roughfisher.com

2012 Swap Flies

2012-02-16T20:00:00.000-06:00

Fruits of the 2012 fly swap hosted by McTage. As you may notice, I am not sporting the full complement of flies as was offered to the participants. Rather, I opted for a handful of tasty looking snacks that should provide some perspective and inspiration behind the bench. No offense should be taken by the other participants, as I already have stashed in my fly bank several of the patterns that were offered up in the swap. I felt it redundant to receive these flies, when others haven't had a chance thumb over and drool on the offerings from John Montana, Kevin Morlock, Wendy Berrell, et al. In addition, due to the popularity of the swap, more participants had signed up than was anticipated. Since only ten flies were required per tyer and there were 22 participants, not everyone was going to receive a fly from each other. Hence, me offering up a Carp Crack to all the tyers participating so nobody had to suffer from crack fever. Also, I hoped that be me not accepting all of my entitlement, a few others could benefit from the gain. Many thanks to McTage for hosting this year's swap. Perhaps the torch shall be passed for 2013.

Money Shot

2012-02-12T15:30:00.000-06:00

Because sometimes, you only have one chance to make a good first impression...

It's been awhile since I've sat down and fooled around at the vise. Lately, most of my time spent at the tying station has involved filling orders, favors, or the obligatory fly swap. So much for fun time; it's been all business. After tying up a bunch of Carp Cracks for a customer recently, I figured it was about time that I do a little experimenting. I love the simplicity of the Carp Crack, it's profile, and I love the burnt orange color scheme. The carp do too, obviously, since this is my most productive fly, go-to pattern, and my best selling fly. Time to have some fun.

Money Shot:
Hook: Mustad 34007, Size 6
Thread: 6/0 UNI, Red
Tail: Grizzly Marabou, Burnt Orange
Body: Roughfisher's Seal Sub Dub, KB Orange
Hackle: Ruffed Grouse
Legs: MFC Centipede Legs, Hot Orange (Medium)
Thorax: Roughfisher's Seal Sub Dub, KB Orange
Head: #8 Bead Chain, Black

I'm toying with the idea of adding some UV Krystal Flash to the marabou tail. I'm not sure if I want more flash on this fly, or if the spectral dubbed body will provide enough bling. As much as I love a little spice, too much flash can spook weary fish. I might have to do a little field testing to see whether or not it will make a difference. All I know is that this fly has all the makings of a perfect carp fly: A great profile, excellent coloration, a little wiggle, and a near zero splash entry construction. The light weight of the bead chain, the soft hackle and touch dubbed body, and the addition of legs to the thorax will help cushion the entry of this fly. The last thing you want to do is splash a little somethin' somethin' in a carp's eye. Trust me.

2012 F3T -- Minneapolis

2012-02-08T20:30:00.000-06:00

Once again, Minneapolis is a stop on the 2012 Fly Fishing Film Tour. Swing by the Parkway Theater on Friday, March 9, 2012 to catch the latest and hottest films hitting the fly fishing scene. Plenty of free stuff to be handed out by the show sponsors! Doors open at 6:30PM, show starts at 7:00PM.

The Parkway Theater is located at 4814 Chicago Avenue South, in Minneapolis, MN. Tickets are $15 at the door, but I'd strongly recommend pre-ordering them, as the tour usually draws a full crowd, selling out in over 75% of the venues. Discount tickets can be purchased at the Fly Angler in Fridley for $12.

I'll be representing tour sponsor Scientific Anglers again this year, so be sure to show up early for some free SA swag! The show is only a month away! Don't be left out in the cold, buy your ticket today!

Stuff We All Get

2012-02-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

Everybody loves SWAG, Stuff We All Get, and fly fisherman are no exception. Go to any consumer or trade show and folks stuff as much as possible into their pockets with the free promo goods from the manufacturers. Hell, I've even seen a few folks sporting packs at shows just to load up on all the booty they can get their grubby little mitts on. I love swag as much as the next guy, but I typically only collect a few things and only from the manufacturers I dig or represent. The hoarders, on the other hand, just take whatever's free.

