Why? Why I Do It.

The call of a small stream. The nature. Wild creatures. The purity of the waters. The solitude. No quotas. Size requirements not needed. Clear thoughts prevail. Simplicity in everything. No prerequisites. Honesty in view.  The respect  and admiration of something that is much greater. And a general love of being.

"John Storey"

In a post I did on April 22nd titled "A Rambling" With An Old Pattern...I received a comment from John "The Two Terriers" on an old pattern he had fished. Unfortunately he was unable to tell us much about it, having lost the last fly he had in his possession. He was able to recall the name of the fly and shared it with me. The flies name was "John Storey"...

Another reader and contributor to SSR's "Bill Shuck"...an awesome fly tyer and historian of old patterns. Bill took the time to research the "John Stroey" and sent me the information on the fly.

Initially all I found were references to the dry fly version, including a video of Davie McPhail tying it and several advertisements for places you can buy it, along with numerous photos of the strange design that has the wing sloping out over the eye of the hook. Supposedly the original version was a wet fly designed by John Storey in the early 20th century, while the dry version was the handiwork of John Storey’s grandson in about 1935. A couple of the articles mentioned that the original wet version had the wing sloping back over the body, but I had no luck finding a likeness of this design until I came across a reference to a book by the name of Trout and Salmon Flies of Wales (Moc Morgan, originally published by Merlin Unwin Books in Shropshire, U.K.) There I found the recipe on page 89 and a painted likeness of the wet version in the upper right of Plate 26 on page 103.

The "John Storey" wet fly tied by Bill Shuck.

The "John Storey" dry fly tied by Bill Shuck.

Thanks to both John, and Bill for their input...That's why I believe we have the greatest readers in the world.

"It's Good To Be Back Home Again"

I went back home yesterday and I was welcomed by my friends with open arms. A sweet feeling that I've missed for some time. My last time home was sometime last fall, for this stream puts on a spectacular show before winter sets in. The signs of spring were very much evident. Along with the skunk cabbage and trout lillies a positive sign of spring showed itself twice during my time there, the water snake, lying in the dry leaves along the stream. A step to close and they hit the water with blinding speed.

This run is a favorite of mine. It has pretty much remained the same as it was the first time I fished here many years ago. It was here one day in late October, a very large leaf jam occurred at the tail of the run. I had been fishing a Yellow Hammer and the fly drifted just under the leaves. An explosion took place and soon a brightly colored brookie was at hand. Each time I visit this run I tie on the Yellow Hammer and hope for a take. I would love to tell you I take a brookie each time, but that's not the case.....today it was different.

I was rewarded with not one but two takers. The "Hammer" still has it.

The "Yellow Hammer" if you research this fly you'll find several different recipes on how to tie it. I think everyone will work. The pattern is well known and used in the southern Appalachians.

It was a beautiful day, and I enjoyed my return home.

"A Rambling" With An Old Pattern

The Waterhen Bloa, a simple pattern created centuries ago was the focus of an outing I made this past week. While reading Robert Smith's book "The North Country Fly" I saw several references stating the Waterhen Bloa is a good fly to use in the spring. It also says it's productive for most months of the year. So armed with that knowledge I took a few of these flies and headed for the stream.

The day was sparkling, a blue sky, soft wind and what I would say was a perfect flow. It was in this place that I hooked my first brook trout.

The soft subtle movement of the fly was to hard to resist.

This nasty tangle is just about impossible to fish, but it provides much needed cover for the brookies.

A short detour around the wood tangle and one finds this beautiful stretch of water. The soft seams most certainly holds a native or two.

It did, and they were full of fight.

"Wood is Good" my friends. This natural dam provides lots of comfort to the brook trout who call this stream home. It also is just about prefect for working "spiders".

I found several willing char. This one had an impressive tail, and used it.

The battle tested Waterhen Bloa. They work very well on this "side of the pond".....