partsman

Muskyflyguy, that is awesome! I want to try down on lake st. Clair some day.

mike

Wonderful memories all, I really enjoy reading your recollections of fly fishing adventures close to home or far away! Please keep them coming, and hopefully with the weather turning here in Michigan I can add a story or two.

Mike.

mark, this brown is forever etched in my mind. It was not the biggest, nor taken on a more famous river just to the north, no hatches or spinner falls going on. On a late spring day as I worked my way upstream on this river known more for canoe trips and partying I had caught a few nice browns. As I came a bend just ahead of me I heard a huge splash. My first thought was it’s a beaver as I have seen a few here. But as I sneaked forward I saw no beaver, but there was some nice vegetation and a nice log . So I made a cast with size 14 Roberts yellow drake, nothing, another cast, the fly just sat there, and then the water erupted! I was fishing my brand new gloomis nrx lp 5 wt. I struggled to take up line and try and  back pedal to get the fish away from the bank side vegetation, then the fish ran around me and had the rod wrapped right around me. I kept waiting to here the snap of the rod, but it held up well and I landed the fish and some good pics. This is one of those moments I will cherish for the rest of my life.

mike.

Toothy, very nice! Speaking of bent hooks have you tied on the dachii 1230 weamer hook? Looks pretty cool and I’m going to give some a try. Keep up the good work!

Mike.

Okay, I’m getting better with my IPhone camera and IPad. I have been very impressed with all the flies posted on here, especially toothy’s Hendricksons and upnorthtiers pike streamers. So here is a size 20 bwo cripple loosely based on Rene Harrops pattern.

Hook- tiemco 100 size 20.

Thread- 16/0 olive veevus

Tail- mallard flank

shuck- brown antron

body- olive polish quill

wing- natural trout hunter cdc

hackle- medium blue dun

Thanks for looking, Mike.

toothy, your flies are inspiring, as are upnorthtiers also. Man I loved those pike streamers! I’m trying to figure out how to post some pics, I’m going take shot at it.

mike.

Nice ties, I think I’m with you the grizzly and brown, but I think any of them will work. Oh, by the way nice hackles also.

Mike.

I’ve been tying a lot of goose biot body flys the last few days, and I’ve had major frustration with my old style hackle pliers wrapping this things! The c&f pliers are on the radar for sure. I just ordered a tiemco bobbin to replace my forty something year old bobbin which has started very subtlety to cut thread. I guess I look at my buying tools as something to leave to my grandkids.

Mike

Tier, it’s 5 degrees up there? Geez it was minus 18 this morning here in my part of Michigan! I am in complete agreement with you on Florida right now, my grand parents had a place near weeki washi springs back in 1970s. Many parts of Florida were still small town rural and very fun to visit. The fishing was a blast, we fished the canals leading into the gulf, and you never new what you were going to catch. We also used to go out on a party boat from tarpon springs, what a blast, and 80 degrees in January was a huge plus. Oh well hang in there spring will here and then time will fly by.

Mike.

Toothy, your hendricksons are very nice. For that matter everyone’s work shown here is excellent! Thanks for sharing.

Mike.

very nice D, the desk is beautiful!  Keep the pictures coming. Please forgive my errors, I’m now trying to use a new IPad. It’s pretty cool, but its all new to me.

Mike.

My safe space, and memories room, love to tie, I'm not very good at it even though I've been at it for nearly 55 years! My flies catch fish, so I guess that's all that matters.

Mike.

A nice fall brown taken on a streamer, somewhere in northern Michigan. I hope this worked not sure.

Mike.

Uploaded Images

I tie and fish the Borchers parachute, its kind of covers all lot of the brown bugs that inhabit many of the streams in northern Michigan. Check out Tim Neals video on tying the parachute Borcher, he has series on Michigan flies.

Mike.

Hmm, my wife got one for a retirement gift this year, its pretty amazing what she can make. I never thought about this, but I may just have to give it a go. Thanks for the tip.

Very nice Micke.H, I was at our car dealership the other day and the salesman in the next cubicle from us had pike streamers and pictures of pike and smallmouth bass hanging all over his bulletin board. I'm inspired to try some of these. I have always thought the back waters of the Ausable river at Loud dam would be perfect for stripping streamers.

Mike.

Very cool, I'm inspired now. Actually my wife and I went to our car dealer to trade in her lease, and the salesman in the cubicle had pike and smallmouth streamers hanging all around his desk. I think I'm to give some of these a go.

Thanks, Mike.

Merry Christmas, very nice!

Mike.

Nice video, thanks for sharing.

Mike.

Jason, very cool! Especially the snowshoe emerger and the grizzly tail jig! Those are patterns I believe would work well here in Michigan. Very nice, keep up the good work.

Mike.

Thanks for link, I watche last night also, there are some very helpful tips on the video. I also have there book, also lots of great tips.

Mike.

Check out the midcurrent website, look for steelhead stonefly 60 second tie. Looks pretty cool, I may some a try.

Mike.

Nice pics Mark, that is quite the variety of fish, and some nice deer.

Mike.

I read this whole thread and really enjoyed it. As  a fly tyer who started in the late 60's  the work that has gone into improving hackles is nothing short of fanstastic!  I need a good cree, and will be shopping around for neck that works for me. But that is the key, we as fly tyers have such wonderful selection of materials to create our art, its almost over whelming. A big thank you to all of the folks who go out on a limb and bring us great materials at a reasonable cost.

Mike.

Mikechell, I agree, sooner or later we have to build a immunity to this virus. Im not so sure this has not been around longer than what has been reported, my motherinlaw, was horribly sick in late January, yet the doctors could not figure out what was causing her horrible cough, and high temp. She was finally given a antibiotic that knocked it out of her, but the Docs would not call the flu or a cold, just a virus. I hope everyone here is staying healthy in these trying times, hang in there!

Mike.