Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Winter session 18, Wild rainbows, Dry fly action!

 Well today Josh and I got out on a N.J. wild trout stream. It sure is a beauty and the hiking was fun. But the fishing was so, so. The creek we fished boast wild bows, brooks, and browns.  The weather today was beautiful and so was the flora and the fishy fauna.  The weather warmed up and man did the bugs start hatching!! Winter caddis out the ying yang, and fish going bonkers. I swapped out the nymphs and rigged up for dry fly action.  I didn't have anything good for a representation of the hatching pupa,(I was armed with nymphs and midges)  but I did managed to get a little guy on a rs-II fished dry. The commotion the fish made once hooked, put the other down, and they didn't return. The hatch was over rather quickly, only about 15mins or so.

  So back to the nymphs I went and we worked up stream further. We seen a rise here and there but we didn't have any trouble getting to take the nymphs.  The buzzer did well on the bows and the U.V. High Test Hares Ear did well on the browns.  But the definite winner of the day was the Golden Oldie. With "more than four" we hiked on back to the car to head on home.



Monday, January 30, 2012

Winter session 17, attack of the U.V. H.H.E.

  Well got today for some more flying. It was a productive day, the trout wouldn't take anything other than the U.V. High Test Hare's Ear.  It was remarkable how not one came on the trailer, but the hares ear is a deadly fly. We fished a section of stream that we haven't fished in a long time. It was a lot of fun relearning it and re-exploring it.  Josh managed a double tri-fecta. One coming from 1 run alone.  The day went quick, with many fish to hand. It was nice to catch wild brook trout, as well as my favorite....WILD BROWNS!!!!  Some stone flies were milling around, and midges started to hatch, but the fish stayed tuned into the U.V. High Test Hares Ear.  All in all it was a great day to be outside in the wild.


Sunday, January 29, 2012

Redesigning the Willow stone

   The willow stone, well, Its not quite mastered yet. Some versions have been quite effective, but I don't just design for effectiveness. I want the fly to be durable as well. I don't want to have change flies because it is coming apart. So after putting the most recent version to test, I decided it needed a redesigning. Mainly the wing, but I also am playing around with different materials for the stripe.  The version below I like a lot. I will be putting it to the test this week.



Friday, January 27, 2012

Winter session 16, attack of the Rubber Diamond Ducky

   Well, Got out yesterday for yet another winter session with my friend Josh. We did a stretch on our favorite freestone stream. The water was close to 40f when we started in the morning. The bite wasn't that great first thing, but that quickly changed. The rain would come and go, and when it would come the stream would get slightly off color. A lot of the takes where gentle and almost not noticeable.  The fish fault hard and with a lot "more than four" to hand, it was a great day.  The rubber diamond ducky was responsible for most of my fish, it was taken over the golden oldie....some times.  Other effective flies for the day were the black buzzer, and kaufmann stone.



Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Winter session 15, a winter social.


Well, got out to today for some flying on my favorite mountain stream. Today was a different one as I met up with the Mad Man, R.V. T.U. V.P. Fredie, and my good friend Josh.  It was fun to "fish" with several people as it was a beautiful day out.  The bite wanst all that great but I know if we hit the stream hard we would have gotten into many fish. The stream was a chilly 37f and the water was low, so the trout were very spooky.  We fished for a couple hours until echos of a backhoe bucket came resinating down through  valley and the stream became murked.  So we headed on back to the vehicles.   The golden oldie was the winner of the day, follow by the black buzzer, and Mad Man rock worm work very well also. (Great job Steve!)











Click read more for more photos.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Winter session 14, attack of the bead wing midge

  Well got out today in the afternoon some yet another winter session. What a nice out day out it was today. 50f for January, I will take all winter. Met up with my friend and we fish a local limestoner. The water was a little off color, and running higher than normal due to the rain and the snow melt. The bite wasnt to good, but we did catch trout. I managed a tri-fecta.  The fish that were caught fault very hard and bows where a runnin.  I did very well with bead wing midge, the brook trout really like that fly, as did the bows. The browns came on the high test hares ear.  All in all it was a great day to be outside.

