I apologize for the lack of posts for the last couple of days. The blogger system has been acting almost as oddly as Southwest Airlines. Oddly enough, one of the reasons for the lack of posts is because I’m on a little trip down south. I’m scheduled to be back soon, and here’s where the odd part comes into play, my return is based almost completely on…the Southwest Airlines computer system!
I have a couple of good stories to share next week but this vacation has a full agenda so I have to run. Before we part ways however, here is an interesting picture of a sunset from above the clouds. I had never seen this before and thought it was absolutely beautiful and unique, at least to me. The sun had set below the horizon but was still able to show itself through some breaks and thin cloud cover. It looked like the earth was on fire and I couldn’t stop staring out the plane window at the spectacle.
Last week I posted about some howitzer baitfish popper heads that I had painted red. At the time, I didn’t really know what to do with them and then it dawned on me: some of the most classic, iconic, and well know lures of all time have red heads and white bodies. It seemed only logical to put these heads on white bodies with white tails to match that popular look. While I still need to put some eyes on the heads, I am thrilled with how they look so far! The barred silli legs really make everything pop and hopefully provide some good motion in the water. I have four heads left over and want to do something completely different with them. I’ll keep you posted on what income up with as well as what the current fly will look like after the eyes get attached.
Fish, dogs, and mules were the themes for Christmas gift-giving this year. The first shouldn’t be a surprise, the second might not either, but the third might be unexpected. Wendy got me a cool new popsocket from Black Fly Creations along with a hat with a German shorthair pointer from Palouse Prairie Company. In return, I got her a hoodie with a German shorthair pointer from Bunrt Co. Wendy also got me a couple of shirts from the University of Central Missouri. I asked for these because I earned my bachelor’s degree, my master’s degree, and will earn my education specialist degree from UCM in May. All of the boys had a good Christmas as well. All of them received Lego sets that were pretty cool as well as an old school arcade machine. I was also able to give my buddy Corey an awesome shirt from Wooly Bugger Fly Co. that fits his patriotic attitude and as well as his love for trout fishing. It was without it a doubt a great Christmas. I hope you had a good Christmas as well if you are of that persuasion and if you’re not, I hope you are doing well.
If you follow the website Moldy Chum, you will recognize where the idea comes from. If you don't follow the site, they have a post every Sunday called "Sunday Toona". Essentially, the post contains a song of the week. I liked that idea so much that I decided to start a similar tradition. I plan on posting a YouTube video every Sunday and this post is the first of many more to follow.
I wouldn't blame you if you wonder how music connects to a fly fishing blog. Well, the bottom line is that it really doesn't, at least on the surface. However, if you fish, then you probably listen to music. Maybe you listen to some tunes in your boat. Maybe you slip in some earbuds and listen to jams while you fish. Most of us probably listen to music on the way to go fishing. So there is a connection between fishing and music, albeit a small connection.
The other reason that I want to start this routine is that I really enjoy music. I have ZERO musical talent and that might be the reasoning that I appreciate the talents that other musicians have. I don't like all music though. I like music that has heart. I like music that tells a story. Most of all, I like music that I can relate to on some level. For those reasons, the music that I share might not be to your liking...and that's ok! I listen to a lot of music that you won't find on radio stations and that's why I want to share it with others.
I started this blog cause I wanted to share my experiences with others in the hopes that others might learn and benefit from what I do. Sharing music that touches my heart, or makes me laugh, or brings a tear to my eye falls in line with the aforementioned ideal. I hope you dig what I share and I hope you find something that you can connect with. For the first Song of the Week post, I present to you "Blue Christmas" by Elvis Presley.
I tied some streamers recently and I was thinking about what box to put them in. It was at that very moment...I knew I had a problem. At the time, I couldn't figure out how many streamer boxes that I actually had. When I located all of my boxes and laid them out, as you can see above, I have an organization problem. It just so happens, I have have the time and motivation to get this sorted out today.
Seeing as how all of our water is frozen here in the northwestern part of Missouri, the temperature is currently -6 degrees Fahrenheit, and I am on winter break from school (both as a teacher and grad student), I just happen to have the time to get this project done. If you are in a similar situation, you might consider doing the same. I think most of us are guilty of throwing nymphs in the dry fly box or chucking a single hook streamer in with the articulated ones from time to time.
This is the perfect time of year to spend some time in the warm confines of your home, preparing for the next fishing season. You might also consider cleaning fly line, inspecting rods and reels for maintenance, and just giving everything a proper once-over. By once-over I mean whatever you want that to mean. By doing this, you will ensure that you will be ready for time on the water when it arrives for you and you won't have to do this stuff when you would rather be fishing!
