Chris_in_Louisiana

Very cool little shrimp! I'll have to give it a try locally, but, as others have suggested, I think I'll also need to tie a few up as crayfish patterns for freshwater. I think this pattern could be a great "micro-craw" for the local carp. Chris

Orvis announces the event on their blog (news.orvis.com) at the end of each August. The goal is to get anglers to document as many days on the water as they can during the month of September. Pictures are then submitted via Instagram or Facebook with the hashtags #20sepdays and #orvisflyfishing. Once the month ends, a group of Orvis employees select their Top 10 from the few thousand entries submitted and a popular vote is used to select the winners. I'll try to post an announcement next year when the contest starts. I'm sure you could capture some beautiful images up in your area, skeet. Chris

Voting has been extend through Friday (10/8) for anyone interested in checking out all the great entries! Chris

Hey guys, Orvis has just announced the finalists for it's 20 September Days photo contest, and, for the second year in a row, one of my wife's photos has made the top 10!! The winners are decided by popular vote with voting extended through Thursday (10/7) due to facebook outage. You can select up to three images when voting, and we'd certainly appreciate the support if her shot is one of your Top 3! Here's the link for those interested in checking out all the finalists and joining in on the vote: https://news.orvis.com/fly-fishing/vote-for-the-winners-in-our-2021-20-days-in-september-contest-and-maybe-win-something-for-yourself Chris

I’m finally back!! Electricity returned last night at about 2am. Strangely, (and completely unrelated I’m sure) this miraculous return of electricity came less than 12-hours after the local news began broadcasting interviews with folks in the neighboring golf course community. Now if I could just get a day off work to mow the lawn and finish clean up. I’ve been working 12-hour days minimum since the storm passed. Thanks to all for the well wishes! And glad you’re doing well, Chug! Chris

I'm 10 nights/9 days in at this point. Crossing my fingers the rumors of power within the next 48 hours are true. Otherwise, the possibility has been floated that this could go on until 9/29 Chris.

Glad you're alright, Chug. We lost a fence and need a new roof, but are otherwise unscathed. No power at home yet, but hopefully within a few days. Stay safe. Chris

Stay safe, Chug! We're staying put as well, but I'm hoping everyone in the mandatory evacuation areas got out. This one is turning into a monster. Chris

With a trip to RMNP around the corner, I've remained on a bit of a terrestrials kick as of late. Mixed in with the various Ants, Hoppers and attractor-style patterns coming off my vise have been a couple of beetle patterns. They're all fairly easy ties and patterns I hope to put to use on my upcoming trip. Hopefully they're of use to a few of you as well. Happy tying! Chris Foam Beetle Deer Hair Beetle Sunken Beetle

With a trip to RMNP around the corner, I've remained on a bit of a terrestrials kick as of late. Mixed in with the various Ants, Hoppers and attractor-style patterns coming off my vise have been a couple of beetle patterns. They're all fairly easy ties and patterns I hope to put to use on my upcoming trip. Hopefully they're of use to a few of you as well. Happy tying! Chris Foam Beetle Deer Hair Beetle Sunken Beetle

Thanks everyone! The Lepomis diversity down here is pretty amazing, and, as a result, so is the hybridization. It seems as though any given locale I fish has a minimum of 5-6 species, so the combos are fairly endless. The website, Koaw.org, has an amazing sunfish ID section that includes hybrids. I'd highly recommend it to anyone trying to sort out what they're catching. Beyond a short RMNP visit next month, I'm overdue for a trip back to the marsh. Between rain and high temps, I've just been too lazy to go chase specks and reds.

Earlier this year, I sadly snapped my Echo Dry 9' 2wt and learned it was out of production and could not be replaced. Instead, I applied the warranty towards an Echo Shadow II 10' 2wt. Since then the new rod has gone largely unused, and I briefly debated putting it up for sale. That changed the past week, however, as I decided to try my hand at high stick nymphing for local Sunfish. The results have been excellent as I've landed eight species of Lepomis as well as a possible ninth (though it is likely a hybrid). The sensitivity of the rod is amazing and has played a significant role in catching a number of the smaller species. While I look forward to using this rod on a trout stream in the near future, it's nice to know it can serve a purpose closer to home as well. In any case, on to the photos! Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) Redear Sunfish (Lepomis microlophus) Redspotted Sunfish (Lepomis miniatus) Warmouth (Lepomis gulosus) Longear Sunfish (Lepomis megalotis) Dollar Sunfish (Lepomis marginatus) Green Sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) Orangespotted Sunfish (Lepomis humilis) Bantam Sunfish - hybrid? (Lepomis symmetricus x L.gulosus??)

