I went fishing, it was cold, snowy, and I fell.....but that's OK

After a week in the deep freeze I was ready for a walk, a walk along a stream, a walk on some fresh snow with the smell of fir in the air. This day was a balmy 33 and a light snow fell as I walked in. These days are such that just the opportunity to fish is reward enough and the thought of many fish to hand is a far off one. The first pool I came to was pretty much free of ice and on the second drift I had a savage strike. The fish was on and bolted away at a good clip. I felt that the trout was a rainbow, but has he came close I saw that it was a silver chub. Man can these fish put a bend in a rod. I fished for the next hour without a take. I fished the likely spots as well as those that held trout in warmer times, each the same, nothing.

I moved to a different area of the stream and found it to be some what iced in. It had a few open areas and that's where I concentrated my efforts.

In the slower pockets, I fished the Pinkie, as soon as the fly slipped under the ice it took a hit. The fish were tough to hook, and most were off before I could bring them in. There were a few times when I tried to get a little advantage by stepping closer to the water, both times it was a mistake. The shelf ice gave way and one time I went down, luckily I did not slide into the water.

There is incredible beauty along a stream. One need not catch fish to have a memorable day.

This is the area of this stream I call Rbacher it's where a little trib flows in and often produces fish. I let the fly drift along the bank. As it reached the plate of ice I felt the subtle take. Pulling back I knew I had a hookup. The hookup was brief and off the fish went. Several more drifts in the same place brought nothing. On on last drift I let the fly slip way under the ice. Suddenly the line shot upstream, I gained control and as the line tightened I had a good hookup. My first brown, A quick pic and away he went.

As it turned out that brown was the only fish to hand, but that's OK.

Flies, from other fly tyers, Part Two

This is the second post in the series highlighting flies that are tied by various fly tyers.

These are flies given to me by John Huber, aka "Apache Trout". They are the "Mountain Caddis" and a "Hornberg"

Two more flies tied by John Huber. The "Betsy Streamer". These are great fished in off colored waters says John.

These two flies were tied by "Kiwi", that's his blog name over at "The North River". They are the "Ausable Kebari" and the "Royal Sakasa Kebari". These are soft hackle flies used in the Tenkara style of fly fishing.

This is a unique fly tied by Gray Wulff of Oquossoc Maine. The pattern is a Mickey Finn and what makes it unique is the material, it's Llama hair. This stuff comes alive in the water.

Flies, from other fly tyers

Over the years I receive flies from various fly tyers as well as some from fly shops I stop by and along the way. I'm going to post some of them over the next few weeks to let you see some of their work. So enjoy and stay tuned.

This is a streamer tied by Peter Carlson. The "Edson Tiger" Photo by Peter Carlson. Peter ties this streamer using Jungle Cock as a cheek. This feather enhances any fly it's used on.

This is a streamer I purchased in the Wild Branch Fly Shop in Lunenburg, VT. The pattern represents a yellow perch and has to be effective where ever perch are found. The fly shop owner ties all of the flies in the shop.

This is a Fran Betters pattern, the "Mini Muddler" tied with a yellow wing. This fly was tied by Mark Wittman. A very effective fly for brook trout.

This is the "Usual" tied by Fran Betters. In my last post I had an inquiry about it. The gent wanted to see a photo of the fly. This fly "REALLY" works.

The Haystack tied by Fran Betters. A rough looking fly that gets it done.

The Ausable Wulff, tied by Fran Betters. This fly has taken trout every where I've fished it. This is I believe to be Fran's signature fly.

This is the first of several posts featuring flies from other tyers.

CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE

Fran Betters "Ausable Caddis"

Just some thoughts and ramblings about a man who I regard as one of the best fly innovators and tyers to have graced us. His fly patterns are some of the most simplistic and effective I've ever tied and fished. He could tie any complicated pattern, from delicate Catskill dry fly patterns to salmon flies to nymphs and classic wet flies, but his calling was to tie flies that catch fish.

Fran Betters was the author of several books, some of which I have. He also was a builder of fly rods, and had his own design fly tying vise. In one of his books he has several of his poems, another quality of the man. Fran had a deep love for the Ausable River and the Adirondack region of New York, and this can be seen in his writings. I know that my small stream angling owes much to this man, for his fly patterns dominate my fly box.

Some of Fran's great patterns can be tied with these few materials. Not a lot of money be spent here, and the tying is not difficult and can be accomplished with a little practice. In one of his books Fran said if I were to pick two materials that were most valuable to the fly tyer they would be the deer and the woodchuck. I would like to add a couple more. That would be opossum and orange thread.

Ausable Caddis

These are two caddis patterns I've tied using the materials above. Hook, opossum dubbing, deer hair, and thread. If you take and vary the color dubbing, and deer hair color the insects you can duplicate are many. These flies also float well, and the body sits low in the water enabling the fish to see a good profile.