A box showed up on my doorstep last week, I had a heads up it was coming, but I had no idea what the entire contents were. I knew there were gonna be a few hats and stickers, but I didn't expect the quantity. Or the quality. Survey a bunch of random people at a fly show and you'll find that there is a split consensus as to who calls all this free stuff swag or schwag. I guess both terms are mutually accepted in social circles, but I still think of schwag as an imposter term. Anyone in the know, knows what schwag really means, low-grade marijuana. How the two terms got intertwined I have no idea but I do know that schwag, to put it lightly, is not good. Perhaps that is why schwag got lumped in with swag, because I've seen some of the low grade shit manufacturers (in general, not necessarily in the fly industry) pass off as freebies. Frankly, I'd rather they just skimp out and pass on the free stuff instead of doling out third-rate soft goods that would make me blush in embarrassment if they were mine. So I guess I can see why some folks at these fly shows might opt for the term schwag instead of swag.

My goodie box from Scientific Anglers and Ross Reels is definitely in the swag category. I'll be proud to pop any of those lids on my melon, or stickers on my rig to represent the SA/Ross Nation. Of course, my package was privy to a few exclusive extras only issued to Pro Staffers, and they are sick! Oh, and Jefe? I chuckled at your note... Maybe next go round you'll order up some coolies big enough to cover up a few 40 ouncers for us fly gangstas. But just so you know, those coolies cover up the bottom of my Hurricane High Gravities just fine! And that's how I roll.

PSA #5: Keep It Simple Stupid

2012-02-03T07:00:00.000-06:00

KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid. There are flies tied to attract fish. Then there are flies to attract the fly angler. Then there are guide flies. Guide flies abide by the KISS principle, you want something cheap and fast to tie, yet is deadly effective on the water. These flies might not win any beauty pageants but the fish don't care. They just want to eat.

I recently found an old soldier (pictured in the forefront) going through my fly boxes recently. It's an old pattern I came up with a few years ago but kind of forgot about. I suddenly remembered how money this fly was; it had a good weight to it, great profile, and almost no splash when hitting the water. A perfect carp fly. I tried to recall why I never tied anymore of this pattern and then it dawned on me. The reason why I never tied anymore of these flies was because I used up almost all of my test flies one day out on the river. They were that good. The only reason why one fallen soldier lay rest was due to a bent hook point. Of course I tucked this fly away deep in my pack never to resurface until a few days ago.

This is about as easy a pattern to tie as the San Juan Worm. If you can dub a body and palmer hackle you're almost there. Just a size 4 salt hook, 0.30 lead wire wrapped hook shank, dubbed body, ringneck pheasant hackle, dubbed thorax, and bead chain eyes. Simple. The beauty of this pattern is that the pheasant hackle pulses in the water, giving a great profile and movement. In addition, the hackle and dubbed body help cushion and dampen the delivery of this fly on the water, huge when fishing to spooky fish. My favorite body colors of this fly are olive and burnt orange. And there you have it, a KISS guide fly for carp.

A quick note to myself and you folks out there: If you ever have a hot fly out on the water, write it down or record a history of it somewhere. Sometimes, when you're down to your last fly and the evidence is gone, it's easy to forget a killer pattern. Don't be a douche. Don't let my mistake happen to you.

Carp Swap Flies

2012-02-02T07:00:00.000-06:00

As you may well know by now, I was asked to participate in a fly swap this winter hosted by McTage over at Fly-Carpin. Twenty-two participants in all, including the likes of Barry Reynolds, Kevin Morlock, Will Rice, John Montana, Pat Cohen, and other carp studs. Hell, Even Third Coast referred to some of us as the carperati. Ha! I like that term, kinda like the music mafia of the carp slayers. Regardless, I may be fashionably late in getting these flies off to McTage, but at least everyone in the swap will get a Carp Crack.

Old Man Jack

2012-02-01T14:00:00.000-06:00

Some gold old fashioned winter embellishment, courtesy of Jack Frost.

Tatonka

2012-01-30T13:30:00.000-06:00

A bruiser caught a few weeks back during our "January thaw", when daily high temps topped 50 degrees for a couple of days.

