Brown Trout Fly Boxes- Part 1

Recently, I posted about transferring an image from a piece of paper to the back of a fly box.  You can find the step-by-step instructions here.  After the success of this project and the popularity of the post, I decided to try to bump things up a notch.  I bought a cheap (like $7 cheap) wooden cigar box from Wal Mart.  I applied the same practice and transferred the same image to the box.  I am in the process of staining and applying polyurethane to the box.  I am also going to see if I can find some better hardware but things are coming along nicely.  All you need for this project is a box, an image on paper, carbon paper, a pencil, and a wood burning tool.  

Net Project

 Here's a simple but useful project for you to complete this winter if you struggle to estimate fish lengths like I do.  You can also use it to prove to your buddies and trolls on Instagram that your fish is as big as you say it is.  I took my cheap, wooden net that I carry on my vest and burned some measurements onto it with a wood burning tool.  I measured from the inside, front of the net where the fish's head would go and then marked the inches on the handle of the net.  I numbered every other measurement because there wasn't enough room to burn every number into the wood.  It took a whopping 10 minutes but will be useful for years to come.  I hope you find this to be useful and worth your time.

Fly Fishing Christmas Gifts

I have to hand it to Wendy, she is a heck of a gift giver!  Not only does she get me some pretty sweet fly fishing gifts, but they are GOOD fly fishing gifts!  I thought I would share a couple with you and let you know where they came from in case you are interested in checking them out further.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/FreshFins

Yoda with a brown, Vader with a cutthroat, and Jordan with a rainbow (might be a steelhead)!  That pretty much takes everything I dig and smashes it all together!  Too bad there's not one of Eric Church holding a brook trout....hint, hint.

I'm not sure where she picked this shirt up, but I dig it because it is no secret that it is my goal to become a fly fishing guide when I retire from teaching in 11 years!  

https://flymenfishingcompany.com/products/fly-tester

I saved the best for last!  Wendy went WAY over the top with this gift.  If you don't know about the Fly Tester from Flymen Fish Company, I have included a review of the product from Brian Wise of Fly Fishing the Ozarks.  I am setting this baby up today and trying it out.  You can bet that you will be seeing future videos that include the Fly Tester!  I cant wait to see what The Brave looks like in this baby.

Fishing Krug Park Lagoon in St. Joseph, Missouri- Part 2

The pictures shown above was my first view of Krug Park Lagoon.  I parked nearby and quickly surmised that I had two spots to fish: the waterfall on the right and the fountain on the left.  Everything else was frozen but these spots were open so when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.  I have circled the locations in the picture below that I previously mentioned.

As I approached the waterfall, I noticed that I wouldn't be able to fish the right side.  The wall was too steep and too high above the water.  While I had a net on the end of a long pole, it wasn't tall enough.  On the left side though, I found an access point that allowed me to get closer to the water.  I also spotted about 30 fish cruising the shallows.  It was a nice, big glass of metaphorical lemonade.  It wasn't an easy path and I knew if things went wrong, then I would be driving home with wet clothes and my truck's heater on high very soon.  Thankfully I didn't fall and the rocks didn't give way.  I also managed a few roll casts that produced four fish.  They were just stocker rainbows but early success on new water can really breed some confidence.  

I missed a few more bites and thought it might be best if I "rest the water" and returned later to maybe catch a few more.  My next stop was the fountain.  As I walked, I looked for fish in the shallows but didn't see anything.  After some fan casting, I finally walked to the side of the lake that would allow me to put a cast really close to the fountain.  Between the wind and my casting abilities, it was a chore to get a cast to the fountain but my efforts were rewarded.  After my first bite, I reeled off 14 more fish.  Every one hit with aggression and decisiveness and I'm proud to say that I probably only missed three fish that I should have landed.  That's not bragging but rather a testament to how tenacious the fish were hitting my fly.  Most of the time, I just let the fly sit but they would occasionally hit on slow retrieves with long pauses as well.

Eventually, the spot stopped producing strikes and that was fine because the sun was starting to set anyway and I was due home for supper.  However, the path that I chose to take back to my truck just happened to past by that waterfall that I had done well at earlier.  To make a long story short, I caught 11 more fish at that spot.  Three of them came close to the waterfall but the rest came right off the rocky point nearby.  I was actually able to site fish there some because I could see the chartreuse head of my fly get engulfed by a shadow that passed nearby.  

