Recent comments

Here is a bit on the

Here is a bit on the Wood Duck Heron, posted to the streamers@ list back in 2001.

...

Hi guys,

Here's something I had forgotten I had which was forwarded to me by Mr. Watson
from David Benoit:

---------------------------------
The Wood Duck Heron Fly

I was first introduced to this pattern by its originator, Nick Lambrou
of Manchester, NH. I was fishing Sky Pond in Holderness New Hampshire
12-15 years ago when Nick gave me the fly. He had tied it to imitate
an emerging hexagenia and it does very well at taking rainbows during a
"hex hatch".

I also thought the fly would be a good forage fish imitation when fished
as a streamer pattern. I have not tied or fished a muddler pattern since
using a Wood Duck Heron as a streamer.

It is an easy pattern to tie, but the large premium lemon wood duck
feathers used for the pattern are getting more difficult to obtain.

Materials:

Hook 2-3 xl nymph or streamer size 8-12.
Thread 8/0 Uni color optional.
Tail none
Body none
Ribbing none
Wing One large premium lemon wood duck flank feather with the stem
through the center of the feather.
Collar One soft Light or Medium Dun Hen hackle.

Tying Instructions:

1. Attach the thread to the hook and wind backwards 1/3rd the
length of the shank.

2. Prepare the wood duck feather by stroking the barbules on
both sides of the stem back towards the butt leaving a tip
to attach the feather to the shank of the hook, (soft hackle
style).

3. Tie in the wood duck feather by the tip and wind the thread
forward to just behind the eye of the hook. The barbules
should extend 1 gape length beyond the bend from the tie in
point.

4. Fold the wood duck barbules back on either side of the stem
and wind the feather forward leaving room for the collar and a
small head. Bind down and trim excess. It is important to get
the flat underside of the stem against the shank of the hook
when winding the feather.

4. Select a soft hen hackle with barbules approximately 1-2 hook
gapes long. Prepare the feather the same as the wood duck and
tie in by the tip.

5. Fold the barbules back and wind forward to just behind the eye
leaving room for a small head. Bind and trim.

6. Form a small head with the thread, whip finish, and cement.

7. You may need to stroke the wood duck feather to get the nice
uniform shape to the fly.

I have experimented with dyed mallard flank feathers in various colors
along with different colored collars. The proven variations are as
follows:

Medium Dun Mallard with Orange collar.
Chartreuse Mallard with Medium Dun collar.

---------------------------------
Chris Del Plato
Long Valley, NJ

I feel for you. I fe

I feel for you. I fell in while duck hunting a few years ago. Since I live in Florida I did not have a heater in the car. Ended up sick for 6 weeks. Since then I always carry extra clothes and blankets.

this web sight is aw

this web sight is awsome

Nice silhouette on t

Nice silhouette on this fly very nice pattern. Bet its great for panfish!

1.you have too much

1.you have too much light exposure ( try to check the histogram everytime)
2.DOF not so good ( try tu use f11-f18)
3. The bokeh is disturbing.

Good people, Toma

Good people,

Tomaz sent me a couple of mp3's from the Island Jams Vol. 2 album, which obviously contains the music mentioned in the article, and contrary to what we usually do (and probably in conflict with the law) I give you:

• Pray Hard - K.B. - 3.8mb
• Call Da Fire Engine - Ancient Man - 3.6mb
• Rake N' Scrape Mama - Lassie Doe Boys - 4.3mb

The CD can be bought from Bahama Island Music here

Martin

Outflow success

Well, it was warm and there was a hatch going on pretty fair when I got to the outflow yesterday so all of my minnow immitations didn't do a thing. When in Rome, (do they use that expressin in Italy?) so I dug through my boxes (it is at least a half a mile back to the car and in five inches of slush on forest floor. I was not going to make the trip again in hip boots.) and found a few odd flies. The one I first put on is the one in the picture. It is a wet Humpy type that I tie for subsurface. Most of the swirls were fish taking something just below the top. I caught a lot of Largemouth Bass. Not one was over fifteen inches but in that current they really are a different fish. I also caught a bunch of big Bluegills. The males are starting to get color. It must be the warm water. You can see the mighty Potomac in the background. Bald Eagles are going up and down the river constantly. They will be nesting soon. And the Carp are stacked up like busses on the shallows near the bank. I am sure that I saw the biggest Carp I have ever seen yesterday. It looked like one of those prehistoric armadillos mudding its way along the bank. I threw a small crawfish above it and it slid into the main stream. It was having none of me. Huge fish. maybe 35 or 40 pounds.

