You Might Be More Hip Than You Think

There is an artist, currently very hip, who goes by the name of Naturel.

He's very big on "maximalism," hip hop, and corporate sponsorship. This is not someone I would normally know about, but I learned about him through a niece who posted on Instagram some of his Instagram posts. Oh yeah, he's also big on Twitter and Instagram.

His images are arresting, and graphically sharp and competent, if perhaps largely derivative.

But take a look at this, one of the walls of his first solo exhibit. Notice anything?

How about in this picture of a couple of hip hop artists whose names I don't know. Do you see it?

Yeah, here it is. A fancy fly!

I looked it up. It's from a larger work called "A'lure."

Who would have thought it? Just goes to show, fly fishing is everywhere.

 And watch out: you might be more hip than you think.

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....

River Report: Fall Fun

Streamers, smallmouth and trout, the first fall colors, and a river in perfect shape getting ready for the imminent arrival of the big anadromids....

River Report: Good To Have You Back

You've been watching the river. It has been high and unfishable for most of the summer, but now it has dropped to perfect levels for unrestricted wading. So you tie up a couple of new Woolly Buggers and head out.

You slide down the steep path on your butt and go to work in the Bridge Run. This is your old stomping ground.

You hook a very nice trout right away. He's almost in your hand when he shakes the hook and bids farewell. So you wade out, climb the rocks, and get the net from the truck. It seems as though it might come in handy. Back in the water you hook another heavy trout. Now you're ready. But he jumps off the hook before you can get him near the net. You hook another trout, and this one comes to the net, but it is a mere child compared to the other two.

You stay there and try to find another good trout, but the best you can do is a small smallmouth. You don't even need the net.

You head upstream to The Glide. This is a sweet piece of water, even at low levels, because of the deep potholes all along its length.

To paraphrase Ratty from The Wind in the Willows, there is nothing--absolutely nothing--half so much worth doing as simply messing about with streamers.

In short order, at the height of the swing, there's a bulldog take, and a very nice smallmouth gives you a fine ride. You're glad now you went for the net.

You soon hook another, better than the first, but he jumps clean out of the water and the fly goes arcing away into space. Then a cast or two later you bring another to the net.

And, a few more paces downstream, you get another strong take and hard fight.

Another heavy fish. You guess he'd go two and a half pounds soaking wet. These are the best smallmouth you've caught out of this river.

You get to the end of the run and keep going downstream to the bridge. You wonder if those big trout are back.

You find no more trout, but another small bronzeback comes out of the bronze of the evening river. It's a fitting benediction.

 You wade out, stepping over the first of the fallen leaves, and climb the rocks and head for home.

It's good to have you back, River.