roughfisher.com

Pimp My Sled

2010-02-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

Before & After: For an improved riding experience.

Ripped out all the two-up components and turned my sled into a single seater since I only ride solo. Ditched a few unnecessary pounds, reduced clutter, and improved rider room to maneuver. Slapped on a roughfisher.com sticker to boot. The increased storage area on the rear of the tunnel will come in handy when hauling cargo on expeditionary fishing excursions. May even ditch the molded plastic side rails for a more spartan look. Any pounds that can be shed from this tank is a bonus. Looks like I got myself a custom long track trail machine.

Just the Thing

2010-02-06T12:00:00.001-06:00

Looks like I finally got my hands on some of Singlebarbed's custom dyed Angelina, and it only cost me my third born too!

Ever since the Son of Satan and I went in to cahoots and procured a lifetime supply of Angelina, I'd had the itch to fill my kitchen wall to wall with all sorts of concocted varieties of dubbing blends. I've capitalized upon several scores of interesting dubbing materials since then, the only thing stopping me has been time. Unfortunately, I've recently come down with LOA, lack of ambition. Hopefully this will be just the kick I need to get back on the wagon and behind the vise again.

Singlebarbed included a "gift with purchase" inside the care pacakge, some Fringe Lurex by Ice Yarns. The multicolor yarn is a 85% Polyester, 15% Lurex Flag type yarn that is 50 gr. per 65 m skein. The properties of this style yarn should allow for it to be tied in similar to pseudo hackle or chenille, from creating thoraxes to palmered-hackle bodies like wooly buggers. The material would also be suitable for use as wings, tails and legs on many a nymph pattern; should make for some killer caddis nymphs. Cheers!

holding pattern

2010-02-03T19:00:00.001-06:00

The fly tying is currently on hiatus. Pretty hard to get motivated for anything really, during the doldrums of a long dark spell; a funk. New snow and freshly groomed trails trump the fly tying card in the dead of winter. Maybe later. For now, I've got some pow to ride. Get 'em started young.

the brownline 2010.02.01

2010-02-01T12:00:00.003-06:00

Reading Edition:

Brand spanking new online mag from Sleeping In The Dirt. As the opening statement reads, "No Sponsors, No Advertisements, No Limits..... No shit", the magazine follows true to course. Solid. The bar has been raised.

More fly porn courtesy of Simon Graham. Check out Issue 3, due out 2010.02.02, for some half chickens and meaty tube flies. Simon always ties up the nastiest esocid patterns. Well done mate.

Blood Knot Magazine. Close-to-the-bone articles from real anglers. No bullshit.
"Designed to give fly anglers a fresh, unrestricted avenue to pursue their passion, these candid articles, photos and videos are for the enjoyment of other addicts."
Keep your eyes out for the first digital issue due out this spring. Subscription is free.

I Miss You, My Hawai'i

2010-01-31T07:00:00.000-06:00

I hear the wind traveling down the Ko'olau...

Aloha au ia 'oe, hui hou kakou e ku'u Hawai'i

me ke aloha,
Keonaona

Copying a copycat

2010-01-29T12:00:00.002-06:00

Our brother from Up 'North made his guide of things for deprived fly fisherman to do over the weekend, so here's mine.

Dirty Boy's list for the weekend:

wish you could have went fishing
play some Wii
wish you could have went snowmobiling
eat some grease and bacon
put kids to bed
crack open a bottle of cheap malt liquor, alone
watch Gopher hockey choke, again
walk past fly tying vise and grab another drink
Facebook stalk
drink some more
eat jalapeño bean & cheese chimichangas and nacho cheese Doritos
more drinks
fart
more Facebooking
cut loose and waft a few more ass biscuits and check for streaks
have another beer
drunken dial/text/PM
one more drink
wish you could have went fishing
pass out

REAPEAT

Aloha

2010-01-28T07:00:00.004-06:00

The view from paradise:

The roughfisher is back and slapped in the face with the cold, hard reality of winter. Took me two hours to clear the driveway of snow to get in the house and unload luggage.

Welcome back.

the brownline 2010.01.27

2010-01-27T22:00:00.001-06:00

VHS found in Lake Superior fish. Cornell University reported they had found trace amounts of Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) in organ samples taken from a small number of healthy fish in four sites in Lake Superior.
“VHS remains a threat to all the Great Lakes, and we will increase our efforts to slow the spread through public awareness of the simple things boaters and anglers can do to help,” says Michigan DNRE Director Rebecca Humphries.
Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said the recent finding of VHS in Lake Superior would not lead to any immediate regulation changes for anglers or boaters. Because complacency always works...

