Nothing To See Here Folks

Just a quick post today to share another Fire Tiger color combo with you all.  This one is a streamer that I have really enjoyed tying as of late.  It will be making its way across the pond as soon as I can finish a long overdue project.  Anyways, if you would like to read about the materials and the tying of this fly, you can find it here.

Fire Tiger Foam Diver

Just a quick post on a foam diver color combo I did.  I'm a big fan of the Fire Tiger color combo.  We have been doing foam divers for an order.  Love them.  Fished them twice this year with spectacular results.  These flies will be available when we eventually make it through our backlog.  Anyways, here is the Fire Tiger Diver color combo:

Hook: Gamakatsu B10S size 2
Thread: Flat waxed nylon
Tail: 20 pound mono loop
Tail: Hareline Dubbin Inc Micro Rabbit in Orange
Tail: Copper Flashabou
Marabou: Hareline Dubbin Inc Hot Orange
Palmer Chenille: Black
Marabou: Hareline Dubbin Inc Chartreuse
Eyes: Hareline 3/16" Oval Pupil 3D eyes Orange/Black Pupil
Finish it off with Loon Outdoors UV Clear Fly Finish flow
Dog hair not included.....golden retriever/yellow lab mix must be purchased separately

Some Streamer Love

I've been doing some streamer tying as of late.  Working on stuff for largemouth.  I have come up with a few color combos that I feel will work quite nicely.  There really isn't much to this fly.  It is tied on a size 6 Mustad R73-9671 hook.  I have run a mono loop of 20 pound test fishing line off the back of the hook.  Next up, I used mirco rabbit strips since it is a size 6.  I did some with and some without Krystal flash.  I then added layers of marabou and Palmer chenille as I made my way up to the eye of the hook.  Last, but not least, I added in a small amount of red Ice Fur for a throat.  After measuring, I added a Fish Skull to the front of the fly.  Tie in a thread dam in front of the Fish Skull and seal it with some Loon Outdoors UV Clear Fly Finish Flow and you are ready for action.  A short water test showed that the materials compress nicely.  I'm excited about these guys and I can't wait to see what people catch with them.  I am hoping the largemouth tear them up but they are also small enough for my local smallies.  Going to be good times!

Bass Fishing in November???

Bass fishing in November?  Who would have ever thought it?  Not I, that's for sure.  Well, I did manage to do some bass fishing just last week.  Here in Maryland it was in the low 70's. Hard to believe that we had such nice weather so late in the season.  I did not want to waste an opportunity so I decided to see if a friend of mine would let me have access to his pond for a few hours.  I have had the chance to fish this pond before with great results.  After a few texts were exchanged, I headed out with my friend Greg.

Upon arrival, Greg and I could see that the pond appeared to be muddy and stained from a distance.  I was worried about fishing it, so I walked down to check it out.  This is the sight that I was met with:

The water was definitely up, muddy and covered with pine needles and leaves.  Needless to say, I was not pleased.  After a quick discussion, Greg and I decided to give it a try.  We figured why not given the warm sun and beautiful weather we were having.  I strung up the Cabela's CGR 7'6" 7/8 and headed down to the pond.  As a side note, I have been using the CGR 7/8 for a while now and I love it.  I have been pairing it with a Waterworks-Lamson Konic II reel spooled with RIO Products Smallmouth 7wt line.  I like to use braided leaders and Scientific Anglers Freshwater tippet in various sizes when I am chasing largemouth.  This is just my setup and what I enjoy using at this point. Anyways, we headed down to the pond and started slinging some bugs.  I chose a size 10 black masked bugger.  I enjoy tying these flies and they seem to be loved by the fish.  For those interested, you can find tying instructions for them here.  

The fishing was slow going with a lot of pine needles and leaves being dragged in with the fly.  In an effort to get a good strip without carrying along debris, I would try and pick out lanes of traffic that I could strip the fly through.  This seemed to work in eliminating some of the debris but not totally. Regardless, after a while the stars aligned and I was able to connect with a fish.  Immediately, I knew it was a good one.  The line went taught and within seconds the fish went airborne.  The fight was on. The largemouth would jump another three times and make several attempts to hide in various submerged logs before I was able to land it.  While not particularly long in length, it made up for it in girth.  It was clearly a fish that was packing on the pounds in an effort to weather the coming winter season.  