Monday, January 23, 2012

A winter card and dubbin the willow

  As I had my morning cup, I was gazing out the window at the less than desirable winter day. The rain is falling, and its actually quite warm out, well for January. As I sipped my coffee, a pair of cardinals landed on top of my wisteria bush.  The male was at the very top dressed in his winter plumage and the female remand nestled down in the bush also dressed in her winter plumage.  They sat for a while until the female got restless and flew up to the male wings open as if to say "lets get moving!!"  Then they flew off.


I was running low on my willow blend dubbin, so I sat down to blend some up. I do enjoy making dubbin blends as much as tying the flies that use them. The willow blend is what I use for my willow nymph, which is my stonefly nymph for the early browns aka willow stones.



Saturday, January 21, 2012

A bwo soft hackle for picky fish tutorial and video

  This is a fly I have been using for some time on bwo hatches. It works wonders on picky or pressured trout.  Just quarter down at the trout with it, and get be ready for the strike.  It has been my go to fly for me for years during bwo time on some of the Pa limestone streams such as the Saucon. This fly teamed with a bead wing is just deadly. Its almost unfair.

 Its a quick tie and it certainly isnt anything fancy, but like I said, it cleans up.



Thursday, January 19, 2012

Winter session 13, Wilds and holdovers

  Well, got out today for a short time in the late morning through the early afternoon. My friend I fished one of our favorite freestone streams. We fished a section but the 34f degree water proved to be to  cold as we only manged a pair of trout. So we headed up the tributary dumping in. This proved to be a great decision as the water hear was a nice 40f degrees. It wasn't long before we got into fish. The fish we caught were all very respectable size and fault exceptionally well. The u.v. high test hares ear worked great as did the u.v. diamond scud.  With both of us getting "more than four" we hiked on back to the cars.  The weather was nice, because there was no wind!, but 34f was cold on the feet.


Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Winter session 12, wild mountain browns.

  Well, Got out today for yet another winter session. My friend and I went to our favorite mountain stream. The wind was bad in some areas but not in others. It was actually a nice day, once your hands got past the initial cold.  I didnt see any bugs hatching today on this mountain stream, not even a stone fly was around. Well it was pretty chilly, but none the less we did both manage "more than four"  The U.V. high test hares ear was the winning fly today by a landslide.  Lots of pretty wild browns but no brooks. All in all it was a great day to be out.



Winter session 11, The rain.

  Well, got out yesterday around noon. The rain had cut back to a drizzle and it was 45f, so it wasnt bad. In a short amount of time the rain stopped. No wind and 45f is beautiful for January.  My friend I nymphed my favorite New Jersey wild trout trout stream.  The browns where biting very well, and we had "more than four" to hand rather quickly.  We found browns in slack water areas near runs and riffles, and also in the deeper runs and pools.  We uses the High test hares ear and buzzers. The buzzers caught a fair share of trout. All in all it was a very productive day, and nice one to out for.


Monday, January 16, 2012

The duckfly

This is a duckfly. Its a midge pattern. This one is size twelve.
Materials
Hook- daiichi 1550 #12
Thread- M.F.C. Black 8/0
Rib- Mirage tinsel small
Abdomen- Black pheasant tail
Wing buds- Orange biots
Thorax- Dark Brown seals fur blended with polar pearl lite brite
Breathers- white floss. 

Sunday, January 15, 2012

The bead wing midge emerger

This is the midge I was using in winter session 7. Its extremely effective. I was using one with an olive body.
I use flattened mono to secure the bead. Its really simple and easy to do. The bead will not come off. They are effective when nymphed as trailers, but really shine as droppers on dry dropper rigs for midging trout. Here is the video on how to tie it.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

More Buzzers

Size 20
Been tying buzzers a lot lately. Figured why not go smaller. I enjoy seeing how small i can tie a fly pattern. So far size 26 is the smallest I have tried. 
Size 20

Size 26

Friday, January 13, 2012

Winter session 10, attack of the buzzer!

