troutchaser

Got my flies yesterday. They look really great. It's always fun to open those fly swap packages and see what's inside. I'll be tying some of these myself, so if there are any secrets to the flies you tied, let everybody know.

Here's a thought for you, Dano. I've been known to simply drop my fly boxes in the top of my waders. Provided you're wearing a wading belt, they should remain accessible. combint that with a lanyard, and you're good to go. I did it out of laziness, but it's crazy enough that it just might work.

It's one of my favorite flies, too. I tie them in every color you can think of. I noticed where the zebra midges were really great on most water around here, so I just copied the most popular midge patterns for soft hackles. Guess what? They're dynamite. At BSSP I really like to use these: insect green yellow peach orange yellow with peacock rib pheasant tail At Taneycomo, I use the above, plus: red black rust I'll even share a secret with you about them. I use streamer hooks to tie them and don't put any extra weight on. They sink just right, but they're light enough to rise through the water column at the end of the drift - which is extremely effective.

Don't go minimalist, Dano. Get a Sherpa! since you mentioned it, I only carry two fly boxes. One is for dries and soft hackles, the other is for midges, nymphs, and miscellanea. I never seem to be found lacking for the right fly, so I consider it a very effective system. I do use a tech vest, but I've been known to move the essentials to a homemade neck lanyard for quick trips. I'll add a picture of it if you're interested.

That would make some really sweet hidey-holes for some big fish! I wonder what it would take to make that happen.

I guess I missed a conversation somewhere. What sort of Taneycomo channel/structure are you talking about, Phil?

Mine are probably still in transit, since I sent them Thursday.

Are you kidding me? I've been making those for years, but I never gave 'em a name. I hated the fact that I was wasting as much egg yarn as I was using, so I started saving it in ziploc bags. I've used it for dubbing on soft hackles and woolly buggers as well as on a hook by itself. I just called it the leftovers fly. Fur bug is much better.

I've heard several reports about Fur Bugs in peach and orange, but I have no idea what it looks like. Any pics or recipes? I'm extremely curious.

I'm trying to get these things mailed. I brought them to work, so I should have them in the mail by tomorrow.

I'll work on getting some pics. Other colors I use a lot are orange, insect green, red and salmon roe/peach.

I fish #12 - #16 sizes and I tie them unweighted with yellow thread and just the slightest amount of yellow dubbing. I also use brahma hen feathers instead of partridge (cheaper) and just one turn - not too much hackle is needed. I fish it with the Leisenring Lift method.

I might be able to make it Saturday morning. I'll let you know before the end of the week.

I purchased the Taper Clip Leaders last month from Backcountry Outfitters and finally got out to use them on Saturday. I wasn't too sure what to expect, since the concept was new to me. Gravel Creek has put five tapered leaders on one spool in a single continuous strand. You simply pull out a leader and clip it at the red section marking the beginning of the next leader. The only drawback for some fishermen is the lack of a connecting loop. Learn to tie a perfection loop and this problem goes away. I purchased the 9' 5x spool with the intention of adding 6x-7x tippet as needed. The leader was really supple and needed only a minimum amount of stretching to lose all line memory. As easy as that was, it concerned me as to whether or not it would stretch or break if I hooked a large trout. This same limp feature made tying on tippet really easy. The leader laid out really nicely. Actually, I lost track of my fly because of it. I was using a #18 renegade on 7x tippet and the power transfer was so smooth I barely noticed where the fly landed. As for stretch, it was nonexistent. I fought an 18 inch rainbow for about 2 minutes, keeping constant pressure on the line. When I landed him and got him on the stringer, I decided to measure the leader against another one on the spool. While this may not be the most scientifically accurate way to measure, it worked for me - no stretch at all. I recommend using these leaders. the price is extremely reasonable at $12.95. That's only $2.59 per leader - a good deal for tapered leaders, if I say so myself.

Went to the bluff below the bridge and cast several things at them Saturday morning. What finally worked? A #12 Yellow soft hackle. Limited out in about 2 1/2 hours with that one. Fish were nice sized, from 14 - 18 inches. Lots of fun. I felt good being able to catch them without a glo ball. (Not that there's anything wrong with glo balls, I just like to try to make it a bit more challenging sometimes).

I went on one of my dream trips this summer. My brother lives in Idaho near the Snake River. We fished a section of the Henry's Fork all by ourselves and caught several wild trout and saw lots of wildlife like bear, moose, fox, rattlesnakes, beaver, muskrat, etc. The best part is that we spent the entire day alone except for the occasional drift boat that would cruise by. We fished through a cloud burst that left us drenched, but the fish were biting well, so we had some fun catching them on stimulators until a major black caddis hatch started. We fished caddis emergers for about 45 minutes until they suddenly took flight. We switched to dry patterns and caught several more. The presentation had to be just right or they would reject it. It really was some truly fine fly fishing. I visited with Mike Lawson and his son, Chris, at his shop for a little while when we were done - nice guys. I've got several more trips I want to take, including Alaska, but that one has been the best so far.

I quit tying weight into my flies. I add weight to the tippet/leader to get the fly down. I get a better presentation that way. Before I did that, though, I would keep two fly drying patches on my vest - one for weighted and one for unweighted.

Welcome to the cult! Just remember, you don't reach the level of grand Poobah until you catch a wild trout on a dry fly, in Montana, on a handmade bamboo rod with silk line and a furled leader - all made by you. Then, my friend, you will be the Great Trout Bum who delivers gifts to all the good little flyfishers all over the world. (I'd like a new Galvan reel for my 4 weight, please)

The outlet center has LOTS of spare spools. I'll guarantee they have every spool for every reel you don't own!

Something I learned this summer is to try your best to use the same airline for all connecting flights. I used a different airline for the final leg of a trip and they lost my luggage going out AND coming back. I was really annoyed when they told me the first airline didn't get the luggage to the plane on time. I didn't buy it, since the plane was 40 minutes late and the flight left the gate an hour late. When I finally got the luggage, I realized what happened. I was on flight 739. The bags were marked for (non-existent) flight 737.

EEeeeek!!!!

Some of us already do. OK, maybe not just like him, but I am a lefty.

Thom, the COMEX gold is listed as not recovered, but that really should read "not recovered YET." It's buried under 107 stories worth of debris in a massive vault. It's still there. Besides, it's only about 2% of the daily traded volume of precious metals, so just a drop in the bucket for the market. Phil, I would be very cautious of jumping into precious metals for stability. I'd opt for a money market fund, first. It's more stable and it earns more while it sits there. The only way I'd personally invest in gold is to buy a couple of ingots and put it in a fire box under the bed, then sell it in 10 years when gold prices are way up.

Thanks, guys. I've got everything in motion, now. Calling the water patrol was the right move. I just have to take it in for a serial number verification.

I've used Dahlberg Divers to catch Browns. They seem to like them.