I bought 8 Howitzer Baitfish Popper Heads a couple of weeks ago with the intent to paint them red. As you can see, that is exactly what I did. I hit them with three coats of latex spray paint and three coats of gloss. I'm not going to lie, I think they look GREAT! They look so good to me, in fact, that I want to make sure I create something equally amazing with them and I don't want to screw this up! I'll keep you posted on what I come up with. However, if you have any good ideas or run across any interesting patterns, please feel free to send them my way. My email is showmeflyguy@gmail.com.
As promised, I attempted to tie Craven's Gonga last night. I beefed up the hook to a 1/0, added some UV chenille, and moved the eyes to the top of the hook. I like for my streamers to ride point up when I have the option so that's why I flipped the eyes. Overall, I am EXTREMELY happy with how this fly turned out. I'm not going to draw any conclusions just yet because I need to see how this fly behaves in the water, but so far, I really like the profile, color combination, and the materials/steps that are required to tie this fly. I have included a step-by-step tutorial and list of materials in case you want to tie some up of your own.
List of Materials:
Eyes: large, dumbbell eyes
Hook: size 1/0 Gamakatsu B10S
Thread: white 210 denier
Tail: olive and white marabou
Body: medium, pearl chenille
olive schlappen
UV polar chenille- the schlappen and UV polar chenille get twisted together
Ryan Walker of Ozarks Smallmouth Alliance has released another fly tying video recently and this one is a tutorial on tying Craven's Gonga. This looks like a great streamer for trout, smallmouth, largemouth, and any other streamer eaters. I plan to tie my own version of this pattern tonight and share it with you tomorrow. I'm thinking a baitfish or bluegill pattern might be interesting to tie. I'm also planning on adding a little more bulk on a bigger hook as well. My reasoning for this is that I like to throw flies that are a little bigger for the largemouth that I target. Be sure to come back tomorrow to see my version. That way, you can compare and contrast the two patterns in case you want to give this pattern a try for yourself.
Yesterday, I tied a few clouser minnows. I tied them in shad colors with gray on top and white underneath. Everything started off well and the flies were looking good. Slowly, and almost on some sort of subconscious level, they started to get...off. The noses/heads started to get larger. The eyes of the hooks started to get closed with thread. It took me a minute to figure out why things were going south and then it dawned on me. My proportions were becoming skewed a little with each fly. Specifically, I was trying to bulk up and beef up each fly a little bit more.
My thinking was that a bigger meal is what fish might want. I think, most of the time, fish that are feeding on minnows would rather eat one bigger meal rather than two small ones. As a result of my bucktail increase, my flies were slowly looking worse and worse with each completed version. So if you're tying clousers this season, please remember the rule that I had to be reminded of and learn the hard way. With a clouser, less (bucktail) is more.
If you follow the website Moldy Chum, you will recognize where the idea comes from. If you don't follow the site, they have a post every Sunday called "Sunday Toona". Essentially, the post contains a song of the week. I liked that idea so much that I decided to start a similar tradition. I plan on posting a YouTube video every Sunday and this post is the first of many more to follow.
I wouldn't blame you if you wonder how music connects to a fly fishing blog. Well, the bottom line is that it really doesn't, at least on the surface. However, if you fish, then you probably listen to music. Maybe you listen to some tunes in your boat. Maybe you slip in some earbuds and listen to jams while you fish. Most of us probably listen to music on the way to go fishing. So there is a connection between fishing and music, albeit a small connection.
The other reason that I want to start this routine is that I really enjoy music. I have ZERO musical talent and that might be the reasoning that I appreciate the talents that other musicians have. I don't like all music though. I like music that has heart. I like music that tells a story. Most of all, I like music that I can relate to on some level. For those reasons, the music that I share might not be to your liking...and that's ok! I listen to a lot of music that you won't find on radio stations and that's why I want to share it with others.
I started this blog cause I wanted to share my experiences with others in the hopes that others might learn and benefit from what I do. Sharing music that touches my heart, or makes me laugh, or brings a tear to my eye falls in line with the aforementioned ideal. I hope you dig what I share and I hope you find something that you can connect with. For the first Song of the Week post, I present to you "The Way I Am" by Merle Haggard.
Link to Merle Haggard YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtA4x7RHBz8fx9TDeq6xu2A
I am the type of person that needs challenges and goals. If I don't have a mountain to climb, or something to work towards, I get bored. I'm not the type of person that spends most evenings in front of the television, playing video games, or buried in a book. I need things to do! I want to learn! I want to achieve things both big and small. Recently, I have narrowed down a focus that was too wide and encompassing.
