Anticipation, again....

I have been some what lax in my duties here at SSR's. I have not written a post in 4 days and that is not like me for sure. It seems a cold has been boxing me for about two weeks. Not to brag now but I think I put the fellow down on the mat for good. Today I will set out to fish a stream, perhaps the one that's pictured here. A lovely place with a some what gentle walk and easy access to the stream. A few things in my favor today are the weather and an overwhelming desire to fish. Now if things turn out OK I may even have a few fish take my fly. I'm going to fish that Rio line today which I'm looking forward to.

The stream has many like this guy swimming within its confines. A good soft-hackle may fool him.

Last night I tied this soft-hackle. A Tups blend of dubbing and a dun hackle. Is it ready for prime time? We shall see.

Fly Line Thoughts

Good morning all. Just thought I'd share this lovely little stream photo with you. All of that beautiful green on this cold rainy February day. I have not fished in in about two weeks and I must say it did not bother me to much. But today I feel like I could do with a few hours out and about but that's not going to happen for a few days more. But I have a few observations to share with you concerning fly lines. I am not one to buy the top of the line when it comes to fly lines. Fishing small streams does not require a fly line in the 100.00 range. The amount of fishing I do yearly, well weekly that is is about 4-5 days. So a year to a year and a half is a long time for my fly lines. I guess if I took the time to maintain them properly I might get a little longer life out of them.

Being in the market for a new line I picked up a couple of lines on the internet. This one is the Piscifun Sword series. It's a WF3 floating line. I've been using this line for about a month and it has been OK. It's cost was 25.00.

This one is a Rio Mainstream series Trout. It's a WF3 floating. I have never fished Rio lines and I'm excited to try this one soon. This line cost 39.00.

Something Old and Something New

The past week has been been a bit on and off for me. Some kind of bug took hold of me and man it beat the hell out of me. Today I feel like I'm back.

The Partridge and Olive. This is a soft-hackle I have written about in many blog posts. Although it may seem repetitive I can't tell you the importance of this fly. It's a pattern that has caught fish for me wherever I've fished it. It is not just a trout fly but it has taken bass both small and largemouth. Bluegills with rock bass and crappie. It's a fly you should have in your box.

This could be the most beautiful brook trout I've ever caught. The trout was taken from a small stream in the Shenandoah National Park. The trout took a partridge and olive soft-hackle. The fly was cast into a pool. I saw the brookie move towards the fly. He followed it and as the fly came close to the shore I thought the brookie would back off, instead he grabbed it.

When your coming off a bad week, what better way then a hot dog to make you feel better. Do you notice the way the hot dog is cut on the ends? There is a reason.

The Dark Cahill

The Dark Cahill wet fly. This fly has been a staple in my box for well over 25 years. Short story. Back around 1990 while heading to Rangeley Maine for our annual September fishing vacation I stopped at LL Cote's store in Errol NH. I headed to fly bins and and while poking through I came across a wet fly. Just looking at it gave the impression that it was a trout fly, to be more specific a brook trout fly. I bought two flies size 14 and 16....I went on to fish that week using the Dark Cahill and caught many fine brook trout. Since that Maine trip I have had the Dark Cahill wet fly close at hand. The flys origin dates back to the 30's and it's design is credited to Dan Cahill of Port Jervis NY. I guess there are many recipes on how to tie this fly out there but here is the way I tie it.

Hook, any wet fly...Tail, brown hackle or coq de leon...Body, gray dubbing...Wing, Wood duck...Hackle, brown.

Peacock body, woodcock hackle

Ginger Wet