Chris_in_Louisiana

Hey guys, Just got back from a 12 day road trip to upstate NY. While it was largely a family visit (my wife hadn't seen her mother since pre-COVID), I did manage to slip away for four days to do some fishing with my cousin, Jake. Our plan was to pre-fish for two days. Then participate in The Mayfly Project's 25 on the Fly tournament. A nationwide, catch-video-release format, we bounced around quite a bit targeting everything from brook trout to tiger musky along the way. I'm still in the process of sorting through pics as I put together some blog posts on the trip, so I'll add a few pics and additional links from each day as I complete the four posts. Up first was day 1 of pre-fishing in the finger lakes region. https://fatfingeredflytyer.com/25-on-the-fly-part-1/ Enjoy Chris

Interesting. I was expecting a dragonfly attack based on your post title. That seems to happen to me with regularity in the spring and summer when using smaller flies. The fly will be dangling in the air as the rod is leaned against a tree or my truck, when suddenly the leader will shoot off into the air as a dragonfly thinks it has found an easy meal. Never expected an ant to try and walk off with a fly.

With a trip north slated for just over a week away, I've found myself recently replenishing my trout boxes for the first time since pre-COVID. Among the patterns I've been busy with is this little black stone nymph pattern. It performed quite well for me in CO a few years back and is a pattern I've kept in my box since. I posted this SBS on my blog late last year, but it appears I haven't shared here yet. Hope it is of interest to some of you. Chris Little Black Stonefly: Step-by-Step

Gar are a blast. They don't seem to have a lot of endurance, but the initial fight is fairly explosive. From my limited experience, small hooks seem to fair better than larger hooks when it comes to landing them. I came across a spotted yesterday that likely could have challenged the state fly rod record, but couldn't even get it to glance at my offerings. I'll definitely try to track that dinosaur down again one of these days. Chris

Looking forward to seeing what you came up with. Chris

Interesting. I'll have to give that style a try for bass one of these days. For mine, I tie them with only a small amount of lead-free wrap to help overcome the buoyancy of the rabbit fur tail. The sink rate is incredibly slow to the point that it almost suspends. This has worked to my benefit with skinny water carp as I can make a prolonged pause right as the fly passes in front of the carp's eye. If the strike comes, it is usually on the first short strip following this pause. Chris

Thanks Skeet! I managed another yesterday morning along with a second lost to a popped tippet. I think swapping out lines on my 7wt has been a big part of my recent success. As my 7wt is primarily used for the marsh, my primary reel is loaded with SA Mastery Redfish Warm line. Great for turning over heavy wind resistant redfish flies, but doesn't really allow for the delicate presentation I need for carp in 12-18" of water. Recently, I used some gift cards to pick up a cheap backup reel and a SA Amplitude Infinity Smooth 7wt line. Not great at turning over the clunkier "drag and drop" carp patterns, but has really improved my success with smaller, unweighted carp flies. Much more accurate placement and significantly less line slap. Chris

Did a bit of urban fly fishing a few weeks back in preparation for the The Mayfly Project's upcoming 25 on the Fly tournament. I generally fare poorly when it comes to rough fish, but ended up having a great few hours. Clouser's Swimming Nymph did most of the damage. Full story & a few more pics at the link for those who are interested: https://fatfingeredflytyer.com/rough-fishing/

First attempt at a Cream Variant. Needs some work. Hook: #16 Dry Thead: 12/0 White Tail: Hackle Fibers (Light Dun) Body: Stripped Hackle Quill (Light Dun) Hackle: Light Dun *iPhone Camera did a number on the color.

Restocked my selection of Clouser's Swimming Nymphs yesterday. The prior stock took a beating from a 27" common carp, 30+" grass carp and a pair of spotted gar (24-32") Tuesday afternoon. --- Hook: Gamakatsu SL45 Bonefish (#8) Thread: 70 Denier (Burnt Orange) Tail: Rabbit Fur cut from a zonker strip ("Crawfish Orange") Abdomen/Thorax: Dubbed Rabbit Fur ("Crawfish Orange") Rib: Ultrawire (Gold; XS) Legs: India Hen ("Crawfish Orange") Wingcase: Peacock Herl

First Common of the year. Also, landed a Grass pushing 30", but no pics of that one as I attempted to slide it on the bank by the leader and the hook popped free.

