DFoster

I agree, it is beautiful but there are many rivers here that look like trout streams.  I've fished a lot of them but sadly they turn out to be just to warm through the summer to sustain trout.  Lot's of Fall Fish, bass, Gils and for a few months stockers which are all fun but I would really like to find some trout water close to home.  I have wild trout streams a 30 minute car ride North, South and West of my home so I have to believe there are some spring fed, cold water streams even closer.  I do consider myself very fortunate to have wild trout 30 minutes away as I have run into anglers that have driven several hours to get to those rivers.  My goal is to identify whatever wild trout steams there may be closer to home.  On weekends I don't mind an hour or two of windshield time but it would be nice to find an "after work" spot.  Right now all of the ones I fish are warm water.

George as a 2nd job I've worked as a professional musician my entire adult life.  I inevitably reach plateaus in my playing and when that happens it just sucks the enjoyment right out of it.  Music becomes a malaise, just a way to pay for fly fishing stuff.   The only cure I know is to take a break.   Over my 45 years of gigging this has happened to me several times.   With the covid shut down I decided to take close to a year off - there was almost now where to play anyway.    I returned to music last fall with my mind refocused and I'm really enjoying playing live shows again.  I think your doing the right thing.   When inspiration hits I hope you'll find even more of a  reward out of fly tying than you did before, until then I will miss seeing your master works.  

17 hours ago, Mark Knapp said:

Well, thanks for the vote of confidence. I think everything I own is worth not abandoning it. The least of which, (or maybe the most) is the littering factor. I spent half a day on the ice last week just picking up the plastic spoilers from the bottoms of peoples cars that got knocked off by the too deep, crusty snow.

Your welcome Mark.   I hate finding a beautiful area defaced with someone's trash.  Leave behind nothing but footprints as they say.

13 hours ago, Poopdeck said:

Definitely not stolen. That’s pretty common in my neck of the woods and not at all out of the ordinary. Old hunk of crap abandoned boat. Im pretty sure the numbers will come back to a deceased person who’s family wanted the boat out of the yard.  They dump the boat and reuse or sell the trailer since trailers aren’t matched to a boat. 

That's really sad, especially here in the environmentally conscious (some would say insane) Northeast but I'll try not to let this destroy my confidence in my fellow citizens.

3 hours ago, Mark Knapp said:

I had mine fall off of the trailer one time too. It was very embarrassing.

Mark I tend to think any boat you own would be in slightly better condition -😄

3 hours ago, Steeldrifter said:

Well were you at least a good fly fisherman and pack it out even though it wasn't yours? 😅

Looks like the numbers are still on the hull. Shouldn't be too hard for the cops to find who he is.

I tend to think it was probably stolen because of the numbers.  Then again people do dumb things. I remember reading about a guy that tried to rip an ATM out of the ground with his truck.  When It didn't budge he drove off not realizing he left his bumper along with his license plate.  I believe alcohol may have been a factor-

19 minutes ago, Sandan said:

Yep, the American version. Easy enough to tie as a first but challenging enough to know that you have more work to do to get it right(do we ever?) I agree with everything you said. Personally when I begin something new I don't like is so easy that it comes out "right" right a way.  

I certainly tied some awful PTNs when I first started out but I still caught some fish with them.  Even a few of wary trout grabbed what could best be described as a "sort of PTN shaped object".  All I can figure is that the trout thought the nymphs floating by had been really banged up from some seriously broken water upstream.  Maybe I just a found a few trout with a predilection for very, very tenderized nymph?🙄  But it was enough to keep me going and all these years later I'm still tying PTNs.  Fortunately these days they're a little more recognizable.

2 hours ago, skeet3t said:

Looks good and always good to have your Fur Friend with you. Let us know how it fishes. GPS coordinates are OK, too.🤫

I love exploring with the pup, he loves it too!  I can't imagine what is so interesting about certain spots to that nose of his and he probably can't imagine why I stare for so long at the water.  I'll be happy to PM you the location but it's going to be a fairly long car ride from Tennessee!

3 hours ago, chugbug27 said:

"As I went walking I saw a sign there,
And on the sign it said 'No Trespassing.'
But on the other side it didn't say nothing.
That side was made for you and me."

I like your thinking Chug but most people here don't know the law and think they own the stream on their land.   This mean calling the environmental police to settle the argument and that just kind of ruins the peace of the day for me.    

