Must have gadget--S-Biner

I admit, I love gadgets and all things gadget-y, espically when it has to do with fly fishing.  I ran across these neat little things a few weeks ago and bought a few.  My recommendation?  Go and grab a few. Even if you use them for something else, they are a great idea and I bet you will just have to run out and grab some more.  S-Biners are the name and you can get them in steel and in plastic.  The prices are good and you can buy a few of them for less than $10.00.  They come in various sizes, so you can find one for the really small things and one for holding your extension cords up in the garage.
I placed these on my lanyard and vest.  They have so many uses and I find myself thinking of more ways and places I can use these things.  They certainly make things easy to add and remove as needed. I like the #1 size as that seems to be big enough to hold most gadgets and small enough to stay out of th away.  Take a look for yourself and see what you might be able to use them for.  I found mine in Colorado Springs at Mountain Chalet and have seen them at REI also.

Need a Scott S4?

I've offered this rod to you guys in the past, but I had no nibbles.  This time, I intend to put it in the hands of someone reading this.   It's a Scott S4 8'6" 4wt. (854/4)  It's in excellent condition.  It is the least used rod that I have and I have used it at the most 6 times.  It's been out 2 times this year.  I am selling it for $350.00 + shipping.  Please e-mail me if you are interested.  I will ship to the US only.  

Quick, sensitive, and light in the hand, the 854/4 is right at home in small and medium size rivers with small and medium-sized dries and lightly weighted nymphs. Superior feel and tippet protection make this a great choice for technical fishing in smaller waters.

Line Recommendations:
Airflo Tactical Trout WF4F
Rio Gold WF4F
SA Mastery GPX WF4F

Juan@anglerscovey.com

Thanks!

Scott 906/4

Hopper/Dropper Class this Friday/Saturday

This class has moved to 2 different dates!  

Aug. 3/4 classroom and streamside

Aug. 17/18 classroom & streamside.  

I'll be having a Hopper/Dropper class this Friday night 07/20, followed by a stream side class on Saturday morning 07/21. We will cover rigging, reading water, casting, fly patterns, fishing and everything in between. The class will be at Anglers Covey.
Cost: $90 Location/Times: Classroom 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Angler’s Covey, Saturday Streamside 9:00 a.m. – 12 noon in Elevenmile Canyon.


Call to sign up or register online:  Call Phil Benton at Angler’s Covey 719-471-2984
Register HERE!
http://www.anglerscovey.com/

The Great Pheasant Tail Nymph

If you opened up the fly box of a new fly fisher and the fly box of a seasoned veteran guide, you would find the Pheasant Tail Nymph in there somewhere.  Most likely, the newbie would have 1 or 2 Pheasant Tails stashed away somewhere in the box. The guide may have rows upon rows of various sizes and colors of the nymph.  The reason is simple.  They work and they work well.   My favorite PT nymph is a # 16 bead head, flash back, pheasant tail nymph (BHFBPT). I have been tying some olive colored ones in size 18 on a straight eye hook that have proven themselves.   The PT nymph can cover pretty much anything you want it to be.  If you tie one on, you are giving yourself a good chance to cover small stoneflies, caddis, mayflies and midges.  There aren’t too many patterns that can do that.   Tying them is pretty straight forward and there are as many ways to tie them as there are variations to tie them up.  I have been using 1 piece of pheasant tail for the entire body since I first heard about it way back when.  I like to tie mine with a tapered body, so I build up a body with thread to make the taper.  I like to use a flat thread such as UTC 70 or more specifically, MFC’s new thread in 8/0.  I like to use a light brown or brown color to match the body color. Black will work well also. Tie some up in red, olive, natural, black and whatever other color pheasant you can find.  The one listed below is an olive #18 tied on a straight eye hook.    

Check out Carl Pennington's recent post on Pheasant Tails for more info and variations.

http://cpsflyfishingandflytying.blogspot.com/2012/04/pheasant-tail-nymph-many-colors.html

Club Sandwich

The Club Sandwich is a hot fly to have right now.  This summer is all about hopper & droppers.  The Club Sandwich can be tied to imitate many different insects.  My favorite thing about the C.S. is the legs.  I love to have all those rubber legs moving and grooving in the water.  I have fished this pattern as a hopper on the surface of the water and at the end of the drift, I stripped it like a streamer.  That drove the fish crazy!  Tie some of these up or go to your local shop and pick a few of these things up.  

A Day With Jackson

A few days ago, Jackson told his mom he wanted to learn to fly fish.  This Saturday, Jack and I head down to Pueblo for a visit to the Arkansas River below Pueblo Dam.  This was a great option since the water is lower than other places and the fishing has been red hot and the water is easy wading right now.  We just went with the basics.  Boot for me and a pair of Keens for him.  We hit the river and after showing him a few things, he got right in the grove of it.  We fished the fast, riffle water and had great success.  The fish were feeding hard and some of those bigger fish took Jack for a ride before coming unhooked.  He landed a few of the smaller ones and about 10 casts into the day, it was already a success.  We continued to fish until the late afternoon, going longer than I thought we would.  He had a blast, as did I.  We made our way upstream, finding willing fish in most places.  We ended the day with a few fish on dries, some of them around 18".  The fish were eating PMD emergers, caddis pupa, adult caddis and midges.  It was a great day, one that we both of us will not forget any time soon.  Jack has already asked when we are going fishing again!   

Dang, it got away!

He was about this big! 

Fun times

Buddies!  

July 4th, 2012

Where do all these single shoes come from?  

Jackson getting ready to fish.

Jamie getting rigged up for some Bluegill action.

Jack caught lots of these Bluegill.

Jamie and Ben having fun.

Jamie's fly had lots of action.  

Happy 4th!

Happy Birthday!  Happy 4th of July!  

While we won't see any fireworks here in Colorado Springs, that is okay.  We can always watch them on TV.  We finally had some meaningful rain last evening and that was just what we needed.  The last 2 weeks have been crazy for most of us here in Colorado, especially in Colorado Springs.  I haven't been out much lately, as there were other things a bit more important going on.  With the fire almost behind us, we can look forward to celebrating the hard work of the fire fighters, police, all the people who have fought hard to save our lives, our homes, our rights and our country.  Here is to you.  Thank you!