New Promo Logo

As this blog grows, I've been thinking about a new logo that I can place on promotional items to get the word out.  Stickers, cards, the side of a blimp. Small things, y'know?

Anyway, here is the first idea, and I have to admit that I think it's pretty neat. It has a certain class to it. What do you guys think?

Overweight?

No, I'm not talking about the after effects of the holiday season. What I'm talking about are rods and line weights. A lot of people have questions on if they can use a 6wt, or even a 7wt, on that 5wt rod that they love. But they are afraid that they will cause some untold catastrophe to the rod if they do.

Let's see if we can't clear some of this up.

Two new additions to the family.

With Santa's booty burning a hole in my pocket, I decided that some upgrades were in order. So here's what I got:

In case you missed it, Winter is upon us. And wintertime around here means tiny little midge patterns. I'm talking size 24 on down. Now the smallest I've tied up until now has been a size 20 with a lot of squinting and cursing. But no longer, as I've broken down and purchased a magnifying lamp.

Got Hooked by Allen Fly Fishing

Received some promo hooks from Allen Fly Fishing and I must say that they look pretty sharp (bad pun intended.) They're sturdy, sharp(yes I was cautious), and pretty hooky.

I placed a few next to some of my "name brand" hooks and there was no visual difference in the quality.

Fly of the Week: Big Daddy Crayfish

I think that it's pretty much a scientific fact that fish love crayfish. Be it bass to carp to catfish to big ol' trout, fish slurp up crayfish with something close to reckless abandon. It only makes sense to have a crawdad in your arsenal.

A lovely winter skunking.

The misses wanted to take the kids to the mall today so that they could blow their Christmas money. I didn't feel like dealing with the madhouse that I knew that if would be (and it was) so I decided to drop her off and hit the stream a few miles away.

Been Good This Year.

Apparently I've been good this year, as Santa s given me a bit of cash (and gift cards) for some new toys. And after a bit of deliberating, I think that I will get a new tying vice, a float tube, and as I'm getting more into making my own leaders, some leader material.

I'm going to co up to Cabela's (God bless coupons) and take a look-see at what they have.

Can anyone make any suggestions?

To Each and Every one of you...

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a safe holiday season.

Looking forward to 2011, I'm looking forward to some new opportunities for both fly fishing, as well as writing for this blog. Both have become equal passions of mine.

Great Discount from a Great Shop.

Scott's Fly Shop has a new website. As a result, they are offering a 30% discount until 12-31-10. Just use promo code SFS30 during checkout. These guys are also on eBay, but the code IS NOT good for purchases through there, just through their website.

I've ordered from Scott's before and have been impressed with their service. (The Bargain Bin is always worth a look. ) If you've never ordered from them, now would be a great time to give them a try, and save a bundle too.

DIY Fisherman's Neck Lanyard

Want a lanyard but don't feel like shelling out $50 for a fishin' necklace?

Check out this blog post from Flytying: New and Old, where the writer gives a recipe for making your own. Pretty easy to do, and it looks like it might cost ya all of $15 bucks.

Flytying: New and Old: DIY Fisherman's Neck Lanyard

Need anthor reason for C&R?

Check out the updated consumption advisories for PA, care of the DEP:

All of Pennsylvania remains under a blanket advisory that recommends limiting consumption of any recreationally-caught fish to one meal per week. This advisory is designed to protect against eating large amounts of fish from waters that have not been tested, or for certain species that have not been tested or fish that may contain other unidentified contaminants. One meal is considered to be one-half pound of fish for a 150-pound person.
For 2011, the following new advisories have been added due to mercury contamination:
• Two meals per month advisory for Smallmouth Bass in the Delaware River in Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties;
• One meal per month advisory for Largemouth Bass in Shohola Lake in Pike County;
• Two meals per month advisory for Largemouth Bass in Lackawanna Lake in Lackawanna County;
• Two meals per month advisory for Largemouth Bass in Stephen Foster Lake in Bradford County;
• One meal per month advisory for Smallmouth Bass in the Susquehanna River in Bradford and Wyoming counties;
• Two meals per month advisory for Smallmouth Bass in the Allegheny River in Warren, Forest, and Venango counties;
• One meal per month advisory for Northern Pike in Conneaut Lake in Crawford County; and
• One meal per month advisory for Largemouth Bass in Crystal Lake in Crawford County.

