Happy New Year!!!!!

Hope everyone has a great 2011. Lets turn some trash into some flies:)

Some yarn and fur intel.

Yesterday I had the chance to visit:

Friends & FiberWorks

Your Community Yarn Shoppe and Learning Center

In the Biltmore square mall. They have a big selection of yarn for knitting. Now we all know that's not why I was there. I was on the scrounge for tying materials. They have 'felting' supplies. Now I haven't a clue what this craft really is but they use fur in it's loose form to make it. That for me was a good thing. I bought two bags of dubbing in lite and dark gray. $2 a bag. Big bag! They also had very fine flash in gold and silver. $3 a bag. Now I have enough Adams material to tie from here on out. The flash I added to the chopped yarn I have been experimenting with. I have a Hellgramite black with gold flash made up.

I strongly suggest that sometimes a trip into the yarn shop will get you more than odd looks. These folks have excellent customer service and are very helpful.

Project Healing Water on Fly Rod Chronicles

The Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing episode of Fly Rod Chronicles that was shot on the Big Horn River in Montana will air for the first time this week on The Sportsman Channel. This episode features California disabled veterans from the PHWFF Southwest Region and their regional coordinator Carole Katz.

AIR TIMES:
Wednesday 6:30 AM Dec. 29
Saturday 12:30 PM Jan. 1
Saturday 9:30 PM Jan. 1

http://www.flyrodchronicles.tv/

http://www.thesportsmanchannel.com/

Icicles

For those of you that tie a lot Clouser Minnows and other flies with flash lateral lines here's a thought. Stores after Christmas mark down the holiday decorations. The product called Icicles make a perfect substitution for Krystal Flash and the like. Have a zip tie to go around the bundle to keep it neat.

Tensile and Icicle Krelex Styled fly

Snow and Flag

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year

Hope everyone is having a very Merry Christmas. Remember to save some of that tensile, ribbons, and bows to make some very festive flies in 2011 :)

.177 Woolly Bugger ver 2

Clipped the pellet into to make a more traditional cone shape.

After School Special

It was my last chance to fishing before the weather blows all to crap.
I took my cold weather gear with me to school and changed after school in my office (locking the door of course). It is kinda odd that my students don't think that black fleece pants with stirrups are strange.
I made it to the river. The air temp was 33* Got my waders on and got in the water as quick as I could. There was still a lot of snow around the river and many icicles hanging off the rock faces.
I started fishing the most likely looking run with a dry BWO. After many casts with no response, I switched over to a pair of midges under an indicator. Couple of drifts with this rig and I hooked up on a nice rainbow. It wasn't a fish for every cast but there were quite a few takers along the way.
I midged every pool and run that I could until I realized the light was gone.
When I got back to the Jeep, the air temp was down to 28* I know that y'all who steelhead fish this isn't very cold. But this was my first truly cold trip of the winter. I have a feeling, given the impending weather , that I might not get back out for a while.

Humpy or Goofus Bug

Hook: Montana Fly Co. #14 Dry

Hackle: Grizzly Nat. and Grizzly Brown

Wing: Deer body hair

Tail: Deer body hair

Abdomen: Yellow PP yarn

Wingcase: Deer body hair

Thread: 8/0 Black Uni-Thread

This not really a Trash Fly by the usual standards of the site. The white tail deer body hair is from a skin a friend gave me from a kill last season. It is a mountain deer so it's not idea for 'spinning'. It does make good wings and tails.

Tied for http://tarheelflyfishing.forumotion.com/forum.htm

Thank you all for visiting the site :)

12 countries have visited the site. Hope you all found something useful. Please stop by from time to time and new flies and tools will be posted. Again thank everyone who has stopped by :)

Nor Vise

My midge jaws were starting to get some wear on them. I emailed Norman Norlander to see what the cost of the jaws alone were. He emailed me back and said they had since i bought them started using a harder metal for the jaws. He asked for my address and said he would send me a set to replace mine. I have called and emailed several times for one reason or another since I bought my vice. Every time Norm has answered or emailed. I guess in this day and age of disassociated businesses it is nice to get some customer service and a product to have some feeling of loyalty to.

Go by a check Nor Vise out if you haven't seen one before.

.177 Bugger

Hook: #10 2x Nymph

Body: Marabou Blk

Hackle: streamer saddle Blk

Tail: Marabou Blk

Weight: 5 wraps of med. Pb.

Cone: .177 cal air gun pellet hollow point (paint Blk and sparkle nail polish)

Happy Thanksgiving

WNC Fly Fishing Expo 2010

Jule and Colin McDowell

My setup for the show tying and talking recycled materials and fly tying.

