I told Santa Claus that I wanted to bring my business into the next generation and to do that I would need an ipad or tablet. I want my business to be as mobile as I am. What better way to show a fly shop your work than to pull out a tablet and let them scroll through a catalog of your work? Santa came through in a big way and the tablet has proven its worth in the two tying demos I've done in 2012. Now I figured lets take it one step more...Why not videotape me tying a fly? I recruited my oldest daughter as my videographer, who was more than willing to get to fool around with Daddy's cool new toy. She was a trooper to say the least. The first run through went light years better than I expected, and I usually set my expectation bar pretty high. After the first take, though it wasn't perfect, I knew she had potential. We've had a ton of fun and the videos are meant to be that way. No fancy footage, just down and dirty...a guy with his daughter sharing time together and learning from each other. I'm proud of you my oldest, though you may not realize how much yet!
http://youtu.be/e0YtQluF9F4
http://youtu.be/nIauJnWC24Y
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
The 25th Annual Game Dinner...the end of an era
The American Legion in Newark, NY has for the last twenty-five years held an annual game dinner with proceeds going to help local charities. They estimated over that time they have raised close to $500,000.00! I have been fortunate enough to do fly tying at this event for three of those years. What is a game dinner you ask? Well it's a sportsman's smorgasbord of assorted wild game dishes prepared in a variety of ways. A mecca for those who want to try something different.....If you have ever uttered the words "gamey or fishy"....this isn't for you! Many of the supporters of this event donate game that they have obtained through the seasons and they are skillfully prepared to feed the masses. Which has been a sold out event for...you guessed it 25 years. Ever had corned goose, bbq pheasant, tree rat, or poormans shrimp? The beauty of this event for me, is the majority of the guests know little about fly tying, thus giving them the chance to ask questions and see what it takes to create flies. I've tailored my demo to include ice fishing jigs and larger heavier flies that can casted on spin fishing gear. A very rewarding experience for me and I express my thanks and gratitude to those who made it all possible. A huge amount of work goes into these events and after 25 years, I understand wanting to call it quits. Hopefully the next generation of sportsmen will pick up the torch and show some motivation and initiative.... given todays youth and economy I'm not optimistic.
My wife's donation
Hungry folks
Lots of raffles and door prizes
Food or what's left of it
A vendor or two
And tucked away off to the side...
...Custom Flies byVERN-O
Know the locals...my buddy Rick
Save room for dessert
My wife's donation
Hungry folks
Lots of raffles and door prizes
Food or what's left of it
A vendor or two
And tucked away off to the side...
...Custom Flies byVERN-O
Know the locals...my buddy Rick
Save room for dessert
posted from Bloggeroid
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
The Science Of A Fly Tying Demo: 10 Easy Steps
The Science Behind a Fly Tying Demonstration:
The winter months tend to be fly tying season for many anglers. Time to refill the fly boxes, beat the winter blues (unless you are a devoted steelheader), and attend a fly tying show or demonstration in hopes of learning something new. It gets the blood pumping to sit behind the vise and reminisce about days past that were warmer and prolific hatches abound. You load yourself into your source of transportation and truck it to a fly tying demonstration. It need not be a cross country mission, but merely an afternoon spent at the local fly shop (the dying breed that they are, being consumed by mega-redneck-sport-supply-box-stores). You get yourself to said location and sit there for a few hours and absorb what is being poured out in front of you. Maybe even thank the location or person for sponsoring the event. You then take this knowledge and hopefully some needed supplies from the location putting on the event and head home to test your new found lessons. This is a wonderful exchange. What about the individual(s) giving the demonstration? What motivates someone to put themselves out there for all to comment and critique? There must be fame and fortune attached to such events?
I consider myself a rookie on both the tying and demonstration fronts. I find myself constantly wanting to torture my abilities and my audiences. Why do I do fly tying demonstrations? That's a good question. I guess there is a deep down love for fly tying that I feel the need to share with others. What does one have to do to make a fly tying demo happen?
