55 on the fly

It's been a crazy winter here in NY with warmer than usual weather and little snow. I've been itching to get out on my creeks but it just hasn't happened yet..... I seriously injured my left elbow on my casting arm back on August 5th, 2016 out in Montana while fly fishing. Taking a fall on a big arse rock. Many doctors and surgeons visits later and I am still dealing with a tricep and bursa sack problem and elbow pain. Thus the lack of fishing reports since the injury. Anyway, I hope to get out on the water soon, regardless, this is getting ridicules..... I NEED to go fishing! I've been tying two patterns this week, beetles and streamers....... two killer patterns for Brown and Brook trout. Beetles are an excellent summer terrestrial pattern, often overlooked by fly fishers. The Joffee Jewel Streamer is a killer in the Late Winter and Early Spring seasons when the trout are looking to put on weight fast... Joffee Jewel size #10 Streamer  #18 Beetle

Michelle and I fished the Gardiner River at Sheepeater Cliffs today. This is her favorite spot in YNP. It was a tough hike to get to the area we fish for brook trout but once there it's wonderful. We caught some fish, had some lunch by the cascades and even fished the Cascade pool... a beautiful place. Our lunch spot.... Chelle could sit here all day.

Michelle and I started our day by getting up early at 6am and headed to Boiling River in Yellowstone National Park. This area has underground hot springs which flow out of the earth and down into the Gardiner River providing a "Mother Nature's Hot Tub". There was no one else there as we parked and drank the last of our morning coffee on the walk down to the river. Just as I was stepping into the river I happened to look and coming low and straight at us was a beautiful Bald Eagle, what a sight as he flew about 50 feet above us gliding down the Gardiner.  After a good long soak we were off to Roosevelt Lodge and a big breakfast, then a drive through the Lamar River Valley to see the Bison. There were a few fisherman too, but hundreds of Bison.... a very nice relaxing morning indeed. This afternoon I was back on the Yellowstone River. The section I fished today is rugged with difficult walking and wading, getting cliffed out, then hiking up and around and back down t...

I had an early start today. My buddy here in Montana, Ben, picked me up and we headed to a little honey hole we know. We only had a few hours to fish, as Ben had to work, but we picked up several nice browns doing some nymphing. I used my refurbished Wonderod 8'6", she likes a 6wt. line spooled on a vintage Orvis Madison click reel.....We had a great time fishing and catching up since I last saw Ben in 2013..... Ben with a 17-18 inch Brown... Here I am with a 15-16 inch Brown...

I got a chance to get away for a couple of hours today and fish the Yellowstone River not far from our RV campground. It was a perfect afternoon for fishing. That lasted about 2 hours, then a storm rolled in and I had to get out of Dodge before the thunder and lightning took over.... I caught 5 fish all on my Wrapped Foam Golden Stone and GSS Emerger dropper.... 4 Cutthroats and 1 Rainbow. Today's gear - Ben Turpin 8' 5wt. bamboo fly rod and JW Young/Walker reel with Cortland Classic DTF 5 fly line. Yellowstone Rainbow

My wife, Michelle and I got out this morning and hit one of our favorite Brook trout streams in YNP..... First fish of the day..... used my Barclay 7'5" 3wt. and loving it for these Brookies... Michelle with a good fish for this stream..... Yep - those are bear tracks....  A little bit of hiking can get you into some awesome back country..... Last fish of the day......  All in all a fun morning, lunch and early afternoon fishing together and enjoying this beautiful river valley.

Hi folks - I fished a small creek here in Western New York yesterday. The creek has not been stocked since 2006, but has a steady population of browns and a few rainbow trout. Here's one I picked up with my Wright and McGill, 7' 5wt., that I like to use with a DT4, she's an oldie but goodie.... I caught the fish on a "Graham's Cracker", a great little caddis pattern.

I hit the West Branch of the Delaware River again today, same spot as Thursday, but different game plan and different results. Water was still very cold at 46 degrees this morning so nymphing was the order of the day. Fished till noon. Hooked three and of course lost the "big one" a good brown of 20 inch range. He made three runs and I had him on for 10 minutes or so. I could't do anything with him in the current. I had him to the leader once and then he just bolted and ran way down river with me trying to follow in cold deep water up to my boys….. Needless to say I couldn't stay with him and he broke off with the point fly…. Bummer, but what fun…. that fish got me going for sure…. a couple of photos below….. Doug.