Congress to seek more money to fight Asian carp. Members of Congress say they'll seek $20 million to study using poisons to prevent Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes. Just what we need, more studies. Time to quit fucking around and actually get down to doing something, now!

More asian carp drama: asian carp DNA found in Lake Michigan, yet Feds reject closure of Chicago Canal. More fallout from the Detroit Free Press. Stop by stopasiancarp.com to get the low down and all the latest news on the spread of asian carp. Please remember to sign the petition.

Our environment is going to hell in a bucket.

ʻāina hānau

2010-01-19T07:00:00.002-06:00

Off to the Motherland. See you back here in a few. Hulō malama pono.

saussage

2010-01-18T07:00:00.000-06:00

Gots me a new grinder and stuffer for chreesmas. Fellow brownliner Tony already got the tube steak laying down pat. I'll have to confer with him and exchange some recipes and samples. I've got some grandiose ideas. Aside from the traditional wursts like Wisconsin style brats, summer sausage, and snack sticks, I'm looking to mix things up a bit. A few of the pondered experiments are smoked pepperoni rolls and snack sticks, jalapeño pheasant sausage, wild rice brats, Hawaiian style Portuguese sausage (linguiça ),and a couple of varieties of fish sausage, including an asian influenced tuna sausage. That one I plan on serving on a hard roll brat style, with pickled ginger and a wasabi aioli. Damn this is making me hungry.

the brownline 2010.01.17

2010-01-17T21:00:00.000-06:00

Fish Can't Read Sold! The fledgling e-zine has been sold off to a large media conglomerate. Unfortunately, part of the terms of the deal means that the magazine is done for and will no longer be published. Where does this leave fellow brownliners Alex and Keith and hottie Camille? I'm not sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if another underground magazine rose to the surface in the coming months.

US Carp Pro Magazine. David Smith, owner of USCP mag, has a great thing going here. Styled after This is Fly, this is an edgy magazine with great photography and full of relevant information. Most magazines are stuffed heavy with ads and sponsor influenced articles, with little on the content side. Not the case here. Check out the latest issue with a great article featuring Lee Baermann and a few of his go to fly patterns. I've got some exciting news to share on this front in the coming month.

The dreaded asian carp. Stop on over at Hatchless and sign up for the petition to help stop the spread of asian carps into the Great Lakes. Please.

Housekeeping

2010-01-15T07:00:00.010-06:00

The dead of winter is always a good time to go over your gear and give it a thorough cleaning. If you're like me, you're probably a little hard on your equipment, after all, it's hard work to catch those slobbernockers and look this damn good. Time to get rid of the dirty.

My poor fly lines get abused. I try to take caution and avoid stepping on them, but I always manage to do so, though unintentionally. The rivers I fish in my watershed are often choked with ultra fine clays and silts, remnants of Glacial Lake Aggasiz. These fine particles can actually become charged ions and will stick to your fly line. This fine layer of accumulation can act like just like sandpaper, especially when subjected to bipedal abuse. In addition, fishing in the rocks can be hell on a line's coating. Your Einsteinian tip of the day: UV light, heat, and petrochemicals will degrade the surface and integrity of your fly line. Check for cracking. I use a mild soap solution to clean heavily soiled lines and then a solid rinse. I treat my lines with Rio Agent-X, though any fly line branded treatment solution will probably work. This helps keep my line supple and shooting like a breeze. Remember, don't treat your sink tips or sinking lines. There are polymers in those treatment solutions that act as a floatant to help keep your fly line riding high.

Surprisingly, my reels stay pretty clean, save for the gouge or two from encounters with rocks. I use the scapegoat excuse of an Hard Alox finish and a completely sealed bearing and conical drag system for treating my reels like shit. They often get tossed down in the sand, dirt, and snow when landing a fish. The finish on my Lamson Velocities seem to do an excellent job of repelling dirt. The sealed drag and bearing design of the Lamson allow you to submerse your entire reel underwater for cleaning without fear of rust. This is especially handy when fishing salt. I pull my bearings and inspect the rollers and race. Even through my cases of abuse, I have yet to find any grime, moisture, or other particles within the sealed drag compartments. I clean the old grease off the bearings, and then re-grease lightly. I use a reel lube that performs well in cold temperatures. Having too much grease, or one with a higher viscosity will spell danger for you in the cold. Don't over apply.

