What a Week! Fishing 6 Out of 8 Mornings was GOOD STUFF!

Well, my second week of summer break was pretty eventful.  I got the chance to fish with some great people and have fun in the outdoors.  I spent a little time "guiding" and a little time fishing for myself.  When I use the term "guiding," I don't mean that in a professional, I'm-getting-paid-for-my-services way.  I'm not a guide.  That would be an insult to actual guides.  However, I'm trying to help some folks catch some fish and develop some skills that will be important if/when I do become an actual guide.  Enough about that though.  Let's go to the highlights.

Monday, June 1

I had the pleasure to take my buddy, Riley (son of a coworker), to Lone Jack Lake in Lone Jack, Missouri, to chase some bass and bluegill.  We fished out of my raft and used 1/80 ounce jigs under an indicator to catch some nice bluegill with the biggest being 9 inches long.  The bite turned off around 10:30 but Riley landed 10 fish, on his own and on the fly rod he got for his birthday.  He has some serious skills for a 6th grader and it was fun to help put him on some fish!

Tuesday, June 2

My coworker and friend Justin is a busy man these days.  Aside from being a teacher and a father of two kids, he also has a 3 month old baby at home.  Lately, it has been hard for Justin to find time to get on the water.  When he did get a chance to fish, I wanted to help him catch some fish.  While Justin doesn't need any help casting or selecting flies, I decided to row Justin around in my raft and put him in spots to be successful.  He landed a couple of respectable bass on a Captain Quint at Rocky Hollow in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, and it was a beautiful morning spent with my friend.

Wednesday, June 3

This was a day off. 

Thursday, June 4

This day was dedicated to taking my youngest son, Cody, to Watkins Mill State Park in Excelsior Springs, Missouri.  I wanted to help him catch some bluegill on a fly rod.  More importantly, I wanted to help him catch some fish on a fly that he tied.  While he had done this before, I was hoping that a morning of putting a bunch of fish in the boat would help him build some confidence in his fly fishing abilities.  While he did land a few, it was a slow day.  I'm guessing that a lot of bluegill were spawning which resulted in fewer bites.  That's all that I can think of because the usual fish weren't in their usual spots or doing their usual things.  Regardless, we saw some wildlife and shared a lot of laughs.

Friday, June 5

I'll be honest, I wanted to do a little fishing for myself on this particular day but I didn't want to go to the trouble of hauling, unloading, loading, and rowing a boat.  After a lot of consideration, I landed on the option of chasing gar at the Smithville Lake spillway in Smithville, Missouri.  I was hoping that the wind would stay down, we would have the place to ourselves, and the gar would be stacked up.  That's exactly what I got and the conditions were perfect.  Cody joined me and was my net man.  I hooked five fish and landed two.  Some bites were subtle and others were so aggressive that I was able to lay in to some solid hook sets.  

What made this morning particularly interesting was that I landed the same gar twice.  I put one hook in his cheek, right below his left eye after he t-boned my fly.  Cody and I eventually made our way to the other side of the spillway where I hooked a similar sized gar.  It was Cody that noticed the bloody spot on the cheek of the gar and said, "Dad, that's the fish you caught earlier!"  The little guy was right!  This made for a story that we have told multiple times and was a great memory.

Saturday, June 6

This too was a day off. 

Sunday, June 7

The alarm went off at 3:45 on this particular day and if you were going where I was going, you would not have had a problem getting up before sunrise either.  I apologize for not being able to tell you where I went but please understand that it is out of respect for my friend, Eric.  The lake we went to is special to Eric and what I would consider his home lake.  While it is public water, I don't want to reveal the spot he has chosen to share with me.  What I CAN tell you is that we had ourselves a spectacular morning of chasing largemouth bass and big bluegill on flies.

I'm not sure how many bass we put in the boat but every one of them was duped by a Captain Quint.  Each bite came in shallow water and within the first couple hours after sunrise.  Eric's fish came on a shad colored streamer and mine came on a baitfish colored streamer.  Eric caught his biggest bass on a fly rod and the most bass he's ever caught on a fly rod!  I landed a few myself with a couple of them being in the 2-3 pound range.  

The first few bass of the day hit the subsurface fly with serious aggression and the bites seemed to get a little more subtle as the morning waned.  After the bass fishing slowed, we chased bluegill with the hope that some of the 8-9 inch fish in this lake would take our flies.  Like Watkins Mill earlier in the week, the bluegill just didn't seem to be where they usually were or eating what they usually ate.  Again, I think it might be due to them spawning, but I can't be certain.  

At some point, we switched back to Captain Quint streamers in the hopes that a few bass were still in the mood to eat breakfast.  We landed a few more bass and most of them were in the 1 pound range.  What really flipped our lids was the fact that Eric caught a crappie on a Captain Quint!  The fish was 10 or 11 inches and while it wasn't huge, we were surprised to see that it fit the entire 3 inch streamer in it's mouth.  It didn't have a lot of room so spare so it must have some sort of precision guidance system that it employs.  

