tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66800870571121950882024-03-28T04:56:01.400-04:00Full Circle Outdoor LifestyleA blog dedicated to all things outdoors. Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-43857645984085713202022-02-20T15:37:00.002-05:002022-02-20T15:39:05.106-05:002021 PA Late Season Gobbler<p> </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu6Kavn62P3RQLw9zBCTNwMnwKqaE8bLmXVrm0d6SxjC1RK494IM2j2fkN4wZKHYhk1ryG41VRyPsLmGqW51x5HAyhQxELnyVj0AGzKdolCZcI-BcT78dOs0naxun74ddVhSUK1036AoY/s901/191251448_4433399700027781_3557293213669676376_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="901" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu6Kavn62P3RQLw9zBCTNwMnwKqaE8bLmXVrm0d6SxjC1RK494IM2j2fkN4wZKHYhk1ryG41VRyPsLmGqW51x5HAyhQxELnyVj0AGzKdolCZcI-BcT78dOs0naxun74ddVhSUK1036AoY/w640-h426/191251448_4433399700027781_3557293213669676376_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> The 2021 Spring Gobbler season was one full of hit or miss gobbling activity and gobblers that would not roost consistently in the same roosting locations. One thing that was consistent in my season was one gobbler that I would bump leaving from a before work hunt, or spook if I was changing locations or had a late start to my morning. I took note of this bird in week one after a foiled hunt. This gobbler played the game a few times and I had only heard him gobble one day all season. For whatever reason that morning he was not with his hens and flat out gobbling his head off. For the life of me, I could not picture where this bird or his hens were roosting either which really complicated things. <p></p><p><span> One morning I saw this bird standing in a wide-open field just off of an off-road trail. He and his group of hens crossed the road in front of me without a care in the world into a smaller piece of thick woods. I took a mental of this. I would say this scene replayed itself at least three times in week one of the season. I decided after shooting my first gobbler of the year that I would attempt to kill this old bird. I set up to where I thought he would walk past and never laid eyes on the bird, and never heard him gobble. This was going to be one tough bird I thought to myself.</span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRHD2b-RRoXiDTkMIMMBtMz1c4j7HAT_T2mOzSX2a9jUiY44MFDBc7LTdlLr3lTLCV9agUKZWzPn5-2AI_7HtF13Xf5QB-qhIJDjtpTU-iOLMPnpuaX3ynyMJ-_IY070p9X_qtBY3tDto/s2048/190229867_4433406186693799_2121658591220894757_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRHD2b-RRoXiDTkMIMMBtMz1c4j7HAT_T2mOzSX2a9jUiY44MFDBc7LTdlLr3lTLCV9agUKZWzPn5-2AI_7HtF13Xf5QB-qhIJDjtpTU-iOLMPnpuaX3ynyMJ-_IY070p9X_qtBY3tDto/w640-h480/190229867_4433406186693799_2121658591220894757_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><span> </span>Week three was rough for me. I received my first Covid-19 vaccination and it put me down for the count. I missed two mornings due to being sick from the shot. I felt better on Friday and decided I would try and kill this gobbler. I set up at the same spot as last time and heard a small group of gobblers sounding off around two hundred yards away. These were the first gobbles I had heard in week. I was led with the dilemma of chasing after these birds or hanging tight for the smart old bird that wouldn't gobble. My lack of patience got the better of me and I decided to chase the vocal birds. The birds were answering my call, but I knew for sure they were not coming my direction. I decided to not call and had a plan in mind to get to these birds. I closed the distance to roughly one hundred yards when I could hear a box call in the woods above me. I knew this hunter was completely out of position to kill these birds but decided I would just turn around and head out for the morning. I was really struggling to make it back to the Jeep because of the lingering side effects of the vaccine. I was kicking myself for leaving my first set up. I could only imagine that the smart old bird had saw me when I shifted locations.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16AoaW8Aj1LSLdCs08txrrXx6bgV8v1qwnidOfRN43AohyphenhyphenXwaBA5ZdtvyujpVuCBYD7MnpieUgCD2_kAAN4bywAoQzkaIM_lGegDaDGRe6Pl8rt-h1XMRdI4nOM_o368ReCsV3S-PbFM/s2048/189619940_4433406040027147_3759372428461506715_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16AoaW8Aj1LSLdCs08txrrXx6bgV8v1qwnidOfRN43AohyphenhyphenXwaBA5ZdtvyujpVuCBYD7MnpieUgCD2_kAAN4bywAoQzkaIM_lGegDaDGRe6Pl8rt-h1XMRdI4nOM_o368ReCsV3S-PbFM/w640-h480/189619940_4433406040027147_3759372428461506715_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span> It was getting down to the wire for me on the last week of the season. I stayed out of my main hunting area in the mornings on Saturdays as the area receives a lot of hunting pressure. I could only hope that no other hunters were on to my target gobbler. I wanted him bad. I tried a few other areas and came up empty handed. It seemed as if the hunting pressure on the State Game Lands near my camp was even worse than my favorite hunting areas. On the morning of May 26th, I decided it was going to be the day that the gobbler that had been driving me nuts was going to die. As I walked to my Jeep, a gobbler sounded off behind the house. I jetted up the hill to where I thought for sure he would be and got within 35 yards or so of his roost. I did some light calling and he answered every time. He flew down and went the exact opposite way. I never heard him fly down, either. I ran as fast as I could up the mountain to try and cut him off. I hit a logging road that I thought he was on and called him back to around 30 yards, but he took a 90 degree turn out to a clear cut that would make him nearly impossible to kill. I gave it a shot but figured I would end up spooking him and decided to go back to the house. That evening a storm front rolled in, and heavy down pours were present all evening. I figured the conditions would be perfect for the big silent bird. I knew he would hit the field to dry his feathers.</span><br /><p></p><div><span> I went to bed early that night to be sure I could get up early to try and seal the deal with only a few days left of the season. I woke up early and was ready to roll after the Tom that had been giving me fits all season. I'm not sure why but I decided to fire off an owl hoot by the house to see if the gobbler from yesterday would sound off. I am not the best at hunting silent birds. After my owl hoot yielded no answered I figured it was the time to chase my "Unicorn Gobbler" that seemed unkillable. I parked at my normal location and quickly took off for the exact spot that the hen and tom had crossed the trail in front of me back in week one. I sat down with my back against two smaller trees and decided that I needed much more cover than they offered. I hunkered down into a thick bush and kept another bush directly in front of me. I had a small window that I could look through. If the </span></div><div><span>Tom did what he did before I would have to let him walk past me. It was going to be an up close and personal hunt that morning.</span><br /></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>As it got lighter, I heard something go across the trail to my left. I could hear the shuffling of some larger rocks and knew it had to be a deer. I am thankful that I had the wind in my face that day as the large doe had no clue I was there. As she walked in front of me at roughly eight yards she would look back at the road. "Oh boy, she may be watching the Unicorn Gobbler coming down the road," I thought to myself. As the doe fed along suddenly a hen popped into view right where the doe walked in front of me. I just kept my shotgun held right on the spot the hen just walked.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div>"FFFFTTTTTTTT!!!!"</div><div><br /></div><div>The old silent Tom was spitting just to my left and he wasn't on the trail but was walking in the grass adjacent to the trail. I had my gun where the hen was, and he was to my left at a mere two yards. I could see his bright read head through the little opening in the bush. He was close enough that I could see his pupils. I am not sure if he picked my eye movement up or not, but he started cocking his head, and wing flipped and walked off of the trail. I eased my body out from the bush. I didn't have my gun fully anchored into my shoulder but knew the gobbler was about to get out of there. I put the circle of my reflex sight on his head and pulled the trigger.</div><div><br /></div><div>"BOOOOOM!!"</div><div><br /></div><div>My Mossberg 500 rang out into the field and echoed throughout the valley as it decked me from not being properly seated in my shoulder are. The old silent Tom was down.</div><div><br /></div><div>"YESSS!" I exclaimed. I walked up to the tom and had an overwhelming feeling of excitement. All of the early morning chess matches were over. It is such a bittersweet moment for me to fill that second gobbler tag. It means that my season is over. I looked at the gobbler and was just taken away. His wings had an noticeably dark coloration to them. I check out his beard and was happy to see it would be the longest beard I had ever gotten and appeared to be just shy of 10". I check his coal black spurs and they looked to be that of a three-year-old gobbler. Such an absolutely perfect gobbler to end my season with. When I picked him up I knew he had a little more weight to him than my first bird of the season.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Kxu4pA3Yx7KAZfTOOzkoDh3Knkfz5nA3UYZgJuRI9fEPJnj6AkfhU0nvO8bwz1GVIVWdAJk_YvKx7KZuKjmD6PUbrOQ7VNgjqBGzVefDdYfEw3DFTrJLEIkO4DzZuyv8g59P3BkAMBk/s2048/191809236_4433405910027160_561040475590406942_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1364" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Kxu4pA3Yx7KAZfTOOzkoDh3Knkfz5nA3UYZgJuRI9fEPJnj6AkfhU0nvO8bwz1GVIVWdAJk_YvKx7KZuKjmD6PUbrOQ7VNgjqBGzVefDdYfEw3DFTrJLEIkO4DzZuyv8g59P3BkAMBk/w640-h426/191809236_4433405910027160_561040475590406942_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Before I left the woods, I sent my wife a photo of the bird. I think she likes seeing that photo more than any other. It is a lot for a turkey hunters' wife to take when the only thing their husband can think about is turkey hunting before and during the season. I brought the Tom home and got some nice photos of the bird to remember him by. He was pretty wet from the rain the previous evening, but I managed a few good photos. My favorite photos to remember hunts by are what I call "PJ Hero Shots". I live for those before work hunts and trying to hunt every day of the season I can. I love getting to go in and wake up my best buddy and tell him "Daddy got a turkey," and see his face light up with excitement.<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbhGqHKM41YxIIcujS0Qv5m8gTIPj0BpmVfz2DEobeOKPzD2r3S_MGy4L469FLSfZoXg8aznBNvtPdo8r-xRSYomUiSw-LqUHpgAK4nB1e3aNLVbeoewJT4jfWxQCkCZKgoFRbfCChiL8/s2048/190794096_4433417886692629_1502898909529184176_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbhGqHKM41YxIIcujS0Qv5m8gTIPj0BpmVfz2DEobeOKPzD2r3S_MGy4L469FLSfZoXg8aznBNvtPdo8r-xRSYomUiSw-LqUHpgAK4nB1e3aNLVbeoewJT4jfWxQCkCZKgoFRbfCChiL8/w480-h640/190794096_4433417886692629_1502898909529184176_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div><br /></div>When Corbin came out to check out the gobbler, he noted how much bigger this bird was than his, as well as the first gobbler I shot of the season. He told me that he should have waited for longbeard. I told him that it's all about the hunt, and he needs to be proud of his first turkey. Corb told me he is going to wait for a longbeard next spring, but we shall see.</div><div><br /></div><div>For me, my 2021 turkey season was my best ever. I got to call in Corb's first turkey. I was blessed to take a nice loudmouth two-year-old that gobbled his head off to my call in the beginning of the season and then capped off the season with what could be my best gobbler yet. As I sit here and finish this post, and relive my first late season gobbler, I can only hope that the 2022 Spring Gobbler season is as good as last year.</div>Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-9719336230658739532021-06-28T07:08:00.001-04:002021-07-19T10:00:44.298-04:00The Sore Throat Gobbler<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYS29vsTWstLnAFIkA0oE25BAgB1RkuYPr3QhaKsqQxxVvnmu8vQ4QKFt7Q7ux_hnMqlpTFGd4A2xv0HJWDOkXsixr4VlJ6KRxR_aFlirSv1jijolG3OgXs_B7Ya_G3A4BRv__GB80Ez1N/s2048/gobbler1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1364" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYS29vsTWstLnAFIkA0oE25BAgB1RkuYPr3QhaKsqQxxVvnmu8vQ4QKFt7Q7ux_hnMqlpTFGd4A2xv0HJWDOkXsixr4VlJ6KRxR_aFlirSv1jijolG3OgXs_B7Ya_G3A4BRv__GB80Ez1N/w640-h426/gobbler1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <span> T</span>he first week and a half of spring gobbler season was rather rough for me this year. I had spooked a few birds by making rookie mistakes. I was on gobbling birds ,which was a good thing, but my lack of time to scout before the season started was taking its toll on me. Every hunt felt rushed but I was gaining information on the birds in the area every time I was out.<p></p><p><span> </span>I had missed a nice longbeard the first Monday of the season as I took my head off of the gun to see the shot. I shot over top of that bird and he ran over the hill unharmed. As I walked up to double check that the shot was a clean miss, that gobbler ran back across the logging road in front of me. After that hunt I quit the subtle tactics of using a stock shotgun and decided to take my fully loaded Mossberg 500. That gun has a reflex sight on it and is bad medicine on gobblers.</p><p><span> </span>In the middle of the first week I went to an old stand by spot. I didn't hear any birds on my first spot choice so it was already light when I got to my Plan B location. I fired off a few yelps and cuts on my Lapp Shortbox, but did not receive any answers. With only a half hour left to hunt I decided to go down into the small hollow that I have had success in the past. As I was walking down the trail a monster gobbler was running up the trail to get to the spot I had initially called from. We made eye contact and he took off running. </p><p>The rest of the week yielded only a few distant gobbles and no birds that I could actually work.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDSu8IHzx01jGEcWZcUUDr7s_VDfAH1zJHOIbjODmiDYG7c1gQHSN3-QmM8xlZqbx_70YM28fCVFkZtMsW0N6NXrxVyfJQ1GAXkFudAXTIrnd4RfK_Czt704YaXgWT6mgQzR3iQdiqdAF/s2048/gobbler4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1364" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDSu8IHzx01jGEcWZcUUDr7s_VDfAH1zJHOIbjODmiDYG7c1gQHSN3-QmM8xlZqbx_70YM28fCVFkZtMsW0N6NXrxVyfJQ1GAXkFudAXTIrnd4RfK_Czt704YaXgWT6mgQzR3iQdiqdAF/w640-h426/gobbler4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><span> </span>The morning of May 11th, was a chilly one. My Jeep's in dash thermometer read 30 degrees as I was driving in to the woods before work. I headed to the spot that I had spooked the really nice gobbler the week before. As I was walking down the trail that big bird was sounding off like crazy. I planned my set up, plopped a hen decoy right in the middle of the logging road, and let out a few tree yelps. For whatever reason this bird was on fire. I worked that bird for a few minutes but it sounded as though he was going off of the point in front of me. I had it in my head that this bird was going to work down off of the hill, and I had to make a move on him. I got up, grabbed my decoy, and headed to the point. About 40 yards down the trail that gobbler and I made eye contact yet again, and he just took off flying. These before work hunts don't help with my patience issues while turkey hunting. I decided to just go back to the jeep and get an early start at work but as I was walking out to the jeep I heard a gobbler going bananas about 150 yards or so from where my Jeep was parked.</p><p><span> </span>I had enough time to work that bird before heading to work so I took off to close the distance as fast as I could. The bird was across a powerline from where I was first set up and this allowed me to only close the distance to around one hundred fifty yards or so. I knew this bird may not be easy to call through a clear cut, across a powerline, and down a ditch ,but his mood made me believe that I could get the job done. I couldn't risk getting busted so I had to stay back a bit to work this gobbler.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7LqRpCkKNykP56RMsyFz7-e1_H5hzg4xbT9Mgab_10fnLsQYnuMcf3qKOkMplzDv2WXEWJzFCtLWRcheqmarh8IJbJ4oGl2wJjlJOhbGNEJiznIPAEHjO7LHsHgaGlVAIWk1GlQ7MNtDW/s960/gobbler2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7LqRpCkKNykP56RMsyFz7-e1_H5hzg4xbT9Mgab_10fnLsQYnuMcf3qKOkMplzDv2WXEWJzFCtLWRcheqmarh8IJbJ4oGl2wJjlJOhbGNEJiznIPAEHjO7LHsHgaGlVAIWk1GlQ7MNtDW/w640-h480/gobbler2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span> </span>While I was borderline jogging to get to a small meadow just off of the powerline that gobbler must have gobbled 50 times. I was thinking that another hunter may be working him. I got to the meadow that the twins and I had found earlier in the spring. The meadow was loaded with turkey sign at the time and I made it a point to remember that spot. I set a hen decoy out in front of me and listened to see if I could hear another hunter calling to this bird. The gobbler made it tough as he was gobbling about once ever 30 seconds or so. I had never heard a bird that fired up before. I thought that possibly he had a usual girlfriend that was not present that morning. Once I decided that no one else was calling to the bird I started some excited cutting and yelping at him. It was as if his constant "Where are yous" had finally been met with the "Here I am" he was looking for. The bird really went nuts at hearing his girlfriend calling back to him.</p><p><span> </span>This lead to a non stop gobblefest for the next 10 minutes or so. He got to the point that he was triple gobbling and sounded out of breath on that third gobble. "This bird is going to give him a self a sore throat by the time I kill him", I thought to myself. The only issue was that he was hung up at the edge of the powerline. I made him go nuts gobbling, but he still was not wanting to cross out in the open to get to my location.</p><p><span> After giving him the silent treatment I decided I would gobble at him to make him think that another Tom had moved in and stole his lady. I fired off some excited yelps at him and then instantly gobbled on my gobble tube after the last note of my yelp. As soon as I gobbled, he would gobble. This sequence went on for five minutes or so. Such an awesome hunt thus far but could I seal the deal in time?</span><br /></p><p>After firing him up again I went quiet and so did he. Was he coming in hot, or did he decide that the other bird was not worth the risk of getting beat up for? Just then he gobbled above me and to my left at about 50 yards. I toned down my calling and just let out a few soft yelps. All that was left in my mind was filling out the tag. This bird was going to come right to my hen decoy and get dropped at 15 yards I thought to myself.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrBzE2Tcg5lDWZunvT1llgIrywC60mCm_irMk5OtIwrJVkN_zAya6w169nx6jTJmYuXauUu2gGbj_LE2qfPqCcYCfUSKakZLaMAO5mSwdoWZg43ddxdUbbRDZMb1UaD0k1TzjX9PADD7EX/s2048/gobbler3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1364" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrBzE2Tcg5lDWZunvT1llgIrywC60mCm_irMk5OtIwrJVkN_zAya6w169nx6jTJmYuXauUu2gGbj_LE2qfPqCcYCfUSKakZLaMAO5mSwdoWZg43ddxdUbbRDZMb1UaD0k1TzjX9PADD7EX/w640-h426/gobbler3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><span> </span>The gobbler had other plans. I had to watch in agony for what felt like an eternity as the "Soar Throat Gobbler" would strut back and fourth at thirty-five yards on the powerline trail. There was a roughly eight foot high ditch with just enough brush in the way that I could not shoot, and I feel made it impossible for him to see my decoy. To make matters worse the bird would turn directly at me and gobble every 45 seconds or so. Such a rush to just hear the sound I crave all spring so many times and so close. Now I had a live hen working her way from my left going right too him. This made me super nervous that he would just go off with her and the most exciting turkey hunt I've ever had would be over.</p><p><span> </span>With time running out and a live hen threating to steal my bird, I really poured it on him. I tried to sound like the most eager hen on the mountain. This drove him into another gobbling episode again. Just as I thought he was going to break I could see the hen with him. She and I exchanged a few words, and I assumed my hunt was over yet again.</p><p><span> </span>Suddenly I could hear a vehicle coming up the powerline trail to my left. This could either go really good or really bad for me, I thought in my head. I could see the vehicle through an opening and knew it was a hundred yards or so to my hard left. Just then the hen took off down the powerline. I thought to myself he is either going to fly down the powerline like the hen or try to sneak through the brush and come right to me. When the hen took off the vehicle stopped directly to my left at seventy yards or so. I was thinking I was going to see a hunter get out and shoot my bird, but I watched my longbeard break strut, flip his wings and sneak down the hill in my direction. My eyes constantly shifted from the vehicle to where the bird was. I knew that I was safe to shoot once the bird hit the flat of the little meadow as the ditch would provide a perfect backstop. </p><p>All of a sudden I could see his red, white, and blue head bob into my view at 25 yards. I put my reflex sight on his head and:</p><p>"BOOOOM!"</p><p>Finally after 2 years of tag soup I had a PA public land gobbler flopping. I was pumped and was in just disbelief of the events that had just unfolded in front of me. I have to laugh that these crazy hunts happen to me. To go from spooking one Tom, to lucking into this bird and have another hunter in a vehicle bump him right to me is hysterical. I would bet the farm that this gobbler would have went off with that hen, if I couldn't pull the hen to me. I can honestly say that the number of times that this bird gobbled before I shot him was more gobbles than I heard in the last three years of hunting. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Fppb_NN4urDYcrXrV4_wDIIr8HrEXzpYby2FVVfJWEkXl7Mg3CwCnEDFrNpTnsUfIbKfBcIvcwzHWV-7Xv0O3PlGOsmEHR5URrErngcE-dFYmyadjyNKxfHIO6f324bcM-OL4cu_VzmJ/s2048/gobbler9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Fppb_NN4urDYcrXrV4_wDIIr8HrEXzpYby2FVVfJWEkXl7Mg3CwCnEDFrNpTnsUfIbKfBcIvcwzHWV-7Xv0O3PlGOsmEHR5URrErngcE-dFYmyadjyNKxfHIO6f324bcM-OL4cu_VzmJ/w640-h480/gobbler9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><span> </span>I snagged a picture of the bird as he laid and was just shaking my head at what had just happened. I took a hunt recap video on my phone as I like to do after every kill. It makes for a great thing to watch to relive hunts. I don't know if gobblers can get soar throats like a human but this bird sure gave his vocal chords a work out that morning. To finally punch a tag after eating tag soup for two seasons was a great feeling, and I knew that Corbin would be super excited.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNeSqI7DXN6fbXplD22aIFClPF1DOTLW4LqTfiOHMjtRUz2otBWlWvwTlw4VH0iR922-g_Qv0YNirQEN3H98IeVY3OFh_zGENYQ0YhBbs1nAXNMgjOBMaDJpzjZKs3EoPYjJ2sZ8ICKJAN/s2048/gobbler6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNeSqI7DXN6fbXplD22aIFClPF1DOTLW4LqTfiOHMjtRUz2otBWlWvwTlw4VH0iR922-g_Qv0YNirQEN3H98IeVY3OFh_zGENYQ0YhBbs1nAXNMgjOBMaDJpzjZKs3EoPYjJ2sZ8ICKJAN/w640-h426/gobbler6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span> I've shot bigger birds than this gobbler. Gobblers that weighed more. Gobblers with longer beards and spurs. What this bird lacks in trophy potential he made up with on my most exhilarating and heart pounding spring gobbler hunt. I am addicted to hearing the bird gobble, and will admit that sometimes I am guilty of over calling just to hear it. I have to believe that in the 45 minutes or so that I worked this bird he had to have gobbled two hundred times. This chess match was awesome and one I will never for get. To checkmate a gobbler that wanted to gobble as much as this guy was an out of this world hunt and one that I will replay in my mind for a long time.</span><br /></p>Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-41970304278708268412021-06-23T23:35:00.001-04:002021-06-23T23:35:48.227-04:00Corb's First Turkey<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI1vMCufA7Xsc0M-6nFglXAJU4_IlF7yPuZv1_Qe-GIOkKWz6LR3s9V1dv9jf3MaOUpcIKPpMLc29asTKO3C6SXj3zN4-pwpn0Va6Y2LQKDPnWbEspOlTai6wDfWp_YD2Yi4ygoim1TZLU/s2048/181184118_4353186108049141_2402310726992988951_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI1vMCufA7Xsc0M-6nFglXAJU4_IlF7yPuZv1_Qe-GIOkKWz6LR3s9V1dv9jf3MaOUpcIKPpMLc29asTKO3C6SXj3zN4-pwpn0Va6Y2LQKDPnWbEspOlTai6wDfWp_YD2Yi4ygoim1TZLU/w640-h480/181184118_4353186108049141_2402310726992988951_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>Heading into the 2021 Spring Gobbler Season I felt overwhelmingly under prepared. I had no time to roost any birds and was going off previous years knowledge to make my plans for the season. I would rely on my in season scouting more so this year than any previous season.</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>The Wednesday before youth day I realized that I could not find Corbin's 410 TSS shells that he uses. I searched the house high and low but could only find one shell. I decided that I would take Corbin out with his 20 gauge to practice with his gun a little more. I took some low brass and high brass shells for him to practice with. He was drilling the targets and was not afraid of the recoil of the gun so I was super pumped for the upcoming youth day.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>With high hopes Corb and I went to a friend of mines private property to hunt. My friend was kind enough to let Corbin hunt his property. He knew how hard Corbin had been hunting the last two years, and all of the trials and tribulations that he had faced within those two years hunting public land. We arrived at the property just before grey light started. A gobbler on the one end of the property was already hammering. I decided that this would be the bird we would chase after.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>We ended up switching our set up 3 times on that particular bird, but a hen foiled our plans on our third set up. We just ran out of property that we had access to hunt, and with his girlfriend by his side, there was no way we would be able to move that bird from his hen. Corb and I walked back to my friends house and took a quick break. Corbin and I shed a few layers as we had planned to hike to the other side of the property to a secluded meadow, and scout our way in. We came across a decent amount of turkey sign along the way.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVyTGDHnUDBnc0tBsiw04Bp50bYOW9-Bio_Bhak90J1rrSlGkzVvqAEA-oeOkPUOL8VYEuWEr9Ci3O7kMFlE1migIlSn57kFyhlsq1TFtdc6IOAIwhrHpCS-Ur8PuaFXb6KwxNFmEkmgQs/s2048/187502859_4417820561585695_3452078027293086554_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVyTGDHnUDBnc0tBsiw04Bp50bYOW9-Bio_Bhak90J1rrSlGkzVvqAEA-oeOkPUOL8VYEuWEr9Ci3O7kMFlE1migIlSn57kFyhlsq1TFtdc6IOAIwhrHpCS-Ur8PuaFXb6KwxNFmEkmgQs/w640-h480/187502859_4417820561585695_3452078027293086554_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>When we got to the meadow Corb decided he was going to call all of the shots. He picked out his "hide", some low hanging hemlock branches with a brush pile behind it. He set out the decoys in the exact spot that a gobbler would be sure to come into. We sat quiet for a little, and he noted that he wanted to do some calling on his own. I pulled out his Mike Lapp push pin call, and he started some excited yelps and purrs on it. Instantly a Barred Owl fires off to our right. Corbin jumped in excitement, as he love owls. He would do some calling and then told me that I needed to join in with him to call and pick a fight with him to mimic two hens squawking at each other.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>It was awesome to see how far he had come, and how much he had listened to me over the last two years of hunting when I would explain the why and how's behind my calling methods. Unfortunately for us, we only had a hen answer and no longbeards responded. We left empty handed but Corb was sure that his spot was just the perfect location to kill his first turkey on Opening Day.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>Opening morning came and I had barely slept a wink that night. We had really high winds the evening before so roosting the birds was impossible. I told Corb that because of the winds it was likely that the birds would be roosted at the meadow and we may be in some serious business. As soon as we dropped down over the hill from my buddies house a longbeard fired off down by the meadow.</p><p style="text-align: left;">"DAD!! I HEARD A GOBBLER BY THE MEADOW!!"</p><p style="text-align: left;">"I heard him Corb, so what do you want to do? Do you want to take the trail over to meadow, or walk down into the creek bottom to get there?"</p><p style="text-align: left;">"I dunno Dad.....I think we better go into the bottom in case he is roosted on Ramp Flat."</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>So we took off for the bottom, and were on our way to the meadow. When we got to about 70 yards away I told Corbin that we were no longer going to talk until we got set up at his spot. I told him that I would put his decoys on the exact spots he picked last week. I set up to Corbins left to try and help shield his movements to the birds. I set the decoys and sat down with him.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgI2ou2T-_KfuQ59wgt4lmnnZItrW3n-QpSg9XSRxSTH2x4gyZrm5Qkauc4fU-bIJkmrX0hG7zlZdhyphenhyphen-paOLMWeG15x97tD8X1QAThGcfa6vCQq84o-IdnFn1ghywlLOCrnMd7Hzpvc2bF/s2048/Corb+set+Up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgI2ou2T-_KfuQ59wgt4lmnnZItrW3n-QpSg9XSRxSTH2x4gyZrm5Qkauc4fU-bIJkmrX0hG7zlZdhyphenhyphen-paOLMWeG15x97tD8X1QAThGcfa6vCQq84o-IdnFn1ghywlLOCrnMd7Hzpvc2bF/w640-h480/Corb+set+Up.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corb's set up I mimicked from youth day.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">GOBBLE-OBBBLE-OBBBLE-OBBBLE!!! </p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>The longbeard was roosted no more that 40 yards away in the pines on the ridge just above the meadow. It was just a little past grey light so I gave a couple light tree yelps. The gobbler turned our way and hammered again. "He knows we are here Corb, That's the last time I am going to call until his feet are on the ground." A few minutes later a hen started to call around 100 yards away. "Dad, you better call so that hen doesn't ruin our hunt," Corb whispers. "Corb, The more I call to that gobbler the longer he is going to stay in that tree," I whisper back. Corb just nodded, and sat back down. The hen calls again a few minutes later. "Dad, please call, she is going to pull that gobbler away!" He eagerly replied as she finished her last tree yelp. I didn't mention it to Corbin but I heard a group of jakes roosted above the meadow on our walk in. I didn't want to call and have them come roaring in and skip the hen the gobbler had heard. I had called light enough so only the longbeard would hear it and at that point the jakes had not sounded off. </p><p style="text-align: left;">"Corb, are you ok with shooting a Jake or do you want to wait for that longbeard?"</p><p style="text-align: left;">"Dad, a turkey is a turkey for me."</p><p style="text-align: left;">"OK, Get ready"</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>I did a fly down cackle with my MAC slate call and all three jakes let out thunderous gobbles. It sounded like the crowd cheering at Beaver Stadium in the quite morning. Corbin nearly jumped out of his skin. "Dad, there are other Turkeys on the hill" "I know Corb, Keep your head on that gun." I knew those jakes were going to come in and a few seconds after my fly down cackle they were on the ground and coming in hot. I let out a few excited yelps and cuts and they were hammering. I would say I was overcalling a bit but wanted Corbin to experience the excitement of fired up gobblers. About 2 minutes later I could see them pretty much running into the creek bottom.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>"Corb, they are directly to my left, don't move a muscle. Once they see that Jake decoy they will come over." I never called again, but the jakes slowly walked in front of me and were getting ready to cross the stream. "Corb, they are going to come up right behind that grey brush pile, get your scope right on the Jake decoys head and get your safety off" And just as I said they both came in. They had their heads lifted in the air, and ready to fight the decoy. </p><p style="text-align: left;">"Corb shoot the one on the right...Wait, wait, wait.....Corb, shot the one on the left.....Wait, wait wait"</p><p style="text-align: left;">The birds kept walking in front of each other. The smaller of the two jakes was clear. </p><p style="text-align: left;">"Corb, Shoot the one on the left."</p><p style="text-align: left;">"I can't."</p><p style="text-align: left;">"Corb the gun won't kick you too bad just shoot him."</p><p style="text-align: left;">"No Dad, the trigger won't work."</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>In his excitement and bracing for the shot Corb must have pressed the slide release button on his Mossberg 500 and the slide was open a little, disengaging the trigger.</p><p style="text-align: left;">"Corb, its the pump, slide it forward a little but don't take the sight off of his head."</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>Corbin handled this like a pro and lightly slid the pump, when it broke it clicked. The bigger Jake then attacked the decoy. After his round house kick he posed, wings down, and head raised in a defensive position.</p><p style="text-align: left;">"Kill him"</p><p style="text-align: left;">BOOOOOM!</p><p style="text-align: left;">Corb's Shot hit its mark, and the Jake never even flopped a wing. He straight leveled him with his Mossberg 500 20 gauge loaded with Federal TSS #9's.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfEw0oEkWKL0Dg2izpW_1BmBwInNMORX20o_kvcQbuoN9Rru3bL101e7mCdSDo4qSIVM9WmeepsKNz8kkqwSKmFnMatHTBnrNNOC2clVBvhSLdYL5tP1vjJs-ScySBW5sBGxLDA9cHOvTK/s2048/180529971_4352022498165502_6840863421734000027_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfEw0oEkWKL0Dg2izpW_1BmBwInNMORX20o_kvcQbuoN9Rru3bL101e7mCdSDo4qSIVM9WmeepsKNz8kkqwSKmFnMatHTBnrNNOC2clVBvhSLdYL5tP1vjJs-ScySBW5sBGxLDA9cHOvTK/w640-h480/180529971_4352022498165502_6840863421734000027_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">"Oh my gosh, I got my first turkey, I got my fist turkey, Oh my gosh!"</p><p style="text-align: left;">"Yeah buddy! Give me your gun in case that longbeard comes down."</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>It was just a hunting instinct I guess and in the heat of the moment it took over me. That's when Corb's emotions took over. "Thank You lord, Thank You Lord, thank you lord. I can't believe it."</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>At this moment he was crying tears of joy and I knew that this private land gobbler in the tree to my left was not worth missing out on my little buddies first turkey kill. "Forget that gobbler, Corb lets go get your turkey!"</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkI3-xU1EN9C2RdnKkM5YIV1gx6bZ-rD9d26PqauwtWPrviLsXcOTwzS1MIhzON104w0HaSVKznzUSrRUtTcEeFKWP_b9ObjWcggKYXcYO0OjuVlrA9WcxY-Er_NwA7sFOgN-I9SvYUoyl/s2048/180425730_4352023611498724_7925556173251437823_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkI3-xU1EN9C2RdnKkM5YIV1gx6bZ-rD9d26PqauwtWPrviLsXcOTwzS1MIhzON104w0HaSVKznzUSrRUtTcEeFKWP_b9ObjWcggKYXcYO0OjuVlrA9WcxY-Er_NwA7sFOgN-I9SvYUoyl/w640-h480/180425730_4352023611498724_7925556173251437823_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>Corbin and I were both super pumped for him to finally put a tag on a turkey. He has hunted very hard over the previous two years but something always went wrong. Corb wanted to film a recap video for his YouTube channel, and get a few pictures. We made a quick escape from the hidden meadow back to my buddy's house to hopefully make it in time to show him Corb's turkey. My friend was very happy for Corbin and gave him a congrats. Corbin then wanted to show a few other family members while his sisters were still sleeping. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsQstx4m9MIvHGile2P-4n0Xak4vfY7eQDrgZ9DBVJLbAOtB_AIY9dcYOVsg4DlPU_2ZS2Vpl43ACza2y2rxM1yDR2xBGVcJvjwvXyq-coElmLCM9h2dvpkurQaSQ_0PsByHdnW5hNiZWL/s2048/181406904_4352022211498864_1538998048161586823_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsQstx4m9MIvHGile2P-4n0Xak4vfY7eQDrgZ9DBVJLbAOtB_AIY9dcYOVsg4DlPU_2ZS2Vpl43ACza2y2rxM1yDR2xBGVcJvjwvXyq-coElmLCM9h2dvpkurQaSQ_0PsByHdnW5hNiZWL/w640-h480/181406904_4352022211498864_1538998048161586823_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><span> </span>This hunt will forever be etched in my mind. This hunt really got Corbin hooked on turkey hunting. He always liked hunting turkey but after finally having a plan come together without something or someone messing it up really planted the seed. He is already talking about hunting turkeys in the fall. I put together a mount on Corbin's jake and it now resides on his wall, and am going to have a good buddy of mine make a nice wingbone call from one of his Jake's wings. After I try a few wingbones myself, Corbin is going to try to make a call from the other wing from his Jake. Corbin also wanted to save the primary wing section of his Jake to make a fly down call as well. I have made a lot of hunting memories over the years but it will be really hard to beat Corb's First Turkey.</p>Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-3617109412634992752020-01-06T13:19:00.001-05:002020-01-06T13:19:12.380-05:00Preserving Grey Squirrel Pelts For Fly Tying<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I had a few requests for instructions on preserving a squirrel hide for fly tying. I don’t tan the hide where it becomes soft like leather, but mainly just preserve it. Don’t mind my amazing sketch on how to make your cuts.</div>
