The Ultralight Championship

(Insert Eye of the Tiger here....)

Well, here it is at last. (Long last, I know....) Tenkara pitted against a 2wt. They go blow for blow to finally put to rest the speculation on which is the Ultimate in Fly Fishing. Can Western Fly Fishing stay on top, or will it be trumped by this millenia-old new comer?

The Tenkara rod used for this is the Fountainhead 11' Caddis rod with a furled thread leader. I will admit now that I really like this rod. So much that I haven't yet felt the need to "upgrade" to a TenkaraUSA rod. Sorry Daniel-san (I wonder how often he hears that one....?) If you want a bit of a comparison between the Caddis and the TenkaraUSA Iwana, Troutrageous! did a great one here.

Fly of the Week: Shad Fly

Do to a hectic schedule, a laptop that was down all last week (hence no FotW last week) and being a bit under the weather this week, things have been a bit quiet around here. I have to apologize for that, things will pick up again, promise!

Here's a neat little warm water baitfish fly: the Shad.

Fly of the Week: the Lite Brite Buzzer

It seems that every time I'm on Youtube looking for a fly video for here, the one I find is made by Davie McPhail. Either this guy makes some cool looking bugs or it's a damn conspiracy.

Anyway, here is (yet another....) fly by Davie, the Lite Brite Buzzer. This fly is real simple to tie but yet the end product looks like it wouldn't be.

Fly of the Week: the Fluffy Minnow

Since it appears that iMovie needs more than 40 minutes to upload a 5 minute video to Youtube and work seems to think that I should show up on time, this is a bit later than I wanted to post this. But rather late than never, I guess.

So without further ado, the Fluffy Minnow.

Fluffy Minnow

Hook: Streamer Hook - size 4

Tail: Pearl Krystal Flash

Underbody: Bill's Wooly Bugger Maribou Chenille Olive

Overbody/Tail: Olive Rabbit strip

Head: Pale Pink Lazerlights

Product Review - Bill's Wooly Bugger Maribou Chenille

Bill's Crazy Chenille! 

I got this stuff from the local fly shop probably around 2 years ago. I vaguely remember tying one fly with it to try it out. I then threw it in with my other chenille/yarns and promptly forgot about it.

Tonight I was tying some streamer patterns and buggers and stumble on it. I have Bill's Wooly Bugger Maribou Chenille in olive, but it comes in about 2 dozen colors. Anything from Oyster to red.

My new "catch" - some vintage fly gear

Was at the auction the other week (silent auction to be specific) and bid on some old fly gear. Among it was what appeared to be an old Medalist and (what I really had my eye on) a Wright and Mcgill Featherlight fly rod.

The Featherlight was a bust but I did get the Medalist paired with some no name fiberglass rod. The rods most telling feature is that it's brown....The Medalist is a 1494 AK.

Quick research shows that the oldest this will be is 1979. Still, it's in very good shape for being potentially over 30 years old. More research is forthcoming.

What really has my interest is the rod. As mysterious as it is, I would love to learn more about, if only what kind of blank was used. Anyone have any ideas where to start?

New York Trip 2012

I have to say that my trip to Lake Ontario this year was a giant success. The kids got there time in at the beach and we got to relax and get some fishing in. Even broke in a brand new rod (literally.) Big shout out to Fat Nancy's Bait Shop. Very helpful with info and if you need to return a rod 2 hours after you bought it. They didn't laugh once(while I was there.)

The Misses (almost) caught her largest fish to date; a smallie in the harbor that the knot to the hook snapped on just as I was reaching to bring him in. Don't know what jackass tied that knot..............

This trip was especially sweet as I got to fish with my Grandfather, which I haven't done in longer than I can remember.

Enough blather; here's a quick recap.

Me and my fish spine shots....

In the winter this is teeming with salmon. Now, some smallies. (Second rod-notice the UPC still attached. Ha!) 

Fat Nancy. 

Harbor smallie - Schwing!