The last thing I do is go over my rods. I clean the cork grips and look for any major pitting or decay/rot. It's easier to seal up those pits and gouges right away, than to let it ride resulting a a big chunk of cork missing from your grip. I clean my rods with a damp towel, and inspect the ferrules for any cracking. I check the guides and tip tops, making sure they are still firmly fastened to the rod. One of my rods developed a loose tiptop on my last outing, likely from the constant build up of ice. I took the opportunity to re-glue the tiptop to the blank. All you need is a lighter and a glue stick and you're golden. Take caution not to overheat and weaken the blank. On a previous season's maintenance, I noticed a piece of epoxy starting to crack around the thread wraps at the end of one of the ferrules. That could have been bad; the thread wrap on the guide could have unraveled, leading to possible rod failure. I took the opportunity to remove the tiny chip and touch up the area with some cement.

I know it's not the most exciting or enjoyable part of the job, but if you're like me, you don't have sponsors breathing down your throat ready to fork over another line, rod or reel when yours start to fail. Keeping care of your gear not only saves you a few bucks for the bottle shop later, but will also help minimize any equipment catastrophes on the water due to poorly maintained gear.

Cheers!

House of the rising sun

2010-01-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

Daybreak, daybreak on the land. Cue at 4:20.

The rest of the show.

Dubbing tools

2010-01-13T07:00:00.003-06:00

On one of my regular visits to the local Farm and Fleet store in town I headed over to the livestock and pet area, in search of a few items for one of my no good, low down, cheapskate shenanigans. I picked up a bot knife, aka stripping comb, for $2.99 and a large fine all purpose grooming comb for $5.79. You may be asking yourself what in the hell I'd need these random things for, and what does this have to do with fly fishing? Simple. I'm too cheap to fork out $10 bones for a fur rake and $15 for a small fur comb that I've never had the chance to see in person. They will be some handy tools for making dubbing.

Living over four hours and 200 miles from the closest fly shop has its obvious disadvantages. I can't just mosey on over to the shop if I've ran out of 6/0 UNI thread in Dark Olive or am in need of some more tan furry foam. Even tougher in this current economic climate is dealing with the ever shrinking inventory that many stores are keeping in stock these days. Either I'm relegated to mail order or better yet, I adapt, improvise, and overcome.

$3 bucks for a stripping comb that is heavier duty than any fur rake on the market is a score. The grooming comb? That's just common sense. The sturdy teeth on the comb can unsnarl even the most stubburn knot of antron yarn and the nappiest llama dingleberry. The fact that it was one third the price of a "fly fishing" model is just icing on the cake. Add in the factor that the farm and fleet store is a regionally owned business and is only a few miles from the Roughfisher Command Post, thus eliminating a significant carbon footprint from shipping and travel, the purchase is a win win.

Think Globally, Act Locally.

Classics: Tom Dickson Interview

2010-01-12T07:00:00.005-06:00

Recent acquisitions of the roughfish bible Fishing for Buffalo, by Tom Dickson and Rob Buffler, have generated a series of blog posts and fishing message board threads hitting the interwebs. Already hallowed by legions of hardcore roughfish anglers everywhere, a third edition of the book was reprinted in 2009 by the University of Minnesota Press. Roughfisher.com was selected to receive a copy of the new printing for review, but even more fortunate, we were able to sit down with co-author Tom Dickson for an exclusive interview. Not worthy of drifting off into the annals of cyberspace to collect virtual dust, roughfisher.com would like to dig back into the archives and share our interview with Mr. Dickson from June of 2009, discussing the finer points of being a roughfisherman. Enjoy:

[roughfisher] Fishing for Buffalo is considered the bible for many of us roughfisherman, and has long been out of print. For many newcomers to the sport, finding copies of the book have been becoming harder and harder to come by, even amongst online marketplaces like amazon and ebay. It was a relief to many when a second printing was announced by the University of Minnesota Press. How did the genesis for a second printing come about?

[Dickson] University of Minnesota Press had long wanted to reprint Fishing for Buffalo, which had been out of print since the early 1990s. From what I understand, it decided to print the new edition to piggyback off media attention coming from The Great Minnesota Fish Book.

