Progress...Pile of Persuaders Prior to and Post Pruning

We are making progress thanks to Melissa and her hard work.  Here are some photos of Persuaders prior to and post pruning. I think there is something like over 70 of them she had to tie and prune. Well done.

New Swag in the House!

Look what came in the mail today! So happy to finally have some stickers.  These guys are roughly 3 inches square and feature our Fire Tiger Popper being chased by a bluegill.  Admittedly we are a little (lot) late to the party reference the Year of the Bluegill but better late than never.  We will be selling these for $2.50 a piece including shipping.  Email us at jandmflies@gmail.com

New Banner for the Tying Room

Two years ago I bought my first glass rod, an Eagle Claw Featherlight, and haven't looked back.  If you are interested and missed it, you can read about it here.  I love glass.  I love the colors it comes in, the action it provides and feel of a fish on the end of the rod.  If you haven't tried some glass, I highly encourage you to do so.  Even if its a $30.00 rod, I know you will not be disappointed.  A while back I attended a fishing function in which I talked about glass rods.  It was funny how a couple (husband and wife) told me they knew all about glass because they bought a glass rod for their granddaughter to try out.  Their look of contempt and the disdain dripping from their words reminded me of some purists when I tell them I fly fish mostly for panfish and bass.  I understand that glass isn't for everyone.  I only ask that before you formulate an opinion about it, that you get out and try it.  There has been a lot of talk about glass recently and all the new rods arriving on the market.  Orvis has launched their glass line and I believe Echo has some coming out soon.  Last year Redington came out with the butter stick.   There are plenty of options to choose from and a price to fit in everyone's budget.  Slowly but surely, I am making the switch to all glass rods.  Therefore it was only fitting that I got a banner from Cameron over at TFM.  I finally got my banner up on the wall.  Time to represent.  Glass is not dead!

Big Announcement!

It seems like just yesterday that I started tying my own flies.  It is hard to believe that it has been twenty years since I opened up my first fly tying kit and dove in head first.  One of the first things I remember about that fly tying kit was the vise.  It was pure crap.  I knew that I needed to replace it as soon as I could.  Tying and fishing came and went, based upon my work and family obligations.

It wasn't until about ten or so years ago that I began to consistently tie my own flies.  It was then that I started my search for a high quality vise.  I knew that I was going to be doing a lot of tying, and that I needed to replace that crappy vise that came with my fly tying kit.  After doing my research and trying out every vice I could, I decided that I wanted a Regal.  I have to say that I could not have made a better decision. I love my Regal vise.  When one of my wonderful children knocked it off the tying table and broke it a couple of years ago, I didn't even consider replacing it with another brand.  I did, however, consider replacing the child.  With all that being said, I am pleased to say that I am now a proud member of the Regal Pro Staff as an endorsed tier.  If you haven't already done so, check them out.  Their vises are awesome!  You can see my photo and bio here if you are interested.  I have to say that I am very excited about this opportunity.

Log Books

Logbooks....how many of you use them?  I do but I am guessing not a lot of you out there do. Nowadays with the technology we have, I am sure there is an app to log your fishing adventures. For me personally though I still enjoy using a book and a pen to capture on to paper how my outing was.

I started fly fishing in 1993 but it wasn't until 1997 that I discovered logbooks.  For me, these books have been a wealth of information over the years.  I love going back and seeing what fish were caught (or not caught) and what flies worked during a particular period of the year.  Admittedly, some years contain more information than others.  Apparently, I totally forgot to log all of 2012 and the little fishing I did in 2013.  Good thing I have it all written down on a notepad and in my Notes app on my iPhone.

The particular logbook I use is called Fly-Fishing Logbook by F-stop Fitzgerald.  It has a copyright of 1995 and retailed for $14.95.  I bought my first two at Hudson Trail Outfitters.  They, however, have done away with their fly fishing selection.  A shame really.  Anyways, since then I have bought them on Amazon, Half.com and eBay.  I now own five of them.  Three of them are full.  I need to buy a few more of them to store.  They are getting harder to find.

The book has sections for Expeditions, Launch Sites, and Fly Fishing Partners.  In the Expeditions section there is room enough for 78 trips to be logged.  The Expeditions section contains the following fields which can be filled out: Location, conditions (date, time, weather, temp), water (temp, clarity, depth, tide), flies (presentation, color, size, pattern), fish (species, number caught, length/girth, weight), and tackle (rod, line, leader, weight).  Unfortunately, half of the Expeditions section is taken up with photos of various flies.  It makes the book look sexy but it does take up valuable space that could be used to log more trips.  In fact the amount of trips could be almost doubled if the book didn't have these photos.

