Early Winter Bugs

A couple of tasty treats to wet the whistle for the up coming winter season. Zim sent me the picture of "Midge Magic" up top, very cool stuff and absolutely no info as to where it came from or who's responsible. I guess Charlie Craven is responsible for the middle one even though I tied it. Super Hair bodies have become all the rage. Tying them is simple and the great range of colors make for incredibly lifelike imitations. I just add things like Tungsten beads in the Thorax, trailing shucks and softhackles. The last pic is the #20 Blue Wee Wee. Blue is this years purple which everyone knows was the new black the year before that. I think all that started with the color red

I'm looking for good pictures of your favorite PRH patterns.

Think with yer rod tip......Jimmie

Sorry, but little loud Scottish dude scrambling around whacking people makes me laugh. It's true marketing genius when my old man does not hit the mute button during a commercial.“ That’s thinking with yer dip stick….Jimmie” has me thinking about a teaching tool passed along from a more knowledgeable master once. "Tactile" I think he called it, using physical contact as a teaching aid. Touching adds to the moment’s sensation and can make it more meaningful in certain instances. I learned this in a casting demonstration where the instructor would touch the area of concern, whether it be a wrist, forearm, finger or grip. The sensation of touch made the moment more significant and people learned quicker. My elbow once touched someone and it became one hell of a moment and everyone learned something, but I’m not supposed to talk about that. When you start to break a bird dog with electricity you begin to get in that dogs head. You push a button and he starts to understand that his master can be an influence even at great distances, he begins to listen. I am NOT saying i have secretly wished to put a shock collar on everyone who has sat in my boat, but that would make me laugh like i do at little Scotts and his dip stick. By adding the sensation, or pain in a dogs case, the learning process has a definite down side if he does not progress. A wet handshake after a great fish will always be part of the moment you may remember. A firm hand on your shoulder during a fast water wade say's i'm here with you. A partial hug from another man clearly explains you have been to battle together. A 4 shot night and an open hand grab on some biker chicks back bumper will probably lead to a lesson of some sort. So wouldnt a good whack with a 4’ piece of graphite just crystallize that special moment when you forget to mend for the 200th time? I think so. One guy I know has a naughty seat in his craft, but an old rod tip trumps that. A small thoughtful handle of duck tape on an old buggy whip tip and you have got yer self a perfect attention getter. At the very least you have your buddy acting like a wet bird dog fully expecting some voltage.
Seriously, making people aware of the tip of their fly rod has helped “some” peeps go to another level. Where is your tip pointing? How high is your tip? Can you move your tip quickly in a straight line to an abrupt stop? Can you feel your tip move as the rod loads? Where does your tip stop during the plane of the stroke? Lots of tip shit there huh? It’s often hard to control something consistently that far from your hand, but you have to in order to operate a fly rod. Raising your tip off the water can happen quietly with just your wrist or like some crazy Yoga move, it’s based on the situation. To much Yoga on a move that should have been just wrist leads to less fishing and more casting. Hand anyone a rod and ask them where all the money is and they will tell you the handle, it makes sense, it's usually surrounded by bling. Nice cork, titanium, gold up locking hoopty with sweet paint, obvious and common choice. Most people are not privy to the tip flex coefficient taper regulation flow chart , nor should they be, so I’ll tell you. The brains of the operation are about 9’ away from that bling. The more you think with your rod tip…..Jimmie, the more this whole game will make sense. Marketing schemes only last so long so I better whack some one soon, otherwise I may have to explain further, I did that for a year with the elbow thing.
A quick note on Jimmies: This is all much funnier to anyone who knows Fieldsy. For at least 2 hilarious years , long before this Valvoline thing, he called everyone he didn’t know…..Jimmie. One of the greatest men I ever knew… Mr Simmons i have missed you since i last saw you. My favorite person in the world to hunt with(top 5 anyways) Jimmie T, I miss your radio jabber. Kirk was an awesome Jimmie. Morrison and Hendrix should be mentioned. Number 12 in your program #1 in your heart.....Jim Kelly. And everyone know's, Jimmies make a good frozen custard better.

