55 on the fly

On this very cold winter morning, after shoveling the driveway. I made some German pancakes just like my Grandma Lehner made for me 50+ years ago.... Yeah, they taste as good as they look, just ask my wife.... Boy that breakfast sure brings back memories.

Hi friends, this is a Frank Sawyer fly pattern variation that I've fished for many years. Davey McPhail has an excellent video showing the tying steps here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogp5F7bmVcA&t=0s I tie them the same way Davey does in pheasant-tail to imitate mayfly nymphs but also in turkey-tail to imitate the small early stone fly nymphs here in NY. They are fast and easy to tie using just XS or SM Uni-copper wire along with your choice of tail material and a nymph #14 1XL hook. Turkey-tail and copper nymph (side view)

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29 For nothing will be impossible with God. Luke 1:37 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 1:4-5 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him… John 1:9-10

A friend gave me two old fly rods awhile ago. Today, I dug them out and got to work on them. One is a  Horrocks and Ibbotson Featherlight and the other is a Kingfisher Fly Rod both 8 1/2' long. Both will be stripped and rebuilt as "user" fly rods.... The good news is all the bamboo seems to be in fairly good shape. I am starting with the H and I.  Pictured here is the H and I, but both grips have been heavily varnished by the original owner and were very dried out, soft and punky, they crumbled when I tried to clean them.  They both have loose and/or cracked ferrules as-well-as some bent or missing line guides. All the line guides will need to be replaced anyway with larger versions as these were for silk fly lines of the day and are too small for modern fly lines. I will reuse the reel seats and any ferrules that are not cracked. I am going to strip the rod completely; turn a new cork grip on the lathe, remove all of the line guides, remove the old varnish and ...

Nothing like good old turkey soup after Thanksgiving.... It's a task I enjoy each year.