Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Leading up to the Big Game

Here in SE PA our opening day is this Saturday, April 2. Earlier this week I checked the weather and we were supposed to have cold rain/ snow all weekend. I was pretty happy.

Locally, opening day is a giant jamboree of two types; families and Zebco wielding spinner machines trying to fill up their creel as fast as possible. While I will keep the comments to the latter to myself, I think that it's great for families to get out and enjoy the day spent outdoors. They're teaching their kids a why of life that is slowly eroding in this country. And for that, I salute them.

Fly of the Week: Picket Pin

This weeks Fly of the Week comes from the Northwestern part of the US of A; the Picket Pin. This is the fourth installment of the NAFFF tie-a-long and so far is the first that I had never tied before. I had did a quick Google Image search before the step by step was posted, and my reaction was a bit along the lines of  "WTF..." But Mr. Pocono's great instructions made this fly almost as easy to tie as a Woolly Bugger. (Click the prior link and scroll down until you find it.)

Monday, March 28, 2011

How To Build A Fly Rod Scabbard - Fly Fish Ohio

Got a pontoon? Tired of losing your rods (or would rather not in the first place)? Check out this step by step at the fine folks at FlyFishOhio on making a rod scabbard for your 'toon, and kiss those days of sacrificial rods goodbye!


How To Build A Fly Rod Scabbard - Fly Fish Ohio



Saturday, March 26, 2011

Trearton Fly Contest

The fine blog, Trearton Fly, is having a fly tying contest. You can get the skinny here but basically you have to be a follower, shoot over an email with a few pics of the fly that you tied, and mail me a check for $50 (OK, I made that part up.)

Friday, March 25, 2011

The Allen XL 5/6

About a month ago, Allen Fly Fishing put in there newsletter that the were selling off their stock of the recently scrapped 5/6 XL project, but supplies were extremely limited. I had mine ordered about 3 nanoseconds later. (These then sold out a few days later.)

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Fly of the Week: Adams Flymph

The Adam's what?! A flymph. A dry fly and nymph hybrid. Per Allan, who is running the NAFFF Fly-Tie-Along (where I've been stealing these patterns) :

Friday, March 18, 2011

The Final Countdown

In about two weeks it's opening season in PA, and then it's fish on! 


So today it was our first day in the 70's, so I decided to take the rug rat to the park and air her out a bit. We get to the park and it appears that the park department decided that the nicest day to date would also be a great time to close off the playground and do repairs. Idiots....

(Belated) Fly of the Week: the Woolly Bugger

In following along with the NAFFF Fly Tie-a-long, this weeks fly is the Woolly Bugger. This venerable fly is most frequently the first fly anyone ties, except maybe the San Juan Worm. This fly is either weighted or weightless, bead head, cone head, no head; in as many colors as the rainbow. 

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Fly of the week is on it's way!!

Lat thing I knew it was Monday, and now it's practically Friday. Where did the week go? It must have been lost in the jumble between work and all the curve-balls life likes to throw.

But fly of the week will be up tomorrow. I'd do it now, but staring at a computer for 10 hours at work is more than enough, thank you very much (and it's St Patty's day!! Who want's to be on a computer when there is some Irish guy to celebrate?)

So until tomorrow, be safe.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Fly of the Week: the Partridge and Orange

On the North American Fly Fishing Forum, there is a "tie-a-long" where one of the members is posting a fly, and it's recipe, and whomever signs up for it will post pics of how they tied their fly. Pretty heat idea, I though, as I signed up.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

A blog to Note

Just stumbled on this blog, and it is quite noteworthy. These flies are simply outstanding. Bad part? The entire site is in French. Not that French is bad, but I haven't kept up with my French in 7 years, and even then I wasn't conversational. I could make out enough to know I had no idea what he was saying, but either way, this chap is mean at the bench.

Bailfly

A Brief Pause

We've entered the time in PA where fishing is prohibited in "trout approved" waters so they can stock, which is 95% of the waters near were I live. The other 4.9% are warm water lakes (which in my opinion is an exercise in futility this time of year) and the other 0.1% is this small stream with no name that runs through State Game land. I haven't fished it yet, so maybe I'll hit it sometime this month. But slogging through mud to fish a stream of dubious quality..... let's just say I'm not feeling it right now.

Fly of the Week: the Orange Roughy

Continuing on with my now keenly picked interest in soft hackles... I've always been a big fan of the partridge & orange. It's simple and it's always been a pretty good producer.

I was in the fly shop the other day looking around and saw a lonely little bag of English Grouse soft hackles. Neat little brown/black mottled things.

So long story short, two flies at the vice later(I tied the hackle on backwards on the first one.Oops!) we had the Orange Roughy. I add the iridecent glass bead to it not to give it any more weight, because it really doesn't, but to add a bit more sparkle to the fly.



Orange Roughy
Hook: Nymph Hook 14-18
Glass Bead Head
Body: 6/0 orange thread
Rib: Copper Wire
Thorax: Purple Seal Dubbing
Hackle: English Grouse