Tying Brains

Egg patterns have always given me a hard time.  My recent attempts have looked more like pink Cotton balls then eggs.  A friend told me Y2K's were working really well on the South Holston.  Then came a scenario that happens far too often with me and my fishing buddies.  The first thing I usually say "so can I buy a few from you?"  This is usually always the reply.

They are really easy to tie. 

Then I go into how after buying all the materials and hooks it would be just easier buying them from a friend.  My buddy trumped me on this excuse by sending me an email for a Jstockard $10 gift card. If you've never checked out Jstockard.  They have everything you can imagine for fly tying.  Their prices are some of the best I've found.   My friends who tie use them pretty much exclusively for their materials.

I got the materials in the mail a few days ago and I researched Y2K patterns.  I looked up some youtube videos and found some pretty good tutorials.   While tying my first I found out right away why I had issues tying these in the past.  The material I was using was too soft.   I'm sure you could get it to work but all I could do is tie pink cotton balls.  The McFly foam made it a lot easier.  I followed the how to's the best I could.  All I could manage is what looked more like brains instead of eggs.

  I'm sure they will still do the job.   Tying these actually gave me the bug to tie other things and I bought some stuff to tie zebra midges and soft hackles.  I received my first birthday present in the mail too. My wife was nice enough to hook me up with something from The Fiberglass Manifesto.

I usually don't like wearing t-shirts with website logos on them but this bluegill design is awesome. The shirt looks great and I look forward to wearing it while I'm chasing gills in the spring.

Fly Tying App

In my attempts to become a more efficient tier I have accumulated quite a bit of tying materials.   There are so many that I get a little over whelmed and I'm not sure what exactly to tie.   The really annoying thing is when I want to tie something and I'm missing one or two of the materials.  I have an idea for a great app.  How cool would it be to have an app where you plug in the materials you want to tie with and a list is displayed.  The list consists of all the different flies you can tie using those materials.  Then if you click on one it would show a tutorial of how to tie that fly.  I think this app would do very well.  Unfortunately, I don't have the time or know how to create such a thing.   I did some hunting on the Internet and found some programs.  These programs aren't as nifty as what I thought up.  They were made quite a few years ago and are mainly databases.  If you put in the work to enter all the patterns you'd use or like to tie these programs would become a nice reference.  Here are a couple I've found.

Superfly
Description:

• Tying Bench (Fly Patterns & Materials Inventory)
• Critters (Bugs, Fish & Folks)
• Water (Fishin' Holes & Fishing Logs)
• Library (Notebook, Gallery & Book Inventory)
• Charts & Tables (Leader Formulae, Fish Scale & Hook Charts)
• Utility Belt (Import / Export)

 

FlyFree
Description
•Track materials and instructions.
•Cross link insects.
•Provide for importing and exporting fly database files.
•Track for hooks and their design and effectiveness.

 

Both of the programs are fun to play around with. They run fine on Windows 7. There's another app I found that looks like it's based on the same design although they include a bunch of data already entered. There's over 2000 patterns in a program called Fly Assistant. It costs $35. If you check out the free apps or know of some others please let me know. I'm just getting back into tying and I need all the help I can get.  I'm looking for ideas for all these odd ball materials I have.

Simple Way To Make Your Own Dubbing

I have been following Missouriflies.com for some time now.  The guy that runs the site catches a large variety of species.  He also ties really nice flies.  There are some great tutorial videos and also shows an easy way to make dubbing.   You can check it out below.

 

Be sure to check out his blog too.  Missouriflies.com

Free TU Membership for Female Anglers



There has been a growing trend in the sport of fly fishing by female anglers.  TU has obviously been taking notice.  Currently they are offering a 1yr free membership for new female anglers.   This is a great way to show TU isn't just a mens club and welcomes both sexes.  Of course it's a good business decision as well.   Either way I'm happy they are doing at and I hope a lot of women join the club.  To read more about the offer please click here.

You Snooze, You Lose

The recent temperature swings have made my allergies go crazy.  I've missed out on two fishing trips because I can't seem to shake this nagging cold.  It seems to have moved from a throbbing pain in my head down to my chest.  I can barely go a half hour without  coughing.  Enough about that.  Trying to keep myself in doors and some what rested I've been doing christmas shopping.  During my searches I scan for wish list items.  The Cabelas CGR rod was on my list and I actually owned one for a short time.  I returned it because at the time I had higher priorities that needed the funds. 

I decided to look into the rod again for a possible christmas present.  What's this?  It no longer exists.  It looks as though Cabela's discontinued their 50th anniversary version and now they have a CGT version.

The price has been raised $50 for these glass rods and the color has gone from grass green to a rusty reddish brown. I actually like this color better. I think the price makes the rod a little intimidating for people new to glass. Especially when you can get an Eagle Claw Featherlight for under $40.

The Cabela's glass version rods must be decent. I couldn't find any for sale on ebay or other sites. People must be happy with them. I feel a little dumb for returning mine.  Maybe a Featherlight is in my future.

Why Fishing is the Best Sport

I was sitting around thinking the other day about deer hunting. I always wanted to try but I just couldn't see myself for one sitting in one place for hours on end waiting for a certain moment. The second would be killing an animal I have no interest in eating. If I could hunt with a tranquilizer gun that would be a different story. Imagine it. You shoot a deer go down and check it out. You can pet it, take a picture, then watch it run off woozy but not much worse off than it was before. That I could probably do.

That made me think how fishing is so much different than other sports. Especially ones that involve the outdoors. How many other sports link you so intimately to the goal you're trying to achieve then allow you to experience it all over again? I can see how bird watching or something like that would be similar. It would be something to capture a picture of a certain rare bird. Even then I doubt you'd ever train it or get into a situation where you could touch it. With fishing it's different. From the first fish you hook there's an instant connection between you and something wild. Unless it's a stocker of course. When the fish is in hand there is a feeling that can't be explained properly. The fish is released and the whole process can be repeated over and over. Then if by chance bad luck or poor landing technique there is a casualty, you have a free meal. There really isn't much like it.

Sour Grapes

There have been a ton of reports about fishing for stripers lately.   It seems like the local lake everyone fishes is really heating up.  It's always nice seeing pictures and reports but eventually you get jealous.  Sour grapes I guess.

The biggest issue with having so many buddies that fly fish is everyone wants to go on trips and you can't invite everyone. So when you start begging the question "why wasn't I invited?" You can just point to all the posts and reports you have given that didn't include others. In the end it's not personal.