Given my initial success, we decided to stay around and fish a while.  Several hours later, I managed to land another small bass.  That was it.  Two fish in three and a half hours.  I guess it could have been worse...I could have been Greg.  He didn't catch a thing all day.  For me though, it was a great time.  I got out of the house, enjoyed some gorgeous weather and the company of a good friend.  I can't ask for more than that.

 

So I Went To The Fly Shop Last Week

and I came home with a few things......

All were "needed" items.  Do I have a problem?  I'm not sure.  

I Love Glass This Much

Just a quick post today about my awesome mail day.  I'm sure it won't come as a shock to anyone that I love fiberglass rods.  I made the switch to glass about three years ago.  Love it.  For me its a perfect fit because I enjoy the vintage glass as much if not more than the newer glass rods.  I really do love hunting for these older rods and finding a bargain.  Anyways, I got another box of swag from Cameron over at TFM.  I'm happy to be rocking some of the new click and pawl stickers.  I do love a good click and pawl reel.  It's even better when it's paired with a vintage rod.

Shakespeare Bass Rod

During the 1950s, Shakespeare developed a Wonderod deluxe fly rod that was specifically for bass. This rod was the model 1280B.  It was a two piece, 7'9" rod that weighed in at a little over 5 ounces.  The line weight is a little unclear as some say 7 and others say 9. Clearly a lawn casting would be in order to nail down the correct line weight.  Interestingly enough, they also produced a trout model during the same time frame that weighed an ounce and a half lighter.

As always, while trolling that infamous auction site that might lead to my divorce, I stumbled across one of the bass models.  It did not have the tube or rod bag but it appeared as though it had minimal use.  The date code on the reel seat indicated a 1952 date of manufacture.  The wraps appeared tight and the decal was not only intact but correct for the year of manufacture.  Given the age of the rod and the condition, I hit the Buy It Now button.  Upon receiving the rod, I was even more impressed with it.  I still haven't had a chance to cast it but it is a real beauty.  It is a white rod with spiral markings, red and green wraps, green reel seat with silver hoods.  The cork hasn't been overly soiled or destroyed.  A fascinating little tidbit about this rod is that the reel seat is spring loaded at the end cap.  Pulling it away from the rod allows you to place the reel on the seat.  Took a while to figure that one out.  When I finally did, I felt like a tool. Overall this rod is a fine example of an early 50's Shakespeare Howald Wonderod fiberglass fly rod. I am certainly looking forward to putting a bend in it.

Feeling Black, Blue and Tan?

I am.  Just a very quick post to share the last two divers for a special order.  One has a black diver head, blue tail, electric blue flashabou, black marabou, blue Palmer chenille and finally blue marabou. Many, many, many years ago when I was spin fishing this color combo was a favorite of mine.  It was deadly for largemouth.  They loved it. 

 Next up we have a cinnamon diver head with a tan tail, copper flashabou, tan marabou, tan Palmer chenille and white marabou just prior to the foam diver head.  I really struggled with this color combo.  I'm not sure I totally love it.  The cinnamon colored foam head was a pain to match.  I almost went with a rust colored theme but at the last minute I decided to scrap it.  Anyways, let me know what you guys thing and enjoy.

Foam Divers

Recently, we have been working on some foam divers for a special order.  The foam heads are manufactured by Rainy's, come in three different sizes and seven different colors.  I decided to use the small ones for this order.  These divers are tied on a size 2 Gamakatsu B10S stinger hook.  We tied them in black/purple, black/orange, chartreuse/white, yellow/black, orange/black, olive/yellow and white/red color combos.  I believe we will be adding some black/blue and cinnamon/tan to the mix as well.  For me, I like to stick with the tail matching the body, marabou to match as well, followed up with Palmer chenille to match the body and tail color.  Last, I like to add a contrasting color to the mix right behind the foam head.  I think these will hunt just fine and I am pleased with how they turned out.  We did go through a few heads until we got them where we wanted them.  A few of the earlier models had some rubber legs tied in just before the foam head.  My concern though is that they may get tangled up in the hook.  We are not fans of running the legs through the body so we just decided to eliminate them from the fly.  I'm not sure it makes a difference in this one anyways.

Hook: Gamakatsu B10S size 2
Thread: Flat waxed nylon
Tail: Hareline micro rabbit
Flash: Flashabou to match the tail and/or body color
Body: marabou, Palmer chenille and marabou
Eyes: Hareline 3/16" Oval pupil 3D eyes

Seven Years In The Making

I have been a fisherman for most of my life.  In fact I had a rod, reel and tackle box before I was even born.  My father, also a fisherman, was thrilled to learn he was going to have a son.  At a very early age my father started taking me on fishing trips.  He taught me how to cast with my Zebco 202, where to look for fish and how to clean fish.  If only my father knew what kind of monster he was creating.