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I use Game shears and make a small cut on their belly. Then, I make a straight line up to their head. Next, take a line to their feet. Repeat this process on all 4 legs.</div>
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The tail is tricky. I don’t really use squirrel tails for flies, but do utilize this material for inline spinners. You can remove it one of 2 ways. If you just shot the squirrel, just hang on to the front half of the body and slowly pull the rest of the hide back. The tail may just turn inside out.</div>
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The other option is to split the tail. Take your knife or shears and make a small incision at the top of the tail and cut straight down. You can then pull the tail out, but thus gets difficult where the tail is very thin.</div>
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Next I remove their feet. once the feet are removed I just pull the body out from the skin. You can remove the head if you’d like. You can slowly pull the rest of the hide forward and it should just come right off of the head. I don’t really use a lot of fur on the mask so a lot of the time I just get rid of it for the most part.</div>
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Game shears are the ticket, and its best to remove the skin immediately after you shoot the squirrel. This makes skinning the squirrel 500 times easier when you do it while the squirrel is still warm.</div>
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Then lay the squirrels pelt on a thick piece of cardboard. Stretch the squirrel out and pin the skin in place on the cardboard. Take a knife and kind of scrape as much if any fat or meat from the skin side. Make sure it’s all pinned right then take 20 mule team borax and rub it into the skin. Make sure it covers all of it. Let it sit a day. Refresh the borax for a day or two. Remove all existing borax and then reapply. It won’t make it tanned but does preserve the fur. Similar to how the do hares masks.</div>
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I use grey squirrel body fur a lot for dubbing. It’s way better to have the entire pelt as you can see the different lengths of hair. For instance the leg hair is longer than the hair on the back. You can make bigger dubbing loops and such. This aspect is very beneficial. I would liken it to having the whole partridge skin vs having a baggy of feathers.</div>
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Hope this helps you out. 😎👍🏻</div>
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Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-10408296468216512262019-12-04T11:19:00.001-05:002019-12-04T11:19:09.730-05:00BUCK Knife Review<img id="id_99d0_94f9_6071_aaf2" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/tTRs_kqLMbYjo7BTQBfygV_zpUEOHTZ2Nz61IkCWwG9K3x_5kXiN9HEZiJY" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><div>My brother gave me this knife on the last day of archery season. It is a BUCK 382 Trapper knife. I shot my doe and field dressed it with a different knife. </div><div><br></div><div>I decided I would skin and butcher the entire deer with my BUCK Knife. I wanted to see how the knife would hold up. </div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_6dda_354b_465_7118" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/h0dasG3OuyYvsM8TChw1xL_30m1vqIi9uhzAXhyhMVrG4cPaa0nHAu6nKWg" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br>When I was skinning the deer the knife was cutting skin but also hair. After skinning the deer I then trimmed all of the fat off. This can be pretty hard on a blade. </div><div><br></div><div>Once I trimmed the fat off I quartered the deer up. I washed the knife and then deboned all of the meat. Once the deboning was done I removed all of the silver skin. I purposely left the front shoulders for last as this has the most silver skin. I trimmed the last of the silver skin and NEVER had to touch the blade. </div><div><br></div><div>I did the entire process and the only tool I used while processing was this little knife.</div><div><br></div><div>I’ve never owned a BUCK Knife before but this to me was an awesome statement to the quality of their knives. I’ve used some big name wild game processing kits that the knives needed touched up ever few minutes. The little blade was easy to manage and I never felt undergunned with this knife. </div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_27c7_9553_b68_9197" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/ZgOOpqP4_PVwd1uoVO51XO1dzSF6S3zy6wUAWXm022nRAQLTgyRYJdTw4fk" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br></div><div>Why? Why use a single small knife to butcher a deer? I just wanted to see how the little knife would pan out. Now I did not do any steaks and everything but the back straps, two roasts, and the fish was trimmed and sliced to fit into my grinder but this knife held a great edge throughout the entire process. A longer blade is just easier to cut steaks with but it could have easily been done with this knife.</div><div><br></div><div>Big props to BUCK. Just goes to show that you don’t absolutely have to have a butchering kit to process your own deer. </div><div><br></div><div>I could have field dressed the deer with this knife as well but I like a little more distance between my fingers and the edge of the blade while I can’t see what I’m cutting. </div><div><br></div><div>Great product, and won’t be the last BUCK knife I ever own.</div> Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-39090350923222575452019-11-29T15:25:00.001-05:002019-11-29T15:25:10.801-05:00Thanksgiving Raccoons, First Catches for Father and Son<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Corbin really wanted to get into trapping this year. I bought a few Dogproof traps and a few 110's for mink and muskrat. Our line is rather small but it is located in a pretty good area. He was really discouraged the past week and a half as all of our traps have been coming up empty. A few had been robbed but we had no animals for our efforts. One day I did a little scouting up stream from where our first traps were. I found a log crossing a stream with a pretty well used trail going to it. Looking at the other side I had assumed that raccoons </span><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">or another animal that climbed </span><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">were using the downed log as a bridge. The tree that fell ended up getting stuck in another tree so I don't believe that fox or coyotes are using the bridge. I plan on setting up a camera on crossing to confirm my hypothesis. I had a lot of confidence in this set but just hoped Corbin could be patient enough to wait it out.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I've</span><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> been getting up early and checking the line before work. I left enough time so I could go home and get Corbin if we had something in our traps. He is only 7 so I don't want to get him up super early and out in the cold for nothing. When he is a little older he can learn the commitment and check tracks with me every day.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Thanksgiving morning I took a ride on the mountain until it got light. I took my fishing rod with me to try to catch a fish or two to help with my sets. It took me a little longer to get to the traps, but was a nice change of pace from just checking empty or robbed traps. All of our water sets were empty. I checked the box trap I have set up for a mink. The previous evening I had put a creek chub in the back of trap. Something had pulled the chub through the hole and ate some of the head and tail, but did not commit to going inside of the trap. I think it is a weasel or a mink. I have plans for catching this mystery robber but that is for another post.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">After checking the mink trap, I walked up the bank and saw that the one DP was untouched, but the other had the cap nocked off. This trap had been robbed two days in a row. This DP contained Corbin's home made raccoon bait consisting of Berry Captain Crunch, Blueberry </span><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Cheerios</span><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, Strawberry Rice Crispies, Small </span><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Marshmallows</span><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, mixed in a near empty jar of peanut butter. The twins taste tested his concoction and and approved.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I soon came to the realization that we had our first Raccoon in one of our traps. Boy I was pumped. I was excited to get my first catch as a trapper, and even more excited that my helpers home made bait lured the raccoon to a trap. This raccoon was a big female with beautiful colors. I was elated, but was even more excited to check the spot I had scouted two days before.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDFNIPnPR9PA_gb8X44tobbGGd6Lci0JBMZA96xAmKiDF9kuyuZs2FEuZQ2fAuUUFjBJabxgY30M6z-Vdx3s_fWs9G72vJZuOEgRP6gjo6ImO5hPKznkFRPJbwDZA7JJvbut7sxi3McUs/s1600/double.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDFNIPnPR9PA_gb8X44tobbGGd6Lci0JBMZA96xAmKiDF9kuyuZs2FEuZQ2fAuUUFjBJabxgY30M6z-Vdx3s_fWs9G72vJZuOEgRP6gjo6ImO5hPKznkFRPJbwDZA7JJvbut7sxi3McUs/s640/double.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">With my held high I went back to my Jeep to go and check the other spot. I walked down to the log crossing only to find that I had a double. I was very optimistic going out this morning as we had a wind storm on Wednesday going into Thursday. I guess that was just what we needed. I was blessed to have two more big raccoons on our line. One was a super dark and gorgeous female and the other was a lighter colored male. WOW!!! I can't really put into words how blessed I felt. I just had my first catch, and now had a double. I keep thinking back to the saying "If it's good enough for one trap then it is good enough for two..." That saying is why I decided to put two DP's on the crossing and it paid off for me.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I have always wanted to get into trapping, and this year was the year I was going to jump in head first. I only have a few traps, and limited time but I was going to give it everything I had, and Corbin was too. We are both all in. He was quite discouraged after our first week or so did not produce. I mean our luck was low. So low in fact that I even had a raccoon climb a tree on the other side of the stream about 10 yards from our traps on a morning check. I could have easily shot the raccoon, but really wanted Corbin to get one in one of our sets.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">We were very blessed this Thanksgiving. I could not have asked for a better outcome for our first catches. Three large raccoons can put a big smile on a discouraged little boys face. It was tough keeping his moral boosted. I had to laugh when he said, "Dad, Robby Gilbert catches something every time he goes out!" I had to explain to him the Robby doesn't show how many traps don't get touched, and the Robby still probably has a few traps get robbed also. He can only put his successful traps on his show. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">I am happy that both of us picked the spots together and Corbin even made the bait on our first catch. He helped in every aspect of these catches. He can't wait until he is 12 and can officially be a trapper in Pennsylvania. We are learning this together and having a blast. I think that trapping is something that both of us will do together for years to come. Corbin was so excited to take his raccoons home to show his sisters and explain how he set up the traps with me. The twins are super excited every time I come home in the morning from checking traps. Maybe next year they can come in the woods with us to check traps. They like sampling Corbin's raccoon bait, and are going to try to make their own in the next week or so.</span></span></span><br />
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<br style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">After a few hero shots we went in for Thanksgiving dinner and skinned the Raccoons later that night. Corbin's Uncle John gave him a pocket knife that day, and Corbin was pumped to get to learn how to use it later that night when he go to skin his raccoons.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">We have the raccoons skinned and I have some of them mildly fleshed. I will be freezing them until I get the right tools for fleshing and tanning. Corbin wants to make a quiver for his recurve bow out of the biggest Raccoon. I am going to do a trapper display tan on the really dark one, and will also be making a quiver out of the lighter one.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">We are going to give canines a try now, and hoping to catch fox mainly. I will be picking up a few traps here and there to put out a few canine sets. Corbin and the twins are addicted to watching trapping videos and learning. He's a big fan of Robby Gilbert and Trapping Time TV. It is awesome to hear Corbin's breakdowns on why we should put a trap here, and how he thinks the animals are working the area. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Trapping is an awesome way to introduce kids into the outdoors. There are a lot of things that trapping will teach them about animal movement, animal tracks, and all sorts of other areas of the outdoors that they may never be exposed to with hunting alone. I feel very blessed this Thanksgiving, and hearing Corbin say this was <i>The Best Thanksgiving EVER!! </i></span><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">only made it better.</span><br style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span><br style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" />Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-3076077094279432652019-10-29T12:12:00.001-04:002019-10-29T12:12:47.038-04:00DIY European Mount<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="s1">I’ve seen a lot of requests on how to do a European mount by yourself. In this post I’ll cover my step by step instructions on how I do my Euro mounts. The skull used in the tutorial was from a buck my cousin shot a few years ago. I captured these images but never put them into a blog post.</span></div>
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I often see posts asking how hard Euro Mounts are to do by yourself. My process takes about 4 hours start to finish. I do this as soon as I get the deer or freeze the skull until I can find the time to do it. There are plenty of other ways of accomplishing this but this is how I do mine.<span class="s1"></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Start with head facing away from you.</span></div>
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Make the initial cut and spit the skin behind the head and between the ears.</div>
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<img alt="" height="640" id="id_d487_d9f9_6432_fa6f" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/y9TxDmILyDKyJYvnHbiPjNVQ6Ebv6V5x9dT3pupXPoaVIJSHbItGfHD_fCA" style="height: auto; width: 392px;" title="" tooltip="" width="479" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">Slice the skin all the way down to the nose.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">Slice away the skin and peel it back to the ears.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">Do this to both sides.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">Slice around the antlers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">You can place your knife perpendicular to the antlers base and just push down. Do this the whole way around the base.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">Grab the skin and pull back and slice away the meat and fat from the ears.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">Do this to both sides.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">Take your knife and slice along the inside of the jaw bone. Follow this down to where the jaw bones come together. Remove tongue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">Cut away the cheek meat that runs between the eye socket area and jaw bone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">Pull down on bottom jaw and continue to remove meat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">Once the jaw is removed I take my knife and screw driver and scrape away at the inside of the brain cavity. Remove the eyeballs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">I then take the skull and pressure wash the meat off. Be sure to blast inside of brain cavity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">Get as much as you can off with the pressure washer. IMO the more meat/fat you get off before you put it in the pot, the brighter your skull will turn out.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-size: 21px;">I bring a pot of water to a boil and add a generous amou</span><span style="font-size: 21px;">nt of DAWN and peroxide.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">I reduce the heat to just below boiling. I’ve found that when I let it at a rolling boil it makes the lower nose area want to fall out. About ever 20 minutes I remove the skull and continue to remove more meat and other tissue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">I hit the skull with a pressure washer again once I am happy with my picking then hang it in a sunny place. I’ll put peroxide on the skull every so often.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 21px;">After a day or so this is what you end up with. The pressure washer is such a great tool to have. You can do it without but it requires a lot more time and effort.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-size: 21px;">I love doing euro mounts and think they are a great DIY project. I like to do these the day after I harvest the deer. Being from Pennsylvania it’s a great project for Sundays. I’ve done quite a few of these over the years and have never had any issues with the white fading. I credit that to getting as much of the meat and fat off prior to having the skull hit the hot water. I love doing things on my own and hope that this blog post can help you if you are thinking of giving it a try this year.</span></span></div>
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Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-22478669612345699782019-07-31T08:37:00.001-04:002019-08-22T10:11:50.373-04:00Becoming a Well Rounded Angler <img id="id_850a_5e27_ed72_b8ec" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/WuhOp4kphVQ5eo_0nEZeRoteIRMh9KNOwUu8QWqEDsDvPX10OtBuR7bxDGM" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 616px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Helvetica;">I’m going to miss catching these guys before work. Soon I’ll have to get 3 kids ready for school every day. Archery season is fast approaching, football practices with my son, and the list is growing of things that will limit my fishing time.</span><br><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><br></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><img id="id_fbd5_9d2a_9304_a564" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xgQBW9Va8vtVQ1iE8tBJxiNK5LPjs5G6seb8XjoAXBFwh0JL_EmQ9Spo3hY" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 616px; height: auto; margin: 4px auto; display: block;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;">This year has been a great one for me. Learning to fish spinners has been exciting and rewarding. Learning to make them was also a blast. I’ll still always love fly fishing the most, but think it’s a good thing to be skilled at all kinds of angling. Lifting the restrictions of “fly fishing only” really helped me enjoy the aspects of trout fishing. </p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><br></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><img id="id_b9b8_a8b5_cefd_34ca" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/3V2O4vStQ-QAc0Dyz3w1ET4b4kjmy6YCHKdUpwfgLvrSrhdJO708lkGywis" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 616px; height: auto; margin: 4px auto; display: block;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;">Each style of trout fishing has it own enjoyments for me. I love tying flies and coming up with new patterns to test. Fooling a trout on something you’ve created is awesome. This feeling will never get old to me, especially when the fly is tied from fur and feathers I’ve tied myself. I don’t really streamer fish or dry fly fish, so now that I’ve got a decent handle on fishing with spinners I think I may work on my streamer game this year. I imagine the strikes on streamers may be just as intense as spinners but haven’t fished them enough to know.</p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><br></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><img id="id_b11f_ad15_95fc_4148" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/vKgIVtqnSa2z5F7qwizw1xHEMBizE2fQ3W37yzUYOxLuwIE2OmjnAqf7qE4" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 616px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Spinner fishing is pretty action packed and you are constantly doing something. No dead drifting and to me it’s a bit more intense. The strikes I’ve felt this year on spinners have been awesome. They really wack a spinner. I’ve quickly learned though that the trout get wise to spinners pretty quick though. I don’t fish the same stretch of streams very often but when I did this summer I found the second trip was a lot less productive than the first. It was fun to step outside my comfort zone and learn a new skill. It was nothing short of embarrassing the first month or two that I started. My line would get hung up on the reel handle, line twist was killing me, you name it. Now that I’ve adjusted my spinners and my rod and reel things go very smooth. Just learning the correct way to install line on a spinning rod eliminated my line twist issues.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><img id="id_15f4_d2e5_c30f_aff5" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/erP6vlqcuQ1cjGbVyp4aJ25TegjUgq1AmWCqehesB8QMigcdOF-2meCnHM0" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 616px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I was brought up bait fishing and was taught how to string minnows when I was 7 years old. My uncles got me set up with an automatic fly reel and an 8’ fly rod it so. I learned to read water from them and it was very enjoyable to get back to my roots of bait fishing on a fishing trip with my uncle this summer. It was neat to roll back to the 90s with my Uncle Pat coaching me while I was drifting my minnow. “Make sure you get in front of that stick”...”You gotta make that minnow dance a little”. Learning how to bait fish from my uncles and Dad was about the best thing for me. My uncles are on a different level of bait fishing in my opinion. The bait fishing I was brought up doing was much like how I euro nymph. They use a longer rod and keep constant contact with their bait. I can count on one hand the number of trout that swallowed the hook while I was fishing with them.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 13.8px;"><img id="id_e003_6bf5_4f9c_82e4" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/DpkCzj6XvzyaS4MaQqC1ZHjYKYUFY88ayd2gjvGJ1tmqLz-D9RMxKfZP8hQ" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 616px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><br></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">2019 has been an amazing year for me. I’ve caught a ton of fish using many different styles and grew as an angler. I’ve learned that the wild brown trout is filling a void left behind from the Native Brook Trout due to deforestation and farming in the lowlands. I’ve learned they are quite a valuable resource and offer some very awesome angling opportunities.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><img id="id_59c0_f627_d07_4e86" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/W_PK2fcsuQv1HP-TALroDHQeILgQQ5UR59qd-cBe3ow92c4mqVnVoU94xvU" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 616px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><br><br><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> I can say without a doubt this year has changed me as a trout fisherman for the better. I’m excited to see what else is in store for me in the future. I broke two personal bests this year with a tank golden rainbow around 24-26” or so and an amazing wild brown around 22”. Dropping restrictions on your fishing style can really help you grow as an angler. I’d like to challenge you to give a few different styles of fishing a try in 2020. You may just be surprised at how challenging yourself with a new fishing style, may just improve your current angling choice.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;">I’ve attached a little video I put together on my phone of one of my spinner fishing trips. Best of luck with your ventures I growing as an angler. It has been one of the best years of trout fishing for me and I hope this article can aide in your decision to step outside of your comfort zone and learn some new skills as well.</p><p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;"><br><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LMttkd4Olq0" width="500" height="281" id="y_id_ae60_d9f0_600c_1e7b" frameborder="0"></iframe><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br></p> Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-7210032940343319982019-07-17T07:51:00.000-04:002019-07-17T07:57:14.425-04:00Will You Take the Leap into Traditional Archery This Year?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Will 2019 be the year you finally pick up the old stick and
string? Have you been kicking the idea around for the past few years but
haven’t given given traditional archery a shot? Are you lurking on traditional archery forums and
groups on social media and feeling like you are on the outside looking in? Do you find yourself watching hours of traditional archery hunts on YouTube, and want to give it
a try?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you can relate to the questions above ,
I was in your shoes prior to the 2018 hunting season. I had contemplated hunting with traditional
archery equipment for years and finally decided that 2018 was the year I’d
finally take the leap and dedicate my season solely to tradition archery
equipment. I bought a Samick Sage in 2017 but was too afraid of only being able to shoot 10 yards in a hunting situation. I only took my Sage out a few times in 2017 and went back to my compound once the calendar read October 25th. In this article I am going to break into how I made the transition
from a compound archer into a traditional archer. I will offer some ground level suggestions and
advice of things that I did in my “Leap Year.” I won’t get into a lot of the
nuts and bolts of tuning, arrow selection, and aiming methods, as there are
many sources online for that information. I will reference some of the sources that I used to get some help with questions, and learning curves I ran into along my journey. I mainly wanted to offer some insight
from someone who recently came from a compound bow and hope to help get you started with
taking the leap. I am not a professional traditional archer by any means and am still green into much of the world of traditional archery, but thought that many of you reading this will relate to this article.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOeWOX7ngKfE-Y6H1Kh85f6c0o4HGJVmiI64dqqdrE7Xv6attpY71CkfK2F5m6Bx9pFHWzlW8cMQnevK1vfIN8bz6xVrA4AuVvBLuxrmjxhBiHAsvc38pC8Bga_nc-yMSo6-Cb1I4gt4t/s1600/target.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" id="id_a5be_87e5_925b_c919" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOeWOX7ngKfE-Y6H1Kh85f6c0o4HGJVmiI64dqqdrE7Xv6attpY71CkfK2F5m6Bx9pFHWzlW8cMQnevK1vfIN8bz6xVrA4AuVvBLuxrmjxhBiHAsvc38pC8Bga_nc-yMSo6-Cb1I4gt4t/s640/target.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 326px;" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I live a busy life with 3 young children, a full time job, and a fly tying business so much of my practice is done at night or whenever I can manage a few free minutes.</td></tr>
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The first question that I want you to ask yourself when contemplating traditional archery is:<br />
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Do you have enough time to put in at
the range to become proficient with your traditional bow?<br />
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If the answer is NO: Can you find ways to make time to practice?<br />
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It takes a lot more
practice with a traditional bow than a compound to become proficient at accurately placing arrows into a target. Form is everything and there is
quite a learning curve when becoming accurate with a traditional bow
compared to a compound. If you don’t have a lot of free time to dedicate to
your practicing, you may want to second guess your decision. Repetition is key,
and developing good form is your starting point. Developing bad habits can be
disastrous when taking the leap into traditional archery, and is part of why my effective range in 2017 was only 10 yards. When you first start,
I would recommend dedicating at least 30 minutes a day or 30 minutes every
other day to shoot your bow. Only after you develop your form, can you dig deeper into
tuning, aiming methods, etc. I would suggest only shooting five or six yards to get a feel for your release, and anchor. I don't have any pro shops that are well versed in traditional archery so I was relying on YouTube and other social media platforms to learn about form. If you have any shops or traditional archery clubs in your area I highly recommend joining. In my opinion you can’t shoot once a week and
become proficient in developing a good shot sequence. You can have fun and can and hit your target some of the time, but you may become frustrated that you can’t group well or hit as accurately as you can with your compound bow. The biggest thing that I found out in 2017 is that you don't want to put pressure on yourself. If you don't get to hunt that first year then so be it. If you can only manage decent groups at 10 yards or so, stick to that range, and accept the fact that you must set up to put yourself in that range. There is nothing wrong with skipping a year if you are not fully confident in your abilities, and putting pressure on yourself to be able to hunt the same year you start shooting traditionally will only hurt you in the long run. I wanted to publish this article this time of year as it is the perfect time to pick up a traditional bow and start practicing. You just got your tax return and the weather is getting nicer. What better way to cure cabin fever than picking up a traditional bow? You won't feel as much pressure to become proficient as the season is still months away.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUd-boLoqhJA4gaMizTAejpUz6Wzmyqzq1DVj2lpcQnFz9CybsrR8DvrZqmfvwBDmnv9IZQWsRD0ZVUZjVnd1mnNmndC1Pc2twkewjQIwOEcG7MMrkvds5fjmb3vnyjNUvB_hXk9F1bStj/s1600/view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" id="id_eec7_88eb_61a7_3ee6" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUd-boLoqhJA4gaMizTAejpUz6Wzmyqzq1DVj2lpcQnFz9CybsrR8DvrZqmfvwBDmnv9IZQWsRD0ZVUZjVnd1mnNmndC1Pc2twkewjQIwOEcG7MMrkvds5fjmb3vnyjNUvB_hXk9F1bStj/s640/view.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 640px;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A clear cut I hunted this fall. It was tough seeing deer cross logging roads just out of range of my recurve that I know would have been in range of a compound.</td></tr>
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The next thing to consider is: Are you OK with letting a
deer pass at 25 yards or farther?<br />
This was another concern of mine. In 2017 I
only took my recurve out a few times in the early season on quick evening hunts because the thought of
passing on a deer that would be a slam dunk shot with my compound bow was too
much to handle at the time. I was worried about having a nice buck chasing a doe just out
of my range and having to pass on the shot. The thing you need to realize is
that this will happen, and you need to be willing to look at it as: “I just
didn’t put myself close enough to be part of the game” and not “If only I had my compound…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You need to
understand that the challenge of getting close and putting yourself close enough
to be part of the game is the biggest part of traditional archery. It is the most appealing aspect of traditional archery to me, and that challenge is what set me over the edge and leap. When I used
my compound I could set up within 40 yards of any side of a funnel or travel
corridor and feel comfortable killing a deer at that range. The point I am trying to make is that you don’t
have as much room to work with traditional archery equipment, and you must be
willing to let that deer walk if they are out of range. You also must understand that misses do happen that may be top pin compound range. You must be content with the fact that you must not
take these events negatively towards your choice to take the leap into
traditional archery.<br />
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Hunting with a traditional bow is a different feeling that really brings you closer to nature in my opinion. You are forced to watch the animals for a lot more time before you can shoot them. Fred Bear has been quoted as saying : "You can learn more about deer hunting with a bow and arrow in a week than a gun hunter will learn in his entire life." I am not sure when Fred said that but the same can be said about modern compound archery equipment. With traditional equipment you need to get the animal close and it gives you time to really watch the animals you are chasing. When I hunted with a compound once they hit that 40 yard mark I was more worried about finding a window to put an arrow through, more so than just watching the animal as it comes in. I found with a recurve you become more focused on just watching the animal than looking for that shot. It is an awesome part of traditional archery that really set the hook for me. You need to completly focus on the animal and burn a hole through a spot on their vitals vitals just before the shot. I learned that the hard way on two pretty nice bucks this year. Missing these bucks stung a little but did not make me want to put away the trad bow and pick up my compound. These misses only fueled my fire and pushed me to want to use traditional archery equipment even more.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPs8hIyzL87WwuMiQfHn5nrhyacOs26KIICxZSq2vGO3g8fj7vg7fflskimq-n0o3SIlvxLhZeIup4ZoFOZD0aQH1ii-4XJb8dLnl3vOvHFBF7hRkRyDC-S8pCbGAEWHGWIScfEuURw8y/s1600/black+hawk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" id="id_ee67_dcfb_c4dc_835c" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPs8hIyzL87WwuMiQfHn5nrhyacOs26KIICxZSq2vGO3g8fj7vg7fflskimq-n0o3SIlvxLhZeIup4ZoFOZD0aQH1ii-4XJb8dLnl3vOvHFBF7hRkRyDC-S8pCbGAEWHGWIScfEuURw8y/s640/black+hawk.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 480px;" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 1970's Black Hawk Archery Scout I Acquired this year. This bow is 45# @ 28".</td></tr>
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If you made it this far into my article you must
really want to take the leap. I don't want to come off as making traditional archery sound like something that is obtainable, as that is just not true, so please don't be discouraged from the first few paragraphs. I just wanted to hit on the key differences between starting out into traditional archery and starting out with a compound so you do not get discouraged and give up on it. I wanted to give you an idea of what you are up against if you choose to dive into traditional archery. Now, let’s get into the meat and potatoes of this
article.<br />
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The first thing you need to understand about traditional bows is there
is no let off. There are no cams to reduce the holding weight of the bow for you. If you are currently a compound shooter and shooting 60-70 pounds, you
don’t want to overbow yourself. For reference I
shot a 64 pound compound bow prior to buying a recurve. I would recommend staying within the 35-45 pound or less range when you start. I am a bigger guy at 6’1” and have a 29.5” draw length. Most traditional
bows are rated for a 28” draw length. A standard "ball park" in the industry is to add 3 pounds per inch of draw over 28”. Depending on the type of bow,
woods/glass the bow is made from this difference could be as much as 6 pounds per inch.
