Fly Tying: And So It Goes...

The ice left sometime Tuesday night. I went out in the wee hours to check and heard geese down on the river again. I hadn't heard or seen any since the freeze up. In the morning I looked out and saw the river flowing free again.

Just some motion in the scenery again was a relief.

Unfortunately, my best window for fishing was Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday had obligations. I didn't even take a picture of the river. Thursday will have obligations as well.

So Friday is my next target. It looks like the weather will cooperate. Maybe the fish will, too.

And who knows what the window will be for an ice-free river?

Meanwhile, I continue to sit down at the vise while I'm waiting for my laptop to load, or while I'm uploading or downloading. I've got a nice pocketful of flies to play with when I'm finally on the water.

I've got a good handful of this bead head rabbit strip number, with different colored tails. I like the look of it....

Hook: Gamakatsu T10-6H #6

Thread: Black

Head: Tungsten Bead

Tail: Marabou, a few strips of flash

Body: Black Crosscut Rabbit Strip, wrapped

Throat: Black wool

Flash: Flashabou

These other two? Just playing. But I do like Matukas. I had some good days with them on the Pere Marquette way back when. This one was to review the pattern. Now I'm going to tie up a few industrial strength versions with lots of bling. You know, a steelhead edition.

And so it goes....

Brothers

Brothers. What are you going to do? My younger brother Pete saw my comments about John in the last post and picked right up on it. He has been known to bait the two of us around the campfire, trying his best to get an argument going. And his best is pretty good.

In this photo Pete took on a trip to the Grande Ronde a few years ago John and I are obviously getting along rather well.

But in an adjoining dialogue in the email in which he sent the photo Pete picks up on the negative yet again. Still baiting. And he throws in brother Mark for good measure:

John speaking: "Jim, I've got to say I'm a bit disappointed. I tell you exactly what to do to catch fish, and then you go out there and do whatever the hell you want to."

 

Jim's response: "Did you see that woman fly fisher this afternoon? Nearly as sweet as Miss Wyoming. Or was it Miss Montana? Anyway, she looked at me."

 

Mark's response: "I saw her. She wanted to do me right there. I'm not kidding."

 

Pete's response: "Hand me another beer."

I have to hand it to Pete. In a few brief lines he pretty much nails it.

There are some factual errors, however. It was "Miss Missouri," named such by me in subsequent reminiscence because she was beautiful, and she told me she was from Missouri. When she talked to me. While we stood out in the Henry's Fork on a peaceful August evening. First time on the Fork. First time fly fishing. Looking at me with her big eyes. Asking about her fly--"do you think this will work?" Wondering about her casting stroke--"How am I doing? Like this...?"

So I said, "Wait here. I'll go get my brother John. He knows a lot more than I do."

The actual Miss Missouri Pool, the Henry's Fork

So. Where was I?

Oh yeah. Brothers. What are you going to do?

Give thanks for them every day. Love them. And go fishing with them every chance you get.

The Fly Tyer's Blog

HMH has revitalized their fly tying blog. I think you might like it.

I'm biased. My brother John is the one who will be writing the blog. He has always been my mentor and teacher in all things fly fishing and fly tying. He knows a lot.

I read his first entry today, about wet flies.

It immediately took me back to the many occasions I've sat on the bank of the Henry's Fork with him talking about flies and fishing while we waited for the hatch. Or arguing about flies and fishing. Like I said, he knows a lot, and he has opinions about the way things should be. It's a family trait.

There was a time when I hung on his every word, tried everything he recommended, and honored the classical traditions. And then came the time that I broke away and started doing things the way I thought they should be done. I tried my own techniques, tested my own theories, and tied sloppy flies with the proportions all wrong. And I still did better than he did.

OK, maybe not really. To be fair, we still debate that. What do you think? Would you rather catch more fish, or bigger fish?

Either way, I did have success, and I like to think it still bugs him a little that I can do something wrong and still get it right. (He thinks I must have an inordinate amount of luck.)

But the truth is that whatever success I have had on my own would have been impossible without the solid foundation of his teaching. To put it more succinctly, everything I know about fly fishing, he taught me. And I deeply appreciate that. Because we wouldn't have had anything to argue about otherwise.