To be honest, it's not really a thaw when there was no snow on the ground, daily temps were ranging in the mid to upper 30s and overnight lows were in the upper 20s. This non winter has been a joke, but at least I was able to take advantage of it and fly fish in the dead of January. Never thought I'd be able to pull that off in the Great Brown North.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a good release shot since this fish still held some vigor and wouldn't sit still for me. For scale, that is a Ross F1 #4 reel, 4" diameter spool. This fish is in the 30" plus class. It always fascinates me that without a good reference, it is difficult on film to capture scale on a large specimen. The typical fish porn grip and grin photo is so overdone it's lost most of its cachet, however, aside from the super-extendo arm thrust pose, it does serve as a decent reference for scale and proportion.

Either way you cut it, it's still a nice fish!

USCARPPRO Magazine Issue #22

2012-01-26T08:30:00.000-06:00

USCARPPRO Magazine Issue 22 has dropped. You know what to do... Click the link and read. Now.

A Fall From Grace

2012-01-24T21:00:00.000-06:00

It has been a long time since I've held the reins and dug in the spurs. Life has been a distraction over the past year and it took me until recently to realize that I had lost my edge. Not for lack of skill or ability mind you, as even under the limited time I spent on the water last season I was still able to perform with my tool and succeed at fooling fish in difficult conditions when others had failed. Instead, as I withdrew from angling in order to deal with the demons on the domestic front, I've felt my grip slipping, my pulse within the fly fishing community become weaker.

Neglect a blog for a year and it is only natural that readers and viewership will drop off. With nary a reason for cause the abandonment began, perhaps many chalking it up to another typical fly fishing blog that faded away like a dying sun. Even while the screen lay dark with no new blog posts in weeks, I still stayed busy behind the tungsten curtain filling custom fly orders, perhaps the only thing that kept me from a descent into madness. The die-hard legions and crew have always held steadfast, even if unknowingly why. And an even smaller select few were actually privy to the depths of the chaos and turmoil. Yet, the need for a voice, an outlet for the roughfishermen, still exists. While I may have fallen from common conversation among the bloggers, the industry, or whomever else is responsible for creating buzz within the fly fishing community, it doesn't mean that I am down and out, or face down in the gutter.

I feel that I am just as valid as the day I started blogging about roughfish on the fly, perhaps even more so. In just the span of the last few years, I've watched the interest in carp on the fly grow, as well as become more acceptable to the mainstream. Not that myself, or anyone else who carp fishes for that matter, is looking for any validity from anyone. Maybe we're just the annoying kid in the back of the classroom that babbles on about everything about everything, including carp on the fly, in hopes that someone is listening. Regardless, it has become apparent that some are listening. Even during my unscheduled sabbatical, I was still getting inquiries from folks, and even a few compliments. I just want to say thank you to everyone out there who was listening.

I'm working on getting back my mojo, getting back to the top of my game. I'm not seeking fame. I'm not seeking fortune. I could care less if I'm any better known than I was a year ago. I could care less if I get published again. I could care less to see my face on the cover of a magazine or on the television screen. I just want to get back into my groove behind the vise and start producing those twisted patterns that helped earn me my success. If last year was the year of the Carp Crack, then this year will be the year of the Mustache Ride. I'm just looking to get back to where I was before I fell from grace. I'm not doing this for anyone except myself. After all, I'm just a guy who loves to fish.

Working Girls

2012-01-23T22:00:00.000-06:00

Carpiodes cyprinus.

I love chasing quillback. They can be some of the most frustrating of the suckers to escort due to their extreme skittishness and finicky ways. To add to the proposition, a john typically finds harems of quillback working the street corners in skinny gin clear water. To say one must creep up on these spooks like an undercover vice agent is an understatement. I've always had to play it low-key, leaving the bling and drama at home and fishing small nymphs like brassies or copper johns. Don't be a playah! Quillback have a small inferior mouth so you can't just force it in with a large fly; you gotta be smooth if you want to party. These ladies finally gave in to the Fresh Pimp Nymph. Then again, a fresh pimp slap will subdue just about any ho.

