Some new foam - just in time for Terrestrial tying

I have new colors of the racing stripe foam available in the fly shop for a limited time. Head on over to check it out.

I also have custom cut Hopper/Chernobyl bodies available!

I love spring, and the bass that come with it

It hit 80 degrees today. That mean that the bass would definitely be fun. First, I had to take care of some yard work. I borrowed my stepdad's pickup and got to it first thing in the morning. Two yards of organic playground woodchips later, my kids have a badass corner of the backyard to raise hell in.


After I dropped off the pickup, I decided to hit this far up headwater of a local trout stream near their house. It's about a mile above the upper point of the state-stocked section, and it's separated by a huge dam that ensures no state-raised fish will make it up there. The owners of the stream dammed a quarter mile stretch of it for their cattle back in the 60s. I grew up fishing this water since I was 14 years old and I basically really learned how to successfully fish for largemouth here. It is full of them, and not many people know about this place, so they can be fairly easy to catch, but they can also be really moody at times. A private club used to stock it with trout when I was in my teens, but I haven't taken a trout from there since I was about 25. I doubt they are still around since it does get pretty damn warm in the summer.

I had just recently filled a fly box with terrestrials from two seperate fly swaps and I was dying to smack some fish around on topwater.



Unfortunately, the foam didn't do the trick. The water was a little murky from the rain earlier in the week and only a few tiny bluegills even took a shot at the surface bugs. The bass and panfish were however more than cooperative on bugskin wigglers.


After I headed home and did another 4 hours of knocking out things on the honey-do list, I headed out for some sunset smallmouths in the backyard creek. My legs were pretty ripped up from a long day of weed wacking, plucking weeds from the garden, and laying wood chips so It felt really nice to wade knee deep in some cool water. This stream was also a little murky, but I found a trib that was already crystal clear and I fished where the two bodies of water met. I picked a good spot.


I wound up having a last slamming these bronze hogs on small clousers.


That's about all I have for now. I'm sorry blog, I've been neglecting you. The fishing has been too good at night to make time to post. I'll try to be more proactive with the updates.

Also, I picked up a Go Pro HD Hero 2. Keep an eye out for some video footage soon!

Springtime photo dump

I realized today that I've had no time to really update this blog, and unless you're on Instagram or occasionally seeing my Twitter posts, it seems like I haven't been up to much of anything.
So yeah, here's a quick springtime recap and a massive photo dump of fishing and family stuff.


I knocked out about 40 bugs for two separate terrestrial swaps. I can't wait to get my flies back.



I hit one of the most epic midge hatches I've ever seen at the Little Lehigh and had a ton of fun with wild brown trout and small dry flies.




We took Michael to the Camden Aquarium for his birthday. That place is so badass.






My stepdad and I hit a local secret spot for some great March largemouth action. He slammed a nice one.



Easter with the kids was pretty damn fun.



And last but not least, the ride got the massive fly fishing bumper sticker treatment last weekend.


Happy Friday!

A new brown midge pattern

This is my latest brown midge pattern. I've fished the Al's rat for the last year or so and it's been very effective. It opened my eyes to how well a basic tiny brown midge can be. I wanted to change it up and make it a lot more flashy. I took some wire ribbing, added a tiny bit of elk for the wing, and some flashy dubbing. After a few failed attempts and some minor tweaks, this pattern actually worked for me this past weekend, so I whipped up some more. It was the addition of the hair wing that actually had a fish take it. I fished a heavy anchor fly and had this trailing in the middle of the water column. Tying in hair on a size 22 fly is a little tough, so remember you only need a few fibers.

Size 22 Tiemco TMC2487 scud hook
Uni-Thread dark brown 8/0
Performance Flies Copper Wire (I'm done with Ultra-wire after using this stuff. It's awesome for small patterns)
Yearling Elk Hair - Put it in the stacker backwards and tie it in so the thickest butt section sticks out the back.
Jan Siman Peacock Bronze dubbing
Dark brown glass bead



Also, stop back tomorrow for a stacked foam beetle tutorial that's super easy and makes a great looking bug. More later.

Feel like joining a fly swap?