I do agree that delays (Both on the part of the tyer & USPS) have likely led to some tiring of the swaps, but in my case I really just need a break after overextending myself this past winter. I signed up for more than I probably had time for (here and with other groups) and found myself fairly burnt out on the process by spring. Add in work getting busy as it does every spring/summer, and I haven't even had the urge to join a swap in the past few months. Work will eventually slow in the fall/winter though, and I'm sure I'll be looking to jump back in. Chris

Hey guys, I've been on a bit of a foam kick lately and put together a couple of new SBS posts while filling my terrestrial box. While I'll likely put both to use chasing panfish in the coming months, I've admittedly been daydreaming of trout streams while building this box. The first two up are Craven's Charlie Boy Hopper and the Fat Albert. Hope they're of interest/use to some of you. Chris Charlie Boy Hopper Fat Albert

Nicely done! Those are some beautiful browns. Must have been a blast on that UL.

Haven't tied much lately, but I did sit down last week and tie up a batch of Fat Alberts last week. It's a pattern I haven't really fished before, but decided it was time to try with Hopper season kicking into full gear down here. Hook: 3x Long All-purpose (Size 10) Thread: 140 Denier (Hopper Yellow) Body: 2-mm Craft Foam (Tan/Brown/Tan) Legs: Centipede Legs (Orange Barred) Wing/Hotspot: Z-lon (Orange or White)

Sounds like an enjoyable weekend. The Catskill Fly Fishing Museum is only about an hour from my mother-in-law in Oneonta, so it is on my to-do list one of these visits. Perhaps the micro breweries will entice my wife to join in as well. I'll PM you with my address in a moment. I really appreciate it. Chris

Haven't tried it on carp yet, but the article that drew my attention to it years ago mentioned it working on freshwater drum. Thanks, Kim. Have you had the chance to try any in the box I sent? Curious if they hold their own up in your neck of the woods as well. Chris

Just a quick and easy panfish pattern popular with warmwater fly fishers here in Louisiana. The original is tied on a 1/100 oz jighead, but I prefer a jig hook with tungsten bead. As it only takes a few basic materials and less than half a dozen steps, it's a good pattern for those just starting out. Here's the link: https://fatfingeredflytyer.com/cap-spider-fly-step-by-step/ Enjoy! Chris

Beautiful fly and great SBS, Scott! I'm going to have to attempt a few one of these days. Chris

Thanks guys!! It was a very different trip (bouncing around the way we did), but one I really enjoyed. Lots of challenges along the way, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. We tallied 10 of 25 eligible species during the two days of tournament fishing, and I personally checked off 14 species over the course of the four days. We're already planning for next year's tournament. Most definitely. And those Erie Canal carp made us work for it to. That was the only one we managed to bring to net between pre-fishing and the tournament. Chris

Got the last post from the trip finished and posted this morning. While we covered a lot of new water on my first visit to Rhode Island, this day's highlight was definitely the ~15" wild rainbow pulled from beneath a log jam in a stretch of river known for small, wild brook trout. https://fatfingeredflytyer.com/25-on-the-fly-part-4/ Chris

Love those smallies!!! Looks like a great trip!

Finished up my third trip post last night. This one covers day 1 of the tourney. 15 hours of fishing with lots of warmwater and a little coldwater mixed in. The smallie below, caught on a large streamer while targeting a tiger muskie, is probably my personal best on the fly. https://fatfingeredflytyer.com/25-on-the-fly-part-3/ Chris

Thanks guys! Just posted my day 2 report as well. Though I didn't take as many photos as I should have, I would say this was our best day of the four given total numbers and quality of fish. https://fatfingeredflytyer.com/25-on-the-fly-part-2/