I love getting fin....

New Year Carp

2012-01-11T18:00:00.000-06:00

It might not be pretty or a monster, but I'm on the board for 2012. Plus this carp has an interesting color pattern around it's eye. It looks like it kicked back a few longnecks, got into a bar fight and got shived by some punk ass bottom feeding walleyes and needed stitches, leaving a pretty bad ass scar. This may be the local Tony Montana of the carp population.

The first carp of the new year came surprisingly early, merely days into the year. Of course, while winter carping is entirely possible, it is an anomaly around these parts due to sub freezing temperatures, snowpack, and subsequent inundation of shore and anchor ice. Not to mention that water temps below 39 degrees put the fish into an incredible funk, measurably reducing feeding activity. Nonetheless, this non-winter we've been experiencing up here in the Great Brown North provided a few obscenely warm 50 degree plus days in the dead of January. I'll take what I can get. Any day you can bring a carp on the fly to hand is a good day.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T17:00:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas from the roughfisher! Hope Santa brings you what you'd been wanting! Unless, of course, you're like the majority of us who fish the brown line and are probably on Santa's naughty list, haha!
I guess we'll all find out in a few days... Happy Holidays!

Sunset

2011-12-07T10:30:00.000-06:00

I think it's finally time to hang up the long rods for the season, get out the shorties, and fire up the ice auger. Winter's arrival has the lakes pinging from the formation of new ice, sounds reminiscent of the Hunt For Red October. Fishing villages are starting to sprout up as each ice house fights to get set up on their honey hole. It's about that time to hit the ice and do a little harvesting.

While the 2011 fly fishing season included some memorable moments and fantastic adventures, most notably my excursion to Beaver Island, it was also matched with much regret. This past season has probably marked my fewest number of days on the water, which is not something that I am proud to report. High flows early on in the season, as well as domestic issues, kept me off the river for much of the year. While I will never be one to shirk my responsibilities as parent and denigrate the role, my priorities have recognizably focused on duties and activities other than fishing. I am hoping for resolve over the winter, in hopes that the situation will improve. I will will also make a better effort to get my kids involved in fly fishing this next year. At ages 3 and 7, hopefully, under my guidance and with a little help from dad, my kids will be able to land their first fish on a fly next season. In addition, they might be lacking the dexterity and maturity to master the skills needed behind the vise, but I will also strive to expose my kids more to the world of fly tying this winter, in efforts that they begin to embrace fly fishing culture. I've already got two great little helpers who are more than enthusiastic about fish and dad's interest in fly fishing. It's been long overdue to have them take the next step forward.

The sun sets on yet another season. I can't wait to get my boots wet in 2012.

GreenFish Announces Hands-free Camera Mount for Sustainable Fishing

2011-12-01T09:30:00.000-06:00

New from GreenFish, a hands-free camera mount for sustainable fishing. Greenfish announces the introduction of a new camera mounting system designed for boats and kayaks, the CPR mount, designed for Catch-Photo-Release.

Available online only, the CPR Mount's patent pending Expansion Locking system secures the unit into most tube-style rod holders and rocket launchers. It also works with a Scotty Flush Mount. The CPR mount retails at $79.99, with $4 going towards fisheries conservation through our GreenFish Gives program.

GreenFish - By Anglers | For Fish
Promoting a lifestyle of sustainable fishing

www.greenfishmovement.com
About GreenFish
GreenFish is focused on building awareness of sustainable fishing practices through its
product lines, which include apparel and camera mounts. GreenFish donates five percent
of its revenues through its GreenFish Gives program to non-profits that promote the health
of world fisheries.

giving thanks

2011-11-23T20:30:00.000-06:00

2011 has been a year of turmoil, not just in the scheme of world politics but there has been a lot going on behind the tungsten curtain over at the roughfisher command post. It's been a state of upheaval and change, including a brief stint of unemployment, however it also brings about the opportunity for reflection, self discovery, and growth. So here's what I'm thankful for this year:

