Tuesday, November 30, 2010

RIP

"The Co-Pilot Had Fish.

What Did the Navigator Have?"

-Leslie Nielsen

Monday, November 29, 2010

I think I have a new favorite pattern

So, I was searching for Copper John patterns the other day and I can across a few rubber legged versions which intrigued me. I recently purchased some rubber legs on clearance from A Sporting Lifestyle on Friday before they closed up shop so I decided to have a go at tying some.

After about 4 failed attempts that had me snapping off the hook eye to get my bead back, I finally came up with a pattern that I liked. I kept the rubber legs long in hopes of giving the fly some nice movement underwater.

Recipe:
Orvis 3x long curved nymph hook, size 20
UTC Ultra Wire (Medium) in the color of your choice
Harelin Dubbin Medium Rubber Legs (Black)
Peacock Herl
1/8" Scud Back
Polar Flash
A drop of Hard as Nails on the wing case and finishing knot

Here's the result.






They look goofy, but I was hoping they would work. I was planning a trip to the Little Lehigh on Sunday and I knew the fish would be keying in on eggs so I sat at the vise with a beer by my side and knocked out a handful of eggs and a few of these Copper Johns.

Sunday's arsenal...



I fished from 1-4pm. I was bouncing an egg pattern with a small split shot, followed by one of these Copper Johns. The water was crystal clear and I had no problem site fishing to all the fish podded up in the Heritage Section. I wasn't even there 5 minutes and I already hooked in to a fish. I continued to have hookups every few minutes all afternoon.

The fish were keying in on the egg, but when they saw the CJ, they rushed it. It was a great afternoon on the water and I'll definitely be tying more of these.

And if you don't believe me that these things catch fish, here's a beautiful small, but wild, brownie that came about 8 feet across the stream to smash the CJ.

Drumroll please...

Well, I guess we're live. Not sure how you got here, but welcome to the site. After spending countless hours reading other blogs, I decided to chronicle my fishing trips, thoughts, fly patterns, etc for reference later in life.

My name is Mike. I've been an avid fisherman my whole life. About a year and a half ago, my stepdad, Jack, got me hooked on fly fishing by giving me a 6 wt St Croix and a couple casting lessons. I've pretty much ignored all my spinning gear since then. I started tying about a year ago, and have pretty much wasted every spare penny on materials since then. Whoever tells you that tying saves you money..they lie.

Well, enjoy the site..or don't. It will be here either way.

We had the first snowfall of the season on Thanksgiving day here in PA. I got out for an hour to cast at a few stocked trout on the east branch of the Perkiomen Creek. Didnt catch anything but did snap a pic of the sparse snowfall we got.