Let's Get Kinky!

i bought a hot pink marabou package from a local hobby/craft store, and i've been trying to find fly patterns that will help me use some of this stuff up.

i decided to tie up a couple kinky muddlers for the first time, and see if they'll trick some stripers.  here is the fly pattern i used, with the addition of the pink marabou collar.

King's Kinky Muddler

then, i found essentially the same concept by 'Jonny' at stripersonline.com.  click on the image to go to the forum page.

  

i tied two different versions.  one is the standard, and the second is a 'clouser' variation with dumbbell eyes, and it should swim hook up.




not bad for the first attempt, but not great.  here are my thoughts:

1) i think i need to add a bunch more marabou to get the same pink effect.  mine is looking a little sparse.  i think it's due to the quality of the craft store marabou.  there is too much of the unusable webby portion of the feather.  it works well with some patterns (e.g. used for some pink dubbing), but not for this one.

2) i realized that i don't like this pattern (although i haven't fished one before), mostly because it takes so long to tie, and uses so much material.  i could replace the synthetic, kinky hair with deer belly hair and it would be so much quicker to tie...although just as messy.

3) i'm going to see how they fish, and if they get me a little luvin', then i'll tie some more with more pink.

anybody have any ideas what other patterns i could tie using the pink marabou?

2013 Goals: Get'm Done!

well, 2013 has started off pretty slowly, but at least i was able to end 2012 right.  in December, my goal was to catch some atlantic herring, so i could live line them and see if i could get a holdover striper.

i did a little research, and found out that most people use sabiki rigs to catch herring.  from what i've read, once you've found a school, they're pretty easy to catch.

i decided to tie up my own sabiki rig, seeing as how they didn't look that complicated, and i had all the necessary materials on hand.  i used 6' of 18 lb Rio Hard Mono Saltwater for the main leader line, from which i made 6 dropper loops, and then used about 4-6" of 12 lb Rio Hard Mono Saltwater for each dropper line.  i decided to use the Rio Hard Mono Saltwater mono here so that i could prevent as much tangling as possible.  for the weight, i used a 1 oz kastmaster without the treble hook.  most people use a bank sinker, but i thought the extra flash would help attract some fish.  then i tied 2 different flies, 3 of each.

Red Rocket Minnow
hook: Mustad 3366A - size: 8
thread: Danville 210 Denier Flat Waxed Nylon - red
tail: white feathers from sofa cushion, pearl krystal flash, Celebrate It Metallic Crinkly - iridescent

Simple Glow Shrimp
hook: Eagle Claw ML226N Octopus - size: 8
thread: Danville 210 Denier Flat Waxed Nylon - chartreuse
tail: glow in the dark fibers
body: pearl estaz

Red Rocket Minnow

Simple Glow Shrimp

from what i've heard through the grapevine, there are boat slips 2 minutes from my house that is usually a good place to catch herring this time of year.  when i arrived around sunrise, there were 5 other guys (mostly Russian, i think) already there, all fishing off the end of this slip, within 5 feet of each other.  as i joined the group, i realized these guys are braving the cold to bring food home, and less for sport.  i knew then that i wanted to try eating one.  forget the striper...after all, herring must taste good if people risk frostbite for them.

the technique: cast, let the rig sink until you hit bottom, then reel in slowly, dragging the weight across the bottom.  every few seconds i would twitch the rod a bit, then reel in the slack.  it was not rocket science.  i ended up catching 6 herring in 1 hour time (only one of the other guys was out fishing me).  the hit ratio was 2:1 in favor of the Red Rocket Minnow.

once i got home, i filleted them, and pickled them for 2 weeks.

toasted wheat bread, sour cream, pickled herring, diced onions, celery leaves, and lemon juice.

finally, without much ado, here is my 2013 fishing goals (in no particular order):

1. in the Spring, i want to catch more white perch on the fly, and eat them grilled.
2. i heard that the local reservoir has monster carp.  in the spring and summer, i want to hunt a few down with a fly, ideally using a crayfish pattern.  
3. in April and May, i hope to catch a striper on the flats, sight fishing from my kayak, and using a crab fly.
4. i want to catch from my kayak, black sea bass for the first time, and cook them whole.
5. i want to catch from my kayak, blackfish for the first time.
6. i want to catch from my kayak or from the shore, flounder/fluke and make fish tacos.
7. i want to catch lobster, and make an herby lobster roll.
8. i want to go clamming locally and use them to make linguini con le vongole, with red pepper flakes.w

they're not that ambitious, but very reasonable goals with one 17 month son and another due in the summer.  

more to come, so stay salty,

XXA