For example, if I were to purchase a 45 pound bow at 28” I would need to add 4.5 pounds to
that bow. My 45 pound bow quickly jumped up to 49.5 pounds at my draw length. I personally like a bow rated at 45 pounds. I
can shoot that weight very comfortably in any condition, and my form does not suffer because of the weight. You want to focus on form and fundamentals and this
is just not possible if you are “over bowed.”</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjR5iTd7E89YUi8SdbWHZtzlcSiQWtX2LGZo3GjwHGsvhHQztFDWlWrf7xSqjo1CSpdnpuSpEwWGC6jSh-qPiFK6tRAynzlB_WEZn13ee36WTPDg5FK7ZmCqqozBBGA1EVbLmoWSnX8Ka8/s1600/smaick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" id="id_ceb3_5242_d39c_74d9" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjR5iTd7E89YUi8SdbWHZtzlcSiQWtX2LGZo3GjwHGsvhHQztFDWlWrf7xSqjo1CSpdnpuSpEwWGC6jSh-qPiFK6tRAynzlB_WEZn13ee36WTPDg5FK7ZmCqqozBBGA1EVbLmoWSnX8Ka8/s640/smaick.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 472px;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Samick Sage Recurve sitting next to a nice early November Buck Rub.</td></tr>
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Now that you understand the weights and draws of a traditional bow, I want
to offer my suggestions for a “starter” bow. For my starter bow I chose the
Samick Sage. You can still find these bows on Amazon and Ebay and will cost you
around $100-$130. There are plenty of other lower dollar bows out there to look at. If you go with the Samick, I highly recommend
getting a fast flight string. This really made a difference for me in my
shooting over the stock string that comes with the Sage. I noticed faster arrow speed, tighter groups, and quieter shots with this upgrade. That $24.00 upgrade made the Samick shoot like an entirely different bow for me.<br />
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I recommend this bow,
and similar take down models because you can purchase heavier limbs if you
desire. It is easy to get caught up in your excitement to get started and want the best of the best. Heck you may even get so excited that you may plan on selling your compound. I don't recommend selling your compound bow just yet or purchasing a really high end bow for your first traditional bow. You may find that traditional archery just isn't for you, or you may find out that you need a lower weight bow than you thought you would. These take down style bows are perfect as you don't have to put a lot up front for them, and you can purchase other limbs in heavier weights once your form and shooting muscles improve. Not to mention they are really great shooting bows. Extra limbs for the Samick Sage are a little harder to find now but they will be in the
$65-$75-dollar range. You could purchase the bow at 35-45 pounds to develop your
form and shooting style and move up to 50-55 pounds if you desire. You can get these limbs for a lot less money than buying a completely different bow. This is a great advantage
for someone who is just starting out.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_XKkuOfs4HzR-KkL3n0FjkBo-xce74m6QE2ivzfXPGC4DJlRcw3oltKKI1LCr_Z5EgeYQ5rkT5ur2KO9FdSl5fyc9VZzJL6Hv5dEvR2cc7IO06LnbGlE24SVzAPbfOZJ0_5-oCsANg3fL/s1600/grizzly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="640" id="id_835d_6e72_6016_2abc" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_XKkuOfs4HzR-KkL3n0FjkBo-xce74m6QE2ivzfXPGC4DJlRcw3oltKKI1LCr_Z5EgeYQ5rkT5ur2KO9FdSl5fyc9VZzJL6Hv5dEvR2cc7IO06LnbGlE24SVzAPbfOZJ0_5-oCsANg3fL/s640/grizzly.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 640px;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 1958 Bear Grizzly taking a rest from a lunch break shooting session.</td></tr>
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If you don’t like the idea of a take down style bow my next
suggestion is to investigate a vintage Bear Archery recurve or long bow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are many styles and models out there.
Typical vintage Bear recurves are in the $125-$200.00 price range. I would
suggest finding a bow in the 55-62” length range. The longer bows are more forgiving
and have less issues with the string pinching your fingers because of a severe
angle of the string that is found on shorter bows like the 48" long Bear Super Magnum.
These bows are nice and compact but can be a little less forgiving than
longer bows. Again, I can’t stress enough the importance of staying in the
lighter ranges of weight when first starting.<br />
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I would recommend checking out the Bear Grizzly. This bow is kind of a working mans recurve. I was fortunate enough to obtain one through a trade for some of my custom flies. The bow is a 1958 model, but in my opinion was far ahead of its time. My Grizzly is a bit much for me at 55#, and my form suffers after a few rounds of arrows, but I am still developing my muscles and form. I've seen grizzlies pop up for sale in the $150-250.00 range.<br />
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The Kodiak is also a great bow to look at. This bow will cost you a little a bit more money, however. The Kodiak is a higher end model recurve. There are a ton of choices out there. If you don't have a shop near you or are not able to physically shoot the bow it can be a tough decision on what one to pick. There are stock piles of these vintage bows out there. You need to really look at photos and descriptions. Ebay can be tough to feel confident enough in seeing a few pictures and reading a brief description of a used traditional bow to spend a lot of money on it. I recommend looking on forums and social media groups instead. In my opionion, you really need to talk to the seller in one way or another. I don't want you to end up with a bow that has issues that you can not see, or buy a bow from a seller who really has no clue what to look for. You want to look for pressure cracks, limb twist, and other red flag issues.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil1XO781MpcQokN7d7BBWweGT1ELiE_8Vh6mA-ImRVDnj4yTKqJRhMYCQFgw9ltlDJI-pBYd0IWlAu2vtkW9wzEGFqT_lKYEDV-aHM5nqtwmKi2_vMVG94Ja-etrlDsg7GEIwz0OIpNVu0/s1600/bear+razorheads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" id="id_8d6e_e6e8_4c46_f82e" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil1XO781MpcQokN7d7BBWweGT1ELiE_8Vh6mA-ImRVDnj4yTKqJRhMYCQFgw9ltlDJI-pBYd0IWlAu2vtkW9wzEGFqT_lKYEDV-aHM5nqtwmKi2_vMVG94Ja-etrlDsg7GEIwz0OIpNVu0/s640/bear+razorheads.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 640px;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 1958 Bear Grizzly with some Goldtip Traditional arrows topped with vintage Bear Razorheads.</td></tr>
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I am going to skip over picking arrows, tuning, aiming methods etc. for this article as there are many resources out there that you can reference that will be able to give you much better insight than what I can offer at this time.<br />
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I want to just touch the surface of broad head selection. I want to hit on this because traditional archery is vastly different than modern archery when it comes to broadhead selection. You want to stay away from new age mechanical broadheads with your traditional bow. These heads are just super light, and require a lot of momentum and kinetic energy to perform at their optimum potential. You just won't have the momentum needed to open these heads when shooting traditional archery equipment. You want to focus on a heavy arrow and razor sharp cut on contact style broad head. You need to remember that in traditional archery you are focusing on getting close, and relying on a heavy arrow to provide the momentum needed to get penetration at lower draw weights and speeds. I decided that a two blade cut on contact was going to work best for me. I originally chose the Magnus Stinger in 150 grain for my broad head. They shot very well from my bow and had great arrow flight. I finally settled on Bear Razorheads for my hunting head. I also decided on cedar arrows.<br />
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My suggestion to someone just starting out would be to look at carbon arrows like Goldtip Tradional arrows and the Magnus Stinger broadhead. These are a very good and high quality combo. Broadheads are pretty subjective honestly and there are a lot of cut on contact style heads out there. I would suggest keeping your minimum broadhead weight to 125 grains. I would stay away from anything less than that, and if possible look at going over 125 grains. Once you get into tuning and things of that nature you may find your perfect weight, and experiment with broadhead selection from there. I just wanted to skim the surface, and discuss what I used, and offer a few suggestions. I hate to not dig in on this topic, but it really is a whole other blog post all together.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUky6mmz3TW0DeheA-4KX9WsYcs2B_RjATgES0sGh9u6yWakUfTzyuZ_xpAAaHJy6nmcRZoyiwIPNvBLahc_GEWZoFsZbqCbMaW40701OsN1_YlWQ4j-7rVA4ylYMKUBLAd2QxzU5E3GUv/s1600/climber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" id="id_9aae_3b93_317_51e6" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUky6mmz3TW0DeheA-4KX9WsYcs2B_RjATgES0sGh9u6yWakUfTzyuZ_xpAAaHJy6nmcRZoyiwIPNvBLahc_GEWZoFsZbqCbMaW40701OsN1_YlWQ4j-7rVA4ylYMKUBLAd2QxzU5E3GUv/s640/climber.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 640px;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Samick Sage in front of my Summit Cobra X4 open front climber.</td></tr>
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So now we know the dedication needed to practice, we know the range limits, and have an idea on what bow to look into: What is next? Other items that you may need to look into are a tab or shooting glove. Personally I have issues when I tried both of these items, and ended up just going with a light weight hunting glove. I have to feel the string in my fingers for some reason, and having one less thing to forget before I go out hunting is also a plus. The main reasons for a tab or glove is to protect your fingers, and have a smooth release. This is something I want to put effort into this year. I feel that a smooth release will aid in tightening my groups. I don't feel I have any major issues with using a hunting glove, but feel that there is a real benefit with having a smooth release.<br />
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Depending on your shooting style an arm guard of some kind may also be worth its weight in gold for you. It will protect your arm, and can aide in keeping your cold weather clothing away from your string. Quivers are also an item that is needed to hold your arrows while hunting. Some standard styles would be a bow mounted quiver, slip on quiver, quick detach, or back quiver. </div>
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If you are a treestand hunter you may want to check out an open front climber, or hang on stand. If you currently use a climber with bar in front of the seat section you may have issues when shooting a traditional bow. The issue comes with the increase in overall bow length you will see with a traditional bow. My bottom limb would make contact with the bar on the treestand I used to use. I opted to purchase a used Summit Cobra X4. This tree stand has a removable front bar. I honestly fell in love with this climber, and it only cost me $150.00. I did have a near death tree stand accident so hang ons are a bit spooky to me. A hang on stand is really a beneficial tool because you don't have to have an extremely straight and uniform tree to be able to climb. Another option is a tree saddle, but that option is way out of the question for me at this time. The last two options can aid in getting to the exact spot you need to be. Remember getting close is vitally important and every yard you can get closer will increase your chance for success. I am very comfortable with my climber and the open front option is awesome. I do recommend buying the best climber, hang on, or saddle that you can. I would try to look at Summit or Lone Wolf for climbers. After having a near death accident with a cheaper climbing stand, I try to not skimp out on that purchase. Even if you have to buy a used Summit, you are far better off than buying a new "cheap" climber. No deer is worth not coming home to your family.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0v81gpZoKxgx9AmUVM4UqPtkg6x0LSRAF5cgzD68gt4MXfThRDl_5eeFzNREHo5KPp1Ekq8jypsoG-UGW0htHr3P4ewXlLyudFaPgPijAxamC-p1RiT48J4uUv25OJDtoUfV-eO-YhkO/s1600/trad+doe+treestand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" id="id_bb0_4302_79fa_2c80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0v81gpZoKxgx9AmUVM4UqPtkg6x0LSRAF5cgzD68gt4MXfThRDl_5eeFzNREHo5KPp1Ekq8jypsoG-UGW0htHr3P4ewXlLyudFaPgPijAxamC-p1RiT48J4uUv25OJDtoUfV-eO-YhkO/s640/trad+doe+treestand.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 480px;" width="480" /></a></div>
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Just remember you do not want to climb as high as you would with a compound bow when using a traditional bow. I would say my max climbing height this year was fifteen. I shot my doe from a height around twelve feet as seen in the picture above. You really need to focus on the animal and pick a spot when shooting traditionally. Every inch you distance yourself from the animal decreases your chance of success in my opinion. I shoot instinctively so it is very important for me to be as close as I can to the animal.</div>
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A thing that really helped me during my 2018 season was having a mentor to help me along with my journey. I met a fellow named Claude from Georgia who took me under his wing so to speak. One of the things that I hear seasoned traditional archers out there say is "Man there is just so much out there today that I wish was available when I started." I am guilty of this same statement with fly fishing. I consider myself a pretty seasoned veteran in that sport and am a self taught fly fisherman and fly tyer.<br />
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Seeing all the info out there on fly fishing made me think that these new guys have it so easy. The issue with that kind of statement is that there literally is <b>TOO</b> much out there. Someone much like myself and any beginning archer can get overwhelmed on what aiming methods to try, what information is accurate, and what person to listen to on social media. You really don’t know what to do. I was just totally overwhelmed when I first got serious about taking the leap into traditional archery. I would post a question about arrow spine, or broadheads, and have 150 replies and 90 different suggestions. Then, within those replies I would have four guys arguing over who was right.<br />
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I reached out to Claude as I saw he hunted turkey with his long bow, and we became pretty good friends. He really simplified things for me, and helped me so much throughout my journey. I have no way to tell you who to reach out too, and I am leaving Claudes last name out of this so he doesn't get slammed. I feel a good mentor who can help you get started out and weed through some of the garbage information that is put out there today is worth its weight in gold.</div>
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I used one of Claude's cedar arrows and a bear razorhead he had given me to harvest my first traditional deer. After I found that doe I had a pretty lengthy phone call with him on my walk back to my jeep. I think he was very happy to be part of my first traditional archery harvest. I consider myself lucky to have had a mentor to help me so much. We live about a thousand miles from each other, but I feel he lived right down the road from me. I hooked Claude up with a nice assortment of my custom flies for all of the help and can't wait to see how he does with them. </div>
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Many traditional archers will be willing to help you, but don't be discouraged if a few guys may shrug you off. I do feel it is important to embrace the struggle of traditional archery. Your first few months and even years are your most exciting days of the sport. You are excited and have a fresh slate to build on. Do not expect to jump in and start posting hero shots of animals killed, or perfect shots on your social media pages. I think that is a real issue with beginning outdoorsman today. They feel that the have to post all of these big deer, and amazing photos to be accepted as an outdoorsman. You really need to focus on you and the only person you have to prove anything to is yourself. If you keep this in mind, you will be far better off in my opinion.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicUEntANMLfujhPE3OrAif-1B77BVTwmKtNZk7RBazzs64usrL_0OeSz6pW8ZMeDniPpK3SyCqveQI2ZWne2gezaSB6IGUgIPiWm8qnQRzaI_5uVQk7JK38brd0IbX69saKlZisDVmvHc7/s1600/trad+hunter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="958" height="640" id="id_995b_6c04_6091_b14f" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicUEntANMLfujhPE3OrAif-1B77BVTwmKtNZk7RBazzs64usrL_0OeSz6pW8ZMeDniPpK3SyCqveQI2ZWne2gezaSB6IGUgIPiWm8qnQRzaI_5uVQk7JK38brd0IbX69saKlZisDVmvHc7/s640/trad+hunter.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 638px;" width="638" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My typical attire for the 2018 bow season. a cheap natural colored flannel and Dickies work pants.</td></tr>
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One of the things you may also want to consider is going back to the roots of traditional archery when you take the leap. It is a cool experience to put yourself in the shoes of our ancestors who fought to allow bow seasons in the first place. For me personally, my entire reason for getting into traditional archery was to prove to myself that my hunting skills outweighed my equipment in the reasons for my success. I wanted to ditch pretty much all modern advances when I took on this challenge. I did use my Scoutlook App for the wind, and my topo map app to help me decide on my spots, but I ditched many other advances in technology.</div>
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I chose wooden arrows over carbon, and used broadheads from the 60's and 70's that I sharpened myself. I did not put out any trail cameras for the 2018 season. It is too easy for archers of today to fall into the trap that technology offers. Technology can cause us to become complacent because we have a big buck on camera at a given spot. You may miss the element of surprise when a big buck comes out, or you may miss hot sign and walk right by because your camera is showing a deer at another spot.</div>
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I decided that I would only wear flannel and natural colored work pants in 2018. I did have a few instances where I had to wear camo because the only rain gear I have is camouflage, but other than that I was hunting much like my ancestors. I am no elitist/traditionalist or anything like that, but honestly I don't think I will be purchasing new camo anytime soon. I don't really use any scent control sprays or anything like that and hunt entirely by using the wind. I feel that camouflage and scent control give hunters a false sense of security. These items make the hunter feel like they can get away with things like movement, and setting up when the wind isn't right.</div>
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These choices were all a my own personal choice, but I wanted to prove my woodsmanship skills and was willing to accept the challenges I put on myself if I was not successful. Placing these challenges on myself, only enhanced my woodsmanship skills. I was forced to really concentrate on my movement when animals were in range.</div>
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Playing the wind is vitally important in any type of hunting you choose but it is the most crucial element to traditional archery hunting. Entry and exit are huge. You really need to plan where you step because you have to have the animals so close. The margin for error is a lot smaller when using traditional equipment. I am not saying you have to wear plaid to be considered a traditional archer. Wear what you want, use whatever technological advances that you desire as long as they are legal. I just wanted to say that when I harvested my first traditional doe this year, while placing all of the handicaps on myself that I did, it really made the adrenaline go through the roof. I can honestly say that doe was the best trophy so far of my hunting career. I wanted to include this portion of the article not to push some sort of plaid agenda, but to show you how much enjoyment I got out of going back to the true roots of traditional archery, and paying tribute to those that hunted before us. </div>
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I plan on using my 1958 grizzly this year and try to hunt as time period correct as I can. I am going to invest in a vintage Bear "tape on quiver" to try and have all of my equipment be that of when the bow was made. None of the above is necessary to become a traditional archer, but is very rewarding to test your woodsmanship skills and have success. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSaQpFbpYeT4a0zhWHsZTROBEysuGDNmHyb9wTQ5k2C2nCGv8E9zEOAHAAco2011sYHTzBSTPJhHtSwQcDbcN6r8UNUCOf8wMAH6HAyFYr0FupbHaDuUvCg29nLoGheu8Qlw4HA5suqLy/s1600/shelf+rest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" id="id_3095_766f_a389_bbaf" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSaQpFbpYeT4a0zhWHsZTROBEysuGDNmHyb9wTQ5k2C2nCGv8E9zEOAHAAco2011sYHTzBSTPJhHtSwQcDbcN6r8UNUCOf8wMAH6HAyFYr0FupbHaDuUvCg29nLoGheu8Qlw4HA5suqLy/s640/shelf+rest.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 640px;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is a custom grey squirrel shelf rest I made for my 1958 Bear Grizzly while tying flies.</td></tr>
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One of the coolest aspects of traditional archery is that there is so much that you can personally to your bow. You can make your own shelf rests, and install your own string silencers without a bow press. You can turn into your own bowsmith. </div>
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I will be making my first set of cedar arrows soon. I also was gifted a string jig so I will eventually be making my own strings as well. The amount of things you can do by yourself with a traditional bow with very little tools is awesome. I really feel that this aspect only enhances my love for archery and builds a relationship with the bow I am working on. I eventually want to make my own bows, but that is later on down the road. The possibilities are endless and adding items you made yourself into your hunt makes the harvest that much more special. Here is an updated photo showing the cedar arrows i built in honor of my mother.</div>
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Another neat side of traditional archery is all of the personal relationships you can develop with others who make hand made items. There aren't a pile of main stream traditional archery items out there to purchase so you may find yourself contacting people who make these items by hand. Many guys and girls out there make bows, strings, arrows, quivers, tabs, bow socks, and other items all by hand. Everyone that I have dealt with has been out of this world. Many of these small businesses pride themselves on giving you exactly what you want and go the extra mile to ensure that you receive just that.</div>
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I received my custom reflex/deflex longbow From Bob Smith with Big Stick Archery. The bow truly is amazing to shoot, and Bob makes a beautiful looking, accurate bow that hits right where you are looking. I also recieved my custom quiver from Drew Kohlhofer at Selway archery. This build is going to be a tribute to my mother who passed away in October 2018. I will share a link at the bottom of the article if you want to read the story of my first traditional archery harvest. When you finish that article you will see why I am doing this bow build. I have had a few strings made by a gentleman named Steve Angell as well. His strings are great and I will reference a few of his YouTube videos on getting started into traditional archery later on in the article. </div>
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You will find many people who make amazing items when you dig into tradition archery. You may even find yourself wanting to tackle some of the aspects of building your own items as well. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Custom Selway Quiver I had made in honor of my mother.</td></tr>
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It is also really neat to share your hunt with someone who has made something that was a part of your success. There is nothing wrong with buying products from larger corporations, but supporting others who care more about you than making a profit is really the way to go. There are tons of great craftsman out there to choose from, who all have a great passion for traditional archery.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A photo I took after an action packed early November archery hunt.</td></tr>
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To close this article I thought I would share some of the things that stood out to me with my first year hunting traditionally. First and foremost, I felt so much more in tune with nature. To me when I picked up a bow made out of wood it instantly made me feel more connected with the earth. </div>
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I also noticed that I felt much more relaxed while hunting last year. I almost felt a zen like state when I archery hunted in 2018. The overwhelming calm that consumed me is tough to put into words. I don't get to hunt for vast lengths of time so slowing my hunting style down actually made those short sits feel so much longer. I knew that I would need to have more time before the shot and my eyes were not focused solely on deer. I used to put so much pressure on myself to kill a deer when hunting with a compound that it made me miss so much of what nature had to offer. With traditional archery it really forces you to slow your hunting style down and breath.<br />
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I also felt like the "chess match" was so much more detailed. There is little room for error, so you must calculate every aspect of your hunt. You must ask yourself that if you set up in a spot will the deer be close enough to shoot. If you walk on this trail will the deer cross your ground scent before coming into your stand? Every move you make must be taken into consideration. You don't have the ability to risk an extra 10 or 20 yards for a margin of error. Even a difference of 2-3 yards may mean you don't get a shot.<br />
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I also found that I shot my bow way more last year. All season long I was shooting my bow. With my compound I shot it an and would practice when I could, where as with my recurve I made sure I made a strong effort to find time to shoot.<br />
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Hunting the same way that the hunters of the early days of archery did was also awesome. The satisfaction of being successful without the use of modern technological advances is still with me as I write this. I think about that first harvest almost daily. </div>
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The fact that I can do so much work on my bow also extends my archery season. The vast amount of things that you can tinker with and explore with traditional archery added more excitement to archery hunting and lit a fire that hasn't been seen since I was a 14 year old kid watching "So You Want to be a Bow Hunter" on VHS. There was so many new things to learn and explore. Every day I couldn’t wait to get home from work and shoot my bow.<br />
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I feel that by challenging yourself and testing your woodsmaship skills you can really see where you are compared to where you think you are as a hunter. When it all came together and I shot my first deer using traditional archery equipment the feeling of euphoria I felt can not be translated by words. Not looking through a peep site and relying on a pin really was an amazing feeling. I almost had tunnel vision as I burned a hole through that does heart with my eyes. When I drew my bow and said my shot sequence in my head, time stood still and not a sound was heard. My ears were almost momentarily deaf. When I released my string and saw my arrow I was almost able to count the rotations of the arrow before it hit the deer. The whole experience was totally incredible. When you shoot your first traditional deer you too will see exactly what I am saying above. It is just such a difficult thing to put into words. To see all of the sacrifices I made and all the time and effort I put in for a few minutes of glory is indescribable.<br />
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The only way I was able to do any of this was to dedicate a whole season to hunting with traditional equipment and put my compound down for a season. I haven't sold my compound yet but I doubt I will be hunting with it any time soon. Quit dwelling on the "What ifs" and take the leap into traditional archery this year. My only regret with traditional archer is not getting into it sooner.<br />
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<b>The Push Archery</b></div>
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I cant say how important it is to watch this video before taking the leap. Everything you need to know about getting started in traditional archery is found in this video.</div>
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<b>Traditional Outdoors</b></div>
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Steve does a great job in his series giving you an understanding of how to get started in traditional archery. He also makes a very nice string.</div>
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<b>POD CAST LINKS</b></div>
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<b>Stickbow Chronicles</b></div>
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This is a great podcast to listen to stories, and hunting tactics with traditional archery. Great group of guys to listen too and always a good listen.</div>
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<a href="http://stickbowchronicles.libsyn.com/">Stickbow Chronicles Podcast</a></div>
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<b>The Push Archery Podcast</b></div>
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One of my favorite podcasts to listen to. The guys at the push cover everything from hunting stories, coaching sessions, interviews, bare bow target archery, you name it they discuss it. </div>
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<a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-push-a-traditional-archery-podcast">The Push Pod Cast</a></div>
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<b>MY FAVORITE TRADITIONAL ARCHERY YOUTUBE VIDEOS</b></div>
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<b>Leatherwood Outdoors</b></div>
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This video and seeing Shane’s reaction after the shot is what really got me considering shooting a traditional bow. Shane’s adrenaline rush after shooting this buck is inspiring. His quote " This is what bow hunting is all about, right here" stuck with me from the moment I watched this video. Shane also helped me through my first year and gave me a lot of tips and encouragement. I feel he was really rooting for me, and was very happy when I was able to seal the deal. The Leatherwood Outdoors guys are a great group of PA hunters. If you are into historical hunting be sure to watch John Royers videos with his muzzleloader.</div>
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<b>Big Stick Archery</b></div>
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I enjoy watching Bob's videos. I didn't realize that he made bows until I saw some of his bows pop up on my social media page. His videos also played a roll on my decision to give traditional archery a try. I enjoy how Bob keeps it real, and isn't afraid to make a joke at himself when something bad happens. Follow Big Stick Archery on Instagram to see some examples of this. This video is awesome as he is hunting with his dad and shoots a dandy buck. Bob makes some killer bows and I am adding one of his Assassins to my collection this year as well. </div>
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Trad Geeks</div>
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I really enjoy watching the videos that the Trad Geek Guys put together. They also have a good podcast as well. This video is by far my favorite one they have made. It features great cinematography and also displays the struggles a traditional archery hunter will face throughout a hunting season. I can relate to their age and struggles that having young children plays on your hunting time.</div>
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<b>Instinctive Adventures</b></div>
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This short film is just awesome. I love the cinematography and the message portrayed in this film. The Struggle is real in this video and it is very well put together.</div>
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<b>Clay Hayes</b></div>
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Clay Hayes has a true passion for traditional archery and his channel offers a huge amount of information. His books are also great and I really enjoy reading his hunting stories and instructions on making your own bow. I feel that a beginning archer will really benefit from watching his channel.</div>
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<b>My 2018 Traditional Doe Harvest</b></div>
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I wanted to put this video last as it was an emotional ride for me. I am not professional film maker and everything on this video was put together from my I phone. This doe was very special, and my best trophy to date . I don't think it will ever harvest a more special deer. Click the link below to read the story behind this harvest.</div>
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<a href="http://www.fullcircleoutdoorlifestyle.com/2018/12/one-last-deer-to-show-mom.html" id="id_c6ed_a9c0_3e69_e7b0" target="_self">One Last Deer to Show Mom</a></div>
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Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-67070027446744062952019-06-24T09:05:00.001-04:002019-06-24T15:19:01.537-04:00Central PA Spinner Fishing for Wild Brown Trout<div>
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Wonderful morning in central PA. We were out on the boat all day yesterday with the kids and by 9:00 I could barely keep my eyes open. I hit the hay and set the alarm for 4:00 am. I was up and out the door with enough time to see this beautiful sunrise and a had few whitetail deer observed me as I put on my waders.</div>
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I was excited to fish a stream I hit up last week but farther up as I ran out of time the last time I had fished it. The temperature on my car read 58 degrees, and the dew soaked my waders before I could even get into the stream. A few roosters were crowing in the farm close to where I ceased my adventure last week. The stream was a little lower this morning, but still held a bit of that green shade that we all hope for.</div>
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I made my way up stream anxious to see if my new higher speed reel would make any impact on the effectiveness my angling. This stream has a lot of slower semi-deep riffles with quite a few deep pools at the curves. I did back track about 60 yards from where I cut out last time to fish a run that I got snagged and alerted all on my last trip.</div>
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My first two fish were small wild browns. Feisty and beautiful little creatures with an appetite. They hit the spinner hard but were quickly brought to hand.</div>
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I continued up stream landing a few more wild brown trout along the way. I came to a curve in the stream that just looked super fishy. My first cast into this pool I felt a nice hit but missed the fish. I cast out again and soon saw a darker trout chasing my spinner. He looked like a cheetah chasing a newborn gazelle as he darted from left to right following my offering. A quick wack and I had him on my line. </div>
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When I brought the rainbow in I noticed his dorsal fin had a bright pink accent.</div>
