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Chasing_Tails

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Everything posted by Chasing_Tails

  1. I just booked the location of my last business trip of the summer in Rock Springs WY next week, and the schedule also worked out to have my entire Wednesday off. Any ideas of options to get on the water out that way for a wading angler? I don't mind a bit of a drive (1-2hr) if I can get on some good water. Thanks all!
  2. I am heading to Casper on a business trip next week and have been lucky enough to have a full day off during the week to get on the water. Any update on how your trip went? Tips for an out-of-towner?
  3. Titanic Caddis, tan Hook: Mustad 94850, #12 Thread: Uni-Thread, 8/0, tan Underbody: Krystal Flash Midge, tan Body: Parachute post foam, large, white-colored tan with Copic Marker (segmented by using thread as a rib) Underwing: Krystal Flash Midge, tan Wing: River Foam, wing sheet foam, medium tan speckled Hackle: Whiting Saddle, ginger Unlike the Cruise liner Titanic, this fly will float forever. By using smaller foam body material this fly can easily be downsized to #16 and #18.
  4. Well it was a productive trip. On Thursday evening we finished up work early enough that I could get a few hours on the water before dark. It was still on the later side and I was planning on being up early the next morning so I decided to go to the Fall River at the hatchery area as I was familiar with it from my trip back in March of 2022. I got to the river at 5:30 pm and there were a few people on the water right by the hatchery. I had one goal on this trip, catch a trout on a dry fly. All of my other trips ended up nymphing, and I had yet to have a trout rise and take a dry fly. I went upstream to a spot that I did very well on my last trip and found one angler working upstream from the spot far enough that I could slip in. Being the Fall River, you could clearly see the fish hanging on the downed structure on the far bank. I tied on a #16 foam-bodied caddis and on the second cast I watched a trout come up from the bottom and sip it off the surface. It may have been a stocked fish, but I accomplished my goal. I fished until 7 when they closed the hatchery area and decided it was time for dinner and to plan Friday as I had the entire day off to explore. Along with the advice from this thread, and after hitting the local fly shops for some intel, I decided I was going to try the Crooked River the next morning, and that would give me the chance to go to the lower Deschutes as well if I wanted to try it as well. It was a bit smokey from the fires out west so I wasn't sure how the conditions were going to be. I got on the Crooked River at 7:00 am the next day and was the first angler at the campground. I walked the trail downstream and found a stretch at the tail of a riffle to start and work downstream. I saw a few trout come up so I knew they were in the area. I tried a few drifts with a dry/dropper, but nothing came up on the dry or took the nymph. I knew the fish were there, so I switched over to an indicator nymph rig throwing a heavy bead #14 BH Pheasant Tail as a point fly, and a small #20 BH emerger I tied a while ago. A few drifts later, the indicator went down. A beautiful rainbow came to the net. I repeated this a few times and even hooked into a fish that quickly went downstream and took me into the backing. The wading conditions were a bit difficult to move quickly with the slick rocks, so I was not able to follow it, and the hook pulled, but it did give me my "the one that got away" story for the day. As I worked downstream and the sun came up higher I came to an area of flat water that had several fish consistently rising to feed off the surface. It was a mix of bugs, but there were quite a few caddis so I went with a #16 Hi-Float caddis I designed in tan. It didn't take long to get the first fish to come up and take the fly off the surface. I spent the next 30 minutes picking off rising fish. My only regret was that I kept throwing my 5wt. and waited too long to break out the 3wt. to try some dry fly fishing with before the fish went down for the morning. I continued to work downstream until just after noon when I decided to head back to the campground. While eating some lunch, another angler came in and asked if I was comin' or goin'. I told him goin', and he asked if I was the silver car that was there early. He was surprised someone was on the water before he got there. He was even more surprised that a salty Florida boy was able to figure out how to catch trout. We got to talking, and he mentioned a spot slightly downstream that he had just left and was doing very well euro nymphing, and he left them biting if I wanted to try it before I headed back to the hotel to pack for my early flight the next day. I found the pull-off he mentioned, and the river was easily accessible, so I figured I'd give it a try. It didn't take long for the indicator to drop and another rainbow came to the net. A few casts later, and I hooked into another nice fish, but this one felt different. As I netted it, I quickly noticed it was not a trout but my first mountain whitefish. I was happy to add another species to my list. I worked that spot for the next hour and a half, consistently catching both trout and whitefish. One trout was a stout 15" fish, but of course, in the attempt to get a photo, the small size 20 fly pulled out. Thank you all for the information, it turned into a great trip mixing business and pleasure. It surely is some beautiful country out that way. My client mentioned that they are planning on another training round in early November, so I may be back sooner than later. Maybe it will be a good shot to try some steelhead....