Well, Got out today to one of my absolute favortie mountain freestoner. Hidden in the  valley it cuts, was a some excellent fishing and hardly any wind. We got into fish right away.  We hiked the usual route up stream, admiring the woods and the stream. The hurricane knocked down many trees in these woods and the stream changed in many areas, some areas very dramatically.  We saw a pair of black squirrels, didnt know pa had them..... The wind did get through in areas and when it did it was COLD!, but that's all part of winter fishing.  The U.V. high test hares ear did very well, but the black buzzer did extremely well.  The buzzer to left is the one I used today, and like I said, it did extremely well.  With "more than four" to hand  we hiked on back to our cars.

Materials- Daiichi 1120 #16
Thread- M.F.C 8/0 black
Rib- extra fine silver french tinsel
Wing buds- sulpher biot
Back- Medium opal tinsel
Breathers- White marabou




Click read more for all the pics.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Buzz, Buzz, BUZZERS!!!!

Well I have been playing around tying buzzers since my friends success with one the other day. I have tied them in the past, but as I tied them, I began to enjoy tying them more and more. Here is some of them I tied so far. They are all size 16s



Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Winter session 9

  Number 9, Number 9, Number 9,  Well got out today to fish before the rains come. We chose a new stretch of stream on a fairly familiar freestone stream.  We started fishing around 930 am and the night cold was still about.  The fishing was slow up to 11am, when some clouds started rolling in and the air warmed.   The fish where very ravenous once the water warmed up to 42F.  Midges where hatching as well as E.B.S.  The fish where on the rise occasionally but my friend and I know the better fish dont rise for E.B.S.. They pick off the nymphs as they make there way to banks or in stream obstructions that are sticking out.

  My friend Josh was fishing a black bow tie buzzer that I gave him from some fly swap i was in. It worked like magic today, beating out the oldie he had in lead.  My fish all came on the U.V. high test hares ear with a black wing case.  It was enjoyable couple of hours for sure as we did catch way "more than four"  Caught a couple of really nice size wild browns, a wild brook, and we even came across a painted turtle.


Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Winter session 8

  Well, got out today with my friend. The fishing was slow in the morning and didnt pick up until late afternoon.  The B.B. sucks!!! The fishing was actually great late in the afternoon with many browns to hand.   Plenty of E.B.S hatching and mating again today. 
  The golden oldie was the top producer followed by the U.V. high test hares ear.  The peeking caddis accounted for a couple trout as well did the bead wing midge. This is the same midge I used in winter session 7. I will have a video and post on it very soon. I figured out a way to keep the bead on it and its bomb proof.











Monday, January 9, 2012

Winter session 7

   Well, got out today for some winter flying with my friend. We went exploring some new water on a little limestone stream. The water was 40f and gin clear. With the sun in full glory, it made for a tough days fishing. But sticking to the shadows and the some deeper water, we manage "more than four".  It was wonderful scenery and some very nice wild brown trout.  The effective flies where the Golden Oldie, U.V. High test hares ear, and an olive midge pupa. Ill do a post on this fly as it did work quite well.  There was midge hatching as well early black stones.

Click read more for more pics. 

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Rubber diamond ducky video

Finally got this video to upload. YouTube was not allowing uploads over the weekend while Google initiated its circle program.  Enjoy. Forgive my voice as I have been fighting some cold.