Rule Number One: Find a venue. This can be a bit tricky. How far are you willing to travel on your own dime? Yes, some places may actually pay to have you tie at their event but the reality is, if you are in it for the right reason then you should expect nothing. Establish contact with a venue or shop owner. As a fly tier you had better have a portfolio of your work, thus flies on hand or a web site set up that one can view your work easily. I will often plan a trip to a new body of water I want to fish and locate the nearest fly shop. I then call the shop ahead of time and let them know that I plan to be in the area in the near future and wonder if it would be possible to stop by. I usually determine through the persons attitude/vibe on the other end whether I want to make my intention of doing a demo known immediately. I try to make it absolutely clear that I am not trying to sell a product, but rather try and draw support for the shop and offer a service that may help them do so. Many fly shop owners tend to be very leery of this type of thing, that is why a face to face conversation with flies in hand is much easier. My worst cold call experience went like this: "Why would we have you do a demo at our shop? We tie all our own flies, why would we need you to come out and we don't have a lot of room." I informed them that I was going to be in the area and was wondering if they would be interested...that was all. It's quite obvious that the person on the other end of the phone knows everything about fly tying, has plenty of business, and does not need anymore. My next move was to call the shop directly across the street. I received a little better reception and had to settle for a Friday afternoon as opposed to a Saturday or Sunday. It was a start and has developed into almost an annual trip for me.
Rule Number Two: Be flexible, work with the shop owner to find a good time to do the demo. I try to work it in so that I can fish the local water before hand or afterwards. This can lead to great stories during your demo and discovering new waters. Know your potential audience. I don't recommend tying saltwater flies in the mountains of Colorado. It may be fun to throw some odd balls into a demo, but do a little background research first.
Rule Number Three: Offer something up. If you're doing a demo offer to make flyers to post in the shop. Plug yourself through social media, it's the 21st century. Get the word out there. At this point you are selling yourself and the shop has no obligation to do anything. If you end up tying to no one other than the guys that work in the shop you had better have some good stories to tell or awesome flies.
Rule Number Four: Plan Ahead. Don't agree to do a six hour tying demo in a venue you've never been to before. Who can sit there for six hours and listen to you ramble on? Practice and pack materials ahead of time. Try tying in front of your local Trout Unlimited Chapter to get comfortable tying in front of a group of people. I like to tie the flies that I'm going to demo about two nights before the demo. That allows you to pack all the required materials in their own bags so that you have everything together. Be sure to have a back up plan to tie an extra pattern or two if time goes slower than expected. I tend to go overboard with this one, and end up bringing too much stuff. Plan ahead as to how and why you are tying each fly. Why are you showing these people this fly? Don't tie a dry fly, then a streamer, then another dry fly.....get some flow to your demo, let it unfold and develop as you go. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Don't attempt to tie a full dress salmon fly that you have never tied before and tie it in 30 minutes. Start with something easy and work your way into it. Bring a tying light and extension cord. There is nothing more painful than trying to tie in the dark in front of a bunch of strangers.
Rule Number Five: Final Contact....Call the shop a day or two before the demo. Let them know/remind them that you're ready for your demo and will be there a little ahead of time to set up.
Rule Number Six: Getting there. Give yourself plenty of time to get to the venue and take weather conditions into account. If you can, bring a buddy along, so that you have a familiar face there with you. This can help relieve any pre-demo jitters. Play some music that motivates you on the drive there. This can help you relax and get a mental rhythm going.
Rule Number Seven: Set up and greet. Once you get to the venue be sure to greet everyone who works in the shop and the patrons if it's appropriate. This is a good time to hand out business cards if you have them. It never hurts to buy something before the demo even if it's a pack of dubbing. Get your gear set up and everything in order so that you can begin.