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My next cast into the pool I felt a strong tug and was hooked up to a hefty trout. The fish peeled a bit of drag as he made his runs. This guy was a chunky stocked brown that appeared to me to be a hold over from last years stocking. He is was what I like to call a “wormy” brown as his spots had a look of vermiculation that resembled the marks left behind on bark from worms.</div>
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I made my way up stream to a longer run with plunging banks on each side. I was reeling in my spinner on the left side and had a little hit. I cast to the right side and landed a stocked brookie who looked to be pretty healthy. When I picked him up to release him I noticed the firmness of his body and he had quite a bit of strength and he left my finger tips.</div>
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I continued upstream and found what looked to be the best looking pool of the stream. It turned out my thoughts were correct as I landed 4-5 wild browns from this pool. One of these browns appeared to be a nice buck with darker orange sides. He fought like crazy and tested the drag on the new reel.</div>
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I worked upstream until I noticed a few electric fence wires to keep the livestock in the pasture. This would mark the end of my journey up stream. I walked back down steam to try and hit a spot that I could not fish very well while fishing upstream. I flipped my spinner and worked it into the slower side of the pool. I held my tip low to keep the spinner down and felt a hard pull on my line. My last wild brown for the morning was in my hands. I decided to end the trip there and head into work early.</div>
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Such a great morning and nice mixed bag of fish to hand. Of course the wild fish took precedence to me over the stocked fish but when the stocked fish have been in the stream a while they start to take on some pretty colors and their tattered fins begin to heal.</div>
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A lot of people complain about the state stocking small fish, and that the streams are all fished out by Memorial Day, but if you get out and explore you can find many fish that have never seen the inside of a stock truck. Great morning and heck of a way to start my Monday.</div>
Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-47010934631296380372019-06-17T17:04:00.000-04:002019-06-17T17:04:22.135-04:00Annual Father’s Day Fishing Trip<div style="text-align: center;">
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Every Father’s Day I fish for a few hours by myself in the morning. I’ve been doing this trip since my first Father’s Day after becoming a dad in 2012. It is my time to reflect on being a father and husband. This year I changed things up from the usual wild trout fishing adventure. Most years I chase native brook trout in the shady spring fed blue line streams I love. I decided that for this year’s trip I’d target warm water fish. My main targets would be Redbreast Sunfish and Smallmouth Bass.</div>
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I slept in a little but was still on the stream plenty early enough to sneak in an hour or two of fly fishing. I opted to take my 10’ 2 weight Syndicate rod and chuck smaller streamers. I had fished this stream on Friday with nymphs and did pretty well but I felt I was missing the boat on the larger Redbreasts.</div>
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">I </span>caught a few fish right off the bat so I was happy but I decided to switch up the locations on the stream I was targeting. I was fishing more backwater eddies and flat slackwater pools. I’ve been having success in these areas of the stream but believed that the larger Redbreasts must be keying in on different areas. I decided to hit up the transition between the riffles and slackwater. I know that trout sometimes like to hang out in these areas but was unsure on the habits of these sunfish. This is why chasing a new species is so much fun. It is new and exciting, and you are constantly taking in information as you fish.</div>
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I had a fish really slam my small streamer on the first cast into this area. I set the hook and my 2 weight Syndicate bent over with a strong fighting fish . I wasn’t exactly sure what I had on the end of my line, but the fish was fighting like crazy. I saw a long bright skinny flash and knew it wasn’t either of the two fish species I was targeting. After a great fight the mystery fish was in my net. It was a beauty of a Fallfish. These guys are a blast to catch while fly fishing. They hit like a hammer and fight better than a stocked trout of the same size.</div>
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I can’t understand why these fish get such a bad wrap from many anglers. I hear so many people say that they toss Fallfish on the bank, or kill them and let them for the turtles or raccoons. These fish are native to our Pennsylvania water and are a valuable part of our stream's ecosystems. They offer food for many gamefish species as well as outstanding angling opportunities when they become mature. I cringe when I hear someone say they throw these fish on the bank because the we’re eating “Their” trout’s food.</div>
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I hit the same transition again and felt a quick hit on my streamer. I set the hook quickly and could tell the fish was small. I was happy however when I brought my second Smallmouth Bass on the fly to hand. This guy was not nearly a trophy sized Smallmouth but he did let me know that there were Smallmouth in this particular section of the stream. I plan on exploring this stream a lot more this summer, and knowing that there are Smallmouth in the stream will add some anticipation whenever my streamers are struck.</div>
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I continued to target the transition zone and had a fish absolutely pulverize my streamer. I strip set the hook and could feel the fish digging hard towards the bottom. On a 2 weight fly rod these guys feel amazing. I fought the fish and it made a dash into the riffle to try and rid itself of my hook. I kept constant pressure and was able to turn the fish back into the shallows and direct him into my net. Another Redbreast Sunfish landed for the day. This guy was rather pretty and had a great amount of the turquoise blue on his sides. I love catching beautiful looking fish. The size of fish is not the main thing I look at anymore. The Perfect fins and vibrant colors of wild fish trip my trigger these days.</div>
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Once again I hit the transition line but a little farther away this time. Two or three quick strips of my streamer yet again yielded another wack. I strip set and could see a rainbow flash under the water. It was a night and day difference from the fish I was encountering in the shallow eddies. The fish in the slow waster only lightly tapped my nymphs but these larger fish, presumably males, were smacking my streamers with vengeance. This guy was a scrapper and even took a little drag when he went out into the riffle. The fight of these guys is mainly a few explosive bursts followed by a steady pull. I brought the fish to hand and was once again reminded of just how colorful the Redbreast Sunfish is. I’m a native brookie chaser at heart and these guys can rival the prettiest brookies I’ve ever landed.</div>
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I made a few more casts into the transition zone and did not get another take. I decided to hit an area just off of the transition zone where I could see quite a few rocks in the water. I was hoping to lure a Rockbass out his rocky home with my streamer. I brought the streamer over the rocks and and felt a quick tap on my line. I set the hook and could feel a small fish fluttering in the water. This fish looked to be a female Redbreast that was ready to spawn. I grabbed a quick photo and released her with haste.</div>
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I only had a little time left for my outing and I switched to nymphs. I figured I’d check the shallow eddies and see if my hypothesis was correct. I casted my peeping caddis nymph with a GHOSTech indicator on to detect the subtle takes. The indicator twitched and as expected a small little Redbreast with a particularly red eye found his way into my hand.</div>
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I released that fish and cast again into the shallows. A few seconds later the indicator twitched once more and I caught another small Redbreast. I’m assuming this fish to be another female as it was much less colorful than the previous fish I landed. I decided this would be enough for my annual Father’s Day trip and made my way back to the car. </div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I learned a lot on this trip. I learned to hug transition lines of the stream for bigger Redbreast Sunfish. Bigger fish may be caught in the slack water but in my mind they are more interested in food and less about safety from predators when they grow out of their juvenile stage. I learned that these larger males can really nail a streamer and put a bend in your fly rod. I feel the 10’ 2 weight Syndicate is a perfect rod for chasing these guys as well as other headwaters warmwater fishing opportunities. I’m anxious to see how the rod performs with larger Smallmouth Bass. I didn’t feel under gunned with this rod at all. I was also surprised how well I could cast my lead eye streamers. I have my reel set up with 3 weight line, but I could accurately place my streamer wherever I wanted it.</span></div>
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I made my way home to find that only my son was awake. This was great because it meant I could let my wife sleep in a little while. I hopped in the shower and was greeted by my daughters when I finished. We all ate breakfast together and let mom get some much needed sleep.</div>
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Father’s Day means a lot to me. I try to be the best dad I can be and balance my time for my outdoor obsessions with time for my family. It isn’t always easy but I do the best I can to ensure my kids are never left behind in my pursuits. I try to include them as much as I can anymore on my outdoor adventures but my short Father’s Day trips are solo missions. My kids love to fish and my daughter, Paisley, even asked me to take her fishing yesterday. I never force them to do any of the activities that I do, and I think that is why they have the desire for he outdoors that they do. </div>
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Sometimes as a Dad you need a little "Solo Dad Time" to reflect and getting a bend in your fly rod is a great way to do just that.</div>
Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-43211519728268348112019-06-14T16:59:00.001-04:002019-06-14T16:59:30.175-04:00In Search of a New Species (Redbreast Sunfish Mission)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKQuqFh2YmAOVnnB8uGpQCEBe530nkwcjp96ZrB1gxqMkfvrIYFtTRqA2j42g51XxtilZimEDg4rH6BHkgK14QMpX9AajBPlpPZLEqNe_VMUqTfVa3TZwWb0gBto86xMbfzEZyxF6UBbn/s1600/rb1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKQuqFh2YmAOVnnB8uGpQCEBe530nkwcjp96ZrB1gxqMkfvrIYFtTRqA2j42g51XxtilZimEDg4rH6BHkgK14QMpX9AajBPlpPZLEqNe_VMUqTfVa3TZwWb0gBto86xMbfzEZyxF6UBbn/s640/rb1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Specimen of a Redbreast Sunfish.</td></tr>
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Back in January I found a post on a Facebook group called "Panfish on the Fly" that showed a beautiful fish called the Redbreast Sunfish. Instantly this little beauty caught my eye. I had never heard of these fish before so I decided to do a google search to see more photos of this beautiful little panfish. When I clicked the image tab on my google search window my jaw dropped at how colorful these fish were and I instantly fell in love with them. So now what? How would I be able to catch one of these fish?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfKqRKxUvmQRZ_d4BjPTZdH9LvYS334_LQ_hDAZp1Rct2sFT536rKKhoP9TMixqgDuspY-TbRFPPIlg6Z2gLV5UXXoV0FTBumjl7-AkxzSB8FcZxNOETRSdC4I4y4__dmBui0HLjTxea-/s1600/rb9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfKqRKxUvmQRZ_d4BjPTZdH9LvYS334_LQ_hDAZp1Rct2sFT536rKKhoP9TMixqgDuspY-TbRFPPIlg6Z2gLV5UXXoV0FTBumjl7-AkxzSB8FcZxNOETRSdC4I4y4__dmBui0HLjTxea-/s640/rb9.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rebreast Sunfish that took one of my Lively Legz double trouble nymphs.</td></tr>
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I started off by searching the web with the search "Redbreast Sunfish in Pennsylvania". The first link that popped up on google was to the Fish and Boat Commission's Website. The link took me to a page that covered a huge variety of aspects of the Redbreast Sunfish. Everything from fishing tips to species ID, habitat, and life history was spelled out for me right on the web page. I wanted to learn more about these fish and the water they live so my first click was on the "species overview, identification, habitat....." tab. From this click I was then taken to a large overview of all panfish species within the state as well as bass. I read up a little on the fish and went back to the main page for Redbreast Sunfish.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz02q7oeSB_MbJvvkJZbtlaGuPrED0ES2tUG3m3YsPzMuxQhwi8rdcWUMz6yPHhjRovPcYhHQzNOYRPcaUh6K7yNLVVubXpAFsXTexvQdnedm81q__Ziv9alIIGGgUvvbiYq-mqb-htuOS/s1600/rb12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz02q7oeSB_MbJvvkJZbtlaGuPrED0ES2tUG3m3YsPzMuxQhwi8rdcWUMz6yPHhjRovPcYhHQzNOYRPcaUh6K7yNLVVubXpAFsXTexvQdnedm81q__Ziv9alIIGGgUvvbiYq-mqb-htuOS/s640/rb12.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Female Redbreast Sunfish that is full of eggs.</td></tr>
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My next click was to search the biologist reports for streams in my area. I clicked the biologist reports link and found a map with a pile of markers and picked a few that were close to me.<br />
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<a href="http://pfbc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=b6a4a226e44249db9bab71d448525362">BIOLOGIST REPORT MAP</a><br />
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After a few stream searches I found a stream that showed a population of Redbreast Sunfish. We are lucky to have access to this type of technology in Pennsylvania. Not every stream is sampled, but it can give you a reference on what streams contain what species of fish. Another Amazing feature of the map is that you can get "general directions" to the sample site. I opened the biologist report and read the results.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screenshot of the biologist report I referenced for my Redbreast adventure.</td></tr>
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From this survey I was happy to see that there were 58 Redbreast Sunfish caught during the survey. Not a huge number of fish, but enough that I could expect to catch a few on my trip. The survey also let me know some of the other species present that I may be able to catch. You can use this information in a variety of ways. If the stream you are looking at has multiple survey points, you can then determine which area increases your odds of catching your desired fish. If White Suckers were your desired catch this stream would be perfect. If you were chasing Smallmouth Bass you can see that you may want to search for a different stream. Had this stream had a lower survey conducted that showed 200 Redbreast Sunfish captured this would let me know that I have better odds of catching one down stream. After conducting this recon I now decided that I was going to make an effort to cross the Redbreast Sunfish off of my list of species I have caught on my fly rod in the spring.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdVVGNJ0xFzx3ok2KKFZjAZkKWvBmWg94rega7jAyWZv60hhvGtf0s97zCrTNcN4a_-dCx4aIONQnJUcGQGrI-uFcK1w0JzS5ybfvk5XQKi0TFC8iC6b7VOqTP1xT9PpVYoZvj7kBI0Zem/s1600/rb5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdVVGNJ0xFzx3ok2KKFZjAZkKWvBmWg94rega7jAyWZv60hhvGtf0s97zCrTNcN4a_-dCx4aIONQnJUcGQGrI-uFcK1w0JzS5ybfvk5XQKi0TFC8iC6b7VOqTP1xT9PpVYoZvj7kBI0Zem/s640/rb5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Redbreast that took a Lively Legz Nymph in a deeper eddy off of a main channel.</td></tr>
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After my information gathering I went back to the "Panfish on the Fly" group to learn about what types of fly patterns worked for this fish. I found that small streamers and nymphs would be effective. Now the wait was on. I am a die hard winter trout fisherman so much of my winter angling was targeting wild brown trout and native brookies. Once spring comes around and the opening day of trout is over my trout fishing takes a back seat to turkey hunting. Once spring gobbler season is over, and my kids are done with school, I no longer have to get three kids ready before I go to work. My wife is a teacher and is also off for the summer. This is my time to fish. It sounds crazy but I get up before work nearly every day and fish. I make up for lost time during my relentless pursuit of the wild turkey. This spring Pennsylvania was blessed with some above average rainfall and cooler temperatures. These conditions are perfect for the trout angler. So the first ten days of "summer vacation I spent catching stocked and wild trout on spinners and flies. I really hammered the trout lately and my quest to catch the Redbreast Sunfish came back into my focus.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNT2H9zQkYakKUc4ffKy92L0whWO2zWuCTHjV58M-JCkMWFYFuaahOknrdUnKfJmTKxD58KUsFhdvUhjM2LLw1I8sy7zhIaIciypZjBLEkE0qBbSzrMKmbr5iTb4h-aRVEl8fBY9JjUDMk/s1600/61902990_2522804877753949_760560642796027904_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNT2H9zQkYakKUc4ffKy92L0whWO2zWuCTHjV58M-JCkMWFYFuaahOknrdUnKfJmTKxD58KUsFhdvUhjM2LLw1I8sy7zhIaIciypZjBLEkE0qBbSzrMKmbr5iTb4h-aRVEl8fBY9JjUDMk/s640/61902990_2522804877753949_760560642796027904_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Large wild Brown Trout I caught during my first week of "Summer Vacation" on one of my hand made spinners.</td></tr>
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With having caught around sixty to 70 trout this week I decided that the time to chase my first Redbreast Sunfish was now. Last night I tied up some small baitfish patterns, a few hellgramite/leech patterns and a few crayfish. I set my alarm for 4:00 and hit the hay. It was tough to wake up at four this morning and I hit the snooze button a few times before finally dragging myself out of bed. I got a shower, and was off to chase my hitlist fish.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIO_DrPzOfm2MWVt40HFCX8topaCVWsZ8_YACg-MaK2t5fL5ql1HpOXMj1r8FLXXFhi7PIrwpk7SLLe5TosXzIR7Viq9siy3sk6K7en2ju-97FiRfnsg2fS9EgDkXwcaUdJwon7LgEzBSa/s1600/rb7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIO_DrPzOfm2MWVt40HFCX8topaCVWsZ8_YACg-MaK2t5fL5ql1HpOXMj1r8FLXXFhi7PIrwpk7SLLe5TosXzIR7Viq9siy3sk6K7en2ju-97FiRfnsg2fS9EgDkXwcaUdJwon7LgEzBSa/s640/rb7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first Redbreast Sunfish took a crayfish fly that I tied the night before.</td></tr>
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My excitement of crossing this fish off of my list grew as I neared the stream I found on the biologist report. After reading the habitat section of the Fish and Boat Commissions website I learned that the Redbreast prefers shallow pools and eddies so I skipped some rather "trouty" looking water to pursue my preferred target. I started off with one of the crayfish flies. My first few casts were pretty far and I could feel some sort of fish tapping my fly, but kept missing the strikes. I had a notion that these fish were aggressive and would hammer my flies but that was just not the case. After a few failed hook sets I finally had a fish on the end of my line. I brought the fish to hand and was overjoyed seeing that my do-diligence had paid off.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTm9Vx4G4a1hzbRM-dOU42AAfJI3pxdqBa9istcMP2qCkFV01jt2gvUwG44VVDzrODa2OE_2kvRm_kU60c9B4kC0GbgaRQuN-sHAG-ntrz9hqzPi74GPiJz16gPRWRwUMwlaXKohqcLI6K/s1600/rb10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTm9Vx4G4a1hzbRM-dOU42AAfJI3pxdqBa9istcMP2qCkFV01jt2gvUwG44VVDzrODa2OE_2kvRm_kU60c9B4kC0GbgaRQuN-sHAG-ntrz9hqzPi74GPiJz16gPRWRwUMwlaXKohqcLI6K/s640/rb10.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lightly colored Redbreast that fell for my Lively Legz March Brown Nymph.</td></tr>
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I continued to fish the same pool expecting a congregation of Redbreasts and was rewarded with a few more fish. I learned that nymphs were going to be the ticket to catch these guys. I opted to put on a GHOSTech Indicator as these fish had such subtle takes. I like the GHOSTech Indicator because it cause little splashing and disturbance when it lands on the water. Targeting a fish in such shallow pools I feel stealth is vitally important. I don't feel that the Redbreast is as weary as a wild brown, but they are not an extremly easy fish to catch.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJbnzt1KBA4qZO6Z_9iLnWbNsCcpmtmJ0UXKVUhuGDiiOMZrajGUXNgg-TLyVoVaOvXG6EidGI5Z2p0-FOg5b0a2TdkDQ41RfmhO1cnYDKfBvBH2m1UdWwDk_HCGBjPMIlU7FrwjIqvRc4/s1600/brown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJbnzt1KBA4qZO6Z_9iLnWbNsCcpmtmJ0UXKVUhuGDiiOMZrajGUXNgg-TLyVoVaOvXG6EidGI5Z2p0-FOg5b0a2TdkDQ41RfmhO1cnYDKfBvBH2m1UdWwDk_HCGBjPMIlU7FrwjIqvRc4/s640/brown.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A nice Brown that was caught while exploring a riffle for Redbreast.</td></tr>
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I was extremely happy that I was catching my target species and had accomplished my goal, but wanted to explore what else may be in these waters, and also see if larger Redbreasts could be found in other water conditions. I was fishing an eddy and decided I would add some depth to my indicator and fish the deeper riffle behind me. On my first cast into the riffle my indicator took a fast rip upstream. I set the hook and instantly knew that I wasn't dealing with another redbreast sunfish. My first thought was a Fallfish, but was surprised when I pulled in a beautiful brown trout.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzTRJhBqADIrA6EpApie0UDBCpgcB089XMibqjmhVohKJCXUJpFFKr1EXH5-_iIU_-BxW0CeqfG0VHua2Gt1qpcboMjkBVkmpljAQ8LK1DEV1gm5BR1rQB_Rlt6-xn2spdRKgYIxks5Y7x/s1600/rockie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzTRJhBqADIrA6EpApie0UDBCpgcB089XMibqjmhVohKJCXUJpFFKr1EXH5-_iIU_-BxW0CeqfG0VHua2Gt1qpcboMjkBVkmpljAQ8LK1DEV1gm5BR1rQB_Rlt6-xn2spdRKgYIxks5Y7x/s640/rockie.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A solid little Rock Bass caught in a deeper pool.</td></tr>
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I continued upstream after catching the brown and fished a few other habitat types. I found the Redbreast along the shallow edges of banks morsoe than in the deeper pool sections and eddies. In on particularly deep pool my indicator took off and I reed in an awesome little rock bass. These guys hit hard and put up a nice fight on my 10' 3 weight fly rod. I am a huge fan of Rock Bass so this fish was a very pleasant bonus.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkIYJUt82cDU5Mgbpk6LCqMR0pAY3qgmHJpmB9475L6TCkgNjd4kh71q5BGIudLpt9YIlh2pOcp8By2SuvebFx-lIObSQV6joC0zkF2Z4PMujWlc6ZeafqJIauafzWTEjG0Gzq1SOHWI9k/s1600/rb2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkIYJUt82cDU5Mgbpk6LCqMR0pAY3qgmHJpmB9475L6TCkgNjd4kh71q5BGIudLpt9YIlh2pOcp8By2SuvebFx-lIObSQV6joC0zkF2Z4PMujWlc6ZeafqJIauafzWTEjG0Gzq1SOHWI9k/s640/rb2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A downright gorgeous Redbreast Sunfish.</td></tr>
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The warning alarm went off on my phone signalling me that I needed to make my way back to my car, but I was greeted with one last Redbreast before the alarm was snoozed. To some it may seem may seem insane to wake up at four in the morning to chase four to eight inch fish. With my busy lifestyle as a parent of young children I need to fish when I can. I take advantage of my "Summer Vacation", and the fact that I can sneak in a few hours before work to hit the stream.<br />
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I hope that this article meets those of you who may be tired of catching trout, or some other species of fish, and sparks an interest to persue the unknown. I am an avid blue line fisherman, so doing research on streams is just second nature to me. Catching these little panfish was an awesome experience and was especially excited exploring new habitats. With trout I can read the water pretty well and pretty much know exactly where they will be laying. With the redbreast I am totally green. I had a snip of information of the habitat they preferred and took in information as I fished as to where more productive areas would be. I challenge you to give something like this a try. Utilize the same tools that I did to find a new species a try. Your hard work may just pay off as it did for me, and you too may feel how rewarding it is to cross a new species off of your list. Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-30524570907473934702019-05-13T12:26:00.000-04:002019-05-13T12:26:36.163-04:00How To Get Started in Making Your Own Inline Spinners<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5pOyC8w6LCkNKzuAdowX2pzShUMVhq0sl89UVnf84EGAiYP4Z_WD-jO736IPcvy4KqrwhvtwQgbcKERaF9JF0Y1OzrbUHhI4ABYNuWaRBq_DHGwNNKg-8LvLiAF_1qraplf2ndAtjx9B/s1600/52063584_2345714198796352_4923588579277406208_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1199" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5pOyC8w6LCkNKzuAdowX2pzShUMVhq0sl89UVnf84EGAiYP4Z_WD-jO736IPcvy4KqrwhvtwQgbcKERaF9JF0Y1OzrbUHhI4ABYNuWaRBq_DHGwNNKg-8LvLiAF_1qraplf2ndAtjx9B/s640/52063584_2345714198796352_4923588579277406208_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Inline spinners were something that I never added to my fishing skill set when I was growing up. I had used them a few times back in the late 90's and early 2000's before converting to fly fishing, but never gave them a serious thought. This year I decided to give spinner fishing a try and was only going to do this if I would to make my own. I was getting a little bored of tying so many flies and a little bored of nymph fishing. I wanted to jump into something new and challenging this year so I made a trade with someone who makes their own spinners for some spinner components. After making a few spinners and having fun doing so, I invested around a hundred dollars and started really got into making my own inline spinners. I wanted to re-learn how to use a spinning rod again, and try to master the techniques of fishing and inline spinner. I am glad that I took up this new hobby as I am having a lot of fun making spinners, and even more fun trying to learn to fish with them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEwSew61xJR2TYkUDrFcwxN_gHEkCkgwUxPlQXJeN1SC0hlc3FjR7A8XP6q1BGzdLyfPcO0z7kGybL29OGgfHKb_tBqMi7t1J-2CsWgmr8WO-XIrLPQR53wyTafFYsNEtPgnk1aCcJyAbp/s1600/50550844_2310632608971178_8479685401441730560_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEwSew61xJR2TYkUDrFcwxN_gHEkCkgwUxPlQXJeN1SC0hlc3FjR7A8XP6q1BGzdLyfPcO0z7kGybL29OGgfHKb_tBqMi7t1J-2CsWgmr8WO-XIrLPQR53wyTafFYsNEtPgnk1aCcJyAbp/s640/50550844_2310632608971178_8479685401441730560_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Lets first discuss the basic anatomy of an inline spinner. The basic components of a spinner would be the shank, the clevis, the blade, the body, and the hook. You can also add a split ring to this anatomy on your rear loop if you decide to make a spinner that you can swap the hooks on as well. This can be convenient if you want to switch from a treble to a single hook for certain regulations, or if you want to swap out the dressing you add to your hooks. You can play with the beads above and below the clevis as well. Ninety percent of all spinners are comprised of the items listed above. You can also add a dressing to your hook if desired as well.<br />
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Shanks are the backbone of the spinner so to speak. For trout and pan fish I chose a .026 diameter closed loop stainless steel shank. I may try a .031" diameter shank as well. These shanks with the pre-made loops are very nice and save quite a bit of time. I decided on buying 8" long shafts. After I construct my spinner, I am left with enough material that I can make another spinner entirely. You will only have a straight shank, but you can create your own top loop using round needle nose pliers. I just wanted a way to get a little more for my money.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfcvZuBCmeSUlqsvvtMNvSfEjD_5aLiE-21OoP_mJfe_2T5LKy2iyeDyl0Z5MYZAcUznDtyK6bWV9PGJxNHTdEkHEZucXQJVptLsgvnmaoA-CDezFdOPQpppUgSZIGp4Hc-iKgaTSuV-i/s1600/52581072_2345651335469305_2303921582579384320_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfcvZuBCmeSUlqsvvtMNvSfEjD_5aLiE-21OoP_mJfe_2T5LKy2iyeDyl0Z5MYZAcUznDtyK6bWV9PGJxNHTdEkHEZucXQJVptLsgvnmaoA-CDezFdOPQpppUgSZIGp4Hc-iKgaTSuV-i/s640/52581072_2345651335469305_2303921582579384320_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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There aren't many types of clevises out there but you want to match the clevis size to the blade size when you are just starting out. The radius of the clevis set to match the distance from the edge of the spinner blade to the hole on the spinner. You can play around with different combinations as you go through your testing processes and may find some blades will spin better with an over sized clevis. There are also clevises you can buy that allow you to switch the blade on your spinner as well. These allow for a quick change in blade size or color while fishing. I haven't bought any of these clevises yet, but they are a pretty neat idea. The entire make up of your spinner is all a trail and error process to fine tuning your spinner and is quite addictive.<br />
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Three of the most common types of blades available are Colorado, Willow, and French. I personally like the look and action of the Colorado blades and is what I will be making most of my spinners from. All of these blades can be found in a variety of colors, sizes, and styles. There are variations of these blades where the surface of the blade is hammered, or may have different shapes to them. I will be using my spinners mainly for trout, panfish, and bass so I stuck to size two and three blades for my initial parts purchase. Three is a tad large for trout in my opinion but will work. I like size two best for trout, as size three just looks a little large in my opinion when in the water.<br />
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The body can be comprised of may items. I like brass or tungsten beads the best, but you can add lead bodies, rubber fish bodies, wooden beads, and even paint your own bodies. There are all sorts of bodies available out there to choose from. The biggest aspect about the body in my opinion is the weight.<br />
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When I first started making these spinners I wanted to make a black and chartreuse colored streamer. I didn't have any black brass beads so I used some of my fly tying tungsten beads. This spinners were very heavy and sank very fast. I loved this aspect of the spinners but the price of tungsten may not be in the range for many who are starting out. I opted to keep the tungsten for my flies, and purchased some black beads from eBay. For the most part, anything with a hole through the middle can be added between your blade and hook, but you need to be conscious that you are not making your spinner too light by only adding plastic beads. You need to be close to the strike zone so I recommend using beads that are moderately heavy in your construction.<br />
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Hooks are mainly a personal preference, but whatever you use I suggest you purchase barbless hooks or debarb the hooks on your own. Barbed treble hooks can take a toll on fish when trying to remove them. A barbed treble can be difficult to get out of the fishes mouth, and may increase the time that fish is out of the water. For trout I would recommend a size ten treble, and wouldn't go much larger than a size 8. For bass and panfish I would recommend a size eight treble, but if you feel you may get into larger bass you may want to up your hook size to a six or four. Personally I don't like the idea of using a single hook unless I am fishing for native brook trout. A single hook can be taken deeper into the fishes' mouth and risk injury to the gills of the fish. There is contradicting information out there on the use of single hooks but from my experience a barbless treble is the best way to go. They are easy to get out and harder for the trout to take deeper into their mouth. Whatever option you choose I would definitely de-barb the hook.<br />
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The combination of colors, sizes, and components you can make for your inline spinner are endless. I like the layout of the spinners above for my trout spinners. The spinners above are made up of the following components:<br />
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-(1) closed loop stainless steel wire shank (.026)<br />
-(1) 2.8mm brass bead<br />
-(1) size 2 clevis<br />
-(1) size 2 blade<br />
-(1) 2.8mm brass bead<br />
-(2) 3.3mm brass beads<br />
-(2) 3.8mm brass beads<br />
-(1) 4.5 mm brass bead<br />
-(1) treble hook ( Size 10& 8)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdTC6pjwUqw6LafDQh1jmB8TpdFIW70p4GWxAIBYeO2yqA4Q8DzK8Cq6l5pEo-l4euJc9RATflM71ThrLCz8egrutei8q1fhSak94LJ3xCpHePTFFvdibkngPmppgLlQ7gp4VlhGajFqj/s1600/51628705_2335799999787772_8588110893051543552_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdTC6pjwUqw6LafDQh1jmB8TpdFIW70p4GWxAIBYeO2yqA4Q8DzK8Cq6l5pEo-l4euJc9RATflM71ThrLCz8egrutei8q1fhSak94LJ3xCpHePTFFvdibkngPmppgLlQ7gp4VlhGajFqj/s640/51628705_2335799999787772_8588110893051543552_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This combo has brought me a quite a few nice trout to hand. Being a fly tyer at heart I like to add a dressing to the hook of Marabou. I like the added movement that the marabou presents as the spinner is making its way down the stream.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgfqxNu3YspCmL6EcFk3oZeGblUH7rGiIO5BFnWAWLXDfGmMtYyK5BlvoSAjLSa6wX8Yvbo-dMTLJN68-3BezGj0bGYggIXxmrog8-j3rx2ANmJQdKnW15EZeHnsuUqV6Us2kIrCSz_BhE/s1600/50713259_2310632745637831_7783304089877610496_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgfqxNu3YspCmL6EcFk3oZeGblUH7rGiIO5BFnWAWLXDfGmMtYyK5BlvoSAjLSa6wX8Yvbo-dMTLJN68-3BezGj0bGYggIXxmrog8-j3rx2ANmJQdKnW15EZeHnsuUqV6Us2kIrCSz_BhE/s640/50713259_2310632745637831_7783304089877610496_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Tools needed for making spinners are not extremely expensive, but you can add up quite a total depending on how elaborate you want to get with your spinner. I chose to just touch the surface with inline spinners this year. I have a very nice rotary fly tying vise so I chose to just use that for my current needs. If you do not have a rotary vise, a standard clamp style fly tying vise may work just fine. I suggest something that you can clamp your shank into while installing the components. If you are just testing the water with building your own spinners I wouldn't suggesting diving into a high end wire forming tool. If you really feel that you are going to love making your own spinners than a wire forming tool can be worth its weight in gold to create perfect loops. I am still working through my rear loop and keeping it inline, but a pair of round needle nose pliers can aide in creating a round rear loop. These pliers can be found at a relatively low cost. Round Jewlers pliers will also work. You will find that a lot of minor tweaks and changes to a spinner can have a pretty decent effect on the way the spinner performs.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGBYgFg6qZPrf8Kl0qJOVYxd99z_GFpvomUYNQa8lA7IyCYUF6Lt3xBFawf_tEZPWqXu1BgTJJLe7rGdogYjMJlycIf6iPU6_BjAUGHFKoy_WXr_ZWKgHdEvzdRHsQMqO4bXVD6RO2NGr_/s1600/52328298_2345651585469280_9038284510042521600_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGBYgFg6qZPrf8Kl0qJOVYxd99z_GFpvomUYNQa8lA7IyCYUF6Lt3xBFawf_tEZPWqXu1BgTJJLe7rGdogYjMJlycIf6iPU6_BjAUGHFKoy_WXr_ZWKgHdEvzdRHsQMqO4bXVD6RO2NGr_/s640/52328298_2345651585469280_9038284510042521600_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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In closing I think that spinner fishing is a blast. I've been having a lot of fun both making and fishing spinners. I have tied a few flies, and added spinner blades to the front section of the fly as well. The fish really smack them. You can get everything you need to make spinners for a relatively low investment. Base level spinning rods are relatively inexpensive as well. There is no better feeling than catching a fish on something that you have created yourself. I am by no means a professional spinner maker and far from a great spinner fisherman, but do pretty well on the ones I have created. If you are even remotely interested in taking up this craft I recommend giving it a try.<br />