  5. Thank you all for the info. After a horrendous travel experience I just got in today, a day late. I did have enough time to patronize the local fly shops and get some intel. I’m probably going to try Wednesday evening on the Fall, see how that goes, then decide on where to go Thursday evening if I get the chance. Friday is the wild card as I have the full day off. I might wander off to the Deschutes or maybe the Crooked. I’ll let you all know how it goes.
  6. I'm heading out to Bend for a business trip next week, 08/14-08/18. My work will finish up at about 3:30pm each day. Would it be worthwhile to head out in the evenings? I was out in the area in early March last year and had a great day on the water during a day off fishing the Fall River. I do have a full day off on Friday that I plan on getting on the water as well, but I figured if I could squeeze in a few evening trips, especially if there is some dry fly action, that would be great. The Fall River is about 40 minutes and Mecca Flats is about an hour from where I am staying in Bend so I could theoretically be on the water by 5pm and fish until about 8pm. Any good evening hatches to expect? Thanks all for any information.
  7. I have been kayak fishing since the early 2000's. In those days there were no dedicated "fishing" kayaks so we were left to design and rig our own to suit your specific type of fishing. What I found is that fishing from a kayak can be one of the most effective ways to get on the water, and also the most frustrating ways to try and fish. I have met many people that were turned off of kayak fishing as a whole due to a poor experience. Through the years, and a lot of trial and error, I finally got them to where I want them. Recently I sought out to find a kayak specifically for fly fishing the saltwater flats and marsh. My requirements were: 1) Light weight hull so that it can be easily transported and dropped in just about anywhere. 2) Decent handling and speed, pedal drive was a plus. 3) Compact tackle storage and minimal setup required. 4) Clean deck for easy fly line management. 5) Raised seat for seated casting. 6) Ability to stand and push pole or cast when needed. I ended up with a Pelican Getaway 110. I never thought I would own a Pelican kayak as they are typically considered a "starter" kayak. But the design of this yak was very different. It is a hybrid SUP/SOT kayak in a similar manner at the Hobie Lynx, but at a much lower price point. One accessory I find absolutely necessary for any kayak is a way to quickly and reliably position the kayak and control the directly. This is especially important when sight fishing where even a slight wind and current can completely blow a good shot. This yak has quickly become one of my favorites to fish from and I have found it to be very versatile and well suited to fly casting.
  8. It is one that I have never actually tied before, so thank you for the mention of it. As soon as I saw the design I knew it would be a killer for throwing into the shallow water mangroves for snook, redfish, and trout. Plus in open water I can see tarpon absolutely destroying it. I ended up making a half dozen in grey and in white. I'm planning on heading out tomorrow morning to target snook so it will get a try out.
  9. For the next fly, I would like to do something a bit different. Rather than a specific pattern to copy, lets use some creativity. Listed below is the fly genre and materials that must be used. Beyond that, the fly is what you choose to make of it. I am going to keep the materials basic and common so that most people would have something on hand, and may not even be something specific to fly tying. How you choose to use the materials is up to you, material colors are your decision, size is your choice, but all of the listed materials must be included in the fly, and no materials outside of those listed may be used. Genre: Nymph (stonefly, mayfly or caddis) Hook Thread Marabou Zip lock bag Flashabou (or equivalent) Monofilament line Deer body hair Head cement, super glue or UV resin Have fun with it and lets see what can be created.
  10. Chicone's Midnight Special: Hook: Octopus, #4 Thread: Uni-mono Tail: SF Flash Blend Fiber, UV Grey Flash: Flashabou Lateral Scale 1/69", opal Body: 2mm craft foam, grey and Flashabou Lateral Scale 1/69", opal (wrapped) Collar: FTD BGD-A.W. dubbing brush, silver grey Eyes: 3D molded, 3/16", yellow Head: UV resin, thick, with Hard as Hull overcoat
  11. I'll snag that one. Will be a good one for chasing snook this sunday.
  12. An army (yes, that is the correct word) of frogs is on their way to you. Should be there Monday. USPS tracking 9500 1161 5607 3180 5421 83
  13. So the genesis of this pattern is that I realized that the due date for the Bass Fly Swap was for next week and I had been busy with work for the past few weeks and almost forgot to put something together for it. Looking at some of the other patterns tiers had mentioned I did not see anyone doing a frog. Initially I was going to tie a wurgler (gurgler fly on a worm hook) frog, but this one morphed into a different direction from my previous wurgler fly. I wanted a bit wider profile for the frog body, and I replaced the bucktail legs I used prior with Congo Hair as it provides a bit more frog leg looking profile. The intent of this fly is that it can be thrown directly into structure or cover and is extremely weedless. In the water it sits in a heads up/legs down stance like a resting frog. I had to go with the "roadkill" moniker as the body is flat as a pancake, but it should get the job done. A batch of these guys will be heading to the post office tomorrow and should get to their destination on time.
