I am in Streamer Mode

I am really gearing up for big fish on big streamers.

First three different colors of Kelly Galloups Zoo Cougar:

Then a few Zonkers in my favorite Zonker color, tan:

From the Tying Bench

All made especially for some big hungry brown trout!

Thinking Spring Skwala's

There is a hatch of Stonefly's that comes in the late winter early spring months around these parts. It can be a bit of a tough hatch to predict or depend upon with much certainty but it sure is a good way of breaking you out of the winter doldrums. Just thinking about big bugs being gulped by hungry trout gets my mouth watering. I have been at the tying station trying out some patterns that I think will work for the local Skwala hatch come March. I can't wait to try them out anyway.

Here is a picture of a Skwala egg sack at it's tail which is one of the characteristics of this fly:

Using that model I had what I believed to be the perfect material to use for that egg sac. It came in a box of shoes Kyla ordered online. Some black semi-transparent foam was used as packing material for the shoes and it had a lot of bubbly pattern to it. My first try I didn't put much of a head on the fly and here is what I came up with:

I liked the basic concept but with a foam tail this fly is going to need more buoyancy in the head to float good and level. I then tied it with a bullet head and liked the results much better:

Now all that remains is a good test run with a handful of patterns come March.

Tied Some Matuka Streamers Today

I am still learning this fly tying thing. Today I focused on some Matuka's and they all turned out better than the first Matuka fly I tied when I first started anyway. Hope they work on the river this fall for some big browns. I tied several color combinations but I really liked how these yellow ones with a splash of red thrown in turned out. Kind of a Mickey Finn color combination in a Matuka.

Some Pictures From the Holidays

Well we didn't do much over the Christmas break but relax and eat alot of food. It really couldn't have gotten any better. Here are a few scenery shots from the week and a few shots of some elk that were taken on a Donnely, Idaho cattle ranch where they feed a herd of elk each winter and offer a cozy little sleigh ride into the feeding grounds for an up close and personal look at these amazing critters.

Smile!

The Herd Bull...until someone bigger comes along anyway, which shouldn't be long now.

Showing off his magnificant toothpicks!

Lazy Saturday

Today was a lazy day. A perfect day to tie up some Salmon Fly patterns for this summers event. And a chance to try out my new camera!

A Video Closer to Home

Well, as my waders have been dry for quite sometime now, I once again must stoop to posting someone else's video. This comes from the same guy that did the New Zealand video I posted a few weeks ago, and features a river that I would consider my home water. Although it is in another state, I live and work right across the border from this gem. I can not wait for the Skwalas this spring!