Vol. 13 No. 51

MOTIVATION FACTOR

Atlantic salmon fishing on the fly can be a bit of a grind sometimes. That is to say, the days are long (can be long), one can walk and wade for miles … and they salmon don’t always move to the fly. It is entirely normal for a beginner (or experienced) angler to get a bit discouraged from time to time.

PALE MORNING DUNS (Part 9)

Even though PMD Duns are not the often the prime targets during the hatch, there are those rare days when the conditions are right and the trout will feed on the PMD duns. Also, there are windy days where the duns are knocked flat by the wind or waves and again, the trout will feed on the duns early in the hatch and after the hatch is over on duns.

CONFESSIONS

Recently the Ladyfisher and I took a day trip to West Yellowstone, Montana to attend the Federation of Fly Fishers Fly Fishing Fair & Conclave. The last Conclave that I attended was here in Livingston in 2006. There was the normal cadre of fly tiers working their magic for the benefit of the crowds, some casting ponds out back of the exhibit hall, some drift boats on the front lawn, and a small assortment of vendors inside the main exhibit hall. Not much has changed except it seemed smaller, the crowds were sparser, and most of the attendees [including yours truly] were several years older.

OVERHEARD

Being the publisher of a fly fishing magazine I spend plenty of time around others who are involved with fly fishing in one way or another. I also hear bits and pieces of conversations. They aren’t always relevant as a whole, but little comments come back which just might help you in your fly fishing.

NUMB SKULL

It was a good day to head out since it had not rained for 5 days. The sun has been shinning and the wind blew hard for three of the days. A lot of places dried out and I decided that I could probably get into a few ponds with the canoe.

LUCKY THIRTEEN

The date was November 1st, 1974 and this year, the lakes in this part of Alberta were still ice-free. I had completed a long, tough week and since I’ve always found that going fishing was therapeutic, I’m heading towards Carson Lake.

PROJECT HEALING WATERS FLY FISHING INC

Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing Inc. - is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization. PHWFFI is dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled U.S. Armed Service Veterans/Wounded Warriors through fly fishing and fly tying education and outings.

SIMPLE AND EASY FLIES

In the March 1989 issue of Fly Fisherman magazine is an article called “The Mighty Midge Pupa” written by Eleanor I Schaeffers (she and her husband “Dutch” owned Terminal Tactics, a now defunct company that used to make a complete line of tippets and accessories). One of the patterns that caught my eye was the “Middepth Pupa”. It is really just a simple thread midge that has given me great success on many rivers in the Rocky Mountain west. I like simple and easy flies, and this one is all of that.

As we begin our 14th year of publication on the worldwide web we have endeavored to maintain a place where civility and common courtesy are the norm and not the exception. We have attempted to monitor the FAOL bulletin board so that it offers a place where beginners and old hands feel free to exchange ideas without encountering the common vulgarity that seems to permeate all levels of our society.

I’m not quite certain what happened to civility but it appears to have been a victim of our nameless/faceless society. A recent string on the FAOL Bulletin Board reminded me that it is increasing difficult to avoid the profanity and blatant sexually explicit language that seems to characterize our oral and written communication.

Our purpose here at FAOL is to provide a place where fly fishers of all skill levels can find information and exchange that information either on the bulletin board or through written submissions. We can disagree but we can do so respectfully. The use of profanity or crude sexual comments only demonstrates the lack of intelligence of the user. Fly fishing is a recreational pastime and in the big picture it is really all that important. All of us are ignorant about something and all of us were beginners once.

We appreciate all our readers and the kind comments that have been posted on the bulletin board. If you continue to participate and our sponsors continue to provide the advertising base to pay the bills we will continue to offer a forum where all are welcome.