  14. Roadkill Frogger Hook: Wide Gap Worm Hook, #1/0 Thread: Uni-thread, 3/0, chartruese Rear legs: FTD Congo Hair, CHT/Yellow and Polar Bear Body: Estaz Grande, pearl Front legs: LifeFlex, Lt. olive Body: Craft foam, 2mm, mottled green/yellow Eyes: FTD Prey Eyes, 6mm, gold
  15. I fish similar blackwater on the east coast in the Tomoka River. As dumb as they look, Terroreyz and Baitbusters are our go to for tarpon. I'm going to have to give the googly eyes a try. I just won't let my buddy see them or he will think i've gone nuts...
  16. So, googly eyes on a baitbuster is the secret?
  17. Headed out to the marsh in hopes of finding another nice redfish for dinner this week. The tide was supposed to be high at 0730 and then i'd get most of the outgoing until noon or so. The water color was the normal muddy color but there seemed to be a lot of protein scum and debris in the backwaters. Very little wind so most of the areas were glass. After trying my normal snook structure spots on the way in, and finding no one home I went to the main creek to see if the tarpon had showed up yet. I didn't see any last week, but they typically move in about this time of year. After rounding the bend I saw exactly what I was looking for, rolling tarpon, and lots of them. Topwater has always been my go to juvenile tarpon, and nothing has worked better than the simple gurgler in white. First cast had a good sized tarpon, probably 15-20lbs sky on the gurgler, but completely missing the fly. A few casts later and I finally had my first solid hookup. Even though there were larger fish up to 30lbs in the mix, the smaller fish were voracious. Ended up jumping 12 total, bringing 5 to the boat. The sun was getting higher and the tarpon were slowing down so I figured it was time to head into the flats to see if it would be a slam day (adding a redfish, trout, and snook), but the tide decided to never turn and just went slack with the only thing moving were mullet. But, not much better than turning the creek bend and finding rolling silver. ..
  18. I'm in. I'll think up something unique.
  19. Balanced Damsel: Hook: Jig hook, #12 Thread: Uni-Thread 6/0, olive dun Eyes: Mono, black, X-small Head: Straight pin Bead: Brass, 3.2mm Tail: Krystal Flash, midge, tan Body: Ice Dub, olive brown Rib: Wire, 0.2mm, brown Legs: Veevus UV Body Fuzz, Large, olive
  20. Tailing tilapia? Took a lunch break walk down to the pond to play with the 6' 1wt on some bluegills and possibly a bass or two. We have had some rain so the water level is up and there was some good vegetation along the edges. After a few nice bluegills came to hand I looked down the shoreline and swore I saw a tail come up and quickly disappear again. Moving up a little closer and I find a decent sized tilapia head down grazing in the weeds. I quickly switched over to a Fl. orange beadhead squirmy worm, worked it right off the fishes nose, and it was quickly inhaled. Even on a 1wt the fish fought like a bucket filled with water, but a good sized fish none the less. These fish have been tricky and I never have developed a solid pattern to get them to eat, even putting flies right on their beds, but seeing one tail was a first.
  21. Simple Brush Baitfish (SBS), pinfish Hook: O'Shaughnessy salt, 1/0 Thread: Veevus 210D, Neon green Tail: Select craft fur, white Brush: Uni-DBW medium, FTD Congo hair Blend CHT/Yellow, FTD Starburst Fibers Metallic green and pearl Eyes: FTD Real Eyes, 6mm, red Head: UV Resin with Hard as Hull overcoat Markings: Sharpie marker I finally broke down a picked up a dubbing brush table to make my own. I should have done this a while ago.
  22. I typically omit the tail as it gets quickly destroyed by bluefish and spanish mackerel. I find the biggest virtue of the surf candy is being practically indestructible against toothy critters. But i figured for the challenge thread I would copy the orginal. The merkin is a great pattern, easy to tie and versatile. Have some fun with it. Bonus points if you discover the real meaning behind the name...
  23. Bob Popovic's Surf Candy Hook: Octopus, #2 Thread: Mono Extended Tail: Grizzly Hackle trimmed and attached to 30lb mono. Sheathed by 1/8" mylar tubing Wing: Ultra Hair, polar bear/olive Body: Mylar braid, pearl Eyes: Stick-on, 3/16", silver/black Gills: Testors paint, red Head: UV resin with a Hard as Hull overcoat Even though we have moved on to UV resin I can still smell fresh mixed epoxy when making these... Alright, lets keep it salty, Del Brown's Merkin Crab...
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