A Title, A Way Of Fishing, And A way Of Life

"Simple Flies" by Morgan Lyle is one of the better books that have been written in a last decade. It's title is what it is about. I know that many books are written and have titles that are not what the book is about. Going into this book the one finds all that is necessary to tie a fly using few materials and take this fly and catch fish most anywhere it's fished. Mr. Lyle goes into the tools, materials and techniques needed to tie flies without breaking the bank. Anglers and fly tyers featured in the book are real...they live and fish simple flies. I have found this book interesting and very informative. It's an easy read without complicated techniques or materials that can not be purchased anymore or if they can they are so expensive...

The sub title of the book is "easy to tie patterns that catch fish" so true my friends. And the fly on the cover is a CDC elk hair caddis, enough said.

 

 

So simple, so effective. I hate to keep saying this, it's sort of like "beating a dead horse"...I believe this totally.
 

A tenkara style fly and it can be fished on conventional fly gear.
 

 

 

Wild Thoughts...

Walking to the stream. Pine needles and fallen leaves carpet the ground. I feel such walks enhance my times fishing. My mood is placed in total relaxation and if a fish is caught so be it. But already the trip has been a success. I know most of us get the same feelings and that is the greatness when one becomes part of something so much bigger but yet it's so small.

Such outings like this I remember so vividly, like it was just happening. In the series of  photos I hope you'll find the same feeling of satisfaction and peace that I find out along a small stream.

 

 

The season can be seen upon this rock. Multi colored leaves awaiting their final place in the seasons end.
 

Such a tangled mess. To the trout who live within the waters it is a safe haven.
 

A young wild brown trout that called that tangled mess within the stream "home"...to think he may very well live his total life within a few yards from where he was caught.
 

 

 

The "Futsu Kebari" and Other Musings

In this photo you can see a waterfall. The stream that flows above this gorge that is the spillway of the Hogback Res. is a stream that I have fished twice. I was told that it never dries up and it's flow is pretty consistent. The times I fished it I caught some beautiful brookies, but what I most remember is the trek into that stream. I was a lot younger and now that I'm writing this I get pains in the knees and my backside from sliding down the ridges. It's a stream I would gladly share with an adventurous soul. There are some awesome views back there.

 

 

The Futsu Kebari...I think that's what these flies are called. A simple thread body and hackle. The thread is silk and it's wrapped with a somewhat large long head. The hackle is dry fly rooster wound on using 3-4 turns. Even though the hackle is dry fly, the fly itself is a wet fly. There is probably a reason for it but I'm not certain of it.
 

Here is a Futsu Kebari tied using a dubbed body. The dubbing used is a  mix of life cycle nymph dubbing and Shetland spindrift wool, "thanks Lou"...this fly was featured in a post not long ago.
 

This orange blonde Futsu Kebari was a killer for me the other day. What surprised me was the amount of salmon parr-smolts that this fly brought to me.
 

Are you ready for some brown trout? These guys are really showing up.
 

Deerfield Headwaters...Tiny Tenkara And Brook Trout

Saturday Jeanette an I took a drive up north to visit some streams that feed the Deerfield river. The morning featured some heavy fog in some areas but the promise of sparkling fall weather helped clear the fog in mind and eventually the skies cleared and set forth the start of a very memorable day. The foliage was sort of dull probably the cause of dry conditions of late summer. Still there were pockets of brilliant colors. The water conditions were fairly good with flows that were adequate.

We turned off the main road and drove up along a larger tributary. A few miles on that small road we came upon a bridge that crossed the stream. I sopped the car and got out to check things out when I heard two very large dogs bark. Looking about I saw a large fenced field, a small barn and a house. That is when I saw a man with the dogs coming towards me. The man introduced himself and said he was the owner of the farm. We talked for awhile and he spoke of the changes that have taken place over the  many years. He asked if we were here to view the foliage and I said yes but also we were here to fish. He said he was not a fisherman but gave me some advice on where to fish. As it turned out his advice put me onto a beautiful stream.

 

 

He told me where to drive and said not to be concerned about the conditions on the road. He assured me I would have no issues. He was right.
 

The stream was gorgeous. The access was near the road and did not present any problems with access. The stream was full of little plunges and pockets which were perfect for fishing with my Tiny Tenkara rod. I used an elk hair caddis to start the day, and would have stayed with it all day if I had not lost it to a stream bed rock.
 

My first brookie to hand. The sections of this stream I fished were full of these precious little guys.
 

This is pretty much how the stream looked. In those little pools were waiting brookies.
 

So very dark, and so very pretty.
 

 Lunch...these taste like steak when your hungry.
 

Another jewel, this is where the caddis bit the dust and the real action started.

This section of stream produced a great deal of action. In a 20 yard span I must have hooked a dozen brookies. One fish in particular to the fly and danced about like a small salmon. I thought it may have been just that.

When it came to hand it turned out to be a light colored brookie, that was easily the largest fish of the day.

The Tiny Tenkara rod got quite the workout that day and handled it well.

This is the fly that worked very well that day. The style this Tenkra fly has a name but it has slipped my mind right now. I will post the recipe in my next blog.