Vol. 13 No. 31

CAPT. GD HAMILTON

Capt. GD Hamilton was one of the early British settlers who, in the late 1800s, stocked New Zealand Rivers with brown and rainbow trout. Capt. Hamilton originally hailed from the north of England, and wrote the first book on angling in New Zealand, of which I have a facsimile copy of his 1904 edition. It is entitled “Trout fishing and sport in Maoriland”. He felt, as do many still today, that fly selection was something that was made to be far more complicated than it is.

CALLIBAETIS – PART TWO (Emerger & Adult Dry Fly Imitations)

In part one we covered some of the life history of the species known as Callibaetis; we also covered my favorite wet imitations for this species. In part two we will jump right into my favorite emergers and adult dry fly imitations.

WONDERMENT

Wonderment – amazed admiration or awe. I thought it was a word that the Ladyfisher had made up [she has a tendency to do that] but to my “wonderment” it’s an actual word. To the Ladyfisher many things are wonderment. She has a childlike sense of wonder about everything, and it’s quite an admirable characteristic. After one of our walks where she gushed with enthusiasm over the beauty of several things that we saw along the way I got to thinking about how much we miss when we fail to develop an adequate sense of wonderment.

GOING HOME

You are probably sick of hearing about our move ‘home’ to Livingston Montana; sorry if that’s the case, but the reality is the time gets closer each day. We actually have a count-down calendar primarily so we (mostly me) keep focused and on track. The major problem is I have lived in this house since 1990. 

CUT SHORT

I was headed out to a pond. No canoe as there is still too much water in the low spots. I know that I would get stuck. There is some dare devil in me to try when there is a chance, but not to do it deliberately.

I had just pulled to the side of the road when another pick up came buzzing down the road. The driver asked me if I would come and help him. There was a grass fire in the ditch up the road and he was afraid that it would get into the fields and really cause trouble. It would also keep me from going into this pond as the fire would go by it.

THE LITTLE RED BOOK OF FLYFISHING

Kirk Deeter and the late Charlie Meyers, two highly respected outdoor journalists and writers for Field & Stream and Denver Post respectively, have cracked open their notebooks - literally - and shared real advice on the sport of fly fishing. Based on their joint experiences - from an interview with the late Lee Wulff to travels with maverick guides in Argentina - it gives them the ability to pass on straight forward, practical and priceless advice in the The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing

FLUFF AND FEATHERS

My fascination with fluff and feathers started long ago, in a far away place, or so seem now. I started fly tying at a young age and once I discover that feathers were used to tie flies no bird was safe. My Uncle, who is a Federal Bird Bander, had to counsel me that releasing a Cardinal or Blue Jay after banding didn’t mean that you removed any feathers. He had to explain that House Sparrows, Starlings or legally taken game birds were the only ones which I could pluck, except for barnyard birds, like ducks, geese and chickens.

BOUTLON'S SPECIAL
(June 1, 1998 re-run)

Every once in a while we forget how many fly of the weeks are here on FAOL. So to help you remember we will occasionally pull one out and dust it off for you. Check out Fluff and Feathers for several patterns also!

This is an opportunity for you to tie a 'Fancy' fly without needing too many exotic feathers. It will give you an impressive fly and a start toward some of the more complicated ones. Give it a try and you will have a serviceable fly for steelhead and well as having gained the tying experience.

A sensible structure has been defined for the website to get it back into shape. A little refining is all that is left before I start to move things around. Bear with us, things are going to get even better soon.

To insure some time sensitive items don't get lost in the shuffle ...

FISH-INS are rapidly approaching. This link will get you to a list of the ones I know about: Fish-Ins

The Atlantic Salmon and Steelhead Fly Tying Contest closes June 30th!! Have you tied and submitted yet?