Interesting, Darrell. My only familiarity with the pattern as it directly pertains to Lefty comes from The Professional's Favorite Flies. In that text, he discusses orienting the feathers so they either bend in or out to impart different actions. Always assumed that implied he was taking time with his feather selection. Appreciate it. Chris

Hey guys, Thought I'd share another SBS I put together a few weeks back. This time for Lefty's Deceiver. I've been tying quite a few of these in recent weeks in preparation for a bass & pike trip later this spring, but stuck with a chartreuse over white version for the tutorial as that's the version I keep stocked in my local streamer box here in Louisiana. Any tips or suggestions are always appreciated. Here's the link: https://fatfingeredflytyer.com/lefty-krehs-deceiver-step-by-step/ Chris

Received a great little pack of terrestrials in USPS today. Perfect timing too. The rain has finally stopped after a week of thunderstorms and torrential downpours. Looking forward to putting these to good use on some of the local bass and sunfish. Thanks again for hosting, Kim!! Chris

Took advantage of a rainy day off yesterday, and started putting together a Clouser box. All were tied on Size 2 Gamakatsu B10S Stingers

Hey guys, Thought I'd share a link to another SBS I put together recently as I don't believe anyone has posted this or similar rabbit strip patterns before (at least recently). The SBS is in the classic Red and White combo (tied on a 1/0 Gamakatsu B10S Stinger), but I've tied a few smaller versions as well. I love the combination of the motion imparted by the rabbit strip combined with the way this pattern almost suspends below the surface. Hoping the Chartreuse versions (#4) will appeal to Smallmouth as well as the toothy critters when I head north later this spring. Let me know what you think. Chris https://fatfingeredflytyer.com/pike-bunny-streamer-step-by-step/

I'll second the baby leech pattern. It has continued to be my go to for sunfish as spring has progressed. Chris

I've heard a few say this before, but this quote from Skip Morris' "Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple" seems to suggest Wulff was flexible with regards to material selection: "Lee is quite open-minded regarding materials for his Wulff series - calf tail or even elk hair could be used for the wings and tail, and yarn could be used for the body." Personally, I have no problem using bucktail, calf tail or poly when tying a Royal Wulff. Chris

Tied up a few Pike Bunny streamers yesterday in preparation for a trip to upstate NY in the coming months Hook: Gamakatsu B10S Stinger (1/0) Thread: 140 Denier (Red) Tail: Zonker Strip (White) Collar: Crosscut Rabbit Strip (Red) Flash: Flashabou Holo Flash Eyes: 4mm Stick-on (Silver) Finish: Gulff UV Resin

Don't think I've contributed to the March thread yet. I've tied a fair bit, but haven't paused to take pictures very often. Here are a couple of Lefty's Deceivers I put together last week in hopes of chasing Chain Pickerel. Hook: Gamakatsu B10S Stingers (#6-1/0) Thread: 70 Denier (White) Tail: Saddle Hackle (4x; White) Flash: Crystal Flash (Pearl) Body/Collar: Bucktail (Chartreuse over White & Red over White) Throat: FTD Northern Lights (Red) Eyes: 4mm Stick-On Eyes

Halfway through my Half-drowned crickets. Should have an Orchestra (yes, I looked up the term for a group of crickets) headed your way tomorrow morning. Chris

Here you go! The Warmouth, Redspotted Sunfish and Redear Sunfish were all firsts for the year bringing me to 11 total species since January 1. It has given me a solid lead in the local club's Mixed Bag CPR tournament, but I'm quickly running out of common species to target close to home.

Finally received my flies at the beginning of March. Really nice set of ties. I brought them with me while targeting panfish at a little roadside spot I've been frequenting lately. Ended up tying on Kim's baby leech after striking out with my go-to patterns. I never swapped flies again as I proceeded to catch a string of Warmouth, Redear sunfish, Red-spotted sunfish and largemouth bass for the next hour. Next time I'll start with one of the others and see how they fare. edit: Reviewing my pictures, there's actually a small bluegill in the mix as well.

Hmmm...I just tested on a co-workers iPad, and it seemed to work fine. Wonder what is causing that? Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Chris

The one shown turned out well, but I assure you there are a whole stack of "gone wrongs" lying in a pile on my tying desk. Teacher always said I couldn't cut along the lines. Still seems to hold true. As for the blog, I appreciate the heads up. It works on desktop and iPhone, but I don't have a tablet to test it on. What's the specific issue you're running into? Chris