Tag Archives: soft-hackled fly

Arts of the Angler redux

It was a bit of a random Saturday at the AOA show, but we managed to get through it in fine shape. Let me explain. Due to hockey coaching conflict, I couldn’t get to Danbury until 1:30pm. While I had every intention of tying, by the time I arrived, Tyer’s Row was a crowded house. Rather than squeeze in for a few minutes (I was going to be presenting at 3pm and had to set up), I made the command decision to head to Conference Room 1. John Shaner was wrapping up his excellent Soft Hackles presentation, and I caught the last few minutes of that. So if you were wondering, “Where’s Steve?” now you know. I set up, and had some good conversations with the early arrivers for “Wet Flies 101.”

So: thanks to everyone who came to see me. Thanks to the Catskill Fly Fishing Center & Museum for allowing me to present, and for accommodating my crazy schedule. And thanks to everyone who hung around and asked so many terrific questions.

No more presentations until 2017. In the meantime, I really need to go fishing.

There’s that guy again…

aoasign

Discover “Sunken Treasures” in the current issue of Field & Stream

“Sunken Treasures” is my first piece for Field & Stream, and you can read it in the August 2016 issue. The article is a wet fly primer that is based on my “Wet Flies 101” class and presentation. For those interested in learning the ways of the wet fly, this is a good starting point. And it goes without saying that I’m grateful for your readership, both in print and here on the site. Here’s a link to the online version of the article.

If you haven’t yet, please visit the currentseams Facebook page and give us a like. You can get there by clicking here.

The cover.

Aug2016F&S

And the title page. I tied many of the flies pictured.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Farmington River Report 5/4/16: Another double-digit day

The river continues to be kind to those who are inclined to swing wet flies. I had Paul out for a full day yesterday to learn the ancient and traditional subsurface method. We fished three spots and found fish willing to jump on in all of them. They took the top dropper (old reliable Squirrel and Ginger), the middle dropper (Dark Hendrickson, even though we saw no such hatch), and the point fly (BHSHPT…what else?).

How gratifying to see so much action in some truly tough conditions: river up a hundred cfs or so (350cfs in the permanent TMA), slightly stained, cold at 47 degrees. The weather was downright chilly, overcast, and it rained or misted or drizzled on us for much of the day. Very little in the way of observed hatch activity: a few stray BWOs (16-18) and some micro midges. We did see swallows feasting on some unIDed flies a hundred feet overhead in the morning. Late afternoon found a mystery hatch below the permanent TMA that had a dozen trout slashing heartily at the flies.

Well done, Paul! You’re on your way.

It’s tricky trying to figure out the hook set of a tight-line presentation, especially when you’re fairly new to the game. Paul did a great job of locating that precious equilibrium — are you still there? — as this chunky brown can confirm.

DCIM100GOPROG0042340.

 

James Leisenring’s favorite wet flies

I’m embarrassed to say that it took me 55 years to buy a copy of the American fly fishing classic The Art of Tying the Wet Fly.

But now, I have it. This week I tied up James Leisenring’s favorite dozen wet fly dressings for a client. Here are three of them, lovingly rendered against the yellowed pages of an old book many anglers have never read — but should.

Like so many effective patterns, these flies wouldn’t get a second look in a fly shop’s bins. There are no hot spots, bead heads, or new-fangled UV resins. But Leisenring — and his contemporaries — knew the power of natural materials and simplicity. I’m thinking the Old Blue Dun is going to get into my three-fly team Hendrickson rotation this spring.

Leisenring Wets

 

Tying at Arts Of The Angler Show Saturday October 31

Calling all fly tying and fishing geeks — the planets have aligned and I will be tying at the 2015 Arts of the Angler show in Danbury, CT, Saturday, October 31. From the Catskill Fly Fishing Center’s promotional materials: “It’s about flyfishing.  It’s about flytying. It’s about rodmaking. It’s about collectables, it’s about tackle, it’s about destinations, techniques, people and you.”

I will probably focus on soft hackles for trout, but I won’t rule out some striper soft hackles, bucktails, and flatwings. If they have a writer’s roundtable on Saturday, I’ll be doing that, too. If you’re there, please be sure to come say hello. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/CFFCM

Arts of the Angler ad from Mid Atlantic Fly Fishing Guide

Arts of the Angler ad

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More upcoming appearances:

Thursday, November 5, “Wet Flies 101 — The ancient and traditional art of subsurface fly fishing” at the HFFA meeting, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Wallingford. For more information and directions, visit https://www.facebook.com/HousatonicFlyFishermen

Wednesday, December 9, “The Little Things” at the CFFA meeting, Veterans’ Memorial Clubhouse, East Hartford. For more information and directions, visit https://www.facebook.com/CTFlyFish

Thursday, December 17,  “The Little Things” at TU Croton Watershed Chapter, Orvis store in Ridge hill
Shopping Center in Yonkers, NY. For more information and directions, visit https://www.facebook.com/cwctu

Plus, a steady supply of stories and articles (both online and in print), and tying videos.

Whew. I really need to go fishing.