It was a heck of a run and a great start to my summer break.  The mornings were the ones I daydream about while teaching.  I wish that life allowed us to do what we want, when we want, on a regular basis.  In today's society, it seems like responsibilities take up more of your time as you get older.  I cannot describe the joy that I have felt as a result of some free time and respite from work-related duties.  I wish we could all have more time to dedicate to things that make us happy and I know that I am fortunate to have a summer break.  I try to make the most of my time and dedicate a chunk of it to being on the water.  I hope you're able to do what makes you happy this summer as well!

 

Catch and Release T-Shirts Are Now Available on Etsy

Large Catch and Release T-Shirts- https://www.etsy.com/listing/4517125460/large-catch-and-release-t-shirt-go-on

Extra Large Catch and Release T-Shirts- https://www.etsy.com/listing/4517093125/extra-large-catch-and-release-t-shirt-go

Ordering the Catch and Release t-shirt just got a whole lot easier!  Rather than going through me to order a short, it is now as simple as going to my Etsy store and buying one through the website.  This is a much more streamlined process which will hopefully make it easier for people to buy one if they want one.  I will get your shirt in the mail within 48 hours and should arrive before Father's Day if that is the reason you are buying one.  Don't forget, each shirt comes with free shipping, a fly, a sticker, and a letter of appreciation for your purchase.  I apologize for only having larges and extra larges in stock right now.  I had a small number of shirts made in order to test the market for demand.  If I sell all of these, I will order more and in more sizes.  Quantities are limited so get one while you can!

Large Catch and Release T-Shirts- https://www.etsy.com/listing/4517125460/large-catch-and-release-t-shirt-go-on

Extra Large Catch and Release T-Shirts- https://www.etsy.com/listing/4517093125/extra-large-catch-and-release-t-shirt-go

The Raft is Complete...For Now!

I have been using my raft a lot lately and one thing had been begging for a fix.  It was my fly rod storage system.  It had give me a lot of engineering and problem solving fits.  It always seemed to shift too much and not be sturdy enough.  Compounding the problem was the fact that I wanted to attach the PVC tubes to a set of oars (to conserve space in the boat) and then attach that setup to the frame.  After different versions and failed attempts, I think I can cross this project off the list.  

I ended up inserting a piece of 1 X 4 pressure treated wood between the oars and PVC tubes.  This gave me a fly surface that I could use and drill into for zip ties and cam straps.  This was also necessary because of the oar stops that keep the diameter of the oars from being uniform throughout the length of the oars.  I found out that attaching round surface to flat surfaces and then again to round surfaces is a challenge.  However, when I was able to incorporate the oar mount for leverage, that minimized the horizontal shifting.  

I'm not going to get into more detail with this project because I assume you either have no need for the info or you have already solved your own problem of having fly rod holders in your raft.  The main idea of this post is to announce that I am calling this raft officially set up for fishing...until something breaks or I find another area of improvement like needing more storage space!

This Streamer Needs a Name and it Just Got One!

This fly is similar to Matt Bennett's Lunch Money and Jake Villwock's Roamer.  It has a body like a lunch money and the head of a roamer.  I want to give it a name but I want to also be respectful to the fella's that made the original flies that I borrowed from to make this fly.  I can't find another fly that is identical to it which makes it a little original but all I did was mash up two existing flies.  This fly is a hybrid of two flies or a simple variant of one pattern.  I don't want to confuse folks by making up a name for it but it might be more confusing if I don't.  So I guess I will give it a name but I'm not taking credit for it.  

Roaming Money is what I should go with but it doesn't have a very good ring to it.  Bennett's Lunch Money presented by Villwock's Roamer is too long.  I'm not calling it something with my name.  Tyler Dykes's Undertaker or The Show Me Fly Guy's Stone Cold Stunner make me seem like I'm looking for attention, which I am not.  Oh yeah, I fogot to mention.  I've been watching a lot of older WWE videos on social media lately, so you can see where the aforementioned names came from.

Stolen Valor makes sense because it is a nod to what it is but it carries a certain level of disrespect that I don't like.  I wanted to name it the Laser Bunny because of the materials that I used but that name was already taken by another fly that has some similarities.  I want to name it something funny without being dirty (no offense Mr. Galloup) like The Slippery Tiger (a nod to Mizzou) but when you try to force humor, it sometimes fall flat.  The Mad Hungarian is funny but I don't know if the baseball player with the same nickname would hit me with a cease and desist letter.

After losing countless nights of sleep, many considerations , and zero help from AI, I have settled on a name.  From this day forth, this streamer shall be referred to with the moniker Captain Quint.  

First of all, Jaws is my favorite movie.  If you have seen the movie, you might recall that Captain Quint states, "I'll never put on a life jacket again."  I believe that this is foreshadowing the fact that later in the movie, Captain Quint will indeed go in the water without a life jacket.  The nail in the coffin (pun in intended) for me settling on this name was the parallel between this fly and Captain Quint's fate.  When Robert Shaw's character eventually ends up in the water, HE GETS EATEN BY A REALLY BIG FISH!!!!  The joke almost writes itself.  When this fly goes in the water, it's going to get eaten!  Get it!  I crack myself up!