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<br />Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-5826460538722824062019-05-10T09:59:00.001-04:002019-05-10T10:49:17.834-04:00The SimpliFLY Gear Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPwKoE1AOXlx5efG9SCqZ9WJuOswVT-HtRtz09JPfQEPZuQ-Bf05ATLdXrOgDoNbvQeIX2O0N0l6GcFPP3ZMeQ4HzrRu3unfJc28KGZGiCzSIuWvu4pxythnlSKsEhzw9G6JbRkOK4FhU/s1600/the+simplifly+brookie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPwKoE1AOXlx5efG9SCqZ9WJuOswVT-HtRtz09JPfQEPZuQ-Bf05ATLdXrOgDoNbvQeIX2O0N0l6GcFPP3ZMeQ4HzrRu3unfJc28KGZGiCzSIuWvu4pxythnlSKsEhzw9G6JbRkOK4FhU/s640/the+simplifly+brookie.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful native brook trout I landed while testing The SimpliFLY.</td></tr>
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I have been looking for a product that matched my minimalist fly fishing style for quite a long time. I have tried a few styles of chest/sling packs but nothing ever quite fit my style or had everything I was looking for. More often than not, the pack would be too bulky and heavy, or not have enough features for my needs. This caused me to simply use my pouch in the front of my waders. I would find myself just chucking a few flies in a hook pack, a few indicators in the pouch, and a spool of fluorocarbon and hit the stream. That method works but is not very organized. I often found myself dropping flies, indicators, and misplacing tools more often than not using this method.<br />
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I switched to a sling pack, but it kept getting in the way when I was climbing under trees and such. It would slip off of my body when I would be crouching to try and be undetected from wild trout in the blue lines that I love to fish. Because of its orientation and my absent mindedness, I found myself leaving pockets unzipped and had tools, flies, etc falling out. It was a pain but also caused unintentional litter, wich was a major issue to me. The sling pack was a decent option for me, but still was not what I was looking for.<br />
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My very first impression when I saw a photo of The SimpliFLY in a Facebook post was, "What the heck is this yuppy laser tag looking thing??" Looking past its non conventional appearance, I began to see its functionality. The SimpliFLY intrigued me. I am not really a gear junky when it comes to fly fishing, and like to stick to the basics. I am not one to jump on a fad or use the latest & greatest "insert buzz word here" gear that hits the market. I am not one who hits up companies to become a pro staff member or something like that either. To me The SimpliFLY was different. I decided to give it a look. Would this different looking pack be the answer I have been looking for? I decided that I would go ahead and order one to give it a try. Like everything else, before I do a review, or give a full opinion on a product I put it through a gauntlet of testing. I tested every feature of the pack in every type of weather condition I could think of. Below is my review from using this pack over the last 6 months.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1HTA_4gyT51qYuN4cTyvBh6fPE50znxQkqv8rmk67gau2oH5ai2_J_D1_fafs2tBdV4v2DazUXWlef-HQ4lpFkSvInHa7OWgQZ4l9vRuRXc0jbSSuf0SGaAtQP7kVrd2RD6YplVIN6ypP/s1600/pack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1HTA_4gyT51qYuN4cTyvBh6fPE50znxQkqv8rmk67gau2oH5ai2_J_D1_fafs2tBdV4v2DazUXWlef-HQ4lpFkSvInHa7OWgQZ4l9vRuRXc0jbSSuf0SGaAtQP7kVrd2RD6YplVIN6ypP/s400/pack.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying on The SimpliFLY for the first time</td></tr>
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When I watched the video of The SimpliFLY certain things caught my eye instantly. The first thing was how the pack secured to your chest and back. This would eliminate the issues that I had with the sling pack sliding around on me. Sure you could tighten the sling pack, but then when you would attempt to get your items out of the pack it would be more difficult to spin and access the zipped compartments.</div>
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The next feature that caught my eye was the built in zip lines. These would be perfect for a pair of forceps, and a pair of nail clippers. Having these built into the pack and hidden was a great feature. You wouldn't have to worry about a pin breaking and losing your tool. Also this would mean they would not get caught on brush and other obstructions while you switch locations. I like the magnet location to allow a larger pair of forceps to be carried without having them falling all over the place.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaXhQm3Qe_gSgKFNMplNW5ZYL_h1sB_rIfVXTxYp-04g9zmG8J9Udy1zxGfCPc9py_wXROt_VQYxgls-8rbMIjDEmpG6sTR4zCyMX12T-ZX_VnUfPeolEIZoOdInf1RepYPbsY2a430zei/s1600/flies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaXhQm3Qe_gSgKFNMplNW5ZYL_h1sB_rIfVXTxYp-04g9zmG8J9Udy1zxGfCPc9py_wXROt_VQYxgls-8rbMIjDEmpG6sTR4zCyMX12T-ZX_VnUfPeolEIZoOdInf1RepYPbsY2a430zei/s640/flies.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some small stream and panfish flies in a fly box insert.</td></tr>
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I really like the fly box inserts. Now truth be told, I never really carried an actual box of flies, and would more often than not use an old hook package or box and toss a few flies in it. As seen in the photo above there is more than enough room to keep your flies organized. The flies in this box are my small stream flies mixed with a few panfish flies. The fact that the box stays flat like that is great. Gone are the days of dropping a fly and losing it for me. If I drop a fly now, it simply lands back in the box. This is a great feature for guys like me with fat fingers.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOn5fP8Fu2_kw36SRxxV0QM8PvwvCm3KaaB_BxlFLlZayTrrzohSPeDFN0NYWUlsKtjpr27CaHHu_ryUPKPQvthJg8Sdv3otQD4IeRj78qom-jFjyIcST-ztQJBPficfu6dkoVeddgJmt/s1600/extra+fly+boxes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOn5fP8Fu2_kw36SRxxV0QM8PvwvCm3KaaB_BxlFLlZayTrrzohSPeDFN0NYWUlsKtjpr27CaHHu_ryUPKPQvthJg8Sdv3otQD4IeRj78qom-jFjyIcST-ztQJBPficfu6dkoVeddgJmt/s640/extra+fly+boxes.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fly Box Inserts (photo courtesy of The SimpliFLY)</td></tr>
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The guys at The SimpliFLY offer a three pack of extra fly boxes as well. I have not added extra boxes just yet but plan on picking up this 3 pack very soon. What I think is so great about this, is that they are uniform and specifically designed to fit right in the pack. I plan on setting up a box for bass, one for panfish, one for trout, and keep the one that came with The SimpliFLY set up for small streams. I don't really dry fly fish, but having a separate box for dries, or separating your nymph boxes by size or weight is also a great option. In my opinion you just can't beat that to help keep yourself organized. You can leave these boxes in your vehicle and switch as needed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAnljiM3134wM4p_PTF62aqhznQcdDY_wLTzJD83StzAxW3BogQmW_oKNyliNg7dP5oMuyUz9Uet8p3pfgrFRUEtcyyxyi3CCn7CDiQ7iu7jku1Le_vnFnfdI4H0NKRLquq_mpABWjD2Qi/s1600/simplifly+back+pack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="540" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAnljiM3134wM4p_PTF62aqhznQcdDY_wLTzJD83StzAxW3BogQmW_oKNyliNg7dP5oMuyUz9Uet8p3pfgrFRUEtcyyxyi3CCn7CDiQ7iu7jku1Le_vnFnfdI4H0NKRLquq_mpABWjD2Qi/s400/simplifly+back+pack.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The SimpliFLY Back Pack</td></tr>
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You can also store these extra boxes in the optional back pack that is offered. The backpack connects directly to The SimpliFLY check pack. I was surprised at how roomy this pack is. This pack is perfect for storing extra fly boxes, drinks, and even a hoodie or long sleeve shirt for those early spring trips where you may need to remove an article of clothing as the temperture climbs. The material feels pretty rugged to me and has a tactical like feel to it. Installation is pretty easy, and removal is fast.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0p6wR3V26jMs6ahrA-tA69P9Ada_hNDWwKw-4xbo-NXlVmEUy1oFg6JA0LFOysHGhCoGZ-aTjtjDVWODFj8oMc25HMYMlD9IcfDeTypgltj_CN3RVtB1uORT9C1arLPOL5X7vtbRfucxL/s1600/fly+box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0p6wR3V26jMs6ahrA-tA69P9Ada_hNDWwKw-4xbo-NXlVmEUy1oFg6JA0LFOysHGhCoGZ-aTjtjDVWODFj8oMc25HMYMlD9IcfDeTypgltj_CN3RVtB1uORT9C1arLPOL5X7vtbRfucxL/s640/fly+box.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The SimpliFLY fly box insert lays flat. I found this a great feature, especially in the snow. If you drop a fly it lands back in the box and not in 6" of snow.</td></tr>
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I tested the pack in all sorts of conditions from rain, to sleet, snow, and extreme cold. I had little issues. The fly boxes are not waterproof, but any fly box when opened in a rainy situation will allow moisture to enter the box. I did not find the non water proof box to be any issue at all. I dry my flies out after any trip where they come in contact with the elements. The pack was easy to operate in the cold, and with light weight gloves on. The magnets held true. I did see an issue with one of the compartment clasps breaking when it was in the single digits. I hit up Trevor with The SimpliFLY, and that issue has been resolved. He personally left some packs in the freezer and tested them for failure.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPG0LnLwZ1bfCG-zBuE3kV1HeYormNlki19hCy3-jXzK0ClqlentqL3J0_C3DkaFR7-a0LtigPWiBwayLPZy8C-LkMmoCKeHKC_pRnF0VgJLqPEDbSmrI6aMeSkgarSQVsZA_kwHJiKDk/s1600/the+simplifly+stream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPG0LnLwZ1bfCG-zBuE3kV1HeYormNlki19hCy3-jXzK0ClqlentqL3J0_C3DkaFR7-a0LtigPWiBwayLPZy8C-LkMmoCKeHKC_pRnF0VgJLqPEDbSmrI6aMeSkgarSQVsZA_kwHJiKDk/s640/the+simplifly+stream.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A brush lined PA Class A wild trout stream. Was nice to not get hung up on brush and jagger bushes.</td></tr>
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Another issue that The SimpliFLY took care of for me was my chest or sling pack getting caught in brush, rhododendron, or jagger bushes. For those of you who may read this and are not from South Western Pennsylvania a "jagger bush" is any type of green brier or thorn bush. The brush just slides off of The SimpliFly without catching it. The hard plastic makes this possible. This may not be an issue for some fisherman, but for me this was a great advantage. I hated when the thorns would catch my pack and hang up. This would then put my face more at risk of getting scratched. Bonus points for this overlooked feature from me.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY9COq6au8ZUzQjjzxWNeoQqPBYyptjUQ_bWl7IlZBjb_r6tNj1etlh0TVrt2YPkKY1dJPkIwaYLWcAs_z9XXZ9Nt0JXDJ0PpqLNqUTcGVnw4aOzAgu0_TCbAYiNzyVDixC0w9_1S7b-no/s1600/simplifly+bow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY9COq6au8ZUzQjjzxWNeoQqPBYyptjUQ_bWl7IlZBjb_r6tNj1etlh0TVrt2YPkKY1dJPkIwaYLWcAs_z9XXZ9Nt0JXDJ0PpqLNqUTcGVnw4aOzAgu0_TCbAYiNzyVDixC0w9_1S7b-no/s640/simplifly+bow.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A hold over winter Rainbow from West Central PA.</td></tr>
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The robust plastic was also a feature that I looked forward too. I live a very busy life and always try to keep some kind of gear in my vehicle at all times. I loved that I could literally throw this pack in the back of my vehicle and all of my flies and tools were protected by the hard plastic. You can see photos of The SimpliFLY under a car tire on their website. I am tough on my gear so any extra protection I can get from a product is always a plus.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDWIA8vtWV52TrJWbhJT3n45ygpWdtCGL5gNFVye9lV4SUvz-ln-7nSpupeY5ajrr8BN7OoS2XfOnVQAE33_LQ8G9Id2BQPkQ5oyCj1OQhwl6-avIHmbQES7u5ksOs0MMLENN66Fs9WfP2/s1600/lures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDWIA8vtWV52TrJWbhJT3n45ygpWdtCGL5gNFVye9lV4SUvz-ln-7nSpupeY5ajrr8BN7OoS2XfOnVQAE33_LQ8G9Id2BQPkQ5oyCj1OQhwl6-avIHmbQES7u5ksOs0MMLENN66Fs9WfP2/s640/lures.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The SimpliFLY Stock set up works well for spinning tackle as well for those of us who like to do all sorts of fishing?</td></tr>
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I also started to create my own inline spinners this year. The lower section of The SimpliFLY works perfect for holding inline spinners. These individual compartments are sized perfect for smaller jerk baits as well. The center wheel section is also great for storing swivels and split shots. I found these slots a great fit for larger indicators as well. I like to utilizes these compartments to put my flies that have been fished, to keep separate from my unfished flies. I like to put them there because because of the potential to lose the flies on the drying patch given the thick, and brush lined streams I like to fish. I use barbless hooks so the potential for these flies to be snagged off of the drying patch is much greater. I then dry the flies when I return from fishing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2W7D5R8lQ7_8Ps-R2bN_QP38V1n4qX-cDeMxzi_HJH8bsOA8kRIf8LLl2xk93qzJ69Mrn53QI9RD3ir3lergRlC2agkv4NBdpKwIrfJ5yc6VbR04vNcvw0-WkMq-GRLEd99EoilQyCc6H/s1600/SIMPlure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="592" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2W7D5R8lQ7_8Ps-R2bN_QP38V1n4qX-cDeMxzi_HJH8bsOA8kRIf8LLl2xk93qzJ69Mrn53QI9RD3ir3lergRlC2agkv4NBdpKwIrfJ5yc6VbR04vNcvw0-WkMq-GRLEd99EoilQyCc6H/s640/SIMPlure.jpg" width="472" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lure box insert will work both for lures, and larger wire diameter flies like bass poppers and larger streamers.<br />
<i>(Photo provided by The Simplifly)</i></td></tr>
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After my first trip I sent the picture above with my spinners to TheSimpliFLY showing how I utilized the compartments for spinning tackle lures. I was sent back a little sneak peak of the product shown above. The lure box insert has just been added to their website. I am by no means a spin fisherman, but can see so much benefit to having the lure box insert. I often take my kids fishing and hated having to remove my forceps, and tools, and other items from my fly fishing pack to go on a trip with them. It is tough to fly fish with a 6 year old and twin 4 year olds with you, so we often fish with bait and spinning tackle. Now, I will just have to remove my fly box insert, and put in the lure box and be ready to go. I can keep hook packs, lures, weights, etc. in this insert. I like that the company is also expanding to spin fisherman as well. Conventional fishing vests are all to often hot, and bulky for what is needed for fishing with inline spinners and lures. For guys like me who are not only fly fisherman, or have kids, this is a time saving addition.<br />
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<a href="https://thesimplifly.com/collections/all/products/lure-box-insert">LURE BOX INSERT</a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDCmH964jzkA5ot3VkAGSdl3foqN5gmOKqTDbRMxg_RuDl0bx8-g0U__8s7H90gyv0wSj6BmrQMnbKSvzE-HnIBMkWh0-AaDIMFLArH5cB5agzbO0qkcJzYXRnCI2QwdBQeUVNuYoB4FzA/s1600/perch1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDCmH964jzkA5ot3VkAGSdl3foqN5gmOKqTDbRMxg_RuDl0bx8-g0U__8s7H90gyv0wSj6BmrQMnbKSvzE-HnIBMkWh0-AaDIMFLArH5cB5agzbO0qkcJzYXRnCI2QwdBQeUVNuYoB4FzA/s640/perch1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful Perch I caught while testing The Simplify in January. She took a white crystal lead eye streamer.</td></tr>
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I really find The SimpliFLY to be great pack when fly fishing for panfish and trout especially. The fly boxes are perfect for the small streamers and nymphs that I use for both types of fish. I haven't had a chance to test The SimpliFLY on larger bass poppers and streamers due to the fact I purchased mine in November. I will post a follow up article once I feel confident that I have conducted enough testing on these larger diameter hooks. I don't feel I will see any issues at the current time, but wanted to include that in this article for full disclosure. After talking with Trevor at The SimpliFLY the lure box insert will also work great for those larger wire diameter flies.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh38HGarYCLoSZoPkFv0pVoQhiGhOpst8BqBAa0r3uMTehvS8BHhJMkKtDz7xyC0oSzagds5i9zhXVkoKQ19sHR8GBmBZOchNS6XLTG2xrrlCcUMb2vKg7mrrFV4Z0WhMa6x2K-f1eg95Hl/s1600/selfie+Simplifly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="958" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh38HGarYCLoSZoPkFv0pVoQhiGhOpst8BqBAa0r3uMTehvS8BHhJMkKtDz7xyC0oSzagds5i9zhXVkoKQ19sHR8GBmBZOchNS6XLTG2xrrlCcUMb2vKg7mrrFV4Z0WhMa6x2K-f1eg95Hl/s640/selfie+Simplifly.jpg" width="638" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A chilly winter day putting The SimpliFLY in cold temperatures.</td></tr>
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To sum up the SimpliFLY I would rate the pack 9.5 out of 10 overall. The only reason I docked it anything was the tippet holding clip broke when it was around 8 degrees outside. I have been assured that the issue has been taken care of by the company, but have not yet had a chance to test the new clip in cold enough temperatures to put my personal guarantee on it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8dPsdJ2SM2z1mzyJbHoW3Z0J5_3v1qwLUZ1jcJC1jwhP8Mc0jbQyRec6Dt8w-_rHql-zaC7ZAhl6PWFSDv1J82hWMA0J8cl5O9yX63kVjv8l8MW_WIfP_yMfyCaSnc9nTI0i9fMmM7Q_/s1600/simplifly+update.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="592" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8dPsdJ2SM2z1mzyJbHoW3Z0J5_3v1qwLUZ1jcJC1jwhP8Mc0jbQyRec6Dt8w-_rHql-zaC7ZAhl6PWFSDv1J82hWMA0J8cl5O9yX63kVjv8l8MW_WIfP_yMfyCaSnc9nTI0i9fMmM7Q_/s640/simplifly+update.jpg" width="472" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new tippet holder design. Adding clips and removing the half moon hole alleviated any issues with the durability of the tippet holder clips.</td></tr>
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I want to break the features down a little deeper. As far as functionality I rate The SimpliFLY a 10 out of 10. Everything you need is right there and you can tell that a lot of thought was put into the overall design of the product. Key functionality features are the hidden zip lines for tools, 90 degree fly box, multiple fly box inserts, rotating body, and high strength magnets to keep everything secure. The pack also sits higher than most chest packs for better water protection while wading. The pack may sit a little off angle for a woman because of a woman's anatomy, but there is a lot of room for adjustment.<br />
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For durability of the pack I am going to give a 9.5 out of 10. Again the only issue was mentioned above. I don't care about aesthetics with my gear so I am not going to offer a rating on that. I purposefully let the pack slide around in the back of my care to test the packs durability. I have never seen any issues to my tools, flies, etc. that were stored inside of the pack. The tools and flies stayed exactly where I had stored them.<br />
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I feel that if aesthetics are the only reason you don't consider this pack in your search you are really missing out. For me the functionality of the pack far outweigh its non conventional looks. As far as weight, and comfort I give the pack a 9 out of 10. The pack is heavier than many of the packs out there, but with the increased weight you get the added durability of the hard plastic. I like the breath-ability of the pack, and found it to be quite cool to wear over conventional fishing vests. The open strap design does not allow heat to gather and make you sweat. The hard plastic also relieves heat from you chest compared to cloth style packs.<br />
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I think the SimpliFLY will work for all types of fishing but really shines for fly fisherman, and spin fisherman who target blue line streams. Having a durable and functional pack that keeps everything in front of you is a must. The pack wont move on you when you are climbing around brush piles, and crouching to stay hidden. Fisherman who like to travel great distances to get off of the beaten path will like the back pack option. A stream side lunch in the middle of the mountains is the perfect cure for stress and the pack has room for your gear and a few other items as well. Anglers who are on the go or who may live busy lives will enjoy the "Throw and Go" nature of this pack. It will keep your gear organized and protected for a quick fishing trip any time. Multi-species fisherman will also benefit from having multiple fly inserts. I am not a kayak angler but think this pack would be perfectly suited for fishing from a kayak.<br />
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All in all I don't think you can go wrong with giving this pack a try, or at the very least add it to your list of potential packs. I put this pack to the test with a variety of fishing styles, in every environment I can think of, and targeted multiple species of fish, and it shined for me.<br />
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<a href="https://thesimplifly.com/">The SimpliFLY</a></div>
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<br />Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-40451696489149053992019-03-29T15:30:00.004-04:002019-03-29T15:30:39.884-04:00PA State Game Lands Double<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A little throwback story to a PA State Game Lands double from October, 2016. This was quite an interesting hunt as a my buddy Josh and I were hunting together but about 200 yards apart. He was muzzle loader hunting and I was mainly archery hunting. I did take my inline muzzle loader with me as an insurance policy if I had a doe out of range, or missed with my bow. In Pennsylvania you can take both a muzzle loader and bow during the early muzzle loader season given you have both tags, and are wearing the required amount of orange. I set up in a nice cherry tree that was surrounded by some big oaks that were dropping acorns. I was about 15 yards from a deer trail that traversed the side of the mountain.<br />
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Josh had a camera set up on the trail I set up on and had decent deer movements in the evenings. Per the norm Josh fell asleep in the early season warmth of the sun. When he woke up he ended up spooking five or six deer right to me. I didn’t know he had spooked them so all I saw was a bunch of deer running in. I thought there may have been a buck chasing them or something but it was pretty early in the season for that. I was holding my bow and did not have enough time to switch weapons. I stood up and had my release ready as all the deer ran right to the oak trees I was set up over. I could hear them crunching down on the acorns and my heart beat increased in anticipation as they inched closer. The doe I picked was the matriarch of the group. I drew my bow but she moved right behind a small beech tree. She caught me moving in my orange and did a few head bobs trying to get me to move while she was behind the beech tree. I stayed still until she cleared the beech tree at about 8-12 yards. I released my arrow and watched it go through her chest. </div>
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At the shot I heard the unmistakable thwack/woosh sound of a deer hit in the chest with an arrow. I watched her run about 60 yards and hit into a ditch that she couldn’t clear. She did a front flip and landed right on an access trail. She was down in less than 5 seconds. I didn’t realize how close I was set up to the trail, but it worked in my favor. Before the hunt Josh had told me he had pictures of a nice 8 point coming through at 4:15 to 4:30 most evenings and I had about an hour to wait. With one deer down I was hoping to possibly double up. There is no cell service where we were hunting so I had to wait until Josh and I met to let him know the good news.</div>
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As I waited for the buck, I noticed a decent grey squirrel eating the acorns below me. I need one grey squirrel a year for tying flies so as soon as the clock hit 4:30 and I felt confident that the buck wasn’t going to show, the squirrel became a target. I shot the squirrel out of a tree at 10 yards. My rage broad head did a number on him but did not ruin any of the meat.</div>
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When my hunting partner and I met at the trail he asked:<br />
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"Well how did you do?"<br />
"I got two," I replied with a smirk.<br />
"TWO WHAT??" he exclaimed.<br />
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We had a great laugh when he found out what the second animal was and he told me I was nuts for shooting an expensive arrow at a squirrel. He was pumped for me and I thanked him for the assist when he told me he spooked the deer. </div>
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I took the deer home to my garage and got a few photos with my kiddos before hanging her up for butchering. The kids were very excited and enjoyed checking her out. My twins were really excited to feel the squirrel's fur.</div>
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The next morning my son and I had deer heart and "squirrel wings" for breakfast. As you can see he was all in. What a great hunt and fun memory. I’ll be posting more of these throwback hunts in the future. It will be awesome to look back at someday and relive all of these memories. I love watching my kids grow up in the outdoors, and my favorite part of harvesting and animal is bringing it home to show them, and see their reactions.</div>
Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-12210599095205005952019-01-03T15:21:00.000-05:002019-02-05T17:20:11.688-05:00One Last Deer to Show Mom<span style="background-color: white; color: rgb(29 , 33 , 41); font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">My mom was diagnosed with
Cancer over the summer. The thought of that alone has been tough and the
thought of not getting to bring home one more deer to show her was weighing on
me as the 2018 season opened. She was always the first person that I would show
my harvests. I decided early in the summer that I would dedicate my 2018
archery season to harvesting a deer using traditional archery equipment. I fell
in love with traditional archery, and it consumed me after those first few
practice sessions.</span><br>
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<span style="color: rgb(29 , 33 , 41); font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">When I decided I would
hunt with a recurve I also decided that I would hunt like the way that my
ancestors and the archery hunters of the 50's would have. I ditched my modern
camo for olive </span><span style="color: rgb(29 , 33 , 41); font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(29 , 33 , 41); font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Dickies work pants, and
flannel shirts that would blend in to the fall foliage. I wanted to challenge
myself this year to rely on my woodmanship skills and not my equipment to be
successful.</span></div>
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<span style="color: rgb(29 , 33 , 41); font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">My mom’s health took a
drastic turn on October 9th. Hospice had told my family that my mom may not
make it through the week. This was very disheartening, so I was doing
everything I could to spend more time with my mother. I took off Friday the
12th and decided Thursday night that I would try and go after a big old doe
that </span><span style="color: rgb(29 , 33 , 41); font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(29 , 33 , 41); font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">busted me last year, then spend the
rest of the day with my mom. To put it in a new age terms, this doe was my
"#1 hit list deer".</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1xFsyUfpPc-D3l4e5Dnre2ACmsPjOEtOkQRaSj-Q81fRjllDL3jrymMeSAJT5vY3_kOtg5klhCUyn20EyeJ5HeT1hcBHRlyA2-tHSXYvr6hyphenhyphenTB_yQ0bMbzbxeB0RdLOVAgTEn2WnNhyphenhyphenv/s1600/trad+doe+old+trail+cam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" id="id_1260_d08e_6ad9_c23a" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1xFsyUfpPc-D3l4e5Dnre2ACmsPjOEtOkQRaSj-Q81fRjllDL3jrymMeSAJT5vY3_kOtg5klhCUyn20EyeJ5HeT1hcBHRlyA2-tHSXYvr6hyphenhyphenTB_yQ0bMbzbxeB0RdLOVAgTEn2WnNhyphenhyphenv/s400/trad+doe+old+trail+cam.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400"></a></div>
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<span style="color: rgb(29 , 33 , 41); font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The planning for this
hunt began in the summer when I drew up the diagram of the hill I was hunting
to understand how this doe was busting me. I was hunting the bottom last year,
and the wind would pool my scent at the bottom of my tree. Thermals would then carry
my scent right to her. It plagued me how I could have the wind in my face, yet
the doe was busting me. I stayed out of that area all summer, and fall. I knew
that if she sensed my presence there the game would be over.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJMG_FUwrzj1DqfNoh6QYvIrVk_vXp862JAmnqoqTF6pdA44b4-eXrrDouX5DL9vMA-rhXMs5OpBWpKa1NHeuGrSodweKDKCq4heCjghBmDBrugiIUQ6fttnlAsnDt-1RYI7CNJqrpbmY/s1600/trad+doe+diagram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" id="id_d20b_135_61d5_80e6" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJMG_FUwrzj1DqfNoh6QYvIrVk_vXp862JAmnqoqTF6pdA44b4-eXrrDouX5DL9vMA-rhXMs5OpBWpKa1NHeuGrSodweKDKCq4heCjghBmDBrugiIUQ6fttnlAsnDt-1RYI7CNJqrpbmY/s320/trad+doe+diagram.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 320px;" width="320"></a></div>
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<span style="color: rgb(29 , 33 , 41); font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The morning of the 12th I
checked my wind and it would be absolutely perfect to chase the old doe. I had
all my gear in the jeep the night before and was ready to rock. I put on the
old school clothes, and off I went. I planned my entrance so the only ground
scent the old doe could cross would be where I crossed a logging road to get to
the tree I was going to climb. It was a brisk 43 degrees, and the wind was
blustery. 17mph sustained wind with nasty gusts were the conditions. It was
still dark when I climbed up. I knew though that if the old doe would read my
script, my patience for the exact conditions would pay off.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">As the darkness faded and
sun began to come up, I could hear a very loud doe bleating and coming around
the point. I knew it was her and she was calling very loud to signal to he
other deer it was time to go to bed. The intense wind conditions would mark her
demise. I could hear the long deep bleats, but the thicket prevented me from
seeing her. I was at the ready with tension on my string as my anticipation of
the shot grew. Still the bleats grew louder as she made her way towards my set
up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb553FQSNRyOKdg1N6U9unPrBuWNfub_dtOwcJygOjmAnRDO7cynO1tK4EkvU0_31KuP_Buc1VQBuhl8PHNHScVyIgIkxfG_gts4WswMAig_i84lQgPgmUv0Znw5dJbx4U0qNgA-qpXzHi/s1600/trad+doe+view+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" id="id_6f7d_31d3_6e0_f7bb" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb553FQSNRyOKdg1N6U9unPrBuWNfub_dtOwcJygOjmAnRDO7cynO1tK4EkvU0_31KuP_Buc1VQBuhl8PHNHScVyIgIkxfG_gts4WswMAig_i84lQgPgmUv0Znw5dJbx4U0qNgA-qpXzHi/s400/trad+doe+view+3.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400"></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: rgb(29 , 33 , 41); font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px;">I just could not pick her out. She stopped bleating, and the wind made it impossible for me to hear her footsteps. A minute or two passed then suddenly she let out a loud bleat right under me at about 10 yards. I had been looking over her the whole time.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHyXM579TI2kmX2TWKgVHWwTmVFwCNBpdOAGBQNTqe3yf3WpBnr45ssRwvyfyqZZuYEsoBP_rnZrw3_0iM1ET5RLtT5E7zQ3JSqkmkDaY-F62bSPKE0X9xhWgCU6pCBXVBCNjZ_HaVn5P/s1600/trad+doe+view+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" id="id_5d26_5e6e_2a6_c788" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHyXM579TI2kmX2TWKgVHWwTmVFwCNBpdOAGBQNTqe3yf3WpBnr45ssRwvyfyqZZuYEsoBP_rnZrw3_0iM1ET5RLtT5E7zQ3JSqkmkDaY-F62bSPKE0X9xhWgCU6pCBXVBCNjZ_HaVn5P/s400/trad+doe+view+1.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400"></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: rgb(29 , 33 , 41); font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I picked my spot on her
heart and came to full draw. Call it her 6th sense but she became alert and
jumped a little and repositioned a few yards further than before. I shoot
instinctively and never took my eyes off her heart. When she stopped she was
quartering too at a sever angle, so I could not shoot. My muscles started to
shake holding back the recurve. I let down, but never took my focus from her
heart. My arrow must have made a sound upon letting down the bow, and she
repositioned again, this time fully exposing her vitals. I came to full draw
and talked myself through the shot in my head. "Push, Pull, Anchor,
Release" My eyes never left her heart, and at the release I heard the
"Thwack" of a chest shot. She whirled around and took off down into
the thicket.</span></div>
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<span style="color: rgb(29 , 33 , 41); font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">"Holy cow I just
crushed her" I said out loud. This is when the shaking started, and my
emotions took over. I thanked God repeatedly for the opportunity, and then
completely lost it in the stand. My tears were both of joy and sadness. I knew
that the arrow hit vitals, and I may just get the chance to show my mom one
more deer before God called her home. Once I composed myself enough to text, I
shot my dad a message letting him know that I just shot the big doe that was
busting me forever. I decided that I would wait until 9:30 or so just in case
something happened, and my shot was not as good as I thought it was. All I
could do was repeatedly pray that God would not take my mom in the meantime and
thank him for letting this all come together.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifgnAIZEoC0BFdjYBnQOU0W0oZo6c2H1TH7qNyi3-KJFznPrixPU7jp3es4fJSUp8XyezMQJX41NvPRgkO8mNdG556QCxS64lOa9r-ZBF85lMSDBJnqwmOJhR3gPCQAezWQ8uisrVho-n3/s1600/happy+hunter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="958" height="320" id="id_5afc_7c87_56ca_47d8" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifgnAIZEoC0BFdjYBnQOU0W0oZo6c2H1TH7qNyi3-KJFznPrixPU7jp3es4fJSUp8XyezMQJX41NvPRgkO8mNdG556QCxS64lOa9r-ZBF85lMSDBJnqwmOJhR3gPCQAezWQ8uisrVho-n3/s320/happy+hunter.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 319px;" width="319"></a></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Around 9:00 my dad had
texted me and asked if I had found any blood. I gave him a call and he told me
that it was not a good morning for my mother. I decided that I would climb down
a bit early to begin the track. After looking at where the doe was standing at
the shot, I soon realized that in my focus I never took the distance into
consideration. All my instincts just took over and my subconscious mind
adjusted my left arm for elevation. I am very glad that I shoot this way, as if
I would have used a fixed crawl, or other kind of aiming method I would have
for sure shot low on this deer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I climbed down and packed
my gear up. I left my climber on the tree, and removed my fleece lined flannel.
