Catch Up Post

This is a short update on the status of me and my outdoor adventures.  With this nice weather I have been eating lunch fast so I can walk around the cranberry bog for fresh air and exercise.  Also I have been going to the gym a couple times a week.  Thats my life these days fast pace and not a lot of time at the end of the week.

Oh and there is the fishing and fly tying obsession.  Let me tell ya it is only getting worse.  On the fly fishing front I have been getting out more and more these days.  I caught my first couple bluegills last week and a baby bass as well.  The state has started stocking the waters and I am impatiently waiting for either the local streams to be stocked or the stripers to come in.  Also I plan to go west on Monday and fish the states' only tailwater (there will be a full post on that trip Tuesday or Wednesday).

Baby bass

Now on to the fly tying end of the world.  So along with doing a lot of tying these days I have been trying to organize my tying area.  I had some organization before but felt the need to really do an overhaul.  With some day dreaming and help from Jesse (a church member and friend with a full wood shop in his basement) I made a couple blocks to organize tools, threads, and adhesives.

This if the before picture of my desk.

A couple caddis for the season

I have been tying salmon and steelhead flies lately most of them for my brother who will be returning to WI just in time for the spring steelhead run.  Also I am going to be trying my hand at landlocked salmon this week. 

the after shot of the same desk

Close up shot of my new organization, note the threads.  

So to keep it short, I'm closing the laptop and going to sleep.

Keep a look out, with the nicer weather I will be having more and more adventures which will mean more and more blog posts.


Bruce

First trout of the year.

This past weekend Sarah and I went to Connecticut to watch the Super Bowl. I really had little interest in the game this year and even though it was a good one I was distracted. I was on the computer reading stream reports for the local waters. Aside from visiting, this trip was about fishing (I even think Sarah admitted that in the end).

I decided I would fish the Farmington River. There were many reasons for the Farmington over the Housatonic or one of the small streams but I can't pin down which one sold me on it.

Well, for what ever reason, the Farmington was the choice. I did not get up early because, as Sarah put it, this was a mini vacation (and the trout aren't going at the crack of dawn like they are in summer). Now for a trip in the beginning of February on a Monday afternoon, you would think I would have had the river to myself right? Well that's not the case at this stretch of the river!  When I pulled in the parking lot was half full.

Once I was suited up and lined up I talked to an older fella who was smoking a pipe next to his car. He had a fly rod so I asked how the fishing was hoping he'd hint as to any action. He smiled and said they are ONLY hitting micro stone flies. I had no clue what a micro stone fly was but I said okay and hit the water. After briefly fishing a midge larva I spotted a couple fish rolling in the film.

After fishing the smallest wet fly I had thought I'd try a dry. So I grabbed the trusty rusty Griffith gnat. Had a raise but no take. After adding a little 6x to my leader I tried again and wouldn't you know they were eating gnats too.

Dry flies in February - what a great way to start the year. Maybe I was too quick to claim this coming year 'the year of the bass'. This trip really got me excited about spring fishing. 

Well - back to the tying vise for now. I'll try to post soon on some of my new tying adventures.

Bruce

Owl Jones's tying contest

I don't often do this but I think I'm going to enter the first ever Owl Jones fly tying contest. For those of you who don't run in the outdoor blogging circles or don't read fishing blogs you probably do not know Owl Jones. He is the writer of the blog OwlJones.com and yesterday posted this post OJDC’s First Annual Fly Tying Competition. The honest truth is I don't read every post he puts up (Owl seems to have more time to blog then the average bear) but yesterday I finished my lunch early and read his contest announcement.

At first I shrugged it off and thought I don't have anything to offer, but tonight while I was at the vise I decided to go for it. I have two very different flies I'm going to send. So now I need to sit down and make them. Look out Owl here they come!


-Bruce