I have been tying flies for nearly 50 years and I have a room filled with all kinds of fly tying stuff to prove it. I have book shelves that are groaning under the weight of tomes devoted to applying various types of materials to hooks. I have taught fly tying, sold fly tying material, and written about fly tying; in short I have been there and done that.

I have an old flat foamed SA fly box that is adorned with stickers, writing, and a strip of duct tape to help hold the latch closed. It's an endearing part of my tying ensemble and I cringe each time it gets placed into an envelope with the US Postal Service. The value of this box is small in monetary comparison, yet the worth is immeasurable to me personally. The little grey box has travelled the world on countless excursions holding flies from my bench while returning filled with that much and more, yet I have never accompanied it along its travels. The fly box I speak of is my Swap Box.

The ice went off the day before we headed for Sow Bug and by the time we got home and I could head for a pond the ice had been off for over a week. I was not sure that it was possible to drive into a pond, so I grabbed a 3 weight and a 5 weight rod and headed for the pond. I walked in and went to the far end of the dam. This would give me a large flat where I could cast.

When I was a kid there was always an Open Day of the fishing season and a Closing Day of the fishing season. The first day of the season was full of mystery and promise of the season that was just beginning and trying out new patterns and maybe even a new rod or line that was obtained over the long winter.

Because spring creek waters are clear and rich in nutrition, sculpin and other types of minnows inhabit the stream in great numbers. Hence they are one of the more important food sources for trout in spring creeks. These are not the type of food that is consider standard spring creek fare, but using flies that imitate these small minnows will produce some surprising results.

Geoff Mueller is a senior editor at the Drake Magazine and the former managing editor of Fly Fisherman Magazine and is a talented and dedicated fly fisher who travels to some of the best trout habitat in America. Then he dons a mask and swim fins to study the trout in their own environment.

I've deer hunted over the years and it was always a tradition in our camp that the first deer shot was usually consumed in camp during the week or so that we were there.  The only major problem we had in the camp; was there were too many cooks all of whom wanted to show off their talents.

This story begins with a rather strange happening concerning our son's dog that we were keeping at the time. He was a very black hairy critter that appeared to be a mix of maybe Shepherd and Border collie. They got him from a farmer in the next county over. By the time we got him he had lost three or four toes in some kind of trap but it did not seem to bother him at all. For whatever reason that escapes me now our son named him "Mr. Dog."

The fur of semiaquatic mammals like the mink, otter, muskrat, beaver and others, all possess oils that help them shed water.  These oils provide the fur with a natural ability to float better.

The American Mink (Neovison vison) are found throughout Canada and in all but the southwestern portion of America.  Their fur provides a wide variety of fly tying opportunities and has been used for years in streamer, nymph, scud and dry fly patterns.  My first experience tying with mink was with an old pattern created by Leonard Wright called the, "Fluttering Caddis."