Day one on the Gulf Coast, we have tough weather conditions for fly fishing. Wind out of the southeast, blowing hard for the past six weeks. Muddy water. Makes it hard to spot fish in the marsh, but Chris and Shauna manage to boat a bunch of nice redfish on subsurface and topwater flies.
What are the best selling threads on the market these days? In order, the highest sales volumes in threads, for the top four, are as follows:Uni 6/0 Thread, Danville 6/0 Flymaster Waxed Thread, Ultra Thread, and Lagartun X-Strong Thread.
The most popular thread color, by far, is black.
I rated each of these threads on a relative scale from 4 (highest) to 1 (lowest), based on my interviewing with Marcos at Hareline Dubbin, surveying my friends opinions, and a fair amount of soul searching. A score of 0 means that the factor does not apply. These ratings are relative within the four threads I rated: Danville 6/0, Uni 6/0, Ultra 70 denier, Lagartun 74 Denier – threads that are all in about the same “size” category. Continue reading
Next week, we’ll be down on the Louisiana Bayou during the one year anniversary of BP’s Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. And we’re very lucky to be going down there. This excerpt of an article from the Associated Press today illustrates why we chose to go down this year.
![Oil Slick in the Gulf of Mexico June 19, 2010 [Detail]](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1427/4721299117_cc26ae2266_z.jpg)
At dawn, the sky south of New Orleans is fringed with violet and pockets of thick fog mix with the odor from Chevron’s Oronite fuel additives plant. But another 14 miles down Louisiana Highway 23, the sun breaks through, and Mark Brockhoeft climbs into a flat-bottomed boat painted camouflage, motoring into a marshland that is its own world.
A flock of mottled ducks erupts from the high grass. The fins of fat redfish slice the water like torpedoes. Brockhoeft, who sports a thick moustache and a Saints cap, has been plying this bayou as a fly fishing guide since 1993. But the familiar scene still kindles a smile.
“You can take it for granted,” he says. “We did. Until we were about to lose it.”
Our very best nymph this spring has been the Mega Prince size #6-10. It has even “out-fished” the Possie Bugger! I look for that to change as the water drops and clears but for now high flows and slightly off colored water have seen the Mega Prince “dominate” the local nymph fishing scene. It’s been vital to get the Mega Prince down so I am often using another large nymph tied to the bend or eye of the Mega Prince. Trout Retrievers, Fat Bastards, or Double Bead Stones work well as additional flies. Some runs might require adding split shot to the chuck and duck rig. The set up is to use a 9ft leader and a Thingamabobber or a “right angle” nymph rig and get down deep. Often running 5-7 feet of tippet under the Thingamabobber.
Mega Prince
Hook: TMC 2302 # 8
Thread: U70 Ultra Thread Rusty Brown
Bead: Copper to Match Hook
Antennae: Barred Crazy Legs Golden Yellow Pearl Flake
Head: Peacock Ice Dub
Rib: Copper Wire
Tail: Grizzly Marabou Golden Brown and Barred Crazy Legs Same as antennae
Body: Peacock Ice Dub
Legs: Same as Antennae
Hackle: Brown Hen Neck or Similar
Wings: White Goose biots
I’ve been working away at the vise this spring, getting ready for a trip down to the bayou to chase Redfish with Flywater Travel in New Orleans. I’ve never chased redfish and hadn’t found much information on fly patterns for that specific area, but that didn’t stop me. I started tying, and here are a bunch of the flies I came up with. Some articulated patterns, ripping off the Sex Dungeon, some flies that look a little like the Avalon Permit fly, and a bunch of rubber legs. Sure, I could just rely on our guides to provide flies, but what fun would that be?
We’ll have a clearer idea of what works and what doesn’t next week, and will do some instructional videos when we get back with the winners. I’ve also included some shots of offshore patterns we’re taking with us out of Venice, LA for a day chasing bull dolphin (Mahi) and tuna out in the Gulf. Stay tuned for fuzzy reports form Bourbon St.
Lots more pattern experiments below. -MS
Save Our Wild Salmon and Wild Salmon Center Present “Eastern Rises” and “The Greatest Migration” on April 14, 2011 in Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. — On April 14 at 7pm in NE Portland, Save Our Wild Salmon, Wild Salmon Center, and Trout Unlimited are teaming up to present Wild Salmon Rising: two epic films about the greatest salmon rivers on earth… and fishing.
In Felt Soul Media’s Eastern Rises, fishing is poetry; Bigfoot lurks in the fog; and fishermen risk life and limb in decommissioned Cold War helicopters to explore rivers that have never been fished. Eastern Rises has won awards including: Best Sport at Banff Mountain Film, Best Film at The Drake Magazine Video Awards, Audience Choice at Wild & Scenic Film Festival and Best Action at Flagstaff Mountain Film.
Eastern Rises | teaser from felt soul media on Vimeo.
