Beginning Fly Tying for Saltwater

i wish someone had written this post before i started fly tying.  it would have saved me a ton of time and money.  i stumbled upon a post at Flytying New and Old that outlined the materials needed for a beginner to start tying flies.  i think this is an excellent, and much needed, post.  however, i do think it was focused more on freshwater/stillwater flies than saltwater.  here is my own list of what a beginner would need for saltwater fly tying...particularly inshore flies for the NE.

one general thought about color choice.  as Lefty Kreh says, "If it ain't chartreuse it ain't no use."  you also might hear the saying, "it can be any color as long as it is chartreuse."  that being said, the main colors used other than chartreuse are: white, olive, gray, tan, pink, black, red, and light blue.  but as a beginner, and if you are trying to save money, just buy chartreuse and white.

disclaimer:  by no means is this list comprehensive.  i've placed an * next to the items that i believe are necessary.  if you have any questions, or if you want some tying help, or even want to know some tricks to save money, feel free to email me.  good luck and stay salty!

Tying Tools:

• vice*  -  with ability to handle right size hooks (sizes 6-3/0)  
• ceramic bobbin(s)*  -  2 or more will make your life easier
• saltwater hooks* (sizes 2-2/0)  -  i prefer Gamakatsu as a good blend between quality and price
• thread*  -  just needs to be strong enough.  i used Danville's Flax Waxed Nylon
• mono thread*
• general scissors*  -  i use 5" Fiskars
• detail scissors  -  i use Anvil  
• Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails*  -  for securing thread wraps
• super Glue*
• wire cutter -  for cutting bead chain eyes, etc.
• pliers*  -  for crushing barbs
• Matarelli style whip finisher  -  helps create better thread heads on smaller flies
• toothpicks  -  in place of a bodkin
• coffee grinder - it is so much cheaper if you make your own dubbing
• Clear Cure Goo or Tuffleye or Loon's UV  -  i use Aleene's Fabric Fusion
• fly drying wheel  -  helps tremendously when tying surf candies
• different colors of Sharpie markers
• 17-22 lb hard mono  -  for weed guards
• 30 lb mono  -  for making shrimp/crab eyes

Tying Materials:

• bucktail* (chartreuse, white, olive)  -  used in common flies such as clousers and deceivers
• pearl krystal flash*
• pearl flashabou*
• saddle hackle* (white)
• marabou (white, chartreuse, olive)
• synthetics*  -  super hair, ultra hair, EP fiber, etc...although congo hair is cheap, relatively
• polar fiber (white, olive, tan)
• bunny strips (white, chartreuse, olive)
• peacock herl*
• polyester rug yarn (beige/tan, olive, brown)  -  for crab flies
• dumbbell eyes* - brass in different sizes (black, nickel)
• beadchain - (black, silver)
• braid* (pearl)
• estaz (pearl, chartreuse)
• deer belly hair (white, chartreuse, olive)
• craft foam  -  for tying poppers and crease flies

if i've forgotten anything on this list, let me know.

XXA

Carp + Suspicious

was out in LI this past weekend to visit my mother-in-law, and decided to try my hand at catching those carp in that nearby public pond.  you can see that the pond is fairly weedy, but pretty shallow.  i was fishing an area that held the deepest part of the pond, at 5 feet.  bluegill are rampant, and there are bass up to 5 lbs in this very spot.



i tried using fly patterns that imitated crawfish, eggs, damselflies, and worms (san juan), but the carp would come and inspect the fly, and then move on. i'm sure they were suspicious.  argh.  it was hard to present them with a fly that requires some minor stripping since one strip would pull the fly into some weeds (even with some mono weedguards).  i think the issue was either that my presentation was wrong, or the fish had become so used to people feeding them bread, they just weren't that aggressive (so i've heard).  i think it's more likely the first scenario.

frustrated, i ended up deciding to switch to the spinning rod, and landed a 10 lb.  of course, it was the smallest one that i spotted.

 


on a side note...is it weird if someone decides to fish next to you, and then spends a lot of time eyeing your gear? i had my fly rod, fly boxes, and spinning gear/lures on the ground next to me, and this person who decided to fish 5 feet from me, kept staring at what i had. it made me so suspicious, but should i have been?

