Vice

 This week's been low on fishing time, but has had some solid "vice" time.  First, I had to try some "tenkara" style "forward hackle" flies.  BrkTrt @ small stream reflections has been showing off all of his gorgeous ties in that style and it got me curious enough to finally decide I should try a few.  So, on went the Olive 210 denier and out came the partridge!  I did this one with a smidge of peacock SLF dubbing behind the hackles... Now, to try it out.  Likely not going to happen until next week :( though.

Simplicity in flies is something I really like, most of the time.  I get into spurts of working on married wing flies or doing some sort of complicated streamer or what not, but when you boil it all down, it just seems the most effective flies I fish are really basic.  One such fly is a caddis larva that I first tied as a kid.  It resulted in my first "epic" fishing day.  A day that probably resulted in 30-40+ trout caught and released.  The ideal one is on top, light olive dubbed body over a bit of lead free wire and a black (peacock in this case because I had it out) dubbed head. The lower one is a cream body with a brown head.  Both are a size 16, but it fishes great 10-20.  14 and 16 are my favorites.  This fly works on freestones with wild fish, and stockers... but the litmus test for me is a river called the Swift here that rolls out of the quabbin reservoir.  Gin clear, slow flow (for the most part), and pretty darn well educated trout given the constant fishing pressure in this catch and release fly only area.  This fly has always worked there for me :) so I feel like it could work anywhere. It takes about a minute to tie, even if you use super glue to help the non lead wire stick to the hook!

This is an emerger I just learned about this winter which was originated by Rich Strolis.  It reminded me a lot of Tom Rosenbauer's snow shoe emerger, but was simpler to tie - Win!  I have tied some with the "legs" and some without... this one is without.  I'm hopeful that the no legs version fishes just as well, because it saves a little tying time, and well, it's simpler :)

Last, I needed to do up a few more bass bugs.  It's been about a year since I've packed a deer hair head, maybe longer!  The rust show's in the collar, but it will fish great.  Funny thing though, I use the most expensive weed gaurd's ever to grace a deer hair fly... I was out of Masons Hard Mono and discovered a 44# spool of flourocarbon tippet in my truck from past stripper trips.  I use that when lots of blue's are round for bite tippet.  It still fails a lot, but it may land the first one, then I can swap to a wire bite tippet.  Well, I figured it had lost some strength in there, so I've been using flouro for weed gaurds :) ha!

Hopefully any posts next week involve actual fish :)

Have a super weekend!

Will