One new advisory has been added due to PCB contamination:
• One meal per month advisory has been issued for Corbicula (Asiatic Clam) in the Schuylkill River in Chester, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.

The following PCB advisories have been eased but not lifted:
• Carp in the Monongahela and the Ohio Rivers at the Point in Pittsburgh has been reduced to a one meal per month advisory;
• Channel Catfish in the Ohio River at the Point in Pittsburgh has been reduced to a one meal per month advisory;
• Brown Trout in Valley Creek in Chester County has been reduced to a one meal per month advisory. Note: Valley Creek remains a No Harvest – PFBC Catch and Release All Tackle Regulation.

Consumption advisories have been lifted for the following:
• Lackawanna Lake in Lackawanna County for Bluegill;
• West Conewago Creek in York County for Smallmouth Bass;
• Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers at the Point in Pittsburgh for Freshwater Drum;
• Licking Creek in Fulton and Franklin Counties for Smallmouth Bass.

Full Release Here: Newsroom | DEP

Bagging in Style

These have to be, hands down, the coolest creel bags I've ever seen. It's a little pricey, in my opinion, but in all honesty if I had the money to blow this would be on the top on my list.

It would be a bit better if they had a, ahem, less expensive model without all of the features. I.e. nix the nameplate, switch to plastic fly boxes, and switch some leather for canvas and you would have the working man's version.

But even still, it's damn cool.......I wonder if they'll let me test on for a review? *wink, wink*

Fly Fishing Bag

Nah, There's No Fish in There

I wanted to get some time on the water, and with the impending holiday(kids have off of school, money burning holes in pockets, etc) and with the start up of the second portion of hunting season, it looked like it was either today or never.

I up and started to get things ready. While grabbing my trusty 2wt, I paused and looked at the ol' St Croix 9' 5wt. Shaking my head and muttering about "too much rod" I grabbed the 7' 2wt and off I went.

Build-A-Leader Workshop

Ever since I started fly fishing, I've been using tapered knot-less leaders. They're pretty cheap and abundantly available. But soon I started to hear about furled leaders and started to wonder....

So the next time I was in a fly shop, I took a look around. And didn't see one. As in the next shop and the one after that.

Fly of the Week: Screaming Mimi

It's that time of year...... the weather is cold and most anglers are stuck inside. If your like me, this means a lot more time at the vice, tying flies while dreaming to the fish that the will catch.

Outdoor Blogger

I would like to proudly say that Flyfishinado is part of the Outdoor Blogger Network. These guys are a hub for bloggers that cover all manner of outdoors material. Camping, hiking, hunting, fishing.... you name it, someone's writing about it. And odds are, you can find it there.

Winter Reading: Sex, Death, and Fly Fishing

I just finished with Sex, Death, and Fly Fishing by John Gierach and must admit that I really enjoyed the book. The style is that of the narrator relating stories to the read, or as is more often, stories within stories.

More Events in February

Got some time to kill in February? Feel like hopping on a jet but don't know where to go? Well, on Feb 17-19, there's the China Fishing Show!

It's Alive!!!

A Japanese species of Salmon, the black kokanee, was thought to have died out 70 years ago. Until someone found them thriving in a lake near Mt. Fuji.

Check out the full article here.

Canadian Black Dose - Step By Step

Check out this really easy to follow step-by-step tutorial on how to tie a Canadian Black Dose. It's a beautiful wet fly, but with these instructions it's broken down to managable bites.

Hatches - Canadian Black Dose

Getting a little Greener

I came across an online tackle company who only sells environmentally friendly fishing tackle, Green Tackle. I hopped right over to the Fly Fishing section and saw the expected varieties of Boss Tin and Tungsten weights. But what did catch my eye was the biodegradable tippet.

Fly of the Week: Black Bertha

This is a nymph pattern that I created this Spring and quickly became one of my "go-to" patterns to get results. It  doesn't matter the water clarity, the weather, the temperature.... I have had success with this fly in any and all conditions.

Stolen Boat: any info?

I know that this is a long shot, but I wanted to repost this about a stolen drift boat. If anyone might have some info, click on the link back to the original thread and contact the original poster.