The Harbor.

Salmon River, near where it empties into Lake Ontario.

The only Sheepshead of the trip- landed by Pop Pop. 

Mr. Stonelfy was checking out of the hotel the same time we did. 

View of the Lake from my Uncles. 

A New York summary and an early Happy 4th

The trip to New York has been great! Lots of relaxing, a bit of fishing, and the calming effect that both bring was much needed. The only bad part is that it was much to short.This is our last night here.
Since we're heading back tomorrow I wanted to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July. Stay cool and stay safe. Internet and phone reception suck, so a more though recounting will come soon, alone with the just almost finished Ultralightweight Championship. But to summarize this trip, all I would say is this:

Great things in the Works

Just  a quick update: I haven't forgotten about the Ultralight Championship posting, pitting a 2wt western rod against a Tenkara rod. Things are just going a little slower than expected.

Having to finish (start) a project that I started (should have started) a month ago and this week I was contacted about a possible new job, so things have been a little faster paced than I expected. Not to mention that I'm going up to my uncles cabin in NY next week, to max relax and hopefully wet a line or two.

So in the meantime hold your horses and watch this. Christmas in July, anyone? (Disclaimer: foul language abounds. But that is offset by the fact that it's a Christmas tree covered in friggin bacon!)

Fly of the Week: the Jungle Beetle

Terrestrials are in full swing right now, so it only makes sense to present one as the FotW. And this is one of the sweetest beetle patterns I've seen in a very long time. If you have some Jungle Cock and a UV torch lying around, you're going to have a lot of fun with this (and if not, just watch anyway. This fly is damn good.)

You'll Always Remember your First

Your first car. Your first kiss. Your first job. The first time you fucked (Hey this is a family blog!) 

Maybe not you're first fish (depending on age) but the first one that mattered. The one that made you realize that there just might be something in trying to slip a piece of steel through a fishes jawbone and showing your mastery of it.

The first time that you realized that this was not the most important thing in fishing.

There is something about your first that's magical. You're first wild trout or your first steelhead. The first never seems to be the biggest fish, the hardest fight or the world class trophy. But it is the most endearing.

Fly of the Week: Texas Rose Muddler

The Fly of the Week this week is the Texas Rose Muddler, a Muddler Minnow variant. This is a very nice variant that I can see working great for warm water fish, but I really wanted to include this video because of the way that he does his half-hitches.  I was taught a way that wraps the thread around your finger but his way, with a little practice, seems to be worlds simpler.

Fly of the Week: Golden Crane Caddis

Use the Crane. There is no defense against it.

This caddis emerger pattern is smooth, silky, and oh so buggy in the water. Fish this one right in the film or just under the surface.

Golden Crane Caddis

Hook: Size 10 (this is a nymph hook but an emerger hook is best. Sorry, I was fresh out.)
Body: Tan Spectrablend
Rib: Copper Wire
Wing: Gold Mallard Flank
Hackle: Partridge

Care to Tanago? The Devolution of Fishing

Fishermen and women go through stages in their lifetime; an evolution map charting their delving into the sport. Most are very similar.

You work at catching any fish you can. Then you target specific fish. Trout. Bass. Tarpon. Carp. Then the biggest versions of said chosen fish you can get your greedy little hooks into.

Some will then deviate via the gear. Ultralight. Only fiberglass. Only Dry flies. Shall I shudder and say tandem rigs? Like monkeys into man we walk the span that most fly fishers already have and will tomorrow. It's evolution.

But it looks like there's a growing number of anglers that are devolving.

I've heard whispers around the Internet and read forbidden texts about a style of fishing where it's not the biggest and the baddest but the smallest and humblest that are the quarry.

Tanago.

I first heard of it on a blog post talking about a Daiwa rod that, to my naivety, I thought was a new Tenkara rod. In a way I was right. But then again I couldn't have been more wrong.

This post linked to one by Tenkarabum(TB). After reading that one I was both shocked and befuddled. Did someone really land a blacknosed dace?? 