Farmington River Report: still low and slow

Dave took my Wet Flies 101 class today in the form of a private lesson. We fished two runs in the permanent TMA (170 cfs) and then we bounced around above Riverton (110cfs). The TMA was a blank, but we found some fish willing to jump on after we headed north.

Dave did a great job moving around in an effort to find fish (something I can’t emphasize enough when wet fly fishing). We brought a gorgeous wild brookie to net, and played tug-of-war with something more substantial that decided to skedaddle before we could land it.

What great day to be fishing as we had vast stretches of water all to ourselves.

Heads up! Incoming char.

Dave S Brookie

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Dave covering water with his team of three wets.

Dave S Swinging

The North-Country Spider Egg Steelhead Soft Hackle

This modern take on the traditional template is one of my favorite steelhead patterns.

Hook: Orvis 1641 size 8-10
Thread: 6/0, color to match head
Tail: Hen hackle fibers
Body: Diamond braid color to match hackle and tail
Hackle: Hen

Here’s what I wrote about the North-Country Spider Egg in the Jan/Feb 2015 issue of American Angler:

T.E. Pritt never chased chrome, but his renowned North-Country spiders make for fine steelhead soft-hackles. I’ve had even more success with the spider template by adding a tail and using bright colors and modern materials. Pritt may be rolling over in his grave at the liberties I’ve taken, but he could not argue with the results: steelhead love this fly.

Classic North-Country patterns like the Winter Brown and the Grey Partridge sport a head of wound peacock herl. In the Spider Egg, I’m simply using a few turns of Estaz Petite. The Estaz should be a contrasting color to the monochromatic body, wing, and tail. I like black/chartreuse; chartreuse/black; chartreuse/white; black/purple; and metallic copper/black. You can and should experiment with different color combinations.

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The North-Country Spider Egg Rogues’ Gallery:

Fresh chrome, Salmon River, 11/2014

Fresh Chrome, November 2014

Farmington River Mini Report 5/31/15: Love that Emergency Bag

The Emergency Bag is probably over-named. Perhaps it should be the “Boy Scout” Bag (Be prepared). Or maybe call it what it truly is, which would be the “Spare Clothes In Case I Fall In and Other Miscellaneous Outerwear I Might Need” Bag. But, I’ve always called it the Emergency Bag, and so it is.

The cool thing about the Emergency Bag is that if you go to the river on the one day of the month when they’re calling for the deluge, and it hits, and you’ve forgotten your Gore-Tex rain jacket, that old rubber one you keep inside its blue confines comes in right handy.

So, to the fishing. I had to run a quick errand at UpCountry Sportfishing, and of course rest stops were an imperative on the drive home. The lower river was low (295cfs) cold, and was largely devoid of hatch activity. I managed to hit two spots before the heavens opened, and took one trout on a size 12 SHPHPT. My final stop produced one more take in a good old-fashioned Noah’s Ark downpour, but as I was bringing the fish in, lightning hit close enough to make me rethink the wisdom of holding an aluminum-tipped pole while standing in a river. So I disengaged and sprinted for the safety of the truck. A little shaken, but quite dry. And I owed it all to the Emergency Bag.

Come to papa. Playing tug-of-war with a standard-issue rainbow.

DCIM100GOPROG0010813.

Cheeseburger in wet fly paradise

There’s one sure way to get this presenter in a good mood, and that’s to offer to take him out to dinner before the engagement. And so it was that I found myself last night with several members of the Farmington Valley TU Chapter at the Whinstone Tavern in New Britain, CT, with a lovely medium-rare burger, crisp, tasty fries, crunchy deli pickle slice, and a moderately-hopped IPA. Wonderful!

And so, thank you. Thank you for feeding me. Thank you for being so welcoming. Thank you for finding that most excellent venue. Thank you for your technical support. And thank you for providing me with such a rapt, curious audience. I counted about fifty people. A decent crowned is always a positive.

Overheard last night: “That was the best presentation we’ve ever had.” Such kind words. Speaking of presentation, the trout below took this Magic Fly — fished wet — on a dead drift at the edge of a plunge pool current seam.

Brown PWWwet

Farmington River Report 9/24/14: Move it

If you’ve seen my “Wet Flies 101” presentation or fished with me, you know I’m a proponent of moving along until you find fish. Yesterday was a perfect example of why.

I swung wets for two hours in three locations. My team was a size 12 Squirrel and Ginger on top, a size 10 Hackled March Brown in the middle, and a size 10 soft-hackled bead head Pheasant Tail on point. The first place I fished continues to vex me. It screams wet fly. I know there are trout that live there. And I still haven’t gotten a touch in three trips. Moving right along…the second place was a lot of walking for a single JV Atlantic salmon, Salar the Leaper Jr. though he was. Finally, the last spot — ding-ding-ding. A nice assortment of wild browns from the sub-foot to mid-teens class. They were all attractively colored up for fall. Such impressive fins and tails on these stream-born fish. The hands-down favorite fly was the SHBHPT, and every take came on the dead drift phase of the presentation.

This brown attacked from his ambush position between two boulders in a slick-surfaced run.

9:14 Brown