DFoster

5 hours ago, Poopdeck said:

I discovered the key to shape was magnification. It also helped to keep the wires together. I used olive PT fibers for the legs this time. 

That's really nice work!

On 4/17/2022 at 9:07 PM, niveker said:

Some people just don't get it, and I can't explain it.  

Thankfully most don't get it-   😃 

On 4/17/2022 at 6:50 AM, niveker said:

Had a few hours yesterday morning. All the larger rivers here are pretty full, so I decided to visit a smaller brook.  Found a few wild Easter brookies that were willing to play. Always amazed at the beauty of little guys. 

Happy Easter to all

 

Nice Brookie!  lots of #16 stones this spring.

On 4/16/2022 at 10:24 AM, mikechell said:

I'm one of the few here that only tie what I need, when I need it.  I don't tie a bunch of different patterns just for "fun".  So, any scraps left would never get used if I saved them. 

I have started, since seeing another members suggestion, putting the scraps in a "nesting material" ball we hang out for the birds.  So far, I've not seen any colorful nests as a result, but I'm looking forward to that outcome!

My father in law has a wonderful tradition with our grandchildren (his great grand children).   Each spring he takes them around his farm on the tractor so they can clean out the last years nest from his many bird houses.  At the same time he has them hang dozens of 12" pieces of string in the nearby bushes that they cut from a spool .  "Two by fours for the birds" he tells them.  In their fall wanderings they're able to find many nest low in the trees that include their string.  The following spring's bird house clean out always reveals some of last years pieces.   It's a simple thing that produces great memories and they learn something about the natural world.  

Good for you Steve.  My wife was a 2 pack per day smoker for 25 years.  16 years ago she made the decision to quit when our first Grandchild was born. She had a couple of relapses early on but is now free.   I remember watching a show years ago where they were interviewing people who had successfully quit hard drug addictions and or a very serious alcohol problem but still could not quit smoking.   Yes it is that tough to overcome and my hats off to anyone who has that kind of will power.  You should be proud of yourself sir.

40 minutes ago, Mark Knapp said:

No, we have no bass, sunfish or walleye. Fishing for sunfish is one thing that I really miss about living in Alaska.

The thing about Havasu sunfish is that they are huge, the last four world records were from there. 17 1/2 inches long was the biggest. We caught a 15 incher.

Wow nice fish- My personal best Bluegill was 10".  I had no clue that there were no Bass or Walleye either.  Well it looks like you make up for them with  Rainbow Trout, Salmon and Grayling from what I've seen in your post.  

On 3/29/2022 at 9:02 PM, Mark Knapp said:

You really should, it is a blast.

Hey Mark it looks like a great trip!  Just curious do you not have any sunfish in Alaska?  Here they are everywhere.

9 minutes ago, SalarMan said:

Gotta go along with skeet3t on this one. I'm curious about the camera info as well. Also...how much editing involved?
George

Honestly George- I'm not a photographer.  Those pics were taken with my IPhone factory settings - no editing.  The water shots we're taken about an hour after sun up so that's the reason for the lighting.  The Brookies around here (and I believe in PA as well) really turn their colors up a notch in the fall.  I still remember the first one I ever caught.  It was in the Autumn and I couldn't believe a fish with that type of coloring actually swam in our streams.  I thought maybe he'd gotten lost off a coral reef somewhere? 😜

17 minutes ago, skeet3t said:

DFoster, great photos! What camera, settings, etc.? We have the Appalachian strain brook trout here in the Southeast. Native range is Western Virginia to NE Georgia.

Thanks Skeet-The photos we're all taken with my IPhone 6 with just standard settings, so nothing special.  I was in Asheville NC a few years ago and the Blue Ridge mountains reminded me very much of the Green mountains in Vermont and to a lesser degree the Berkshires in Western Mass.

 Yes you do have Brook Trout and they are gorgeous! I follow a youtuber named Derek who fly fishes the SE.  He's often in the Smokies and like me he generally avoids the larger stocked rivers in favor of wild fish.  Mostly he's on the small tribs.  His blue line techniques are very much a mirror of the kind of fishing.  Even the water he fishes looks really familiar.  