[roughfisher] Roughfish are typically referred to in a negative connotation; the common carp often overshadowing other roughfish species due to their appearance and reputation. Overcoming the tradition of assumption and ignorance passed down from generation to generation can be a daunting task to the roughfisher. Any advice on how to help dispel the misconceptions associated with these oft maligned fish?

[Dickson] I worked as an information officer with the Minnesota DNR for 14 years and had what many might consider the best opportunities anyone could have to influence public attitudes toward roughfish. Among my duties was to write articles for the Minnesota Conservation Volunteer, coordinate the fishing regulations, and put out a newspaper called Fish & Wildlife Today. I think I had very little effect, because the public bias against roughfish is so deeply held. Still, I think roughfish anglers can make incremental gains. Sites like roughfisher.com and roughfish.com are helping spread the word that there is a world of great fishing out there in addition to that provided by walleyes, bass, and crappies.

[roughfisher] With the recent press in the Wall Street Journal and sudden influx of urban fly fishing blogs, there has been a lot of buzz lately in the fly fishing community with regards to “brownlining”. Have you noticed any increase in fly anglers pursuing non-traditional species like roughfish? What is your thought on this trend and shift away from traditional coldwater fisheries?

[Dickson] I’ve noticed some increase but not a lot. In Montana, where I now live, a June catfishing tournament on the warmwater Milk River (which flows southeast from Alberta) has drawn 60 teams. That’s unheard of in this trout-obsessed state. As for brownlining, I’m intrigued in the concept, which isn’t especially new (Ian Frasier has been writing about urban fishing for decades). I like the idea of people learning to fish in whatever environment they are in, whether it’s pristine or polluted. And I like the attention being paid to carp, catfish, and other species that can survive in degraded rivers and streams. But a few things trouble me about brownlining. One is the misconception that all urban waters are trashed, when in fact many are quite clean, the Mississippi in the Twin Cities being one example. That’s due to the Clean Water Act and other measures taken in the 1980s and ‘90s. I’m also concerned that by embracing the new gonzo Road Warrior, post-apocalypse attitude toward fishing in degraded, even toxic waters, anglers stop becoming advocates for clean water. Much of brownlining is driven by the fact that people no longer need to—or even want to—eat fish. I think that’s a shame.

[roughfisher] Do you believe this shift is due to depleting coldwater fish stocks and the degradation of our rivers and streams, a case of tough economic conditions and the need to fish locally, or a subgroup of adventurous anglers looking for the next frontier to pioneer? Or all three?

[Dickson] I don’t think coldwater stocks are being degraded, at least not in Montana and Minnesota. And many coolwater rivers are cleaner than they’ve been in decades, again thanks to the Clean Water Act. When I was a kid, raw sewage flowed into the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities and the river contained only carp and fathead minnows. Today I would eat any fish from that river, and I think at last count biologists had tallied, what, 40 species there?

I think the brownliners are picking up where Fishing for Buffalo left off. Rob Buffler and I sort of introduced the idea of “embracing the unembracable.” That didn’t really catch on when the book came out in 1989, but a younger generation of angler now considers that cool. I think in large part it has to do with rejecting Dad’s and Uncle Ed’s fishing ethic.

[roughfisher] When did you get your start fly fishing?

[Dickson] When I graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1982 I lucked out and landed a job with a hunting and fishing magazine in Minneapolis called Fins and Feathers. An editor there, Shawn Perich (now a writer and publisher in Hovland, Minnesota), taught me the basics of fly fishing. A few years later, I met Rob Buffler, who was then and continues to be the most gifted fly angler I know. We fished a lot in the late 1980s for trout in southeastern Minnesota, and I learned a lot from him. He now lives in Alberta and is director of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative. I fished with him last October on the Bow River and he continues to amaze me with his fly fishing prowess.

[roughfisher] When did you catch your first roughfish?

[Dickson] It was in 1987. I was fishing for trout in a deep pool in the Middle Branch of the Whitewater River. The fish was a dandy white sucker

[roughfisher] Can you tell us about the defining moment when you decided to intentionally pursue roughfish on the fly?

[Dickson] It wasn’t so much a defining moment as a gradual realization by me and Rob in the later 1980s that we could continue to fly fish even after trout fishing shut down in midsummer due to warm temperatures. We just wanted to keep fishing, but once trout streams hit 72 degrees or so, the fish become lethargic. So we shifted gears and moved to the Mississippi and other cool-water rivers and began trying for channel cats, which you can fly fish for pretty much the same as for brown trout.