Find the thread here.

dryfly87  New Member   Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 4

Caution: Stolen boat Hi everybody, Still new to the site but I thought I'd post this for my sake and anyone looking at buying a drift boat. I recently had my Hyde signature series drift boat stolen from me while fishing the South Holston river below the Weir Dam. Just trying to put the word out. From what I have heard boats can travel far quickly so even you guys out west may run into it. Quick description: 06, maroon/white, G4, only floated 4 times so looks new. Also, big rip in the guide seat that I glued a piece of clear vynal over, maroon color matched trailer, all options. Thanks guys P.S. Homeowners insurance will only cover $1500 of any stolen boat in the great state of NC.

Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Much Hoopla coming to Philly

The annual Fly Fishing Show has announced that it will add a new stop to the tour, the Valley Forge Convention Center in March, which is just outside of Philadelphia. It's also a quick double hop (no sissy skips here) from Flyfishinado HQ.

A Day of Walking the Rod

The misses had decided to take the kids to the mall today, giving me a pass for a few hours. It had been misty and drizzly since last night, but with the air temp in the 60's, this was not an opportunity that I wanted to miss. I quickly loaded up the 2wt and out the door I went.

Ava's Midge

I was tying up some crayfish patterns that I've been working on last night and as is usually the case, my 3 year old daughter was down i n the basement with me. When down there she is doing one of two things, getting into my martial arts equipment (3 year old + Filipino fighting sticks =  bruises and/or quick reflexes) or she is standing there transfixed as Daddy "makes bugs."

Blood Knot Magazine

Just spend the past few minutes "flipping" through Blood Knot magazine, a free online 'zine of all things fly and fishy. This one was their holiday issues.

But be forewarned, you will need Flash Player to view it.

Alternative Fly Fishing Dictionary | Terminology

Some great humor for an early Thursday.....

Alternative Fly Fishing Dictionary | Terminology

A Bugger of a Time

I was tying up a bunch of woolly buggers the other night, and decided to give them a try tonight. I wasplaying with some unusual color combinations, and like a kid in a candy store, couldn't wait to tear open the package, so to speak.

The colors where a white tail with a worm brown body (medium dun hackle), a white tail with a hot pink body (medium dun hackle), a red tail/body with a blue dun hackle, and a neon green with black stripped tail with a neon green body (black hackle.) All on size 14 nymph hooks. The worm brown and the pink really ticked my interest, so I grabbed those two, as well as a few other flies and headed out.

Fly of the Week: the Banshee

The Banshee is everything that I like in a dry fly, it's big, it's buggy, and it's bushy. I've had the best success with  dries that are just like that, and this one is no exception.

Lake Erie Steelhead Fishing Primer (Part 1) | Dharma of the Drift

Stumbled across this blog, and it has an entire Lake Erie Steelhead fishing primer on it. I read the entire first part and skimmed through much of the rest, and I have to say that it is a very entertaining and informative read if your a novice Erie Chrome Catcher.

Allen Fly Fishing Logo Contest

Allen Fly Fishing Co in having a contest for a new logo design. Winner gets $500 in fly gear!!!! That would keep me in new gear for about a week.  :)

I already have one design done and am hoping for multiple submissions.

Wish me luck!

Blue Fly Cafe - New Site Launch

Before I started tying, these were they guys I would go to first to get my flies. I bought about $75 worth of flies from these guys, then went and priced them at a local shop. They would have charged me over $200....! I'm all for supporting my local shops, but a dude needs a break once in a while.

Fly of the Week Holiday Special: Candy Cane Caddis

Being in the festive mood while at my vice, I tied up this fly for the Holiday season. But be advised, it in no way tastes like a candy cane. Trust me......

Some Hopper Fun

Foam Hopper Tour

Check out this link for some foam hopper patterns. The farther down you go the better they get...... the Santa Hopper, the Smiley Hopper, and the Chopper are my fav's.

Needle Fly Salmon Grabber

Found a site that shows how to construct a fly with a needle..... Pretty interesting. Seems like it's similar to tying a tube fly, but with a regular household needle.

Making a Needle Fly

I'm not sure if I agree with using a treble hook, I would probably go with a caddis hook. But I can see that this would be a great way to tie a bunch of streamers to swing and only need a hook or two.