It was great to see everybody. Enjoyed talking to old friends and making a few new ones. Cool to share a table with Anthony Hipps one day and Tyler Legg the next. Hope Frank has me back next year :)

Trash Flies at Land O' Sky TU Sept meeting

Had a great opportunity to share some Trash Fly patterns at the LOS TU Sept. meeting. Myself and three other members did a tying demonstration at the monthly meeting. I shared two different tent winged caddis and a caddis larvae. Tyveks, dryers sheets and headphone wire insulation were put to work on dries and nymphs. I had a really good time :)

Recent trip to Douglas lake and Tailwater

Couple of firsts. First sauger and white bass on a fly.

New Dryer Sheet application

Jay 'Fishy' Fuller has created in my opinion one of the best Hopper patterns out there. It produces both warm and cold water fish well. He has added a wing material, wing to it over time. Well he a Trash Fly material switch up for it. Try a used dyer sheet for the wing case. Looks good and holds up pretty well.

Cut the sheet into a strip as wide as the hoppers back. Tie it down with last wrap of thread. When you apply head cement, super glue, or zap a gap glue it down. Try it. You have to love the look and you can't beat the price :)

Answering a request

Several friends have ask me to do some background and how-to information on some of the tools on the site. I believe it's needed and I'll probably start on it this week. Maybe some step by step's and photo's better explaining the processes.

DIY Tools Back Drop/Mirror

Just added a new DIY tool to Trashflies.com. There are lots of mirrors and back drops commercially available. The designs are really good for vise with 3/8" shafts. I use a Nor-Vise and they just don't fit. I'm not all that interested in having a back drop attached anyway. Check out my idea for a recycled design.

DIY Tools (new)

Just added to two new tools under the DIY Tools section. The Threader was a idea that came to me as we were cleaning out some computers and throwing away some accumulated junk at work. The Deer Horn tools were an attempt at something traditional and cool for my tying bench. Traditional materials appeal to me sometimes. They work surprisingly well. I really like the feel and comfort.

South Holston Fly Fishing Festival

I was a tier at the South Holston Fly Fishing Festival this past weekend. My son and wife were along to enjoy a long weekend on the river. We rented a place right below Webb Bridge on the South Holston. It was nice in the early mornings and late evenings.
I was outside in a tent tying Sat. and Sun in 90 plus degrees.



Here is a pic of my table at the festival



I sold this fly display at the end of the show to a local fly fishing lodge.






Monday was for relaxing and getting a little fishing time in.



It was a great vacation. I'm looking forward to the PFF in October. It will definitely be cooler by then. :D

Sketch while bored

South Holston Fly Fishing Festival

Getting ready for South Holston Fly Fishing Festival at Riversway of the South Holston.

South Holston Fly Fishing Festival

TrashFlies.com

As school and workshop have ended I am now putting together the framework for TrashFlies.com. Been a while in thought and it's now time to start fleshing it out. I think it's gonna be fun.

Carp aka Golden Bonefish on a fly

March fish

Finally got a day in March. DH streams were fishing really well. Swinging a streamer was the ticket. This guy was a little shy of 20". Lots of average sized fish.

LOS-TU and Rocky River TU Camping Trip

We have a great opportunity to spend some time together on the stream while meeting some of our counterparts from the Rocky River Chapter in Charlotte. They have graciously invited us to join them on their annual fishing weekend. Each year, they spend a weekend camping at Appletree Campground near the Nantahala River. Since they have been doing this for years, they have it down to a science. So much so that all we have to do is given them some $, show up and help out when needed. Here are the details.

When: April 9th - 11th

Where: Appletree Campground

http://www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/recreation/appletree.pdf

Cost: $40 per person.

The $40 includes dinner Friday and Saturday night, breakfast Saturday and Sunday, camping, firewood, etc. (they even bring utensils, plates, etc) Lunch is not provided. All ages are welcome and generally run from 15-55.

If you are interesting in attending, or for more details, contact Peter Perretti @ peterp67@bellsouth.net.

Deer Hair Practice cont.

Deer Hair Mouse

Fish for February 2010

Yesterdays trip to the Laurel was about disappointing. Trouter and I threw everything that should have or could have caught a trout. Nothing. Good water, clear, reasonable flow, and dead as crap. Didn't spook a fish. I was disappointed.

Well today was another chance and a different stream. Took the family. Little boy wanted to go to the park. That was a priority :)

Got there about mid afternoon. Nobody was fishing. Still quite a bit of snow and ice on the trail. Air had warmed up to the upper 50's.

Started out by watching the water. Saw a very few mayflies coming off. Went with a dry and dropper.

Fished a couple of pools with nothing. Finally one more pools and riffle and this guy rose on the dry.

Caught several more along the same tact. Nothing on the dropper. Tried a bugger back thru some of the dead pools. Still dead.

Caught enough fish to keep it interesting ;) I personally needed it. Little boy enjoyed the park with momma :)

Stream 2-20-2010