I can't get any higher

I was tempted to turn my head lights off the moon was so huge tonight. Driving east from Glenwood Springs up through the Canyon the moon hung in just the right position I was bummed there were tools in my truck instead of a rod. A giant harvest moon, spawning Brown Trout and a streamer rod and I am late for work tomorrow morning.
I took a quick drive to Basalt to check out an open house for a new Water Use Commitment on the upper Colorado River tonight. I won’t bore you with details that I needed an interpreter for and there are 100’s of these issues on the table here in Colorado alone. They all look the same in the end, we are running out of liquid. The “shuffling” of water around on a couple of water sheds on my turf is going to make things look different in the near future. It’s happening everywhere and the experts say “the glass isn’t half empty, it’s almost dry”. We already cheat the laws of gravity for the sake of Kentucky blue grass on the front range. Water that naturally flows west from our side of the divide is pumped and sloshed through an elaborate maze of tunnels and ditches to faucets in Denver and surrounding areas. Western communities survive by collecting water, basically every year. It’s not like there is an insurance policy the size of lake Powell stashed away for low water years. We modern age western folk basically live pay check to pay check as far as H2O goes. I once read that each American uses 1500 gallons of virtual water daily. That’s the water in all the little details that make up your day, from the shirt you wear, the cool aid you make your ankle biters to the wrapper on your Whopper Jr. So as we continue to flock west, each person requires a certain amount of water. Each small fry born to the mountains of the west must be accounted for in the budget and almost 2 years ago I messed with it myself (i guess Sam's mom is part responsible). I think about what fishing here will be like for Sam when he is 40. It largely bums me out. The needs of man will continue to mess with these delicate watersheds and it seems inevitable that the business of recreation on these gems will be the first to loose, along with Sam.
On most water sheds that are bumming you can usually bank on finding good water and fish by going higher. There is a definite purity to everything as the elevation increases. The Colorado is a huge river and I’m already along way away from the drain, I can’t get much higher.

Sell it like it is

It’s no secret that all of us are going to be wearing rubber soled wading shoes in the very near future. While felt has been the traditional bottom for all purpose traction, it’s terrible for the environment. Felt carries ick around like a kindergarten student without Kleenex.
Wader companies have always taken grenades from fishermen who wear their waders more than 25 days a year and they just can’t win. Boots fall apart, waders leak. They should just put that on the label and supply some aqua seal. River bottoms, weather, temperature, snow etc will vary so much that the "ultra grip rubber"marketing campaigns are destined to fail. Sell it like it is, Rubber, Eco friendly and great in winter.
The men who make water proof pants are rallying the same way a high end university pubs their star QB for his Heisman run. Adjectives are flying like leaves, Gripper, Sticky, Non slip and Traction to name a few. Does this leave a vulnerable part of the industry even more susceptible to criticism? Don’t promise Sticky when High Float and Never Leak did not work, it’s just never going to satisfy an already tough crowd like fishermen. What happens when Dime Bag Daryl takes a header in his “Ultra stick Eco track tread boot” and wants an explanation? After years of unofficial testing most guys will tell you they slip all over the place in felt and expect the sliding to increase dramatically with rubber. The Teva sandals I run for boat shoes are no better than roller skates on my dog, but they leave a cool tan line. Since the weather has gone straight to winter and I am back in waders for a while I decided to field test a few of my own ideas. I am starting with a pair of hybrid 2006 Henrys Fork's with felt on just the left sole and Patagonia laces, Call a spade a spade. Rubber is not felt so slipping is inevitable. If they sell us "the best damn sole for the environment" then we will have to take their word on it, if the sticky isnt grippy we will notice. Let's not loose sight of why all this came up in the first place and thats to protect our fish and their fragile habitat. I'll slip around for that. Maybe this will lead to a new division for the industry..... helmets. I’m calling Under Armor, maybe they can shoot a commercial of Lew getting out of the drifty done up Adrian Peterson style. Someone should come up with a $29 wading staff with a Eco friendly rubber tip.

Fishing was good over the weekend. Managed a trip west of Glenwood with Scott and Steve (thats them in the pic) on Sunday and the last couple of hours made the trip. Mid to late day fishing was best and the streamer action was consistent once the water heated up (i guess). Not may bugs besides a few waves of BWO's and Midges. It didn't matter as we landed quality fish on big rabbit.I counted over 20 beds on our float so the spawn is in full swing, be careful where you wade.

Hasselhoff was the man

I have been cranking on it hard lately, the vise that is. Sam has even been interested enough to sit on my lap and patiently play with tweezers while daddy makes "ffwhys". This time of year makes me think of what fly i used most, what i relied on in third down situations and weapons i wished i had in the arsenal. We saw a small yellow Sallie this year and there was just no nymph close enough, so yellow Barr Emergers and Yellow Pheasant tails went on the list. Soft hackles have been around forever and have made a serious come back as of late. Natural materials like Partridge, Hen saddle, Ostrich herl and even Wood duck can add life and action that's very different from regular nymph ties. Playing with tried and true patterns and trying to customize them to make them all the more sexy is an old practice. Hasselhoff was the man but eventually Brad Pitt works better. The fact that you can buy Pheasant Tails in 4000 different styles proves all bugs go through an evolution, even an Elk Hair can grow rubber legs. Barr Emergers, Pheasant Tails, Hares ear etc…..you can find these bugs by the billions in every fly shop on the planet, why tie them when you can buy them? I agree, I never get wet with out the above mentioned baits in my box. They have all been proven 1000’s of times over, but some of us always think we can twist some innovative magic on the shank. A little flash, a softhackle, a bead, epoxy or some glass, there are so many ways to help our favorite flies leave the box with a more confident swagger, because it’s different, because it’s special. Personally i have begun just using black tungsten beads and cones. The stuff sinks like 2 week old fly line and the color can make it just that much different.The latest science experiment is the Tungsten JuJu Softhackle and as Zim would say "it rocks". It’s always great to explain to your boy that "the fishes are biting on my JuJu” not the store bought model. That size 18 Tung JuJu Softhackle was probably my best fly on the Fork Thursday afternoon. Same exact float on Saturday and I could not buy a fish on it. That’s fishing. We managed a few fish on streamers but I didn’t try real hard either day, nymphing still rules and the small bugs are being eaten by some very big fish on the Fork right now. Still leading with 16's and 14's tungsten stones and quills even a few eggs. A beautiful Cutty just above town rounded out the slam on Thursday.

