...Bluegill getter....

2-24-11 Clear Cure Goo and DNA

I've been playing around with DNA Fibers today. You can do all sorts of things with these. Synthetic fibers are an interesting thing to say the least. They have nice movement in the water, don't absorb any water and really don't break down like bucktail or marabou. There are several ways to bind them to a hook shank and you can trim and shape them any way you wish. You can layer or blend colors like in the DNA Deceivers....

Thanks to Brian at Clear Cure Goo, I have been experimenting with his products as well. These are very cool. All of the flies here, the deceivers and the Fry Guys are coated with Clear Cure Goo brushable formula. This stuff is amazing. It cures with a UV light in seconds, brushes on with an included applicator and doesn't yellow over time. After curing I apply a coat of clear nail polish and I'm done.

Enjoy...Tight lines and screaming reels....

FRY GUYS


DNA Deceivers

2-22-11 Hell Yeah Grammite

The creek that I fish regularly is loaded with hellgrammites. I have been playing around with several designs over the last few months and have finally decided on a winner. This pattern is articulated, the front hook is bent up like a swimming nymph hook, and the head is a tungston nymph head. The movement is awesome...should be a killer smallie, bucket, carp and walleye fly this spring...It's total length is about 4 inches...

2-19-11 Fleeing Bucktail

These are a bucktail/hackle feather pattern that I have used for sometime with great success. They are tied Clouser style with lead eyes, and have hackle feathers in the tail much like a half and half. The bucktail is tied in hollow style to create a little more profile. The Fly Lipp is placed on the opposite side of the eyes so the fly wobbles and rises to the surface when stripped in. Since my smallie flies usually take a beating, the heads are finished with Clear Cure Goo and nail polish.

2-17-11

Some new stuff...out the door this morning.....progression photos...

2-15-11 Wool Belly Stripper

I've been playing around with Fish Skulls...Very cool product. I like weighted streamers....Sometimes for the smallies you need to get the fly down. I don't always have time to switch over to a sink line, or sometimes I just don't want to ...These flies have a rabbit strip body and tail, a ton of flash, a shaped wool belly and a Fish Skull head....Should snatch me a walleye or two this spring as well....

2-13-11 Cranks and a blue gill

So...with warm weather on the way...I took some time today to start making a few top water flies for my box. The Smallie season will be here before I know it, and my boxes are looking a little anorexic. These are some of "The Cranks" that I'm hoping will land me a few monsters this spring....








This is a newer fly that I have been working on. I have been playing a lot with wool and Fly Lipps lately. Fly Lipps are a neat little thing that goes on the end of your hook shank. It acts as a crank bait lip. Depending on which direction you orient the lipp, the fly will swim up or down in the water column. The lipp adds quiet a bit of motion to a fly. This particular fly is a blue gill made of wool. The lip faces up and the fly has a little bit of weight. It is oriented to swim up the water column after sinking. It is virtually weedless due to the shaping of the wool around the hook. It is ties in a "Clouser" style, meaning the weight has been added to the top of the hook shank, forcing the point up..."Rising Wool Gill" has been born....

2-9-11 Some new work

I haven't posted in a couple of days. I was trying to catch up on orders for Punk Rockers and other deer hair flies. So here's a few of the latest.









So as much fun as top water bass bugging is for smallies, large mouth and pickerel...sometimes you just have to get a fly down. I fish smallies a lot in my local creek. By far they are one of my favorite fish. Fishing with crayfish patterns in the late spring and summer is one of the most effective ways to hook the big ones when stripping streamers isn't producing. I haven't run into too many smallmouth that won't eat a little crayfish when they get the chance.

I have been playing with different patterns for some time and have come up with what I believe to be one of the best for me. It's small, size 6 streamer hook, nice color, olice and crayfish orange, rides hook up, has little claws, just a touch of sparkle, the right shape and proportions, and has some movement with the sili legs. I introduce you all to the "Sili Craw".....