Tying Flies

I want to write just a bit about fly tying.  I started tying flies right after I started fly fishing seriously.  I decided I wanted to be a good fly fisherman and to do that I knew I needed to be able to tie the flies that I wanted.  I am cheap.  I knew that if I had to pay $2 for a fly that I would never spend enough to really get into fly fishing. 

I started to tie as a way to save money.  That was a terrible idea.  I know have thousands of dollars in fly tying materials and hooks and carry hundreds of flies on me when I fish.  I stand by the fact that I would never have been a serious fisherman if I didn't tie my own flies. 

Buying flies is a great alternative.  I know lots of good fisherman that buy their flies.  That is great for them and I have watched them catch lots of good fish.  I just knew it wouldn't work for me.  25 years later I have had the opportunity to teach fly tying, I have tied professionally and I feel that it is part of my game to tie the flies that I use. 

With that being said.  I want to talk about some of the flies that I see being tied on You-Tube and fly fishing websites.  I see the most elaborate flies being tied and some of these flies are using materials that you have to spend lots of money on.  I idea of a great fly is one that I can tie in 3 to 5 minutes.  All tied up the fly should be around $.25 or less.  That is including the hook and the bead if needed.  When I see these flies that have pre-cut wings and the are $3 for 10 or even 20.  That bumps up the cost of the fly to almost $.50. 

The wings look great, the flies are beautiful.  but poly yarn works just as good for wings and is $.01 per fly.  These materials catch fisherman and make little or no difference to the fish.  I was able to fish the Brown Drakes on a local Famous spring creek 2 weeks ago and in the past I have bought some flies at about $3.50 a fly.  I still have all of the flies I bought mostly do to buying them for the pattern.

I tied up a bunch of Brown Drakes and had 6 different patterns to fall back on when the hatch came.  The hatch came and I started throwing out the Drake flies that I had and caught one fish.  I stopped and started to watch what the fish were eating and doing and it looked to me that most of the fish were on a large (size 14) PMD.  I didn't have a PMD that big but I had a size 12 Parachute Adams.  These large educated fish went crazy on a size 12 Parachute Adams.  I landed 12 fish with a poly post Parachute Adams.  All of the fancy flies I had didn't work as well as a Parachute Adams. 

I use that as an example that if you want to tie beautiful flies that appeal to fisherman then go ahead.  It is fun and part of your game.  To tie flies to catch fish it is often much better to KISS.  Keep it simple and can I add CHEAP.  You will catch just as many fish with a Polly winged fly as a fly with $.20 wings.  The fish aren't that smart. 

Thanks for reading.

Small stream Fly Fishing

I have been seeing quite a few articles about fly fishing small streams.  As I read them I get so frustrated at what I read.  There are so many articles about the subject, and I read them all.  (As many as I can find. )  I am just waiting to find one that is not garbage.  I was really disappointed in two that I just read in the last 2 days.  I see most of them by looking at https://midcurrent.com/news/ .  I really enjoy looking through the new posts and reading what I can find.  There has been a couple that I read and it just really got me angry enough that I felt I needed to address it issues that I can see. 

The biggest issue that I see in all of the articles are "You will need a short, light rod."  That is just garbage.  Use the rod that you have.  My preference is at least a 9 foot rod.  I bought into the hype and bought a 7'6" three weight way back when, to fish small streams.  I hated it.  It was to short to be able to get my fly where I wanted it.  I couldn't control my line when I had to stand way back from the water and cast over bushes.  I personally have never seen a place that I could cast a 7' rod that I couldn't cast a 9' rod.  There are plenty of places that I can cast a 9 footer and not a 7 footer.  An example is when I have a bush behind me.  The longer rod allows me to get the fly and the line high enough to get over it.  If I can cast a 7 foot fly rod I can kneel, and choke up on a 9 footer.  I can fish a 9 footer shorter where I cannot fish a 7 footer longer. 

Bow and arrow casts are another area where a 7' rod will really not perform like a 9' rod.  I use bow and arrow casts often in fishing small streams.  This is a great way to get the fly into some holes that I cannot cast to.  9 foot rods offer a longer reach.  Dapping over bushes is also a place where a longer rod is much more useful. 

I just really don't like shorter rods.  Some of this is a personal preference but I get really sick of reading that I need a short rod to fish a small streams.  The only reason I can see that these articles have this is to justify spending hundreds of dollars on a new rod.  I love new gear as much as the next gear junkie.  If I am going to spend money (Hard earned and always in short supply) on new equipment, I want gear that is going to do what I need it to do.  Short rods just don't hack it in my opinion.  I have shorter rods.  I fish lots of small streams.  Most of the streams that I fish are what you would call small streams.  Under 100 CFS is what I would consider a small stream.  One of my favorite small streams is around 10 CFS.  I have shorter rods but they never get used any longer because I feel so limited using them.

