55 on the fly

I hadn't been out turkey hunting till yesterday... better late than never! Shot this big old gobbler at 11:30. 9 3/4" beard 1 1/4" spurs - a real limbhanger! Feathers for tying flies and making arrows! Not to mention some very good eating.

Folks, I've been tying dozens of these Korn Biot Emergers for Parks Fly Shop on hooks sizes #12-18. Shown here is the BWO version, but you can vary the colors for PMD's, Sulphurs, etc... They are fun and relatively easy to tie. They are a very good pattern to use when the bugs are emerging or there are duns on the water. I almost never fish a dun pattern anymore. The fish are attracted to the seemingly disabled cripples and emergers. The fish recognize that these flies are in trouble and can't get away. You only need use floatant on the wing and the upper hackle. Catch a bunch! Hook: MFCo. 7048 light scud #14-18 Thread: 8/0 Uni olive Tail/Shuck: Bronze nylon yarn Abdomen: dyed turkey biot - BWO Wing Post: seatbelt material (or gray nylon yarn, etc.) Hackle: Med. Dun rooster clipped on the bottom

My good friend Alex (who is not a fly fisherman) and I took his boat out and fished the South end of Hemlock Lake. The target of our fishing today was pickerel. They were in the weed beds and we found them with spinning gear and frog imitations. I haven't spin fished since the early 80's and Alex laughed when he saw my gear. But it was fun, something different and we caught some good fish. The old gear worked just fine... We fished no bait, only top water weedless plugs and the pickerel crashed what we offered. Four of the pickerel were over 24 inches which is big for "pick's" around here. We caught a few big small mouth bass too. I gotta get Alex fly fishing! Enjoy the photos.

"Happy Mothers Day" to Shauna, our daughter in-law! Here is Shauna, our son Russ and our grandson Jackson, at the Virginia Fly Fishing and Wine Tasting Festival in Waynesboro last month. http://www.vaflyfishingfestival.org/ Jackson is a future fly fisher, notice the hat! We had a beautiful day with family, wine and lots of fly fishing vendors, outfitters and seminars. I saw Lefty Kreh's casting demo, he's unbelievable. I also attended a seminar by Mossy Creek Fly Fishing's own Colby Trow. He did a slide show on the fishing of the local area streams and it was excellent. All-in-all we had a great time! And of course "Happy Mothers Day" as well to my wonderful wife Michelle. Here is Nana with Jackson, a couple of cuties...

Folks: I got out to the creek this morning for a couple of hours and took about a dozen brown trout, all in the 8-12 inch range. The action was a bit slower than the last few times out with no bugs hatching. I caught most of the fish on the following flies; Korn's Oatka Stone, Pogo Nymph and the Green Weenie. The weather was nice so I had lots of company on the creek... Anyway here's a few photos. Get out there and catch a bunch!

The "Korn's Spent Wing Caddis", pictured here and at the top of this blog, got a nice plug on "The Fly Fishing in Yellowstone National Park" blog about half way down the page. I tie this fly for Parks' Fly Shop in tan and olive, there it's called: "Doug's Drowned Pheasant Caddis". See the plug here: http://flyfishyellowstone.blogspot.com/2010/04/gentility-now.html This caddis pattern is a great guide fly, if it's fished properly. I fish it as a trailing fly tied about 12-18 inches behind a dry fly, like an X-Caddis or a hopper. Do not put any floatant on it! When it hits the water it floats for a bit on top, then sinks in the film, then slightly under the film, then bam - fish on! Really, this is my go to fly and it works just as well in the East or West. If you are interested in tying the fly a materials list and tying steps are here: Hook: MFCo. #7000 Dry 14-18 Thread: Serafil 200 Rib: tag end of thread Abdomen: DK#12 Caddis