In all I caught 30 fish at Krug.  I am still in shock at that because fishing new water can be tough.  What I learned however was that past performance can breed confidence and that relying on proven tactics can sometimes lead to success on new water.  I also learned that when you get a chance to go fishing, and the conditions re less than ideal, then you make the most of it anyway.  Part of the joy in fishing comes from the unknown and that uncertainty is what keeps us coming back to the water.  It is also this uncertainty that we should lean on when confidence, conditions, or new water are staring at you.  

Fishing Krug Park Lagoon in St. Joseph, Missouri- Part 1

I have been on a quest to fish the lakes around the Kansas City, Missouri, area that are both stocked with rainbow trout in the winter and are catch and release until Feb. 1.  I have crossed Liberty Park Pond (Sedalia, Missouri) and Everyday Pond (St. Joseph, Missouri) off my list.  I only had Krug Park Lagoon (St. Joseph, Missouri) left before I have to venture a little further from home.  So when a December day with a high in the 50's presented itself, I felt compelled to hit the water.  

Two things jumped out at me prior to firing up my truck and starting the drive.  The first was that I knew this lake was in the middle of St. Joseph.  I had never ventured into the heart of St. Joe before so I was a little nervous about what a lagoon in the middle of St. Joseph was going to look like.  I prefer lakes further away from cities rather than ones in the middle of them.  With that being said, I have had some outstanding days at Lake Chaumiere which is in the middle of a neighborhood in North Kansas City.  The second fact was the the name.  First of all we have the name Krug.  It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue although I am sure Mr. or Mrs. Krug (I'm assuming there is a namesake) were upstanding citizens.  The name "lagoon" was also a little concerning.  The name lagoon (to me at least) evokes images of stagnant water with a green tinge surrounded by trees that readily steal flies.  As usual, my preconceived notions were nowhere remotely close to reality.  I apologize to all St. Josephenians for my unwarranted biases.  Hopefully by the end of these posts I will give the proper credit and justice to the gem that you have in your city!

When I arrived at Krug Park, the first thing I noticed was the nicely paved roads, Christmas decorations, and parking lot that was right on the water.  The tiered waterfall, walking trail, and four pronged fountain also grabbed my attention.  When I approached the water however, my heart sank when I saw the ice.  I would estimate that 75% of the lake was covered with ice.  The only spots there had open water were near the waterfall and the fountain.  This was a bit of a shame because there was a rock wall that went the length of a parking lot.  It reminded me of the concrete wall around the edge of the water at Liberty Park Pond.  I have caught a lot of fish along that wall and would have loved to see if this wall would have yielded similar results.  We will definitely find out the answer to that question another day.  

Like so many other times in life and especially with fishing, you play the cards your are dealt.  If the day gives you a waterfall and fountain to fish, then you move forward with gratitude that there was water to be fished and that there was structure that might hold fish.  Again, I drew upon the idea that I have had success fishing around the fountains at Liberty Park Pond, and around flowing water at Lake Chaumiere.  If it sounds like I was drawing on past experiences to boost my confidence and as a source of optimism, that is because I was frustrated by the ice and had zero experience on this body of water.  Those two things were pretty intimidating and I had to find some reinforcement from some source.  

I also had one other ace up my sleeve.  It was given to me by my good friend Tom.  It has helped me catch trout at multiple lakes that have been stocked with trout.  It is a source of confidence and when it comes to fishing (or any other sport/competition), confidence can mean the difference between success and frustration.  I am referring to a fly called The Standard.  At the risk of making this post sound like some sort of long-winded, self-promoting infomercial, this fly is a trout catching machine.  I'm just trying to pass along some information about a fly that has brought me a lot of success and I hope it does the same for you.  Tom was nice enough to readily share this fly with me, and I feel compelled to honor that tradition.  It has worked for me at Fountain Bluff, Liberty Park, and Everyday and didn't let me down at Krug!

Cleaning & Storing Fly Line

I readily admit that I do a HORRIBLE job maintaining fly line but after reading this article, I am ready to make a change.  This is a short and simple article with great illustrations and ideas.  It makes cleaning and storing fly line look so easy.  Now I just need to find the time (and a duck) to get this project knocked out!

Link: https://www.fieldandstream.com/how-to-keep-your-fly-line-fresh-until-spring/

Fly Tying - Kelly Galloup's Mini-Dungeon

My New Year's resolution is to get better tying with deer hair. I mean it this year! This would be a good fly to get that campaign started.