Lessons Learned

this past weekend, i was out in long island visiting my mother in law who was recently admitted to an acute rehabilitation center after falling and breaking her hip.  i knew that i would have some time to spare, so after a few minutes of research, i took off to a local spot to to try and catch some carp on the fly.

i got to the pond around 3:15 pm and the conditions were okay because it wasn't too hot, but was a bit overcast.  while walking the shoreline, i met this older gentleman who walks the pond daily, and he actually showed me two carp hangouts.  he doesn't actually fish but on his walks he stops and tries to spot birds or fish. within minutes, i spot a lone carp, probably between 10-15 lbs.  he knowingly said that they don't like noise, so he left me to it.

i must have spotted a dozen different carp, all probably exceeding 10 lbs.  some were absolutely enormous, and some actually tailing a few times.  i must have has around 50 shots.  so what went wrong?

first, the water was stained, so it was hard to spot the fish in the first place.  i had to wait until they rose to the top of the water column, or search for streaming bubbles.  secondly, and more significantly, there was just not enough room to cast.  i had about 4 feet of clearing behind me and about 6 feet above me.  the carp were only 20-25 feet away but i couldn't get the fly in front of them.  i tried roll casting (which I'm not very good at) but to no avail because i couldn't get enough line out to load the rod.  anybody have any advice on how to deal with this? 

frustrated, i go check out the other spot the gentleman mentioned, but I didn't see any fish after about 30 minutes.  i thought, "never leave fish to find fish", so i head back to the first spot and i run into two anglers headed to the same destination.  they were there to catch dinner, and were going to use worms to catch panfish.  i could feel myself get snobby while saying that i was there to catch CARP, on the FLY.  as i said that, one of the anglers said that there was no way i could catch carp using a fly.  i needed to use bait, such as corn, and chum the area first.  he was incredibly condescending.

so i guess snobbery goes both ways.  mind you, i don't usually look down on bait fisherman...in fact, i will will often use bait myself.  i am not sure why i felt that way then, but perhaps it was because i was pushed out of my spot.  i decided to fish about 20 feet away from them, which happened to be the only other shoreline accessible spot.  as i was changing my fly, one of the anglers made his first catch, and proceeded to catch a sunfish.  they quickly followed with 4 more panfish.  5 fish before i even changed my fly!  that's crazy!  i guess he felt sorry for me, and offered to share his worms with me.  it was this gesture of kindness that really put me in my place.  i was there to fish, and hopefully catch fish.  why was i so adamant on catch carp, and why was i so stubborn to use a fly rod.  i had brought along my spinning rod, so why was i hesitant to use it?

lesson #1:  don't be prideful

i actually pulled out my spinning rod, put on a plastic tube, and within 5 minutes, caught myself a bluegill (let me know if i misidentified it).  in truth, catching it just didn't do it for me, so i decided then i would rather not catch anything while trying to catch carp on the fly, than to catch panfish using a spinning rod (panfish on the fly is fun, but again, i wasn't able to cast a fly far enough to get to where they were).  this doesn't make any sense, but the saying that popped into my head at the time was, "it is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all".

i pride myself on being a problem solver, so as i was driving home, i put my head to it, and tried to find a solution to my casting problem.  i thought, i just need more room above me.  i also needed to use a heavier line, so that what little line that was outside of the rod could carry the fly. 

i went back to the pond around 7 AM the next morning with a plan.  i changed my setup from my 8' 6" 5wt rod, to my Sage smallmouth bass rod.  the Sage rod is 7' long, and comes with a 290 grain floating line.  using this setup, and rollcasting while kneeling, i was able to cast far enough.

however, did i catch anything?  nope.  the conditions were horrible.  it was completely overcast so i couldn't see anything, except for the reflection of nearby trees.  also, the few carp that came to the surface were not feeding.  perhaps it was just not the right time of day.  for some reason, i didn't mind not catching a carp as much as i had the day before. 

lesson #2:   fishing, is a metaphor for life.  you need to learn how to adapt when presented with tight situations

lesson #3:   you need accept the factors that you cannot control.  some days you just lose without a fight.

