Vol. 13 No. 53

CHICKENS, CHUB, AND THE OCCASIONAL BALKAN TROUT

The upper reaches of Bulgaria’s Arda River are said to contain trout. The water here is cooler than other bodies of water I’d fished in the area, and though only the Klen were visually identifiable, a species upon which I shall elaborate later, I knew from a previous year’s visit that there really are trout here because I caught one of them.

NORTHERNS - INFORMATION, TACTICS AND PATTERNS

In North America, Northern Pike and their related species were long regarded as problem species. Around 1960 this attitude started to change. In recent years Northerns have attained the status of a much sought after game fish.  As a matter of note Northerns have long enjoyed this same status throughout the rest of the world.

I'VE SEEN THE FUTURE

The date: 2050.

The place: somewhere in America.

The scenario: an angler preparing for a fly-fishing trip.

The check-list: reservations

In order to go fishing the angler must first have reservations. All of the water open to angling is under private management. State agencies that once managed the public fisheries turned over those duties to private management firms in the early part of the century due to budget problems. Now all waters that allow angling require the angler to make reservations. A fee, depending upon the quality of the water, is required of each angler. To fish quality waters it is usually necessary to make a reservation a couple years in advance

FLY JUNKIE

I have to admit I’m a fly junkie. I don’t tie flies any more, which does not mean I don’t still love ‘em or appreciate them. When we were at the FFF Fly Faire a couple of weeks ago there were a ton of fly tiers. Most of whom I didn’t recognize not because they weren’t a tier of note, but because I haven’t attended any of the events where tiers are featured in a while. If it isn’t someone who is involved with FAOL or written a book, or done a Fly of the Week I probably don’t know them.

PEA SOUP

It was a nice Sunday afternoon. It was the second Sunday in a row that I had been off work. It was fairly cool and my wife said that I needed to spend some time at the water. Why should I argue with such a smart, beautiful woman?

It’s still to wet to drive into a pond so I headed into a pond that is not far from a road. The pond is slightly smaller than a foot ball field, but has a nice deep channel that wanders through the pond. I have a fairly good idea where the channel runs so I knew that I would be able to place the fly in the areas where the break lines would be.

GENTLEMEN PREFERRED DRY FLIES

Gentlemen Preferred Dry Flies is an interesting book of fly fishing history. The author, William C. Black, is a professor of surgical pathology at the University of New Mexico, which is hardly the type of person that you would expect to write a book on fly fishing history. However, he has fished with flies extensively in many parts of the world and he has taught a Fly-Fishing Basics class since 1978.

ID GRANNOM

The ID (Ice Dub) Grannom pattern has been in my box for 3 seasons now. It was tied to match the emergent stage of the common Apple Caddis hatch (Brachycentrus Appalachia) in the Northeast. It has proven extremely effective when those fish are slapping all around you, yet taking nothing dry you are tossing at them. I grease the last 6” of tippet when fishing this pattern and keep in it the film as much as possible. Towards the end of my drift I will often tug the fly below the surface, then stop my rod abruptly and let the fly swing those few inches back to the surface.

With the summer season coming to an end I hope that many of our readers are returning from their days afield with stories to share. We are always looking for contributors and even if you do not believe that you are a writer we want to see your material. We are willing to work with anyone that has something to contribute. So set down at your keyboard and put down your story, your fly pattern, and your fiction piece or angling tips. We are looking forward to receiving it. Send your material to articles@flyanglersonline.com.