More Test Tank Foolings

Call me a kid, if you want....but I have a new toy and I like it.  I built this test tank with mostly scrap materials laying around, but I really dig it.  For me there is a lot to take in as a tier.  The biggest thing, is the effect increased or heavy flow has on the way a fly will swim.  Next to being a fish catcher, the way the fly swims has got to be the most important aspect of fly fishing (subsurface).  Here are a couple of videos of recent test runs.....enjoy and expect to see more in the future.

 

Inspiration: Nemo

Occasionally I get bogged down with fly tying orders or I get immense feelings of being overwhelmed. Not untypical for most tiers, I’m sure.  I often find myself breaking away from the routine, or trying to draw inspiration from different sources. Compound this matter with a harsh winter and cabin fever and things can get really dark mentally.  I will often tease my psyche by trying to reward myself with a few hours of free-form idea tying or just plain old tie something I want after filling a big order.  The proverbial carrot on a stick, only I occasionally get the carrot if you will.  Take the recent Northeast pounding of the storm called Nemo and my oldest daughter down and out with a nasty cough and fever. The storm came a pounding and I found myself tying for hours making progress on an order til the wee hours of the night. 

 The next morning I awoke to a still precipitous sky, but the visual outside was amazing.  Everything was serene and blanketed in snow.  Tree branches bent over and touched the ground with a blanketing layer of snow, just a magical sight.  I looked out the window after breakfast and said I need to tie a cool fly and photograph it out side.  I disappeared to the basement and worked out a pattern.  I incorporated some Whiting Farms salmon colored Spey Rooster hackle lashed to HMH orange poly tube with some peach orange UV ice dub.  Once I completed my work, it was time to head outside and see what magic the surrounding environment could add to my fly.  I was enthralled with the surroundings and was grinning from ear to ear.  Just an amazing way to pull inspiration. 

 I had posted some pictures on the social media vacuum called Facebook.  I mentioned that the fly had no real name and someone suggested Nemo.  I thought to myself, it does kind of look like the Disney character, but wasn’t totally sold on the idea.  Then a full twenty four hours later it clicked in my head.  The snow storm had been called Nemo, and the colors worked for the Disney film, a sort of Freudian slip if you will.  As my daughter started to feel better I showed her the fly and we fooled around with a newly acquired black light. 

Then the question came. How does it swim?

With the recent popularity of the test tank in Skagit Masters 3, I too had fallen victim to wanting to create my own.  I had everything previously secured from the old family fish tank days, but I lacked the clear acrylic tube  for the fly to swim in.  Frank Swarner III came through with an extra piece after building his own test tank.  Swim it did! Nemo swims again.  A lot of fun, all from a chance winter storm.  Inspiration Move Me Brightly…..Terrapin Station (Grateful Dead)

Mini Sculpin Helmets

I had the pleasure of tying a few flies using the new mini sculpin helmets from the Flymen Fishing Company.  I really like these and can't wait to field test them. I'm already a fan of the two standard sizes.
http://flymenfishingcompany.org/products/fish-skull-products/sculpin-helmet/mini-sculpin-helmet/

Stay tuned for more in the future.  The above are tyed on HMH micro tubing.