Rule Number Eight: Let the show begin. Start on time and be sure to introduce yourself if the venue owner does not do so. Let your audience know a bit about you and what you like to tie. Throw out the ice breaker stuff: comment on the weather, ask them how many tie their own flies, get a feel for your audience. I like to tell a story or two about something that happened while fishing, usually funny. Don't tell some story about how you caught all these monster fish on this stream or that body of water. If you have a fly that works well, consider telling how or why you think it works well. Do not throw out number....I caught 60 fish one evening using this fly. This tends to lessen your credibility a bit. Relax and have fun. You are there to share what you know. Encourage questions. The right question asked by an audience member can really open up the way the demo goes. If you answer the question clearly, this will help encourage others to ask more questions...thus you have your audience captivated and interested. Explain the tying steps and why you do them. If you have a part of a fly that is tricky for you to tie, tell the audience, this part may be difficult and show how to work through it. Pass materials and flies around so that the audience can gather knowledge. Keep an eye on time. If you are tying a pattern that isn't your design, let your audience know and give credit to its creator if you know who that is. Don't panic, if the tying or the fly doesn't come out the way you had hoped, then say so and point out what you should have done. If appropriate tie another one.
Rule Number Nine: Post demo wrap up. Let the audience know that you have time for one more fly. When you are done be sure to thank the audience for coming and the venue for allowing you this opportunity. Encourage them to give yourself or the venue feedback on your demo. Take your time packing up, because it's not uncommon for someone to come up and ask questions. Take the time to answer and thank them for coming. Get your materials gathered and thank the venue owner for allowing you to come. Ask for feedback. Try ending your conversation with "maybe we can do this again when I'm in the area."
Rule Number Ten: Take it all back home. Load up your gear, get back home, and unload it all. I usually spend the ride home to hash over the highs and lows from the demo. What went wrong. What went right. How to improve? I often reflect on questions asked and consider whether or not I answered them clearly. I sometimes have suggestions from audience members to try this or that and I hash these over in my head. Typically I have a feeling of elation. I tend to find these experiences very rewarding and that is why I continue to do them. I also feel a fair amount of mental exhaustion and compensate this by listening to music or watching a good movie. Often times after a demo, I'll feel the let down of it all being over and questioning why it is I do this? Why all the preparation? Why all the leg work? Why no monetary benefit? It drives me! It drives me to better my abilities and share what I have learned. Most of us don't get into fly tying to become wealthy. We do it because we have a passion for it. This is often lost in today's fly tying world of gimme the latest and greatest as fast as you can. Remember that when you tie on a fly plucked from a bin. Did the person that created that fly do it as part of a machine designed to gobble cheap labor and materials in a foreign land or was it put there by someone who wants your next fishing experience to be one to remember. The next time you show someone a photo of a monster fish that you caught and they ask you "what did you catch it on?"......You can answer "just some fly in a bin" or "a fly crafted by someone who wanted to make my next fishing experience just that much better".
Rule 1: scope out a location..in this case Oak Orchard Fly Shop in Buffalo, NY
Rule 2: know the area and learn from the locals...in this case Buffalo wings from Duff's
Rule 6: give yourself plenty of time...no time for another beer in this case
Rule 6: have a familar face in the audience...in this case tier extrordinare Charlie Dickson
Rule 10: the let down at the end of the trip...unpack and clean the chili stains from the crockpot
The winter months tend to be fly tying season for many anglers. Time to refill the fly boxes, beat the winter blues (unless you are a devoted steelheader), and attend a fly tying show or demonstration in hopes of learning something new. It gets the blood pumping to sit behind the vise and reminisce about days past that were warmer and prolific hatches abound. You load yourself into your source of transportation and truck it to a fly tying demonstration. It need not be a cross country mission, but merely an afternoon spent at the local fly shop (the dying breed that they are, being consumed by mega-redneck-sport-supply-box-stores). You get yourself to said location and sit there for a few hours and absorb what is being poured out in front of you. Maybe even thank the location or person for sponsoring the event. You then take this knowledge and hopefully some needed supplies from the location putting on the event and head home to test your new found lessons. This is a wonderful exchange. What about the individual(s) giving the demonstration? What motivates someone to put themselves out there for all to comment and critique? There must be fame and fortune attached to such events?