Honorable Mentions:

Michael Jordan- because this fly might be my greatest creation of all time.

G.O.A.T.- same explanation as the M.J. description.

Waylon Jennings- I have a dog named Waylon and I love Waylon Jennings the singer.  I wanted to pay homage to both.

Barry Sanders- this fly is shifty quick but can be fished quickly as well, just like Barry Sanders

John Wayne- everybody loves John Wayne.  He was rough, tough, and backs down from a fight...like the fly.

Sitting Bull- I have named one other fly in my life and that was The Brave.  I considered sticking with the Native American theme and Sitting Bull seemed fitting.

Bank Heist- this felt like some sort of nod to Matt Bennett's Lunch Money and Jake Villwock's Roamer.  I stole some ideas that they had come up with but I didn't think everyone would get the reference.  The reference to money also felt apropos.  

Shirts Have Arrived and Are FOR SALE!!!!

A few weeks ago, I posted about a t-shirt design that I came up with.  To access that post, just click here.  I wanted to update everyone that the shirts were ordered, have arrived at my house, and are ready to be purchased!  I have a limited quantity of shirts in sizes large and extra large.  The shirts are a Gildan, light cotton brand and are 100% cotton.

The price tag is a little steep (in my opinion), so I am trying to sweeten the deal.  For $40, you get a shirt, a fly, and a sticker.  The sticker is a Show Me Fly Guy Sticker.  The fly is the streamer that I have been posting about recently.  It is an unweighted fly that is a cross between a lunch money an a roamer.  It can be worked like a jerk bait when given short, erratic strips.  It can also be fished like a swimbait when give a slow and steady retrieve.  

While this isn't common practice, I would like to give everyone a breakdown of the cost and be transparent with the profit that I am trying to make.  Each shirt cost me $18.  It will cost approximately $9 to ship.  I'm just looking to make a $13 profit off each sale.  I didn't want anyone to think that I was trying to gouge anyone on the price or that I was trying to make a ridiculous profit off each sale.  

For now, I am only offering shirts to friends, family, and followers of this post and my social media accounts.  I'm trying to avoid going through Etsy because they take approximately 25% of each sale.  Whatever shirts I don't sell to friends, family, and followers will probably end up in my online store, but for now, I'm taking orders directly.  

Just send me an email at showmeflyguy@gmail.com and let me know your address and the size of shirt you want.  I will get shirts, flies, and stickers in the mail either the day I receive your order or the following day.  As far as payment goes, I can take payments via Venmo or PayPal.  Heck, I'll even take a check if you want to mail me one!

I hope you dig the shirt and all orders are greatly appreciated.  Thanks for reading this post, thank you for your support.  Good luck on the water and tight lines!

A Classic Custom Order Headed to California

I recently received a request for a custom order of flies from a great customer in California (the state, not the city in Missouri).  The request was for a couple of Lefty's Deceivers and Bob Clouser's Minnows.  When I get requests, it is usually for more modern patterns so the chance to tie something a little more "old school" was something that I was excited about.  If you would like to request a custom order of flies, feel free to email me at showmeflyguy@gmail.com and we can work out the details!

Blending Laser Dub

Recently, I was tying a fly that just looked a little...off.  Specifically, the color of laser dub didn't quite match the body or tail of the fly.  The olive head was lighter than the olive body and tail.  It wasn't off by much but I wanted a more uniform look to the fly.  That's when I started thinking of a solution to the problem.  

I thought about coloring the fibers with a sharpie but I didn't have the right shade of olive.  I thought about buying a different brand of dubbing like Bruiser Blend Dubbing but I didn't want to wait to have it show up in the mail.  I wanted a quicker and easier solution.  Sometime in the early morning hours of a random weekday I woke up and couldn't get my brain to turn off.  Usually I just beat myself up over bad decisions that I have made in my life  when this happens but sometimes a thought dawns on me that is actually useful.  Somehow the idea of blending two laser dub colors together dawned on me.  The idea of blending some black laser dub into the olive laser dub to darken up the head of the fly to match the body came to me.

Surely this is not an original idea here.  Just because I thought of it does not mean I am the FIRST one to think of this.  In other words, I'm not claiming this as some sort of discovery or innovation.  

In each picture on this post, the blended laser dub can be found in the bottom fly.  In the shad pattern, I included a strip of black laser dub on the middle fly.  To mix the two colors, I just selected a hank of fibers of each color, then blended them together with my fingers.  Sometimes I pulled them apart and restacked them on top of each others.  At other times I just rolled them together with my fingers.  If you would like the Google Gemini explanation of this process, it reads as such: To blend two colors, "...take equal pinches of each color, stack the fibers together, and pull them apart repeatedly with your fingers until the colors are uniformly mixed."  Regardless of who actually thought of this idea first, I would say that it worked pretty well!