Gearing up

With just over a week to go until the weekend Steelie trip, I'm already getting things together. Got the 6wt and 8wt stowed, the tent ready, flys tied, vest is decked out. And a list for everything else.

It seems like right now the only thing I don't have is my license..... In PA, to fish Lake Erie or any of it's tribs you needs a special license. And if you want to fish for trout you need another special license, this includes steelhead and salmon. I have my trout license from earlier this year, but no Erie yet.

I keep saying I have plenty of time, but I have a funny feeling that on next Friday I will be making a frantic stop at some Walmart halfway across the state.

Fly of the Week: Bead-head Rainbow Prince

In continuing with my "purple is better" theology, here is a twist on a traditional Prince pattern. This is another attractor pattern. Tell me if you can guess why! Ha ha....

At first glance it looks similar to last weeks pattern, but that is only when looking at these pics(I really need to get a proper fly pic set-up.) The Lite Brite dubbing gives this fly a distinct sparkle, and the rubber "wings" and hackle give it a very different action in the water.

Use it, abuse it, I just hope you don't lose it. Cheers!

Senate to Pass Vote on Tax for Drilling Companies

Here in PA the big news for the past year or two has been the large natural gas reserve discovered underneath parts of PA and the surrounding states, call the Marcellus Shale. This week the PA Senate is to vote on a bill that passed in the House earlier that will create a severance tax on the drilling companies that are set to dip into the reserves.  The funds will then be set aside to help offset the environmental impact that this gas extraction will take.

This vote is expected Wednesday.

If the bill is not passed it will be dead. It should be noted that PA is the only state left to pass such a tax.

Below is a link to the online form that will send an email to your Senator encouraging them to vote. I encourage everyone from PA to contact their Senator and show your support for this tax. Without it, many of this states great waters will be severely impacted, if not outright destroyed.

Contact PA Senate Here

Scouting Ahead

Decided to be nice to my daughters today and instead of dragging them on another "boring" fishing trip(at least as the older one says, I still have hope for the youngest), I would drag them on a scouting trip looking for fishing spots.

I picked a spot on the Tulpehocken right below the dam at Blue Marsh Lake. I have fished the Tulley many times, but never this close to the lake.

Mis-matching the Hatch

Decided to hit the water today near sundown in an impromptu expedition. I wanted to check the fly charts before I left, but in my rush to get everything ready I plum forgot.

Got to the stream at 5pm and geared up. Walked down to the stream and looked and I was right in the middle of a hatch! Fish were rising all across the water. At in point during the trip I saw a 12-15" rainbow launch itself clear out of the water after a morsel. It was quite a site.

The Way of the Dodo

Article: Fly Fishing on the downcast?

Here is some bad news. This article explores if fly fishing is a dying sport. It states that most participants are older and that fewer and fewer younger people are picking the sport up.

How do you snag a net?

That's a serious question, because apparently I have no idea.

I've been in the market for a new net for a while now; ever since mine had the misfortune of snagging too many of my flies and it felt my wrath.

Fly of the Week: Purple Nurple

I was thinking the other day and decided that there are not enough fly recipe resources online (FYI this is a very tongue in cheek statement.) So I decided to start my own.

Every Wednesday I will post a fly recipe; either a recipe that I've created or one that might be lesser known but gets good results. I'm working on setting these up for video tutorials, but for right now the recipe and the photo is all I can do. Who would have thought that a dank, dark basement would have lighting issues......

This proves that PETA is full of morons.

I stumbled upon this. It is a test from PETA UK that allows men to determine their "security" in their "manliness" by answering 3 questions. This first is if you fish. The second is if you own a sports car. The last is if you own more then 2 power tools.

BUT..... if you answer that you are an angler, it doesn't matter what you answer to the others. Your results say that you have a wee wittle one, if you take my meaning. And the opposite is true. Check no to fishing and your manliness can be seen from space.

God said to Noah, there's gonna be a floody floody......

Hurricane Nicole just left our area, so out of morbid curiousity I checked the USGS website to check the water levels, between this today and a week ago when we were still mid-drought.

I live near the Schuylkill River, so I used this as my test. As of 6am today the water level was at 8.73 feet and discharging at 10,900 cfs. On September 25th we were at just under 3 feet and discharging at 400 cfs.

That's a lot of water! With that much water I think I will have to wait a week or two for all of our fish to swim back here from Jersey. I just hope they don't pick up their accent too.