A total of 18 Launch Sites can be recorded and things such as the location name, marina, distance, telephone etc. can be captured.  Regarding the Fly Fishing Partners section, 33 fly fishing friends can be added.  Maybe I am a loner or I don't have a lot of friends but that seems like a lot of people.  I only fish with maybe 7 or 8 different people.  However, for you more popular folks there is room enough for a lot of people to be included.

Pros:
78 trips recorded
easy to do
inexpensive (from .75 cents up)
launch sites documented
friends and their info can be added
allows you to go back and see what worked in years past

Cons
becoming hard to find
might be outdated (several apps on the market)
needs to be filled out after each trip (not years later)
bulky for storage (need a book shelf as opposed to the great storage area of the internet)
only half the section of expeditions can be used given photos on pages

Regardless of whether you capture your fishing data via iPhone, iPad, iPod or other similar device or within the pages of an actual book, I can't stress enough just how important this information can be for future fishing trips.  This isn't a book geared towards you bragging about what you caught, how big it was or how many of them there were.  Please don't get me wrong as there are places for that within the book and it is somewhat important.  The valuable information though is where the fish were, the time of day, temp, etc.  That's what allows us years later to look back and see what was hatching, when and where the fish were thus allowing us to continue catching them.  If you aren't already using one, I would highly encourage you to start.  As a side note, while writing this post, I bought two more of them to store.

Where to Purchase
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0821221639/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A21KTJ96PLML86

http://product.half.ebay.com/Fly-Fishing-Logbook-by-F-Stop-Fitzgerald-1995-Hardcover/1427231&tg=info

Happy New Year!!!!

Happy New Year all!  It's hard to believe that 2014 is already here.  Another year gone but another year starting.  What possibilities does the year hold?  One can only imagine.  We, at J&M Flies, hope that everyone has a healthy and happy new year.  We wish you tight lines and tight wraps for the 2014 season.  During the second half of 2013, I feel as though my blogging slipped some.  A portion of this can be directly linked to my injury.  Some can be linked to my trying to also manage our Facebook and Instagram accounts.  Some....well some can be attributed to just pure laziness on my part.  In 2014, I plan to blog more and get back to my roots so to speak.  I started this blog way back in 2010 with the simple notion of documenting my experiences both at the bench and on the water.  I never wanted to just repost what other bloggers were saying or doing.  I just wanted to share my misadventures with the world.  So, in the coming year you will see more blogging from me.  We have some reviews to do, and new patterns we are waiting to unvail until the enormous backlog of orders has been dealt with.  We also have some big news to share in the coming year.  We have been thinking of a specific hashtag to use for us as well.  I hope you can continue to follow us through one of our many social media sites.  Many thanks to all of our family, friends, fans, followers and loyal customers who made 2013 an amazing year.  Happy New Year!!

The Year of the Bluegill is almost done

Panfish....the Rodney Dangerfield fish of the fly fishing community.  They never get any respect. Why do we, as fly fishermen, often turn our noses up at this species of fish?  To chase them on the fly is akin to slumming so to speak.  Why is that?

It is hard to believe that almost a year ago, Cameron hatched an idea late at night that would showcase an underrated and often under appreciated fish, the bluegill, for the coming year.  It was proclaimed that 2013 would be the Year of the Bluegill.  When I first heard about this, I have to say that I was super excited.  I am at heart a panfish fly fisherman.  I truly enjoy pursuing these awesome fighters on the fly.  I have tailored my poppers as such and created a business around my pursuit of these spunky fish.  Usually, fly fishermen start their journey into the fly fishing world via these fish.  They can be easy to catch, they readily take top water, and they live in places that allow for long back casts.  So, beginner fly fishermen can catch fish, see the strike and work on their casting/presentation.  Somewhere along the way, we switch to trout.  Some stay the course with trout and never look back.  Others, like myself, eventually find their way back to the glory that is warm water fly fishing.  I was so excited about the Year of the Bluegill that I had Melissa take a photo of me working on poppers while wearing one of my many TFM shirts.  That photo (thanks to the many friends and family who voted) was able to be the first winner of the spotting contest Cameron has each year.  January belonged to warm water fishermen and in particular the bluegill. The Year of the Bluegill was off to a bang!

Many months ago, I dug out several books related to panfish and fly fishing.  Once again, I had Melissa snap a quick photo of me with them.  I figured since I couldn't fish for them given my injury, I would at least read about them.  I have had these books for many years now.  I have read them before but I continue to come back to them.  I wanted to do a review of each one and share them with other panfish enthusiasts from around the world that may not have heard about them.  I, admittedly, am a little (lot) late on this but I still want to share these books with you all in case you haven't seen them before now.