[roughfisher] Do you have any particular favorite fly patterns for roughfish that you’re willing to share?

[Dickson] I have done best over the years with a black Woolly Bugger.

[roughfisher] The Achilles Heel: Is there an elusive species of roughfish that isn’t on your lifelist yet?

[Dickson] I’ve never caught a gar on a fly. I’d love to do that someday. I’d also like to catch a shovelnose sturgeon. I think sturgeon are pretty cool.

[roughfisher] Discuss your most embarrassing moment while roughfishing; feel free to be candid.

[Dickson] In 1992 I caught what was then the world record bowfin, fly rod 4-pound tippet category. No one had ever entered a fish in that category, so I won by default. I received a giant jacket patch from the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wisconsin and sewed it on the back of my fly vest. One day I was fishing steelhead on the Brule in Wisconsin and a fellow angler sidled up and asked about the patch. Was it a steelhead? He asked. I replied that no it was a “dogfish,” and he burst out laughing. I was sort of embarrassed by that. But then again, I had a world record and he didn’t.

[roughfisher] What’s next for you? Any new fishing projects in the works?

[Dickson] I’ve been pretty busy this year promoting The Great Minnesota Fish Book. That’s been real fun. There’s been talk of me doing a similar book for Wisconsin. We’ll have to see.

[roughfisher] What’s your favorite roughfish and why?

[Dickson] That would be the carp. It’s big, strong, and abundant. I can’t tell you how many anglers I’ve met over the years who, when they hear I fish for carp, admit that one of the greatest thrills of their angling life was tying into a big hoselips. I mean, for most spin-anglers, there’s really no need to use their drag on most game fish. A carp is a fish that requires a good drag.

Another is the American eel, and only because its spawning migration is so impossibly bizarre. I’ve never caught one, though I did eat one once. A friend brought it up from the Mississippi when I lived on St. Paul’s West Side. I grilled it. Delicious.

Thanks again to Tom for sharing his time and thoughts with us!

Tom Dickson has been editor of Montana Outdoors since 2002, and previously served as an Information Officer for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for 14 years. The award winning author has written for Fly Fisherman, National Wildlife, Sporting Classics and other publications, the author of The Great Minnesota Fish Book, and co author of the underground classic, Fishing for Buffalo. Tom resides in Helena, Montana.

Sundawg

2010-01-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

Hawaii is starting to look pretty damn good right now. T minus 11 days...

the brownline 2010.01.07

2010-01-07T07:00:00.009-06:00

Drowning the Beaver. Another AMFF/Cheneyesque type controversy? The boys over at Buster's discover that Donny Beaver's Spring Ridge Club was selected by an independent panel of judges as a finalist in the Investing in Nature program in the Ecotourism category from The Nature Conservancy. In another move of brilliance, Cathy Beck pimps some chrome on their newsletter, then gets thrown under the bus.

More bullshit news from the home front: The Obama administration Tuesday opposed Michigan and other states that want to close shipping locks near Chicago to prevent ravenous Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes.

"In a host of ways, the federal government has demonstrated its commitment to protecting the Great Lakes from the expansion of Asian carp," she said in a written memo. "Nothing in federal law warrants second-guessing its expert judgment that the best information available today does not yet justify the dramatic steps Michigan demands."

Feds

State of Illinois

More anti-coal sentiment hits the blogosphere over at The FlyFish Journal. Good to see my brothers in arms not afraid to speak their minds on the ravages of coal generated electricity. Thanks for joining the fight. It's apparent the "clean" coal lobby won't rest until we and our children and our children's children are all dead from the ingestion of toxins and heavy metals and lung disease.

Major flooding possible in the Red River Valley this spring, AGAIN. The most recent forecast issued by the National Weather Service gives the Fargo/Moorhead area of the Red River of the North a 49 percent chance of major flooding and an 80 percent chance of moderate flooding, with near-certainty of minor flooding. I think the solutions to this problem are more ditches, more dams, more tiling and wetland draining, unsustainable development and new construction in a floodplain, and a massive pork barrel proposal to construct a huge non-eco friendly river diversion complex to bypass the cities of Fargo and Moorhead. Oh wait, that's what they've already been doing, and you can see how well that's been treating them the past few years. #FAIL

If the fish are gone, burn the country.

the brownline 2010.01.05

2010-01-05T07:00:00.024-06:00

Singlebarbed's fume fueled DIY tutorial on dying your own tying materials. A must read for any hardcore tying enthusiast.

