Tales from the Secret Bog

 

Mix it Up!

Soul of Things

Be ready... Open yourself... The life is a journey... Immerse yourself into the soul of everyday happenings...

Homemade

Homemade integrated head: slow intermediate/floating shooting line...

TFS 5444 vs Do-It 785

New favorite small (size 2) jig hook? Time will tell...

Chiaroscuro

The Night Watch and La Paloma Soft Hackle Flawings

Belonging

Firetiger and Blue Angel Soft Hackle Flatwings

Drunk Trumpeter Baitfish

The latest reincarnation of my floating baitfish concept, influenced by the shape of ima lures.

Gurglers in the Rain

White Bass Madness

I've just had an incredible day of fishing: approximately 30 white bass landed, a few smallies and a crappie. Receding water levels, stable weather window and plentiful baitfish turned the gamefish on!

Today's Mini Slam

The closest thing to SWFF in the Upper Midwest would be lake fishing for warmwater predators. While packing for a morning of fishing, I took a photo of this little swift resting on the tree near my place.

I was on the lake jetty at 9AM today, throwing 185 grain med-sink head/Slickshooter combo with my Ultralight SW 4wt... This combo makes effortless casts even in gentle to moderate breeze.

This has been a strange year, with lots of rain. The jetty was covered with 2-3ft of water, and I had to wade out there to reach the end. I had slight hopes for white bass, but didn't find any. Instead, I landed a crappie and a nice sized sauger, even though it shook the DNA Clouser while I was fumbling with the camera in a thigh-high water. The fishing was slow!

Little later, I stopped by the nearby trout stream, to add a trout to the list of species. The water was high and murky, but I was able to land a little tiger trout on the swung leech. Ultralight SW proved to be a fun rod on a trout stream with WF4F line-a true dual purpose stick.

Ultralight Saltwater 4wt

An ultralight saltwater 9' 4wt fly rod...for bream, mullet, mackerel, surf perch, and many other small saltwater gamefish. Trout and panfish apply, too.

Cameron's Rod

I have just completed a rod for a friend of mine, Cameron Mortenson of The Fiberglass Manifesto. Cameron picked a very high quality S-glass blank from Mark Steffen, an 8 foot 8/9wt in a 3 piece configuration. We decided on a reddish color scheme and a combination of contemporary and retro aesthetics.

GliderSlider

Glue a short foam cylinder on the 2/0 SS popper hook, and leave some space between the foam and the hook eye. Palmer pearl Mega Baitfish Emulator Flash first, and add some Hula Wrap turns in contrasting color. Brush some Liquid Fusion over fibers and foam, while pulling the fibers back. Let dry! Add eyes along with the second coat. Taper the tail at the end and draw some markings with the felt tip pen. GliderSlider is ready to roll!

Miss Piggy

Flatwing Piggy

A hybrid between Flatwing and Bush Pig, this is a big fish fly with sinuous action and water-pushing 3D profile.

More Clousers...

... featuring 30 degree jig hook, pearl Mega Baitfish Emulator flash and fishair. You can use the taperizer scissors to adjust the length on the water to match the local baitfish.