Killer Shrimp from Across the Pond

No, it's not the latest Bruce Campbell movie, although it would be pretty cool. It's an invasive species of aggressive shrimp originating from Western Europe (near the Black and Caspian Seas) that "kills a range of native species, including young fish, and significantly alters ecosystems."

Elbow Deep In Whitetail - not a fish tail :)

We're one week into the regular Whitetail season here in PA and so far I've had some darn good luck.

Monday was opening day. My uncle has some property attached to his house near here so this is where the family usually hunts (indoor plumbing is nice too.) I got there at about 6am. I don't like tromping through the fields and woods when I can't see jack, so my custom is to sit and drink a cup of coffee while waiting for my dad, whose custom it is to be late.

Fly of the Week: Letort Hopper

This hopper pattern was created in the 1950's by Ed Shenk, from right here in good ol' Pennsylvania. It's simple, fairly easy to tie, and can do wonders on a trout stream in mid-summer.

But a word of warning, if your not careful, this can start to look like a muddler minnow.

Letort Hopper:
#8 hook (can be tied on 14-6)
Body: Hare's Ear Dubbing
Wing: Inner - Mottled Turkey Quill, Outer - Grey Deer Belly

Find your Flow

Someone pointed out this resource to me a while ago and thought I'd pass it along to all of you. It's the USGS Waterwatch website.

What that means in English, is that you can go to the site and check the current water flows all across the country. Just click the interactive map and get magically whisked away to (wherever you clicked.) Then you hover over the small circles to get a pop-up of latest USGS data for that waterway.

Pretty cool, huh?

WaterWatch -- Maps and graphs of current water resources conditions

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It's time to sit back, think of all the things that you have that make life a little less nuts, and rest up for the whirlwind season that is Christmas.

I'm thankful for a loving family and friends that might as well be family. I'm thankful that I've been given the opportunity to be home for the last 2 years with my young daughter and take care of her; not too many fathers get to do that.  And I'm thankful for the Grace of God to get me through all that :) .

I'm also thankful for getting introduced to one of the finest and most challenging outdoors sports created; and for every second that I've been able to spend fishing and not spend it doing some other mind-numbing task. Being able to get out and take everything in....... there's no better way to spend time on Earth.

And I'm thankful for everyone that stops by on this site and reads my incoherent jumbles. It's nice to know that I'm not just talking to myself.

Have a drink on me...

How to Make Bacon Bourbon and Other Flavorful Spirits - FoxNews.com

Just in time for the holidays! Wow your guests! Just enjoy your bacon responsibly.

Writers Unite!

Love writing and fly fishing? Enter the fiction contest by Fly Rod and Reel and you just might get your work published (along with a nice size check).

Per the site:

"A distinguished original essay or work of short fiction that embodies an implicit love of fly-fishing, respect for the sport and the natural world in which it takes place, and high literary values."

The contest is closed for 2010, but admissions are open for next year as of January 1st.

Fly-fishing - 2010 Robert Traver Fly-Fishing Writing Award

In the meantime, why don't you check out the 2009 winner Pete Fromm. It's only an excerpt, but it's quite good.

IGFA New Pending Record

Congrats to James Hodgson on the 100 lbs. African Threadfin. It wasn't on a fly rod but, by God that's a big fish!

The Latest Pending Records from the IGFA | Field & Stream

Casting For Recovery

The following email was posted on the North American Fly Fishing Forum. It is from Casting For Recovery, a non-profit that helps treat breast cancer survivors fly fishing lessons. They are in a contest to win a $250,000 grant from Pepsi. I encourage everyone to vote to help them get some much needed funding and support.

Fly of the Week: a double header!

Yeah, I know. I missed last week. Sorry guys! Between projects for work (I'm a freelance web designer) and projects for my classes (God bless higher education) I didn't have time to look at the vice, let alone sat at it.

So to make up for it, I'll give ya a double header (and early); 2 flies for the price of one! Ready? Here we go....

Love Fish and Camo?

Then you'll be happy to here that they've been married! Not in that way. Better.

Fishouflage is offering camo gear that highligts fish. I know, it sounds like a weird concept, so I had to check it out. I was afraid that it would be a little bit hokey, but I went on the site and the clothing looks pretty good.

The patterns on the shirt are a muted regular camo. They then overlay that with underwater scenes featuring a specific fish (bass, trout, etc.) Not only do they have shirts, but the also have hats, gear bags, and other accessories.

