In all the excitement of doing the Edison Fly Fishing Show, I plum forgot to say thank you to Philadelphia’s Main Line Fly-Tyers. I was supposed to present to them in person last Thursday night, but we had a potential Covid issue, and it was decided to play it safe with a Zoom. Disappointed but unflustered, we all went forth through the ether and had a most excellent time. I gave them my original “The Little Things“ talk. Once again, I was impressed with the number of engaging questions and their friendly, matey nature. As things tuned out, they had a table at the show — I was at the show — and I got to put faces to some of the names. Thanks again, folks, and here’s to being in the same room for the next presentation!
I’ll have a summary of the Edison Show up soon.
Here’s a little thing, free of charge: whether you’re fishing in fresh or salt water, droppers are always the fastest way to find out what the fish want. You can offer them different shapes, sizes, colors, species, and life stages. This is a small baitfish suspension dropper rig. The Gurgler, on point (farthest away from me) acts as a suspension point with the floating line. So on a dead drift, the small bucktail flies are just below the surface film. You fish the Gurgler like a dry fly, managing the drift for a more natural presentation in current. For more on droppers in the salt, read my article How To Tie And Fish Dropper Rigs For Stripers.
Last night I presented Wet Flies 2.0 to the Ashokan-Pepacton Watershed Chapter of Trout Unlimited. I’m sure we would have all liked to have done it in person, but Zoom being the next best thing, we had at it, and a pleasant time was had by all. (Really good questions, group!) Thanks so much for being so welcoming, and let’s do it again, hopefully in person. Tonight, it’s The Little Things with Philadelphia’s Main Line Fly-Tyers, also via Zoom.
Tip of the week: When you’re matching the hatch with wet flies, pay attention to size and color. These are a bunch of Hendrickson soft hackles (with several variants in the mix). The trout liked all of them, and why not? They generally match the naturals in size and color.
I just finished rehearsing my new seminar, Modern Wet Fly Strategies. Folks, I’m really excited about this one! It’s almost entirely new material, with lots of new video. It’s a bit more fast-paced than previous presentations, and it represents my deepest dive yet into the ancient and traditional art of wet fly fishing.
“Modern Wet Fly Strategies” makes its debut next week at the Edison Fly Fishing Show, Friday, January 28, 4:30pm in the Catch Room. You’re coming, right?
Want more details? Here you go: Modern Wet Fly Strategies builds on the basics of Wet Flies 101 and expands on the tactics of Wet Flies 2.0. With new video and content, this is a more detailed program about wet flies and wet fly fishing. Topics include matching hatches, situational use of wet fly types, presentation options, gear, and the tactical use of wet flies under varying conditions and situations. A must for anyone who wants to improve his or her subsurface game!
Here’s a little sneak peak, part of a promo video I made for the Fly Fishing Show. Don’t forget, I’m also teaching a class on Saturday, January 29, at 2:00pm: Tying and Fishing Wet Flies with Steve Culton: Learn to tie and fish classic North Country spiders and other wet flies that trout can’t resist. The course also covers basics like leader construction, fly selection, where to fish wet flies, and how to fish them. Intermediate. Click HERE for details and to register.
My schedule is up for the 2022 Fly Fishing Show in Edison, NJ, January 28-29-30. On Friday, Jan 28, 4:30pm in the Catch Room, I’ll be presenting a brand new seminar, Modern Wet Fly Strategies. This is mostly new material, and folks, I’m really excited about this one! Modern Wet Fly Strategies builds on the basics of Wet Flies 101 and expands on the tactics of Wet Flies 2.0. With new video and content, this is a more detailed program about wet flies and wet fly fishing. Topics include matching hatches, situational use of wet fly types, presentation options, gear, and the tactical use of wet flies under varying conditions and situations. A must for anyone who wants to improve his or her subsurface game! Admission is included in your ticket price.
Trout still don’t know that this soft hackle pattern is hundreds of years old. They just know that it looks like something good to eat.
