Blog Potpourri

I have always said that March is the toughest month to fish for me. That transition from winter to spring is about as difficult to get trout to take a fly with any consistency as I ever encounter in the year. Weather conditions also are way to the extremes. I mean down right cold, windy, warm, snow, and rain, you get the picture. In March I fish lots of big wet flies, and small dry flies. I have had success with fishing a size 18 Bomber, as well as a size 10 wet fly. Often I'll pull out "pinkie" and get some takes.

I'm going to get out today at some point. It looks like the pick of the week as the weather guessers say. Maybe I'll get lucky and be able to drop this #10 on a trouts head.

Matt Harding who hails from the Pacific west coast sent me this photo of a pretty hefty coho salmon that took a Montreal Whore streamer. Matt has also sent me recipes of flies he uses on sea-run Cutthroats. The patterns look like they would work on the brook trout here.

This is a salmon I took back in the late 90's. It was also taken on a Montreal Whore. If you look at the rod you'll see taped markings. These I put on the rod for measurements. The one closer to the handle is 12" from the end of the rod at the cap. The other piece of tape is 20"...I guess to salmon to be 21"...the fish was caught in Rangeley Maine, and it gave that Orvis 5wt all it could handle.

I have some terrific news coming.....Cane and Silk news...stay tuned.

It's So Good My Friends...

Thursday morning broke with one of the coolest temps of the summer. My thermometer said 58 but the temp in the part of the state I was to fish in was a lot different. It was a morning when I broke out the flannel shirt to help take away the chill, woods and water helping to reverse what the flannel's mission was...I need coffee.

The stream I was fishing offered a bit of everything as far as terrain, there was that rocky freestone mountain type and a more gentile meadow type of flow. Areas like the one pictured above had these lovely quiet pools with boulders and lots of high grass.

In these pools were some very hungry brookies. Most of these little pools held a couple of fish but the disturbance of hooking one put the remaining fish in hiding.

In looking at this photo when I put it on the computer I noticed just how perfect this wild native was. So beautifully proportioned.

A Hummingbird getting some energy from a Cardinal flower, a high speed lens would have helped.

As you can see the fly that was working was a caddis, a big caddis.

A bend in the stream, foam on the water, a slight woody tangle and a good flow of water....you think there might be a fish there?

There was and on the second attempt at the fly a hookup.

What a great small stream combination....Cane and Silk glass rod, Battenkill reel, and a killer caddis.

Cane And Silk..Fiberglass Fly Rod

I have been searching for a small fiberglass fly rod for some time and I have finally found it. I will introduce to you the "Cane and Silk" fiberglass rod. The rod is made in Pennsylvania by Mike Kathner. The rod is a "Hidden Water Series" designed for small streams. It is a 5' 2/3 weight 2 piece with a soft casting action. It's finish is beautiful and those little appointments are simple and elegant. The cigar shape cork handle is top grade and the sliding band reel seat holds the reel firmly.

I have fished this rod several times now using both a 2wt and a 3wt line. It worked very well with both lines. The rod is a translucent dark honey finish and looks great. Mike offers these rods in several combinations and lots of options. You can check these rods out at his site...http://www.caneandsilk.com/