Fall Topwater

Fall Topwater

A few hours on a Friday evening, calm winds and mild sun.....equals prime topwater.

Black was the soup d'u jour and the crappie were all over a black Mini-Squirrel Popper

The Mini-Squirrel

Only a handful of gills on the night, but the bass turned on as the sun went down. 

All-n-all a nice way to end the week. 

Good luck to all on the water as the leaves begin to change.

Father Daughter Time

Father Daughter Time

And christening the new Cane And Silk 7 1/2' 4wt

With a rare morning which left both of us available and a stream to drive past on the way home, we jumped at the opportunity to hit some water and get my oldest daughters feet wet for trout on the fly rod.

Unfortunately for us the previous 2 days of rain had the Tulpehocken high and dirty. Hunting for a normally shallow gravel bottomed section, we found the only place along the flooded banks that would allow access with casting room. Either way, casting and line management was our goal and we were able to get that in. But unfortunately for her the first fly rod trout didn't make the books. 

It was however the christening water of a new Cane and Silk 7 1/2' glass rod as well.  Eventually I was able to dredge up one muddy-water trout on the morning. The little rainbow took a #10 Coyote Ugly nymph. 

The Coyote Ugly 

The Cane and Silk was perfect.  Just quick enough to toss a light indicator/nymph rig, and a dream to cast with a Cortland 444 Peach DT4F line. The build?......flawless. What can I say?  Mike Kattner is a joy to work with and builds a wonderful glass fly rod.  

Cane and Silk Flyrods

The takeaway from the day was a wonderful time fishing side-by-side with my daughter, punctuated but not defined by the single muddy-water trout that was brought to hand.  

Summer Colors

Morning Lilies and Glass

This morning a took a few hours at a local pond with hopes of capturing the last colors of Summer. On queue, the temps have begun dropping and our yard barometer Fig tree gave us a tip of the hat by providing us with the last of the fruit. Autumn is closing fast.

Fresh Figs from the last of the remaining on the tree.  

Seems to be about 2 weeks earlier than normal?

Soon those brightly colored poppers on top will switch to streamers and nymphs.

While the bass were on a hiatus this morning, the water was filled with eager average-sized gills as if they knew as well, the coming change. An enjoyable morning, while in the back of my mind I tried to paint the picture to carry me through once the top-water seasons wraps itself up. 

Silence of the Dams

Silence of the Dams

Ice Dams that is....this past winter.

They caused roof leakage, which caused the water damage, which caused the current construction, which in turn caused me to break down my tying bench for the duration of repairs. 

Hoping to be put back together and back in the office soon!

Cicadidae's Mother

The Unexpected yet Short Modeling Career of a Cicada

As a fly tier, certain things catch our eye or peak our curiosity in instances where non-tiers would see nothing more than a dead bug. Such was the case when I "stepped across" this unlikely modelling participant. Instantly I paused, thought to myself "Awesome, nothings broken!" And put it in my car.  Upon getting it home and a bit of studying I came to the realization that it in fact had several characteristics akin to "Whistler's Mother". 

1:  Neither this Cicada nor Whistler's Mother had planned on a modelling career on their given day.

2:  Both....only after close study....have truly amazing characteristics when applied to the canvas.

3:  Both needed to be propped up for the duration of their work.

4: And lastly, both appeared to have recently spend 10-13 years in the dirt.

Nevertheless! 

After the piscatorial romance we fly tiers share with Entomologists passed over like a wave, I gathered up my model and headed for the bench.

Now, I am the first to admit, that I am not a "classically trained" realistic fly tier. I barely fall into the "trained at all" category. But like a 4 year old with a screw driver looking at a light socket...sometimes I just can't help myself. 

With materials at hand, and a process that developed as it went, here is what I came up with.  

Note:  

The likelihood of this pattern ever being duplicated again, is extremely small. It WILL however.....be fished. 

Cicadidae's Mother Recipe

Hook:  2/0 Gamakatsu Stinger

Thread:  Black 3/0 Uni-thread

Body:  Brown & Green Fly Foam

Wing: Nylon Mesh

Abdomen:  Root beer and Black Shiraz

Legs:  Yelllow and Olive Centipede

Eyes:  Paracord W/Melted ends

Afternoon Cocktails

Afternoon Cocktails

Even for fish, cocktails before dinner on a Saturday can lead to a rough day.  This afternoon the big gills were in the mood to indulge, and the Cocktail Wog was the only thing being served.

Cocktail Wog

Recipe

Tail: Red Bucktail /Barred Yellow Hackle
Legs:  Yellow/Fire Orange Centipede
Body:  Yellow Fly Foam

Note:  All remaining recipe is the same as the Gurgling Wog.

Cane and Silk Glass

New Cane and Silk

7' 6" 4/5wt 

Well, I need to say, that Mike Kattner of "Cane and Silk" rods has really impressed with the newest build just received this week. After breaking open the shipping tube, I went with an Orvis Battenkill III reel and a DT4F Cortland peach line. It really impressed. 

Olive-dyed Buckeye Burl reel seat, Black nickel garrison style hardware, with Olive and dark brown silk wraps. 

After ordering this same rod in his base model last year, and fishing it for a full season, I was intrigued enough to want an Eminence build model. I am very pleased that I did.

The rod loads almost instantly with the 4wt DT line, throws a wonderful loop and the tip tracks with very little bounce on recovery which makes accuracy a breeze. The build itself is flawless.  Looking for a new piece of glass?  Look no further.