sweet tie from DeadDrift

Click the image to watch.

First Thoughts

Thought number one. Not in love, but working on it. The profile from below is not quite right and I need some red ball eyes or something to get the head shape better.

Eh, something will eat it.

Arizona Cicadidae

For those of you looking to tie up some cicada patterns.

Get to it.

-Alex who is gathering up wings to glue on...

Order The VFG Nymph!

One of the hottest flies we've ever tied to the end of our leader is now available! This fly has enticed trout from Colorado to California and many places in between. Typically used as a dropper below a dry fly, the VFG Nymph has worked on Rainbows, Browns, Brookies, and Apache Trout.

The VFG Nymph is tied in amber, brown, and olive in sizes 14 and 16. We will add more colors and sizes in the near future. The VFG Nymph is available for $1.25/each plus tax and shipping.

You can make your purchase in the VFG Store and use PayPal to complete your order.

Order The VFG Nymph!

One of the hottest flies we've ever tied to the end of our leader is now available! This fly has enticed trout from Colorado to California and many places in between. Typically used as a dropper below a dry fly, the VFG Nymph has worked on Rainbows, Browns, Brookies, and Apache Trout.

The VFG Nymph is tied in amber, brown, and olive in sizes 14 and 16. We will add more colors and sizes in the near future. The VFG Nymph is available for $1.25/each plus tax and shipping.

You can make your purchase in the VFG Store and use PayPal to complete your order.

screams and rending of paper

The dull thump of the mailbox lid generally evokes feelings of less-than-excitement. Even though I have a strange OCD about checking the box every time I walk by I am a firm believer that no-news-is-good-news so today when I heard the mailman's indifference in the yard I can't say I jumped out of my chair.

In fact I forgot all about the mail and it was hours later before a rumble in my gut lead me out of the house and into the carport to quest for sustenance. That's when I found it.

And it was good.

"This entire collection is my sermon on colors and textures, imbued with everything I hold sacred." - K. Barton 

Learn Yourself.

Get some.

-Alex who is impressed with the size of Mr. Barton's package and that which was contained within.

things...

Lately at the vise I seem to have been a little distracted. With the days warming I have been occupied with tying large things. Wiggly things. Long, swimming things and things that pop and push water like a greasy fat kid on a water park slide...

...all the while neglecting the most basic necessities of any fresh water fly collection.

The bugger is a staple and most likely the first thing you shakily stumbled through on a borrowed vise, forgoing the whip-finish for just a big blob of superglue. Everything eats buggers. I am low on buggers.

Thing #1 - tying buggers.

I like this beer. I like the label and it reminds me of wholesome things; of clean soil that lives in the little dents and cracks of rocks worn smooth by ancient water, of fields of golden tall grass in the afternoon, of soft Midwestern sunsets that I have never seen but imagine are very beautiful.

I like the name. MOTHERSHIP. It has incalculably size and potential, pushing through the interstellar nothingness at two-third the speed of light.

At a predetermined date the flight computer will fire the auxiliary thrusters and rotate the craft one-hundred-and-eighty degrees to begin the deceleration burn. The main drives will fire for eight years, slowing the ship to running speed before the flight crew is woken to make preparations for entering your mouth.

It is tasty in my mouth. Especially with spring rolls.

Thing #2 - drinking beer.

I saw my neighbor talking to the mailman and felt sorry for the guy. My neighbor is lonely and ruthless in his quest for people to talk at and the poor mailman has no choice but to walk through the mans front yard six days a week. Easy prey.

He stands holding his little blind dog, slippers kicking around the dust telling you about residents in the neighborhood steeling money from the dresser draws of dead people, about his "nigger friends" because "that's how we used to say it down south", about how young folk can't name any of the supreme court justices and that people used to know things.

You nod and contribute the occasional "yeah" or "un huh" and think about the fact that the new issue of BloodKnot is out and you would like to check it out but you may never get the chance. You make your move and start slowly backing away towards the sanctity of your carport.

The Blue Collar Issue.

Thing #3 - reading BloodKnot.

Stick that in your schema and smoke it.

The End.


-Alex who needs to clean his bathroom but did all these things instead.

employing your vision

It is always the same when I close my eyes:

The popper bounces along.

chug.

The sun is bright in the southern sky and I can feel my skin burning an outline around my sunglasses. The line feels thick and heavy, tacky between my fingers.

chug.

There should be fish here. There should be fish everywhere and maybe I have caught a few but maybe I have just arrived. I can't be sure.

chug.

I don't hear wind, breathing, water, birds. All is silent. There is no soundtrack, no special effects, no foley.

chug.

Sometimes I manifest a take, a splash, a tight line that sends little diamond sparkles when it stretches taught away from the surface.

Other times I don't and the popper just floats, over and over through the same ripples and the same dancing sunlight through the same three of four seconds of river. Three or four seconds is not a lot of river when you think about it. It would be asking quite a bit for a willing fish to reside in those seconds. But all it takes is one. One second of flowing water to make a difference. Sometimes you wait days, months, years for that one second.

Sometimes it never comes. But on the good days it does.

chug.

From Finland With Love

Baltic Pike Flies, courtesy of Mr. Graham.

Just in time for spring pike. Booyah.

ZAP GOO syringing

When gluing Puglisi-style post eyes on flies generally I use his method and use cautrery or a soldering iron to burn a little hole in the fibers then use a bodkin to slice a little ball of glue from the tip of the ZAP GOO II, placing it in the hole and spinning the bodkin while pulling it away to leave a nice clean little glue-ball in the hole for the eye. With Puglisi fibers, Congo Hair, and similar material this technique works great.

