Flicted

We have them in Nebraska too. I guess the first part was more important. There is some species of Cranefly larva that "they say" eat mosquito larva. I always figured they flew really fast and skewered the skeeters then came home and roasted them.

Adult crane flies do not feed. The larvae are the only feeding forms. They feed on roots of grasses and decaying organic matter. The food sources for the larvae remain abundant due to the regions the insects inhabit, including parts of Atlantic Canada and western provinces like British Columbia near the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest in the U.S.

Just remember, a steel trap has nothing inside it.

Steve, looks like a young Northern Water Snake. Harmless except to minnows and small creatures.

You need to go fishing.

The "Like This" is disabled. It's not you.

I'm just about geared up for the second annual Fathers Day Cajun Shrimp Boil. Last year it turned out really fun so I'm doing it again on Saturday. Cajun music on Pandora all afternoon, lots of beer and yard games, outdoor cooking, dump it on the picnic table and go to town. Last year we called an audible and moved all the food inside after the all the neighborhood Cajun flies showed up. Just the wife, two grown kids, daughter in law, and new grand daughter. Made my own andouille sausage for it this year too. Should be great.

Depends on what's hatching or likely to hatch. I always have a lot of variety in my fly boxes. I only have go-to's when fishing for panfish, bass, pike, etc.

I fished wooly buggers near a spillway that was pretty much limited to carp and catfish and was able to purposely catch quite a few. Surprising to many people, catfish are predators and not just bottom feeders. But they are bottom oriented and use taste/smell as much or more than sight. So fly fishing is not the preferred method of targeting whisker fish but you might get a surprise once in a while.

A few weeks ago, my nephew and I came up on some catfishermen using hot dogs for bait. One had a fish on and brought in a nice 20" walleye. My nephew said, "Next time we fish, I want to use hot dogs so I can catch a walleye." I told him a quote from a Mark Martin seminar(walleye guy, not race car guy), "The worst thing you can do is catch a fish doing something dumb." The point was that although it CAN happen, don't let that convince you that it's the best way to target them.

I had to biot... Ha!

Why did you use your thumb to estimate his bent forefinger? Beautiful 19" fish.

I mostly fish with a medium quality graphite reel because it's light and balances my light 5wt well. Panfish, light bass, and light trout can be hand lined. When I am after big bass and big trout, I use a better reel with a good drag system. I would never waste money on a $100+ reel that can be spent on hooks fur and feathers, fine food, fine beer, fine wine, and good times with wife and family. Same with spin or cast outfits. I go light as I can and quality over brand. There are always surprises in life. A big fish on light tackle is more fun to me than a small brook trout on a pool cue. I will always remember the 10lb walleye on light tackle, 16" crappie or 20" bass on 4 or 5wt than most of the others.

The purpose of multi-fly rigs is to fish in different parts of the water column. Not to get multiple fish on one rig. That would likely end badly anyway, you wouldn't have two for very long. I much prefer one fly at a time and only resort to two if I'm having trouble thinking like a fish.

As a wise man once said, "Fly tyers sure do have a way at making things complicated."

Get better soon. Hopefully the new plumbing will give you years of good health.

It is my opinion that it really doesn't matter on either of those flies.

I was fishing a brackish river in south Mississippi and saw a water moccasin in the water right in front of me. He just sat there for a while and then swam on upstream. About an hour later, I had wandered upstream and started wondering where that snake ended up. All of a sudden, something out of the corner of my eye shot at my leg and I fell backwards over all my gear. When I got my composure back, I saw a damn frog and realized there was a snag on my jeans that had frayed white strings hanging out. The frog thought he was getting a bug and I thought I was dead.

Check Kelly Gallops video on drop shotting. He uses a perfection loop above the blood knot for his upper fly. Running end through the loop like in a loop to loop connection. Then tie on the upper. The upper fly can be swapped out without impacting the lower fly, and the upper fly can be slid further upwards, if desired.

Love that setup.

Peacock and red, peacock and orange, peacock and chartreuse, peacock and pink.

A horse riding a sasquatch?!?

Beautiful fish. Bluegill show different colors even in the same water. Male/female, deep/shallow, cold/warm, diet, all affect the color but often the difference is caused by hybridizing with various other sunfish species. Redear and green sunfish mix naturally in some of my local lakes.

I just saw this. So sorry for your loss but focus not on that but on all of the good times you had together and the things you admired about her. It will help with the pain.

I think the other Mike hit on the most important factor and that is the ability of the material to hold up in water. Some chenille, feathers, fur, etc. for other purposes is not very color fast and will fade and bleed color when they get wet. There may be other materials that look different when they are wet, maybe take on a much darker shade. I have seen nice looking tinsels basically melt when wet. Dry flies for the most part use materials that do not absorb water to keep them afloat.

Some things in fly tying are more expensive because of the brand name or simply because it's a special purpose. You can save a lot of money using other materials and using other materials can add realism to existing fly patterns. I like to stick to natural fur and feathers as much as possible. But your creativity could help you design some very catchable flies.

My grandfather had some basic tying tools and a vice. He tied really bad jigs and dressed treble hooks. He mostly used hair from his dogs. When he died, I tried to get his tools but couldnt. A few years later, I bought a cheap kit from Cabelas and started tying basic flies from the very few fly tying library books I could find in Nebraska. I started recreating flies from catalogs as close as I could. A few years later, I was stationed at an army post in Dugway, Utah. The Outdoor Rec director was Frank Marcotte and he was an avid guide, tyer, fisherman and rod builder. I learned quite a bit from him in the year and a half I was there. I continued to self-improve while I was in Idaho, South Dakota, Utah, and Mississippi with different fish, water, insects, and baitfish. After I retired from the military, I moved back home to Nebraska. Warm water fishing is mostly what I do now. But I was able to get a short commercial tying gig with a local sporting goods store where I improved my consistency and speed. Scheels, Cabelas, and Bass Pro all moved in and shut that down. I sold a few flies through chat rooms and message boards and then started just tying for myself. YouTube became more of a thing and with better paying jobs, I was able to improve my tools and materials. Getting better all the time.

You can use anything in place of anything. Of course, CDC has a unique texture and oil. Turkey preen may be similar but may not have the floatation. The only thing I would worry about is if the turkey preen feathers would soak much water and ruin your float. Bottom line is that it will be buggy and your bream should like it. I used to use cork over the beds for bluegill in Nebraska and Minnesota but I switched to foam spiders and then for the last 10-15 years to standard dry flies like elk or moose (often with CDC) caddis patterns and midge clusters that float really well.