Vol. 13 No. 25

COLD WEATHER FLY FISHING FOR WARM WEATHER SPECIES

Yesterday the temperature was in the 60s and the fish were biting. Of course, the Gulf Coast doesn’t have winter, not really. Average temperatures for January-February are in the 60s with lows in the 40s. Not exactly electric socks cold. But when the weather dips toward the few days below 40 we get each year, water temperatures put bass, crappie and bluegill into slow motion.

SPRING FISHING ON THE YELLOWSTONE AND BEYOND

From sometime in late November to early March, the winter months can become most tedious and frustrating to some members of the fraternity of fly fishers. Not everyone cares to fish the spring creeks or travel to the Big Horn and some, through choice, care not for braving the elements. What with frigid north winds blowing over ice covered rivers and snow covered landscapes, some fly fishers turn to the fly tying bench and turn concoctions of feathers, furs and steel into imitations of insects and organisms which the trout feed upon.

IS IT JUST ME?

I’m not exactly certain when it started, but the idea of putting something on your leader to enable you to detect a strike when you were fishing a nymph opened up an entire new nuance in the world of fly-fishing.

ANNOUNCING

If you surfed into Fly Anglers On Line last week you might have found the newest addition to the site, video instruction! Dr. Hugo Gibson, (Thunderthumbs) has produced the first in a series of fly-tying videos. The idea is to replicate the late Al Campbell’s tying instruction lessons, starting with the Beginners lessons.

SNOW BIRDS AND ANTICIPATION

I usually only fish one river. I guess it’s a combination of staying in the comfort zone and being a creature of habit. Then again, on the Ste-Marguerite River in Central Quebec, we’re just so well set up that it is pretty hard to go through the planning etc to go elsewhere.

IMAGINATION - DEAD OR ALIVE?

I began writing this article after reading Deanna's weekly column entitled, “But How” FAOL Vol. 13, No 20, February 1-8, 2010. It was not intended to be submitted to FAOL for publication but was written as part of another project. It was also intended to be a “tip” rather than a question. By the time it was finished, I realized it is both.

THE FISHING TRIP

The phone call at 3:15 am was an answer, not a question, and I arose knowing that Jack was dead. I picked up the receiver and on the other end of the line was my ex-sister-in-law, Sarah, calling from Chicago. "Mike," she said, “your brother was murdered." She said it with no emotion. I'm sure, like me, she had been expecting it. She said a few more things that I didn't hear, noting only that the funeral would be in three days.

FLY-FISHING FOR ALASKA's ARCTIC GRAYLING

I have had the good fortune to catch Arctic Grayling, but I have never been in the Arctic. There are still a few locations South of the Canadian border where one can still catch one of these beautiful fish; however if you want to be certain that you will catch one you need to go where they are still found in abundance, and in our part of the world that means Alaska or Canada.

IT'S ALL IN THE EYE OF THE HOOK

When it comes to dressing hooks, the tyer looks to see what hook is called for by the fly pattern, manufacturer, model number, and size. Little thought is given to the eye of the hook; is it an up-eye, straight (horizontal or vertical alignment), or a down-eye hook. What difference does it make, which way the eye is, in relation to the hook shank?

AU SABLE KING

A truly great pattern from the mid- 1900's. The creator of this pattern is Mrs. Ann (Anne) Schweigert. Ann and her husband Jack owned and operated "Jack’s Fly Shop" in Roscommon, Michigan for many years. Both Ann and Jack became local legends in the art of fly tying.

INTRODUCING FAOL PODCASTS

In this podcast Dr. Gibson talks with the curator of Flyanglers Online, Deanna Travis. Among the topics that Dee discusses are the history of Flyanglers Online, how fish-ins got their start, and a little about the current status and future of the web site, and things our membership can do to support Flyanglers Online.

It’s been an exciting week around the old FAOL homestead. We listed our house in Washington for sale on Sunday, received an offer on Wednesday, [actually over our asking price] and now the fun begins. Spent most of the day trying to find the septic tank [needs to be pumped and inspected] and discovered that is likely under the front deck of the house. Let the games begin.

We have had several nice days lately and I have been developing an extreme case of spring fever. Not many fly-fishing options in this neck of the woods this time of the year, so I will just have to wait until we are back in Montana.

In the next few weeks the Ladyfisher and I will be quite busy trying to get ready to be on the road for home [read Montana] by the last of April so if you have articles that you would like to submit it would be appreciated if you could get them to me as soon as possible. There will be a period of time [7 to 10 days] when we will be ‘off-line’ here as we make the transition. I will need to have at least a couple issues ‘in the can’ before we pull the plug here. Any help that you can give me would be most appreciated.