The Family - My support staff has always been number one. Thank you for holding the rudder straight and firm, even when I was listing off course.
The Kids - You guys are my life blood. Thanks mateys!
The Lady - You keep the wind at my sails. I love you!
My Fishy Friends - Thanks for keeping me in the scene even when I haven't been able to be on the water.
Hurricane High Gravity - If it wasn't for your $1.39 price tag, high ABV, and delicious taste hitting my lips, I don't know how I would have made it through those fierce gales and turbulent high seas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Funnin' around

2011-11-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

I was filling customer orders recently and had a chance to tie up some thunderbirds, a pattern I hadn't tied much since this spring. Man I love this pattern, between the moose tail and the soft hackled ruffed grouse thorax, the profile of this fly is so sexy.

Did some messing around blending up an insect green dubbing blend from a couple of other dubbing blends I had already made. I think I like the composition of this blend better than some of my previous batches in this color. What do you think? I had to tie up a few Carp Crack in this color of course...

Carp Crack, always lethal!

Sausage Haus

2011-11-14T17:00:00.000-06:00

So the roughfisher has been slacking a bit in both the fishing and blogging department. I apologize folks. But I have been busy in the background grinding up some fresh meats in the seedy underground laboratory at the Roughfisher Command Post. In addition to making some 8 quarts of napa cabbage, daikon radish, and cucumber kimchis, I've managed to stuff about forty-five pounds of beef, pork and venison, transforming plain old protein into the delectable charcuterie known as sausage.

I ended up with six varieties of sausage, a Wisconsin-style bratwurst, Italian sausage, a smoked Italian, smoked jalapeño cheddar, smoked bulgogi inspired snack sticks, and a fresh salsa verde pork sausage.

There was lots of fun behind the grill. My favorite experiment was the chile verde pork sausage. Crafted on a whim, I ground pork shoulder, onion, garlic, jalapeños, cilantro, and tomatillos, stuffed it into a hog casing, and cooked it on the grill. I served it on a brat-style hard roll and garnished it with fresh onion, cilantro and salsa verde. Most definitely a winner!

Thankfully I saved a few sausages for the freezer to nourish me through the winter...

Soft Hackle Heaven

2011-10-18T20:00:00.000-05:00

Whether you call it a partridge, thunderbird, thunder chicken, or a ruffed grouse, Bonasa umbellus is among the tastiest of all upland birds and game. It is also prized for its hackle in my fly tying stash. Fortunately, living in Minnesota provides me with the nation's premier grouse habitat and population, with over half a million birds harvested annually, making it Minnesota's top game bird. Life is good in the Great White North.

The rump feathers, while used to determine the sex of a ruffed grouse, are also a vital component of the venerable Carp Crack pattern. The ruff feathers, located on the sides of the necks of both genders, are used to form the collar on the Mustache Ride and Landing Strip patterns, as they are long and wispy, providing lots of movement in the water. They are the ultimate soft hackle for those larger streamer fly patterns.

Regardless of how you obtain a ruffed grouse skin, whether it be a a retail acquisition, roadkill salvage, harvested bird, or a donation from a fellow hunter, consider yourself blessed. The ruffed grouse is the pinnacle prize of keen fly tyers.

true romance

2011-10-09T21:00:00.000-05:00

I heart buffalo.

Fall Scenes

2011-10-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

The fall colors are past peak now as the gusty gales of fall are blowing the leaves from the canopy onto the forest floor. The winds of change are here and with it the carping season will soon be drawn to a close. They'll likely be a few more opportunities yet this fall for other roughfish. But until next spring, it will just be denial until I can hold the shimmering golden scales of a cyprinid in my hands again.

So long.

Pucker Up

2011-10-03T20:30:00.000-05:00

Pow! Right in the kisser!

smart business decisions

2011-09-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

What do you do with all of the countless fly leftovers and daddy's got to eat? You trade flies for beef. Prime 100% grass fed locally raised beef. I'm glad someone's got a use for all the test flies and holdover patterns from the past several years, but frankly it was an insult to them to be sitting in my fly boxes not even getting a chance to see light of day or breathe some fresh air. Now, there's two winners involved here. My buddy gets to stack his fly boxes with some roughfisher originals and I get some tasty beef from Thousand Hills Cattle Company. Winner.