anyways, i'm probably headed back out to LI to visit my mother in law again this weekend.  hopefully, the conditions will be better, and then it'll be on me to do my best.

until then, stay salty.  XXA

Pass the Salt, Please!

it's been a while since i've posted, mostly because it's not fun to write about blanking out on fishing trips.

a few weeks ago i visited a friend in Sag Harbor, and we launched a couple of kayaks into Little Peconic Bay, near his home.  conditions were perfect.  there was even a chance we could catch a cinder worm hatch since the tide, temperature, and moon were all aligned.  but alas, we ended up paddling for 4 hours without anything to show for it. 

what was most frustrating was that on one cast, i was reeling in a yozuri and was about to cast again, when a bluefish rose and almost took it.  since it was less than a rod's length away from the kayak, it actually scared me a bit and i yanked the lure out of his mouth!  argh!  let's just say that i had a few choice words to say to myself.

that next week, i flew to dallas to spend some time with my brother and sister-in-law who were moving out of the country for at least a couple of years.  i was excited to go catch some carp, at LLELA and Lake Ray Roberts.  it turned out that i didn't have time to go to either.  of course, family first.

since it was less of a time commitment, i did get to go out to the Farmers Branch library, where i heard it was pretty easy to catch something.  the first time, i spotted a ton of panfish, some decent sized bass, and even a couple of carp.  all i have to say is that it is next to impossible to fly fish that pond/creek!  not only are there tons of spinach in the water which makes it hard to see anything, but even your weedless flies get caught up in everything.  plus, all the chicken wire on the banks makes it easy to tangle/catch your fly or fly line!  i did cast at the carp, but i don't think they even saw my fly.  too much vegetation everywhere! 

later that week i took my father and brother to the library again to go after those bass.  all we managed to do is catch some green sunfish.  I caught a handful on a size 8 clouser and even a caddis dry.

 

anyways, i'm hoping to get out on the kayak at some point this long weekend.  stripers, blues, whatever.  just need to catch something in the salt!

SOTSOG Fly

early reports have stated that stripers (schoolies and a few keepers) are everywhere, and now is the prime time to catch them before the blues arrive.  while clousers and deceivers will more than suffice, where's the fun in only using those flies?  since water temps have warmed up earlier than usual, i'm sure the blues will also arrive earlier than usual.

after watching the videos the Fly Fishing the Ozarks have posted on tying Kelly Galloup's articulated streamers, i have been mesmerized by their action in the water.  after doing some searching, i found Ward Bean's Jointed Minnow.




anyways, i got to thinking...why aren't there more of these types of flies for saltwater?  Dave Seller conceived his SST to add more motion to the fly, so why not create a jointed striper fly to impart additional movement?  so, Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants, or SOTSOG, was conceived.  (i haven't stumbled across a fly that is similar, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.  please let me know if it does.)

i wanted to create a fly that utilizes a secondary hook in the jointed fashion, but also rides hook up so that it is weedless.  a la Bob Clouser, i used dumbbell eyes to invert the hook.  i also didn't like using a normal stinger hook or octopus hook for the trailing hook because their hook eyes are horizontal.  when tying the wire to connect the two hooks, the second hook is slightly misaligned because the wire cannot sit perfectly on the bottom because the hook bend is in the way.  to avoid this problem, and to create a more side to side action versus the up and down motion (like Galloup's streamers), i used a 60 degree jig hook.  the wire is symmetrically tied on both sides of the hook, and the jig hook eye's vertical position allows for more side to side motion. 

here's my recipe:

Thread: Danville Flat Waxed Nylon (White)
Front Hook: Gamakatsu SS15, size 1/0
Back Hook: Eagle Claw 413 (60 degree Jig), size 2
Eyes: Painted Lead Dumbbell eyes
Connection:  Beadalon 7 Strand .024 inches
Tail: White Polar Fiber
Wing: Pearl Angel Hair
Coloring: Prismacolor Chartreuse, Prismacolor Olive

one other thing to note is that you must use heavy enough lead/tungsten eyes for it to invert both hooks and material.

if there is enough interest, i'll post step by step tying instructions.