TB referred to them as minnow rods and I think that is a very apt description. Very soft rods to feel the power of very small fish.

I can see the appeal. Sort of.

The appeal is that these rods open up those waters small enough to step over; with an environment that is just barely friendlier to life than the surface of Mars. Or those waters that you know get stocker trout but have been overfished and only the fingerlings are left.

Waters you wouldn't have given the time of day to you could now court, romance, maybe even love.

But I would worry about getting that one fish on that is to powerful for these petite rods. A fish that can't be controlled could easily be played to the point of a fatality. And I feel that would be the irresponsibility of the fisherman.

But on waters you know couldn't support fish over the certified size of a dink: oh, the fun to be had!

I don't know if I personally am read to dive into this subspecies of Tenkara quite yet. And as for the bait casting version of this; all I can ask is what kind of bait do you use to catch slightly bigger bait?

But I do look forward to seeing if this mentality of fishing works its way out of the shadows and more anglers embrace devolving.

Billy Bass and my Charlton Heston Impressions

As many of you know, I've been working at putting Tenkara and my 2wt through their paces to determine with one comes out to be the Ultimate in Lightweight Fly Fishing.

This isn't about that. Sort of.

Gee, Scobby, don't look like
fish are in there!

I was out on my local stream last night hitting it with the 2wt. I was here the other week with the Tenkara and figured that the 2wt should have a shot at these waters too. Fair is fair.

I'm not getting into what I did, where I did it and who it was with. That would ruin the surprise. This story starts on the way back from the testing.

Fly of the Week: Tenkara Fly by Davie McPhail

If you fish Tenkara, you know instantly what I'm talking about. And if you don't I'm sure you've seen them; the funny lil dry flies with the hackle the wrong way.

Well, here's a video from Davie McPhail that shows you how to tie one of those funny lil buggers, and he takes it to the next level with a couple of nice details that I think will work great. Enjoy!

Getting hassled by the Man

At least that's what's happening to OJ(Owl Jones, not the other one. Although he seems to have the same problems too...... must be all that white girl killing thing.) Anyway, if you somehow missed it, read the latest episode  here.

To respond, he's created some newfangled what's-it called Communists Conservative Outdoors. We're supposed to stay tuned, so, umm.... stay tuned.

Tenkara, Browns, and a setup for the UL Championship

I really didn't intent to go fishing today. And when the impromptu urge hit me, storm clouds where heavy in the air and the first few patters of rain were hitting my windshield. I had errands to run at the Big W store and I had to pick up a few things from my old house, so I figured that the evening was a wash. (Get it? Raining....wash...... ba dum bum.)

But when I walked out of the old house, the skies were a bright blue, the sun was shining and the storm clouds were almost completely over the horizon. I took it as a sign and decided that the stream at my old honey spot would be just what I need to wash out the bittersweetness I get every time I move more of my things out.

Oops....

Seems some of you were on here while I was working out the kinks for the new design for the blog. Sorry about all that craziness. Hope you guys were laughing while I was cursing.

-A

Getting Social

I've broken down and done it. No nothing illegal.

What I've done it brought Flyfishinado to Social Media.

I'm dabbling my feet in this since Social Media gives me the mixed feeling of eating to many chili dogs prior to getting on the merri-go-round.  So to start I've opened a Twitter account and a Youtube Channel.

Youtube has an action packed video of some trout rising out of a pool on my local beat (well, about as action packed as any video of trout rising can be) and Twitter allows me to zap my inanities straight to you. Day and night. Forever. (I would also like to apologize for everything beforehand. My doctor does say I'm getting better. I promise.)

So let's link up, plug in, or whatever catch words they're using this month, and let the craziness begin.

Blog Shout Out - Fly Fishing in Philadelphia

I've been spending my weekends in the Philly area with thoughts of moving down here in the somewhat near future. Since I really don't know the are to well, especially what to expect from the fisheries down here, I started doing a little research. That's how I stumbled upon Fly Fishing in Philadelphia. This was the first link I clicked on and I spent the next hour wandering about the site.

