Flysmallie

I still don’t know how they hook up but I have to tell you a story. Saturday morning 4 of us are floating down the river and I have one of those tied on. We came to where some rail road tracks ran along the river and all kinds of fish were stacked along that riprap bank. I was out front not really fishing. I got to the end of that and decided to wait there for the others to fish that area. I saw some fish moving around so I flipped that fly out there. It moved really well and I started having fun jacking with the gills that were dragging it around by its tail. So I fire it up under a tree and give it a few quick strips and see this dark figure follow it out. Uh oh! I would move it a little and that fish stayed right with it. Little breeze hit and rippled the water just for half a second. Wait, where’s my fly? And that’s when time slowed down. I all of a sudden got a clear view of this fish, 15-16 inches, no monster but a decent fish. And just as I realized I needed to set the hook, I saw the gills flare and watched that ball of rabbit fur come shooting out of her mouth. By then my arm caught up with my brain and that fly shot out of there at around Mach 5. And that fish just slowly swam back to that tree. It would have been cool to catch but it was equally cool seeing that fly come shooting out of its mouth like that.

I’m going to bust this one off in the morning. Probably on a big rock that I will claim was a 5 lb smallmouth.

That’s why I have a stash of them. Tried them when they first came out and wasn’t a huge fan. But like those hooks, it’s time to get used up.

Geez. My mom loved Mac Davis. That reminds me of living room 1976 ish. Orange shag carpet and all.

You mean turned up eye? Yeah I hate those hooks. That’s what I get for going into bass pro without my readers. Those were not the hooks I thought I had. But I have to use them up. But yes, they will probably act stupid.

Well okay but you will have to tell me what T.U.E. Means.

Hell yeah! Love me some Highly Suspect. The classics were great but people are missing out if that’s all they ever choose.

A few months ago I started making myself tie flies. I was tired of thinking about going fishing and not having the flies I wanted. So I just started tying at least one every few days. It’s back to being enjoyable and a good stress reliever. This week’s offerings;

That sounds like a threat!!

What do you mean, back in the day? I might have a newer fancy camera but it stays in manual mode. I control all the settings.

I think the friend thing was made up. He obviously has none.

Yeah but it's a phone and the quality is not the same. My Nikon has IS and seems to work pretty well but I've gotten used to the way I handle it when trying to stabilize a shot. A handle on top helps a lot. I have a GoPro that is much better at IS but the quality isn't as good as the Nikon. I have a smaller gimble that I have used with a phone in the past but it doesn't see much use anymore. It did work extremely well though. I've looked at gimbles for my camera but I don't have the need for one that I used to and can't justify the expense.

Fancy! Doesn't that thing have stabilization built in? Gimbles are fun though.

Sorry to break it to you old guys, but delayed gratification is becoming a thing of the past. It's sad really because those are the principles I was taught and it is the way that I work. But most employers are headed in the other direction. Where they try to squeeze more and more out of people, while giving less and less. It's happened to people I know. It happened in the company I worked for before and it's happening in the company that I work for now. It's happening in the company that my wife has worked at for the past 30 years. That 30 years means absolutey nothing to them. It's a different world than it used to be. And if we follow the credance being set by succesful CEOs, nobody should spend any of their time working for free. However, I know there are still some great people to work for out there. People that will see that benefit and take care of people. Those are the great places to work.

I like that! Got a cool old nostalgia feel.