Finished some flies

Hi

I did some fly tying this week. Snowy Winter days are the right time to be tying.

I've had 2 partially dressed classic atlantic salmon flies sitting around for a decade now. My old Uncle Gene died and my aunt sent me all of his fly tying gear and feathers. IN those feather bags I found the very hard to find feathers required to finish my Jock Scott and Lady Amherst Ranger.

Not that I would fish with those flies...
Jim

how long have you been tying for? i have been tying on and off for 4 years now but left all my tying gear at home for college. I tie when i go back for breaks but i do miss not being able to tye a nymph or two on days like today when it is snowing and cold here in moscow ID.

Idoho Hiker
I was in Moscow once... nice place, especially if you like winter.

I love to tie nymphs, and I like to put eyes on them. Lets face it - you don't really need any other flies but nymphs and one is as good as another as long as it looks like a drowned bug. I've caught more fish on a #12 egg hook with a piece of red yarn tied to it, than all other flies combined.

I've been tying since I was a boyscout. I got a Sears tying kit for Christmas in 1961 and I have half a dozen flies in my collection that I tied then! I use that old vise for large hooks, and I have a tiny Orvis vice for little hooks - I tie down to size 22. I actually do a lot of my fishing with size 18 nymphs tied on Tiemco hooks and pinch the barb. The hook is so tiny it only hooks their lip.

As far as backcountry fishing - I will often allow a small nymph to float down stream as much as 40 feet, in a controlled drift, so I can feel the strikes. Often its the only way because you are actually fishing an area so far away from you that the fish can't see you. Its a way to catch the small skitzy stream trout in the Sierras.

The only time I ever caught a bunch of fish and cooked em up backpacking was down in Big Sur. I had a piece of monofilament, and egg hook and a jar of eggs. I tied the line to a stick about 3 feet long as a pole and caught a dozen trout and a turtle. I ate the largest 8 trout for dinner. I feel sorta guilt about that now. But they were really good. Its easy to live off the land in Big Sur because of an abundance eatable plants. Its easy to supplement about 50% of your food there.

Jim Tight lines

Jim

dang down to 22's that is really good. I max out around 16s. I have a very cheap vice/tye flying starter kit that i got for xmas a few years ago. It isn't the best but it definitely gets the job done. I mainly tie prince nymphs along with copper johns for my nymph patterns. I could fish those two patterns forever.

Story time. I remember 3 years ago my family went on a 7 day back packing trip and we camped at these great high mountian lakes up by Red Fish Lake in Idaho. It was a hoot. we used dragon fly's along with nymph patterns and could see the trout come from 10-15 feet away and gobble up the flies. None of the fish where of much size 6-8 inches but it was a blast. The last lake we camped at was known for its bigger fish so when we finally got there it was game on. We continued to catch lots of smaller fish and could occasionally see 16+ size trout but could never get them to bite our nymphs or leech patterns. Went a whole afternoon with no big fish luck until we talked to some other hikers that where out in catching trout all day like us. They told us to try some small krill patterns because the large fish weren't interested in much else. well we did that evening and ended up landing 4 18+ trout. it was a blast. I don't think i will ever forget that trip.

Mountain lake fishing is usually top notch particularly because the water is so clear. I hope I can get out a lot more this summer though.

I love tying. I tye for fun even though I may never use some of them. Around here olive wollybuggers are the go to fly when nothing else works. I used to be into making bass lures with blades and props etc. Now when I tye for bass, I use deer hair dyed to make floating frogs etc. I usually tye a couple of dozen flies before I head out to the river. The last time I went to Arkansas to fish, I walked up the stream and saw a blue herron standing there fishing. I walked up stream from him about 40 feet and drifted a crawdad colored streamer right where he was standing. He flew away and I started catching rainbows. The first one I caught was small, about 8". I caught 12 bows in about 45 minutes and each one was bigger than the last. I guess the largest one was about 15". then they started getting smaller and I called it a day. I didn't keep fish that day. I usually catch and release with a barbless. But it's o.k to keep a couple once in a while if you like trout. My wife has an algery to any salmon or salmoniod so I don't bother anymore. but if I catch some while camping, you bet I'm gonna have trout for dinner. I picked up a book on Building fly rods and sent off for a blank and guides etc. I built a 9'5" 5wt with single foot guides that I absolutly love.