Honestly, the site isn't just a blog, but I linked to the blog part above. The postings are short and sweet, but are concise and really well written. Only about 50% are Philly specific so a lot of the content is universal.

the other sections of the site contain bits about fishing with the family, great spots in the area(which I've already fished some and have to agree) and a gear review section.

All in all a great litte piece of the internet.

Dipping in the Bath Water

Hit the local lake for the first warm water session of the year. The scenery was beautiful, the water was warm enough to bath in(making the neoprene waders and even more ridiculous choice...) and the fish were assholes. And no, I don't want to talk about it.

Orvis Spectrablend Dubbing - Review

Over this past long (but not nearly long enough) weekend, I wandered into the local Orvis store. If you've never been to one, you get a Macy's feel, but it's for "fly fisherman." Since 90% of the store is geared towards lifestyle merchandise and not gear directly related to fishing, the outdoors distinction is somewhat dubious.

Happy Memorial Day

Today is a day set aside to remember those who have served, and died, for this country and the ideal that our belief in democracy and freedom is one worth fighting for. I hope every one takes a few moments today to remember our boys over in the Middle East, at Walter Reed, and the ones that never were heard from again in Vietnam. Those are our everyday heros who gave of themselves everything to something greater than all of us. Thank you to all those boys in blue, past and present.

Dinks catching dinks and Urban Warfare

With the misses at work and the tween off at her friends house, it looked like I might get in some Daddy/(younger)daughter time. Since she has been bugging for the past month of Fridays to go fishing, it looked time to cash in on that.


I quickly butchered some of her old sweatpants and we were ready for business.


We were at her mothers house outside of Philadelphia. I've never fished this area before by myself and really had no idea where to go that would be kid friendly(i.e. lots of stupid fish.) I had to stop in for some bait anyway(Ava's a lil too lil for a fly rod yet) so I stopped in at Tackle Box and Beyond. Nice little shop and they even have a small fly fishing section.


While there I asked about a good spot to go and the lady directed me to a spot she just left that she said she was pulling out panfish "right and left." She even wrote down the directions.


A very big kudos and thank you, mysterious stranger!!


With a combination of the gal's directions and Siri(I really should learn this area better.....) we were there in no time and walking back the trail.


The trail was a smaller trail that branched off one of the major urban hiking trails in the area. Even the smaller trail received a fair amount of traffic but no fisherman were to be seen. It's very odd to this semi-country boy to be able to go from a residential area to what seems the heart of the wilderness in the span of a football field.


I guided her hands on the first few casts but we were having trouble getting out into the pool. I saw a gill near the bank so we lobbed it to him.




Fish on!

Fish quickly to hand. I then showed her how to wet her hands before handling the fish and how to properly release it(which is, despite her first attempt, not chucking it out into the middle of the stream. She did get better, I promise....)


After that she was done with casting. It then became Daddy's job to cast and hook and her job to reel in and release once I had it off the hook. Between fish, she figured her time was best spent splashing and trying to give the fish heart attacks. Easier to bring to hand, I guess.
 This way we got about 10 to hand, with another 10 or so that suffered from premature release(no, not the kind to be had in Asian massage parlors.) Sizes ranged from bait size to one's with some heft so it was a nice mix. 


So as it stands now, this kid is whooping me in fish this year. But that's ok. I just won't take until I catch up. :-)


Afterwards we feasted our triumph.

Shhh, I'm hunting poachers...

Just read an article that at first glance shocked me to the core. The article? "Poachers Can Be Shot, Officials In India Declare." The shocking part? I thought it said Indiana.......