Hi folks - it's been a while since I last posted but it's good to be back at the lathe turning a call. I've been looking forward to hunting season and taking a bird to supply more tail-feathers for tying my turkey tail stone fly nymphs. These nymph's are very active in early spring and a sure bet in our local streams, the trout love them. Korn's Wire Head Turkey-tail Nymph I made this simple, clean lined osage call yesterday for a little lathe practice. The trumpet has a delrin mouth piece that I turned and is 8-1/4" overall. My thanks for giving it a look.

Today was an excellent morning to be out in the woods.  I harvested several squirrels, both red and gray's for fly tying dubbing and the tails. My old 22 LR did the job. There's nothing like a little lunch in the woods.

This is a variation of my Korn's Wrapped Foam Hopper that I tie for Parks Fly Shop.  It makes a super Salmon fly and you can use the same pattern for Golden Stone flies as well.  I just change the hook to a size 8-10 and the foam over body to a golden yellow.  Out West it's a killer fly when the Salmon flies are hatching and in the East for the small Spring Black Stone flies. I just change the color and downsize them to size 12... Materials: Hook: MFCo. 7026 4-6 Thread: black 6/0 Uni Legs: MFC med. black legs Underbody: orange craft foam wrapped Over body: black or dark brown craft foam, hook gap wide with split-tail Wing: deer tail hair Indicator: orange craft foam SBS tie in back legs split tie in underbody foam at eye extending out from hook superglue thread base, wrap orange foam back to tail-legs attach over body with 3 wraps at tail-legs, then loop thread over the top of the underbody to the eye (this way no wraps ...

The RS2 has always been a good producer for me... I tie them to represent many different Mayflies from Green Drakes to Trico's.  The only thing that changes is the color of the thorax and the size of the hook. Hook: #1560 12-24, wet fly (1x long) Thread: UTC 70 Wing: fluff from base of dun rooster or turkey feather Tail: pearl flash, tied split Abdomen: rusty brown dubbing, rabbit Thorax: PMD dubbing, rabbit

Hi folks, Today I was tying up some of my Korn's Spent-wing Caddis flies with Opal Tinsel bodies.  The tinsel was a real pain in the butt to handle as it was full of static.  It was so bad I almost couldn't put it down! Then I remembered an old trick.  I ran downstairs and grabbed a dryer sheet from the laundry area and put that on my tying bench and laid my tinsel on it, bingo!  The anti-static dryer sheet solved the problem and I could get back to knocking out 15 dozen of these killer flies... Here is a photo of the Opal Tinsel body, nice and slim. Anti-cling dryer sheet does the trick... finished fly - bottom Korn's Tinsel Caddis - top

Early last year Bruce Staples contacted me and asked if I would be willing to contribute some of my original fly patterns to his new book.  Needless to say I was flattered, and said yes.  I sent off to Bruce examples of eight flies, a materials list and a short description for each.  I just recently received my copy and I was very impressed with both the content and quality of this publication... My "Korn's Marabou Caddis" even made the cover! My flies included in this book are: Korn's; Spruce Moth, CDC Spent-wing Parachute Caddis, Green Lantern, Holiday Golden Stone, Marabou Caddis, TNT Golden Stone, TNT Green Drake and my Wrapped Foam Hopper. It is truly an honor to have my flies listed alongside some great fly tiers like: Bob Jacklin, Hans Weilenmann, Walter Wiese, Craig Mathews as-well-as many others... If you get a chance please give this book a look especially if you plan on fishing in Yellowstone Country!  Thanks Bruce...

Hi folks, I've been "tied up" with my knee surgery and some other health issues as-well-as the Holidays.   Needless to say I've fallen behind on my fly tying... But now I'm back up and at them. Today I'm tying up a bunch of my favorite fly - the "Korn's Spent-wing Caddis". You can check out my YouTube video titled; "Korn's Spruce Moth".  The Spent-wing is tied using the same methods with just slightly different materials.  See my list of materials and tying instructions below.  The thing to remember is, caddis flies have a narrow wing profile, where the spruce moth's wings are wider. Korn's Spent-wing Caddis, tan version.  Tied with narrow hen pheasant feathers producing the perfect profile in the water. Hook: MFCo. #7000 Dry 14-18 Thread: Serafil 200   Rib: tag end of thread  Abdomen: DK Tan dubbing Palmered hackle: ginger rooster neck. Wing: 2 hen pheasant wing or neck feathers Steps: 1. St...