Recent Ties

The winter arrived to Minnesota on the big door... Now's the time to sip a favorite scotch or a Belgian-style brew, and tie some new flies!



Ephemera Emerger (above left), Ginger Caddis Emerger (center, right), Soft Hackle Hula Flatwing (below)

Soft Hackle Hula Streamer

This version is tied on a 60 degree jig hook, and features a Hula Wrap underbody.

Mullet

Saltwater baitfish, a swimming mullet imitation.

Bass Rod

I just finished this short bass/warmwater/lite saltwater rod. It is an 8 footer, for lines #7 or 8. Being a fan of graphite Fuji reel seats and screw-lock fighting butt configuration, I used similar components for many saltwater flyrods I built in the past. This rod looks very utilitarian in its appearance, but it feels like it will be a fun casting and (hopefully) fish-catching tool.

Solo

Fly fishing can certainly inspire you to write, compose, create... My recent Boston trip was a breath of fresh air I needed desperately. I wrote several pieces upon my return and you can hear them here...

Musica Solitaria by VLAD

Rainy Boston Weekend

I just got back from Boston. The trip was alot of fun-meeting old friends, catching up, fishing with new and old rods, re-visiting old spots, trying new flies... I enjoyed the fishing, even though the weather was not cooperating at all, and the catching was poor. An old fisherman I met at one of the regular spots said to me: "You can't catch them when they are not here." He continued to talk about the spiraling down depletion of striper stocks on the East Coast. Perhaps there is a lot of truth in that, since I saw no bait, even in areas where you could scrounge a schoolie on the slowest of days some years ago. However, moments I spent fishing were precious to me, since they revoked memories of the past days when I fished the harbor with extreme intensity. I live half a country away right now, and fish much less often, especially for stripers.

The Batson switch for #8 line is a fine rod, perhaps more suited for freshwater situations. I would say it is a bit on the slow side, comparing it to what I like for ocean fishing. Rio Outbound #8 is a good match for my taste with this rod, since I like to feel the loop. Outbound #9 would be a better compromise for both overhead and spey casting. For windy surf I opted for stronger single handed #9, which punches through the wind better. I do think that a dedicated surf double handed rod with fast action/quick recovery (Beulah rods come to mind) is the key for surf conditions. However, most switch rods are designed for steelhead fishing: passable but sometimes not the best option for coastal environment.

Even though the water felt deserted, I had some great bird watching moments: a flock of Manx Shearwaters off the Revere Beach, two Wilson's Storm petrels off the Point of Pines, and observing the colony of Least Terns on the Winthrop beach was a special treat.

Striper Switch Rod

The summer is finally here! As I am winding down with my summer semester classes, I have been busy for the past several days trying to finish my "Stripersurf Classic Switcher." I got the blank last fall, and finished it just in time for my trip to Boston, where I will revisit my old stomping grounds in search for one of my favorite gamefish-striped bass. The blank is a nice progressive design by Batson Enterprises, 10'8" for #8 line.

The finished rod doesn't feel overly stiff, so it will be a lot of fun for an average schoolie. I just took out it for a photo shoot and will test cast it tomorrow, trying to find the best line match. Speaking about lines-I reserved several Outbound clear-tip lines for classic presentations, some Airflo models, and a bunch of shooting heads of different lenghts as possible contenders... With some luck, I will know much more about its 'on the water performance' next weekend.

New Wallet

I have recently participated in the fly tying contest organized by Cameron and Fiberglass Flyrodders. It turned out I was the lucky winner of a beautifully crafted streamer wallet by Marc Crapo. Marc is a true craftsman, and his wallet is absolutely stunning. Check out his website to see more of his work!

Juvenile Herring

Tied on the size 2 jig hook, inspired by Rich Murphy's designs.

More Streamers

First Days of Spring

Today was the warmest day this spring. I decided to check out the local spring creek and look for early dark stoneflies.

I found the creek in a very nice shape and pretty clear. While getting ready to do some quick exploratory casting, I noticed sporadic stonefly activity. No trout activity was visible, though.

I did not want to make any conclusions before checking out some more productive stretches. Stoneflies tend to be localized on this silty creek, and when I reached my little 'secret' spot, I was greated with the flurry of trout activity. It was getting warm, and I just could not resist putting waders on and getting several trout before a kayaker paddled over a pod of trout and put them down for awhile.

It was nice to be on the water after the long winter and great little wild browns again.

Second Tip for Resava SG Prototype Glass Rod

I wrote about this rod in one of my old posts in Serbian. I built it a couple of years ago utilizing different tip and butt sections of Batson E glass blanks, creating a semi-parabolic staggered ferrule rod (tip 6" longer.)

A couple of months ago I finished another tip section, which now works much better with #5 line (original fine diameter tip was suitable for #4, but worked fine with #5 line for short casts.)

Resava is a small, cascading mountain stream in Eastern Serbia. I used to fish it all the time, many years ago, and it is a perfect water for short rods.

Soft Hackle Flies and Late Night Music

Humpy Flymph

Hook: Daiichi 1640
Thread: Pale olive
Tail: Yellow mallard, 3-4 barbs
Hump: Tan ostrich, paraloop style over thread body
Hackle: Woodcock

Wet Poodle

Hook: TMC 206 BL

Thread: Black or charcoal

Butt: Peacock herl

Hackle: Starling

Photo vs. Scan

It is hard to capture the subtle color and flash blends on baitfish imitations, due to the highly refractive nature of certain fly-tying materials. Often the fly will appear different, depending on the angle it is viewed from.

Even though I don't have/use a dedicated photo studio for taking pictures of my flies, here is the same fly captured with the camera (upper image) and with the scanner (lower image).

Lambskin & Possum Larvae

Lambskin & possum larvae, tied on heavy weighted hooks with lambskin body and possum dubbing.

Is Spring Far Away?

Articulated Crease Fly

Articulated version of the popular crease fly-weighted in the belly and towards the rear for erratic swimming action. (Upper picture added on January 31. I included the split ring for better hook connection.)