Ah, the anticipation. Traditional trips taken each year. Memories extending back many years. A storm is coming, but it probably will be ok, given how low the river has been through the Fall. Up early, as a two hour drive lies ahead and we want to be on the water at first light.There early, gearing up in the dark. Down we go through old briars, alders and mud.

Silent recognition amongst us. Nothing needs to be said; we’ve been here enough times to know where the water line needs to be for safe wading and productive presentations. The river is up a good two feet  too high at the bank…back up into the tall grass and briars. The speed is too fast and the mind starts to work on where could we go to gain ok access. We cannot turn around now.  We each tried according to our own individual patience levels. Some sat out early, fed up. All eventually gave up.Too unsafe to wade and fish.

River levels, prognostications and weather systems were checked, but it poured forth oblivious to the forecast. Next few months maybe….time is so scarce these days….but we all need the fix, the pull, the moment.

This video shows a jet ski going from Rte 69 & Key River Junction to Key Harbour & then all the way to The Bustard Islands & back.

This video was made in 1960 & shows the materials used to build a cabin being hauled out The Key River.

This video shows a boat with 225 H.P. motor going from Key Harbour In Georgian Bay to Rte 69 & Key River Junction Bridge.

This trip is 8 miles & there are no roads.

This video has some good footage of the area but no sound.

This video is about Diamond Key Lodge & if you want to see more of them search You Tube Videos for Diamond Key Lodge or click on the video below & it will take you to their You Tube Videos.

Tying the M.O.A.L. Leech can seem daunting at first.  The hardest part to overcome is figuring out how to attach everything.  The most common method is to use two vises, one to hold the rear hook and the other to hold the front hook.  Once the fly is tied, the front hook shank is cut off, leaving only the rear hook.  I am currently tying with a Nor Vise, this particular vise comes with a “post” to hang the bobbin from.  This setup works well for tying the M.O.A.L. style leech.  I keep the rear hook secured in the vise head and use mono looped to the eye of the front hook and secured in the post.  This keeps everything tight and your tying area clear.

One thing you will notice while tying this style of fly is that your bobbin must go over and around the fly, without access to the front of the hook it can be a pain to deal with at times.  This is another area were the Nor Vise shines, allowing you to use the rotary capability to wind thread up and down between the two hooks.  One word of caution however, by spinning the hooks in the rotary vise, it has a tendency to “wind up” the mono that’s secured to the post, a small in line swivel can aid in preventing this “rubber band” effect.

The M.O.A.L. Leech is a great pattern for Steelhead, Salmon, and Trout.  It can be tied as short as you want, or as long as your connection area will allow.  I like them between 3-4 inches long, with an occasional 5-6 incher for Salmon.

Hook:           Front- upturned eye heavy (cut hook from shank).

                        Rear- Owner SWW #4.

String:         Rio 25# Extreem Tippet, Dacron, or GSP.

Head:           Cone or hourglass eyes.

body:           Rabbit strips (I prefer regular Vs crosscut – I feel the cross leaves the body too thin).

Flash:          Any flash of your choice.

Thread:       GSP, or Flymaster A++.

Slide the cone over the hook bend, and wrap .035 lead from mid shank up to the cone.

Secure the String to the lead hook by wrapping it from mid shank up to the cone, then double it over and secure it back down the hook shank.  Apply a good coat of Zap-A-Gap to the hook shank.

Insert the rear hook into the string by looping it over the shank.  Remove the front hook from the vise head, and insert the rear hook, next attach the mono to the front hook eye by looping it over itself, stretch it tight and secure it to the post.

Now cut the lead hook shank at the tie in point for the string, wind the thread down the string to just in front of the rear hook, tie in the rabbit to the string and advance the thread to the end of the first rabbit strip.  Now, you must use some form of glue, (I use Zap-A-Gap), on the string.  If you do not glue the rabbit hide to the string, the rabbit will unwind when you release the fly from the vise. (There is a way to do it without glue, you can “counter” wrap the thread down the string.  By doing this the rabbit wants to unravel one way, and the thread the other way, kind of creating a furled effect.)  Now wind the rabbit up the string, be sure to “stroke” the fibers back at you wrap forward.

Secure another strip of rabbit in a contrasting color and continue wrapping it forward.  Don’t forget to add glue to the string in front of the rabbit!

I usually wrap the center section up to the end of the lead wraps, or to the start of the cut hook shank.  Now tie in some flash sparsely round around the hook shank.

Tie in the last piece of rabbit, and wrap forward to cone.  I usually try and get an extra wrap at the cone, forcing it into the cone.  Tie it off and trim the rabbit, next force the trimmed end of the rabbit under the cone with your tying thread, turn a few half hitches with your bobbin and trim the thread, your done.

