This past year, when compared to my normal years on the water was a struggle for time. On average I try to get out once a week on at least some type of water. But this year brought a new home relocation and health issues, along with a daughter deploying overseas. So time was at a premium along with a priority shift. The trips out west were postponed, and most of the planned overnighters were changed to day trips on home water. Yet although during the ordeal I was often left chomping at the bit, upon reflection it was far from a negative year. The streams were still inviting, the fish were still there and when I was able to present a fly properly they even rose every now and then to eat one. Who can possibly find fault in that?

Leonard Halladay (1872-1952) created the Adams Fly in 1922 for Charles Francis Adams an attorney from Lorain, Ohio.  His biography, and additional research, has revealed that he was never a judge.  The title of judge was simply conferred to him by his friends and acquaintances.  The story of the creation of the Adams is well documented by, Harold Smedley in his book, "Fly Patterns and Their Origins," and has been confirmed by the Halladay family.

As an official senior citizen now, I've had to make several changes to my lifestyle recently, that kind of caught me ill equipped and unready. In my more robust younger years it meant nothing to me to hike 10 miles or so through the woods in search of deer or climbing 2000 feet in elevation in the Blue Mountains of Washington State in the quest for elk. If I wanted to go camping for the weekend with friends, making plans to go, only the night before departure, would not have been a problem. A day in the field would last all day long, and then came dinner preparation and clean up, then an hour or two around a campfire with a favorite libation. Not so any more. The onset of senior citizenship has taken its toll on my once rowdy behavior, and forced me into a more reasonable pace.

Cranefly larva (Tiplidae) are very abundant in spring creeks and are among one of constant year-long food sources. I'd say they are among the Top 4 that I collect on spring creeks all through the year, along with midge larva, scuds, and sowbugs. They really vary in sizes as they can stretch. Every now and then my stomach pump feels "plugged" when I happen to collect them from trout! However I don't believe there are many anglers who fish with cranefly larva because there's not many (if any) good imitations on the market. Over the days of trials and errors, I came up with this pattern. "Size, shape, color" are presented just right.  

I had a chance to go out fishing. I had some other places to be and things to do so I only had a short time to fish. So I grabbed one rod, some flies and the fish basket, and headed to a pond that is easy to get into. We had way to much rain to try to drive in. I had heard of a few tractors getting stuck in fields.

When I got into the pond and I caught a nice crappie on the first cast. What a way to start. I picked up another nice crappie on the third cast. This was looking like a great day. I knew I would have to count fish to make sure they could be taken care of before other things got in the way.

Those anglers who haunt the northern half of Yellowstone National Park are often unaware of the fine fishing offered by the Snake River. Now that is not to say that the trout in the Snake River are under-fished; many anglers who visit the Jackson Hole Area fish the Snake River both in and out of Yellowstone National Park and the river is easy to access from the South Entrance to the Park.

(From the archives)

One of the marvels of nature is that it is always changing and evolving. There are animals, plants, insects which are all still changing. In the grand scheme of things I suppose we are still evolving too. Maybe in some future generation we will have all the needed computer and tecky knowledge already 'built' in. Someone has already suggested a sort of mental cell-phone to be implanted at birth.

Over the course of fly fishing history there have been many advancements in the tackle that angler's use. The original fly rods were nothing more that refined tree branches with a piece of string tied to the top. By the early part of the 19th century rod makers began experimenting with bamboo as a possible rod making material. By the latter part of the century rod makers were splitting sections of cane and producing the first modern fly rod. A reel seat was added to the butt of the rod, a grip of cork was added just ahead of the reel seat, and guides of fine wire were wrapped to the shaft and metal ferrules allowed the sections of the rod to fit together snuggly. The modern fly rod was born.

The Ephoron hatch in Michigan takes place in the latter part of August and runs through September.  Here in Michigan we have both species of the insect.  It is one of my all-time favorite hatches.  I have seen hatches so heavy that you would think you're in the middle of a snow blizzard.  It's normally the last hatch I fish … come September I usually hang up the rod and pull out the typewriter.  As a fly tyer, the biggest problem I've always found is trying to duplicate the color of the Ephoron.  No matter how hard I try … I just can't develop a pattern that is white enough.  The pattern I present to you today fits the bill!