Close Call

on a string of moderate fishing success, i went out to the pond again to see if i can feed more white perch.  i went with low expectations, because weather/water temperatures have dropped about 5 degrees, and the wind had picked up to 21 mph.

i put on a chartreuse and white clouser, and within two minutes i snagged another minnow.  what are the chances of snagging a minnow?  but two in a week?  this time, it was a silverside.  it's amazing how pretty they are and how different they are in comparison.  i think the one on the left is a banded killifish.





after i 'released' the silverside, i caught a small striper.  i could tell immediately that it wasn't a white perch, just by how much pressure was being put on the line.  the striper's more streamlined body creates less drag in the water.  after that, the activity died down completely, so i decided to switch flies.  i put on a glow in the dark, size 8, clouser and managed to fool a white perch.

the wind had started to pick up considerably, so i decided to make one last cast.  on the back cast, a gust of wind flared and my fly flew straight into my right eye.  ouch!  wincing in pain, i tried to pull the fly out, but it was stuck. just touching the hook caused pain.  i started to freak out.  there was no one around, and the sun had already set.  i tried to remember if i had crushed the barb.  i thought about calling my wife, and then driving directly to the emergency room.  i managed to cut the leader and navigating with one eye, found my way back to the car. and then using the visor mirror, i inspected the damage.  i was lucky, the fly hook had not pierced anything, but was just trapped between my eye and eyelid.  i carefully removed the fly and drove home.  whew, what a close call!

during daylight, i usually wear sunglasses when i fish, partly to remove the glare but also for eye protection.  when there is little light, i don't wear anything on my eyes.  what do you guys do?  any suggestions?

Pepe Le Pew

channeling Penelope Pussycat, i finally gave Pepe Le Pew the finger, and caught my first fish of the year.  the skunk is gone.  i have been after the white perch in this local, brackish pond, and they have gotten the best of me in my first four outings.  i was rank with the stank of self disgust and failure...but no more!

per usual, i went to the pond around sundown the day before yesterday to get in an hour of fishing.  the fish were swirling less than 20 feet away and i was struggling to get a take.  switching flies, i tied on a What's Up Doc? fly by Daren Selznick of Ole Florida Fly Shop.  then bam!  i got my first bite...and then wham! i lost it.  then shazaam, i got another bite!  my first fish of the year was landed.

the best part of it all, was that i learned from it.  i knew the white perch were feeding off of tiny minnows, and i had a general idea how small they needed to be.

armed with that knowledge, i went to the pond again yesterday evening.  for some reason, the What's Up Doc just wasn't producing and i was left saying, "what the #$%* is up, fish?" 

as luck would have it, i ended up snagging a minnow that gave me an indication of the size of bait they were chasing.  anyone have any idea what kind of minnow this is?  pretty cool looking.

then i tied on a size 8 clouser minnow in chartreuse and white.  within 30 minutes, i had 5 bites, and landed two of them.  i also caught a small striper which was pure icing on the cake.

i'm sure i can think of some life lessons learned from all this, but ehhh, that just wouldn't be me.

stay salty,

XXA

Not So Perfect

so far this year, i've been out fishing 3 times, and still haven't caught my first fish.  i've been trying to fly fish for white perch, but those buggers are getting the best of me.  i start fishing about 30 minutes prior to sundown, and the timing is great because they really get going, starting to feed in shallow water.  the fish are nearly 'boiling' around me, with swirls less than 10 feet away.  yet, i can't get any bites.  i've tried a plethora of flies, including clousers (almost every color possible), shrimp flies, dry flies, woolly buggers, and even Prater's Hushpuppy nymph on a variety of setups, but i got hardly a nibble. i don't think they're on bait because i am not seeing the typical spray out of the water.  for some reason, i think they're eating the insects on top that have recently hatched, but i'm not sure.  any ideas?

however, i nearly caught one with the Hushpuppy, and had it almost in hand but it came off literally a foot away.  some people might say that it was a 'caught' fish, but unless i can take a picture of it, i don't count it.  the loss was completely angler error.  i didn't perform a good hook set, so i have only myself to blame.  i find myself not very good at strip setting the hook because half the time i'm surprised that i have something on the end of my line, so in a state of disbelief, i usually forget. 

