Dear Publisher LadyFisher;
All that I fish for are panfish, and most of the time it is out of a boat.
After working in the factory most of my life, (carpel tunnel, and tennis-elbow.) I have
gone more and more to that old dreaded spinning rod with a bubble and my flies.
I learned to tie flies while still a pup, (I am now 42.) my granddad, my dad, and three
uncles supplied restaurants, and railroad hobo communities with fish during the
depression.
The patterns that were handed down are proven to catch fish.
I remember as a boy helping to break up ice blocks to throw on top of pick up beds full of
fish.
In my twenties while traveling around the U.S. I always carried a twelve foot telescoping
cane pole that I had tied eyes on to the nearest lake on the weekends. These old flies
that I have modernized for flashier materials have always caught fish!
Most of the patterns that I use are not in any books that I can find, but some do appear
to be variations of salt water flies that have been down sized somewhat.
My family now only keeps a few small fish to fry, but the excitement of a bull bluegill
spinning his way to the surface from the drop-off is still breathtaking! And how many
remember Doodle-Skipping by flashlight at night for bass in weed pockets?
I was taught the old school - slide him into the boat on the unpopulated side, and do not
get loud at every bite, if a boat is going by just set the hook and let him swim
around, and never tell how many you are really catching!
I live in a county in Indiana that has one hundred and one lakes, which means that from
the time the kids get out of school, till they go back in the fall, we only fish during
the week due to the traffic. So now is the weather we like most! (No skiers, and no
water-motorcycles!)
I only have two sites that I check every week since I got my newfangled computer this
spring, your FAOL, and The Virtual Fly Box. (VFB - I hosted the Catch, and Cook
swap this summer, and then the Doppelganger Swap using non-traditional materials.)
These two sites do not use a micrometer to tie flies with, they just catch fish and swap
information without judging how a person catches his fish, or even if he actually eats a
few!
Keep up the good work!! (Gosh . . . sorry so long, I was just going to say hello!)
A fan of your site, tie a few, fish a lot!! ~ John McBride
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