4 hours ago, niveker said:

Very nice, DF,  looks promising. I'd take that over the Y Pool anytime of the day or year.  How much above normal do you think that water level is?

Scouting is one of my favorite things to do in winter, so much easier to bushwhack without all the green growth. 

Yes I agree with you about the Y pool which is even more crowded these days.   Since covid it seems like everyone has discovered fly fishing (much like like when the Brad Pitt movie came out).  Some will tough it out, get good and remain but others will lose interest.  The good news is in a few years there will be lots of top of line gear on ebay cheap. 

As far as the level at this time of year it's hard to judge.  I'm hopeful as a cold water fishery that means springs and they are less likely to trickle out in the summer-  

On 2/18/2022 at 9:24 PM, Sandan said:

Tim, 

Hi. The first fly I was taught to tie was a pheasant tail nymph. So that's what I start a new tier with

Same here Sandan (the American version with legs, not the original English version tied with wire)- It's a great first fly because it teaches a new tier a lot of the necessary disciplines to become proficient at the craft. Once learned there are probably hundreds of variations that you can move onto.  AND as a bonus the PTN will catch fish anywhere in the world .  Catching fish on your own flies will keep anyone new or seasoned inspired (my wife would probably use the word obsessed).

I met up with some coworkers at a park and ride in Northern Connecticut yesterday.  I hate when people litter-

On 2/19/2022 at 4:43 PM, chugbug27 said:

 

 The Bear hat will be far less expensive long term. 😉

I found this off trail last autumn, I don't know what it is- Lean too?  Kids?  Earthy Hippies,  Sasquatch?  It was about a 100' off a well used trail.

This past weekend my wife headed out of state to help her friend with some interior design and painting at a rural cabin she purchased in New Hampshire.  That left myself and our pooch Oliver free for most of the weekend!  Oh what to do?  It's cold, the fishing is slow and fingers and toes still go numb quick.  I'm primarily a small stream, wild trout guy so I decided to spend the time hiking and chasing down some nearby "thin blue lines" that our state has listed as cold water fisheries. 

Now the trouble for us here in central Massachusetts is that a lot of really promising water is land locked by private property.  The unwelcoming posted signs are all to common, the result of years of moronic lawsuits.  "Yes your Honor I was crossing through the defendants wooded property drunk at night when I fell and broke my leg and obviously it's his fault because he didn't post his property".....And they win so as landowner myself I really can't blame the owners.  Our state law does allow that if you are are able to get into the water without trespassing you can wade fish any navigable waterway.  They define "navigable" to include unpowered vessels like kayaks so there are a lot of small streams that can be waded legally though you may have to deal with some angry landowners from time to time. There are many places where streams run under a road and the public right of way allows you legal access. 

After a few misses due to lack of public access or the thin blue line was just too thin Oliver and I found this gem.  It runs through acres of state owned land and there is a nice pull off at the head of the trail.  I did some research and did find one sentence from a newspaper article that this water holds native Brook trout.  It's also a tributary to a well stocked warm water river so there may be some holdovers or even some wild browns.  It certainly looks promising, will see what swims there in the spring-  

If anyone else is hunting new spots I'd love to see pics.

OLIVE MIDGE

HOOK: #14 CURVED NYMPH

THREAD: BLACK 8/0

UNDER BODY: CHARTREUSE FLOSS

ABDOMEN: VINYL RIB, MEDIUM -CLEAR

THORAX: PEACOCK HERL- NATURAL

WING CASE: ANTRON YARN - CREAM

HEAD: S.H. HARD AS NAILS

Easy, Simple and Effective-   These worked exceptionally well last April on Brooks and Rainbows.

GREEN FLASHBACK NYMPH

HOOK: #16 STANDARD NYMPH

THREAD: BLACK 8/0

TAIL: GINGER HEN

ABDOMEN/BODY: PEACOCK HERL- GREEN WITH HOLOGRAPHIC GREEN TINSEL

RIB: ULTRA WIRE, SMALL- BLACK

HEAD: S.H. HARD AS NAILS

BROWN FLASHBACK NYMPH

HOOK: #16 STANDARD NYMPH

THREAD: BLACK 8/0

TAIL: GINGER HEN

ABDOMEN/BODY: PEACOCK HERL- RED WITH HOLOGRAPHIC BLACK TINSEL

RIB: ULTRA WIRE, SMALL- GOLD

HEAD: S.H. HARD AS NAILS

18 minutes ago, WJG said:

For these little buck bugs I do use buck tail.  They are packed fairly dense and trimmed small.  Hair tips and butts never make it to the final product.  Notice how the underside is trimmed closer to the hook shank as not to crowd the point or lessen the gape too much.