I consider myself a rookie on both the tying and demonstration fronts. I find myself constantly wanting to torture my abilities and my audiences. Why do I do fly tying demonstrations? That's a good question. I guess there is a deep down love for fly tying that I feel the need to share with others. What does one have to do to make a fly tying demo happen?
Rule Number One: Find a venue. This can be a bit tricky. How far are you willing to travel on your own dime? Yes, some places may actually pay to have you tie at their event but the reality is, if you are in it for the right reason then you should expect nothing. Establish contact with a venue or shop owner. As a fly tier you had better have a portfolio of your work, thus flies on hand or a web site set up that one can view your work easily. I will often plan a trip to a new body of water I want to fish and locate the nearest fly shop. I then call the shop ahead of time and let them know that I plan to be in the area in the near future and wonder if it would be possible to stop by. I usually determine through the persons attitude/vibe on the other end whether I want to make my intention of doing a demo known immediately. I try to make it absolutely clear that I am not trying to sell a product, but rather try and draw support for the shop and offer a service that may help them do so. Many fly shop owners tend to be very leery of this type of thing, that is why a face to face conversation with flies in hand is much easier. My worst cold call experience went like this: "Why would we have you do a demo at our shop? We tie all our own flies, why would we need you to come out and we don't have a lot of room." I informed them that I was going to be in the area and was wondering if they would be interested...that was all. It's quite obvious that the person on the other end of the phone knows everything about fly tying, has plenty of business, and does not need anymore. My next move was to call the shop directly across the street. I received a little better reception and had to settle for a Friday afternoon as opposed to a Saturday or Sunday. It was a start and has developed into almost an annual trip for me.
Rule Number Two: Be flexible, work with the shop owner to find a good time to do the demo. I try to work it in so that I can fish the local water before hand or afterwards. This can lead to great stories during your demo and discovering new waters. Know your potential audience. I don't recommend tying saltwater flies in the mountains of Colorado. It may be fun to throw some odd balls into a demo, but do a little background research first.
Rule Number Three: Offer something up. If you're doing a demo offer to make flyers to post in the shop. Plug yourself through social media, it's the 21st century. Get the word out there. At this point you are selling yourself and the shop has no obligation to do anything. If you end up tying to no one other than the guys that work in the shop you had better have some good stories to tell or awesome flies.
Rule Number Four: Plan Ahead. Don't agree to do a six hour tying demo in a venue you've never been to before. Who can sit there for six hours and listen to you ramble on? Practice and pack materials ahead of time. Try tying in front of your local Trout Unlimited Chapter to get comfortable tying in front of a group of people. I like to tie the flies that I'm going to demo about two nights before the demo. That allows you to pack all the required materials in their own bags so that you have everything together. Be sure to have a back up plan to tie an extra pattern or two if time goes slower than expected. I tend to go overboard with this one, and end up bringing too much stuff. Plan ahead as to how and why you are tying each fly. Why are you showing these people this fly? Don't tie a dry fly, then a streamer, then another dry fly.....get some flow to your demo, let it unfold and develop as you go. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Don't attempt to tie a full dress salmon fly that you have never tied before and tie it in 30 minutes. Start with something easy and work your way into it. Bring a tying light and extension cord. There is nothing more painful than trying to tie in the dark in front of a bunch of strangers.
Rule Number Five: Final Contact....Call the shop a day or two before the demo. Let them know/remind them that you're ready for your demo and will be there a little ahead of time to set up.
Rule Number Six: Getting there. Give yourself plenty of time to get to the venue and take weather conditions into account. If you can, bring a buddy along, so that you have a familiar face there with you. This can help relieve any pre-demo jitters. Play some music that motivates you on the drive there. This can help you relax and get a mental rhythm going.