First up we have an older book purchased by my father many years ago for me.  It is called America's Favorite Fishing: A Complete Guide to Angling for Panfish.  The copyright of the book is 1964.  My copy is a sixth printing dated 1971.  The book is divided into chapters that highlight various panfish.  The first one is the almighty bluegill but there are also chapters on crappie, rock and warmouth bass, sunfish, yellow perch, white and yellow bass, white perch and bullhead.  Each of these chapters contains information on the specific fish regarding habitat, feeding, reproduction, growth and size and geographical distribution.  There is a small chapter dedicated to fly fishing for these guys.  For me the two sentences of the chapter sum up fly fishing for panfish.  The author writes "If you are used to catching panfish on casting tackle of hoisting them aloft at the end of a long cane pole, then you have a thrill in store for you when you feel the remarkable fighting qualities of these fish on a light, limber fly rod.  Not only will you derive far more pleasure from fly fishing, but you will catch more and bigger fish, particularly in shallow water."  What more can be said on the subject?  I will say that I enjoyed seeing that in the book the "high-priced rods" were those rods over forty dollars!  If only....

The next book devoted to fly fishing for panfish is called Bluegill.....Fly Fishing & Flies by Terry & Roxanne Wilson.  The copyright for this book is 1999.  This book is all about bluegill and how to catch them on the fly.  Plain and simple.  Imagine a whole book based solely around that hard hitting, sideways pulling panfish.  The book is broken down into chapters on gearing up, completing your fly box, choosing the right water, bluegill in spring, summer and fall as well as effective presentations.  Under the completing the fly box chapter there are recipes to tie dries, nymphs, floaters/divers, soft-hackle, wet, terrestrials, bream killers, streamers, worms and crayfish.  Is this an all inclusive list of flies for bluegill or panfish....no.  It does, however, give you a great place to start with a lot of great and easy flies to tie in order to stock up your fly box.  The book is around 150 pages long and is an easy read.  It really shouldn't take more than a few days to finish it.  I would highly recommend this book for those who want to chase the bluegill on the fly.  Also, check out Terry and Roxanne Wilson's website called The Bluegill Pond.  They have a new book out now devoted to crappie on the fly.

Last but not least we have a book titled The Sunfishes: FLY FISHING techniques, tackle, and NEW THINKING in the pursuit of America's favorite gamefish.  This book was written by Jack Ellis and illustrated by David Taft.  The copyright for this book is 1995 and it has around 150 pages.  The book is broken up into chapters that cover everything from the sunfish clan to the bass and bream dilemma to sink or not to sink.  There is, as with others, a chapter on fly tying that contains both SBS and recipes for tying panfish flies.  For me though the author's conclusions may be what is most important.  On page 139 Ellis writes that "It was convenient and fashionable to look down our noses at "panfish" when we enjoyed countless miles of pristine, unpolluted trout streams."  He goes on to write that "I cut my fly-fishing teeth on trout streams and had a difficult time changing my attitude until I realized that sunfish are a lot harder to catch than I had assumed." Nothing rings more true in the fly fishing community than this statement.  Even now, I still get weird looks, turned heads and snide remarks when I tell people I mainly fly fish for bass and panfish.  

I am very glad that Cameron made a last minute decision to crown 2013 the Year of the Bluegill.  It has been a great year with a lot of well deserved attention given to an underrated and often under appreciated fish.  I have been able to meet anglers from all over the world who also have a passion for these fish.  In fact, despite not having met them face to face, I would consider some of them dear friends.  Maybe it should have been the year of the panfish?  Who knows?  I value all species of panfish on the fly but rightfully so the bluegill is king and at the top of the list.  These books are not the only books out there regarding fly fishing for panfish or bluegill specifically.  They are simply the ones I own.  I simply wanted to share my love of them with others out there in hopes that you too may find them useful and insightful.  

As the Year of the Bluegill comes to a close, the question was asked....what now?  What will 2014 be?  The Year of the Panfish?  The Year of the Bass?  The Year of the Smallie?  I don't know.  As of now, 2014 has not been crowned the year of anything.  I have staked claim to the Year of the Smallie.  I am not sure if I have the connections though to make it work like Cameron did with the Year of the Bluegill.  

Works Cited

Rice, F. Philip. America's Favorite Fishing: A Complete Guide to Angling for Panfish. New York: Harper & Row, 1964.

Wilson, Terry & Roxanne. Bluegill....Fly Fishing & Flies. Oregon: Frank Amato Publications, 1999.

Ellis, Jack. The Sunfishes: FLY FISHING techniques, tackle, and NEW THINKING for the prusuit of America's favorite gamefish. New York: Lyons & Burford, 1995.

Where to Purchase

http://www.amazon.com/Americas-favorite-fishing-complete-angling/dp/B0007DZZ8C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1388350758&sr=8-2&keywords=america%27s+favorite+fishing

http://www.amazon.com/Bluegill-Fishing-Flies-Roxanne-Wilson/dp/157188176X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388353953&sr=8-1&keywords=bluegill

http://www.amazon.com/The-Sunfishes-Jack-Ellis/dp/1558213562/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388353974&sr=8-1&keywords=sunfish