What a neat product to find just before the holidays....  :)

Beautiful Classic Wet Flies

I was nosing through the WWW the other day and stumbled on two sites that about classic wet flies.

I don't know why but I've always had a love for classically tied wet flies. There's a simple eloquence about them that will always make them stand out among the flies of the world.

Fly of the Week: Crimson Leech

Here's a different take on a leech pattern. This can be tied with or without the weighted eyes, but since I usually fish this with a floating line i just tie them with the extra weight.

If I had a million dollars....

I received the 2011 Cabela's fly fishing catalog a few days ago and just sat down to flip through it. Bad idea. I now have about 50 things on my wish list...... so if anyone has a couple grand laying around that they have no use for, feel free to send it my way. I'll give those poor little dollars a good home. :)

Have a good weekend!

Fly of the Week: Muddler Minnow

The Muddler Minnow is a great little general pattern that every fly fisher should have in their arsenal. While it can be a pain to tie (dang stacked deer hair!!) once you get it down, your good to go on a lot of other patterns that require that dreaded deer hair.

Lake Erie Steelhead trip: The trip home.

I woke up at around 5am and, knowing that I wasn't going to fall back asleep, I got up and wondered aimlessly down the stream a bit. My buddy was sound asleep, so I thought that I would suit up and sit at the spot where I landed my first fish and wait for enough light to see.

This time I fitted my reel with a sink tip, because yesterday I was having problems using the current to get to the bottom of the pool where the steelies were laying.

Fly of the Week: Ant's Retriever

A very popular fly right now, at least here in PA, is the Golden Retriever, which is the same as the fly below, except it uses only tan and/or gold colored material. The pattern below is a little more flashier and is a great attractor pattern.

The secret to this fly is that it is essentially a Wooly Bugger, but with different materials. Fish it the same way as you would a bugger.

Erie Trip Day 2: the saga continues

Saturday started early for me. About 1:30am to be exact.

That's the time that I woke up and noticed that the air mattress that I was on was flat. I woke up because my back was freezing from being on the ground. It was low 40's that night, so it was cold!

To cold for me to crawl out from my sleeping bag (rated to -20, thank God) and mess around with the mattress, so I roughed it until morning.

Lake Erie Steelhead trip Pt1

Here is the report of my weekend trip to Elk Creek for my inaugural search for some steelhead. I have to apologize for some of the photos; I don't have a waterprood digital camera, so I had bought a waterproof disposable one. Lets just say, big mistake.  So if your looking at getting the Kodak waterproof disposable, keep looking. Half the photos taken didn't turn out and of the one's that did, a third looked horrible. Luckily I took my digital with, just not when I was wading.

But anyway.....

I'm Back!

The trip was excellent, but it's good to be back at the homestead. now I have some lies... I mean reports to type, some pics to sort through, and will begin to bring everything together tomorrow and start posting here.

Stay tuned!

Off to the races

In less than 12 hours I will be on my way to be up to my neck in steelhead (hopefully. ) I hope everyone has a great weekend. Pics and report to start Monday.

Fly of the Week: Grey Comparadun

The Comparadun is relatively modern fly (given the age of fly fishing, that is.) This fly made it's first appearance in the book Hatches by Bob Nastasi and Al Caucci in 1975 as a "no hackle dry fly"(my quotes, not theirs.) It is a mayfly imitation and can be tied in sizes 10-20.

We're gonna need a bigger box.

Gather everything together for my Lake Erie trip in a few days and I put together my fly boxes. If I don't have something in here that will work, I'm hanging up my waders for good.

The great part is that these boxes have compartments on the other side and one is of the boxes is stuffed full of egg patterns in various colors. Fish on!

New Addition to the Famliy

I won a Sila Flex fiberglass rod off of eBay the other day, and much to my surprise it showed up on my doorstep today. I figured that I wouldn't see this baby until after I got back from my trip this weekend at least.

My skunking is over!

After having a really productive spring and summer, my luck had sort of fizzled out the past month or two.

But with one glass rod that I already had and another one on the way from ebay, I bought an a new Medalist 1492 because I heard that a 6-7 wt line will really give a glass rod it's feel.

And like a kid with a dollar in his pocket, I was twitching like a goat with an itch to get out and use it.