If you feel the need to get a lighter rod for small streams I can appreciate that.  A three weight or even a two weight are fun rods to play fish on.  I would just recommend that you use a longer rod to go with that weight.  There are tons of long rods in those lighter weights now (Thanks to Euro Nymphing)  These rods are excellent small stream rods.  You are rarely casting long distances so casting isn't the issue.  It is always a matter of line control.  Longer rods allow you more freedom and better line control.

Thanks for listening to my rant.  I just needed to get this point across and hear if there are others that feel likewise.  You can make your argument if you feel I am wrong but in my experience I have tried both and will always error on a longer rod. 

One last point, Many fly fishers are buying into the Tenkara trend and guess what folks.  Most Tenkara rods are much longer up to 13'.  Why they are more versatile
.  Please everyone don't buy into the garbage that you need a short rod to small stream fish.  Use what you have.  If you want a short rod and you like a short rod more power to you.  I just get a bit tired of the articles and videos that state that I "NEED" a shorter rod.  It is just hype and not true!

Thanks for listening.

Keep Learning

When I go fishing these days I usually go with a purpose other than just catching fish. When working at the outdoors store I would tell people that I fly fish, some would respond “You can catch more fish ‘my way’”. I would usually reply back “I don’t just fish to catch fish”. I now fish to get away and to get better at the hobby that I have chosen to pursue.

I have had the chance to be serious about fly fishing for the last 15 years. I started fly fishing at the ripe old age of 12. My first rod was bough at the local drug store, and my first reel was from Cabela’s back in the early 80’s. The line came with it and as I look back I think it was a level line that didn’t cast very well. It was good enough for me at the time.

Back in those days I was a diehard cat fisherman and big into fishing for anything that would swim. Growing up in Southern Idaho I mostly fished the huge Snake River. In those days the Snake was all about Catfish, Suckers, Chubs and a few Carp. Since it was a 10 minute walk from my house that is what I usually fished for. Only a few times a year did I get out of town to fish the great Trout streams, but when I did it was fly fishing. I had a nice selection of 3 or 4 flies (mostly Grasshoppers) that I also picked up at the local drug store. Surprisingly I caught a fair number of fish with these flies. Then when I couldn’t I would thread a worm up a hook and fly fish with a worm. A kid has to do what a kid has to do.

Then the late teen years and 20’s hit. I didn’t fish a lot during those college and early marriage years. I was trying to get through college with a young child and just didn’t make the time to fish. Then in the late 20’s I picked it up again with a passion. I decided that I was going to learn to really fly fish. I bought all o f the equipment to tie my own flies. I read everything that I could get my hands on and I learned.

I started my learning with fly tying and small stream fly fishing. It took a few trips to actually start catching fish on small streams with a fly rod but I was determined. I also make a vow that I would only fish flies that I tied. I have pretty well kept to that vow to this day although it isn’t as important to me now as it was then.

Once I caught fish consistently on small streams I decided to try my skills at the local tailwater that is blue ribbon. I got there and there was one of the best BWO hatches I have seen to this day. I got skunked. I had tied 3 size 20 BWO parachutes. They were a real chore for a new tier. I quickly proceeded to lose two to fish and one to the weeds behind me. This was November of 1999 so I had to go through the winter with that failure. The next spring I was ready. I learned with some friend from work how to catch fish in that tailwater.

Next I learned to fish a dry dropper rig and I have been have good success every since. That doesn’t mean I don’t have some days that I just can’t get fish but those days are fewer and fewer all the time.

My next conquest was to learn to fish nymphs. I had the gear but had never been able to find success with nymphs. I couldn’t see the fish so it was very frustrating to me. I was on a little tailwater that was full of willing small fish. I had caught a dozen or so with a dry dropper rig and decided I needed to learn to fish nymphs. I cut off my dry tied on a Pheasant Tail and an indicator and started to try things that I had read about. With the number of willing fish in the river it wasn’t long before I started to get a few. By the end of that day I had built my confidence with a nymph rig and still use the techniques that I learned that day. I had once again taken another step forward in my progression as a fly fisher.

Next I realized that I needed to get better at casting. I really started to practice in the yard and got where I could reach casts, airel mends, and improved my accuracy. This is still going on and I am still not the best caster but I am much improved.

