March in Missouri

The one thing about living in Missouri, if you don’t like the weather all you have to do is wait around for a few days and it will change. Two weeks ago we have freezing rain and sleet. The kids’ school was called off and it was chaos. A week later it was 82 degrees. This was the scene yesterday. 

4 inches of snow - March 27, 2011

For some reason as soon as it starts snowing the first thing I think of is fishing. I love to hit the creek after a big snow. There is just something about the quite and solitude. I was on the stream early this morning and ended up having a great day. Started the day off with leeches and landed three fish over 9 inches. As the sun popped in and out a small caddis would start to hatch. I switched to a #20 dry fly and caught a dozen more. The fish I caught on the dries were all about 4 to 5 inches long, but they sure did like to fight. I even took some time to practice taking photographs with my underwater camera. The camera is water proof/drop proof Olympus Stylus Tough. Check them out below.

AAARG! There be Dragons!

Three Dragons

Here is a new pattern I saw while I was at the Sowbug Roundup last weekend. It is a really fun and simple dragon fly which uses foam for the body and recycled computer packing for the wings.

I would like to say thanks to Kevin Smith for this pattern. Kevin's was originally blue, but I didn't have any blue foam so I improvised. Turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. You can check out Kevin's blog at flywatersedge.blogspot.com

Red Dragon

BIG UGLY and BODACIOUS - "BUB"

"BUB" Fly Pattern

Thread - 6/0 UNI-thread

Hook - Dai-riki #700, Size 10

Weight - Wrap 10 to 15 wraps of leadfree wire.

Body - Medium Chenille

Tail - Small dab of red thread

Tail/antenna - Medium Rubber

Hackle -  Bugger Pack

This fly is similar to a Bugger so it can be tied in a thousand different colors and a thousand different ways. Bead heads and chain eyes work really well. Trout seem to like every color...depending on their mood. Black and yellow BUB's both work really well on bluegill and bream. I have used purple and pink when fishing for crappie. Of course olive seems to work well on everything. When tying the flies for bream I normally tie the weight closer to the back end to help it sink hook first. Also sometime I will shorten up the antenna and tail for bream. 

Enjoy and I hope it works well for you.

2011 Sowbug Roundup a big success.

The 2011 Sowbug Roundup was a blast. If you didn’t make it you should try next year. I tied Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Just like I expected I was tying one of the “simple” flies. Sitting right behind me was Mike George and Royce Dam. Across from me were Terry Tanner and Terry Wilson. They are for sure four of the bigger names in fly tying right now. If you have never seen any of their work check it out on the Internet. It is well worth it. Terry was the 2010 Fly Tier of the year for the Southern Council and Mike George was the 2004 and 2009. Mike also won the open class of the 2010 Mustad Scandinavian Open Fly Tying Competition.  Hope you enjoy the photos.

The people at these fly tying events are so nice. You can sit down in front of them and they will explain every move they are making. I ended up giving away about 35 flies to people walking around. I know that doesn't sound like many, but I only tied for 4 hours each day and was explaining each step in the process as I went. Some people like Mike George tied for 8 hours and I noticed he only finished 1 fly. His hairbugs are a bit more complex that the BUB.

Terry Tanner showing off his Wolly Headed Sculpin

Mike George tying one of his hair bugs

Never seen Royce Dam without his hat

Terry Wilson

Okay so last is me whipping up a BUB fly.

 

SOWBUG ROUNDUP 2011

A Celebration of Fly Fishing

March 17, 18, 19,  2011

Mountain Home, Arkansas

Sowbug Homepage

Imagine three days and a big convention center with some of the greatest fly tiers from around the Midwest. Typically, there are 45 to 50 great tiers at any one time. There are some great tiers like Mike George, Terry Tanner, and Royce Dam going to be there.

About a year ago while tying at the Tri-Lakes Expo I received an invitation from Tony Spezio to come down and tie on Friday evening and Saturday morning. It is quite an honor since I never considered myself to be a really good tier. I hope that if you have time and the weekend free you can come down to Mountain Home and join the fun. I will need all the support I can get. This is my first time tying at the SOWBUG Roundup and I feel like a freshman kid walking into high school for the first time. LOL

Featherheads?

Hey all my fly tying friends out there, wanna know why the cost of hackle feathers has skyrocketed in the last few years. Check out the link below. At $20.00 for seven feathers...looks like fashion is gonna put us tiers in the poor house.

http://www.finefeatherheads.com/

Lost Soles

Always wondered where all they went