I just started using

I just started using wood duck flank feathers last fall and they have become one of my favorite tying materials. I saw a Wood Duck Heron fly mentioned in a recent article. Do you know where I can find a recipe for this fly. Thanks for any help you can givem. This is an excellent resource.

Serge,

thank you.

Serge,

thank you. Rasmus Hansen developed this fly.

Yes, I always use a Rapala knot. It works for even the smallest flies and does not limit the movement of the fly.

Kasper

HI KASPER nice fly

HI KASPER nice fly , is it a good one for sea trout all the time ? do you use a loop knot for all your fishing situations, is it a rapala knot or a surgeon loop.
thanks ,serge

I've been using the-

I've been using the-what we call- gill grip- for years. Only I support the fish under its belly as soon as I have gill-gripped it. That is an important pro, if the fish just hangs at its jaw damage is easily done. Personally I feel this still is the best way to get a pike out safe and sound. Piece of cloth over the eyes helps... Don't forget these beast come from a certain and beautifull silent invironment and now see the compelte crazy world we are living in.
I would certainly do the same,, trash around like a nutter. 'Wanna go back, wanna go back!!.
Best

Ad Swier.

It´s alive, itÂÂ

It´s alive, it´s alive, I´ve created a monster!... incredible!!!!

Thanks for the artic

Thanks for the article.Am new in the fly-fishing fraternity (ex salt water rock angler) and have caught my fair share of yellows in the past 3 months.No let me state "I have Yellow Fever " and have gone fishing at every opportunity and have caught and released many.
Maybe an article on what type of "rigs " to use in the Vaal.(I use a 3 fly rig and this is very successful )

The world is a small place!

The world is a small place! I miss the smallmouth bass of Peter's Pond (and the rainbow trout, too). Mostly I miss Scussett Beach and the spring pollock run which foretold of the return of the stripers. Of course one can never go back and the Plymouth County of my childhood isn't anything like that today. I was back in MA a couple years ago and took my fly rod to "The Nip" (Lake Nipanickett) to fish for pickerel. When did so many people get enough money to build million dollar houses???

Anyway, the Midwest has its own charms, as does the mighty Patomac. I've fished in the shadow of the Washington Monument and wish I could do it again. Perhaps I'll meet you on the James or the New River one day, both being about half way to Washington and two of the best smallmouth rivers in the world.

Thanks for the kind words about my words...

Tight lines;

Joe C.

When a large pike is

When a large pike is lifted by the jaw all the blood rushes to the bottom of the fish and it can basically kill the fish. This goes more for large musky but with a pike the same will happen. This is the reason why, most catches and releases of these big fish's weight are usually stated in inches. Hanging one of them from a weighting hook could kill it.

Warm water

Now I sez to myself, why does this all seem so familiar. The name you have being the name on the book that you signed and sent to me several months ago is the one that I am looking at right now. When you leave a place like Plymouth County and end up living on the Potomac watershed inside The Beltway it is a bit of a shock. My first question 12 1/2 years ago that I asked my non-fishing future wife was, "Where do I fish for Pickerel?" The Potomac was at flood stage and I was sure that it would look like that for the rest of my life. Such a shock. No more A.D. Makepeace cranberry bog system to slog through. No more Hamblins, Peters, Spectacle, Santuit, Mashpee-Wakeby, Halfway, Sampsons, Long or Ponkapoag Pond to fish in. No more salter fishing in the Mashpee River every Fall and Scorton Creek. No more Cape Cod Canal. And no more Mike's Bait Shop. Of course there was no more Mike but I do still have the little sticker that his wife gave me, "I Love Mike's Bait Shop" that I still have not peeled and stuck on anything. I am re-reading your great little book. When you are in the hunt you tend to remember things with more clarity.

When we were young we found Gadabout Gaddis' favorite Bluegill pond. It was in the Makepeace bogs and was simply called Stumpy. I can draw you a map sometimes. Thanks for writing your wonderful book.