Fast forward a few (20) years to when my daughter was five.  My father and I took her to a local lake to fish.  My father was so excited to have three generations of the Price family fishing together.  My daughter enjoyed herself.  As long as I baited the hook and did the casting she would gladly reel in the fish.  I think my dad spent more time that day watching us then he did actually fishing.  We went a few more times together, the three of us, before life got in the way.  I spent a lot of time at work and I missed out on a lot.  My father and I never really fished much more after that together.  Over the years my daughter and I have fished together but only every so often. 

When my son was born I remember talking to my father who was elated.  He said "Now you, Gretchen, Nathaniel and I can go fishing together."  I think he really wanted this to occur.  Maybe even more than I realized at the time.  However, my son was never interested in fishing.  No matter what I did, he did not want to go.  For him it was all about getting his hands dirty.  He was very much his mother's son and was worried about being dirty.  I think they might call that mild OCD- haha.  My daughter and I would head out and ask him to go with us but he refused.  He even got a Batman rod for Christmas one year but he wouldn't have any part of it.  That boy just steadfastly refused to fish.  My daughter and I continued to go. I remember talking to my father about it and complaining.  He told me not to worry that he would fish at some point.   Looking back on it now, I should have asked my father to go as well.  About twenty years ago, I made the switch to fly fishing from conventional tackle.  For me now it's not just a hobby or a way to fish, its my passion.  Maybe even my way of life.  In his quest to fish with me, my father bought a fly rod on his own and asked me to teach him.  I promised him I would but I continued to work as much as I could.  I missed out on a lot including birthdays, holidays and time spent with my family. 

Last year during the summer months, my family and I vacationed along the Shenandoah River.  We have been to this area a few times before and we really love it.  I took my daughter down to the river and watched her catch smallies and red breasted sunfish like crazy.  The water was crystal clear and everything was perfect.  At some point during the trip, my son allowed us to talk him into fishing.  He had his own pole which he brought just in case.  So, I decided to tie on a Rapala for him and allow him to see what he could catch.  Secretly, I prayed to the fishing Gods pleading with them to allow him to catch a few fish.  I knew if he didn't catch anything I would never get him back out.  Apparently they were listening because it didn't take long for him to score a smallie.  He was so excited, all he could do was laugh as he reeled in his catch.  It really didn't matter how big that fish was.  All that mattered was that he caught it.  He was thrilled beyond belief.  Over the next couple of days he begged me to take him fishing.  I even got him to wet wade... until he saw a snake.  Then he was done with the wet wading but continued to fish.  In some way I hope that I have created the same fishing monster in my son that my father created in me all those years ago. 

I want to tell my father about my son's catch but I can't.  He is still with us but he barely talks now and he doesn't know who I am.  It makes me sad to see my father like that.  I wish he could hear about his grandson's first catch and while I can tell him, he will not understand.  For a long time I put my career first.  I passed on spending time with my father on my days off because I needed a break or because I wanted to only fly fish and he didn't know how.  I wish now I would have honored his request and taught him how to fly fish.  Better yet, I wish I had one more trip with him.  I know he would have loved to see his grandson land that smallie.  I am thrilled my son enjoyed himself and that he wants to go again.  Hopefully he will migrate to fly fishing in the future.  If he doesn't, well that's ok as well.  I just want to spend time with him and not miss out on anymore memories.  It took seven years, Dad but I finally got him to fish!

Some Stuff That Has Left The Shop Recently

I realize that not everyone follows us on Instagram and Facebook and that's OK.  I wanted to share with you all some of the stuff that has left the shop recently.  We actually finished 214 flies in 24 hours which is a record for us.  I was quite pleased to say the least.  Its hard to believe that all of the flies were spoken for and we have nothing left but I am glad to hear that the people who received them are very happy with them.  We did deliver some flies to Beaver Creek Fly Shop up near Hagerstown, Maryland.  If you are in the area, make sure you shop by very soon.  Last week I heard that the owner only had around 2-6 of each color left.  Craziness for sure.  However, we are very pleased to know that so many people enjoy our flies.  It makes it all worth it.  So, here are some photos of what left the shop recently.  Enjoy and thanks for reading along.  You will be seeing more posts in the future.