So I set out today with the new reel, the old rod, and two kids in tow.

Don't you just love the system

It appears that the the PA Senate has adjured for the year without agreeing on a compromise for the Marcellus Shale Gas Extraction severance tax, even though PA Senate Leaders had a written commitment from earlier this year that a tax would be passed by October 1st.

But instead of sticking around and doing the jobs that my fellow PA'ers elected them to do, they are leaving Harrisburg (our capital) to go back to their constituents and campaign so that they can keep the jobs that they failed to do.

You see, there was a lot more than just the Marcellus Shale tax on the books that was supposed o be finished this year, but they didn't get to it. And since they didn't get to it, and this is an election year, and they decided to call it an early.... year (how many of us have that option?) all of the un-passed legislation is now dead and must wait until after the beginning of next year for the new PA Congress to begin the process again.

Let's just say I can't wait until the incumbent PA Senators come through here asking for my vote. I look forward to looking them in the eye and asking why I should vote them back into a job that they never finished.

But on a lighter note, less than one week until my Steelhead trip to Erie. I'm already starting to drool.......

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.

You can't beat old fashioned great service.

I ordered some fly tying materials from Scott's Fly Shop through their eBay store and I honestly couldn't be more pleased with the service.

I ordered the stuff about mid morning Monday and that evening I received an email that the items were in the mail. I received them today and when I opened it there was a little something extra as well as a note on the invoice from the owner thanking me for my business.

I am impressed with the turn around time of the this transaction and surprised and appreciative of the bonus material and the note.

I can say that Scott can look forward to taking my money in the future. Keep up the good work!

When it rains it pours.

Woke up this morning to the sounds of rain. Pouring rain. We're talking barrels here. Which is good, because in this part of PA we are desperate for it.

Barbed or Barbless, the debate continues.

I just read an interesting blog article from several years ago. You can view it here.

The blog discusses the effects that barbed or barbless hooks have on the mortality rates of fish. A study by Westerman is mentioned as finding that barbed hooks have a higher impact on mortality rates than barbless, but that there is no analytical data to show such. A study by Taylor and White agree with Westerman's findings using meta-analysis.

A horrible day fishing but a great night on the water

I live in SE PA and we have had almost no rain all summer. The last two days it rained all day and put the water levels up a little bit. I thought I'd go out and swing some streamers. I was hoping that the extra-murky water might get some catfish cruising around. I grabbed my 8 wt (which I wanted to dust off before my steelhead trip next month anyway) my reel with sink tip on it, and hand full of streamers and nymphs and went out the door.

Getting Strapped

While this may not be technically considered fly fishing gear, it's certainly a great outdoors item from a company that is doing some pretty great things.

The company is called Survival Straps. They use 500 lbs para-cord to make bracelets, belts, gun slings, etc. The idea is that you keep it on you and then if you are ever in some sort of a survival scenario, you unravel it and use it as you need it. They even claim that if you use it and send them the remains, with your story, they will replace it free of cost. (I've been tempted to take mine apart and send it back with a note "Shoelace Broke"  to see if they would send another one, but thought that might be abusing the system.)

Ant's Special Streamer

It's a dreary, rainy day so I thought that I would catch up on tying some flys. I noticed that I was low on one of my favorite streamers, a pattern I created and called Ant's Special Streamer(very original name, I know.) I've had luck with this one on panfish and bass, and some limited success on trout. I'm going to pit it against some steelhead at the end of next month; we'll see how that turns out.

The color of my parachute

Not sure about you, but I usually have one bugger of a time tying parachute wings. Maybe I need to take remedial fly tying again or something, but I find this "easy" way to tie on wings more difficult than the traditional way.

Protect your weapon... on the cheap.

I was getting things ready for my Lake Erie steelie trip at the end of next month and realized that I don't have a tube for my rod, just the sock. It's a 4 pc, 9' 8wt from a big-box store.

So I did what I did for a few of my other rods that are shield-less. I made one from PVC!

And in the beginning......

It seems kind of silly to be starting a blog right now if only because the waters here in southeastern PA are so low due the lack of summer rain that they have been pretty much unfishable for several weeks. But I need to find something else to do with my otherwise-would-be-fishing time, and a man can only tie so many flies without going buggy (bad pun intended.)