Rule Number Seven: Set up and greet. Once you get to the venue be sure to greet everyone who works in the shop and the patrons if it's appropriate. This is a good time to hand out business cards if you have them. It never hurts to buy something before the demo even if it's a pack of dubbing. Get your gear set up and everything in order so that you can begin.
Rule Number Eight: Let the show begin. Start on time and be sure to introduce yourself if the venue owner does not do so. Let your audience know a bit about you and what you like to tie. Throw out the ice breaker stuff: comment on the weather, ask them how many tie their own flies, get a feel for your audience. I like to tell a story or two about something that happened while fishing, usually funny. Don't tell some story about how you caught all these monster fish on this stream or that body of water. If you have a fly that works well, consider telling how or why you think it works well. Do not throw out number....I caught 60 fish one evening using this fly. This tends to lessen your credibility a bit. Relax and have fun. You are there to share what you know. Encourage questions. The right question asked by an audience member can really open up the way the demo goes. If you answer the question clearly, this will help encourage others to ask more questions...thus you have your audience captivated and interested. Explain the tying steps and why you do them. If you have a part of a fly that is tricky for you to tie, tell the audience, this part may be difficult and show how to work through it. Pass materials and flies around so that the audience can gather knowledge. Keep an eye on time. If you are tying a pattern that isn't your design, let your audience know and give credit to its creator if you know who that is. Don't panic, if the tying or the fly doesn't come out the way you had hoped, then say so and point out what you should have done. If appropriate tie another one.
Rule Number Nine: Post demo wrap up. Let the audience know that you have time for one more fly. When you are done be sure to thank the audience for coming and the venue for allowing you this opportunity. Encourage them to give yourself or the venue feedback on your demo. Take your time packing up, because it's not uncommon for someone to come up and ask questions. Take the time to answer and thank them for coming. Get your materials gathered and thank the venue owner for allowing you to come. Ask for feedback. Try ending your conversation with "maybe we can do this again when I'm in the area."
Rule Number Ten: Take it all back home. Load up your gear, get back home, and unload it all. I usually spend the ride home to hash over the highs and lows from the demo. What went wrong. What went right. How to improve? I often reflect on questions asked and consider whether or not I answered them clearly. I sometimes have suggestions from audience members to try this or that and I hash these over in my head. Typically I have a feeling of elation. I tend to find these experiences very rewarding and that is why I continue to do them. I also feel a fair amount of mental exhaustion and compensate this by listening to music or watching a good movie. Often times after a demo, I'll feel the let down of it all being over and questioning why it is I do this? Why all the preparation? Why all the leg work? Why no monetary benefit? It drives me! It drives me to better my abilities and share what I have learned. Most of us don't get into fly tying to become wealthy. We do it because we have a passion for it. This is often lost in today's fly tying world of gimme the latest and greatest as fast as you can. Remember that when you tie on a fly plucked from a bin. Did the person that created that fly do it as part of a machine designed to gobble cheap labor and materials in a foreign land or was it put there by someone who wants your next fishing experience to be one to remember. The next time you show someone a photo of a monster fish that you caught and they ask you "what did you catch it on?"......You can answer "just some fly in a bin" or "a fly crafted by someone who wanted to make my next fishing experience just that much better".
Rule 1: scope out a location..in this case Oak Orchard Fly Shop in Buffalo, NY Rule 2: know the area and learn from the locals...in this case Buffalo wings from Duff's Rule 6: give yourself plenty of time...no time for another beer in this case Rule 6: have a familar face in the audience...in this case tier extrordinare Charlie Dickson Rule 10: the let down at the end of the trip...unpack and clean the chili stains from the crockpotMonday, January 30, 2012
Tying Vises and Why We Choose What We Do.
