DFoster

Thank you. I prefer to tie traditional flies with natural materials. However, I have no bias against synthetics. When I saw these posted online I thought those look like they will catch fish. The original post called for a size 10 hook. That may be a bit large on my local waters so I dropped it to a number 14. We’ll see how they work.

HOLGRAPHIC BUZZER HOOK: #14 HEAVY CURVED THREAD: #70 BLACK ABDOMEN/BODY: BLACK THREAD RIB: SMALL RED WIRE. U.V. RESIN THORAX SIDES: UTC HOLOGRAPHIC RED TINSEL - MEDIUM THORAX BACK: PEARL MYLAR- MEDIUM HEAD: BLACK THREAD NOTES: COVER FLY WITH U.V. RESIN

It's taken time but through the years I have acquired a lot of fine tackle, top quality wading gear, a premium vise and my fly tying bench is well stocked for the types of flies I tie. This year I've decided to use most of my fishing budget on items to make my time on the stream more enjoyable. After years of using super cheap Walmart polarized sunglasses last week I finally replaced them with a reasonably decent pair. They have definitely improved my ability to see the bottom. Sometimes the streams I fish are small and don't require waders. A pair of calf high water proof boots like Mucks work just fine on these small streams. But in my area I always seem to have to trek through brambles and briars to reach the spot I want to be in. I've been fishing these areas in jeans and I typically end up with bloody/stinging legs by the end of the day. My son in law recommended that I look into a pair of brush pants made for bird hunters. I ended up buying a pair from Cabela's and tried them out yesterday. I have to say they worked perfectly at least against the type of briars in my area. I was able to walk right through without any trouble. I still have to watch for the taller ones but these pants are a huge improvement from what I was used too. They are essentially a pair of heavy denim jeans with some canvas covering the front of the legs. For $60 they seem really well made and feel like a normal pair of jeans when I wear them.

😁

Thanks Norm- what a wonderful article.

Tuesday and Wednesday the weather was beautiful and I got out after work. These 2 were at the bottom of the deepest pool on the stream. It's tough to detect strikes when fishing deep on a 12' leader so there may have been others. This pool is one of the spots they spend the winter at. It's about 8' deep, wide and the water slows. So far they don't seem to have moved out of it. I fished other prime but more shallow locations yesterday. I did have 4 hits that were likely small Fall Fish or Herring but no fish in the net.

That’s wonderful Kevin I’m glad for you and your boys. I’m sure you agree totality was spectacular. Despite the miserable traffic on the way home, my oldest daughter was the impetus for all of us going, and I couldn’t thank her enough for forcing me to make the effort. I have to say almost everyone stuck in the traffic was courteous and made the best of it. I didn’t witness any one lose their temper, which was really nice.

My family made the drive to northern New Hampshire to be in the totality zone. We found a spot in fishing/hiking access area of the Androscoggin river. Had I known we were going to land there I would have brought my gear. We had 2 minutes and 20 seconds of totality and it was truly breathtaking! My niece is a professional photographer and captured some great photos! Photos courtesy of Wave and Willow Photography https://waveandwillowphotography.mypixieset.com/ I spoke with this guy while we were waiting for the show to start. He stayed in the water straight through and if you look close you can see the odd dimness of the sky. How many can claim to have fly fished through a total eclipse? Then the downside- The traffic was beyond horrible. It took my wife and I 4 1/2 hours on the way up. 12 1/2 hours heading home. One particularly fun location required 7 hours to travel 7 miles. 🤬 We left the area at 3:45 PM and arrived home at 4:13 AM. Both of us have work events today that we could not miss, so were working on 2 hours sleep. For me math is going to be a problem. We did get to see a Sasquatch on the way home, so there's that. 😁

As far as I know- A member of our church retired and was moving out of state. He told me that he tried his hand at fly tying back in the 1970s but it wasn't for him and he sold off most of his stuff. Prior to moving he handed me a shoebox full of materials (what remained of his materials). The contents were old and most were still in that wonderful old style packaging that I remember as a kid growing up. Anyway the items were fairly common but the box did include a very small patch of polar bear and a piece of fur hide that had the words "badger or wolverine" written on the leather. I can't really be sure but the color on the hide is a coffee brown that to my eye looks closer to wolverine than badger. My "expert" opinion being based on internet photos 🙄 Anyway, whatever it is, the undercoat makes wonderful dubbing. The fur itself is about 2" long and soft. I use it mostly for wings and tails.

Hi VC, for me there’s really no point in ice fishing. I don’t keep freshwater fish, never liked the taste of ‘em. Besides around these parts It’s mostly a drinking sport and as a professional musician I already get my share of “beers with the guys” time. For serious fly fisherman, the weather here in March and April is always a test of our mental wellbeing. Here it seems like anytime it’s clear and warm, the wind starts to gust hard enough to make fly casting impossible. If you want to fly fish you’ll need to wait until the wind is at a more reasonable level- usually that will be the next cold, rainy day. It can be maddening after a long winter, but the beautiful month of May is coming! I could never move to a state without wild trout streams-😲

I finished tying some flies and had a few bits of stuff left on the desk. I also had one remaining size 16 scud hook. So why not throw them all together? SPARE PARTS SCUD HOOK: #16 CURVE NYMPH HEAVY WIRE THREAD: 8/0 BLACK UNDER BODY: .015 WIRE ABDOMEN/BODY: 50/50 MIX OF TAN/BROWN WOLVERINE AND MUSKRAT DUBBING THORAX: BLACK CADDIS DUBBING RIB: UNI WIRE SMALL- GREEN SHELL: MYLAR TINSYL – PEARL WITH LOON U.V. RESIN LEGS: BLACK HEN FIBERS HEAD: LOON U.V. RESIN

Another beautiful New England spring day! A nice steady 30 MPH wind with gust to 55MPH, freezing rain which has now turned to snow. Temps warm above freezing tomorrow and for the next 10 days. My wife and I both have 4 X 4s so no need for me to clear the driveway but the high wind and weight of the Ice snapped the top 50' of a pine that landed across my Brother in Laws driveway next door. Nothing our chain saws and the Kubota farm tractor can't handle. It actually hit their power and telephone lines on the way down. Pieces of the tree are stuck in the cables but he still has service at his house. A lot of our area is without power. How are the rest of you guys up here in the North East making out?

This could be interesting- Assuming it happens, do you think this will impact fishing this year? https://www.foxnews.com/science/cicada-invasion-trillions-noisy-flying-insects-swarm-us-first-time-221-years

Charred Coffee rubbed steak- Over apple wood with charcoal. Served with roasted beets. My coffee rub is- equal parts ground coffee, coarse sea salt and coarse black pepper. Adding coarse garlic won't hurt. Brush the steak with olive oil and coat liberally.

PURPLE STONE NYMPH HOOK: #16 STANDARD NYMPH THREAD: 8/0 BLACK UNDER BODY: .015 WIRE TAIL: GOOSE BIOTS- BLACK ABDOMEN/BODY: BLACK UTC VINLY RIB WING CASE: MYLAR TINSEL- PEARL WITH LOON U.V. RESIN THORAX: BLACK DUBBING LEGS: BLACK FLOSS- 1 STRAND HEAD: LOON U.V. RESIN