Three Days Left......

before the contest ends.  There is still time to submit a name!!

My Christmas Haul

Well the holiday is over.  We made it through just fine at our house.  Hours and hours of wrapping, shopping and buying came down to a just a few furious moments Sunday morning.  Between two kids, I don't know which one was more excited.  I am always amazed at all the wrapping paper that litters the floor afterwards.  My wife called me at 0230 in the morning Christmas morning, I had to work, to tell me that she had just finished wrapping the presents.  It really makes me wonder at times why we do this to ourselves.  After watching the kids tear into the presents, I remember why.  Still though, it is amazing just how quickly it is over.  I just have to shake my head.

The wife and I set limits this year regarding our gift exchange.  We wanted to give the kids as much as possible.  So I, of course, asked for a new rod, reel, line etc.  Well I did!  I figured what the heck it is Christmas.  No, I didn't get any of those.  I also asked for some tying books, some fishing books, vintage (nice way of saying old) flies and some new fly boxes.  Yes I got some of these and yes wife I am happy (I know she will be reading this soon!)  So here is my haul from my wife:

 I really enjoy reading these old fishing and tying books.  They are a hoot.  I also enjoy collecting the vintage flies.  My wife picked out this group because it has a bee among the group and we tie a bee pattern that has become world famous! If you are or are thinking about being a small stream fly fisherman, check out the Orvis Guide to Small Stream Fly Fishing.  I started fly fishing these small streams in the mountains near by.  In hindsight this was totally the wrong thing to do but whatever!  Having been a few times this year, I forgot how much fun it is.  I am already planning outings next year and will be going a lot more in the Spring and Fall.

Here are my two new fly boxes.  These babies are the new Umpqua Professional Guide series boxes.  I love them!  They are so neat.  They have micro-slit foam, corrosion protection as well as magnetic compartments. The idea behind these is that you place the flies you have used on the magnetic compartments to dry and be placed back in a slot later.  Again, I love it!  They are a bit on the expensive side running around 35 dollars a piece.  However, after my dunk in the water at Harman's this past September when all my flies got soaked, it is worth it.  There is another, smaller box in the series.  I will be getting that one and more when I can afford them.  Enjoy the photos:

Well another holiday has come and gone.  I truly hope that everyone had a good one.  Thank you to all my fans, followers, readers and peeps.  It has been a great year and I am looking forward to sharing my adventures in tying and fishing with you in 2012.

Just One Week Left for the Contest

We are now about a week out from the contest ending.  There is still time to get your names in.  Please remember that in order to win, you must be a follower of the blog.  If you are not a follower of the blog, and I pick your name, you will not win the fly.  So if you entered names and you are not a follower, just hit the follow button on the right of the screen.  I have seen some great names so far.  Good luck people and thanks for entering!

Am I Still Alive????

I suppose so.  Seems like it has been a while since I made an appearance here.  I guess it kind of has.  Sorry about that people.  My oldest had to be transported to the hospital and as of this morning is still in there.  My youngest got an ear infection and strep during the same time.  Add in work, the stress of waiting until the last minute to Christmas shop for my wife and best friend as well as all the other assorted crap that life throws at you and one can see where I have been.  This, of course, does not mean that I haven't been tying.  I finished an order for Panfish Persuaders for a fellow blogger and I am working on some poppers that need to be shipped by the end of the week for Christmas.  So bare with me as we push on through the holidays over the next week or so.

Jeff your order is up:

Here are some of the poppers I have been working on.  These are in progress shots:

It Is Like Christmas in December!!!!!

Oh wait, it is Christmas in December.  However, these are not my Christmas presents.  I bought some tying supplies that were a great bargain from some various places.  Well everything showed up last Saturday all at once.  A little over whelming when you look at everything and a little hard to explain to the wife.  Most of it was on sale and a great deal so I figured why not.  I can't wait to try some of these goodies out.

Gaggle of Gurglers

Here is a gaggle of gurglers heading out to a fellow bloggers home so he can chase some warm water fish with them.  Check your email for two additional items.

Small Stream Fishing in December

Greg and I decided to do some small stream fishing on Monday in hopes of maybe still catching some brook trout.  The temps here have been in the mid 50s during the day and at night dropping down into the low to mid 20s.  It was supposed to be in the mid 50s again on Monday so we figured we would have a shot at some of the brookies.  We agreed to meet at 11.

I met Greg at the appointed time at the small mountain stream.  While it is not really a secret where I fish or shall I say where this stream is, I would rather not let everyone know that there is a wild population of brook trout in a stream that looks like it couldn't hold any fish.  In fact I have never seen anyone else fishing it.  I know one other person who does fish it but not the section I fish.  So nice to have something all to yourself.  Especially when it contains wild, naturally reproducing brook trout.

We started leap frogging our way up the stream.  I would work a hole and Greg would work the next one.  Sometimes we would park and walk back down the stream to work our way back up it.  Other times, we parked and walked up stream.  It really depended on where we were.  Humpies were the fly of the day.  The colors we used were yellow and red.  Yellow was a little to bland and hard to see so we switched to the red. Size 14s for both colors were used.  I did have Greg try a BH Pheasant Tail Flash Back but he didn't get any strikes.  Usually when I fish this stream, I only fish with humpies.  They work like a charm.  I probably should try other flies but if it isn't broke, don't fix it right?

We spent about three or so hours fishing.  In the end, I landed 6 and Greg landed 4.  I am pretty sure we spent more time walking and driving than we did fishing but that was fine with me.  Greg actually caught his first brook trout too.  I had forgotten that last year when we came to the stream, he didn't catch anything.  I think he was pretty excited and got to check another species off of his list.  I managed to land a rather large older male.  I was working a pool and had already caught several out of it.  I was getting ready to move on and was pulling my fly in when I noticed a ring appear where it had just been.  I looked down and saw a brookie not five feet away from me.  I cast back out and hooked him.  I promptly lost him but on the next cast, I managed to hook and land him.  If you look closely at him, you can tell he is old by how dull his coloring is, size and the hooked jaw.  Really a good sized fish for this stream and probably one of my best brookies ever.

It was nice to get out so late in the year.  I had wanted to go again today but it is raining here in Maryland.  Go figure.  Maybe next week?

Photos:
Greg working a pool

Greg with his first brook trout 

Another nice brookie landed by Greg 

Here I am working a pool and actually fighting the brookie seen in the next photo 

Me with the "large" brookie I managed to land 

EDIT:

I forgot to mention how I finished the day off....with a nice and tasty cigar!

Contest Time Again!

Here at J & M Flies, we have decided to hold another popper naming contest.  Not only is this your chance to get something for free but it is also a chance for you to have a fly named after you so to speak.  In the comments section, please give me your name ideas for each of the following flies.  Please indicate which of the flies you are naming (yellow, green or teal).    If you come up with the name we choose to use, we will send you the fly in the size of your choice (either in 8 or 10).


Here is the fine print so read carefully:
You must be or become a follower of my blog to enter.
If you are not a follower, and you enter, your entry will not count.
You can enter as many names as you want.
Deadline to enter is December 31st- I'll announce the winners soon after that.
Please remember this is totally subjective and only for fun...
Names will be chosen by my family.  
All decisions on the names are final.


So here they are:

Contest Announcement

We are going to do another naming contest here in a few days.  Please stay tuned for more.  Remember you must be a follower to participate.  The post should be up in a few days with all the information.