Once again, I exaggerate. It's not really an argument; it's a conversation. And we've had a hell of a good time fishing and conversing together.

So check out The Fly Tyer's Blog. I think you might enjoy the conversation, too.

The Grande Ronde: Making the Most of It

I'm pushing to get a lot of work done today. Plan is to leave very early in the morning and be on the Grande Ronde no later than mid-morning. I'll be meeting my brother John. We've only got two days to fish, but we'll make the most of it.

He's making a big swing through the West right now hitting some prime fishing locations. He was going to be representing HMH at the big fly fishing show in West Yellowstone last weekend anyway, so he decided to make the most of it.

Free Plug

He stopped at the Henry's Fork first, went to our favorite stretch and, in spite of cold and wind, caught a beautiful Rainbow there. For old times' sake.

Today he's sampling the Clearwater for steelhead, and he'll be moving up the Ronde to meet me there tomorrow morning. He'll cap it all off with some time on the Deschutes.

Nice work, if you can get it.

The latest reports on the Ronde are looking good. There are slightly more steelhead than last year, and the recent rains have got them on the move. River levels are up but dropping.

Should be just right. I'm taking--guess what?--plenty of muddlerish dries for skating over those pods of fish hanging in those deep-green chutes.

Or maybe I'm just trying to make the most of it. But that's what we do. Wish us luck.

Way to Keep Going, Bro

Still at it. Elk Creek, in Pennsylvania. This posted by iPhone by Guide Michael from the river as it happened just a few short hours ago.

Now I'm a little jealous.

Way to Go, Bro

Perusing Facebook today, and, oh my....

It's my brother John! Hey, John. So what's up?

If you have noticed a recent lack of posts from RedSpotFly, it is because we are in the thick of the spring steelhead season with Steelhead Alley Outfitters. Taking an off day today to swing flies with John Albright from HMH Vise...with success.

How about that. Nice one, John. I'm not jealous. Nope, not at all.

He and I, and brother Pete, are talking a fall steelhead trip this year--western U.S., or maybe western Canada. I'll have him take a shot like this of me. Can't wait to post it.

And I think again I just might tie up some of those beautiful flies before then. Here's just one sample photo from the Red Spot Fly page. OK, two sample photos.

Gorgeous. They really dress up those grip and grin shots.

Memories and Something Tubey For the River

I tie on an HMH vise, and I like it a lot. I think I might have chosen it on my own for its classic design and sturdy functionality, but I had a little help. As soon as I decided to tie my own flies, my brother John, a co-owner of HMH Vises, gave me one. For free. When they got into tube flies he also gave me a complete tube tying set-up. I tied a few tube flies for awhile, but drifted away from them.

Now a new DVD from HMH has me thinking I need to revisit tube flies. The DVD will come with their tube tying kit and is designed for people new to tube flies. A teaser just came out on Facebook and on their website, and the rest will be posted in installments.

I admit, I was hooked as soon as I began to recognize people I knew or knew of. People like Craig Uecker--I fished with him and John on the Grande Ronde a few years ago, and Selene Dumaine--she ties superb salmon flies. And of course my brother, with a very nice Mainer Largemouth. He was proud of that big boy.

And then this guy. I don't think he told me I would be in the DVD, but what a treat to watch myself catching a nice trout in one of my favorite places on earth, what we call "The Back Channel" on the fabled Henry's Fork.

You can bet I remember that fish well. The day was working toward evening and the water was speckled with PMD's. Not a hatch, but the remains of an earlier hatch. There were plenty of little fish rising, but we were looking--unsuccessfully--for the tell-tale rises of big fish. We were hoping especially for some bank risers to begin working.

Then I saw a rise that seemed just a little different from all the rest. It was out in mid-river, and it was tiny--just a sip--but it was steady. The pods of little fish were cruising here and there, but this rise stayed put. So I cast to it and got a take. Just the tiniest little sip. I figured it must be a little guy after all. Even when I raised the rod and hooked him there was just a little tug. I think he was as surprised to be hooked as I was when he suddenly exploded. He lunged and ran and almost broke off before I finally got my act together and worked him to the net. All that commotion--and the fact I often talk to fish, especially when they're getting the best of me--got John's attention and he waded over with the video camera in time to capture me netting it.

