Category Archives: General Ramblings

600 Followers Contest Swag

I spent part of yesterday hunkered down at the bench, fingers flying around fur and feather. My intention was to get these out today, but it will have to wait until early next week. In the meantime, feast your eyes — and think about the potential glory you hold within each cast. On we go to 700!

Roger and Vince asked for striper flies. Here’s a starter kit, with many major food groups covered. They’ll be getting one of each. Clockwise from bottom: Orange Ruthless (clam worm), Ray’s Fly (silverside), Inconspicuous (anchovy), Eelie (sand eel), Grass Shrimp Solution, and Soft Hackled Flatwing (generic baitfish/attractor).

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Here are Paul’s soft hackles and wets. Left cork, clockwise, starting upper left: Partridge and Light Cahill (2), Hare’s Ear wingless, Red Fox Squirrel nymph, Squirrel and Ginger, BH Squirrel and Ginger. Right Cork, clockwise, starting upper right, Hackled March Brown, Grizzly and Grey wingless, Dark Hendrickson (2), Drowned Ant (2).

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Many thanks to everyone for your readership, kindness, and support. I have lots of good stuff planned for this spring and beyond, so stay tuned.

Contest winners

For a complete list of winners, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to….nah, what the heck, I’ll just tell you now. Vince Rizzo, Paul Rice, and rmitterling are the three lucky winners. I’ll post their swag when I tie it (gotta hit the bench).

To those who entered, thank you for your valuable input. And to all currentseams readers and followers, thanks for your loyal support and good energy. You truly make this a labor of love.

On to 700!

Here’s to the winners. (Nothing better than a wee drop in the midst of a Block Island All-Nighter.)

Block Island All-Nighter Wee Drop

 

Compleat Angler awarded the Order of the Noble Turkey Sandwich (with Lays chip clusters) — and other Monday ramblings

Many thanks to my friends at the Compleat Angler in Darien for hosting my Local Rivers tying demo on Saturday. Tying and talking fishing is certainly one of the things I like most about my job. Thanks to everyone who showed up, and — as always — a fed tyer is a happy tyer. That sandwich really hit the spot! A final note: The Compleat Angler is a terrific fly shop. Every year I find something good down there. This year it was a Renzetti magnum hair stacker. (Wet fly aficionados, they have a terrific selection of soft hen hackle capes.)

Passing around the Deep Threat for a few photos.

CADeepThreat~

The 600 Followers contest is officially closed. Thank you everyone who entered, and I loved your comments and suggestions. Now to put them to good use! I will do the drawing in a few days and announce the winners. Now’s the time to summon your good luck karma.

Bombardiers for a client. Coming to an estuary near you…

CharlysBombardiers

Did you know that I give private fly tying lessons?

I didn’t either, until a few weeks ago. Bill stopped by my table at the CFFA Expo and asked if I’d give him some fly tying lessons. He wanted to learn some new patterns and refine his technique. We met on Friday, and a swell time was had by all. In addition to tying, we talked about tactics and strategies, from wet fly to nymphing and stripers to trout. So yes, I can speak at your club or show. Yes, I can take you out on the water. And yes, I can work with you on tying and fly fishing theory/practical applications.

I am a teacher. It’s what I do.

Here’s a free lesson for everyone: use only as many thread wraps as you need. Use only as much material as you need (you’re probably using too much.) Here’s how much fur I use for the hackle on a Squirrel and Ginger. And did I mention that you first need to clear out the longer guard hairs and all that underfur dross with a mini comb? What you leave out of a fly is as important as what you put in.

Fur hackle dubbing loop prep

Et voila.

S&G ready to finish

Getting the most out of currentseams, or: the video you want may already be here

Thanks to everyone who has put in for the contest. Keep them coming! Get a friend to start following, and we’ll be at 700 and another contest before you know it.

I see several requests for Hendrickson tying videos, and it occurs to me that many of you may be unaware of what’s already on the site (like my Dark Hendrickson Winged Wet tying video).

Every post I make gets placed in a category. (For example, this one is in “General Ramblings.”) You can find the complete list of categories on the right side of the home page:

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Click on the “Select Categories” and that gives you a drop down menu:

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If you select the “Fly Tying Videos,” you’ll be taken to all that are posted on the site.

I hope that helps, and I hope you find some cool stuff you didn’t know was here.

 

 

It’s a Super Six Hundred Celebration!

Happy nor’easter , fellow Currentseamsers. While the snow piles up, I am safe and warm by the fire. Thank you for being part of the Super Six Hundred! To celebrate, we’re doing our customary flies-tied-by-Steve giveaway. Here are the rules:

1) No purchase necessary.

2) You must be a follower of currentseams to enter. (If you’re not one already, you become a follower by clicking on the “Stay current with currentseams” button on the home page.)

3) To enter, leave a comment on this thread that responds to these questions: 1) if I started to include podcasts, what topic(s) would you like to hear about? 2) Is there a fly I tie that you’d like to see a video on? Which one? One entry per person. Deadline for entering is 11:59pm March 31, 2018 (no foolin’). Three winners will be chosen at random. The winners will be notified in the comments section of this thread or by email, and will be responsible for sending me their address so I can ship the flies out. Sorry, I can only ship to U.S. addresses.

4) All decisions by me are final.

Thanks again for reading and following currentseams.

It’s getting closer to Hendrickson time. Maybe you’ll have some swag like this come April.

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LIFFE Expo March 17

My friends from the Long Island Flyrodders asked me to give a shout out about (I did that on purpose) the 3rd annual Long Island Fly Fishing Expo on Saturday, March 17, 9a.m-4p.m. at the Radisson Hotel, 110 Vanderbilt Motor Parkway, Hauppauge, NY Exit 53 on the Long Island Expressway.

You can find out more here.

I can tell you they throw a heckuva cookout. Wouldn’t it be nice to be in shorts right now?

LIFlyrodders