Here is a recent post from one of the web forums I frequent:
While attending the show I was struck by the fact that not one of twenty or so tyers there had an HMH. Most, as you can expect, were tying on a Renzetti of some sort, one on a Regal and one on a Barracuda. The following week I attended my first local TU chapter tying event and had a similar experience. This time one Barracuda, no Regal and me with my Spartan and my HMH silhouette I had loaned to another member. My question is this, why are so many drawn to the Renzetti line of vises? Is it the price point?, availability?, marketing? It does not seem to be the true rotary design, because no one at the club used this feature. Any thoughts?
I will take a stab at this one. It is safe to say that a great many of us learned to tie with a generic fly tying kit vise, a Thompson Pro A, or a generic fixed position vise. This is the crucial stage in the development of a fly tier. You either like it or you don't. If you don't like it, it goes in a box under a bed or buried in a closet and forgotten. If you like it you learn to adapt and work the generic til the wheels are ready to fall off and/or you out grow the capabilities of this "beginner" vise. As a tier your experience grows and soon you will eventually learn tricks and tips from all sorts of media outlets. When that time to reward yourself with a new vise comes you will most likely do some research.
What is it that makes you yearn for new vise?
Expanding capabilities?
Need for a reliable piece of equipment?
More bells and whistles?
Ease and aid in tying?
I owe it to myself to buy a modern vise, because I like fly tying?
A new vise will make me tie better?
Along with deciding why you want or need a new vise comes some other questions that you should / may ask yourself.
How much money am I willing to spend?
How do I get the most bang for my buck?
I want to make a career out of this tying thing and a new vise to make me tie faster?
The big three.....I'll go out on a limb here and say there are 3 big manufacturers of vises (yes there are more, but these in my opinion are the most popular, not necessarily the best). Regal, Renzetti, and HMH. Your research most likely has lead you to these names at some point or another. Now for the big hurdle and ear catcher....rotary, full rotary, and true rotary. I've avoided these terms until now. Go back and re-read if you want, but in the list of questions why we want a new vise has nothing to do with rotary function, but does have to do with making my tying easier. The big three all have full rotary function in their vises (I am not including the Inex, Apprentise, or SX in this discussion). Full rotary function involves the fact that you can rotate the hook while clamped in the vise in a full circle 360 degrees. Renzetti is the only one of the big three and most other brands of vises that has a true rotary function. True rotary is that the plane of the hook shank will not change while rotated 360 degrees. If you clamp the hook so that the shank is horizontal and turn the rotary function, the shank should not break it's original placement plane. I encourage you to visit Renzetti's web site for the full explanation. My intent is not to beat to death an old horse over full rotary vs. true rotary. That has been done enough over the years. As is often noted, tiers with rotary vises rarely use the function, it's a luxury option that should be considered, but not the deciding factor in buying a vise.
Now you've been tying on this stationary vise of yours where you clamp the hook and do all the work of tying with out turning anything other than your hands. You see a rotary vise and instantly assume that is what you need.....myself included. I will be the first to say that rotary vises make tying easier! Now why do so many people go for Renzetti over the others? In my opinion it's all in the looks. Renzetti is so far away in looks compared to our old stationary non-rotary vises that the "it looks different, it's gotta be better" wins us over mentally. If you look at the design and shape of HMH and Regal and they look very much like they don't have a rotary function.
Now for tying on the big three. I've tyed on the Regal Medallion, Renzetti Traveler, and the HMH Spartan. I would consider all of these to be comparable in design quality and price range. As a part time commercial tier ease of use, speed, functionality, durability, and hook holding power are very important.
The Regal hands down in my opinion wins on hook holding. It's the only vise that I've tyed on that scares me when I go to clamp a hook into (a bit exaggerated but none the less)...I fear that the hook is going to be squeezed out and go flying. Once the hook is clamped in, it's in there!!!! With that being said, to tie on it feels clumsy and awkward. I don't like the hand resting area, I don't like the rotary feel. Though very well built and sturdy, it's not for me.
