Vol. 13 No. 16

BEAVER AND OTHER VILLIANS OF THE NIGHT

Honesty, being necessary prelude to any frank discussion, I must admit right up front that I’m a fishaholic. But not like I used to be. Nope. I’ve got it under control these days. Ask anyone. But, don’t ask my wife. With her it is safer not to broach the subject.

STILLWATER FISHING METHODS AND STRATEGIES

When fishing stillwaters the angler must take the knowledge of the stillwater being fished, the knowledge of the available food forms, and the knowledge of how the trout will feed on these food forms and mix them all together and decide on the methods that will be used to fish on the stillwater.

LAWN GAMES

If you are one of the fortunate people that live where you can actually get out and fish during the winter months then this article is likely not going to be of any interest to you. However, if you live in; [A] a place where the fishing season is closed, or [B] where the bodies of water that are open to angling are [1] frozen solid, [2] closed to angling for your preferred species, or [3] just not appealing to you during this time of the year, then you might want to consider some lawn games to help wile away the short winter days and to keep your skill level above the degree of a rank beginner.

STUFF

Today was New Year’s Day and we did the deed. We took down the Christmas tree, the greens and lights around the front door, the greens over the fireplace and brought the white wire tree in from the back yard. The Christmas cards are gathered up for a last fond look before they are put away.

NORTHERN PIKE

A year or so ago my wife and I saw the movie The Bucket List with Jack Nicolson and Morgan Freeman. The story centered on two men from different walks of life (both socially and economically) who were diagnosed with cancer and shared a hospital room together.

MICHIGAN CADDIS

Mr. Jay Neve, a commercial tyer from Michigan claims that Art Winnie is the originator of this fly pattern. There is no evidence to support that claim. According to Mr. Winnie’s daughter Jeanne, this is not the caddis pattern that Art is famous for (same name, Michigan Caddis). Art Winnie most probably did tie and sell this pattern from his barber shop. It was very popular in the mid-1900’s. The actual originator is unknown.

EEE NYMPH

This fly was a mistake. I was trying to tie a simple impressionistic perch streamer when I cut the wing way too short. For some reason I kept it instead of stripping the hook and it has become a favorite for searching the slower back waters of Michigan Rivers in May and June. I don’t know if trout take it for a hex nymph, a damsel nymph or just a big slow swimming meal but it works. I had to think of a name for it when I tied it for the Al Campbell memorial auction and I thought that Al would have liked the idea of an easy economical and effective fly. Besides from the top it looks a lot like the view of my muddy hunting boot when looking down.