The Winona Fly Factory is tying some impressive Starling soft hackled midge patterns in preparation for the winter catch and release trout season in Southeast Minnesota. WFF kicks off the cobwebs and icicles and lands a few fish on a frigid New Year's day. Looks like a mid winter trip to points SE is in order.

Fat of the Land relishes his Christmas Contraband from his Holiday visit to Cheeseheadland. Frankly, I want a sample of his homemade sausage.

SwittersB reminds us how to properly store and manage self harvested and purchased fly tying materials.

More Scores and Seven Spools Ago

2010-01-04T07:00:00.110-06:00

The trip back home from visiting relatives over the Holiday break involved a couple of pit stops along the way. First stop: Cabelas. Some people consider Cabelas the holy grail of all things outdoors, as the retailer proclaims themselves the "World's Foremost Outfitter". Hardly. Their retail locations look more like a clothier than a sporting goods store, and their fly fishing sections seem to shrink with every visit.

I realize that people probably do more window shopping than actually buy hard goods and that soft goods are where the real money's at, but still, stock some shit on your shelves that we want to buy. Nonetheless, I usually manage to find a bargain or two at the store during a visit. This trip: Ultrawire spools in Fluorescent Orange and Yellow marked down from $2.25 to $0.80. I cleaned out everything they had on the shelf. I threw in a dubbing loop tool for $2.49 (not a bargain) to work on creating some buggy ass looking nymph bodies. The saving grace? They had several roughfish species representing their aquarium. Greater Redhorse, Silver Redhorse, Bowfin, and carp swam the waters alongside sturgeon, muskie, walleye and pike.

On to the next stop, Craft's Direct. I knew this place held much promise. I had the opportunity to shop here once a few years back, unfortunately, I was under a strict timeline as my family waited for me in the truck outside. Hard to find bargains on an "in and out" trip. Lucky for me Mrs. Roughfisher wanted to shop too, so I had the opportunity to inspect each and every aisle. Talk about a jackpot. Not only did they have more variety and a higher inventory of items, they were cheaper than the typical retail craft store.

I don't know much about tapestry wool. I do know that the virgin yarn contains antimite so it should provide my nymphs moth protection. It was marked down to $0.50, came in a cool caddis green color, and had some nice textural properties that would blend up well. I also picked up a few more skeins of the Needloft craft cord, priced at $0.50 a skien. To my surprise they had a bunch of wacky colors like chartreuse, bright green, tangerine, and burgundy. These colors should help round out my current collection, and provide a fine compliment to my custom dubbing blends. I'm gonna experiment with pom-poms and use them as body segments and thoraces on nymph patterns. I might experiment with using the larger sized ones for clam patterns. If a carp will eat, I'll tie it up.

The craft warehouse had a significant stash of gift shred. There were more colors and they even stocked the fine metallic shred. I had been interested in this material, but didn't want to pay for shipping on a two dollar item. The brown, copper, burgundy, and pearl shred were looking might tasty and found their way into my cart. This stuff would make nice streamer bodies, but it is fine enough for adding to dubbing. Same with the next score, more silver tinsel. This stuff is holographic and crinkle cut; I've never seen a cut like this before. Best of all, it was marked down from $2.99 to $1. Looks like the grinder will be plenty busy this winter.

The score of the century: Angel Hair, aka Krystal Flash. Marked down from $9.99 to $3.99 for silver and gold, and $2.50 for the pearl. 15 gram containers, that equates to just over half an ounce and way more than the tiny hank you'll find at the fly shop. Considering that I can buy krystal flash at wholesale for $22 bucks per two ounce skein, this was a solid find.

Looks like I better get busy tying.

Auld Lang Syne

2010-01-01T00:00:00.053-06:00

A Happy New Year to all you roughfish enthusiasts and fly rod pirates! Here's wishing a fine 2010 to all you ninjas, samurai, and marauders, and a bountiful plunder in the new year.

Now for a clipshow of my greatest hits from Twenty Ought-Nine:

Here's Hoping that Two-thousand and Ten will bring many more encounters with Sea Donkeys, manatees, whales, and big-titted Mermaids.

Okole maluna!

Season's Greetings

2009-12-25T07:00:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas from the roughfisher clan.

Encore

2009-12-24T07:00:00.039-06:00

Couldn't get enough from the last outing, as I was not satisfied to end my season that way. Redhorse are nice, but Christmas carp are dandy. I set out for the river for one last time in 2009. It would be a doozy.

