Whew! Three days of intensive fly fishing meet-and-greet, instruction, tying, speaking (plus a little buying) and I’m wiped out. But it’s a good kind of spent, like after a monster Block Island All-Nighter. I’ll try to tell the story of my busy weekend through these photos. Don’t forget, the Edison Show is this weekend! It goes without saying that I’m stoked for that, too.
A good virtual crowd last night for my Tuesday Night Zoom, “Good Reads.” In case you missed it, I shared a dozen books that have had a major influence on my fly fishing approach/philosophy/success. I had several requests for the list, so here it is: Trout Fishing by Joe Brooks. Trout by Ray Bergman. The Soft-Hackled Fly and Tiny Soft Hackles by Sylvester Nemes. Wet Flies by Dave Hughes. Two Centuries of Soft-Hackled Flies by Sylvester Nemes. Trout Lessons by Ed Engle. Striper Moon and A Perfect Fish by Ken Abrames. Steelhead Fly Fishing by Trey Combs. Steelhead Dreams by Matt Supinski. Nymph Fishing by George Daniel. Tactical Fly Fishing by Devin Olsen.
It occurs to me that each of these books deserves its own review. I’ve already formally reviewed some of the newer ones on these pages, but I’ll be starting a series featuring the others very soon. Last night’s Zoom was so well received that I’m going to do another on Good Reads (Son of Good Reads? Good Reads II? Attack of the Good Reads?). The well of influential material is deep!
There’s still room in Saturday’s (January 30) class, Tying Wingless and Winged Wet Flies. We start at 1pm, and you can literally sign up for it any time before then. Here are the details.
And now, I’m off to write something for Dennis Zambrotta’s followup to Surfcasting Around The Block. Stripers on the brain…
When people ask me about my fishing job, I break it down into three parts: guiding/tying/teaching, writing, and presentations. I love all three, but I think my favorite is presenting. I get to teach fly fishing (I’m passionate about doing so, and I believe that’s reflected in my energy and delivery) and I get to meet people and talk about fly fishing face-to-face. That last bit may sound strange coming from an introvert. I feel blessed to have this site, and Zooms are then next best thing to being there, but no computer interface can replace a handshake (elbow bump these days) and a smile.
At the time we had no way of knowing that the 2020 Marlborough and Edison Fly Fishing Shows would be the last for a while. (There’s talk about doing some parts of those shows remotely in 2021, but at this time I don’t have any information to share. If you want to re-live the 2020 shows, here are my 2020 Marlborough and 2020 Edison recaps.) I think I made the most of it, with big room seminars, Destination Theater presentations, and something new for me, a wet fly tying class. Thank you to everyone who came out to meet, greet, and listen. Thanks to my industry friends for your kindness and giving energy. I’m looking forward to resuming in 2022!
Fly fishing is so serious….or not. I love these guys: Jason Randall (partially obscured by Ed Engle) and George Daniel. If you haven’t read their stuff or seen them speak, you should.
Three busy days at Marlborough and I’m a tired but very happy angler. I think I had more fun at this show than any other. Five gigs, lots of hobnobbing, and a little buying. Here’s what went down.
I try to go to as many presentations as possible, and unfortunately I didn’t get to half of the ones I planned on. Here’s George Daniel doing his Streamers 2.0 presentation. If you’ve never seen him speak, you’re in for a treat.
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Fly Tyer’s Row is a always a wise use of time. Not only do I get to catch up with old friends (and make new ones) I also find inspiration and ideas. Top to bottom: salmon fly tier extraordinaire Lisa Weiner (thanks for the casting help!); saltwater whiz Captain Ray Stachelek of Cast A Fly Charters; maker of wonderful fly tying videos Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions.
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Between socializing and gigs, I managed a little shopping time. The Keough booth had their usual massive selection of potential flatwing saddles (plan on spending the better part of an hour scouring the bins). If you’re a wet fly and soft hackle freak like me, the Badger Creek booth is a must. Saturday’s score included a full jackdaw skin, some woodcock wings, and that prized winging material, lemon wood duck. Owner/operator Mike Hogue told me that another company bought the rights to Pearsalls and their dying process, and is now offering tying silks. As you can see, we’re all a little excited about it.
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You are now at maximum expert casting density. Bill and Sheila Hassan are both gifted casters and really nice people. Always a pleasure paying them a visit. I didn’t get a chance to take photos at the Bear’s Den or Saltwater Edge booths, but likewise on the visit energy.
