It’s another Currentseams Tuesday Night Zoom. My “Pro Tips” part will be brief (and, I hope, highly informative) but the real focus will be you: I’ll be answering your questions on all things fly fishing. So get those topics ready. Note that if you’re already on the Zoom list, you don’t need to re-up. See you Tuesday!
A hale and hearty thank you to everyone who attended last night’s Zoom on matching the hatch with wet flies. Next week I’m thinking about doing a little fly fishing randomness…a little bit of this…a little bit of that. Most of all, since Zoom held us to 40 minutes sharp, I want to do less talking and do more live Q&A about anything fly fishing. So get those questions ready! You’ve got a week…
No meat shortage here. Like kielbasa, perhaps next week’s Zoom will have a little bit of everything.
Thanks to everyone for all the excellent Zoom topic suggestions. This one showed up (in various iterations) multiple times — and so by popular demand, you shall have it.
So much Zoom. So little time. In the wake of two highly popular Zoom talks, I’m getting a lot of inquiries about how this translates to other fly fishing arenas. Here are some answers.
First, if you’re looking for a remote speaker for your fly fishing club, that’s a can-do. This of course would be a private presentation, limited to your club members — pretty much the same thing I do when I present in person, only online in the Zoom format. (These talks are far more detailed than what I’ve been doing online.) You can find my current presentation menu here. For rates and more information, please email swculton@yahoo.com or call 860-918-0228.
Next, I just started doing online fly tying lessons. Same deal: we connect through Zoom for a private one-on-one session. The rate is $65/hour. Please call or email to set one up.
Finally, thanks so much for the great turnout last night. I appreciate your interest and your enthusiasm. I’ll let you know about my next Zoom presentation when I figure it out. Stay safe and stay healthy!
Now we can do something like this from the safety and comfort of our homes.
That about says it all. Hopefully we’ll be relatively glitch-free this time. If not, we’ll figure it out…
Or BHSHDH for short. The Bead Head Soft-Hackled Dark Hendrickson is simply a weighted riff on the classic Dark Hendrickson Winged Wet. Take the basic color scheme. Add a tungsten bead to give it some serious weight. Tie it on point, and the next time the the creek is up you’ll get your rig down fast with a few strategic mends. (Recipe by request, because at currentseams.com, we aim to please.)
Tying Notes: I hate to lose the lemon wood duck of the winged wet, so I usually tie this fly with that wonderfully variegated buggy feather in the tail. Having said that, the fly pictured uses hen. Muskrat is the traditional body fur; you could substitute any grey fur or dubbing blend. The feather I happened to choose for this fly has a mysterious dark center; it’s just a random occurrence. Sometimes I’ll use a black Sharpie to color the eye of the hook — it’s a quick visual code that tells me I used a tungsten bead.
Booming and Zooming. That’s what the test pilots called it when they broke the sound barrier while flying in a parabolic arc. We did our own version of B&Z last night: 50 attendees at the inaugural Currentseams Zoom — Wet Flies & Soft Hackles in case you missed it — and only one big boom! (thanks for your patience) that we sorted out. So: thanks to everyone who took the time to participate. I had fun. I hope you did, too. I know some of you arrived late and I didn’t see you in the entry queue. Mea culpa. And apologies. I appreciate your patience as I sort through this technology.
We’ll do another one of these, hopefully next week, date TBD. I like the 8pm EST start. I’m hearing a lot of interest in a striper talk, so that’s probably where we’re headed. Figure the same format, a presentation then Q&A.
If you have not yet gotten on the official Currentseams Zoom email list — please send me an email — not a comment here — to swculton @ yahoo so I have a valid email url. I’ll get you on it lickety-split. Thanks again, and please stay safe and well.
Did somebody say stripers on Zoom?
You’re invited to my inaugural Currentseams Zoom, tonight, Tuesday 4/21 at 8pm. The topic will be Wet Flies & Soft Hackles. I’ll talk for a bit (I’m assuming I’ll have more than 3 players, so I’ll be limited to 40 minutes) and then we’ll do a Q&A. I’ll thank you in advance for your patience as this will be my first time doing this. There will certainly be bugs, but I’m hopeful that we’ll work through them.
So: you’ll want a link and a meeting ID. I’ll send that out via email…in fact, some of you may already have received it. IMPORTANT: If you responded to my Zoom post last week, you’re already on the email list, except Lee, David Larson, and Dan Tobin. If you’re one of those three guys, please send an email to swculton@yahoo.com so I can get a good email address; if you’re not, and you want to join my Zoom email list, please do likewise.
Thanks for your enthusiasm, and I’ll see you at 8pm.
That’s what I’m talkin’ about.
There are lots of places you can buy fly fishing stuff. Here’s a plug for the local shop that’s always been there when you need them — in the case of Farmington River anglers, UpCountry Sportfishing. If you’re not a Farmington River regular, you probably have a place like it near your favorite water: tons of gear, knowledgable staff, always ready to help or just kibbitz about current hatches.
Now more than ever, it’s tempting to pass up the brick-and-mortar retailer for the convenience of the e-tailer. Why not give the local business your business first? Many shops still offer phone orders and shipping or curbside pickup. (The latter’s what I did Friday. I walked away with hooks, tying supplies, and even a new Cortland 444 line.) Easy-squeezy!
UpCountry Sportfishing manager Torrey Collins gives the good-to-go sign as I head for the river after picking up my order. You can see store hours and buying options here. Or call them at 860-379-1952. Tell ’em Steve sent ya.
“Do you always fish three wet flies at the same time?” I get this question a lot. “Almost always” is the answer. The “almost” comes from days like today when I had to remove the middle dropper because I was catching multiple trout on every cast.
I certainly didn’t expect it to be that kind of day.
Wind was an issue. Cold was another. The Hendrickson hatch I experienced was nothing extraordinary — I’d give it a four out of ten. But I hadn’t done a session dedicated to wets this year, and the start of the Hendrickson hatch seemed as good a time as any.
Spot A below the permanent TMA was a blank. Off to Spot B inside the permanent TMA, which was fully occupied. (If you haven’t been to river yet, you may be shocked by the number of anglers. Church Pool was as close to looking like the Riverton Opening Day Fishing Derby as I’ve ever seen it.) But then, as luck would have it, one of the anglers decided to leave, and I took his place in the lineup. Thank you, generous stranger, because I discovered a pod of ravenous trout that showed themselves the moment the hatch began.
Today’s lunch, fresh from a captured brown’s mouth.
So, for two hours, I bailed trout. The tally was surely in the multiple dozens. I know I had close to ten doubles, even after I took one fly out of the mix. Business was about 10% on the Squirrel and Ginger and the rest on the Dark Hendrickson Winged Wet, which, if you don’t tie, you should. (You can thank me later.)
Having so many active feeders was certainly a plus, but the guy above me was nymphing and I didn’t see him hook up. Ditto the guy below me, who, after I waved him up and he changed to wets, began catching in earnest. I’d say most of my fish came from placing my team over the positions of active feeders. The trout did the rest.
This is great time of year to be swinging wet flies. Hit a prolific hatch (like the Hendrickson) just right, and you’ll be giggling in your waders, too.
currentseams.com 