There is no getting around it: if you intend to fly fish for Trout,
you're going to have to know your bugs! No, I'm not the type
that says the flyfisher must be able to speak perfect Latin, and be
able to recite from memory every subspecies of the Ephemerella
Heptagenidaae, but in any case if you want to know which fly
to attach to your tippet, you have to know what the fish are taking,
and hence, which bugs are on the water!
The beginning flyfisher can become quite frustrated when trying to
figure out hatch charts, habitats of various insect species, times
of emergence, and all other types of entomological confusion. While
it is not generally admitted, those little bugs can cause even the
most experienced of flyfishers no small amount of headaches, as
well. Although simplicity is not known to be the hallmark of most
of us who pursue Trout in this fashion, there is a way to greatly
simplify the process: grab a bug from the water, and tie on a fly
that looks like it!
Have you ever tried grabbing a Mayfly, Caddisfly, or any other fly
in any stage of life from the stream, though? Outside of a cased
Caddis or a few others, it just isn't easy. Swiping them from the
air is even more difficult! The solution of taking along a net for
bugs is a good one, but fraught with inconvenience. The window
screen-and-sticks seine is a good idea, but nearly impossible
to carry onstream. Butterfly nets are moderately effective, but
are generally too small for pulling more than just a few samples
at a lucky try, but even nicely proportioned, they just plain
look silly! Practicality has not been the essence of bugcatching
onstream!
While the rest of us were complaining about the situation, a
company in Denver called Angling Designs has been doing something
to improve it. Their solution is the Quick-Seine, a mesh screen
that attaches to the handle of your landing net and is ready for
use at all times without the typical inconvenience. This ingenious
little product stretches out to the full size of your landing net's
opening, yet the feature that sets it apart is that it all fits
in a small nylon pouch which is stored where you won't notice
it when you don't need it!
The Quick-Seine™ doesn't look like much - I will grant that, and
applaud it at the same time. What I hate about most seines is
that they are unweildy and awkward at best. This new seine,
though, consists of a mesh netting hemmed with thin elastic
and tucked into a 3"x2" closeable nylon bag which is held to
the yoke of a landing net by an attached elastic band. Sound
simple? Yes, indeed! Simpler yet is it's utilization - when
you want to scoop up some bugs, you just pull the Velcro tab
to open the bag, pull out the mesh, stretch it around the net's
frame, and dip it in the water. A few seconds later, the fishery's
foodstuffs are available for your upclose inspection. When you
are done, you just replace the seine to the bag and close the
tab. The nylon bag allows the mesh to dry even while it is being
stored. Fortunately, the bag is also slightly oversized to allow
plenty of extra room to prevent overstuffing. Now, a stopwatch
is not ordinarily a part of my tackle, but I decided to test
out just how long it would take to take the Quick-Seine™ from
it's inconspicuous place on the net handle, make use of its
primary purpose, and replace it to it's bag and my D-ring net
clip. I waited for a hatch of Baetis (see, a little Latin can't
hurt,) to begin, and clicked the timer. From unclip to reclip,
the entire process took less than 45 seconds, and provided me
14 olive nymphs and emergers, one Rhyacophila pupa, two pine
needles, and an unidentified inch-long baitfish. (For timing's
sake, I emptied the contents of the seine on a large boulder,
but would ordinarily use the white background provided by the
seine for close inspection of the insects.) The most complex
part of the whole procedure was clipping and unclipping the
net from my vest's D-ring! Later uses of the Quick-Seine™ proved
that it would capably scoop up anything from October Caddis to
adult Stoneflies to the tiniest of Midges with similar ease.
This product has proven that it will not only help the new fly
angler who might be struggling with matching the hatch, or for
the pro who wants to save room in an already-overcrowded vest.
By keeping the seine out of the way on the net handle, you can
fit in that extra fly box, spools of tippet, or whatever else
might be crowded out otherwise.
The Quick-Seine™ is available in two sizes to fit both large
and small nets, from 9" to 18.5"! It is available at many
retailers, or directly through Angling Designs. ~ Thomas C. Duncan, Sr.
Angling Designs, Inc.
820 South Monaco #264
Denver, Colorado 80224
USA
Phone: (800) 896-8998
Fax: (303) 369-0495
Website: https://www.anglingdesigns.com/
Email: anglingdesigns@aol.com
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