Thursday, May 27, 2010

Yes, there is still a pulse here.

I wish I could report back to you that I have been so busy traveling and fishing new waters that I have just not had time to post anything, but that's not the case.  I have been busy, just not on the water.  Once the warm weather showed up here in Colorado Springs, I needed to get some plants in the ground.  I have done some garden work, but I still haven't finished that either.  With summer just around the corner, I plan to get out more and actually have some stories and more photos for you guys out there.  For now, I will leave you with some photos of some flies tied by Ben Furimisky and Shea Gunkel this past weekend at Ghillies Fly Shop's Anniversary party .  I have 4 videos of Ben tying his flies, including the Extended Foam Drake.  Yes, Elton, I was wanting to do tutorial for you as requested, and then realized that it would be even better if the creator of the fly showed us all how it's done.  So be on the lookout for those soon.

Ben's High Viz BDE 
Ben's Extended Body Foam Green Drake 
Ben's Fluttering Foam Caddis-Black
Back side view.
From the front.
Side
Shea's version of CC's Poison Tung.
Shea's PMD Splatte. You will be hearing more about this series of flies soon.
   Shea's Splatte in gray.  

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

The RS2-Revisited

My posts on the RS2 have been getting a lot of looks ever since they were posted.  It seems like there is a lot of interest in tis fly especially the further East one goes.  I wanted to share another tip that I use to tie one style of the RS2.  By using Whiting Farms Chick-A-Bou, this makes a great wing for the fly.  I tie this fly many different ways but have settled on using this style for the flies I tie for my box and for others.  I am not posting a complete step by step here, but just a few photos of what I do to get the wing sized and tied in. Please excuse the blurred photos.  I was in a hurry to get this completed with the time I had to get it done.  :)
The product.
This is a natural color as far as I can tell.
A single feather from the skin. Strip the short fibers at the base of the feather and use the longer fibers for the wing.
Pull a few fiber from the stem.
Gather the fibers and pinch off the tips.
To get them to look like this.  
Tied in bundle.
Make sure you do not leave a big space behind the eye.  Otherwise, you will have a long front portion to your flies.  I like a short, nice taper in front of the wing.  
I use a half of a double sided razor blade for a very close cut.  Make sure you break the razor in half because it's very easy to get cut as I found out.  
This makes a very close cut that scissors cannot make.  
See, what did I tell you?  A clean, close shave.  
Not the same fly, but the finished fly.  Lots of movement in the wing for below the surface use.  

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Up for Auction








CMCTU is please to announce our 
3rd Annual Conservation Auction
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 @7:00pm.  
All proceeds raised will go towards funding our award winning, cold-water conservation, restoration and education programs.
Ourfundraising goal is over $15,000! 
Please attend this year's auction to help us achieve our goal.       
Bid high and bid often!

This fly box will be one of the items for auction.

This box is jam packed with a little over 5 dozen flies that will get you into fish anywhere you fish it.
  • Sparkle Wing RS2
  • Top Secret Midge #20
  • BWO Ice Emerger #22
  • Glossy Back Baetis #22
  • Juan’s Baetis Nymph #20
  • BH FB Pheasant Tail Nymph #16
  • Juan’s Caddis Larva #16
  • Juan’s Caddis Pupa #16
  • CDC BWO Lowrider #20
  • BH Lightning Bug #16
  • Pink San Juan Worm #14
  • Ruby Otter Egg #16
  • Apricot Otter Egg #16
  • X2 Caddis
  • X-Caddis
  • Peacock Caddis #16
  • Hopper Juan #8
  • Club Sandwich #10
All flies tied by Juan Ramirez
              

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Tying Stillwater Flies Class

Join me this Friday for the last tying class for a while.   The area lakes and reservoirs
have opened up and now is the time to spend some time there.  It will only get better in the coming weeks.   These flies will provide you with months of action on stillwaters.  Limited to 6 students, these are the best classes in Southen Colorado!