Welcome to the site Helen!

I would say either the chalk streams of England or the rivers of Scotland because of the fly fishing history associated with those areas.

As others have said I'm not much of a destination angler.  I know anglers who love "adventure fishing" - getting on a plane and going to some other part of the world, hiring a guide and fishing.  I understand it but I've never felt the need.  I suppose it's all about how a person defines great fishing?

I truly love small stream fly fishing for wild trout here in New England. I love the challenge of reading flowing water then quietly and hopefully undetected moving to a spot,  where I at least have a chance of making a cast between or under the overhangs to give the fly that I tied a shot.  If I get it right my reward just might be the privilege of getting to hold a Massachusetts wild jewel for a few moments before sending him on his way and for me that's great fishing. 

11 hours ago, helenjmoore said:

Great report DFoster..Waders & boots are very essential.

I've been out 4 times so far and I'm still dry.

On 4/8/2022 at 8:23 PM, Rocco said:

In my salad days my buddy and I used to bass fish out of a small 12' Sears Game Fisher with a 10 HP motor on a big impoundment, Lake Anna, in VA.  We got checked once by the local State Game Commission guy who roared up in his full size Boston Whaler throwing spray all over and nearly capsizing us.  He gave us a nasty once over and roared off again repeating his entry act.   He was infamous for similar displays and made a lot of enemies. One of them put dynamite under his boat in his driveway and blew it over his roof into his backyard.   Folks back then settled out court. 

I wonder if he rethought his approach of dealing with the general public after that? 

On 4/12/2022 at 8:15 PM, Poopdeck said:

sometimes I just start tying scraps on hooks but typically my  system is to just throw it on my portable desk and than throw it in the trash when I come to my senses and say, what the hell am I saving all this crap for. Except that wood duck flank. I’ll use that for tails on something and those brushes, I’ll tie a baitfish or something small with them. That twisted wire, I don’t know but I better hold on to it for a while longer. 

Love the magnetic tool holder!

3 hours ago, niveker said:

@DFoster, thanks. 

Brother and nephew are headed up to Maine soon, thought I'd tie a few classics for them. Tried pinching the tail with cement, western style, but didn't really like the look.  Gonna downsize this  to a 10/12 also, not really sure what size Mr. Hornberg's original was, I always assumed it was big.  

According to Global Fly Fisher they were originally #10-#6.  I know they have a great reputation in Maine as fish catchers.  

13 hours ago, niveker said:

The venerable Hornberg

Hook: #8, 2xl

Thread: Black

Body: silver tinsel

Underwing: yellow hackle (needs more, or maybe yellow kip tail instead)

Overwings: Mallard x2

Cheeks: Starling (should be longer)

Hackle: Coq De Leon

Wow nice fly!  Starling is a great sub for Jungle Cock.  I caught my first fly rod salmonid ever, an Atlantic Salmon Par- all 4"s of him, on a #12 store bought Hornberg. That fly is still stuck in my fishing hat, a reminder for me that there was a time when I was convinced that it was impossible to cast a fly beyond 5' and that I had a better chance of shooting a Sasquatch than netting an 18" trout on a fly.  

   I may be able to get 6-8 flies, depending, out of a group of materials but I often only have the time to tie 2.  Why throw the unused stuff away?  These days there is no guarantee that the local shop will have replacements hanging on the wall and ordering may result in a long wait.  It took 5 weeks for a Tacky Nymph box to reach my door from Feather Crafters even though they shipped it out the same day I placed the order.  The local Cabela's just got a shipment of natural peacock herl after a 5 months of empty peg board.

I ruin enough quality materials on my own while tying and I certainly feel better hoarding the nicer left over pieces in one of my scrap boxes. 😲

Toenail clippings?? Maybe for shell backs? 😆

I'm curious what we all do with the still usable scraps and bits left over from a fly?  Do you toss them or have some type of system to keep the leftovers for next time?  I've been using a couple of small craft store divided boxes to keep anything I think I can use on a future fly.  Generally this ends up being remainders of hackles, saddles and the ends of wire, tinsel and flash in still usable lengths.   I try too keep similar odds and ends together.   When I sit down to tie I look over the scrap boxes to see if I have any of the pieces required in the scrap box first, before getting into my materials chest.    I try to keep waste to a minimum these days mostly because some once common materials are not always available at the local shops.   