That fish still had some fight in him when John snapped this photo.

What a beauty.

That was a nice fish, and it's fun to relive those moments. But that wasn't my biggest fish of the trip. That one came later.

But that's another story. Meanwhile, I'll look forward to the release of the rest of the DVD. And I think I'll get out my tubes and get a jump start on something tubey for the river.

Guest Post: Grand Lake Stream

Good old brother John. He works hard as co-owner of HMH vises but has recently decided that he needs to fish more. He lives in Maine, so has ample wonderful places to wet a line. I have been urging him to send photos of his trips, and this time he came through for us, in spades.

He wrote in an email:

I just got back from a pretty great trip to GLS. Averaged more than a dozen fish per day for five days. (Ed: I'd call that pretty great.)

I inherited the propensity to count fish from Daddy.(Ed: Our Dad, who taught us about trout fishing in Idaho when we lived there as kids in the Fifties.)  He always kept track. I tell myself and others that it's not a competitive thing for me, rather, it's a data thing. It's one measure of how the trip went. But that suggests that quantity is the primary measure of whether a trip was good or not. That's not true, as many of our trips to the Henry's Fork would demonstrate. If it were all about catching lots of fish we would have forsaken the Fork long ago. (Ed: So true.)

I've attached a PDF. If I had a blog it would become a blog post. A reflection of the week. You have my permission, Jim, to use any and all of it as you are able and/or see fit.

(Ed: Wait for it...)

And by the way, the actual number was 70 for the week, biggest just over 18".

I love that last line. Sure, like it's a data thing. I think there's more in there than just an appreciation of data. I think he loves to fish. And having fished with him for years I know he is competitive. But not with other fishermen. He's a modest guy who cares about other people. He didn't even include a photo of himself in the PDF. No, he's not competitive with other fishermen, but he's competitive as hell with the fish.

So I'm happy for you, John. Good one. And thanks for the beautiful post.

GRAND LAKE STREAM, May 2012

Serenity.

First ever. A fish he'll never forget.

C'mon...just a little closer...

In hand.

Break time...

Uh oh...

Everything is good.

Time to find another slot.

 The new stone fly pattern that works. Well.

Rest. Then release. 

 Red biot comparadun Hendrickson showing signs of overwork--a good thing.

One more in the net...

 ...then call it a day.

Norfork River Report: Thanks, John

I'm lucky to have a fly fishing brother. John is his name. Though younger than I, he has been fly fishing longer than I have, and has been my teacher and mentor. He is also "in the business," so I have benefited from his connections and discounts more than once. So has he; he knows people. The following report is made possible by "my guy at Wapsi."

John lives in Maine, but a couple of weeks ago after some family business in Kansas (aging parents) he stopped off at the Norfork River in Arkansas. The Norfork is the North Fork of the White River, famed for its big tailwater trout. He sent me these photos and an emailed report. I certainly didn't get his permission to post them, but then that was implicit in my request. At least that's what my attorney says regarding a possible intellectual property lawsuit. And, as any judge would uphold, we're all one big happy family here, so these are for you, too.

Thanks, John. I'm jealous.

arkansas was great.  did fish tuesday afternoon and most of the day wednesday.  tues was beautiful and pleasant; wed was 40, windy, and rainy, and i was pretty much bone-chilled the whole time.  but there are lots of fish in that river.  pretty much used strike indicator and scud/swobugs the whole time, although did entice a few (missed) takes with little emergers in the film.  best fish was female pushing 19-20" and ripe full of eggs, many of which she squirted into my net.  so, plunked her quickly and unceremoniously back into the water without attempts at photo.  most fish were 14-16" range, with couple in 17-18" range.  caught browns, mostly rainbows, and one cutthroat.  I did try to take some pictures.  they suck, but i'll try to send along what i can at some point.

 
the key to that whole endeavor is that my guy at Wapsi gave me access to prime section of river via his private land, and on wednesday told me where to fish right up at the Norfork Dam since the rest of the river was pretty muddy from all the rain during the night.   i'd have struck out completely otherwise, i think.