Friday, January 6, 2012

Winter session 6


 Well, got out today with my friend again. We fished a section of freestone stream that has much pocket water. The morning started off  cold, but by the time we quit, it was gorgeous out. Well at least for January.  The water was a flowing at what its normal depth, not high and not low. The sun was shining bright and with no leaves on the trees, it made for some limited fishing.   We found trout in thin water a couple of times, but no one was biting in the primes. The fishing was fair and we both barley got "more than four", but we enjoyed the time out.  The stream is certainly cold and there was some cool looking ice sculptures here and there. I sure do enjoy winter fly fishing.

  There was plenty of bug activity for Jan. 6th. There were plenty of small black stones hatching as well as caddis. I noticed an occasional rise, but nothing to make us switch from the nymphs.  The hot fly today was the Golden Oldie, every fish i caught came on it.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Winter session 5

  Well, got out today with my friend Josh.  We fished a couple of section of our favorite freestone stream. It was cold to start but as the day went on, it well, stayed cold.   The first section didnt produce to well, but the other two were better.  The trout are showing signs of the cold of winter. They are seeking deeper waters. We found the vast majority of the trout we caught in the deeper areas of the stream. 

  There were midges hatching and I even saw a few bwos, but on this freestone stream, the trout never rise much, especially this time of the year. The top producing fly today was bit of a surprise as it beat out the Golden Oldie and the Kaufmann stone. The Rubber Diamond Ducky was catching wild browns today extremely well.  I will certainly be tying more of these for the future sessions.


Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Rubber Diamond Ducky with tutorial.

Rubber legs are everywhere I look. There on pretty much any fly you can name. A friend of mine fishes rubber legged flies often, and I do see there effectiveness. So I figured I would put together some rubber legged nymphs together. I wanted a rubber legged trailer fly and so the Rubber Diamond Ducky was born

 Click read more for the tutorial

Monday, January 2, 2012

A new rod and winter session 4

Well, today started off with a trip to a fly shop. I wanted and needed a new 9ft 5wt. I love 9-5s for nymphing fishing. I picked up an orvis hydros.  I am not a gear head by any means, but I am well aware about this model of rod. I have been eying one up for some time.  So my friend and I went fishing to break in the new rod on some wild browns.

 It was cold, and yup, the water was and is cold as well. Not cold enough that the trout didnt bite.  We chose a favorite stretch of ours that we hadnt fished since the hurricane. The stream changed a lot in this area, and in both of our opinions it was better.  We nymphed right on up the section taking browns rather consistently in the runs and slack water areas.  My friend was using a brown kaufman stone, and it kicked butt. My fish came on the u.v. high test hares ear, with a pearl wing case.  We fished right till dusk and we both were very please with the quality of the catch. With "more than four" we headed on back to the car.  It was a lot of fun relearning this section and it was amazing to see how much  it had changed.

 The rod is great, casts wonderfully, and has enough back bone to flip slack line, but soft enough to feel every vibration from the fish, hell i think i could even feel the hook penetration. Carbon is really something to fish. Unique for sure.   Like I said, to me there is no rod I enjoy nymphing with more than a 9ft -5wt and hydros is great rod.   Viva Hydros!


Sunday, January 1, 2012

First fishing day of 2012, winter session 3

  Happy New Year everyone. Well got out today for some fishing on this beautiful winter day. The weather was just gorgeous. Met up with my friend and we headed to one of our favorite freestone streams.  We picked a section that was usually good to us. The section wasnt doing much so we headed up stream further. My first cast, I hook into a really nice brown, that shot down stream like lighting.  A sky, and heavy head thrashing was the down fall to my knot. Yup...... Broke me off.  My knot failed. Oh well, cant land them all.

  We moved up to the run above and I got another nice brown not as large as the last but still a nice brown.  We then decided to head to a different stream for the tail end of the day. We did quite well in the last hour on our new destination. We both got "more than four" and my friend got a double.  It was something else.

   The flies today were a rubber leg kaufman stonefly nymph, U.V. diamond scud, U.V. high test hares ear, and my newest midge creation, the Kat skat. The tutorial and video coming soon!  Forgive the pics, i forgot my camera yet again! So the following are phone pics.