Having been on a break from school for the past two weeks, I've spent a lot of time tying at work. Here are some samples of what I have done. This is hardly all of them. When I get going I can really crank them out. Last night I tied 27, so tonight I decided NOT to bring the tying gear. I think I am done for a while. Tying has become as much a hobby as using the flies I tie. I enjoy it. And since my time for fishing is somewhat limited, I make up for it with tying. Problem is, once I get going I can't stop. Pesky little flies. Tight Lines!

Its Fly Tyme - get busy!

As we are finally under the one month mark from our trip to Alaska, I have again been hitting the vice regularly, tying (as you can see) plenty of little furry friends that will help us hook the big ones. As this is (obviously) not my home turf, I have had to do lots of research to figure out just what the Kings and Reds will take. It comes down to a rather short line-up actually. There are a million pacific salmon flies out there, and thousand of them work great, I'm sure. But my quest was to narrow it down to the "elite best of the best... and make them better" (Top Gun, 1986). So, by way of formal introduction, we have, in the lower right compartment of the fly box, the classic row patterns. Ever seen a glob of fish eggs in the water? Well, they have an invisible "skein" on them that, when wet, turns milky white. Its basically what the eggs are held in until the female lays them in the red as singles. But a glob of eggs has that whit filmy look surrounding the colored part of the eggs. To imitate this most people, myself included, use a simple white marabou feather. That, combined with the egg yarn on the hook and in the water, does a pretty good job of imitating a cluster of eggs floating down stream. Next up, in the left, middle compartment, we have the ever famous Russian River Fly, or Coho fly. Always thought Coho fly was a weird name for this fly since it is fished primarily for Reds. A simple patter; two contrasting colors of buck tail tied one atop the other. Word on the street is that blue and white, tied sparse and no longer than to the bend of the hook, is the hot ticket (as this is new information, I have some re-tying to do). Russian River regulations state that all flies (this is fly-only water) have to have a hook gap (the distance from the point of the hook to the shank or bend) no wider than 3/8 inch. Next we'll look at the flies in the bottom two middle boxes and the bottom right box. These are the Go-To flies for Kings. We have our black egg sucking leeches, out purple egg sucking leeches, and our chartruese leeches (or wooly bugers). These are flies that need no introduction if you fly fish at all. The rmaining top row and middle right boxes hold a variety of flies; flash flies, popsicle flies, an aray of bunny leeches in various colors, some jigs, and even some of my very own creations - mostly stimulator flies, or flies designed to elicit a strike out of pure aggrivation... BAM! I have learned, however, that claiming a fly as my own invention is risky business. There are so many variations on so many themes that any "originally" idea has probably been done a dozen times before or more. But just for fun, I want to show you an egg pattern I came up with by accident. It was just like comming up with a new song.... I just chose a general feel (or material in this case) and began tying. I call it the Devils Egg.... sorta like deviled eggs, but not really... cause mine is called DEVIL's eggs. Get it? Ok, here we have it in the picture>>. It is the two first flies in the top row (may have to click on the photo to blow it up and get a good look). Does that just make your heart skip a beat or what?! Thats one bad fly. And, as always, we have it in several variations using different materials and colors. I'll let you know how it works. Some flies catch fish, and some flies catch fisherman.... meaning some flies just look cool, and others actually get-er-done. We'll see. Twenty three days before wheel's up. The blood really gets pumping when I think about it. Tight Lines!

The Yallerhamer

Here's a new one. I found it in a recent issue of Fly Fisherman Magazine.... or was it STS? I forget. Anyway, this fly is called the Yllerhammer, named after a specific type of woodpecker found in the mid-eastern states. It was originally tied with the yellow feathers from the bird it gets it's name from, which is now protected. Pretty basic little fly... looks like steelhead candy to me. Maybe those AK Kings will take it...?!?!? Look for a video tutorial on this fly at the tutorials page. Tight Lines!

Video Tutorials

NEW!!!

I don't know how popular they will be, but my online fly tying video tutorials are up. You can access them from the link to your right, titled "Tying Videos." Now, there's not really anything professional about these videos; just a simple presentations on the basics fly tying techniques and patterns I know and use. Hope you enjoy them. Tight Lines!

Wickiup Mud

Since opening weekend I have had the Queen Mary out on Wickiup Res. thrice. Ah yes, she purs like a kitten... choking on a hairball every hour or so! Runs like a champ for such an old little outboard. The Queen herself is worthy. I had here out in 2+ ft white-caps. It was pretty hairy, and quite a ride, but she managed well. I just have to be careful on rough water. See, the motor and fat operator sit in the very rear of the boat, along with tackle and fuel tank. So, if you can picture this, when I hit a nice wave, the bow goes up and the stern goes doooown until the wave passes. I would not doubt if I had that bow 2 ft. higher than my head at some point. Felt like she was going to end-over backwards on me, but it would take a whole lot more than a 2 ft wave to actually get me up and over. Anyway, Wickiup is famous for large Kokanee. I fished it last year with Kit and had some really nice hits by big kokes.... I'm talk'n 18 - 20 inch range. Day one on Wickiup this year produced a nice 16 inch chromie, as well as a couple 13-14 inchers. Day two put 4 over 13 inches on the boat. So not bad at all, especially when I am used to catching East Lake kokes averaging 10 - 12 inches. I think I found my fishery for the year! I can go into details on method later. The purpose of this post is to fill you in on my new totally awesome smoke brine for Kokes. I was fiddling around with some ingredients (just improvising) and ended combining two of my favorite recipes into one.... which I have dubbed, "Wickiup Mud." I bet you want it, huh? OK, her it is: For 8 medium fillets, Combine the followingng ingredients and mix very well; 2 C soy sauce, 1 C orange juice, 1.5 C molasses, 2 C brown sugar, 1 C white sugar, 1/2 C non-iodized salt, 2 T diced ginger root, 4 huge T minced garlic, 2 tsp sesame oil, and (the secret ingredient) 3 T Rose City Pepperhead's Mango Madness BBQ dipping & cooking jelly. Good luck on that one! Check out their web site... maybe you can order it (rosecitypepperheads.com). Since koke fillets are thinner, smoke time is going to be shorter (depending on other variables, such as wind, outside temp, etc.). I smoke with Alder for around 2.5 - 3 hours. It's AWESOME. I'll post pictures the next time I brine. Here are a couple of 13-14" chromers right before they lost their fillets. Tight lines!

Fly Tying Tutorials to Come

I've decided that when I get some free time I am going to begin a series of fly tying tutorials. I'd love to be able to disply these in video format, but until I can figure out just how to do that, I'll post step by step photos and instructions.... for all those who care. Tight Lines!