Conditions were cold, but a bit warmer as temps rose up into the 20s. Wind was a bit heavier, blowing in from the southeast at about 10-15 mph. The ice shelves had receded enough for better access along this stretch of river. Unfortunately, this was not due to the warmer temps, but rather the fact that flows were bumped by the Corps of Engineers to 850 cfs, well above the 80th percentile and at record flows for this time of year. That concludes a solid year for the river at spring level flows or higher. Fucked up.

The redhorse were bumping again. They must exploit this time of year feeding on macroinvertebrates, as competition is down due to the migration of gamefish to their wintering holes. I took advantage of the situation and threw my Green Apple, Copperhead, Granny Smith, and Red Delicious patterns at them. I'm finding that the suckers seem to like this pattern as much as I do. Bonus.

I could not for the life of me locate any carp. I traversed up and down the banks in search of some cyprinids to no avail. I even tried to spook some free by lobbing a few big rocks on an ice shelf I was certain they were seeking refuge under. No dice. I did, however, spot several greater redhorse holding in a few lies. They were unwilling to even look at my flies, but I took a good mental note of were they were holding, and what stream conditions they prefer. I'll have to revisit this in the future and try to crack that code.

And now for an utterly ridiculous shot of a slob, fish porn at it's finest;

A solid way to end the season. I bid farewell to 2009 and welcome 2010 with open arms. Cheers!

'Tis the season

2009-12-23T07:00:00.000-06:00

A couple of pattern suitable to hang on the Christmas tree, the Red Delicious and Granny Smith. One variation with a dubbed thorax, the other with a chenille thorax. Take your pick of the peck.

Rusty Trombone 2.0

2009-12-22T07:00:00.002-06:00

The new and improved Rusty Trombone.

ice lines

2009-12-21T07:00:00.002-06:00

Happy Winter Solstice! I recently picked up a few new ice fishing lines to test this season. I have fished the Berkley Trilene Micro Ice line for the past four seasons with much success. Most of those situations, however, were in shallow water (less than 20 feet) targeting panfish and salmonids. I found myself in a few circumstance where I was fishing in deep water, depths of 50 to 100 feet plus, targeting tullibees (ciscos), crappies, carp and buffalo, requiring a low stretch line. Monofilament line is notorious for stretching; sometimes this can be an advantage, preventing a fish from easily spitting the hook or breaking you off. Attempting to set the hook on a fish in 70 feet of water is a different story, however, and stretch can be your own worst enemy.

Anyone who has fished a superbraid knows that the lines are a double edged sword. Tough, low memory, abrasion resistant line is great against the toothy critters, but can be heel on rod guides and even tougher to cut tag ends. Trying to break off on a snag can be a nightmare; you'll likely break the rod before breaking the line. I have fished the first generation of Berkley's Fire Line Micro Ice and wasn't too impressed. The line was so limp it was tough to feed through a half frozen hole. What was worse, the line would eventually freeze stiff and it was a bitch peeling ice crystals off the line in order for it to pass through the guides and back on to the reel. Now, there is a new version of the line on the market, a fused version where the braid is completely covered and smooth, Berkley Fire Line fused Micro Ice Crystal. Hopefully this thermally fused line will eliminate water absorption and freeze up, as well as reducing guide wear. These lines are ultra sensitive and are unreal for detecting strikes.

Other entries on the market are the Gamma ESP Ice and Suffix Ice Magic lines. The Suffix Ice Magic is a monofilament line with an extremely low diameter. This is an excellent low memory line and the Neon Orange color is a great hi-vis line. My friend and fellow Pro Staffer at HotSpotOutdoors had great success fishing with it last season and highly recommends it. The Gamma ESP Ice comes with highly anticipated. In case you didn't know, Gamma are also the producers of Frog Hair tippet. It is a Copolymer line, much like the Gamma copoly line I have used when tossing gear or meat. I loved the way this line performed; it was tough on the rocks, and really played fish well. I never had a knot failure fishing this line and developed some bad habits along the way. The line and knots were so tough that I would neglect checking them. That's the beauty of modern engineering. Hopefully, this ESP Ice line will perform to the same standards as the regular copoly line.

Looks like I'll be busy re-rigging my ice rods. Hopefully we'll get a bit more ice and and a little more snow so that I can take my snowmobile out on the ice to pull my portable fish house. It's ice fishing season.