I think I've just found a new niche market, bartering flies for food and drink. Now if anyone's got some homebrewed IPA, barleywine ale, or imperial stouts they're willing to trade for, I'm listening.
Use the contact link to get in touch.

The Mustache Ride Strikes Again

2011-09-11T21:00:00.000-05:00

Another poor victim who went on a Mustache Ride.

Believe it or not, I've made it out fishing twice this past week. Almost unbelievable considering the summer I've had back at the Roughfisher Command Post. And as much as I'd like to contribute fishing stories and adventures with you all, I've had a couple of cameras snafus this past week, one involving accidentally deleted photos which were immediately overwritten by Android OS, the other involving mystery photos that never showed up on my SD card. Maybe it was operator error, who knows, but the bottom line is I won't put up a fishing story without photos simply because then it becomes just that, a story. You know what they say, pics or it didn't happen. Words to live by....

So I met up with a Facebook friend of mine the past two weekends. Last weekend was on his home turf near southeastern Minnesota. This weekend was on my home turf up on the Otter Tail in northwestern Minnesota. Kind of like a home and home series. Flows in both regions have been somewhat stable, something that has been in short supply this season. Even the Otter Tail was low, having finally dropped to 543 cfs, the lowest it's been in two years. Of course normal flows for this time of year is 206 cfs, but I'll take what I can get. We'll see how long this lasts.

It was ungodly hot this weekend with highs around 90 both days. Fine for you southern folk, but not for us northerners, and especially not in mid September. Hell that's above average for us even in the peak of summer in July. Regardless, the bass were soaking it up. I watched countless numbers of smallies expolode towards my fly as I skittered it across the rocky shoreline. There was tail dancing involved. I know it's just a bass, but it provided for some quick entertainment between searching for pods of carp.

With the lower flows and water levels in the reservoirs above Orwell, I was expecting to find a bunch of congregated carp feeding. No dice. This has been the summer of where's the fish? I can see fish being dispersed off the flats during high water and on to the floodplain, but now that the water's dropped, those flats are barren and the floodplains dry. Where have they gone? I have no idea, but I'm curious to see if these fish will work their way upstream this fall IF the flows stay somewhat reasonable for awhile. At least that's what I can hope...

Finally got my first Minnesota carp to take a Mustache Ride. I had pondered whether or not this fly would be too big for the Minnesota variety carp, but I was pleasantly surprised when this fish hit it. I watched a pod of two fish turn out off a flat and enter the main channel. I was at a high vantage point and dropped the fly right into their feeding lane. I had wondered if my fly was going to be coming in hot and way too high for those fish until I watched one of them roll up off the bottom and rise to the fly. It quickly inhaled it and turned downstream. Any shred of doubt about whether or not this fly would be effective on Minnesota carp was immediately thrown out the window. Now that's what I'm talking about! Not the biggest carp by any means, not even average sized really, but this little guy helped turn the worm and proved to me that the Mustache Ride can hang wherever it's fished. Good to know.

I know the bass love a Mustache Ride. Thanks for the bass thumb little fella...

Salvageable?

2011-08-30T17:00:00.000-05:00

There may be hope for 2011 yet. Despite the rain falling from the sky as I type this, a two week dry spell in the region (somewhat of a rare occurrence as of late) has allowed many of the tributaries of the Otter Tail and Red Rivers to finally begin to fall. While nowhere near as low as normal for this time of year, flows are starting to finally approach wadeable and fishable levels, nearly four months after the start of spring runoff. Insane. With rivers finally back within their banks, hopefully these lower flows will start to congregate fish and bring them off of the floodplains and onto their normal flats and other haunts. Lower flows will weaken the strong currents allowing a fly to drift more freely to fish holding in deep pools anr runs without the added burden of excess tungsten and lead. This should give the advantage back to the fly angler. Who knows how long this will last. Time to get back on the saddle.