I had paced the distance to impact and it was 22 yards. This was much further
than I wanted to shoot at a deer, but in my focus, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never realized just how far she went after
that initial hop. At impact I immediately found good blood and the top half of
my cedar arrow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmOWfT2suBqh5i8ufsrOsa_p3i_7V-TJQ2jWFwar1_YJEqwaq-XC95WP0GFFrzVVs2oyUIvJr7EeqU8kvbKtppIJ7CnFHTWR3r90korjjtiKDHl8cGrGFAGIt1r725KOM106OKHyrYjiR/s1600/trad+doe+blood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" id="id_e86c_a008_d39e_b751" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmOWfT2suBqh5i8ufsrOsa_p3i_7V-TJQ2jWFwar1_YJEqwaq-XC95WP0GFFrzVVs2oyUIvJr7EeqU8kvbKtppIJ7CnFHTWR3r90korjjtiKDHl8cGrGFAGIt1r725KOM106OKHyrYjiR/s400/trad+doe+blood.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400"></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: rgb(29 , 33 , 41); font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14px;">I began the track and had a lot of good blood. The old Bear Razorheads really surprised me.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjkVqV-HBNTP7kkJSXgAnYyoXtvXGrTxiG8dmgaf473qvOSnbyKT18m0Lv3qLJXX2AYwXSnzI-i5GYkPrTupSMqAC_TwPjXzIVHyTrfzXc8aOP8RDHMUY3ctBZFYvMija78MdTsVgW8PDW/s1600/trad+doe+blood+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" id="id_b6c4_3057_524f_ca92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjkVqV-HBNTP7kkJSXgAnYyoXtvXGrTxiG8dmgaf473qvOSnbyKT18m0Lv3qLJXX2AYwXSnzI-i5GYkPrTupSMqAC_TwPjXzIVHyTrfzXc8aOP8RDHMUY3ctBZFYvMija78MdTsVgW8PDW/s400/trad+doe+blood+2.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400"></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> It was an
easy blood trail to follow, and I found the doe in about 80 yards or so. I
can't begin to tell you how excited I was to finally harvest a deer after all of the long hours of practicing.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOpWM9mG1xvuiqG17Z8GaPG2h3yLs6IE7vZYHzCuIViZ2BGVJ3gezqNk3JR-_ApANMFGjJnsOvdrVEIYDrEqvXHx3DX_Tu2FXa0m350qAnt4miXYmN0W5xJ4b25BSERSyf7ORmB2SvOqWJ/s1600/trad+doe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" id="id_8fb4_5a1b_5d4e_f374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOpWM9mG1xvuiqG17Z8GaPG2h3yLs6IE7vZYHzCuIViZ2BGVJ3gezqNk3JR-_ApANMFGjJnsOvdrVEIYDrEqvXHx3DX_Tu2FXa0m350qAnt4miXYmN0W5xJ4b25BSERSyf7ORmB2SvOqWJ/s400/trad+doe.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400"></a></div>
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<span style="color: rgb(29 , 33 , 41); font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">With misty eyes I took
some photos of her as she layed, put my tag on her, and field dressed her. I
had a pretty decent drag ahead of me, and now my only focus was to get my gear
out of the woods and show my mom the pictures. I could always come back for the
deer but knowing that my mom only had a limited amount of time left took
precedence over the deer. I ran back to my climber, packed it all up and ran out
of the woods to my jeep. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-o0tI0tzGdyzjj0nV1y4ygAMqUDmX_Tg75PyGS485k2_l0D0ks5ZUl83XNbjr-u4Ien8inaa65i7OVIwmWIIunezlT7_gePvlZbmamZjM67nWAcpooVbHKn5HKR9CRENIkYFdn-CffKEa/s1600/trad+doe1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" id="id_cc81_3772_f1fb_dce4" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-o0tI0tzGdyzjj0nV1y4ygAMqUDmX_Tg75PyGS485k2_l0D0ks5ZUl83XNbjr-u4Ien8inaa65i7OVIwmWIIunezlT7_gePvlZbmamZjM67nWAcpooVbHKn5HKR9CRENIkYFdn-CffKEa/s400/trad+doe1.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400"></a></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I headed for my mom's house with prayers that I made
it in time. I got to my parents and ran up to the door. I took my boots off
outside and opened the front door. I walked over to my mom and showed her the
photos you saw above. She had enough strength to get out "Good job
Buddy". I kept my composure and gave her a big hug. I cannot tell you what
those few words meant to me. I feel so unbelievably blessed to get that chance.
I stayed with her for a little bit longer then took off to retrieve the deer.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I loaded this doe up on
my rackpacker and felt a bit of remorse. I finally put a tag on my "#1 hit
lister" but it was so bitter sweet. I have so much respect for this old
doe. I know she busted me quite a few times, and countless other hunters over
the years. She was my best trophy to date, and here I am a little choked up to
see her dead. I finally got back to the jeep, with my outerwear tied to the
rack packer. Shirtless and cold I hooked her onto the rack. It was cold enough
that I could hang her, so I spent the rest of the day with my mom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">My mom passed that Sunday
night, at home. She waited until I came to the house to drop off some meat for
my dad. She wanted her babies, husband, and my nephew to be home. We were all
in the living room, laughing and reminiscing at old stories of my mom. My
sister went to check on here a few minutes later and we realized that she had
passed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">On my way home, that
night it hit me that the only way I would be able to talk to my mom would be
through prayer. "What will my first prayer be to my mom" I thought. I
asked my mom to send me a sign that she was in heaven and was ok. As I pulled
into my driveway I saw a big momma doe with a button buck in tow. This made me
break down, as this was my sign that she was ok.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I have shot nicer bucks,
and have had a lot of good hunting memories, but none of these harvests will
compare to this doe. Such a special deer. To be able to harvest such and
animal, in such a way, and under the circumstances just make this one
impossible to beat. I did a European mount of the does skull to have a way to remember this hunt for ever, not that it will ever be forgotten.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95kFF9wfLmp94p8e2BuJBlLNkBF_D3mZ1xSZOCkbDkFRFURSLlzrMjyl6AeVKSDD5ir7VsZ5za1ZvkXuqvrCkqihc7FVVnEB44OWHqzXnTukxV6XE6tgswPuhlQDUQJ3pPhHj6CgEHz-C/s1600/trad+doe+euro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" id="id_fa72_1f66_79b_603c" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95kFF9wfLmp94p8e2BuJBlLNkBF_D3mZ1xSZOCkbDkFRFURSLlzrMjyl6AeVKSDD5ir7VsZ5za1ZvkXuqvrCkqihc7FVVnEB44OWHqzXnTukxV6XE6tgswPuhlQDUQJ3pPhHj6CgEHz-C/s320/trad+doe+euro.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 320px;" width="320"></a></div>
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<br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cQbM2rQrkg0" width="500" height="281" id="y_id_dfac_ef12_8fb0_2aaf" frameborder="0"></iframe><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div>
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Here is the video I took upon finding the deer.</div>
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Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-4670229396538218702018-12-11T10:46:00.001-05:002018-12-11T10:46:01.200-05:00The Mountain Mako<div><img id="id_a7b7_68f1_b9ec_2e73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOGxFEdvpv452fE-uaRv_QMxOAErSonWX72bbIwzC6RtDERWwIBG6s21h-mATDs2hiVF5Ys097480rQzJr0RewzDXTgDzydkO9h9xYkDRLCa_d05v-YvSLj-FoDoTtglViODCPM3i5cpa/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br></div><div>I carefully threaded the needle of a brush pile that was in place before me and dropped my streamer perfect. Almost instantly a dark “Mountain Mako” fires out and crushes my streamer. I miss, but he gave up his location. Now more at the ready, I hit the small pool again. The brookie erupts out from under his lair, and misses my fly. My next cast I knew was make or break as he was sure to be catching on by now. Another perfect cast, but this time I hooked the fish. A sudden rush of adrenaline poured over my body as I lifted my trophy closer to me. I took a step back, and admired the downright beauty of this fish.</div><div><br></div><div>The first thing that you notice on any mountain bookie is his fins. Each fin, the pectoral fin, dorsal fin, adipose fin, all were so bright orange that they almost looked painful to the touch. The black and white stripes on the outside edges so pure and crisp that I looked like there were painted on there with a fine felt tip marker. Looking at these mere 6” fish may seem boring to some, but as you look deeper you can see his bright blue halos surrounding pink spots, their beauty consumes my soul. These “Blue Halos” are about the most beautiful sight in fly fishing. Next, you notice his camouflage and his light green, and dark green colored vermiculation that cover his back. Lastly, you see his large eye and slightly over sized head with the beginnings of a hooked jaw. I waited almost 4 months for this sight, and it lasted a mere 4 seconds. Just enough time to snag a picture of him, and return him to his lair.</div><div><br></div><div>To me this is as close to heaven as a blue line fisherman can be. I am literally miles away from anyone else, fishing a stream that does not have any of man’s intrusions, looking at the most beautiful creature that god has ever put on this earth. This is what I live for these days. Getting to touch heaven even if just for a few hours a week, is enough to keep my heart full. As I watched this brookie swim off I said a prayer for him.</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_5ce0_d929_6065_24fe" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnyq8a4N-ciQDQoU4M2h9kovqz3BSS2cu4REx68K-EXBA67ma674M_rgFCQUeVY33x5P5Oi7Np4lTlEDoaW6vd7HuwT9tYmV2DzbSu7JBFhjf3Ds_GjyWGwcER-OfIPXhc7IhlBGllbMl7/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br></div><div>I won’t go into detail, as that’s between myself and my creator, but I wished him luck. I prayed that he make it until fall to create more of the fish I love. I prayed that he not succumb to a mink, or other predator that wants to use his flesh to survive. My last prayer was that someday we meet again. All of this happens in literally the time it took you to read this paragraph, maybe less, but time truly does slow down when I am on these mountains streams, seconds and minutes can feel like hours. I am not plagued my work, or stresses in my life so each second seems to last longer.</div> Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-84492794933571539432018-12-04T17:15:00.000-05:002020-01-07T16:08:00.936-05:00Using Indicators and Understanding the Triangle Effect While Nymphing<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In this blog post I am going to discuss the basic principles of understanding the drift, and what your flies are doing under your indicator. I haven’t fished much with an indicator this year though I do enjoy seeing the bobber go down. I'm not going to lie it is exhilarating, and is something I have loved since I was a kid. Some fly fisherman like to see a trout sip a dry fly, but I get the same excitement watching an indicator rip up stream. It often seems to me, however, that the use of an indicator is looked down on or seen as an easier way to fish by many fly fisherman. I am not sure why there is this discontent, but I hope by the time you finish reading this article that will have a better understanding of your drift, and how to properly set up your indicator, without having to feel like you are fishing with training wheels.</span><br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My cousin Ryan with his first trout on the fly, caught using and indicator.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I agree that indicators can be an easy way to nymph fish to some extent, but if you want to be highly effective with an indicator there is a lot more to it. I think it’s actually a lot tougher than just using a longer leader with a built in sighter as with many Euronymphing set ups. Now hear me out on this, I know some of you are already typing your angry response to that statement.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In this photo I am Euronymphing for wild trout in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now the old adage of 1.5 times the water depth can get you in the ball park of the strike zone, and catch you fish, but I want to dive deeper into the world of indicator fishing. With this method, if the water is 4' deep you want to have 6’ between my indicator and flies. If the water is 3’ deep you want to have 4’-6” between indicator and flies. No doubt about it you can catch a lot of fish using that easy to use and understand formula. I often refer to this technique to new fly anglers, but I want to help you understand what actually happens during your drift while using an indicator before breaking it down. </span><br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNddbWPljfuE_jSqcWygSTmFLMZCP-eSj1DlP9T26PeEfxYYwJZObqDuVYvsGxkJG_p30TY3qUXtv6QS0V7VWZBpRPNdQq0TPev5cQmlf87XLAcNpgMFq9QuqVYC4O7hCvw92mu9JCbZdp/s1600/indicator+bow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNddbWPljfuE_jSqcWygSTmFLMZCP-eSj1DlP9T26PeEfxYYwJZObqDuVYvsGxkJG_p30TY3qUXtv6QS0V7VWZBpRPNdQq0TPev5cQmlf87XLAcNpgMFq9QuqVYC4O7hCvw92mu9JCbZdp/s400/indicator+bow.jpg" width="300" id="id_d694_9f3e_420_7438" style="width: 300px; height: auto;"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cookie cutter stocked rainbow trout caught using an indicator on a slow pool in South Central Pennsylvania.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Typically the current on top of the water will be faster than the current at the bottom. In order to not have drag on your flies you must account for this. Now we are going to break into the “Triangle Effect”, as I like to call it, that is created when using an indicator that is subject to drag.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I want you to think of your drift while indicator fishing as a right triangle. If we are looking at a cross section of a stream the top point of the triangle will be your indicator. Now let’s drop straight down from this point. This straight line distance to the stream bed is the water depth or the “adjacent leg” of the right triangle . The last point is where your nymphs are at, the ”opposite leg”. The angled line “hypotenuse” of the triangle is the depth at which you need to set your flies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wow, who would have thought that you have to know geometry to nymph fish with an indicator? The simple fact is that you don’t really have to know all of these geometry terms and no I am not going to give you a formula that will give you the exact distance to set your flies. There are too many variables with to make this possible but I want to help you understand the factors that will effect the “hypotenuse” length of our triangle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The two biggest factors that need to be considered, in my opinion, are </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">the weight/composition of the nymph you are using and</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> the current speed at the surface. These two factors, in my opinion, have the greatest effect on your drift while using an indicator. The construction of the indicator also plays on this, and I will touch on that in a later blog post. For the time being let’s say that we are using a 1/2” thingamabobber. </span><br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pretty stocked brook trout from one of my local streams.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let’s first understand the weight/construction of our flies in relation to how fast they sink. So let’s say I am using a very buggy stonefly nymph, as seen below, tied with squirrel hair and a 3.8 mm tungsten bead. This fly will sink decently fast but the squirrel hair will slow it’s decent and experience drag in the water. Now let’s say I use a stone fly tied only with vinyl ribbing. The synthetic fly will sink much faster and get into the strike zone faster. A common rule I use is that if the fly is dubbed or has materials that can be caught in the current, it will take a little longer to get into the strike zone. If the fly is mainly comprised of synthetics it will sink faster.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdgAwjZ8mbZFmit7exuvP9xg8ELpyO0AkwmPKPO49FA7LJ7aFul15zhedPxxdvl9T3YKwqypZm4hncGUZUsWrLpadBeMQCc4Dlg6kZBnEUjgSnz4b4MvRtdruaqRkv_YhEvngLBb4N6Yzf/s1600/buggy+nymph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdgAwjZ8mbZFmit7exuvP9xg8ELpyO0AkwmPKPO49FA7LJ7aFul15zhedPxxdvl9T3YKwqypZm4hncGUZUsWrLpadBeMQCc4Dlg6kZBnEUjgSnz4b4MvRtdruaqRkv_YhEvngLBb4N6Yzf/s400/buggy+nymph.jpg" width="400" id="id_7023_55e2_1712_20c" style="width: 400px; height: auto;"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buggy stoneflies like these will experience quite a bit of drag compared to flies tied with synthetic materials.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have you ever wondered why peridigon nymphs are highly effective? These nymphs sink fast. They are steam lined and the fly itself is created to have very little drag while it descends through the water column. So a size 16 peridigon nymph tied with a 2.8mm tungsten bead may sink faster than the stone fly with squirrel dubbing with a 3.8 mm bead, even though the actual weight of the stone fly is much more. There are many patterns out there built to sink fast like the blow torch, seen below, as well as frenchies and many Czech nymph patterns. I don't tie with many synthetic materials as I like to use more natural materials on my flies, but I will not deny their effectiveness. Confused yet? Don’t worry, I got you on this.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHd0TyL-pW7QTrRY8G_nrzHB_aUJ2ebJwYbB_FdYePKpWzS5PAo2PWWI9LoCH8GUYroaEDfyBPWjbBwIrSdZ0cznoEmDh-QeBMcPruIOt1KpTbxwAufO7wtCVfNyFEZEHCEi1J_s1TgHK/s1600/blow+torch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="802" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHd0TyL-pW7QTrRY8G_nrzHB_aUJ2ebJwYbB_FdYePKpWzS5PAo2PWWI9LoCH8GUYroaEDfyBPWjbBwIrSdZ0cznoEmDh-QeBMcPruIOt1KpTbxwAufO7wtCVfNyFEZEHCEi1J_s1TgHK/s400/blow+torch.jpg" width="333" id="id_bcf6_ac1d_f6c2_db43" style="width: 333px; height: auto;"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some blow torch nymphs I tied using mostly synthetic materials.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The next factor that I will discuss is current speed at the surface. The current speed at the surface is typically faster than the current speed on the stream bed. This is an important concept to grasp. We aren't fishing for bluegills on a pond while nymphing for trout. The water is moving and not just sitting there stagnant. If you set your flies up to be just at the depth of the water they will drift above the strike zone. You can still catch fish this way, but I want to teach you how to be more effective with your indicator. When you cast upstream the instant your indicator hits the water it starts to get pulled down stream ahead of your flies. Your flies are still sinking at this point but not in the strike zone. Your main goal is to have your flies be into the strike zone before you drift past where a trout will be laying. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now let’s bring these two factors together in a way that makes sense with some simple principles you can remember.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Basic Principles</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fast top current- longer fly depth</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Slow top current - shorter fly depth </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Slow sinking flies - longer fly depth</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fast sinking flies - shorter fly depth</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Advanced Principles:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fast top current, slow sinking flies- longer fly depth</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fast top current, fast sinking flies- shorter fly depth</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Slow top current, slow sinking flies- longer fly depth </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Slow top current, Fast sinking flies - shorter fly depth</span><br>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The longer it takes the flies to sink the longer you want to make your distance from your indicator to your flies. The more drag your indicator experiences the longer you want to make the distance to you flies. The faster the top current is the longer you want to make the distance to you flies. That’s the basics of all of it. Now let’s apply this to fishing. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most streams have all kinds of current, pools, differences in water depth, etc. Most of us anglers don't want to be walking up the stream and adjusting our indicator every time we encounter a different flow condition. This is one of the reason I don't often use indicators, and the biggest downfall to using them. The easiest way to know if you are in the zone where you will receive the most strikes is to watch your indicator. If you cast up stream, and your indicator just floats on by, you are fishing too shallow. Your flies are off of the bottom. I suggest adjusting your depth in 2" increments until your flies are just bouncing on the bottom. You will know you are in that zone when your indicator just ticks along. It should bounce a little on the drift as the flies are hitting rocks and other debris on the bottom. This is your money spot. If you go too deep your fly will keep getting hung up on the bottom, and the indicator will stop, and go under even though no fish took your flies. Just watch the indicator until it is only ticking off the bottom and you will see your strikes increase. There are times when the trout will feed in the middle of the column, but more often than not you will see most strikes when using the method discussed above.</span><br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx3uJb_n7xg-Aa-AfT4pXCQjrbHpldD96jL9zthvMOVrgEQsAVnLt7wUXH-7q3XaKaFbFVr3QARcrBmJF4ccpRRNCe6mcLon_prtfoyN8wzfcan_n7fJq4f7cIV7Kazj0o0oDX4IAs1KcP/s1600/indicator+golden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx3uJb_n7xg-Aa-AfT4pXCQjrbHpldD96jL9zthvMOVrgEQsAVnLt7wUXH-7q3XaKaFbFVr3QARcrBmJF4ccpRRNCe6mcLon_prtfoyN8wzfcan_n7fJq4f7cIV7Kazj0o0oDX4IAs1KcP/s400/indicator+golden.jpg" width="400" id="id_3802_11ea_c477_d604" style="width: 400px; height: auto;"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A golden rainbow trout I caught using an indicator an olive lively legz pheasant tail.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another point I want to make on using an indicator is that you are not simply just casting your line and letting it lay on the water. When I am using an indicator I do everything in my power to keep my line off the water. Although I am watching the float I still want to be connected to my flies. Some instances where you have to cast a further distance, no matter what you do you have to have some line on the water. You will want to mend your line, shoot some line up stream of the indicator, so that your line does not create drag and ruin your presentation. Also when you do detect a strike, the added drag of your line ripping through the water will add time that the fish can reject your fly, or not give you enough power on the hookset. This splashing may also spook other fish in the hole.</span><br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaKBrL2lVsP-Z0p9ZIMQtFhGyx_rLjhEa9ai3vmlPlPulOIPyIw0Y3koHJryMuJrcAuksuHOA-3kSKZmq9lERWt2SKkNaMJu984-yJZi8nBuhVMEpw_6px9WDFSPCVaEzW7m8XFn1Vm_3N/s1600/ryan+brown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaKBrL2lVsP-Z0p9ZIMQtFhGyx_rLjhEa9ai3vmlPlPulOIPyIw0Y3koHJryMuJrcAuksuHOA-3kSKZmq9lERWt2SKkNaMJu984-yJZi8nBuhVMEpw_6px9WDFSPCVaEzW7m8XFn1Vm_3N/s400/ryan+brown.jpg" width="400" id="id_dad0_dc15_178_7878" style="width: 400px; height: auto;"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another shot of my cousins first trout.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I will create another post on discussing the different types of indicators, and what I like and dislike about each, but wanted to give an understanding of what actually happens on the drift, and how to set up using different flies and current conditions. Fishing with an indicator can be highly effective, and is not as simple as many make it out to be. In my opinion there is much more to comprehend and adjust for when using an indicator effectively than when using a built in sighter, but that is just my 2 cents on the matter.</span></div>
Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-66766909903797338042018-11-15T07:22:00.001-05:002019-02-23T09:42:13.636-05:00The Legend of Line-Breaker/ Split Shot Breaker<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;"><br></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">April 7<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>, 2018 will be
a day I will never forget. It was the Mentored Youth Trout fishing day in
Pennsylvania. In PA, as us Pennsylvania natives like to call it, the Saturday
before the primary trout opener is designated for a day children and their
mentors to fish. I was excited at the opportunity to get my children out on the
water, with no pressure from others to have our spots taken, and other joys
that are often associated with the opening day of trout in PA.<o:p></o:p></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We had
a busy day, but I really wanted to take each of my kids out for a little bit
anyway. Around 11 o’clock I took my three year old daughter Paisley out. I took
my small stream fly rod and a few pink mop flies. An early scouting trip on a
morning Sheetz Run, showed me that the local trout club, Traditional Anglers of
Pennsylvania, had loaded up the easy access spots with trout for Mentored Day.
I can’t thank them enough for doing this as the state was not going to stock
this stream until the week following Mentored Day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We left
the house and the temperature read twenty-six degrees on my wife’s car. Very
chilly, but I knew it would not take us long to land a few fresh stockies, and
gain a couple smiles in the process. We got there and the first cast we made
together brought her a stocked brookie. She was excited to see the fish, and
just had to touch him. Over the next fifteen minutes each time the fly hit the
water either a fish was caught, or we missed it. After her fourth fish I
decided that it was just too chilly to have a three year old out any longer. So
back to the house we went.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I
got home, I had to rush to take Corbin, my 5 year old son, to his friend’s
birthday party. Upon getting back from dropping off my son, my wife, the twins,
and I headed out grocery shopping. The trip took a little long so I was on edge
to get back and get my daughter Kaylee out. We picked up Corbin, dropped off
the groceries, and I was off for the second session of Mentored Day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kaylee
was very excited to hit the water and catch fish just like her sissy did. The
snow on the ground had melted, and the water temperature had raised a little.
The fish were very active and eager to take the bright pink mop fly. Kaylee landed
eight brookies in 20 minutes. I decided now it was time to take out big
brother. Kaylee wanted to keep a few so we could eat them. My kids love trout. I have always been a catch and release angler, but now one stipulation is I bring a few trout home for the kids to eat, so they don't drive my wife crazy about it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Back to
the house I went to pick up Corbin. He was very eager to get out, and it was
quite new to him that I took the girls before him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is used to being the only one who gets to
go fishing. It is quite impossible to take twin 3 year olds and a five year old
out at the same time, so the kids get to take shifts. The girls are not use to
being separated from each other, so every time I take one or the other I get to
hear, “Where is sissy, Daddy?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Corbin
and I hit the ground running. Corbin opted out of using the flies he tied and
told me, “Cheese eggs always work, Dad!” We hit the local grocery store that
also happens to carry fishing supplies. This is a commonplace in rural
Pennsylvania. I mean who has time to make two separate trips when you are
buying lunch meat and pierogis to go to the bait shop?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Corbin
and I went to the same hole that the twins and I had fished, but I think the
gig was up. We only missed one stockie, and the rest would barely look at the
fly. We moved down stream to a hole that had a smaller bridge over it. I had
Corb between my legs, but after hooking and landing the first fish he was
afraid of falling in. We went ahead and changed our game plan. I was going to
cast and hook the fish, and Corbin was to land them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I missed a few, but decided that we would be
better off casting from upstream and bringing the fish out from under the
bridge.<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We
caught a few trout, and the new rod I bought him was working great. The rod was
just one of your run of the mill, Walmart specials that came with line on it.
We landed eight or nine trout on it with no issues. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Corbin looked at me and
said, “Dad, let’s put on one little egg and a big egg that will really get
them.” He reached his little hands into the salmon egg jar and in his mind he gave
me the perfect combo to catch the biggest trout on the stream. I flipped the
bait under the bridge, and a fish absolutely hammers it. I set the hook and
give Corbin the rod.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I see the
unmistakable red stripe of a hold over rainbow under the surface. He fought it
then the fish broke the line. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“DAD! It’s a legend!!!”…” Line-Breaker/Split Shot Breaker
lives under this bridge!!!”…”He is the ruler of the stream!!!”…. He went on and
on about this legendary fish for about an hour. Every other fish caught saying
was going to be Line Breaker. I decided to take him to another stream to try
for a true line breaker but it never showed. He managed 1 rainbow by himself, so we went back to the bridge that
Line-Breaker/Split Shot Breaker called home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We got back
to the bridge with only a few cheese eggs left. I told Corbin that we could
only keep one more fish, and if he kept a fish we had to be done for the day.
