DFoster
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Posts posted by DFoster
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19 hours ago, chugbug27 said:Looks like Charles Cotton ripped off the Griffith's Gnat.
😉
Another classic that catches fish and is in my fly box. I love the history behind these old flies, check this out.
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3 hours ago, Sandan said:Totally cool. Looks like it'll still be "a killing fly"
I can't imagine it not catching fish depending on the day. It certainly looks buggy- I believe the original was meant to be a dry fly but I think I'll fish it in the surface film down to a few inches, soft hackle or emerger style.
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I've seen one only once while wading but I couldn't get it to take, eventually I spooked it. Considering our rapidly growing Bald Eagle populations here in Mass I agree with Utyer. I don't think they last very long once stocked. Mass also stocks a limited amount of tiger trout. For a lot of anglers stocked Goldens or Tigers are a trophy. Some of the non stocked wild trout steams I prefer have both Brookies and Browns but catching a wild tiger has eluded me to this point. Maybe this year?
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On 5/6/2022 at 9:16 AM, Steeldrifter said:Well as it goes I think it's time to replace my breathable waders once again. Over the years I have used just about every brand out there, Simms, Orvis, Dan Bailey, Bass Pro/White river, Cabelas, and seems after about 6-7 yrs they all start to get the dreaded seam leaks in the bootie feet.
With next month being my long trip North alone I'm looking to maybe get a new pair before I leave. Prices of waders these days is just absurd 😬 Looking to spend no more than $150 range. Saw the Frogtoggs "hellbender" models which look nice but that is one brand I have never owned and for some reason I am thinking I have heard some not so flattering reviews of the Frogtoggs brand...maybe I'm mistaken and it was a different brand? Can't remember for sure. Anyone own any Frogtoggs waders and have any input?
On 5/7/2022 at 2:43 PM, Steeldrifter said:Just got back with some new waders. Picked up some of these for $159. Actually seem pretty nice for the price, and fit me well. Long as they get me through this season and next that will be good enough
Steve the look decent from the link and they have some good reviews. Pleas give us your review after you've been out.
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I love to tie and fish the classic trout stuff so when I found this little gem from 1676 on the web I had to tie a few. It's still being tied and fished successfully in England.
CHARLES COTTON’S BLACK FLY
HOOK: #14 1X NYMPH
THREAD: BLACK
ABDOMEN/BODY: OSTRICH HERL – BLACK
HACKLE: BLACK HEN – PALMERED
RIB: OVAL SILVER TINSEL
HEAD: S.H. HARD AS NAILS
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18 hours ago, Bryon Anderson said:17 hours ago, SilverCreek said:"Even in good conditions, Gore-Tex doesn’t allow sweat to pass through faster than you produce it, especially when you’re exerting yourself. This is especially true for your feet, which are the second sweatiest part of your body after your armpits. And this limited breathability is completely eliminated if the surface of your boots gets saturated with water, which is inevitable in sustained wet conditions. Once this occurs, you’re essentially trapping all of your foot sweat inside your boots,"
https://www.outdoors.org/resources/amc-outdoors/gear/why-do-gore-tex-boots-get-wet-inside/#:~:text=
Essentially this is the equivalent of "Wet Out" which is what happens when Gortex rainwear loses it Durable Water Repellent Coating
Great information in the brief link guys - mystery solved.
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15 hours ago, niveker said:Pretty much my theory, too. I buy them expecting them to leak, so I don't spend a lot on them and I'm never disappointed. I have a pair of Orvis and a pair of Cabela's. The Cabela's lasted longer than the Orvis pair before leaking, but now leak more than the Orvis. My benchmark for buying a new pair: when I'm pouring water out after taking them off.
I had a pair of White River and after a year they began to leak heavily at the crotch which made it look like I had a serious bladder control issue. I think my wife had some fun that year because she always seemed call to ask me to stop for something from Walmart on my way home. I'm probably featured in one of those "People of Walmart" emails somewhere. 😆
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Thanks for that Silver, the physics completely make sense now that I think about it. Like Byron posted above I returned my Orvis Ultra Lights (which I loved) believing they were beginning to leak because my socks were damp. Now I'm thinking it was just wet out or even simple condensation. Condensation must be a factor as well given that out bodies are 98 degrees give or take, trout water is cold and there is moisture in the air trapped within the waders.
Therefore a damp outer layer may not indicate a leak.
So... I've been buying waders for about 15 years from multiple location and not one of them ever bothered to explain to me to expect to damp outer layers. In my mind I'm thinking 100% dry. You have to wonder how many waders get returned that are actually not leaking?
Thanks again,
Dean
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14 hours ago, niveker said:Well, it certainly has been this year. Cool and windy this week-end too. I did my usual walk along the Swift both week-end mornings, not a fisherman or fish to be seen, even from the pipe all the way to the Rte 9 bridge.