Owl didn't name it, but I'm going to be a smartass and call it "MONSTERS OF FLY TYING". We're doing a swap with 25 people. The only rule is it has to be a terrestrial pattern with at least one part of the fly using foam. If you'd like to join, head over to owljones.com to register.

I'm off to chase fish on midges in the snow. More later.

A couple of bugs, and please let me clarify....

So, I didn't realize the Somerset post would draw so much traffic. I checked my stats Sunday morning and realized the post made it on to Trout Underground's twitter feed, which had the place jumping with unique visitors all day. (Thank you Mr. Chandler) If you're stopping by for the first time, welcome to the site. Take some time to dig through the older posts. There's usually more tying photos but I've been lazy.

I'd also like to apologize if my show recap came off as negative. To clarify, the Fly Fishing Show is enormous and I'm sure Mr. Furimsky and crew put in tons of work to pull it off. If you've never been there before, it's definitely worth checking out. Don't let my negativity hold you back. It's full of materials, people who are amazing at twisting up bugs, sweet gear, and seminars. I think I was just expecting some better deals. I didn't find them but after reading other recaps, some people did. Dave Kile over at PA Fly Fish put together a nice video recap of the show.



So anyway, if you're not on Instagram, I posted a few pics tonight of some stuff I've been tying. After watching some streamers being tied at the show, I came to the realization that less is more. I've been loading my streamers up recently, attaching a ton of feathers. Sure, they look pretty, but I noticed that short of using a heavy sink tip, they don't fish as well. After seeing more of a minimalist approach from the few guys at the show, I decided to back off on the bird parts. Here's a simple Fish Skull streamer that can be tied in about 5 minutes. I call it the Vitamin C and I can't wait to try it this weekend.

Size 6 Streamer Hook
6/0 UNI in brown
Orange Marabou
Brown Craft Fur
Oversized skull eyes fastened with a little epoxy
Orange crystal flash

1.Tie in the marabou just in front of the hook point. Palmer to about 3/4 the way up the shank. Tie off.
2.Make a dubbing loop, wrap to the eye, and half hitch.
3.Cut off some craft fur, and pull out the short fibers just like you would with some deer hair.
4.Add the fur to the dubbing loop, give it about 10-12 spins (keep it semi-loose) and wrap forward. Tie it off and comb it back.
5.Add about 4-5 strands of flash for the lateral line on each side and then whip finish.
6.Slip on the skull, and epoxy on the eyes.


I also saw Howard's blog post over at Wind Knots and Tangled Lines and he got me on a terrestrial kick. I whipped up half a dozen Hopper Juans tonight. These things have a lot of steps but once you get into tying them, it goes fast and you get better at making them with each fly. I'm not going to post the steps and recipe, you can head over to The Hopper Juan to check it out. They sit well on a bottle of Bell's Two Hearted Ale.



Also, I came across a pretty nice new blog today. It's called Fumbling the Fly and the guy ties a mean Circus Peanut. Head on over and become a follow and tell him I sent ya. :)

Also, wanna laugh? Gfen breaks down his thoughts on Tenkara. (Watch the F bombs if you're at work)

A quick and easy tip for terrestrial indicators

I learned this in class the other night. We were tying basic foam beetles, just black foam, peacock body, and whatever you wanted to do for the legs.


It's a great little fly that will get the attention of fish in the heat of summer and into fall. The only problem with it is that it's a tough fly to see on the water. I've tied in extra foam indicators behind the head, but now I know that it's an un-needed extra step. Plus, there's a chance the fish can see it from the side.

Go to a craft store and get yourself some 3D fabric paint. The stuff I got was called Scribbles, and it was $1.19 at JoAnn Fabrics.


Just take a small drop of it and place it right on the back of the beetle. It should almost look like a miniature hersey kiss. Instant indicator with no additional materials to tie on!


The only thing I'll say is that you should be careful when using it. I got a drop on my nice pair of work pants on Tuesday night and I now have a neon circle on my right upper thigh. It doesnt come out of clothing at all. It will also take about 12 hours to fully dry. So tie them at night and let them sit until morning.

Here's a bunch of them with rubber legs. I kept one with a foam indicator so you can see the difference.


Maybe I'll get a chance to test them out if it would ever stop SNOWING! Seriously, it's April 1st. Mother nature needs to get over herself.