PS The Bruins just beat Philly 6-3.

The posted tying met

The posted tying method is extremely helpful in the technique used to form, and color, the head. Quenching in cold water is a real time saver. Forming the heads before tying in the legs and hair may be easier for some. The "Belizian guide nicknamed Pops" is "Pops" Cabral who is still actively guiding at Turneffe Flats. A modest gentleman, and true master of his game.

I have an artilce published

I have an artilce published on fishing the Ohio River warm water discharge on my web page [url]http://www.flyfishohio.com[/url] There is also a fly tying step-by-step instruction and video on tying the Simple Shad, my version of the Whitlock Sheep Shad. Also try Deceivers, Blondes and other saltwater patterns. Try to find out what species of shiner or shad is most likely to stack into the plume, then match it first for size and translucency, then for action (probably stunned and drifting due to sudden temperature differentials in the plume - that's the feast the predators come for) and finally for color. When in doubt use white. Also, avoid marabou flies - they have too much inherent action. You actually want a fly the holds it's shape in an across current swing. If you're a traditionalist, feather wing streamers can be a good bet.

One more thing. The Clouser is an excellent imitation of a thin bodied baitfish like an emeral shiner or a smelt. Its not so good at imitating wide bodied fish like shad, herring, sunfish and "slow water" shiners like the golden shiner. Try a pattern like a Bucktail Deceiver or Lefty's Deciever that gives a broader profile. The bass that were following were turning away because they saw something other than color/action at that last second. It may have been the profile.

Good luck and tight lines;

Joe C.

Thanks Joe

Thanks Joe,
I have never fished a warm outflow before. I am starving for information like your response. Most of the flies I was trying were Clousers. They all had prominent eyes but I was retrieving them at all kinds of different speeds. I do not think that I once dead drifted one. I did dead drift a few big ugly nymphs and crayfish immitations as well. The Smallmouth I did catch was on a Clouser type fly tied wth all gold Krystal Flash. Are the flies that you suggested weighted? I'll have to check a few tying archives to see how to tie them. Thanks again.

Brilliant article. I

Brilliant article. I was searching for a set of knotted leader setups and found this by accident. An hour or so later (including the walk to a hardware store to buy an 8 foot length of PAR) and with the help of a glued up son, we had our first tapered leader. Simplicity itself thanks!!
Mark and Jamie

Hehehe, server blues

Hehehe, server blues eh Martin? ;) Awhile ago I moved our website to a dedicated webhost provided by www.ehosting.ca. They are based in Vancouver so if something goes wrong, I can always drive over and strangle someone. ;) Anyways, I find their service very reasonable, and always doing whatever they can to meet my needs. Not sure how much it would be for your specific requirements, but for me, the dedicated webhost provided 150gb/month of bandwidth and data storage, for CAD$120/month. At first I was shocked by the price, but later on realized that it is quite reasonable compared to other dedicated webhosts. Anyways, good luck! I might see you in June. :)

I got follows on almost every

[quote:65f495537b]I got follows on almost every cast but the fish were reluctant. I tried every method of retrieve and fished the white water and the still. I saw Largemouth Bss up to four pounds and they charged my flies and veered off well short of what I would even call a short strike.[/quote:65f495537b]

This is not unusual, especially when fishing a warm water discharge - something I do quite often on the Ohio River. The primary baitfish in the plume of warm water are likely to be gizzard shad, which are very temperature sensitive. You MUST match the size of the baitfish and you are either too large (most likely) or a bit too small. Also, your flies should have prominent eyes, a key strike trigger on pelagic prey species. Try dead-drifting a Whitlock Sheep Shad or even a Simple Shad broadside using techniques similar to what you'd use to fish a traditional wet fly for trout. I'm sure you'll see a different response.

Joe C.

As a two year covert

As a two year covert from spinning rods and thoroughly obsessed with fly fishing (my wifes comments) could you tell me who ties the best Deer Hair Bugs that are available for purchase. As a dad of three under 13, another obsession with fly tying is out of the question.

Thanks for you help

Alan Goodman

Here in South Wester

Here in South Western (lower Rainland) BC, Canada we have been using Slinkies for years. I was making them up when I was a kid growing up, we use to fish local ponds and creeks (back when they actually had fish in them)