I'm told the flows are still to high to allow for wading in most areas-
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49 minutes ago, Bryon Anderson said:I have had this same experience at random times with every pair of breathable waders I've owned. When you think about what we're asking the breathable/waterproof membrane to do, it's no small feat: completely seal out liquid water, while simultaneously allowing water vapor (from perspiration) to escape. That would be a tall order even if we wore them standing fully upright, perfectly still, in a uniform current. Of course, we do just the opposite -- we walk, crawl, climb, kneel, squat, sit...at any given moment, some of that fabric is under no stress at all, while other parts are being stretched or compressed into folds, or ground into a hard surface, etc. Some of us barely sweat at all; others sweat a lot. When we sweat, we don't do it uniformly. Add in the fact that we're frequently submerging the waders in water that's much colder than the "environment" inside the waders, and you have ample opportunities for condensation.
The first few pairs of breathables I bought, I ended up returning/exhanging multiple times because I was sure they were leaking. Then I had a pair that really did leak, and concluded that I'd been returning waders that were just abiding by the laws of physics.
I'm no physicist, these have just been my experiences and my thoughts about them.
Byron I really appreciate you comments. I've never owned top of the line waders until now but was under the impression I would be bone dry (no one ever told me otherwise). The dampness I'm describing in only on the outer layer of my clothing not down to my skin. Am I to understand that damp may be just a normal state because of their breathable quality combined with body heat? Condensation? If so I can live with it. I'm on my 5th pair of waders and all of them have been damp inside from time to time and eventually the damp became wet which became soaked. I was thinking this was just the start of what will become a problem.
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14 hours ago, Moshup said:👍 Had them too. Started eating more food with potassium and it alleviated the problem plus stay hydrated.
Gene, I'm a musician and on occasion I've had a my fore finger lock closed from what I took to be over exertion. I was told by an RN who was a show when it happened that it was a sign of dehydration. I prefer beer and bourbon at gigs so she may have had a point. 🙄 It takes a few minutes of relaxing my hands to get it to unlock. I can't say it's ever happened tying flies though.
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2 hours ago, SilverCreek said:Probably sweating especially if BOTH socks were EQUALLY DAMP.
Maybe- next outing I'll wear some thin socks under the wool and see. I still need to address the leaks in the shin area.
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For what it's worth I wrote a previous post about my recent experience with Orvis waders. Long story short after my new pair of $300 Orvis waders started leaking after roughly 4 outings they offered to upgrade me to their $600 pro waders for short cash. I took the deal. While the wader material on the Pro's is definitely heavier than the $300 pair the neoprene booty's seem to be the exactly the same. After my 4th outing in the "Pro" waders my I noticed that my socks were damp, not soaked but damp. Is this normal? Last week after my 6th outing I found some small quarter size wet spots on my wader pant's just below the knee of both legs. Again not soaked but these waders list for $600 bucks - there should be zero issues after 6 outings right?
I have not been "bushwacking" in them and have "babied" them in every way possible. I never kneel down on gravel to cast (like they show in their promo photo). After every outing they are hung on a coat hanger and the only thing I have worn under them have been cotton pants. I'm sure Orvis will replace them but considering the prices companies are charging for waders they should last a hell of a lot longer than a few outings. I get that all waders will leak eventually and I'm prepared to fix holes from time to time but It seems like the price is irrelevant to how water proof a pair of waders will be or for how long. Here' and idea, how about just waterproof? I don't give a damn about "breathable, sipper front, extra pockets, D rings, fly patch" blah, blah, blah because none of that matters when they leak.
So to Mad Duck's point I'll stock up on aquaseal, buy cheap and replace when needed.
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On 5/7/2022 at 11:18 AM, niveker said:. I'll get him out onto the Ware wet wading if it ever warms up.
I've said for years that spring in New England is just a less severe version of winter. This wind needs to stop.
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Steve I have not owned Frogtoggs and can't offer an opinion about them. A local blogger and guide mentioned on his blog that flexseal spray (available at Home Depot ect.) will stop neoprene booty leaks. It might be worth a shot?
I was recently listening to the Orvis podcast and the topic of finding holes in waders came up. Tom Rosenbauer said the way he finds them is to turn them inside out and wet the leg/booty with dish soap and water. He uses a shop vac setup to blow to inflate the leg just enough for bubbles to show the leak. The same concept as finding a slow leak in a tire or inner tube. I have been chasing leaks in waders for years and never heard of this method until now but I intend to try it when needed.
LL Bean offers waders and they might be worth looking at because they often offer discounts on line and their warranty is good. If you have a store nearby you might be able to check them out in person.
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23 hours ago, McFlyLures said:The Royal Wulff is one of those flies that seems like its just to pretty to work properly. However this fly works great! There is a lot going on, like what the heck is that red stripe in the middle of peacock? And why the wings the way they are? Well I have heard this fly mimics a red flying ant, which makes sense. These ants usually are bright red and also black. I should know, ive been bit by them many times before. Some species come with red bodies and black heads, and some with red heads and black bodies. Either way, the coloration of this fly I think is trying to mimic this on the ants.