The mentored day in Pennsylvania allows the kids to keep two trout. So we
caught a few more trout, a few decent ones at that, but Corbin was set on Line-Breaker/
Split Shot Breaker. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“DAD! We only have four eggs left.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Ok, buddy, then we better catch line breaker fast, huh!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“DAD! I am going to put on a little egg, and a big egg, that
will get him!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“OK, Corb, Lets do this.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Corbin
handed me the deadly combo that Line-Breaker ate last time. I pitched the
salmon egg about a foot away from a low hanging mountain laurel and let it
drift. WHAM! A trout just hammers the combo again. I set the hook and hand
Corbin the rod once again. The fish had a lot more fight than the previous
fresh stocked brookies we were catching. It peeled drag on his little push
button rod. This fish thought he was tough. As Corbin hoisted the rainbow out
of the water and to my level I just shook my head. There in the side of the
wriggling rainbows mouth was a fresh eagle claw hook. I told Corbin to look at
the fish’s mouth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I CAUGHT THE LEGEND DAD AND HIS LEGEND ENDS TODAY!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In one motion he grabbed the fish from
my hand, and ran over to his bag. No time for a picture when dealing with such
a tyrannical rainbow trout I guess. We were laughing and high fiving with
smiles ear to ear. He was so fired up about catching Line-Breaker that I
thought he was going to be sick. We got back to the car and I snagged a few
pictures of Corbin and Line-Breaker. Line-Breaker/ Split Shot Breaker was a monstrous
10” hold over rainbow and was absolutely beautiful. Deep red strip the entire
length of his body, and thousands of dark spots cover him. We headed home and
Corbin stormed into the house dragging his fish to show his mom. He pulls out
the fish in the living room with the twins in tow. There was fish slime
dropping all over the floor, and smiles all around. I ended up cooking all of
the trout of the day, and the kids and I enjoyed them. The perfect way to cap
such a great day in rural Pennsylvania. It was how I was brought up and those
traditions will be passed down.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some
day when Corbin reads this post he will understand that it was the line that
was weak that caused it to break, and not the sheer power of the 10” hold over
rainbow, but for now I am happy with “THE LEGEND OF LINE-BREAKER/SPLITSHOT
BREAKER” as is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-58332505036667259962018-08-06T13:57:00.001-04:002018-08-06T13:57:23.782-04:00Lively Legz??<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIrdTcYmj9bNsIMKeEhsXSJfaR1DY87FGTU20l60GSNhIRmZ2163kJdPHtN9nVeQUd3WrAwvASFGIl8L_BVERHkMZVEmDWt8wKpicfkIb18k0-yCBxlNYqpvgn0xEZu0BvNxWd0Wa02iu/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" id="id_ca9b_1d6a_8fcd_569e" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIrdTcYmj9bNsIMKeEhsXSJfaR1DY87FGTU20l60GSNhIRmZ2163kJdPHtN9nVeQUd3WrAwvASFGIl8L_BVERHkMZVEmDWt8wKpicfkIb18k0-yCBxlNYqpvgn0xEZu0BvNxWd0Wa02iu/s400/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 392px;" title="" tooltip="" width="400" /></a></div>
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This weeks blog post is going to focus on Lively Legz. What are Lively Legz? If you haven’t heard of this product yet, I hope to give you a good background on the company, the product, and how to use their products with you fly tying. If you are not a fly tyer and purchase your flies don’t fear, Lively Legz, or “The Lively Legz Guys” as I most commonly call them, offer quite a large selection of flies through their webpage. I found that the guys who operate the company are not like many in the business. To be honest, they are just down to earth great people. From many late night messages I have found that they work extremely hard to deliver their products. It could be one thirty in the morning and I send them a fly I just came up with and would get a reply like, " Looks good Mike, I'm Packaging tomorrows orders to ship out." They also volunteer for many fly fishing events, run benefit patterns to support causes, and all sorts of things to give back.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0PcLwshTifdP6InXsNiVC7fpwlDconCIEtG7mSUvyfiirg3Our13jXF6ZHJuqTj3yj4Faxm5_P2Z3CPWbtCJMyQQtOZCNAkPczL3KNLlwf_BShnzBSQ5ZAzKQ2q_ZERpWYHgcqCjLkUxi/s1600/Lively+Legz+box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="600" height="298" id="id_7de4_e780_b58e_1bf5" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0PcLwshTifdP6InXsNiVC7fpwlDconCIEtG7mSUvyfiirg3Our13jXF6ZHJuqTj3yj4Faxm5_P2Z3CPWbtCJMyQQtOZCNAkPczL3KNLlwf_BShnzBSQ5ZAzKQ2q_ZERpWYHgcqCjLkUxi/s400/Lively+Legz+box.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PHOTO CREDIT LIVELY LEGZ</td></tr>
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When I first saw this product posted I instantly knew these would kill trout, when added to my nymph patterns. I did a little digging and found that the company was from my home state of Pennsylvania, and ironically less than an hour away from my house. I instantly hit them up and ordered a couple packs. I believe I had to be one of the first 5 orders they ever had. I will admit that at first there is a decent learning curve associated with tying these legs onto the hook. These minor issues are things like keeping the Legz straight, not catching the Legz while whip finishing, and a few other things are troublesome at first but are easily overcame. I lay a layer of thread on the hook to prevent them from sliding on the hook. I also leave a little edge distance from the legs when tying them in. This will help keep the legs looking nice and not becoming crooked.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOiI3_Yl2mxT5Z2EsmATDzFLFPQX7JrtsJzBjeGqHbnFKt2FUwrSmfXJGSeOLmrOG-_X-hCNdL-DBtfHx3fVjvkyXIj6-ckabzTPVCBEHwwUkD69mPdxKV72v-6POPqGWuiJvzoZRqdZEq/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="id_4d03_81ea_d9b6_4152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOiI3_Yl2mxT5Z2EsmATDzFLFPQX7JrtsJzBjeGqHbnFKt2FUwrSmfXJGSeOLmrOG-_X-hCNdL-DBtfHx3fVjvkyXIj6-ckabzTPVCBEHwwUkD69mPdxKV72v-6POPqGWuiJvzoZRqdZEq/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 392px;" title="" tooltip="" /></a></div>
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After I placed my first order, I took my rough looking first batch of Lively Legz nymphs out to one of my local streams to test. I had tied a few pheasant tails and hares ears. I wanted to see if the extra time to add in the Legz was worth it. After a few casts I could see that the trout would take these nymphs pretty well. So now it was time for the true testing to commence. When I tied up the Lively Legz nymphs, I also tied up standard variations in the same size and such as a control. I would tie on a Lively Legz nymph, and the standard pattern in a tandem rig and fish both to see what fly the fish would take. To keep the test true, I would swap the location of each nymph after a few casts as I worked the stream. I repeated these tests on a few other streams over the next month or so to get a nice range of data. After this month or so of testing the Lively Legz were taken at a ratio of 3:1 over standard nymphs of the same pattern. No matter what position I had the Lively Legz fly, three out of four times the trout were taking the Lively Legz fly over the standard. So this let me know that the extra time was worth it. I know there are still a lot of variables to consider, but the evidence was there to support that Lively Legz did achieve more takes. I have not got to do this same test versus soft hackle nymphs, or "crazy leg" style nymphs, but am hoping to dig into that this winter.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSuL4HSDVGrIFvzmkMgqqTUVEBgFUg67BvkZ1io6YHv8z37-SyKaejNjEXogdu49-f_GqBg1JnBHLr7kWQgqcvQhGY4pFeVVWBJDrMN_3x4dWLTd6nmatNl5t8ZkmBxWM3kYPHtVvKoX9p/s1600/brown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" id="id_4e08_7119_3017_8983" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSuL4HSDVGrIFvzmkMgqqTUVEBgFUg67BvkZ1io6YHv8z37-SyKaejNjEXogdu49-f_GqBg1JnBHLr7kWQgqcvQhGY4pFeVVWBJDrMN_3x4dWLTd6nmatNl5t8ZkmBxWM3kYPHtVvKoX9p/s400/brown.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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Lively Legz are offered in a varity of sizes and colors. The sizes are micro, x-small, small ,medium, and large. These will cover hook sizes from 18 to 4. I like to use 2-XL nymph hooks when tying with Lively Legz. I find that the proportions end up looking perfect. If using standard nymph hooks or wide gap competition nymph hooks, I just bump up a size to get a little extra shank length, to keep my proportions looking good. This is all just personal preference and not mandatory, but I figured I would mention what I like to use. As for colors the guys at Lively Legz have brought together a decent selction to choose from, and offer both natural and attractor color types. These colors include brown, purple flake, black, rust, light olive, attractor green, olive, burnt orange, and hot pink. I find myself tying mainly with the more natural colors. If you are just starting out and trying to decide what Legz to buy, I suggest you pick up a pack of rust, yellow, and purple flake in size x-small. I have literally tied thousands of Lively Legz flies, and of these I find myself using those colors the most. It wouldn't hurt to pick up a pack or two of the medium sizes as well. I would suggest picking up 2xl nymph hooks in size 6-12 also to begin with. The X-Small size is probably the most versatile IMO. They may appear a little big on a 16, or a little small on a 12, but they are not too bad. They offer sort of a middle of the road aspect. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2T7Mnd6Obm2-d_MeeMSzup7LG55PYp2UX5Ml3eqI6MvEhBv39jj_gUaFPOcuvlWOu7M1yT0ua-r6Ja8THEN33fmDaRfWhkNYT6O-x9pC_WU_mxN4n8UqLOg8Bl1e4EkRg-Zl0kgOuXO2D/s1600/Large_Legz_Packet_Picture_grande.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="600" height="293" id="id_2d12_64bf_32c_510e" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2T7Mnd6Obm2-d_MeeMSzup7LG55PYp2UX5Ml3eqI6MvEhBv39jj_gUaFPOcuvlWOu7M1yT0ua-r6Ja8THEN33fmDaRfWhkNYT6O-x9pC_WU_mxN4n8UqLOg8Bl1e4EkRg-Zl0kgOuXO2D/s400/Large_Legz_Packet_Picture_grande.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PHOTO CREDIT LIVELY LEGZ</td></tr>
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I was fortunate enough to get to test out the new Lively Legz Micro size this year. I along with many others were asking for a true size 16-18 Lively Legz material offering since the company first came out. After speaking with Mike at Lively Legz it wasn't as simple as I thought it would to do. The company had to invest quite a bit of money into the new molding and tooling to create this size of Legz. The issue they were running into was that a true "scaled down" version would just not be user friendly. So to deliver what their customers were asking for, and keep the ease of tying at mind, the tabs on the micros were kept the same size as the x-small sizes. I was anxious to receive my test package of micros, and when they came in I put them to the test right away. I put them on size 18 hooks, and tie up some "Lively Legz Little Black Stone Flies". They were not any more difficult to tie on than the x-small, but really made a size 18 Lively Legz nymph achievable. In my opinion they crushed it with this offering.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMUb5eCxEGGB5wovfh76QHnN6W1PYDOXmYLutJyAflPy1kSuMtwRjrK_KCCF6nE4DshMPKD_bPsRE8l3V46WOS3-7JCVU2t8yCN5MzPMB9wDrSV4AWVD6L4v69EoR2S6AurgiSV4PzBZh/s1600/little+black+stone+fly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" id="id_4de0_ff2d_3c0c_556a" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMUb5eCxEGGB5wovfh76QHnN6W1PYDOXmYLutJyAflPy1kSuMtwRjrK_KCCF6nE4DshMPKD_bPsRE8l3V46WOS3-7JCVU2t8yCN5MzPMB9wDrSV4AWVD6L4v69EoR2S6AurgiSV4PzBZh/s400/little+black+stone+fly.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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One thing you may notice about my Lively Legz nymphs is that I don’t use the third set of legs. I’ve seen many flies tied with them and for some reason I just don’t like the length of hook you need to make the proportions look right. This is just a personal preference of mine but even on my stoneflies I only like to use the first (2) legs.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtVozLeXdue4JrokHnrXQ_nkJ2pqe6eVDDiodlnNhCwybkzbslhPBmdNgJdabFqfaCs47Xlfo9pevBahqfrU0cznTQoQChlyV2AW2q7pqMoyo8sQlhDkVj69VUXmAWyZKLZSvDuneWldcY/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" id="id_4e39_714d_8d55_c940" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtVozLeXdue4JrokHnrXQ_nkJ2pqe6eVDDiodlnNhCwybkzbslhPBmdNgJdabFqfaCs47Xlfo9pevBahqfrU0cznTQoQChlyV2AW2q7pqMoyo8sQlhDkVj69VUXmAWyZKLZSvDuneWldcY/s400/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 392px;" title="" tooltip="" width="400" /></a></div>
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Another question I am commonly asked is "How do Lively Legz compare to rubber leg style flies, or soft hackles?" I often break this question down as follows:</div>
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Lively Legz: Adds greatly to the realistic profile of the nymph, but little to no movement"</div>
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Crazy Legs: Does not add much to the realistic profile, but adds more movement</div>
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Soft hackle: Least amount of profile, but most amount of movement</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Q8L5T9VJ7NQ6HgxjOa_dR_u4p28nF9n7Qt-G34U5YrhXo-VqMp6IwmLhB6szZrfN0w7D3jVMm89t6nIKktmX78yl2a77KH40TVW_td2AvAolq2HLWm7KE8EZncbL3AeGS-fIC1ETwGMy/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" id="id_ae90_59ff_2867_b659" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Q8L5T9VJ7NQ6HgxjOa_dR_u4p28nF9n7Qt-G34U5YrhXo-VqMp6IwmLhB6szZrfN0w7D3jVMm89t6nIKktmX78yl2a77KH40TVW_td2AvAolq2HLWm7KE8EZncbL3AeGS-fIC1ETwGMy/s400/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 392px;" title="" tooltip="" width="400" /></a></div>
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Each style of fly has its own place in your box. Even the owners of Lively Legz will tell you that these flies are not the "end all" of flies. I think that you should have a few of these in any nymph box though for sure. <br />
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In closing this article I’d like to give Lively Legz a big thank you. I feel I would not be where I am at today without their product. I’ve literally tied thousands of these flies so if you, the reader, ever has any issues feel free to shoot me a message. The guys at Lively Legz are also there to help you with their product as well. They are also coming up with new patterns, and put any product that they offer through a gauntlet of testing. I think that if you would give Lively Legz a shot you would be pleasantly surprised at just how well they do.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjon7TESzney71tc17giscFgwnSmSxXzSEpFlWTLJhBPcqM-t25V8gqNQaEZKxqJz8KJx02whLthGyv7ooJUnSOHOiUualaxNgQR0AqANmFySZwnGByQ-02rELZlgIlIe2hoWhOevy7ttqW/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="id_6748_81f7_4ba_37a7" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjon7TESzney71tc17giscFgwnSmSxXzSEpFlWTLJhBPcqM-t25V8gqNQaEZKxqJz8KJx02whLthGyv7ooJUnSOHOiUualaxNgQR0AqANmFySZwnGByQ-02rELZlgIlIe2hoWhOevy7ttqW/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 392px;" title="" tooltip="" /></a></div>
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Here is a the Recipe for the fly pictured above. This is my Lively Legz Grey Squirrel Nymph</div>
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RECIPE: </div>
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HOOK: size 14 2xl nymph hook</div>
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THREAD: 140 Denier Danville Dark Brown</div>
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BEAD: Risen Fly 2.8mm Tungsten Bead Copper or Nymph Head Evolution size small- Black</div>
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LEGS: Lively Legz Purple Flake X-Small</div>
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RIBBING: Oval French Tinsel- Gold</div>
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TAIL: Pheasant Tail Fibers Dark Brown</div>
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BODY: <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Grey Squirrel body fury</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">WINGCASE: Pheasant Tail Fibers Dark Brown</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">THORAX: Grey Squirrel dubbing</span><br />
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Tight Lines!</div>
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Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-3292792473993663822018-07-12T13:47:00.002-04:002018-07-13T09:07:12.674-04:00The Mop Fly: Love It or Hate It?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtljjAfayKm2YjjjRVDOWjGorm660Dc-3Pz_ZpAi0AD5ZHq9MLk_-H8LupyG9hIgLYNFNx4gnQOLHjLks1K4KzejMH4-nsgm7CMBcAfIfAIdH1tTCg2SWC0RxBdxvT-BQVxDuIqFkU-hR/s1600/mop+pink.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtljjAfayKm2YjjjRVDOWjGorm660Dc-3Pz_ZpAi0AD5ZHq9MLk_-H8LupyG9hIgLYNFNx4gnQOLHjLks1K4KzejMH4-nsgm7CMBcAfIfAIdH1tTCg2SWC0RxBdxvT-BQVxDuIqFkU-hR/s400/mop+pink.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The mop fly, never in my experience as a fly fisherman have I seen a fly bring up so much controversy among fly among anglers. The Green weenie debates were good, but the mop or the squirmy wormy leads the charge these days. Sure the mop fly kind of falls into that dirty/cheater type fly category but let’s all face it, the thing works. Are heated debates, losing friendships, angry posts really necessary to bicker about a fly pattern? It is a fly, right. Well depending on what side of this debate you fall under, you may not consider it a fly. I want to express how my love/hate relationship for this fly pattern evolved, and how I feel about it today. I hope to maybe end some of these debates, and maybe enlighten some of you reading this.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7IIhbor9gwwtaJ7c1Jzo9yqRS3P51B71cOKWwDRMwyTJA-G_zh_Xvc75edFDZCcb8QCjFNnhWZT69_9e1PWtlI5VKpTYUy0K0-7PQ9Hz4TeinonXY7ZwLE2Mdig294p5_RFZiUEI-Ws0k/s1600/mop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7IIhbor9gwwtaJ7c1Jzo9yqRS3P51B71cOKWwDRMwyTJA-G_zh_Xvc75edFDZCcb8QCjFNnhWZT69_9e1PWtlI5VKpTYUy0K0-7PQ9Hz4TeinonXY7ZwLE2Mdig294p5_RFZiUEI-Ws0k/s400/mop.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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In the beginning when I first learned of this pattern I hated it. I couldn’t find a way to make my mind think it represented any real insects that I found on the stream. Maybe a chartreuse colored mop fly with a black collar could be considered a morbidly obese caddis larva. I could construde it to be a cranefly larva in tan, cream, or grey, but even that was a stretch. I wouldn't tie it, and I wouldn't fish it. Nope, this sorry excuse for a fly pattern would never be found on the end of Michael P. Richardson's fly rod.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5bX37w6er8B4oEWay813YRhyidHHi-kQdXWRRDsxCRS6YYYCnfCH3vSqellAgzy32xdVjK9k1ylDT2GaLh19c7WOTigjcgCjZm40LaIg6Qvc2FS5kqvPvJP280ARNIsfjsf1Btvvt4QZ/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" id="id_40ca_2b18_410c_8488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5bX37w6er8B4oEWay813YRhyidHHi-kQdXWRRDsxCRS6YYYCnfCH3vSqellAgzy32xdVjK9k1ylDT2GaLh19c7WOTigjcgCjZm40LaIg6Qvc2FS5kqvPvJP280ARNIsfjsf1Btvvt4QZ/s400/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 392px;" title="" tooltip="" width="400" /></a></div>
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The mop really didn't match my style of fishing. I find that I get the most enjoyment out of fly fishing when my flies are matching insects that are living in the water I’m fishing. Flipping rocks, checking caddis cases, etc. are all parts of fly fishing that I enjoy most. I nymph fish 99% of the time so my whole fly fishing world revolves around insects. I will admit that I really only fish 6-8 suggestive nymphs and catch trout pretty much on any stream I fish. These patterns produce any day of the year as well. So this kind of made me realize that the flies I use are just vague representations of an insect. None of the main flies I use are tied to match any of these particular insects exactly. I don’t “match the hatch” very often so why am I hating on the mop fly?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbGUaAVR4c8qNTF5fDfpA-8ll7ykugT8cbDEEf0_q4z5xeRCdBTs2djjUB8JFAB7WnIKxwEMGvRq4S42Ybu09dRfxAhOZ0G8PRuW0UagPbVFhT_VMekyL6UT-Nqwht23I6CyQKipiFNCR/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="id_c1a1_57cd_406f_dfec" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbGUaAVR4c8qNTF5fDfpA-8ll7ykugT8cbDEEf0_q4z5xeRCdBTs2djjUB8JFAB7WnIKxwEMGvRq4S42Ybu09dRfxAhOZ0G8PRuW0UagPbVFhT_VMekyL6UT-Nqwht23I6CyQKipiFNCR/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 392px;" title="" tooltip="" /></a></div>
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The fly pictured above is my peeping caddis pattern. I slam a pile of fish on this fly year after year, season after season, but let’s think about that. Sure the pattern suggests a cased caddis, but I don’t see many caddis larva on the waters I fish that chartreuse in color. So to a fish, is it thinking “yum a cased caddis” or is it more along the lines of “bright color, I’m gonna eat it”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRX-aaRPqYIQNlEA0p2dei5GTSsUnOI46-hT2pJRPTeSFMRCs8aPqG8A2zptes0LYaEIHJnKKAdYQCIjkcOpNeRkcjAtsUjPsmvY73vViPXNluX1geBce-tp0k0g8ubphOwxpGixoBepkx/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" id="id_3601_3cf1_69a3_437c" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRX-aaRPqYIQNlEA0p2dei5GTSsUnOI46-hT2pJRPTeSFMRCs8aPqG8A2zptes0LYaEIHJnKKAdYQCIjkcOpNeRkcjAtsUjPsmvY73vViPXNluX1geBce-tp0k0g8ubphOwxpGixoBepkx/s400/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 392px;" title="" tooltip="" width="400" /></a></div>
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I soon found myself realizing that there really was no reason to hate on the mop. A fly by my definition is: a fishing lure constructed around a hook using thread, feathers, fur, and synthetic materials to represent something that a fish would like to eat. By my own definition the mop fly is a fly. I can not see any reason that one could think other wise. Sure a lot of other patterns are more fun and more labor intensive to tie, but a fly is a fly in my book these days.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9Rq6ME0ek6YyGQ-bgRBW4xMrYlXPSILt__RHyxzwbazstpKZ4GclPhMOxVqoRQP4pGE75uObfIl15ZpYTavc5o33fioHnJ9gGLCp410CjNzY_GAiTaZIR1Ejl3AMrIvYbO0BhlyTiEOF/s1600/coyote-turkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9Rq6ME0ek6YyGQ-bgRBW4xMrYlXPSILt__RHyxzwbazstpKZ4GclPhMOxVqoRQP4pGE75uObfIl15ZpYTavc5o33fioHnJ9gGLCp410CjNzY_GAiTaZIR1Ejl3AMrIvYbO0BhlyTiEOF/s400/coyote-turkey.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This made me start to dig deeper in my own mind as to why I was hating the mop fly. I really could not bring up any real reasons. Sure it is an easy pattern to tie, but then again so is a Walt's Worm but no one dare hate on that pattern. Why is there no hatred out there towards the Walt's Worm? It's a classic, Right? If the blind hate exists because the pattern is easy to tie, then surely these haters should be targeting a Walt's Worm. In essence, all that is to a Walt's Worm is rabbit dubbing wrapped around a hook with either a bead or a thread head. That's it! That pattern takes less than 45 seconds to tie. Sure you can make it a bit more complex and add weight, or some sort of flashy ribbing, and get a "Sexy Walt's Worm", but the Walt's Worm may be the easiest pattern to tie.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGe-VJ8StCT6oKIuAy7YcwSj1qAIPz2O2zz5tZbff4eqyc28GDEiAX2jlwndJ9tUFYw914OVCalp7Z1FvvZ3IJAYU0QXQz-w7Ly3_gLQyxB1jpIlgp6uiYjd4uBSWwQsF2JWafaEP8xjU/s1600/trevor+mcname+walts+worm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1229" data-original-width="1440" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGe-VJ8StCT6oKIuAy7YcwSj1qAIPz2O2zz5tZbff4eqyc28GDEiAX2jlwndJ9tUFYw914OVCalp7Z1FvvZ3IJAYU0QXQz-w7Ly3_gLQyxB1jpIlgp6uiYjd4uBSWwQsF2JWafaEP8xjU/s400/trevor+mcname+walts+worm.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PHOTO CREDIT TREVOR MCNAMEE</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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So surely the hatred towards this pattern is not based on how easy it is to tie. Maybe it is because the body material is synthetic. No, if that was the case the Rainbow Warrior pattern would be dismissed and have shade thrown at it as well. Hmmmm, I know what it is then. It is because it doesn't really look like anything in the water. Well, then we should dismiss the Humpy, Royal Coachman, and Purple Haze dry flies then too. Maybe some fly fisherman are worried that the mop will out perform their tried and true patterns. I really can't narrow it down, and maybe some of you can help me. The point I am trying to make on this is that there is no real reason to hate this pattern. I would love to find a valid reason to justify my prejudice towards this pattern but I can't.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89xyPerGLVYrVlsxeuKpNNrow8GS-nKmjUboHOEIU2WGoP_KzZxjb1hJdYUoA-xfrBAgB_carzKiK_NZfT3LsNPmifaSApvEc6tmCA6AfDf0RGL5o0Uh-lZwF37VwLPdyoMCdqQsnUHD7/s1600/mop+bow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89xyPerGLVYrVlsxeuKpNNrow8GS-nKmjUboHOEIU2WGoP_KzZxjb1hJdYUoA-xfrBAgB_carzKiK_NZfT3LsNPmifaSApvEc6tmCA6AfDf0RGL5o0Uh-lZwF37VwLPdyoMCdqQsnUHD7/s400/mop+bow.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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So there you have it. You have seen the views from both sides of "The Great Mop Fly Debate". I will admit that I have become a changed man once I realized I was blindly hating on a fly pattern. At first I had anxiety tying the mop. My mind was on sensation overload because I was tying something that did not resemble and insect. Now I find myself using it more often. I still catch fish on nymphs, and it is not like the mop fly is the only fly I fish. I kind of use it when my nymphs aren't working so well, but know there are fish in a hole. Sometimes it works and some times it doesn't as true with any fly. I can not fail to mention that there is no better nymph on the planet to catch native brook trout in Pennsylvania than the mop fly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWAwZv0HixXTwh8pH9ugRaARSiUVBGP6-zCRRJ1pGTLk9GIZPZssob4_MyBNTmuXJeQIKjGP13c5djSd5jgsiQCmJgk-srAtqG-qCrOKjm8i99O5mUOKs0A-cTOnDjvH1VYd0Is8P4xKrk/s1600/brookie+mop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWAwZv0HixXTwh8pH9ugRaARSiUVBGP6-zCRRJ1pGTLk9GIZPZssob4_MyBNTmuXJeQIKjGP13c5djSd5jgsiQCmJgk-srAtqG-qCrOKjm8i99O5mUOKs0A-cTOnDjvH1VYd0Is8P4xKrk/s400/brookie+mop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I challenge those of you who clicked this link for the sole reason that even the mention of the word mop fly makes your blood curdle, to give this fly a chance. Look deep into your mind, and find the exact reason that you hate this fly, but don't hate on others that are similar. If you find that reason, please comment it in the comment section of this post or shoot me a message to help me understand your point of view. I promise you this though, ending your hate for this pattern will make you feel a lot better, and may also add a few more fish in your hands.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgainCsvBAm5PzQ6-u6Yoo6Hti5VbiotsvvFu-AgQy8P-Og0lMpiA1jhU2610veMOBpNJ5gQQj9vzphFOTVzIlirTZew5ctD3Ldz37H9MTesKtJE0JAm3wuJEXM2FYWT9e6VI6bqls_5zR-/s1600/MOP+BROOKIE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgainCsvBAm5PzQ6-u6Yoo6Hti5VbiotsvvFu-AgQy8P-Og0lMpiA1jhU2610veMOBpNJ5gQQj9vzphFOTVzIlirTZew5ctD3Ldz37H9MTesKtJE0JAm3wuJEXM2FYWT9e6VI6bqls_5zR-/s400/MOP+BROOKIE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here is a tutorial video on how I tie my mop flies. I did this video using a scud hook, but this pattern is also tied on jig hooks, and barbless competition hooks. I prefer to use the barbless competition nymph hooks. You can really use any combingation of bead, dubbing, or mop material, but here is the recipe as shown:<br />
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Richardson Mop Fly Version<br />
Hook: Size 12 Daiichi 1120 Curved Nymph hook<br />
Bead: Risen Fly Fishing 2.8mm tungsten bead in black<br />
Thread: Danville 140 denier black<br />
Body: Chartreuse Mop Fly Body Material<br />
thorax: Hareline Dubbin Hare Tron Dubbing Black<br />
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I hope this tutorial can help those of you who may be interested in giving this pattern a try. Key things to remember on tying this fly the way I do it are as follows:<br />
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1) be sure to remove fibers from the mop to your desired body length. This will create less bulk and give you a more secure wrap on the material around the hook bend.<br />
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2) Uses Loctite Automotive super glue "Gel Control" under your dubbed thorax. When you finish your whip finish, squeeze the dubbing to be sure the glue gets out into the pores of the dubbing material. There is no ribbing over that dubbing. To keep the fly durable, and to help it hold up better to a fish's teeth, I apply the glue. This is not 100% necessary, but IMO really extends the life of your fly.<br />
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TIGHT LINES! Be sure to click follow, or subscribe if you would like to keep up with the Tying Shed!<br />
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Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-9226375778376214392018-07-11T12:21:00.001-04:002018-07-11T13:03:39.985-04:00Intro to Blue Line Fly Fishing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6mAs8Wt1kmXqbv4IGB1A20nx8_4U1qh07n8UqDeODRjMqzKrVlYtJqbZgUKf33_pWmgMx5kBdUVZwgoc22KPg537jnjtbrCNnIdjjnEBcTQc9iKIME1IWqQ6C34sPeW_aqF9oHxIYd5U4/s1600/mountain+stream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" id="id_169a_da3e_a6f7_3eea" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6mAs8Wt1kmXqbv4IGB1A20nx8_4U1qh07n8UqDeODRjMqzKrVlYtJqbZgUKf33_pWmgMx5kBdUVZwgoc22KPg537jnjtbrCNnIdjjnEBcTQc9iKIME1IWqQ6C34sPeW_aqF9oHxIYd5U4/s400/mountain+stream.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Are you bored of hitting the same waters on your trout
fishing trips, or tired of bumping elbows with crowds of anglers chasing stocked trout? Maybe you still want to trout fish when the temps
on your larger waters are pushing 70 degrees. The answer to your prayers of
escaping the monotony of modern trout fishing is “Blue Line Angling”.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-xHDm210kT9YaCo8-LIxUnUyx4OXphfM7psLPfK4g6DVJP4SrjMOp0Gxdv2ZYSf-csb5xFTOf4sZUTfLgWYR37DeOpHKbkPL0jwCoIM02NselU0ktTuK1r6YGgQcGyfeU4OmMfPu_mdBF/s1600/blue+line.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" id="id_346c_9db6_1c23_2971" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-xHDm210kT9YaCo8-LIxUnUyx4OXphfM7psLPfK4g6DVJP4SrjMOp0Gxdv2ZYSf-csb5xFTOf4sZUTfLgWYR37DeOpHKbkPL0jwCoIM02NselU0ktTuK1r6YGgQcGyfeU4OmMfPu_mdBF/s400/blue+line.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“What
is blue line angling?” No, its not just some new catch phrase that hipsters are throwing around. I would define blue line angling as getting off of the
beaten path, searching out unknown streams, and targeting wild fish. Now, blue
line angling isn’t always a dream paradise of wild fish, waterfalls, and breathe
taking scenery. I have went on a few adventures that took weeks of planning only
to find my “Stream of Eden” to be nothing more than a small trickle in the
middle of a fresh clear cut. The thing that you must realize about “blue
lining” is that it is not a numbers or size game. You can’t go into this
venture expecting screaming drags, and huge fish. Blue lining is all about the
adventure and stepping out of your comfort zone to try something new. Once you
give it a shot, you will find that blue lining is much more rewarding than
looking at your states stocking schedule to find hatchery fish.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf1nPJ5_BJNob4KjH6UCYnDpv3qnut7bRWF-S382fArIvif9w15IgX6zCNe_RI9fetaYTG-nM8dHcJ6HR1rZuHc4m523WaaSAJp-6dzQvpqbRqc9LaMf-9D4FQiCbtNv895e7t3R7jUVqe/s1600/blue+line+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" id="id_2629_f832_8670_6808" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf1nPJ5_BJNob4KjH6UCYnDpv3qnut7bRWF-S382fArIvif9w15IgX6zCNe_RI9fetaYTG-nM8dHcJ6HR1rZuHc4m523WaaSAJp-6dzQvpqbRqc9LaMf-9D4FQiCbtNv895e7t3R7jUVqe/s400/blue+line+1.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Serious
blue liners like myself are a different breed of trout fisherman. No, we aren’t
all hipsters and coining the phrase “blue liner” to feel like we are special. No, we don't think that we are better than anyone else. I
see that common misconception on many social media outlets all the time. Serious
blue liners are adventure seekers. We live for the unknown, and thrill of fishing
brand new waters with every adventure. We rarely hit the same water twice in a
given year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We live for the mystery of
what a blue line on a map holds for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> We love to see the vivid color and tenacity of wild trout. </span>When
you become a blue liner your mind switches from going out to the stream to pound
stockies, to scouring google maps, or topo maps to find blue lines to explore.