"My fly is stuck in the drapes"

So how would you feel if a couple of artist type’s offered your community a boat load of money to show their art in your back yard. The hitch is their art is approximately 40 miles long and it’s going to cover your favorite trout stream. Seriously, two frenchies, Jacques and Jean-Claude want to hang draperies to form a roof over miles of the Arkansas river. I’m not sure if they are French, maybe they are Canadian but most Canucks I’ve drank with have more sense. Of course there is a lot to be discussed and approved, the BLM is going to have miles of paper work on this one. So what’s it worth? The artist’s estimate 560,000 visitors and 195 million to the state in travel revenues. That more than doubles the visitor numbers for rafting in the area. And they estimate people will spend 4-5 additional days in surrounding area’s with their jingle. That’s money to my fishing guide ass, but then again they are not proposing making my favorite trout stream a dome stadium. I did not read anything about how long the “art” would be displayed or what time of year, I assume not winter. They did say that they were working with all the recreational businesses that depend on the river to make as little negative impact on their lives as possible. Maybe they will pay all the raft guides summer rent (camp site and fire wood fees) and put them on salary for chillin instead of rowing the river of no sun. I know I would not be the only one hemorrhaging if the Eagle was their mark. I could just see it, no sun screen, sunglasses optional and side arm cast’s only. I’m sure when the wind howls those drapes are going to flap so loud I would have to supply ear plugs. If this thing is planned right, they could run some electric and we could do night floats. “Oh no sir we do trips 24-7 now that we have a roof and you can leave your 400 dollar rain jacket home”. Just think of it, fishing mice could become a daytime affair and the blue wings would hatch all season. Sam’s 7’ 5 weight would be the rod of choice anything longer and you couldn’t even roll cast. Occasionally I float under a bridge or a power line and I feel compelled to let peeps know that it’s “in play”, a roof would just put me over the edge. You can get all the facts and read more about it in the latest issue of Trout.

Reel Recovery

Big shout out to the guy’s at Reel Recovery for putting together another great retreat here in Colorado; Stan, Coy, Andrew, Rob, Rees and who ever else i forgot, great job!!! Reel Recovery is a national non-profit organization that conducts free fly fishing retreats for men recovering from cancer. All of us who enjoy this sport understand, casting a fly has some "healing powers" in spite of it’s tangles and Reel Recovery helps introduce that feeling to men in the battle of their lives. The RR Gang have found a nice prescription for distraction and to ease the worry symptom, they provide a huge dose of hope and faith in a pill called fly fishing. From a "buddies" perspective, the medicine RR Retreat's push works, even on perfectly normal guides (if there are any). As a buddy you spend part of the day acting as a guide for some amazing fishing but you are also there trying to talk about some pretty personal poop, which is definately a different angle on a normal guide day. It was great to have Pack Man along, nothing like a day away from the shop on private water, I know the guy's he spent the day with apprieciated it for lot's of reasons. Does the owner of your favorite guide service or fly shop give back?

I have only participated in the Colorado retreats so I cant comment on the whole program but I see a great increase in the amount of Buddies that show up, Kudos’s gentlemen!!! Our shop was introduced to the program by the Big Zim. He of the large calve tribe and his side kick Sasha are great ambassadors for Reel Recovery here in Colorado, every state should have a buddy with the heart of a Zim. This was my second trip to guide the headwaters in the last few weeks, very very cool stuff (guiding private water gets that type of reaction). The retreat fishing took place on the Reeder Ranch which operates as a private club on 2+ miles of the Colorado just below the Williams Fork. What a spot!!! Hat’s off to the Reeder Ranch and the Bar Lazy J for donating their time, facilities, kind staff and incredible water to Reel Recovery. You don’t have to donate your kick ass club water to help. You don't have to give a portion of every trip you sell. You don't have to keep your resort open an extra week for free. Just check out the website reelrecovery.org and get involved. Help out as a buddy at a retreat, attend one closing ceremony amongst these men and you will get it. Hear men speak in forums that are usually uncomfortable, experience what it’s like to come out of a shell and open up all because of fly fishing. I have never forgotten the first time I heard one of these gentleman thank me for spending the day with them and saying they didn’t think of cancer once. Our sport has a true meditative sense about it and it truly can have healing powers if we let it. This is the kind of thing that can really help a dude appreciate his health and man kind who give a fuck. Once you have participated you will never want to miss another opportunity to help.

What came first, the Floro fibre midge or the JuJu?

Is my Thingamabobber dragging my junk around more than yarn used to?