I have thought about getting into rod building. my uncle has done it for a couple years now but for salt water. He has mentioned giving me all his old rod making tools in a year or two when he is done with them so i probably wont look into it any farther until then. I currently have a 9' scotts rod that i got on sale two years ago for $120 when the original price was $300. The only complaint i have is that it is medium action so it makes it a little tougher to set the hook when i am throwing sinking lines into deep holes. the flex the medium has makes the most beautiful casts though.

Wolly buggers are an all time favorite. They were the first flies i ever learned to tie. I made so many variations that had purple malibu, green malibu, yellow malibu. you name it, i had made the combination of all colors. Most of those flies are now in the bottom of my parents boxes (I gave them a lot of my beginner flies back when i started tying). The funny part is that none of those flies resemble anything in nature but despite that, my mom(who is an excellent fly fisherman) who likes to fish with "pretty" or "flashy" flies uses them all the time. and to top it off she catches fish. sometimes i can't believe the what flies she is catching fish on. tree green chinelle with bright red malibu tails, or Brown chinelle with purple malibu, just redicilious patterns. I guess sometimes you just never know what is going to work.

chaz
9.5 5wt. Thats a kinda funny combination. I have an 8' 5 wt and an 8' 4wt that I made, both on SAGE blanks. The 5wt is a rigid graphite, but the 4 wt is what Sage called an "LL" blank - light touch. It was never meant to drive a heavy line.

9.5 feet is almost a spey rod, which works by being to whippy for the fish to pull hard enough to break the line. You simply cannot drive a weighted line with a noodle rod.

my 9 foot 8 weight now - it can through anything into the wind. Anyway every blank is a compromise and they all excell at different things. You simply need more rods to cover all the conditions.

BTW use a hot light bulb and a rod spinner to be sure your glue joints are perfect. Tie the eyes on with your fly tying bobbin to hold it while you wrap it.

AND be sure to get the spine in the right place relative to the eyes and finally glue the rod seat only after the eyes are done.
Good luck
Jim

A second vote for Jim's suggestion chaz - 9 or 9.5 foot 5 weight, or even 6 weight rod. My favorite is a 9.5 foot 6 weight that I typically run 5 weight line on, because most of my fishing is small waters, but the rod has enough backbone to throw line when it needs to - so I often have a 5 weight floater but If I might get to anything vaguly lake like where I have to cast for real I have a 6 weight weight forward sink tip line on another spool that I can fish nymphs with. I hate dorky little short noodly fly rods. not only can't they cast, but when they're too short they're no good for the reach and dip type fishing I end up doing a lot on small streams.

Jim, I use the 5wt for bead head nymphs and light flies. I have a floating line on one spool and a weighted line on another. I also have an 8.5ft 6/7wt. I use for heavier flies or for Bass fishing. I like the longer 9.5ft 5wt for float fishing rivers. I can pass over holding trout and see them looking up at me and I just flip the rod behind me into the area I just passed over to catch em.(rainbows). For bass, go at dusk and drag a deer hair mouse or frog imitation near the bank. The longer rod gives me reach cause I'm usually casting just a few feet to the side of me and letting out line to drift downstream to a holding spot I'm trying to reach. When the line gets taught, I start to pull the fly or streamer back in that's when they hit. I can usually catch a lot of fish that way. Sometimes I'll sit on the riverbank and watch the other side for rising trout when there is a hatch. That's when the dry's come out. The longer rod gives me finesse and reach for those situations. Lot's of fun. Last time I went bpacking, I had no luck at all. The aluminum hatch was strong though.LOL

Must be big water out there...I usually fish the Au Sable and Manistee rivers in northern Michigan. Excellent fishing, but VERY tight; you don't want anything longer than 8', and I usually use a 7'9" 4wt with a moderate action. However, I plan to make the trek out west this spring and summer hitting up national parks for some good backcountry fly fishing, and it's good to know that the longer rods will be convenient.

Got pics Jim?

Congrats on the Jock Scott. That's an accomplishment.

Jason where the heck have you been?
Heres the fly I tied for phat.

which is darn pretty btw