All tied up, ready for the Steelhead Box!

Enjoy,

Hud

Vincent Su had a need.  He ties parachute flies down to size 30.  As someone who ties flies professionally and travels the country giving demonstrations, he needed a vise that would make tying some of his specialties easier; parachutes, extended-body and vertical midges to name a few.  The rotating vise has been around for awhile, but what if a vise could rotate on a vertical axis as well as horizontal?

Enter the 720 VISE™.  It is a ground breaking 720-degree true-rotary fly tying vise. Vincent invented and patented his vise and after almost a year of further development, the 720 Vise™ is more refined and more user friendly than ever.  The 720 Vise™ is packed with features that set new standards for the industry.  The vise makes tying parachute and extended-body fly patterns, that require rotation of the bobbin, much easier.  Vincent’s vise works on two axis, one axis along the center of the hook shank, the other axis perpendicular to the hook shank and the two axis cross each other.  It has a multi-part base assembly and a bearing mechanism which will provide a lateral rotation of the jaws.  The vise base can be locked in different positions laterally for using the vise as a regular rotary vise or working on a fly from different directions, such as right handed or left handed.

At $270.00, check out what people are saying about Vincent and his revolutionary vise at http://www.coloradofisherman.com/forum/index.php?topic=49622.msg566326

Oh, BTW… each 720 Vise™ comes with a DVD that shows you the features of the vise and fly tying demos from start to finish.
Come join the new fly tying era.

Tight Lines——–<*))))><
Larry Snyder
Fly Fishing CRAZY

I, like many of you, love FLY FISHING and some of my friends and family have called me CRAZY at times.  The feel of fighting a big fish on a FLY ROD and palming the rim of the FLY REEL to add additional, run stopping, pressure to an already smooth drag is exhilarating to say the least.

Think about those memorable fishing trips you’ve taken and then think of the destinations you dream of.  Imagine yourself on the fabled streams of Pennsylvania, New York and New England, then fishing famous Colorado streams like the South Platte River, Colorado and Arkansas Rivers, the Williams Fork, Frying Pan, Roaring Fork and numerous others.  Picture yourself in Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park fishing the Yellowstone River, Slough Creek, Fire Hole, Gibbon, Lamar and Lewis.  Then have a blast FLY FISHING for Chinook (King) Salmon in late September and early October on the Pere Marquette River in Michigan.  I could go on and on talking about fishing in other states like northern California, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.  And let’s not forget Alaska. There is no place in the USA that can rival its beauty and fishing.

Pass your passion on to your children and grandchildren.  Teach them to know the joy of “Perpetrating the Fraud” with FLY ROD and REEL and to feel the pulsing, head shaking runs of trout, salmon, bass or even Bluegill on fly tackle.  Think of the joy you will receive when they tie their own handmade flies or build their own rods.

Those are the things that have sustained my passion over the years.  My hope is that you too can find the love for this sport, whether it’s taking up FLY FISHING for the first time yourself, feeding your current CRAZY passion, or even outfitting and teaching a child.  Let this be one of your greatest obsessions.

So, let me help you make your FLY FISHING memorable… and CRAZY!

Tight Lines————–<*))))><
Larry Snyder
Fly Fishing CRAZY

With the high water and crazy schedule of water generation from SWPA, alot of trout fisherman are looking for other avenues to get a fix.

Roaring River State Park offers great wade fishing opportunities and many easily accessible fishing opportunities. The park cn be a bit crowded during the season and on holidays……but from the second Friday in November to the second Monday in February, the park goes into a special regulation fishing stage. This is the time period of the Catch and Release season at the park. Alot of the normal visitors dont come around in the cooler months, which makes great fishing opportunities. During this time all anglers must still possess a trout stamp, but not a park stamp. Also anglers are only allowed to use flies during this time period. A list of the C&R regulations are available here. Hours are from 8am-4pm Friday, Saturday, sunday and Monday.

Tim from Tim’s Fly Shop and Phil Lilley have put together some great maps that break down the section and zones of Roaring River. The maps are available here on the Ozark Anglers Website.

Good stuff from James Prosek.

]]> http://fishingjones.com/2009/11/25/youre-only-as-faithful-as-your-options/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:28:56 +0000 Pete McDonald http://fishingjones.com/2009/11/25/youre-only-as-faithful-as-your-options/ http://wanaka1.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/fishing-the-high-country/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:16:04 +0000 wanaka1 http://wanaka1.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/fishing-the-high-country/

The high country rivers flowing into Lakes Wanaka and Hawea opened first November.  Often these are fantastic sport fishing in small rivers for both brown and particularly rainbow trout.  This year the first week of November was great with some good weather but since then the spring winds have been blowing and bringing quite a bit of rain.  Its made the rivers a bit dirty but not so much that the fish are opushed out.  It looks like a good fly fishing season if you are thinking of bringing your rod to Wanaka.  I caught a nice 2.2kg rainbow at the first confluence of the Timaru creek last week and spotted along the nevis which has been open since October and there are some good fish in there still.

more about “Backcountry trek to study Rocky Mount…“, posted with vodpod

At the risk of sounding arrogant, I have to say that I have one of the coolest jobs in the world. I work as the science writer for CIRES, the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences. My job doesn’t stop at writing about science. Being a photographer and multimedia producer play equal parts.

