It is warm enough in most places for most fly fishers to be setting out for the first real fishing of the year. We all have some ritual of sorts that goes with that introductory trip, certain things we take or flies we fish or even places which are the first to be fished. There are good memories in those things. Sometimes we are so revved up with the adventure at hand that we don't think about safety. Little things like always carrying water, (and drinking it) using sun screen so we don't fry exposed parts of our bodies in the unaccustomed sunlight. I'd also like to encourage you to be on the lookout for snakes, and most importantly, the venemous variety - Rattlesnakes. I know there aren't snakes everywhere, but if you happen to live or travel to a place where they are there are some things you should be aware of.

I have been a federal bird bander for nearly 48 years and one of the requirements for obtaining a banding permit is attention to detail. Recently I was working with a fellow bander on a hummingbird banding project in southeastern Arizona. I have worked with hummingbirds for several years and each time I work with these birds I am reminded about the necessary attention to detail that is required. Each time a bird is captured there are a series of measurements that are taken – length of the wing [wing chord], exposed culmen [length of bill], width and length of rectrices [tail feathers] – and that is just a partial list. Each of these various measurements and observations serves like a flow chart to allow the bander to determine the age and sex of the various hummingbirds.

I picked my way through the briars toward the sound of a creek about 30 yards ahead, but yet unseen. I knew that the line of hemlocks up ahead would be my salvation from this tangle I was working my way through with a fly rod in hand. It seemed that every time I so much as glanced at the vines around my legs to avoid another puncture through my jeans, I would instantly tangle my fly line again. Yet this entire struggle was worth the trout fishing perfection that lie ahead. I stepped through the last bunch of briars and stood in the shadow of a 100 yard long run of hemlocks. Running through that grove was an 8 foot wide trout stream, known to the locals as Briar Creek. It wound its way through the woods after leaving a pond about a mile upstream. About 1 mile from where I stood, it would join with its sister creek, and then continue a short distance into a county reservoir.

Tying properly constructed dry flies is slightly more complex than putting a hook in the vise and being able to fashion the feathers and fur to the hook in a proper manner. Sometimes even well tied imitations fail because little or no thought was given to the hook model used, or how the imitation was to be fished, which included knowing the position of the rod tip at the time of the take. Sounds pretty involved, huh. Well it can be for those who want to maximize their effectiveness with dry fly imitations.

June 26th, was to provide us with a normal PMD Hatch that occurred at the normal time, however the spinner fall would provide some valuable lessons and it is those lesson which I will now share with you in the form of a fly fishing puzzle.

I made my set of wing burners out of cheap [$3.00] hack saw blades.

While attending the FAOL Fish-In at Lowell Idaho in September 2003, (I was there for the October Caddis Hatch on the Selway & Locha Rivers that meet to form the Clearwater River.) I observed the October Caddis that was clinging to just about any object in the area. I took note on what size hook to use for the October Caddis hatch; I also took note of the October Caddis on the water. I took note that the October Caddis did not spend too much time on the surface after emerging and the only action on the water in the early evening was when the female October Caddisflies started depositing their eggs. 

It was a Sunday afternoon, and we had done all the things that needed to be done for the day. I helped move some furniture to another house, and even helped move some furniture in another house. When I got home my wife said that I should be on a pond until it got dark. That meant and had just over an hour to be out. Not the longest time, but much better than nothing.

I am new to fly tying (1 year) and I found a good substitute when my bodkin is just a little too big.