anyways, i've heard reports that schoolie stripers are around, so i'm preparing to go inshore fishing.  i've been tying some leaders, but the one thing that pisses me off about not using store bought tapered leaders is that when i make a poor cast, and get the tailing loop...the leader gets tangled around my knots' tag ends.  then i spend about 15 minutes trying to untangle the leader only to find out that i made it worse because the leader was not in fact tangled or knotted, but only hung up on the tag ends.  argh.  am i the only one where this happens?

so i tried creating a whipped loop rather than using a perfection loop just to reduce the amount of tag ends, but it just doesn't work well on mono.  so i ended up thread wrapping my perfection loops in order to create smooth taper, and it seems decently strong.  they're ugly, not perfect, but strong.  we'll see.

Skunked

yesterday, i went fishing for the first time this year.  i was only out for a few hours, but i got skunked.  0 for 1.  the big goose egg.  zilch.

i went to a small, nearby reservoir where i saw a lone carp mudding once before, but this time i didn't see anything.  there were ducks and geese mulling about, but that was it.  there are steep rock walls that surround the entire lake, and i scaled them a few times to get a good vantage point.  but, nada.

i keep telling my wife that my 'hobby' is not fishing but hiking and practicing casting.  sheesh.

Aleene's Fabric Fusion Test

with the weather getting into the 60s this week, and water temperatures in the mid 40s, i'm starting to get my gear in order for my first outing.  in the meanwhile, i've been cleaning my reels, tying up batches of flies, and tying some leaders as well.

in February 2010, Casey Smartt revealed that he had found a glue that could serve as an epoxy substitute for certain types of flies.  it was called Aleen's Fabric Fusion (AFF), and was sold in almost all craft stores and even craft sections of stores like Walmart and Kmart. 

a couple of months ago i noticed that a few of my albie flies where i had used AFF had yellowed.  i wrote Casey about it and asked him if he had noticed any yellowing before.  he had not, but suggested i perform a test.  my suspicion was that the AFF had interacted with another material that i used.  so, i decided to see if there was any reaction with two adhesives that i use, Goop (Craft version) and Super Glue's Future Glue.

this first picture is on day 1 of the test.  you can see that once applied, AFF is essentially clear.  if you look hard enough, unlike with the Super Glue sample, you can see the droplet of Goop i placed in the center, and how it did not mix with the AFF. 

this second picture was taken after one month.  the samples were placed indoors, but near a window to absorb sunlight during the daylight hours. 

you can see that while the Goop and Control samples remained essentially transparent, the sample mixed with Super Glue yellowed slightly and curled/shriveled a bit (hard to see in the picture), particularly around the edges.  this reaction was evident within the first few hours of the test, but worsened over the following day.  another observation is that after fully 'curing', the AFF in the Goop and Control samples remained slightly flexible, whereas the Super Glue sample had turned extremely hard and brittle.

this test confirmed my hypothesis that indeed a chemical reaction had occurred in my albie fly.  as you can see, the albie fly is quite yellow, and this photo was taken 5 months after tying the fly.  when tying, i had used quite a bit of Super Glue to stabilize and build up the pearl braid body, forming a belly.  it's amazing that the Super Glue reacts with the AFF so significantly. 

anyways, now i know, and now you know!  here's where i get AFF.

Eye For An Eye

a few years ago, while trying to find a substitute for E-Z Shape Sparkle Body, i read on an online forum that craft fabric paint is essentially the same thing, but at a huge discount.  so i went to the local Michael's and literally bought out their whole entire supply of Scribbles 3D Paint in the Crystal Gel Transparent Sparkle color.  i also bought a bunch of other colors, including one that is glow in the dark. 

so, after reading Casey Smartt's post on fabric paint eyes, i thought i would give it a go myself.  the eyes aren't perfect, but i think i'm slowing getting the technique down.  it's amazing how little paint you have to use to make sure you have the right sized eye. 

what's nice about fabric paint eyes is that they are slightly flexible and slightly rubbery in texture.  once they are dry, you can squeeze them 'a bit' and they return back to the original shape.  also, since they are flexible, it's easier to glue them onto thread heads, since they essentially conform to the shape of the head.

anyways, i have to say that staring at all these eyes gives me the heebie jeebies.  anyone else out there have trypophobia?  don't know what that is?  it's the fear of clustered holes.  google it, but it's not for the faint of heart.  i'm starting to get itchy and squirmy just thinking about it.