Alright then I'll give it a try-  

On 2/17/2022 at 8:40 AM, WJG said:

I like the more subtle green, but the trout and salmon seem to like the bright chartreuse green better.  Red or red and chartreuse tags help.

This isn't my tie,  but an example of how I do tie them.  Hackle facing fore or aft doesn't seem to matter for me.  I use brown or orange hackle and also try brown or black deer hair.  I pack them fairly dense and fish it wet.  For fun with dries look into bombers or even better "Carter's bug"  tied ala Bryant Freeman.  (Just learned some bad news looking up the spelling of Bryant's name.  He is no more.  I was looking forward to seeing him again at an annual sportsman show.  He will be missed by many.)

Thanks for the response.  That's the bomber pattern I thought you were talking about, not to be confused with the "Little" Green Machine below.

I stopped at one of my local fly shops yesterday, they had bright chartreuse but only in buck tail, not body hair.  I don't tie a lot of deer hair fly's but I'm told buck tail doesn't splay correctly and was advised it would not work.   So I may have to tie a few in a more subdued natural green until the bright stuff arrives.  

Nothing I need right away, I'm just doing my time through the single digit artic weather by filling the empty spaces in my boxes.  Enticing takes in the late fall when the weather first turns cold has always proved to be a challenge for me.  I'm looking forward to trying a range of new flies this late season.

Thanks again!

On 2/16/2022 at 10:51 AM, SalarMan said:

Regarding moving from one page to another...If I am accessing the site from an email due to a subject I am following - no problem. If I access the site via Microsoft Edge - no problem. However if I access the site via Google Chrome then I cannot simply jump from one page to another on the given topic.

Go figure......

George, I use Chrome mostly to access the site because I'm on a work issued laptop.  Nothing happens when I click any of the pre, 1,2,3, next tabs shown below.  What I have to do in right click the tab and select "Open link in new window".

RHYACOPHILA CADDIS NYMPH-DAVIE McPHAIL VERSION   

HOOK: #12 LONG CURVED NYMPH

THREAD: OLIVE 6/0

UNDER BODY: .015 WIRE

TAIL: PARTRIGE FIBERS - GREEN

ABDOMEN/BODY:  HARELINE SHELL BACK, LIGHT GREEN OVER HARELINE DUBBING, DARK GREEN

RIB: UTC ULTRA WIRE, SMALL, CHARTRUESE (DAVIE USES Chartreuse Tail litez or V-Rib)

THORAX:  HARELINE SHELL BACK, LIGHT GREEN, COLORED WITH BLACK MARKER OVER LIFE CYCLE CADDIS DUBBING, BLACK

HEAD:      S.H. HARD AS NAILS

On 2/16/2022 at 3:09 PM, terp said:

Have you thought about using fluoro tippet (transparent and very durable) -- either as ribbing or to twist the feather fibers around to give them reinforcement (this is a trick I saw used for peacock herl)?

Not Fluro but I do use mono for rib on occasion.  With regards to pheasant tail wraps I just think they look better without a rib.  

On 12/6/2021 at 1:57 PM, WJG said:

For me, late in the season, a #12 Green machine without tail works for big brookies, steelhead and salmon.

Thanks! shaped dry?  Do you like the bright chartreuse green or a more subtle green?

19 hours ago, Steeldrifter said:

 

While I think they are two extremely important topics, and I have strong views on both, nothing can cause arguments quicker than discussions online about those. Those discussions are best left to in person talks and not online so we will never have that here.

If only more celebrities, sports icons and corporations could figure that out.  I've never understood a business model that alienates up to 50% of your potential customers?  That is exactly what happens when entities make public political comments.  

11 hours ago, terp said:

Reminds me of this Davy Wotten pattern -- The Muddler Daddy: https://www.bigyflyco.com/muddlerdaddy-detail.htm?

 

I love winged wet fishing and Davy is the man!  I learned a lot from his video "Wet Fly Ways"-