No matter what this really resembles, for some reason it works wonders on small creeks in the summer months. In fact it was one of the top producing flies for me on one of my videos when I was fishing in New Mexico with a subscriber of mine. If you guys haven't checked out that video, go do so. https://youtu.be/zPkmS0ugGCI. Anyway I used this fly there and it did very well. And other rivers as well during the heat of summer this fly did amazing as well. It really is a great producer.
Now, many find tying with calf fur to be a pain. I dont blame them. Its hard to work with. I have used some synthetic material for the wings as well in the past. I hear on larger sized wulff's some people choose to use white deer hair also. Its up to you, just make sure its white as it will keep the look to this fly.
Materials
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Hook: Daiichi 1280 (size 14)
Thread: Veevus 10/0 (black)
Wings: Calf Body Hair (white)
Tail: Moose Body Hair
Abdomen: Peacock Hurl
Abdomen Accent: Veevus 140 (red)
Hackle: Whiting Dry Fly Saddle (coachman brown/size 14)
Head Cement: Solarez Ultra ThinMy personal best ever Rainbow came on a #14 Royal Wulff and my last Bow of 2021 came on a Royal Coachman winged wet I always carry carry a selection of Royal Wulff's and Coachmen dries and wets. IMO the Coachman's/Wulffs are part of the "Fly Perfection Club", along with the elk hair caddis, the pheasant tail nymph, The hare's ear, Stewarts black spider, the partridge and orange, the Adams and the wooly bugger. All of who just work anywhere in the world they are used.
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I use them also. I got my most recent ones from a hunter friend but I have seen them in fly shops on occasion. Craft web sites may offer them as well.
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On 4/27/2022 at 9:41 AM, niveker said:He seemed to be enjoying himself and as you said he was doing well, so I let him do his thing. It will eventually all come together for him.
Great looking water and it's a great thing that your teaching your nephew! I think silver is correct about the water temps keeping the Brookies sluggish, I would add that wild trout are tough mark for anyone especially a novice. I think you're correct about Stocked trout being his best chance and if you can time it to be there within a day or two of the stocking they will be better still.
Just a thought (maybe you've done this already) but when the weather warms I'd bring him to some flowing warm water and target the Fall Fish and Bluegills. They are far less picky about a perfect drift or flies. The time I spent catching Bluegills early on was a great way for me to hone the fly fishing skills I needed to catch trout. Still is, I lost a couple of nice Browns last autumn after the reflex of setting the hook on down stream take came back out of no where. I addressed the problem by fishing for Bluegills with a downstream presentation. After catching 30 or so I felt I had trained myself out of that particular temptation and my first Trout of 2022 came on a downstream take. I think everyone would agree that Bluegills are really fun on a fly rod and having fun will only increase his enthusiasm.
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3 hours ago, flytire said:should be good come october caddis time
Nice tie Norm. Orange has always been productive for me late in the year here in Mass
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15 hours ago, flytire said:nice bisset 👍
14 hours ago, feathers5 said:Really nice ties.
Thanks!
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47 minutes ago, niveker said:True. I have never seen anyone fishing on this brook in this section, only a few miles south of here. If it weren't for finding a fly stuck in a branch a few years ago, I would think no one ever does.
My kind of water!
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This is a wet fly I've been tinkering with I call it a Blue Bird.
BLUE BIRD
HOOK: #16 STANDARD NYMPH
THREAD: #70 MEDIUM BROWN
TAIL:BROWN HEN OVER WHITE HEN FIBERS- COVERED WITH ENGLISH JAY FIBERS
ABDOMEN/BODY: BROWN HARELINE DUBBING
WING CASE: ENGLISH JAY
HACKLE: BROWN HEN OVER WHITE HEN FIBERS- TIED LONG
HEAD: S.H. HARD AS NAILS
BROWN HEN OVER WHITE HEN FIBERS
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BISSET
HOOK: #10 NYMPH 1XS HEAVY WIRE
THREAD: #70 BLACK
TAG: YELLOW FLOSS
ABDOMEN/BODY: PEACOCK HERL, NATURAL 2 STRANDS
WING: GOOSE PRIMARY- SLATE
BEARD: GUINEA HEN- NATURAL
HEAD: S.H. HARD AS NAILS
May Flies From The Vise
in The Fly Tying Bench
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Interesting Silver, In the Northeast the preferred size for most of us is a 18 -20 at least when imitating midges or midge clusters. I'm told the bugs are bigger on western rivers so a 14 would make sense if the midges run that size? Or maybe the fish are taking it a general attractor? -It is buggy looking and in a 14 could represent a lot of different types of insects.