Feeling Crabby

everytime i get my copy of Fly Fishing in Saltwater in the mail, i savor it like it was my last meal alive.  i wait until the end of the day, then devour it cover to cover.  i've added to this bimonthly ritual by reading Eastern Fly Fishing.  so far, these two magazines are the only print magazines i read, not only because they address the exact type of fishing i'm interested in, but the quality of their content remains consistently awesome. in the November/December 2011 issue of EFF, they profiled Colby Hane's Corona Crab fly.

Corona Crab

here's my feeble attempt at tying it.  i substituted the grizzly hackle collar with one made out of mallard flank.  i thought it looked cooler and will perhaps have a bit more movement.  the eyes were made using Aleene's Fabric Fusion, a la Casey Smartt.






the weed guard was tied following EP's nifty technique below.



once i got into the groove of tying, i decided to tie a few more flies...

Fly of the Trip

This River is Wild's Fly of the Trip.  here i ended up using Lion Brand's Velvet Spun pink chenille for the legs.  i didn't have the same color or size chenille as the recipe called for, but i think this works well.  the fly is incredibly light, so i'll be using this for the shallower flats.



 

Avalon Crab Variant

lastly, i tied the famous Avalon Crab permit fly using instructions from the Caddis Fly Shop and Erik Moncada.  again, i made a couple of substitutions.  i thought the recipe's lead eyes were much too heavy, so i downsized a bit and went with brass eyes.  to reduce the weight further, i used plastic beads instead of metal beads for the rattle (two beige/one orange).  i used large, 7mm beads to ensure a louder sound, as well as help the fly settle in the sand with some stability. the orange bead is in front to help simulate the egg sack.  i tested this fly out in my bathtub and the sink rate is still pretty quick.  however, the lighter beads causes the fly stand up almost vertically like a plastic worm on a jig head.  there is tons of movement, and the crab settles in the defensive position.

A First Before the First

i finally got to go out and fish an area that i heard many good things about.  the temperature was in the mid-60s, and by the time i arrived at 11 AM, there were a bunch of guys already there, some with light spinning rods, and some with fly rods.  everyone i met was incredibly nice and helpful, freely offering me tips and useful information.  it's pretty amazing how gracious and affable people are when you leave the northeast. 

most of those people were there to catch the recently stocked, 8-10" rainbow trout or the plentiful blue catfish.  i, other the other hand, was on a different mission.  i was after carp.  common, mirror, buffalo, whatever.

i left the crowds of people fishing the same holes and ventured further away, finally getting to an isolated area that contained a large, deep pool, and a couple of close-by sand bars.  i climbed the steep hill nearby for a better look, and i could spot some bass and several rainbows.  there were also two pods of large, slow moving carp, altogether about 10-12 fish.  there was one that might have been 20 lbs, but hard to tell at a distance.  i realized immediately that only a few of them moved as if they were feeding.  good thing i watched Mr. P's video recently.



anyways, i snuck up on the fish, cast to them in 3 feet of crystal clear water, and i'm proud to say that i caught my first buffalo carp on a fly.

i used a 5wt rod, and the fly i used was Roughfisher's Carp Crack that I tied in my custom rust color dubbing.

DIY Bonefishing

so, hands down, the guys at This River is Wild have it figured out.  holy moly, i want their lives.  their "A Taste of a Dream" trips make me drool like i just came back from the dentist.  this video is definitely in my top 5 best videos of 2011. no other video has made me want to quit my job and do what they do.


