On its way out.......

Well here it is the last day of February but it's like the first day of February. The ground is still covered with several feet of snow, and the cold seems to be locked in. They tell me this is the coldest February since 1935. But I have taken heart to the fact that tomorrow is March 1st. the unofficial start of Spring. For several days now on my morning walk I have noticed the sweet sound of birds singing, and that is a sure sign that the better days are on our doorstep. The days have been getting longer and the suns angle has proven in places that its rays are strong. I'm looking forward to my first outing since mid January, and that should come soon.

By the way do you remember that 100 mile piece of cheddar cheese I went after. On top of several macaroni and cheese dishes there were a few of these.

Granville Country Store N.Y. cheddar.

Grilled cheese on thickly sliced crusty bread.

Happy March folks.

Cabela's C.G.R. Glass Rod

While wondering about Cabela's web site last week I came upon a sale that caught my eye. It was a particular fly rod, that fly rod was their "CGR" Cabela's Glass Rod. It was a three piece five foot nine inch three weight. It's price was 79.95. So for that price I was sure I was going to order one, and I did.

The rod was delivered to the Cabela's retail store in East Hartford, so there was no shipping charge, and I picked it up Tuesday. When I brought it home and unpacked it I was thrilled by what I saw. The rod blank was a polished green, and had spigot ferrules, precise markings, nicely spaced guides and exceptional cork. The reel seat is also cork which is part of the handle which has a very nice taper, sliding rings are used to hold the reel.

When I assembled the rod the three pieces fit snuggly and separated with that nice "pop". When assembled the rod had a great feel, soft but not like a wet noodle. I paired it up with a Battenkill 3/4 reel with a 3wt line and took it out to cast it. The rod loaded well and cast the line beautifully. I was able to roll cast without much effort, which is a big part of small stream fishing.

I am very anxious to fish this rod. I have a particular stream in mind but I'll have to wait until the freeze is gone. I think for a price of 79.95 I got a gem of a deal.

Evolution

To evolve, not in the sense of long time evolution as with time since it all began, but the evolution of a fly angler. Many an angler has evolved from the typical bait fisherman, one who loves to catch any fish that will take his bait, and hopes that the fish will be plenty and fill his bucket. Said angler then finds lures, these wonderful deceivers made of shinny steel, colored plastic and rubber. These tools enable him to catch many fish and also bigger fish. The progression continues and soon many of these anglers find fly fishing. A whole new world opens up. There are wonderful tools available to the fly angler and the way a finger nail clipper has evolved over the years, he will never catch up on what's new.

So now with the way of taking fish the fly angler still has that desire to catch the most and biggest fish. His end method has changed and catch and release is employed. The description I have written can apply to many, and I have been part of some of the above. Now going 20 plus years my love has been in the quest of wild trout and these seem to be found in small streams.

Out of these streams there will never be a monster taken unless you might consider a 10 inch fish a monster...I have though. The clarity of the water, the small rise forms seen as a brook trout surfaces to grab an insect, and the sound that you can only hear while fishing a small stream.

It's places like these where I have evolved to. This is where I most want to be. I can find pleasure in in these places that I can't find on other waters. My pleasure grows with the capture and release of a 5 inch brook trout, probably more so than I can describe.

How can ones day be any brighter.

His back is broken. And some streamer stuff.

I'm not going to dwell on winter for long, giving it but a few words. We have snow in our forecast but it comes with some moderating temps, it's going to get to about 40 tomorrow, a slight dip into the mid teens early next week and after that I see the old mans back broken. The other day Jeanette and I went searching for some open water and we found it. The only problem there was thigh high snow leading to it. I think a week from now I might be able to access the stream.

Now to some streamer stuff. I was tinkering around with the use of certain feathers to create a more life like streamer. Below is some of my tinkering.

The two base wing feathers are a badger feather dyed black. Some of the highlights of this feather show clearly. The second feather is a grizzly feather dyed green. It is a feather that can show many variations depending on how deep it is fished.

This is a marabou feather from a ringneck pheasant. These feathers are located along the back and the rump of the bird.

This is the marabou after the fluff at the base is stripped away. This feather will be used as a shoulder for the streamer.

Here is the complete wing. The black feather followed by the green grizzly feather, then the marabou shoulder and jungle cock. My thought on using the marabou for the shoulder is that the movement of the marabou in the water will give the illusion of a gill plate moving in a life like motion. This is subtle but at time could make the difference between a look and a strike. After assembly of the fly I realized some added realism could be had by placing a small red mallard feather before the marabou.

The completed streamer fly. It has a green yarn body with gold tinsel. The belly is white schlappen with a red throat.