7-14-11...Fall Fish

When I speak of these fish...everyone seems to know what I am referencing...but with 50 different names for the species. I call them Fall Fish...They are listed on DEC'c website as such, that's what I'm going with...To the point...If you have not targeted them, you are missing out. Mix the fight of a carp with the bull dogging of a smallie...you have the fight of a fall fish....They get big..Last year I caught one that was pushing 23 inches...they are a beautiful chrome color...they smell a little funky...they croak when you have them out of water...by croak I don't mean die...just a noise...They eat the Sili Craw with ferocity....Go catch one and let me know what you think...You will not be disappointed....

7-13-11...Carping

So a little carping was in order this morning....Dustin landed two...a little on the small side but no one's judging...

I hooked into the biggest carp I have ever caught on the fly...only to have the hook snap at the bend...Just as I set it....I hooked into two more only to have both of those hooks bent straight on the first run...No fish landed for me...These were flies that were not tied by me....My hooks don't do this....Oh well...lesson learned...That's why I tie my own....

7-8-11..Smallie

I took a bit of time from my vice this morning, although I sit next to it at the moment writing this post. I decided to skip all of the nice days this week and tie orders..choosing today to make my way to the stream. I pull up, skies are a bit grey...unload, paddle up to where I want to be...fighting the high murky water remnant from the random thunderstorms of a few days past. The rumbling began..at first I though it was a bike, or a car with a leaky exhaust...but no, it became louder..I finally gave in and looked to the sky...what a mess of grey and black swirls...I let my drift carry me downstream heading back to my Jeep...the lightning started...still fairly distant...one more cast...hit a pig of a smallie...

The excitement took over and I needed to make a few more last minute casts...I drifted past my car...the blackness closed in and the lightning got closer...I through in the towel just in the knick of time...The last strap was tightened, lightning came so close to me it appeared to have hit my vehicle. The thunder crackling was instantaneous, as if the ground was going to open and swallow me whole...As I closed the door, the clouds dropped dime sized rain at the ground...chasing me from the river back to the vice...

7-7-11....flies out the door

A couple of orders out the door today....Punk Rockers are taking over the world one home at a time....and of course some flies to catch fish in the mix as well....

These divers are made more durable by adding Clear Cure Goo to the bellies, around the eyes and the collars...There are two 30lb weed guards, just stiff enough to keep the weeds off but not stiff enough to miss strikes...The deer is so dense that I can write on them with a ball point pen...The tighter that you pack the hair, the more cork like the bug becomes..adding durability to the fly as well as making it float more successfully. The less water the fly absorbs, the higher it will ride. I like my bugs to sit in the film...by adding a little CCG to the bellies, it helps bring them into the film. These should be bass snatchers for sure....Tight Lines...

7-4-11...Happy Fourth and buckets

First off...Happy Fourth of July..I'd like to thank all of the men and women of our great nation that have sacrificed their lives for the freedoms we all share...

In celebration of my personal independence I tossed deer hair bugs at bass...Here's how it went...Slow....but I did manage a few in the boat...and got bit by a pickerel...merely a flesh wound....

7-2-11...Balance

I found my center once again today...Back to my favorite fish....

and a few extras that I enjoy as well....

7-1-11...

Now I'm not going to complain...I did catch a fish...Dustin caught fish as well...This is a first time experience for me...I went fishing, it was a beautiful morning...Sun high in the sky, not much wind and mud plumes all over. As I walked around the lake, through the weeds, over the rocks, in the mud...something happened..Something clicked...an unsettled feeling....melancholy...I felt as though I wasn't sure why I was there...I felt bored and unsatisfied...I think tomorrow will be a change of scenery and a change of species...I think I'm having smallmouth withdrawal...Bronze in the boat, Sage bass rod in hand...ahhhh....