The HMH Spartan, a nice sleek looking vise, good hook holding capability. The hook tension and rotary tension adjustments can be a little finicky until you get it down. The vise feels built to last. I love the hand rest area and distance. I like the ease and ability to adjust the angle of the head. The ability to switch from a magnum jaw, micro jaw, or tube fly adapter takes about 30 seconds. None of the other vises even come close here. As far as I know HMH is the only vise in the big three to recommend a cleaning, lubricating, protecting agent. On the down side the plastic washers can ware quickly and the hook holding memory can be finicky to adjust if you're tying the same size hook over and over. I find that I have to keep readjusting to get the right hook hold feel.
The Renzetti Traveler is a light weight and nice in design. Hook holding is equal to the HMH in my opinion. I do feel like the vise is a little cheap in design materials. I feel like the moving parts are designed to last a few years and then need to be replaced at an inflated price. The true rotary function is wonderful but not an absolute necessity in my opinion, especially considering you can't adjust the angle of the head. There is good hand resting area. Now for the down side. The rotary tension knob is located in an area where it constantly comes loose and at times even falls out. This drives me crazy. What would be a great vise is flawed by this simple knob and it's location. If the object is to get me to buy the next model up, it's not happening. It sends me looking elsewhere.
I will say it again, most tiers who have a rotary function don't use it to its full potential. The next time you're at a fly tying show watch how many tiers use the rotary function. There is a time and place for rotary. I was asking a fellow tier recently about hackle pliers that rotate when used to wrap. I asked "have you tried them?"...the reply was "No, I have a rotary vise for that." Then it struck me how often I don't use the rotary function on my vise. I ask this. Why would I use the rotary function to take one or two turns of hackle when tying a soft hackle collar? I feel better control when wrapping by hand at this point. I leave it up to you to decide when and if rotary is needed in your tying. I for one enjoy the feature.
Monday, January 9, 2012
2011 out 2012 in
It's been a couple of weeks, but I'm getting back into the swing of things. After the Xmas holidaze I made plans with my buddy Martin to fish Spring Brook, then Oak Orchard Creek, and round out the day by stop at Oak Orchard Fly Shop. Martin had never been to any of the above locations but had heard plenty of my tales from each. This was going to be a hefty trip trying to cover water, ground, and time. The real pisser was the projected morning temperature was to be about 14 degrees F. I assured him that it wouldn't be a problem at Spring Brook, since the spring fed dream of a stream usually maintained a fairly constant temperature suitable for the trout. I've written an article in Hatches online magazine before about my love for this place, so I won't go into a lot of detail. http://hatchesmagazine.com/page/month/355 I spent a fair amount of time showing Martin some of the little tricks and nuances. He missed a couple of fish early, but once he got warmed up, he got the job done. The goal was to get a couple of fish from Spring Brook and drive to the Oak and fish til noonish. we should have stayed where we were, because the Oak was a joke. Too many people for this time of year and the fishing was tense and tough. On to the Fly Shop where we were greeted by Nick Pioneesa and talked shop for a while. Then it was time to return home after hitting the Mighty Taco drive trough. Great time for sure, and seeing Martin's enjoyment from Spring Brook ended my 2011 fishing year on a high note. Thanks for the memory buddy.
The Last of 2011
2012 is coming into its own with some tying and a quick trip to the Salmon River on New Years Day. A solo solitude mission for me, which was exactly what I wanted. I fished the two stretches virtually undisturbed and fishless. I need to work on the fishless thing...LOL. The tying is still going strong and I found a little time to fool around with an idea or two.
The first of 2012
2012 is coming into its own with some tying and a quick trip to the Salmon River on New Years Day. A solo solitude mission for me, which was exactly what I wanted. I fished the two stretches virtually undisturbed and fishless. I need to work on the fishless thing...LOL. The tying is still going strong and I found a little time to fool around with an idea or two.
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