1 minute ago, chugbug27 said:

@DFoster I'm really liking the look of that turkey breast wing w gold tinsel& @Technical Sloom nice big splash, looking forward to more

 

Thanks Chug-  The turkey is a sub for an iridescent green feather from a Golden Pheasant skin which I don't have.  I do have Turkey breast feathers in many colors from blue to bronze and I have caught trout with them.  Different colors work on different rivers or days depending on the mood of the fish I guess.   The only trouble is that one hooked fish usually destroys the wing.  But-I really enjoy tying and fishing winged wets so I'm OK with it.  I probably wouldn't feel that way if I was buying them in a fly shop.

Some PTN's I tied in a variety of colors-

MORTON AND GOLD VARIANT

HOOK: #12 STANDARD NYMPH

THREAD: BLACK #70

TAIL: HEN SADDLE FIBERS- BLACK

ABDOMEN/BODY: GOLD TINSEL- MEDIUM

RIB: GOLD WIRE - MEDIUM

HACKLE: HEN SADDLE

WING: TURKEY BREAST

HEAD: S.H. HARD AS NAILS

CRACKLEBACK

HOOK: #12 DRY

THREAD: UTC #70 BROWN

ABDOMEN/BODY: 50/50 MIX OF LIFE CYCLE HENDRICKSON PINK AND CREAM DRY DUBBING.  2 STRANDS PEACOCK HERL.

HACKLE: GINGER

HEAD: S.H. HARD AS NAILS

Friday was my first trout outing of the year.  I got 2 stocked Rainbows in an hour of fishing, a 13" grabbed my upper "Red Baron" nymph as it sank about a foot below the surface.  The 11" was taking adult stoneflies off the surface as they we're depositing eggs.  I tied on a #14 grey soft hackle, got a nice drift right over top of him and he ate it on the first pass.  Both fish put up really good fights for being stockers.  The 3 weight bamboo I built over the winter felt like I'd had it for 20 years and as a bonus I noticed a really nice new lure that some wader less person lost to a tree branch.  My grandson has a nice box of "free" tackle waiting for him when he gets a little older.

Then, a very slight 4" slip of my left foot while wading and I felt the zing of a pulled lower back muscle.  I fished for another 20 minutes before it really began to bother me. The climb up the embankment to my Jeep let me know it was there and not happy.  I spent the rest of the weekend grunting and eating Advil.  On the bright side most of the weekend was a little to windy to fish and it got me out of raking a million acorns on Saturday.  It is slowly getting better.  Maybe it's time to start stretching before wading? Is that a "thing"?

Gene- I'm really sorry to hear about your hip but they do heal and I hope this is a temporary situation for you.   A lot of improvement can happen in a few weeks.  I wish you a speedy recovery.  

That is one proud little girl-God bless and good job Little One!  

 I have grand children her age that are just beginning to tie- something to consider.  I have a really small cork from ACE hardware to to protect little fingers and the thread from the hook point.   I handle the scissors and the whip finish- but he rest is all them.  We spent something like $15 at the craft store and got a couple of bags of really brightly dyed guinea hen, another bag of bright saddle feathers, some yarn and foam specifically for them to use.  White foam can be colored with markers and sewing thread on a small spool from Walmart works just fine.  There really are a lot of inexpensive materials out there that can be used by children.  My my grandson has been showing up with white down feathers when he comes over- I have no idea where he's getting them and I'm not going to ask. The kids  choose the colors and we keep it simple.  Tail, yarn wrapped body and a very over sized hackle, nothing fancy but believe it or not they catch fish.   Their flies are crude but during the warm months when terrestrials are around the local Bluegills are more than willing to make it fun.   The joy (and astonishment) that my wife and I get from seeing their faces when a fish takes one of their own "pink winged, green body red tails" is truly wonderful.  😃