Lately I have been tying some baitfish patterns that have flash heads. I have noticed while using the above method to apply the glue has problems when trying to cleanly remove the bodkin from the flash without dragging a bunch of the flash around, making a mess. It is not too big of a deal, but if you are anal like me about finishing your flies then you may appreciate this.

I went to a medical supply store down the street and bought a plastic syringe for $1.50 and filed it with ZAP GOO. It works awesome for applying the perfect amount of glue, right where you want it without disturbing the flash fibers.

A slight hesitation before pulling the syringe away will help keep the GOO from stringing.

I have also found that if you wipe the tip of the syringe with a paper towel between applications it helps keep everything clean.

-A

[Update] If you leave a little GOO poking out of the tip of the syringe, it dries and keeps all the rest of the glue nice and uncured. It is easy to pick off when you need to GOO again.


Also cutting off the threaded sheath around the tip with a razor makes it a little less cumbersome.

V-Day Crabs

Have fun and remember your raincoat.

some kind of tying video

Toilet wax applicator made easy

You may have already known that toilet bowl gasket wax works just as good as higher priced dubbing wax. And if you didn't, then I am here to tell you toilet bowl gasket wax works just as good as higher priced dubbing wax.

The only issue is one of application.

Just find an empty lip balm, twist the base till the push plate is back at the bottom, and smash the wax into the tube.

Now you have an easy, clean way to wax your thread... and a near-lifetime supply of said wax for around $3.

Happy dubbing.

They should never be where no one can hear them scream

I had slipped a pair of fine tipped tungsten scissors into my pocket just in case I sealed the deal.

She was maybe a 4, but the pleasures of the flesh were secondary in this situation as I had my eye on the "Fall Foliage" bundle tucked behind her ear while I ordered her another chocolate martini.

My fingers traced the outline of the snipping instrument in my front right pocket.

I could go for it here, the crowd is thin and I am two steps closer to the door than the only guy in the place that might give me any trouble. In her state she might not even notice.

She turns and smiles, thanking me with a little sway in her voice as she downs the drink and places her hand on my chest, biting her lower lip.

No need to rush, I think with a smile.


FineFeatherheads: Spring 2011 from Dakota Hills on Vimeo.

Pepperidge Farm's Golden Bait Fish

Recipe:

Body - Goldfish, cheddar flavor.
Hook - Daiichi 2546 Salt Water Hook Size 2/0-4/0

Target Species:

Drunks in the kitchen

With a soft, subtle presentation to the counter top this fly can bring heavy action when the target species is near. The action on this fly is not crucial, in fact you want as little movement as possible or target species will spook. Let them come to you and be patient.

I recommend throwing this fly with 8wt-12wt, depending on the average size of the species of your area. A 15lb-20lb hard mono bite tippet is also a good idea.

Have fun and tight lines,
-A

Update: I have gotten a few emails and calls regarding this fly and others for different targeted species. Due to the interest the research team at FGFF has been called back to the lab for further, round-the-clock analysis of a few other patterns and concepts. The reports and research will be posted as soon as it is available. Thank you. -A

Pat Cohen's Punk Rockers

Super kickassness.

I think it is safe to say that Pat over at the Warm Water Journal knows how to stack some hair.

Fly Tying - Midnight Stonefly from Jon H.

Merry Christmas VFGs! For my Christmas gift to all of you I have decided to share with you a special fly pattern that is killer on early season trout and anywhere where stoneflies are found. 
I actually invented the midnight stonefly pattern for the area of the central Sierra Nevadas near where I live. The fly is weighted without needing a beadhead because of the matierials used to tie it. It is a very easy pattern to tie and can catch fish from early-to-mid season. What materials you will need to tie it:

• 1 Size 6-8 long-shanked hook
• 2-3 Inches of black pipecleaner
• Some inner fur of a german shepherd or similar dog

Start by taking the hook and wrapping the dog hair around it from th eye to the start of the curve. The hair will be hard to keep in place so the next step alleviates that problem. Take the pipecleaner and wrap it around the dog hair and hook very tightly so it stays in place. The hair should bunch up toward the back of the hook and will give it its distinctive hump of a stonefly. The final step is to clip off the excess pipecleaner. And viola! That is the simple, but effective Midnight Stonefly! 


For those of you who have fancy vices at home this should be a lot easier for you than me, I have to ty all of them in hand. 

My picture of it is not the best quality but should help at least a little in tying the fly.

Tight lines and happy holidays!

Gifts of Gear: Lifetime supply of fly tying material....

For the fly tyer on your list, $9.99 retail or $4.70 if you buy in bulk. Available in blonde, brunette, or redhead...

Ummm, How Much?

8,136 Mustad Hooks mostly in the No. 1 and No. 1/0 variety. You really don't want to know how much I paid. Really, you don't.

last minute tune-ups

I heard the dryer running as I walked to the back of the house with a wet load of laundry in my arms. Kyle was kneeling down near the exhaust vent that pumps warm air into the walled back patio.

"You got much time on that load?" I asked as I approached.

"There is nothing in there," he said. "I am drying the heads on my flies."

I looked around the basket in my arms and saw he was holding something long and fuzzy up to the vent.

"That's kind of a waste, dontcha think?"

 "Well, we don't have a hair dryer."

"I have a heat gun."

"That will ruin the fibers," he said as he wiggled the flies in the hot air.

"You don't think that running the dryer on high with nothing in it to dry your flies is a waste of energy?"

He scratched his bald head and looked up, "Well, at least I am doing two at once."

...

vacuum dubbing

The truck is about half packed, and food items need to be bought but at least my floor is clean. I remembered to pack my ball warmers this time.

I feel ready, and the lakes wait about 5 hours away. I just hope the pike are still feisty enough to come out and play.

It has been years since I have been snowed on while fishing, and I am kinda looking forward to it.