Periodic Cicada

Well if you haven't heard yet, you will soon. Starting about May I suspect. The year "2011" is the comeback year for the 13-year Periodic Cicada across the Ozarks. If you think back to 1998 you will remember that they sure are noisy critters. They are also one of those opportunistic bugs that the trout, bass and bluegill just seem to love.

13-year Periodic Cicada

I was asked the other day to come up with a cicada fly that I could teach at an upcoming class. Most that I found were either too complex for a beginning tier or they were too simplistic and looked like a chernobyl hopper. So I sat down with the photograph above...after a couple of drink and several mistakes this is what I came up with. I am really interested in what all my fly tying fiends think about it...Will it work? I put a little bit of orange on the top to help you see the fly.

Pierce's Periodic Cicada

Enjoy and I look forward to any feedback,
Boot

Dork Sandwich...Tri-Lakes Expo Report

The last of my fly tying gigs are up for a while…at least until May. Last week was the annual Tri-Lakes Fly Fishing Expo in Brighton and what a hoot. The chair of the fly tying committee (Lou) always seems to come up with new and interesting seating arrangements for me. A couple years ago she sat me beside Terry Tanner. There I was tying a BUB fly…the world’s simplest fly. Right beside the man (Terry) who was tying an extended sparkle body transparent wing dragon fly tied on a needle then transferred to a hook. When this guy donates a fly for auction they always seem to bring in over $100. WOW! That is in comparison to my BUBfly which normally tops out at about $1 dollar

Cherie "Bugger" tying her Crawdad Pattern...Note the true definition of four eyes.

Cherie's Crawfish Pattern...Does that looks like a smallmouth killer or what?

This year Lou decided to make me a dork sandwich…of course I was the dork sitting between two wonderful runners. NO! Not a couple lost joggers, but members of the River Runner’s women’s fly fishing club!  I had the privilege to sit between two of the nicest ladies, Cherie “Bugger” McDonald and Carol Hellmuth. Both of these ladies are great fly tiers and from the looks of all their photographs they go to really cool places and catch WAY bigger fish than I ever dreamed of.  Then they make these awesome scrapbooks to show off their adventures and all their big fish. These two ladies, along with fellow River Runner’s Lou and Sharon, kept me in stitches all day long. Cherie was tying this really cool crawfish pattern and Carol tied this neat sparkle butt foam beetle. There I was the DORK in the middle tying BUB flies and whimsical foam dragonflies. What a great time!

Carol tying her Sparkle Butt Beetle pattern

If you live anywhere near the Ozarks you should try and make it to next years Expo. The Tri-Lakes Fly Fishers is a Federation of Fly Fishers club and just like the FFF there are some really wonderful people in the club. They are strong supporters of the River Runners and introducing women to the sport.

Enrico Puglisi - Product Review (A to B+)

Really cool stuff every tier should try...at least once

Enrico Puglisi - What the heck does that mean? I don’t know Spanish, but the package says that it is “Streamer Brush with Micro Legs” from www.epflies.com. Evidently, Enrico is by some guy who like to invent different types of fibers.

I was sitting at the Tri-Lakes Fly Fishers EXPO last weekend and ladies from River Run Flyshop and Outfitters had a package of this stuff lying on the table. I looked at it a couple times and thought to myself that it would tie an awesome leech pattern. I am a HUGE fan of leech patterns. “If you can’t catch fish, try a leech.”  It is basically spun dubbing with a very thin wire used rather than thread. There is quite a bit of sparkle in it and best of all, there are very fine rubber legs woven into it. I cringed and paid the $7.50 for the package of six and gave it a try.

The olive leech that every fish would want to eat!

I have only tied #10 leech patterns with it so far, but I have to say that it is definitely good stuff. It comes in several colors, but olive, tan or burnt orange are by far my favorites. Some of the brighter colors may work great for saltwater, but for the Ozarks those three colors seem to work best. The cost sounds pretty high, but it is really thick and you tend to use less product than with regular mohair. I suspect that I can tie somewhere between 30 to 36 flies with the single package. On top of that it is spun with fine wire. The flies are sturdy and should last no matter what species of fish you are chasing or how long you fish with it.

So how would I rate this product? I guess I would have to say the product rates an A in the quality and usability category. It is good stuff. It is sturdy, but while it may last forever and the fish can’t seem to destroy it, I seldom lose flies to fish. The trees behind me are a different story. Since I am always looking to save money where I can, in the category of cost I have to rate it closer to a B+. In the end… I will continue to use the stuff, but I will rip and rare every time I go up to the cash register to pay.

Enjoy and I hope that you find this review helpful.
Boot