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Hanging with the boys at the author’s booth. From left: Ed Engle, your humble scribe, George Daniel, and Jason Randall. Check out my Instagram feed (stevecultonflyfishing) for a silly outtake!
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Hey, I know that guy. Last but not least: thank you to everyone who took the time to see me speak, took my class, stopped to say hello, or just wanted to chat about fly fishing. I couldn’t do any of this without you. Thanks also to Chuck, Janet and Ben Furimsky for letting me be a part of their show. See you in Edison, NJ Friday, January 24, 4:30pm in the Catch Room for my Wet Flies 101 seminar.
Another year, another Marlborough Fly Fishing Show, and I had a most excellent time. (I hope you did, too.) Even Sunday’s ice storm was fun, albeit in a what-a-disaster-let’s-make-the-best-of-it kind of way. Special kudos to the brave souls who came to my 10am presentation, Lost Secrets of Legendary Anglers. And thanks so much to everyone who attended the other two, Wet Flies 2.0, and Targeting Big Stripers From The Shore. I truly appreciate your support. Next up: Fly Fishing Show, Edison, NJ, Wet Flies 2.0 Seminar, 3:15pm in the Catch Room. See you then!
A lot of talent there. Yet somehow they let that Culton guy in. Humor aside, I enjoy going to other people’s seminars — I’m not only interested in their presentation techniques, but also in adding new arrows to my fly fishing quiver. Ed (both of them), George, and Jason are some of the nicest people you’ll meet. We (the Ed that is Engle) hung out and had a beer Saturday night. Dang, I shoulda taken a picture of that.
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Some gorgeous creatures tied by my flatwing brother Joe Cordeiro. I spent a few hours on the show floor Friday shaking hands and visiting old friends. I kept it cheap, managing to get away with just 3 spools of Pearsall’s Gossamer Silk.
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Old friend Captain Ray Stachelek. I really like a modified version of his soft-hackled bunny fur small squid fly.
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Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions makes the world’s best fly tying videos — and he’s also my hero because he gifted me a perfect shot of an October caddis for my Wet Flies 2.0 presentation.
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Hat swag, a token of appreciation from the Cape Cod Flyrodders. Thanks, guys! I had a really good turnout for Targeting Big Stripers From The Shore on Saturday, and I was pleased that so many audience members were able to hang around after the talk for some hallway Q&A.
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Wake up, Sunday AM. A slow day at the show, so I checked out George Daniels’, new friend Matt Supinski’s, Ed Engle’s, and later, Jason Randall’s presentations. Oh. And I managed to do one too. How stoked was I to have an audience in the middle of an ice storm!?!
First, thank you to my friends at Farmington Valley TU Chapter for hosting me last night. While I didn’t partake in your pizza (I hit Five Guys en route) I was nonetheless grateful for the offer. I suppose I must now come up with The Little Things 3.0.
To the mystery midge, that blue bead contraption from a few weeks back. Turns out it does have a name: the G-R Blue Bead Midge. I know this because it is presented in its glory on pages 173 and 174 of Ed Engle’s Trout Lessons, which arrived in yesterday’s mail. (It looks really good. Details to come.)
According to the description in the book, I need to make the body a little longer and add a few more wire segments. That’s easy enough, and perhaps I’ll do tying video of this nifty little fly.
There comes a point in the nymphing session — usually after I’ve been at it for a while with no touches, and especially if I’ve been losing a war of attrition with the bottom — when the indicator goes down, I set, and I cannot believe that I’m stuck again.
Depression sets it.
But sometimes the bottom moves. And despair turns into the delightful prospect of possessing that which we love and desire.
It’s a fish, and by the feel of things, a decent one.
Even after walking it down the run a ways, the trout still won’t come, and I wonder if it is fouled. No, it’s just a big ‘ol Farmington brown — nearly twenty inches worth — with my tiny midge lodged firmly inside the white of its mouth.
The prize for hiking a good distance to fish in solitude. Celebrated with the cigar gifted to me by Alton (thank you).
River conditions: 140cfs, clear, 33 degrees. Not much hatch activity (a few W/S caddis and midges). Most of the pull offs and dirt roads were inaccessible due to snow pack/plowing piles. That may change with the warm weather this weekend. I managed a nice rainbow in another spot, then called it a day after three hours. Two BB shot on the drop shot rig today resulted in a lot of snags, but also produced the kind of slower drift that I think catches more fish in water that’s barely above freezing.
The winning fly, Glenn Weisner’s blue bead head midge. You can read more about on Ed Engle’s Lone Angler Journal.
I know you’ll ask, so here’s the recipe:
currentseams.com 