You may put in a week of research to fish for half a day, on a
stream that may or may not hold any trout at all. You may find yourself driving
down the highway with your head on a swivel to look for new potential waters to
research. I will admit that I am blessed to live in the Allegheny Mountains of
South-Western Pennsylvania, so almost every small trickle that is not polluted
from acid mine drainage has some sort of wild trout living within its banks, so
I have much less research to be done than some of you reading this article.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMolRwpelyPchapmjR0bMwM4DJ_Tq525rXeS6aBDAWASwy1wW9PLrrVQFj4OrMtfKD97iqzzsLutmZNpbb4XSqeNNZ4eNZvFCN2ctSL4ZSl37JcogwFJtR_Ggb-CrPvhDICzN5CyywbFv/s1600/blue+line2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" id="id_4c4_4422_cfa5_7e98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMolRwpelyPchapmjR0bMwM4DJ_Tq525rXeS6aBDAWASwy1wW9PLrrVQFj4OrMtfKD97iqzzsLutmZNpbb4XSqeNNZ4eNZvFCN2ctSL4ZSl37JcogwFJtR_Ggb-CrPvhDICzN5CyywbFv/s400/blue+line2.jpg" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Here
are a few items that I feel the beginner blue liner must have. The first thing
that you need to have is the blue line mindset. You have to go into this
venture understanding that blue lining is more about the adventure than size or
quantity of fish you can catch. You have to live for the thrill of the unknown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without this mindset you are doomed to the
confines of catching cookie cutter hatchery trout on the same old stream. The
next thing that a new blue liner needs is a way to discover new streams. Check
your local agency that regulates fishing, and see what outlets are available to
you. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My home state of Pennsylvania now
offers an interactive maps where you can locate streams that are Class A wild
trout waters, natural reproduction streams, wilderness trout streams, etc. You
can also reach out to your states fisheries biologists for input on streams
with breeding populations of wild trout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My favorite way though, is the old school map routine. Seeking out “Blue
Lines” on a map is the most rewarding way to get the most out of this style of
fishing. One of the biggest things I look for when picking a blue line stream
would be topography. How steep the mountains are surrounding the stream can provide
insight as to how the flow and size of the stream will be. The thickness of the
line on the map can sometimes be misleading, so don’t always count on thicker
lines to hold bigger waters. You must do your homework and figure out if your
prospect stream is on private property, and then gain permission to access it. I
find turning on overlays of game lands, national park, and other public areas
to help quicken my search for accessing streams. Another thing to look at is
potential stocked streams that the blue line may flow into. These streams have
potential of larger fish swimming into them for thermal refuge in the summer,
and you may end up with a blue line surprise. I had this happen this year when
a random 22” rainbow took me for a ride with my hand made blue line set up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Scouting
is also another way I determine potential streams. I may stop at a small stream
that crosses under a road. These are nice areas to perform a quick survey. I’ll
stop and grab a trusted pattern like a mop fly, or a small streamer and quickly
hit the hole that is on either side of the pipe running under the road. If you
hook a fish there, the odds are in your favor that the stream will contain wild
trout throughout. You can then add that stream to your hit list. The stream pictured below was scouted in the winter. I have caught quite a few little native brookies out of this hole, and lost one pushing 10". </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Fly gear and flies for
blue lining is pretty simple. Scaling down your typical trout equipment is an easy way
to look at it. I prefer to fly fish so my ideal blue line fly rod is a 7 or 8 foot
fly rod in 2 or 3 weight. These rods are very nice for blue lining streams with tight canopies. You won't have many issues landing trout. You can feel the subtle takes of the smaller fish as well, and can actually feel the trout once it is on your line. Some blue liners opt for 10’ rods in the same weight
or less to be able to keep back from holes, and increase their stealth. Casting these rods can be tricky on blue lines, but
landing the fish is why I personally opt for the shorter rods. The canopy of
the stream I fish dictates the length of rod for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I have lost too many fish because of my tip hitting off of the canopy. Wild fish are extremely feisty when bringing them to hand, and often a flailing native brookie pops right off of barbless hooks when the rod makes contact with the canopy. Now don't get me wrong, I do fish some streams with a more open canopy with my 10' nymphing rod. In the picture above I am hooking up with a nice wild brown on the 2018 opening day of trout in Pennsylvania with my custom 10' 3wt rod. This was from a video I was part of put together by a great group of guys from Allegheny Native. You can watch the video here. Just a great group of guys that share the same passion for wild fish that I do. I highly recommend subscribing to their channel. They really go above and beyond to capture the essence of Blue Line Angling. Be sure to watch the video until the end to witness the caliber of fly fisherman that is bringing you these post, it is a classis that for sure. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Tenkara rods are also a perfect match for blue line angling. They are telescopic and pack to a really small size. Some of the streams I fish are pretty remote so packing light is key. My Tenkara rod of choice is made by Tenkara USA and is their Rhodo model. I really like the Rhodo because it is a zoom rod. You can set it at 3 different lengths, and adjust the length of the rod to the canopy of the stream you are fishing. This is perfect on blue lines because you may never know what the canopy of a stream is like until you actually step foot there. The Rodo's set lengths are 8'-10", 9'-9", and 10'-6". You can fish at 8'-10" in the tighter spots, then extend it to 10'6" if the streams canopy opens up. These rods are very light and sensitive so picking up even the slightest take of a 4" native brook trout is easy to feel. Sshorter length, zoom styleTenkara rods and fishing methods are a perfect match for blue lining.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Now, me being the blue line enthusiast that I
am, I built my own set up that I call a “Brookie Stick.” I need something shorter than most Tenkara rods available for the micro streams I fish. I took a 6’-6” 1
weight fly rod, created a custom Parachord grip handle, and use a fixed line
fly fishing approach. This is a fun way to approach blue lining. With that road
though, I have a limited casting distance of around 12', so I must rely on stealth to not
spook the fish. This gives you a Zen like feeling, and you have to be in heron
mode to have success. Catching a native brookie or wild brown on a rod you built yourself with a fly you tied yourself is an amazing feeling, but that is a whole other blog post in itself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I use very simple fly patterns to catch blue line trout. In most of these streams there isn't a lot of food choices, so Ifind small streamers and mop flies to be very effective. I would suggest using brighter colors so the fish can see them in the fast flowing water. Below is an example of my blue line fly box at the beginning of the season. I don't spend a lot of time on my blue line flies and most are very fast and simple flies. I know these flies are ugly, and not what you are used to seeing posted from me, but native brookies and a lot of wild browns are that picky on blue line streams. Most of these flies are two minute or less ties. A lot of my flies are also rejects, that I would not sell to customers, but they will still work. I don't do a lot of dry fly fishing, but hoppers and any dry fly that will float high like a stimulator, humpy, or caddis will be effective.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Other
gear that all blue liners should have are a set of breathable waders, or hip
boots. Most of the streams you will be fishing are tiny, so even a pair water
proof hunting boots can work. I would suggest having a backup battery source
for your phone as well. Depending on how far off the beaten path you are going
to go, it would be a great idea to have simple survival items like, small first
aid kit, fire starter, compass, etc. It is important to let someone know where
you will be fishing in case of emergency. You should at least give them the
general area you plan to target.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
can pay dividends if you happen to injure yourself and need medical assistance.
Also a blue liner should have an insect repellant of some sort. Permethrin,
like Sawyers Premium insect replant, is a great idea to spray on your clothes to deter ticks and reduce
your risk of lime disease. OFF is a good idea to spray on any exposed skin as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">Blue
lining is not for everyone. It takes a different type of trout fisherman to
roll the dice and take a chance on adventure. It may seem crazy to some to hike
3-4 miles to an unknown stream only to catch six trout that are less than 7”,
but to me it is my heaven. You most likely won’t see anyone else on the stream.
The scenery is beautiful and the trout are way more colorful than those found
stocked streams. So I challenge you, the reader, to take a step out of your
typical trout fishing trip, and give blue lining a chance. Accept the
possibility that your trip may result in zero fish and dig deep inside and
reignite your spirit of adventure. </span></div>
Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-89957864973281223772018-07-10T12:56:00.003-04:002018-07-10T12:56:34.677-04:00The Addiction There are many forms of addiction out there in today’s society. People are addicted to drugs, alcohol, social media, television, and all sorts of other things. To me being addicted to something means that you have to have it to live. Furthermore, if you don’t have the item or a certain state of mind, the addiction alters your mood and temperament. My wife can attest that I am hopelessly addicted to tying flies and fly fishing almost to the point that it is an obsession. My mind gets so set on doing either activity that I forget or subconsciously ignore tasks that I was asked to do. I literally can not think of anything else, until I have my fly fishing/tying fix.<br />
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At times my addiction to fly tying will be so bad that I find myself tying on my lunch breaks at work. I’ve even jetted to a nearby stream on my lunch break just to get ten to fifteen minutes of fly fishing in, if I know that I won’t be able to go later that night. Since my wife is a teacher, I find myself trying to fish nearly every day before work in the summer. She is home so for three months out of the year I am off the hook for getting three kids ready in the mornings before work. Even this morning, after tying flies until one in the morning, I woke up early to get about an hour on one of my favorite Brookie streams, coincidentally I forgot the chores that my wife had asked me to do. I don’t mean to forget these things, it’s just my mind is so focused that it wants to go fishing or tying, that it blocks out other things that may prevent it from happening. Borderline “Rain Man” if you will. So I’m running on roughly four to five hours of sleep a night through out he summer. Crazy right? Can you relate to this state of mind, and dependence on the mind altering drug that is fly fishing?</div>
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I’ve found myself fishing in the dead of winter with real feel temperatures of negative 2, with air temperatures in the single digits. My line freezes with every back cast. I am tearing my fly line apart as it slides through icy guides. I will be shivering along the side of the stream just watching my sighter or indicator for the slightest movement suggesting a subtle take. After landing a trout it may take taking ten to fifteen minutes to warm my hands back up from the numbing water.<br />
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The addiction can be so bad that sometimes I will find myself disregarding my own safety. I’ve fished in areas with decent populations of timber rattle snakes and copperheads. In essence, I am putting my life on the line to get that fix in. Those quick winter fishing trips are also quite dangerous with the threat of hypothermia should I fall in and be too far from my vehicle. Walking down steep banks, walking tightrope like log-jams to cross a stream, and all sorts of wild maneuvers to find fish, are all commonplace. Its almost as if injuring myself is not even a risk that needs to be considered. Now after I get my fishing in, I will say my mind calms itself and allows me to make rational decisions that focus on safety. Is any of this sounding familiar to you?<br />
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So why do it? Why subject ourselves to these conditions and safety hazards? Why tie flies on our lunch breaks instead of eating? Why risk hypothermia in the peak of winter? Why do we subject ourselves to little to no sleep everyday? What is there to gain from catching trout in these difficult, and offer dangerous conditions? </div>
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Addicts of all sorts often ask themselves the same type of questions. They often tell themselves this is the last time, or maybe I’ll slow down after this week. The cold hard truth is that they can’t. I can’t for that matter anyway. People think you are nuts. Coworkers and friends question your sanity. It can come to the point of being down right unhealthy. You can become obsessed with perfecting a fly pattern so much that you will negate sleep until you have it exactly how you want it, and you can repeat the same result over and over.<br />
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So for me answering the questions I presented above is not easy. I’ve asked myself the same questions many times. Is it really worth it? For me the answer is yes. With my hectic and crazy life, these little one hour trips are necessary. They help me totally clear my mind of all of the stresses in my life. To me fly fishing in snake infested areas is a no brainer. In my mind, if we look at the stats, I have a better chance of getting hit by a car walking back from the stream, than I do getting tagged by a rattle snake. I’ll roll the dice and take that risk every time. Referring back to a statement I made at the beginning, I physically need this time. My mind and body are dependent on getting out in nature, and relieving stress. I can tell you that on days that I get to hit the stream, even if it’s for twenty minutes before it gets dark after I put my kids to bed, my mood instantly changes. I feel like I can breath and have a euphoric state of mine. At the same time if plans change and I had it in my head that I was to go fishing but I don’t get to go, I turn into a miserable crabby jerk. I’ve tried many times to lighten up, or grow up” as my wife would say, but my mind isn't wired for it, and I just can’t seem to help it.</div>
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In closing this article I feel that it’s a combination of things that makes one addicted to fly fishing and tying. I feel that it is the chemicals that your brain releases when you catch a fish that start the addiction. As you get better at fly fishing you will catch more fish. In essence you will need higher and higher “dosage” to get your fix as you grow as a tyer and fisherman. I have to wonder how I will be once I am retired. Also the satisfaction of landing a fish on or seeing others land fish on flies you have created releases endorphins and furthers the addiction. Finally nailing a pattern you've been working on has the same effect. Some fly anglers and tyers have no issues with the addiction. They can handle a hit here, and a hit there. Unfortunately for me, and maybe some of you reading this, I do not fall into that category.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW0_xApoGCxiMTlYRWfoFbfHHx9CYDlfYjgaiHhTki1XLQF4W1KDiLoMNH-x5-NqJL82SsLPYjnhriThPlRbprmlLf0CDEc2w_lcsgYBQIv7kFOdo-ZOhqNzgAZdWyxKGvgUI2hUKaLUzA/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="id_3bf2_3e27_aba9_e556" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW0_xApoGCxiMTlYRWfoFbfHHx9CYDlfYjgaiHhTki1XLQF4W1KDiLoMNH-x5-NqJL82SsLPYjnhriThPlRbprmlLf0CDEc2w_lcsgYBQIv7kFOdo-ZOhqNzgAZdWyxKGvgUI2hUKaLUzA/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 392px;" title="" tooltip="" /></a></div>
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I wish I could continue on with one more paragraph for this writing and give you ways to stop this addiction, but you can’t. You just can't. There is no cure for those of us who are hopelessly addicted. I’ve tried so hard many times, many ways, and I simply just can’t kick "The Addiction".</div>
Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-85688215106265117922018-07-06T10:48:00.001-04:002018-07-06T10:58:24.757-04:00PLAYING FOR KEEPS<img id="id_ffc5_556b_9930_958e" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizoxUhkjJsdxDuRlal0DdhPNWKORvmUR0RyiJE3-P5z_dDJF8IczD1T9gfpyWWKsvu93Ftw7rUkabNO5ZVdAzziYyVyaHgwxGYkYS199KZB9PNgygfXieUsFg3vJhfA8ddenitLcl8HxP2/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><div>I am typically a catch and release Angler. Trout, panfish, most everything I catch I release. This is a special circumstance for me. This section of stream is a class A in Pennsylvania.It is illegal to stock trout in a Class A section of water unless the stocking is done by the Fish Commission or permission is granted by the fish commission. The commission designates these areas by electro shocking and studying the stream. To get the Class A title the stream must yield a certain Biomass. Some streams may yield enough biomass and have enough food to support both native/wild trout and stocked trout so the PA fish commission will stock a certain number of trout on that section of stream.</div><div><br></div><div>These trout were illegally stocked and do not belong in this area. There is a dam that divides the lower end (stocked) and the upper end (class A). This dam would not allow these stocked fish to move up. I figured I would clarify this before it was asked. </div><div><br></div><div>In PA you can legally keep trout from class A Waters from Mid April until Early September so this worked out well to remove some of these Illegally stocked fish.</div><div><br></div><div>If you target native brook trout it becomes quite easy to distinguish a native and a stockie. If you don’t, here are some characteristics that I look for as sort of a check list to determine if the fish is or is not intact a native brookie. The fish below is a perfect example of the native brook trout.</div><div><img id="id_df91_779a_684a_e191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXi5y4rHxd2yDBy55YBE6QsUGm8v5m1DlMqoZ5KYUv1chKfkC904QAGf1ZzlSnjaqEjkWX23gPVNHQ9yiMFCGXtS1CBMaRtp4od2MnRF30gVxqXY_21-A34Eg8Pq5KEpewn2x_O_Koyu-0/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br></div><div>1) condition of fins: a native brookies fins will be sharp, and free from issues caused from rubbing its tail off of concrete.</div><div><br></div><div>2) tail: a natives tail will have sharp edges and have a bit more pointed edges. A stocked brookie will have a more squat tail with rounded edges</div><div><br></div><div>3) gill plates: stocked brook trout will also have issues with their gill plates that will look irregular </div><div><br></div><div>4) Black strip on fins: a natives fin strip will pretty much look like a sharp single stroke of a thin paint brush. A stocked brook trouts will be sort of broken and mixed in with the white. </div><div><br></div><div>5) although a stocked brook trout that has been in the water for a year or more will take on similar colors, they will never get to the brightness in coloration if that of a native.</div><div><img id="id_8fa3_a15_3147_e954" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil-1vlnA_ESuS4x6GtHPFyejSqz5XAPbg_s5hUPWm7D5b7etYGnWuKWShK-kYzhhyYpAoVBgGJRABfh1Ac6x4SvkPJzOWZV-uTPJSeE2gZ3e5H2Vtrw0cNCeBhxpIygWSFymvsKKkB9Hfy/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br>For reference the fish above is a hold over brook trout. This means that the fish was in the stream at least since the previous stocking season. You can see his gill plate is messed up and his tail is damaged.</div><div><img id="id_d4bb_751f_c75c_dac6" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOv4BDXwP7X7Ir8Wdok1ln9pLgz60dWu4HgOxdCNWuWX__GUcYg54DH1QZv7L5Deu2RO9pjLDENZ8fs0ugf9DTlmW77qDX64VcbhGeRfgALRyh9X2_1NPJF-m4twgk3ff1RAw9brVjXHJY/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><br></div><div><br></div><div>I took these Guys home and grilled them with my kids. When I first brought them in my son was bummed because they were dead. He was brought up on C&R principles so I had to explain to him that it was important to remove these stocked fish to help conserve the native brook trout population of the stream. I feel it is important to raise awareness on these sorts of issues. Rogue stocking is illegal and jeopardizes native trout populations.</div><div><br></div><div>As I said I am typically a catch and release Angler and have never kept a wild/native trout in my life. These 5 fish were the first I’ve kept in 2018 and have probably landed close to 1,000 trout since January.</div><div><br></div><div>If you do harvest trout this is my favorite way to cook them.</div><div><br></div><div>I lay down some aluminum foil and lightly spray with non stick cooking spray. Put a few dabs of butter down, and cover with old bay seasoning.</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_974e_9f0c_a0a0_63bb" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhciJZo6fAkHIAigp26QXeKRD4-PWP_97CFSmfx3b0E4vzKj4npVUFpnJQQprP97fXU7lACIIyZNghSi1UppuyEn96nL8rn1lWukl1pPnznQU1hfv1YCtPC8FMDldR9Q5t_SugchrZP6qTk/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><br></div><div><br></div><div>Next put your Brookie on top of the butter and old bay. I open the trouts body cavity and sprinkle old bay seasoning inside. Next cut a few cherry tomatoes in half and stuff them inside. Add a few more dollops of butter inside as well. </div><div><img id="id_975b_7699_ba27_6680" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOQ8RHWRpkME_PN5AhEixGQw19xeUTvBomHCHrDsrMEABVC6biSIKX6J7QVjxwKBPbcrVA1Yqasv53NIe2k_27Ys_KS2kTpswGza1lDwDZTFSMkpIXENLDb3C9ZLWGOI1QItYkx7Z0cPea/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Next sprinkle some more old bay on top of the fish.</span></div><div><img id="id_cd0f_cf86_b11e_e2bd" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZCXkUO0ZdPE7D6qEDrSrFPHTUrKJXYRcc59ZgREUhGJHgWY6-vPKAcW7Wtjw9PNkMtyPLpnDdwh_QziaHqq1lMPSHDPMkUbKt-eaHWHTtDouBjiKZjKfAu2SJ33re10Ic9AtH9lRzkUB/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><br></div><div>Fold up the aluminum foil into a small packet. The butter and tomatoes will melt and expel juices that will pretty much steam the trout. I’d say roughly 20 minutes on the grill on medium heat will typically do it. I flip them every 5 minutes. After 20 minutes I’ll pull a medium sized trout off and check the meat to see if it’s done.</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_5725_e22f_e92f_3d3d" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_CGQe_fnRh6bbm2yL223dG76aQKOpzyRZKmTmepaDPCic554qdRj7jagoHYtr81p8LZ8wI1Z7a8ai52FN3V9S4OvG6AV6SvGjF7ibLFDtkPJ8xxBqfa_IXlIQmSeWFesue4PAoZOxjfA/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><br></div><div><br></div><div>Once done the easiest way to get the meat off is to insert your fork right on the lateral line of the fish. The pull your fork down from the lateral line to get the meat off below, and pull up to get the meat off along its back. Once you remove the meat from one side, lightly pull up on the trouts spine. Slide the fork down lightly on the fishes ribs while lightly pulling up on the spine. The bones should easily pull right out leaving nothing but meat.</div><div><img id="id_8f1b_7e64_8c76_83ad" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLeM687v-wpfheV35prHPcYTYNRGEje1euZ_yMaLr9qfYv42O6p-G1RbC5aI6Q2LqY-6oFk2nCm7_lj82v35ll_HQEuJtVi3dago7bXrXS0pDRm8E6_5faCd7dHcGcDA_pTzQcyoVwIIDG/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><br></div><div><br></div><div>Once I have the meat off I typically pour the butter and old bay seasoning on top of the meat. It’s a great meal and goes well with some steamed broccoli or corn on the cob.</div><div><img id="id_cd68_4666_7ac0_b232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQlwpXOkKk0oXXZjUDtAhlkokCVqVIUKzFmE9czpxI3vTn2dN5Rj5rF_2VXY71brDAPoRvLuUahhqcP9D3rCk2OCwFvjoIW7B5Mi6rWK7O_3dWlR5FM4i3iDwQvtKLTuJuq9zjdgrQLg2E/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><br></div> Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6680087057112195088.post-49993395153764092962018-07-06T09:24:00.004-04:002018-07-07T12:07:33.671-04:00EMBRACE THE STRUGGLE<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font face="calibri">Some of today’s new fly anglers </font></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">seem to fear the struggle. They just can’t take it the idea of not catching double digit numbers of trout, or trout over 18” to post to their social media outlets. They fear that without posting pictures of huge wild browns they will not have street cred in their facebook groups, as if the opinions of anglers you will never meet in person have any merit.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> In today’s world, </span><span style="font-family: calibri;">fly fishermen and women are plagued with the advances in technology. Any fishing group on Facebook is full of questions, or recommendations from new fly fisherman that are geared at instant success. When I started into the world of fly fishing at the age of 16 ( circa 2004) Facebook and other social media sites were just seeds being planted. Youtube was not even created yet. At that time there were a few internet forums around, a few blogs, and a couple magazines I could browse to get some info on the basics.</span><span style="font-family: calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: calibri;">Today, a simple google search on your IPhone can bring up hundreds of articles, blog posts, and videos on how to fly fish, but only you can truly learn it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">The issue with all of these resources is that y</span>ou can memorize the words, but it takes time on the stream or tying desk to actually understand what you read or what you watched.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> It may give the new fly fisherman a false sense that you have to have the latest gadgets and perfect flies in order to catch fish. </span>Even with the limited resources out there back in the day I somehow found a way learn and grow as a fly fisherman to the level that I am today, and you can do the same. New fly anglers can use this information to develops the basic skill sets, and fine tune through their own experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">With the technological advancements since 2004 I have started to see a troubling trend among new fly anglers. Some new fly anglers want instant success, and instant gratification for their success. These newbies want to grab the latest rod specifically designed for Euro-nymphing that was recommend most on “Insert Facebook Fly Fishing Group Here” and pair it with the new competition nymph line and leader set up they saw on “insert latest webisode on youtube” here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They expect to head to the stream and just line the banks with large wild brown trout, and be tired from reeling in so many fish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After getting skunked or only catching a few trout, they instantly head back to “XYZ Fly Fishing Group” and ask for tips and tricks on how to catch fish on the fly. They are then hit with 60-100 replies to decipher, and figure out who actually has experience and who is just quoting something from the latest Nymphing DVD without any actual experience doing these techniques. All of these veiws may end up confusing the new Fly Angler even more.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A lot of fly fisherman today also want instant access to other anglers fishing locations. “Where at?”, or “What stream” are always found in the comment sections of the post I put up on social media. “Looking for a good stream to fish in the “Smithtown” area. Any Suggestions” type of posts are all too common these days. Many of today’s anglers just want to have everything handed to them, including where to catch fish. Experienced anglers have put in a lot of time and effort to find the locations they fish and are hesitant to openly post the exact locations they were fishing. Also the sense of adventure and the unknown can turn your fishing trip into an adrenaline rush. The new fly Angler is missing out on so much by just asking for a spot and going to it. There is so much more value to stepping out of your comfort zone and exploring than you may realize right now. Of course you may strike out a few times, but you may also find a hidden treasure. This can only be done by not fearing the risks, and going after the possible reward.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU2yvaFOLNrxvuohBA9w6h8e-Xh7W1B2JQiY4vyABRf2AyLXcaqliofPGOURMzRruOXTUbBIDAHU0v-MFay9I2we3WnSvBFCFc5qVLK44-paa7DCL6dfwTVOe-ed-vK5V-J3gPGXuf6fhT/s1600/stream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU2yvaFOLNrxvuohBA9w6h8e-Xh7W1B2JQiY4vyABRf2AyLXcaqliofPGOURMzRruOXTUbBIDAHU0v-MFay9I2we3WnSvBFCFc5qVLK44-paa7DCL6dfwTVOe-ed-vK5V-J3gPGXuf6fhT/s320/stream.jpg" width="320" id="id_ff37_6fed_5647_9451" style="width: 320px; height: auto;"></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-family: calibri;">I admire these new comers and often offer my advice to them on these types of posts, but I am now starting to also give the advice that they need to enjoy the struggle. Every new fly fisherman will struggle. What these anglers don’t realize is that the struggle is by far the most exciting time as a fly angler, and can really mold them to becoming a better angler in the long run. Instant success is not long lasting in any aspects of life, and is especially true in fly fishing.</span><span style="font-family: calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: calibri;">Working hard to understand different ventures of fly fishing and fly tying will give you a very sturdy foundation to build from.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWMO8CUDV8Xxmcw_jHxKgliGu5oh2YCPMiVM8z1zCihJFw9CoUwHbqgEiUn3mYwmM4tYWfr83ZKhr0UEGzZ7jhdCu-_gJFz88nDXCUt1jlVNrsQ7Ia4I1U7C9pgEMSbIDwtaLnkpLh3eB8/s1600/grey+squirrel+nymph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="960" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWMO8CUDV8Xxmcw_jHxKgliGu5oh2YCPMiVM8z1zCihJFw9CoUwHbqgEiUn3mYwmM4tYWfr83ZKhr0UEGzZ7jhdCu-_gJFz88nDXCUt1jlVNrsQ7Ia4I1U7C9pgEMSbIDwtaLnkpLh3eB8/s320/grey+squirrel+nymph.jpg" width="320" id="id_4416_f2db_aa04_5d3b" style="width: 320px; height: auto;"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">To you newbies out there reading this I want you to enjoy the struggle. I suggest that you learn from the struggles you are having, and try to learn by trial and error to correct them, instead of rushing to Facebook or You Tube for the instant answers. Don’t let all of the info out there cloud up your end goal, and give you a Swiss cheese foundation. Look at the resources available on streams, and get out and explore. Maybe take a look at your states fishing agency, to see what streams are stocked with trout. Look up biologists reports to find streams that hold naturally reproducing trout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Don't let the amount of fish you catch even be an item on your list of struggles in the early years. </span>Don’t fear the struggle but embrace it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Remember that you are learning, and building a foundation. Focus less on the number of fish you catch, and more on how to achieve a drag free drift. Worry less about the fact that you didn’t catch anything, and focus more on asking yourself why you didn’t catch any fish. Focus on the basic fundamentals and elements to catch a fish over anything else. The very first time that you beat the struggle is quite an adrenaline rush. The first time that you are able to read the water, make the perfect drift, see the take, have a good hook set, and land that first fish is one of the most exhilarating experiences that you will have fly fishing. Once you achieve this you will strive to do it again and again. Each time you cross another struggle off of your list with fly fishing or fly tying you are growing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will not experience that same feeling of excitement again as you grow as a fly fisherman and start to consistently catch trout. I often miss that feeling of accomplishment. Now I often catch fish that I knew would be laying there there, based on reading the water. A simple roll cast up stream, lifting my rod tip, and tracking my flies until the take is more or less second nature now, and will be for you too eventually. Key word being eventually!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvWfEXlo8a8Uo9IlAyWiGyE1bm3a46dcGopHXF5lwCrtVgSGSp_B_piikPWK-Y5s5_1Rcjqw06TH5UvrnCKKxR0IBxwzonZQiJnZ8iWPGr311w54B9ri36IdnKUFjgJ2fOU5h-jrvvMlu6/s1600/butter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvWfEXlo8a8Uo9IlAyWiGyE1bm3a46dcGopHXF5lwCrtVgSGSp_B_piikPWK-Y5s5_1Rcjqw06TH5UvrnCKKxR0IBxwzonZQiJnZ8iWPGr311w54B9ri36IdnKUFjgJ2fOU5h-jrvvMlu6/s320/butter.jpg" width="240" id="id_303e_df98_1888_7335" style="width: 240px; height: auto;"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">You can not become George Daniel, or Lance Egan overnight, heck I am not even close to their level and I have been at it for 14 years. Don’t expect to land 10-15 trout per trip consistently for the first few years of fly fishing. Do everything in your power to learn, and grow on your own, and do research on stream locations on your own. You will get much more satisfaction this way. Ask questions or watch videos to form your foundation, then build your walls by spending time on the stream building up your skill sets. Don’t panic if you don’t catch fish right away. When you do catch a fish focus on what you did different that time, compared to the drifts where you didn’t have a take. The first few years of learning to fly fish are truly the glory days of fly fishing excitement, enjoy them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Fly Tyer Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15370678405205488970noreply@blogger.com9