Saturday, January 29, is another busy day. At 9:45 in the Strike Room, I’ll be debuting another seminar, Finding Small Stream Nirvana. Fly fishing a small stream is possibly the closest an angler can get to touching fly fishing’s soul. Small streams are everywhere, from remote woodlands to hiding in plain sight in urban areas. In addition to gear, flies, tactics and strategies, I’ll also discuss how to discover your own small stream paradise. Finding Small Stream Nirvana will be eastern brook trout-centric, but will also cover non-natives like wild browns. Lots of cool video in this one. As with all seminars, admission is included in your ticket price.
Very small stream nirvana…
At 2pm, you can take my class Tying and Fishing Wet Flies. Learn to tie and fish classic North Country spiders and other wet flies that trout can’t resist. The course also covers basics like leader construction, fly selection, where to fish wet flies, and how to fish them. Intermediate skill level. This is a paid class, and you have to sign up through the Fly Fishing Show. Here’s the sign-up link.
And of course, there’s the Marlborough Show the weekend before, January 21-22-23. I’m hoping to see lots of currentseams folks at both shows — please come say hello!
A hearty thank you to Nutmeg Chapter TU for the virtual hosting last night. I presented one of my more popular talks, “The Little Things.” The Little Things is all about seemingly insignificant factors that can have a huge impact on your fishing. Pay attention to the little things in your fishing, and tight lines will follow. I know everyone’s busy getting ready for the holiday so I’ll keep this short. Annual Christmas photo card coming soon!
One of those little things: target river banks, especially in high water. Doing so yielded my biggest smallmouth bass of 2021. What a pig!
Happy Monday, fellow currentseamsers. I hope everyone had a good weekend. My highlight was going 9-3 against the spread; in this crazy NFL season, I’ll take that and run. I was going to go fishing today, but decided that I had too many other pressing things to get done. Absent urgent matters, I think this is important to share: If you’re ever ambivalent about going fishing — you know, that “I feel like going fishing but I’m lazy/not sure I want to” kind of energy — make your factory default setting “Go Fishing.” You’ll be glad you did.
I see we are dangerously close to 900 email followers, and you know what that means: a fly giveaway celebration to follow! But first, we need to get there. If just ten of you got a friend to follow currentseams, we’d be having call for entries…very soon. Just sayin’!
Here’s a review from our good friend Charles Witek on last week’s ASMFC striped bass meeting. As far next action steps for concerned anglers, we are in a holding pattern.
No details yet on my appearances/classes at the 2022 Fly Fishing Shows in Marlborough and Edison, but I will of course post those here when I get them. I’m hoping to see many of you there.
And as if we didn’t have enough water in local rivers and streams, there’s a ton more rain on the way. Wait until next drought when we’re parched and praying for rain. Is it too much to ask for a happy medium?
I will once again be appearing at the Fly Fishing Show in Marlborough, MA (January 21-22-23) and Edison, NJ (January 28-29-30). I don’t yet have a schedule of my events/classes/etc., but when I do you’ll be the first to know. I’m excited to get back to the shows, and I look forward to seeing you, saying hello, and helping you catch more fish!
You can be in the right place and the right time with the right fly. But if your presentation is off, you can still blank. Presentation is everything — that’s our mantra for this Currentseams Tuesday Night Zoom. If you haven’t been getting the Zoom links — I send them out Tuesday late afternoon — please check your spam box. See you then!
We’re keeping the Currentseams Tuesday Night Zoom ball rolling. I’ll be talking about some of the fly fishing books, old and new, that had a major impact on me, from how I fish to my general fly fishing philosophy. Autodidacts like me just can’t get enough of a good read, and I hope to turn you on to some books you might find invaluable. See you Tuesday Night!
Another fun Tuesday Night Currentseams Zoom last night! In case you missed it, we talked about winter fly fishing, from gearing up to dressing to when, where, and how. There will be more of these public Zooms throughout the winter. Thanks to the 50+ attendees for hanging out with me for an hour.
I’ve also seen a spike in Currentseams subscribers since the holidays and I’d like to say welcome. I appreciate your readership, and going forward I’ll try to provide you with far better fly fishing content than today’s material. But this is a writing day, and so I must take fingers to keyboard lest my editor jump ugly upon my personage. And with that, off I go.
currentseams.com 