Link to Fly Fishing the Ozarks YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/flyfishingtheozarks

The Fly Shop is Getting STOCKED!!!!!

I have been quarantined for over a week now and I don't have a single thing to complain about.  I have felt fine, I have been able to work from home, I have had Wendy by my side, and I have had plenty of things to keep me busy.  The one big thing that I have accomplished is that I have been able to stock the online fly shop pretty good.  By my estimation, I have tied about 100 flies in the last week.  Above, is a picture of the flies that I sell.  If you are looking for intricate and complex flies (maybe with the exception of The Brave), you are looking in the wrong place.  These flies are simple and have been extremely effective for me.  

I only sell flies that I have fished and that have been successful for me.  If you are even an average fly tyer, you can probably replicate what I offer and by all means, go right ahead!  Heck, I'll even give you the instructions if you want them.  Ultimately, I just want to help some folks catch some fish and make a little money on the side.  And when I say "a little money" I mean exactly that.  I don't think anybody ever made their fortune and built their mansion by selling flies online.  If I can help you fill some fly boxes and prepare you for spring, I would be happy to do so!

Link to Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheShowMeFlyGuy

Fly Box Art

Let me start off with the fact that I am NOT an artist.  I have always wanted the ability to draw incredible pictures with accuracy and detail but that is simply not a gift that the good lord blessed me with.  However, I do have a knack at being resourceful and the ability to work around my artistic shortcomings.  With that in mind, I had an idea when I ran across some adult coloring pages on The Fiberglass Manifesto (click here to see what I am referring to), and specifically at Rep Your Water (again, click here for more detail).  I decided that I wanted to use one of the images that I saw to transfer onto a fly box.  Here's the step-by-step process that we used to transfer the image.

1. Find a fly box that you want to transfer the image to.

2. Clean the surface.  I used nail polish remover because I had written on the box with permanent marker years ago.

3. Find your image and print it on paper.  Make sure you get the size right.

4. You're going to need some carbon paper at this point.  Surprisingly, you can still find this stuff at office supply stores.

5, Cut the carbon paper to be the same size as the paper with the image.

6. Tape the two pieces of paper together.  Make sure the side with the carbon is facing toward the box or it will not transfer.

7. Trace the image with a pencil.  The harder you press, the better the image will transfer.

8. Yes, this is a little painstaking (literally, your hand might actually cramp), but wait until you see the end result.  It will make it all worth it.

9. Carefully remove your image and insure that the image has transferred and that you didn't miss any details.

10. Trace over your pencil marks with a permanent marker.  I used a fine point sharpie for this step and I am thrilled with how it turned out!

Unique and Creative Pieces of Art

Spoiler Alert: Yes, this does have something to do with fly fishing...I promise!

I ran across an article the other day while perusing the internet on my lunch break.  The headline was what caught my attention.  It was title "An artist transforms landscape paintings he finds on the street by adding in 'Game of Thrones' and 'Star Wars' scenes."  I found it on Yahoo (yes, that's still an operational website) and you can access the article with the link below.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/artist-transforms-landscape-paintings-finds-134700282.html

I'm a huge Star Wars fan and really enjoyed Game of Thrones while it was on the air.  With that being said, I could not have predicted the amount of joy that entered my life upon viewing this artwork.  David Sherrill is an artist from Canton, Ohio that takes simple (boring in my opinion) paintings and inserts his own humor into the scene.  Yes, we will get to the actual art in a moment, but I want you to be properly prepared before you view David's work.  Imagine what paintings look like in hotel rooms and lobbies.  You know the ones.  The ones that feature a mountain landscape, or a stream running through a forest.  Now what if someone added Freddy Krueger or Godzilla to those pictures?  Or what if two TIE Fighters were flying over that mountain scene with an X-wing chasing them?  Now that you have that vision in your head, let's see if David's work can live up to your expectations.

Here's David's homepage.

https://www.arrowheadcanton.com/

Here's the link to his altered art.  These are so good.  My personal favorites are the ones with Star Wars, Freedy Krueger, Xena, and He-Man.  

https://www.arrowheadcanton.com/altered-art

With all of that being said, this is the one I have to have!  You might have been wondering, "What does this have to do with fly fishing?"  Well kids, I present to you David's piece de resistance, a guy fly fishing with an AT-AT.  As if the print isn't good enough, read the description to the right!  I laughed until I almost cried!

https://www.arrowheadcanton.com/altered-art/imperial-walker-altered-art-print