Currently I am really trying to learn to Euro Nymph. That is the next challenge that I have set before myself. I really want to get that technique down so I have another tool on those tough days. After that I really want to learn to get good with streamers. I have started tying a few and really want to move forward with catching the larger fish that are available with streamers. While learning and improving these skills I also would like to get better at lake fishing. These are all weaknesses that I have in my skill set and am working to improve.

What’s in the Bag

I was thinking about what I wanted to put in my blog and lots of things keep coming through my mind and then I saw one of my old golf magazines. That made me think a bit about what I really enjoyed in those magazines and it is the “What’s in the Bag” pages. So I thought that I would put together a post about what is in my bag in a fishing sense.

I am going to start with my waders. I have had and used the same pair of waders for the last 11 or so years. They are the Simms Guide weight original breathables. I got them at a fly shop on an afterhour’s sale and they have been one of the best purchases ever. I am very loyal to Simms because they have lasted me so well. They have actually outlasted 2 pairs of wading boots. I am currently in the market for another pair of waders and will surely go with the new updated Simms G3’s.

Wading boots I wear Korker’s Riverborn boots. They are great but I got them about 2 months before they became outdated and Korker’s released their new version of the sole. I was able to purchase an extra pair of studded felt and two rubber soles cheep so they will last me a while. The boots are great with great ankle support and have lasted well for the last 3 years.

My fishing bag is a Simms hip pack that I picked up last year. It is very large and carries everything that I need.

Now for the fun part the meat of my gear. My rod is a Winston IM6 9’ 5wt three piece that I love. I have been using it since 2000 and it is still the nicest feeling rod I have ever used. It is paired with a Lamson Guru 2.0 that is also fantastic to use. My other rod that I use regularly is a St. Croix Legend Elite that I picked up on a pro discount. It is a 9’ 4wt that I got to fish Silver Creek and small dry flies, but has really become my Euro nymph rod. I like it a lot but it just isn’t my Winston. The St. Croix is paired with a Ross CLA 1.5 that is a very nice reel also.

Lines, leaders and Tippets are all pretty much Rio. They get traded out pretty regularly so I won’t go into the details. My leaders are usually hand tied by me with a butt section of Maxima and rest being Rio Fluorocarbon. My thoughts on leaders are a post for another day.
So that is the gear that I usually have with me on the river when I go.

As far as my wish list right now there are really only two things that I want. As mentioned previously the G3 waders and I would really like to get my hands on a St. Croix “High Stick Drifter”. I have really been trying to learn to “High Stick” the way Kelly Galloup describes and teaches in his videos and his “Ask about Fly Fishing” pod cast.
I hope that after a few more posts of getting to know me I will be able to get more meat in the posts of how I fish and what works and so on.

First Post

This blog is going to be my introduction to the fly fishing world.  I wanted to put a blog out there that is not done by Fly Fishing Professionals.  I am a working man with a family and I have the struggles that go along with that.   I want a blog that focuses on a "Hobby" that can and often does become an obsession.  I want to share with readers, what I have found and continue to find, to help me  balance between fishing, family, religion, work and all the other things in our lives.

Fishing is a passion of mine and I set goals every year to get better.  I fly fish with a purpose every time I am able to hit the water.  I try and fish at least 40 days a year and I always am looking to improve my skills and abilities.  This blog is going to be a place that I will be able to share the things that help me be a better fisherman, and I want a place to share some of my writing too.

This blog was born when I was searching the web for some awesome videos, (fly fishing related) and found a video with John Gierach promoting his new book All Fishermen Are Liars


 As I watched and listened to what he had to say I couldn't help but feel like he was missing something.  For so long I was jealous of the life styles that many of the guides and fishing industry professionals have him especially, and then I realized as I was thinking and  wishing that I had more fishing time. I really have something that he can never have and "money can't buy" and all the time in the world cant give him.  I can go fishing with my sons and see them catch a fish and see the joy that that brings to them.  That is when I realized I am "Living the Dream" it is just a different dream, than most people think about when they think about "living the dream."  This dream that I am living wouldn't be possible if I wasn't working and decided to "Just go fishing".  I have responsibilities and with those comes some grind, but also with and because of those responsibilities comes the greatest things in life and it isn't catching the next fish.  It is seeing my sons grow and become men and seeing them catch that fish.

And by the way, John Gierach is still my favorite author and I highly recommend all of his books and I would love to sit and talk to him or even better I would love to fish with him someday.  He just has something I don't have, and I have something he doesn't have.