In this instance, I got to hit the trail with Jimmy McCutchan and Tommy Detmer, a couple of CIRES scientists studying the effects of fish introductions on formerly fishless lakes of Rocky Mountain National Park. Fish were introduced to support fly fishing from the 1800s until the 1960s. Now the National Park Service is working with CIRES to find out what’s happened to those lakes, knowledge that may help guide future management.

Their study also isn’t a bad way to work a little fly fishing into your science.

You can learn more about CIRES science at cires.colorado.edu, or check out the CIRESvideos channel on YouTube.com.

Per SWPA, there will be low water tomorrow until 6pm on the Beaver Tailwaters.

Here are some pictures from our float from White Hole to Wildcat Shoals.

Here are some pictures from our float from White Hole to Wildcat Shoals.

What a weekend!  It’s always fun to visit with friends at a hometown show (the annual Vero Beach Boat Show at Riverside) especially when you really do have something to talk about.  And talk we did…about boating, fishing and how productive the Indian River is right now…snook, trout, reds.  Our local gallery “The Backcountry” put together an impressive display of Dragonfly Boatworks’ latest models.  Included were a 16′ Emerger with a 40 Evinrude Etec and a gorgeous 17′ Dragonfly (soon to be on its way to Capt. Billy Glenn in Charleston, SC).  The real show stoppers, however, were the “electric” fishing kayaks.  Locals got a chance to see Fly Fishers for the first time.  They’re one-man fishing kayaks innovatively designed.  So fun!  They were flying out the door.  You’ll be seeing them on the river soon.

Dare I say it…without alluding to porn..the imagery of the perfect curve and colors…the imagery of seduction. I am always in awe of that shot..the quarry…the beautiful image captured as if she just stepped from the shower..unaware…(ok, I kind of went there).

“Using a full frame Digital SLR with large capacity cards allows me to take as many as ten thousand high resolution shots in one day. At this sort of pace I will get a keeper one out of every ten days. My goal is not a photo documenting something. It is to create an image that stands as a piece of fine art as well as doing the location and species justice. Marrying the perfection of a red bellied Westslope Cutthroat to the kaleidoscope glacial scree bottom of a gin clear Glacier Park creek takes all the pieces to fall into place. Only when all the stars align do these places give up that image that exists in my mind.” Fish Eye Guy

Zack and I were in the camera boat today as Kevin had a client trip. The water level on the creek was just above 13 feet, a couple of inches over the low water bridge at Kelly’s Slab. We got there early to launch the boats and do the shuttle before Kevin picked up the clients in Yellville. We launched the Hyde first and learned from our mistakes when launching Zack’ s boat. I found out that water flowing over a bridge has some pretty good power and my boots felt is wore out as I got washed off the low water bridge and went swimming. Luckily no one had a camera handy.

Paul, Gretchen and Kevin

The day turned out to be fabulous. Great weather, fishing was great, the lighting was great for photography and I think Zack got some really good time on the oars. We were all worried that the water would have cooled off to make fishing really tough but the smallmouth really cooperated. Gretchen was slamming the fish right off the bat and Paul was not far behind.

No real monsters today

We got to do a little of whitewater in the drift boats. Not too many rocks were hit. The water was really at a perfect level for both floating and fishing. The smallmouth were hitting red 4″ lizards. Zack and I tried to get a few on a fly rod, but we didn’t have anything to get down to the smallmouth but we did get a few sunfish.

A little Longear Sunfish

Zack and I held back most of the day and took photos and occasionally leaped ahead to take shots of Kevin coming through the rapids. Several were nice fast stretches, but there was one really good wave. We all scouted ahead to get Kevin and Zack familar with lines to float. They both did good picking out the best lines.

First good stretch

Kevin blasting through a wave

Kevin sucking face with a good smallmouth

Overall Kevin did great as a guide and Zack showed some real progress rowing a drift boat. The clients said they had their best smallmouth trip ever, even though they had been to the Boundary Waters. I do believe they will be back.

Read the sordid tale here.

This weekend Kevin and I are finally, finally getting Zack on the river, a real river with current, to row and fish. He needs a bunch of practice before he gets customers out regularly.