I referenced my new pursuit in last Friday's post. In the post, I mentioned how I want to maybe do some guided fishing trips around the Kansas City area. What I learned is that you are not allowed to guide in MDC conservation areas, Missouri state parks, or on county-owned lakes (specifically, Jackson County, Missouri). While it is a little disappointing that those are not options (and I'm sure as heck don't want to break any laws, ordinances, or other regulations), the by-product of this fact is that I am left with only one body of water to guide on in the Kansas City area, on the Missouri side at least. That one body of water is Smithville Lake.
I will be the first to admit that I know very little about Smithville Lake and I have fished it very few times and unsuccessfully I might add. Here lies the fascinating part and challenge that I have needed. My scope has been narrowed and now all of my focus is on learning about this lake and how to fish it. I needed this!
I know Smithville can be a little tricky to fish, like most big lakes, but this is a challenge I am ready to take on. Upon knowing that I want to guide on this lake, I had to narrow my focus. Fly fishing for bass seems like a poor choice due to so much pressure this species already gets and how picky the fish could be as a result. I think crappie are boring (no offense if you dig crappie) and sometimes it's hard to get a fly to them. Bluegill, while scrappy and pretty, aren't really want I think of in terms of what people want to target on a guided fishing trip. Catfish and carp would be hard to target and don't always take flies readily. That has left me with the white bass.
Here's my thinking behind targeting white bass. For starters, they are aggressive and will take down flies without hesitation. They also school up and when you find one, chances are, you're going to find a lot of them. They taste good...from what I hear at least. White bass fight hard and will put a heck of a bend in a 4 or 5 weight rod. Finally, this species is not something that folks are exclusively guiding for on Smithville which creates an opportunity for me. The only drawback is that fly fishing is definitely a niche sport and fly fishing for white bass is even more of a niche. On the bright side, I'm not looking to make this a career right now. I've already got this with my teaching gig and I'm just looking for a summer job, summer fun, and to share a good experience with others. I figure that if I go on 10 trips for the summer, that's a lot better than painting houses or mowing yards.
I also need a boat and I'm working on that too! With that in mind, it is important for me to note that I have very little experience fishing what I would call "big water". I have small boats and waders and I have a lot of experience with both. When it comes to outboards, lower units, topographical maps, and fishing electronics...my experience is very small. Again, this is the challenge that I needed!
I will be keeping everyone updated on what I do and what I learn as I progress through this journey. For example, I just learned last night that I need a captain's license from the U.S. Coast Guard to be a guide. I will be looking into that ASAP and hopefully start to learn what it takes to complete that task. I'm sure it will be a challenge, but that's exactly what I am looking for so bring it on!
Last night, I finished up preserving the tail and antlers from the buck I shot this past deer season. It’s nice to be ready to hang the antlers on the wall and start cranking out flies with the tail. On the other hand, it’s sad to be done with the season. Deer season has a special place in my heart. Deer hunting is full of low points that keep you from sleeping and high points that will stay in your mind for the rest of your life. The anticipation of deer season gets my blood pumping but the fact that there are 11 months to wait until the next deer season is a bummer.
I only rifle hunt and while I could bow hunt or use a muzzleloader, rifle hunting is what I am good at, what I have the equipment for, and what I know how to do. I prefer to stick to rifle season because I know what I am doing and have confidence in what I currently do. I also believe that my wife might leave me if I picked up more hobbies and passions. So now is the time when I transition into fly tying season and this bucktail is going to get used...quickly! If you have never preserved a bucktail to tie flies with, it is incredibly simple. I have included a video below that shows just how easy it is.
As promised yesterday, we are back to fly fishing! As I mentioned last week in a couple of posts that you can read here and here, I received a custom order of flies from a friend of mine. The order was for some silver salmon flies that are going to be headed up to Alaska. I had never tied flies for silver salmon before so I had to do some research prior to whipping up some flies. I was looking for effective patterns that could be used in different ways and for different species. I also looked for flies that I had the skills to tie. I ended up settling on wooly buggers, clousers, egg sucking leeches and Dolly Llamas. The Dolly Llamas were unlike anything that I had ever tied before and were a lot of fun. This fly involves a sacrificial hook in the front, braid that leads to an octopus hook, and some free flowing flash and rabbit strips. Everything turned out really well and I hope these flies lead to some good fish being landed!
