Giving thanks is something that has tried to become a lost art in this old world we live in. It is up to us, one and all, to spread the word of thanks and support to all whom we come in contact with on this holiday.
It's important to remember that not everyone is surrounded by large wonderful families. Some of us have problems during the holidays and sometimes are overcome with great sadness when we remember the loved ones who are not with us. And, many people have no one to spend these times with and are besieged by loneliness. We all need caring thoughts and loving prayer right now. Please do not hesitate to give a moment of support to all those who have family problems, health struggles, job issues, worries of any kind and just need to know that someone cares. Do it for all of us, for nobody is immune.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of my BlogBuddies. Thanks for making this Blog an enjoyable place for me to spend my time!
It is a "Happening" time of year! Veteran's Day has passed. Thanksgiving Day is just a few days away, This morning a good snow storm greeted me as I pulled the blinds to peek outside to meet my day.
"Brr..... cold is here, I said to myself." Any fly fishing time I get for awhile might be in the way of a few fly fishing or fly tying videos and a warm cup of Hot Chocolate or something.
Speaking of fly tying, this is the time of year that I spend a good share of my time focusing on tying and filling my fly boxes so that I am ready to go next time I am on some water and the weather cooperates with me. I, usually, will take some time to "organize" my fly tying bench. Meaning, putting everything back in it's original spot so that I can start to mess it all up again as I do, inevitably, when I set down for a Winter's tying season. I have the usual list of fly patterns that I want to tie up that I fish regularly. I, also, have a few new patterns picked out that I want to try. Maybe they will find a way to become part of my regular stock in my fly boxes. Besides watching videos about fly tying, there are also many fly shops in Northern Colorado that offer free winter tying demonstrations with some of the areas well know fly tyers. These sessions are a lot of fun and there is so much to learn if the fly fisher wants to learn about new patterns or what patterns are the most effective in the area. If you don't tie flies, but would like to learn, the shops also offer fly tying classes for beginners for a reasonable fee. Check out the shops in your area. There is a wealth of information to gain if you take advantage of it.A number of years ago, I offered a beginning fly tying class through my local fly fishing club. I would like to share a scenario that happened on one of those class nights. I hope you will enjoy this little story. Winter tying season always brings back this memory. I regard it as the "Coming of the Fly Tying Season. Let me introduce you to "The Nasty Nylon Nymph".
I know I still chuckle every time my memory drifts back to the moment in time. Before I stray off subject, I had better focus on the story I am trying to tell here. One of the things that a die-hard fly fisherman often times does is to learn to tie his own fly for casting to his favorite fish. Over time I became fairly decent at tying my own flies. Enough so that I ended up teaching fly tying at schools and various public settings. This post is about a “funny” incident that occurred one night while teaching fly tying at the local high school. I know your waiting to find out what “Nasty Nylons” has got to do with tying flies and teaching others to tie flies. Well, I am about to tell you.
Let’s first address the nylons. You know those things are everywhere when not being worn by your wife or favorite lady friend. They cling to everything in the laundry if you are not careful. Their rolled up in your gym socks, their knotted around your pants legs, there everywhere except nicely laid out for the next time my wife wants to wear a pair. Now comes my calamity!I was, once again, teaching fly tying to a group of adults, both male and female at the local high school. These were beginning fly tying students so I had some flexibility with this calamity and I am not sure they ever really caught it at the moment how embarrassed I was. We were going to tie a basic nymph pattern that night. Students gathered around my desk so as to see the demonstration of what they then would try to duplicate back at their desks in the classroom. In order, the hook was placed in the position in the vise jaws so as to be held sturdy while tying other materials on to the hook. My thread was attached to the hook and the tail material added. Now I was ready for the body material that was supposed to be some pheasant tail fibers. However, as I started to reach into my fly tying box for the pheasant tail fibers, there I saw it! One of my wife’s nylons coming out the sleeve of my shirt near my tying hand. Oh, No! To this day I still don’t how the brain works and how it works so quickly. In a heart beat, and, without hesitating for a moment, I pulled the nylon from my shirt sleeve and cut a rectangular piece from it with my scissors. I think the students were shocked, but, they looked on anxious to see what I was going to do next. I attached the “nylon strip” to the back of the hook with my thread. I was going to use it to make the body of my fly with. Knowing that nylon is super fragile (you know runs, runs, runs), I knew that I would have to use some wire to reinforce the body of the fly or it would fall apart before it ever hit the water. Thankfully I had intended on using some fine copper wire that evening anyway. So I tied some on to the back of the hook. I proceeded very carefully to wind the “nasty nylon” around the hook up towards the eye of the hook and then reverse wrapped the copper wire so as to reinforce the nylon body material. In short order, I had a fly body of reinforced nylon from my wife and some basic dubbing wrapped around the front of the hook at the eye. Simple little pattern and easy to tie. Besides I had lots of nylon stocking left for my students to cut up and use that evening as they practiced tying their own “Nasty Nylon Nymph”. Believe it or not, I hear they even fished this fly on our local river and landed some trout with it. It became a common request as I taught other classes to show other how to tie the nylon nymph. I used it to break the ice at several tying classes to create a little humor and help new fly tying students relax. Fly tying fun is what you make of it!
This is the 8th of November. It is Veterans Day long weekend. Most of my posts are written for others to enjoy (hopefully). This post and perhaps another one this weekend is posted for me! And, all my Viet Nam buddies. God bless each and every one of them.
I walked into my headquarters for the Pond Stalker this evening with the idea that I would attempt to organize the mess on my fly tying bench. However, in my left hand I was carrying the new issue of Fly Fisherman magazine I had just plucked from the mailman. My intention was to lay it on my bench after organizing it.
Then perhaps take a browse through before I went to bed. Nothing wrong with fish on the brain as you try to sleep, right?Well, that is where things went astray and I never did get to organize my fly tying bench. Cop out? Sounds like it too me. Anyway, I looked at the cover of Fly Fisherman one more time and admired the the beautiful BC Dean River Steelhead on the cover. Actually, noticed the beautiful Andrea Charlton holding this beautiful fish for the "Dream Shot".After coming out of my trance after a minute or two, I opened the back cover of the magazine to read the featured "Seasonable Angler" It quickly caught my eye. It was titled, Trout Lake. Could it be the Trout Lake I am thinking of? That beautiful small lake nestled near a major highway in Yellowstone Park. The one with the short, but better be in good condition, hike uphill for a short period before you descend down into the lake. The one I had fished myself. The one I knew had big fish in it. Ones that I tried to fool, but, came away empty handed. Yup, it was the one.This article, as it turns out, was an excerpt from the book Troutsmith by Kevin Searock.This new book was published in the Spring of 2013 and is available at several places online. Perhaps in some of the Fly Shops also. Anyway, Kevin detailed his trip to Trout Lake for the day. Very well written and descriptive. He talked of stalking a couple of huge Rainbow Trout. The kind of writing that makes you feel you were standing along side him as he cast. How did he do? Well, over time he was able to hook both fish. Both were perhaps in the (10) pound range! For the rest of the story you will have to grab a copy of Fly Fisherman magazine. Or, perhaps better yet, is to search out a copy of his new book and read more about not only this tale, but, others far and wide. I found his article very interesting and the fish tale accurate. I know, I have been to Trout Lake!
Ok, readers this ol' Blogger has just introduced very large Rainbow Trout and a new book to read this winter to a Warm Water Fly Fishing Blog!
Hope you enjoy.
