Dear Winter

You're being very selfish. Spring has been patiently waiting for playtime and you keep hogging it. Old man winter, I beg of you, hang it up until next year my friend. There is lots of fishing to be done and we need every warm day we can get!

Tell Reactor Watches to Stop Supporting PTTS

Saw this over at Moldy Chum. If you fish for Tarpon or would like to preserve your opportunity to fish for Tarpon in the future, then tell Reactor Watches to stop supporting PTTS. Watch the video to understand why. Follow this link to voice your opinion: http://www.reactorwatch.com/contact.html

BOYCOTT REACTOR WATCHES from Save the Tarpon on Vimeo.

MI update

On Sunday Dad got a grab on the swing moments after I walked up to him to call it a morning and a minute after he said let me take a couple more casts (wedding planning trumped fishing this weekend).

Modified ESL got the bite. Unfortunately, shortly after the grab the fish started to buck at the surface and the hook pulled. Probably nothing he could have done. Looked like a healthy winter fish and was enough to rekindle the fire. Dad has been beating me up on the swing this winter. He has a good feel for the drift.

Betsie

Checking out wedding venues in northern Michigan. Got to do some fishing this morning. Water was cold but fishy looking. Got two pulls which was promising. Spawn guy came in behind me and got one.

All in all promising. Maybe we can get some this afternoon or tomorrow morning.

Lone Wolf Weekend

My better half was out of town last weekend and here in the Midwest it was bitter cold. The local rivers were iced up and its tough to ice fish with a fly rod, so what is a lone wolf to do? Set up the kitchen table in front of the tv, grab a bunch of random fly tying materials and fly fishin' DVDs, a 12 pack, some bourbon and go to work. Having my neighbor and fellow fly fishing/fly tying enthusiast come over for a night to talk fishing and flies was an added bonus. A number of flies were churned out and the following was one I'm particularly excited to try.

Recipe
Two 2461s sz 2 with beadalon 7 strand holding them together. Four hackles hanging off the back. Marabou palmered up both hooks. Ostrich lashed on the top of each hook for color contrast. 3D eyes up front add a nice baitfish touch. I think eyes can really enhance a streamers effectiveness.

It is basically a galloup T n' A with the ostrich topper and the eyes.

It's 4 inches + and between the the bou and ostrich it will have a bunch of shake and wiggle. I'm a little worried about durability with such soft materials but that is to be determined.

Bass, pike, salmon and trout are all on the list of targets and color options are pretty close to endless.

Tight lines!

This video just pisses me off...

You may fish to put fish on the table and that is fine as long as you do so responsibly. Like me, you may fish for the sport of it but the same rule applies, you must use precautions and take great care to revive the fish, if not for the environment or ecosystem but for your fellow angler. Sure, incidents happen where a fish unavoidably dies or is mortally wounded, but if you are conscious of it you can certainly reduce those situations. I feel that if you want to take part in this great sport you need to do so with an utmost respect for the fishery and even more so the fish. This tournament and improper tarpon fishing practice is crazy and must stop.

Preparing for the Mighty Musky

Musky fly fishing.  Chasing one of the largest freshwater predators in the world. I have no personal experience but from what I've read it sounds like any trophy fly fishing - lots of mundane time spent casting and searching interrupted by a moment of chaotic fury.  My kind of fishing super challenging but equally rewarding.

There are a few lakes in my area and some rivers, which contain these mighty beasts and I plan to introduce myself soon.  Time to hit the vice.  If you search muskie (musky) flies, streamers etc., you will find a bunch of examples of gaudy streamers to lure this mighty esox.  The guys at musky country outfitters and eastern trophies have some great, creative examples.  But like most of my streamer tying I decided to start with what the gear guys use.  I saw the lure on top in an in-fisherman magazine issue dedicated to pike and muskie and found the picture on the internet.  Everything I've read has suggested that orange and orange/black are key colors when pursuing muskie, so why not start there.

The other picture is my initial prototype fly version.  Two perfect bend 3/0 hooks lashed together with wire, orange grizzly hackle tail, marabou body, and arctic-fox head to push water.  Oh, and plenty of holographic flashabou for good measure.  I took it for a swim in the bath and I was satisfied but there is still room for improvement.

Hopefully I will stick this or its progeny in some toothy critters soon!

Tight Lines.