DIY Bonefish from Mr. Erdosy on Vimeo.

they also went through a lot of trouble not to reveal where they were at.  good idea, because every guy dreaming of catching bonefish without paying up the wazoo for a guide will want to go there next year.  well, i scoured the internet for some 'off the beaten path' destination where one could camp and DIY bonefish.  i quickly realized this was a futile attempt from the start.  if it is on the internet, it won't be 'off the beaten path'.  all the easy DIY bonefish spots are pretty well written about, and therefore already over fished.  particularly in the Bahamas or the Keys.  i went to Eleuthera a couple of years ago, and every flat i went, there were a few anglers already there.

so, my next logical thought was to research a bonefishing destination that wasn't on everyone's top 5 destinations list.  i came up with the British Virgin Islands.  Here are a couple of useful links.

BVI on the Fly

Top 10 Flats in the BVI

 

Not So Fatal Attraction

i've been tying some attractor nymph flies for Dallas.  the fish are going to be deep, extremely picky, and my only thought is to use an attractor pattern on a dropper rig.  i'm thinking either nymph-nymph, popper-nymph, nymph-streamer, or streamer-nymph combinations.  anybody have any thoughts on the best combos for winter pond and tailwater fishing in Texas?

my only guidance on what works down there is from reading posts on PondBass and Blue Gill on the Fly.  it seems like the electric blue north fork nymph works well, so my Blue Steel Nymph was an attempt to get the same coloring.  it took me a couple hours to get that color, and it still isn't right.  

it seems that every fly out there is a variation of a classic pattern, just with a twist on a new material, and then given a new name.  so why not join the fun?  

i've also started to make some poppers out of wine corks so i can use them as part of a popper-dropper rig.  using this link, i turned my Dremel into a mandrel and started shaping some popper heads.  i'll post some pics as soon as they're finished and painted.

Blue Steel Nymph

Louie-Bloo Rasberry Nymph

Lime Rocket Nymph

R&B Nymph

Hello Moto

Greemo Nymph

Purple Drank Nymph

Higa's SOS Baetis Nymph

LUV Nymph

Montauk, October 2011

so, after seeing First Images from Surf & Inshore Fly Fishing 2011 by Peter Laurelli, i started to go through my own videos.  while Peter's video is nicely done, mine are amateur, and poor quality.  but they still get me excited for next year!  in the first video, check out that albie zipping along the top edge!  what's crazy is that every 1-2 boats had their own pod.

Where, Where, Where Are You?

i'm sure by now, you all have seen the video that everyone has posted.  it's Peter Laurelli's "First Images from Surf & Inshore Fly Fishing 2011".  if you haven't, watch it below.  it's freakin' awesome.  my only question is, which CT & NY flats are shown?  i'm giddy watching the scene where the guy is crouching on the flats boat and strip strikes.  goosebumps.  i'm thinking Gardiner's Bay or the Norwalk Islands area.  anybody have any ideas?


First Images from Surf & Inshore Fly Fishing 2011 from Peter Laurelli on Vimeo.

The Menu

so naturally, soon after i picked up this 'addiction', i saw how expensive saltwater fly fishing can get, especially since my knots were terrible, and the flies seemed to snag every rock in the LIS.  i convinced myself, and my wife (but not for long), that i would be saving money by tying my own flies.  my wife soon 'got smart' after seeing countless ziplock bags arrive in the mail.

other than fly tying patterns and videos online, my number one reference was Angelo Peluso's book, "Saltwater Flies of the Northeast".

this book has over 400 descriptions and patterns/recipes for flies that are widely used in targeting the four primary saltwater game fish in northeastern waters: striped bass, bluefish, false albacore, and bonito.  included are flies that imitate bunker, spearing, sand eels, glass minnows, bay anchovies, herring, crab, shrimp, cinderworm, squid, and more.  while there are a bunch of editorial mistakes found throughout, and this book should be used more for reference than for reading, it is a must have in any saltwater fly tier's library.

the next book that i want to get is Dick Brown's "Bonefish Fly Patterns".  the book has 197 patterns with photographs!  variety is the spice of life, right?

for those of you still awake after reading this post, and want to save money on tying flies...i suggest buying your hooks on amazon.  amazon sells Gamakatsu hooks (100 pack), and since amazon uses dynamic based pricing, if you wait for the right time, you can get a terrific deal.

I'd Rather Be...