Join Trout Unlimited Weds night for an update on the McKenzie River Native Trout campaign progress and round table discussion on next steps. Wednesday April 13th, Trout Unlimited Meeting at 7pm, in the green room downstairs on the left at the Vet’s Club, 1626 Willamette St. Eugene. This is a great time to bring new ideas and get involved.
It is not often that I will stand up and give praise to any particular fly fishing or fly tying product that I have come across. Sure, I have many times said “this is the sweetest rod I have ever casted,” or “the drag on this reel is sick” but it rarely comes full circle to where I think the same while fishing it. This is not true about the Beulah Platinum 10’4″ 6wt, which is undoubtedly the best rod I have ever used for winter steelhead fishing. Getting this out of the way early, I am not talking about swinging a Prom Dress with a 600 grain skagit head and 15 feet of T17, I am talking about indicator fishing. Big creeks, little creeks, big rivers, little rivers, on foot, or out of a boat, this rod will get your glow bug (or glow bug substitute) to where you need it. Continue reading
First, some good news: The Caddis Fly just bought a bunch of super-bitchin’ Euro-Capes in natural grizzly, red, pink, blue and purple. These necks have extremely long, durable hackles, perfect for Pick-Yer-Pockets and Intruders. Since the cute hippie chicks vacuumed up the world’s supply of Euro-Saddles a few months ago, these Euro-Capes are a welcome sight. Continue reading
We all have our preferences, it seems. I tied with Nymo for years and years, but this thread disappeared from the supply chain back in the 1980s. Danville 6/0 Flymaster then became my preferred thread for at least two decades; then I moved on to Ultra thread for about five years, and have been on a Lagarun X-strong kick for the last two years.
As fly tyers, we display both innovation and complacency. Innovation in the fly patterns we explore and develop each year; and complacency in the threads and tools we keep on our fly bench, decade after decade. Continue reading
Barrett and Ethan ran from Taylors Landing to Hayden Bridge yesterday, fishing was decent. March Browns hatched in the afternoon and nymphing was consistent. Continue reading
Calling all local do-gooders . . . planting trees is fun and here’s the proof . . . .
This weekend on April 10th 2011, the Mckenzie-Upper Willamette Chapter of Trout Unlimited and friends will be planting trees on the Mckenzie River Trust’s Green Island property as part of our ongoing conservation partnership. The nearly 1000 acre island is formed by the confluence of the Willamette and Mckenzie rivers and is home to a number of threatened species including spring chinook.
We will be planting from approximately 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. Come out and get your hands dirty in support of native trout and salmon. After the planting, conservation tours will be offered. The Two Fly tournament has raised about $15,000 for the Trust’s activities on the Island and this is a great chance to come and see what those monies have helped fund. It’s been a long winter and a tough spring so come out and enjoy some fellowship with people who care about wild and native fish as much as you do. Gloves and equipment will be provided. We hope to see you there! Continue reading
Yes, but only because . . . . . . Hah! Got ya, if only for a minute. I dropped by the NFS office in Oregon City yesterday to say hello to a few of my friends, and found the place locked and shuttered. No wonder. Only four days away for their most awesome wild fish party of the year, naturally, the Native Fish crew were out and about making last minute pick-ups of Auction donations.
Amazing fly fishing toys that will be up for bid include Saracione fly reels, a Karstetter Bamboo Steelhead rod, and a truck load of the world’s finest fly rods, reels, lines, complete fly fishing combos, flies, art, and oh my goodness – – – – – – my mind is spinning as I go down the list. Continue reading
In general, there is a lot of great fishing around Eugene in the early Spring. This time of year offers some great opportunities to fish for wild trout on the McKenzie and Willamette, and the tail end of winter steelhead season can be spectacular. This year, however, the weather just has not been very cooperative. We had only two days last month without precipitation, which led at times to a lot of high water, muddy rivers, and associated cabin fever. That being said, these last few weeks have not been without their highlights. Continue reading
You’ve heard the saying “less is more”. The sparse Soft Hackle Fly written about extensively by Sylvester Nemes, and effectively fished by anglers all over the world is a proven winner during the March Brown emergence. Barrett ties a simple version using Hareline Ice Dub for the thorax (not sure if Syl Nemes would have approved). Fish it on a floating line, a leader at least 9 feet long, cast down and across and swing. Regardless of the time of year, the Soft Hackle fly takes fish on the McKenzie and Willamette Rivers. Early in the season use larger sizes #10-12, as the water drops and clears, use smaller lighter colored patterns in #14-18.
March Brown Ice Dub Soft Hackle
Hook: TMC 3761 or Daiichi 1560 10-16
Thread: Ultra Thread U70
Rib: Silver Wire
Body: Ultra Thread
Thorax: Pheasant Tail Ice Dub
Hackle: Partridge Hackle