Stupid Fish

I've spent the past two evenings walking stream side; casting what would be to the layman bits of fluff and thread placed on a hook hoping that skill, perseverance, and a little bit of that certain something will result in the perfect drag. Then is that magical moment when the fish, in out case a trout, gently sips the bit of fluff into it's maw and we will spend a few moments battling wills, light from the setting sun glinting off of ripples in the tailwater, until the fish at last comes to hand.

A little late, but....

All but six months into the year, almost 2 months after "trout season" opened, and I finally decided to saunter over and get my license? And admit my shame for all the world (or the three people who still read this) to see? I know. A big "WTF, mate?"

Well, to sum it up, the past year has been a bit difficult over at the FF volcano lair. I will try to keep from going into a "woe is me" litany and say that I've had to move into a much smaller volcano. I was finally able to land a full time gig and about the same time I received an influx of freelance web design work early this year.

This was a great change in my fortunes for which I can't begin to express how grateful I am, I did leave me with very little time for anything other that going to work and them coming home so that I could go to work.

I've finished a few of my projects up and now find that I do have a little bit of time. Enough time to finally get to sneak out to a stream, which is what I did this evening. But I'll post about that later this week.

I've popped on here a few times these past couple months and have seen that more people than ever are stopping by. Not really sure what ya'll are looking at, but I sincerely appreciate everyone that has stopped in and continued to view the site. It's enough to nudge me into making this a priority again, if a middle burner one. My only guarantee is that there really are no guarantees. But do look for a little more updates on my end

Again, thank you everyone that makes (and has made in the past) a stopping point on your search for fly fishing info. While silent, I have noticed.

Tight lines,
Anthony

What the Frack? - Marcellus Shale Tax

Legislation has been passed in PA for impact fees regarding the Marcellus Shale. In case you've been under a rock (made of shale, perhaps...?) Marcellus Shale is a giant natural gas reserve underneath the Appalachian Mountains, covered by PA and NY, as well as WV and MD. Coincidentally, it's also covered by some of these states most pristine trout fisheries.

As you can imagine, when trout streams go up against gas drilling, they lose. Unforutnately, that's not changing.

Congrats to Jason Pepin!

Mr. Pepin is winner of the Jig It Ice Fishing Extravaganza at Escanaba Yacht Harbor in the Upper Peninsula in Michigan, bringing home a pot of $3,000 at this charity event. 


So what did the winning haul look like? A 4.5 oz perch. 


That's right. Out of 400 odd contestants, Jason landed the only fish of the day.

So kudos to him. I hope he gets a fiberglass replica made. One can always use a new key-chain. 

Getting the itch.

Between things popping up in my personal life almost non-stop for longer than I care to think about, I haven't been hitting the water much. Since October, to be technical. In fact all things fly fishing (including this blog) have unfortunately been put on the back burner if not placed back in the fridge.

Well, that bug has hit. The past few days have been exceptionally nice here in PA (today we topped at 62) and my skin is a starting to itch. It's been way to long. Past time to clip on that license, blow the dust off of those rod tubes and fill the crisp, Spring-like mornings with curses as I work the rust out.

No Pants Subway Ride

Just another reason to be thankful I have a car. Check out this Flickr blog of people, riding the subway, with no pants.

Also, the Flyfishinado Parent of the Year goes to the mother who drug her baby girl out on the subway. Thank God some therapist doesn't have to worry about unemployment in about 20 years. Runner up is the obvious mother-with-toddler.

I have only ever been on a subway once. It was St. Patrick's Day (which should tell you about my mental state more eloquently than any words of mine could) and I still remember the remarkable stench of urine that I got to experience. I don't think I would ride one without a Haz-Mat suit on, let alone without pants.

A quick ramble.

I just read an entertaining yet insightful post from one Owl Jones. It's about some tips for new bloggers, and people interested in starting a blog. To paraphrase (and simplify) him, post things and eventually someone will become angry, spiteful,, mocking and downright mean.

I'm going to add to this. If you blog or do anything that the general public will see, you will piss some people off. And they will let you know. Many times at great length; to the point you wonder what they did with their time before find you.