We will be floating on the Bull Shoals tailwater of the White River on Saturday and on Crooked Creek Sunday. Saturday it will be Kevin and I as clients in Zack’s boat. Sunday it will be Zack and I in the camera boat as Kevin has two clients fishing for smallmouth on Crooked Creek. Hopefully the water levels will be good for both floats.

The White float started very early. I mean very early, 4:00 am wake-up call. Too bad I was up at 2:30 am. Kevin got to the house by 5:00 am and we headed over to the river. Zack was to meet us at the Ranch Restaurant in Harrison for breakfast. He was there waitng along with his boat “Blue”. After a fine breakfast of eggs we headed to the river. Kevin and I discussed floats as we drive and decided on the White Hole to Wildcat flaot. The water levels were good for drifting throwing either nymphs or streamers. There were not too many boats on that stretch, but the ones that were real a-holes. Seemed everytime we stopped to wade, a jon boat would float back and forth where we were fishing or blast by us way too close. Guess it is just jealosy of them not having a drift boat. Saw Steve Dally on the river with a couple of clients and passed some bait guide barbs back and forth.

Zack and his new drift boat

Right now Zack’s boat is not really set up for two fly fishers, but I’m sure he will get that remedied soon. The boat is a pretty wooden boat built by a guide in Alaska. He has a great aluminum trailer that should last forever. He ever still has the Alaske tags on the trailer. He had better keep it as a momento. While waitting for Kevin and Zack to do the shuttle, I rowed the boat a little. The oinly thing I could really find wrong with it was the oars and the seat layout. The seats are setup for two anglers to sit in the front and no one behind the rower. With my big butt behind Zack we looked like we were popping wheelies down the river. Lots of rainbows were caught and a little brown. It was a good day on the river. Zack might be getting the hang of rowing.

;00am

It becomes difficult to tie knots with 5x tippet when the temperature drops to near freezing and your fingers refuse to work. This is the dilemma that I found myself in yesterday morning. While everyone else was clocking in bright and early on a Monday morning, I was looking at an ice cold creek attempting to will my numb fingers to submit and listen to my brain. By some miracle, I was successful in tying on a small dry fly to my brand new TFO rod. After logging many hours of painting these past two weeks, I convinced my fiance and ultimately myself that I had earned a new fly fishing rig. With a few months of researching, reading reviews, and trying then retrying different rods, I settled on a Temple Fork Outfitters Finesse 3 wt. My patience and deliberation payed off yesterday with the enjoyment that I experienced on Oak Creek. I actually had a bit of a scare with my new setup. By the second or third pool I noticed that something was wrong. The rod was either not casting or the line was not shooting correctly. After careful inspection I observed that the guides of the rod were starting to ice over. This was my first experience with ice (because who expects ice in Arizona) and for the first few hours in the morning I spent a good portion of time picking ice out of the guides.

Fishing was very slow with only two fish landed all day. I took my time and was able to spot several pods of fish before they were aware of me, but nothing that I was casting was appealing to them. I fished all day and found myself in a large still pool about the time the sun was leaving the canyon. In this large pool, trout were rising to what appeared to be caddis flies. I tied on several different flies to try and “match the hatch” but again had no luck. The size of my #16 flies seemed to be a tad larger then the flies they were feeding on, but the experience of actually seeing a hatch was very inspiring. Hunger, the cold, and a desire to see my fiance (and Budder) drove me back to the truck. Roaring off to the valley, I realize I am hopelessly addicted to fishing.

I must applaud! Senator Brownback has responed to my letter. His response is below. I am sure it is a stock response:

Dear Mr. Yeutter:

Thank you for writing to express your concerns regarding the National Ocean and Great Lakes Policy. It is always encouraging to hear from Kansans on issues that concern them. There is no better guide to making tough decisions than from hearing from the people whom I serve.

I share your concerns for the environment and wildlife. I believe that we have made tremendous progress, and, like you, I recognize that there are many areas in which we can do better. As a member of the Senate, I have made a commitment to passing legislation that encourages sound environmental practices.

In fact, I started the International Conservation Caucus in the Senate because I believe the United States has the opportunity, the obligation and the interests to advance the conservation of natural resources for this and future generations. The International Conservation Caucus will focus on global conservation and its link to poverty elimination, conflict avoidance and the promotion of security and good governance.

Protecting our environment and keeping wildlife safe should be a priority for us all. With the help of my Senate colleagues, I hope to continue to promote environmentally responsible legislation that will serve our environment well today and protect it for the future.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me about this important issue. You are the reason that I am here, and I look forward to hearing from you in the future. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance and feel free to visit my website at brownback.senate.gov for information on the issues on which I am working.

Sincerely,

Sam Brownback

It is good that Senator Brownback is willing to respond to conservation issues. I will post any other responses I get as they come in!