The Fly Fishing Show

Once again, it's that time of the year for the shows.   I will be in Denver again this year.  Stop by and visit me.  I will have my Hopper Juan kits for sale as well as the finished product for sale.  Oh, I also have some "Hoppertunity and Got Hoppers?" Stickers for you guys.  

Let me know if there are any specific patterns you want to see.  

See you soon!  

Click HERE for more info.  

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!

May your stocking be filled with tippet, hooks, leaders, Simms socks, bobbins and threads.

May your holiday season be filled with joy and happiness!

-HJ

Film Review: Fly Fishing Rocky Mountain National Park

For those of you who have ever fished Rocky Mountain National Park, you will find this DVD a great addition to your fly fishing library.  If you have yet to fish the park, this DVD will have you wanting to schedule that trip as soon as the ice comes off the water.
In almost a complete opposite style of the current fly fishing DVDs out there right now, Josh Rickard has completed a new film about fishing the park.   This is not an action packed, grip and grin with photo-drones floating above the water's surface capturing video footage angles never seen before with the most current techno/hip hop/alternative music blasting in the background film.  It's more of a relax and drink a beer or even chocolate milk type of film.  There isn't a lot of gear information packed into this film, which I was appreciative of. If I already know how to fish and want to go there, I already know what to use.   Instead, there are crystal clear images of some of the lakes and streams that you will encounter.  The narration was sparse and just the right amount for this type of film.  I was glad to see that this film was slowed down a bit and some of the breathtaking views were shown.  It makes you want to go there even more.   At around 35 minutes, it's not too long or too short.  It covers several lakes and areas, and only scratches the surface of what is available in the park.
I don't often push films on my blog, but this one is great and well with getting.   Once you watch it, you may be wondering why films are not made like this anymore.  Most new films are like uber-fast fly rods.  This one, like a good dry fly rod, is smooth and relaxing and lets you enjoy it.
You can order here.  http://www.rockymountainflyfisher.com/rocky%20mountiain%20national%20park%20movie.html

Got Hoppers?

Another Fly Tying Demo

This Saturday, I will be at The Peak Fly Shop here in Colorado Springs from 10am -12pm.
I'll be tying up some of my creations as well as some popular patterns for the area.  I hope to see you there.

More info HERE

Fly Tying Demo

I will be in Denver at the Denver Fly Shop on Saturday Dec. 7th at 9am.  I'd love for you to stop by since it will be too cold to do anything else and have some snacks and stay warm and listen to me ramble on about tying flies and fishing the Arkansas and S. Platte Rivers.

Click here for more info.

Thanks and I hope to see you there!

The Twisted Sister

#24

The Twisted Sister is a spin off of the UFO midge and the Bling Midge.
It's roots are on the San Juan River, but this version was designed and tested on the South Platte River in Colorado.  It's a simple tie, the magic material is the Madera Wing.  If you cannot find Glamour Madera, you can use Spirit River's Midge-Bodi Pearl.  It's essentially the same thing.
Hook:  Orvis Big Eye Hook 18-26
Thread:  Black 8/0
Body:  Coats & Clark, Twisted, color to match midge colors
Wing: Glamour Madera
Head:  Black Thread

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

I am thankful for:

God and his provisions for myself, my family and for you.
This country and for those who have fought for our freedom and those that continue to do so today.
That I will be able to eat as much as I want and to be able to watch football
To be able to cheer against the Dallas Cowboys every year on this day.
That I can share what I love with all of you.  
Thank you and have a blessed day and a blessed holiday season.
Thank you again for tuning in and for all the questions and e-mails!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Carl's D-Rib Bruised Stone

Gosh, this thing is sweet.  I just love the look of it.  I haven't fished this color yet, but Carl's D-Rib Golden Stone just rocks in the area rivers. I bet this one does too!

Click here for the video.

Carl Pennington's Black D-Rib Bruised Stone

A heartfelt thank you to all Veterans on this day.  Your service is never taken for granted and your sacrifices are never forgotten.

Thank you.  

The Frankenfly interviews Hopper Juan

If you would like to hear a little background about me and some of my answers to an interview I did with Frankenfly about the area I fish and some of my ideas about throwing hoppers and other bugs, click on the banner below to go to that site.  Take a look around while you are there to see some really good content Paul has on the Frankenfly.  

Thanks to Paul Beel and Frankenfly.

The CDC Spun Dun-BWO

The Spun Dun is a great way to tie the small BWOs and other mayflies.  It's not a new idea or technique, but it's one of the best ways to tie small flies using CDC.  This pattern is one of my go-to  patterns for picky fish.

Gear Review: Orvis Clearwater Reels

Orvis Clearwater reels are a great choice as a back-up reel or as a full time reel.   After using these reels as guide reels this summer, I can recommend them as a great reel.  They are solid, great looking, light, functional and the price is right.  At $79.00, its a great reel to have on your rod.   They are available in 2 sizes and the II is the trout size. If you match this with a Clearwater rod, you have a heck of a set up. 

Click HERE for more info and sizes.  I use them and recommend them to you.  

Made in the USA-Orvis

Here is another video about Orvis Fly Rods.  What I like about the different Orvis videos is that they are well made.   The information is great and the quality is awesome.  Take a look.

Vermillion

I don't often post videos here, but this one is too great not to share it with you.  Make sure to play it in HD.  Enjoy!

Vermillion from Kitchen Sink Studios ®, INC. on Vimeo.

The Foam Back Emerger

The Foam Back Emerger is one of my favorite flies to fish year round.  It's proven it's self time after time.  I used to fish them a lot in size 20, but recently, I have been using them more in size 26.  They are still pretty easy to tie in that size.  Everything is just a bit smaller and there is less space to place it on, but it's doable.  A great fly to use during the BWO hatch, I only tie them in chocolate color and have found that a trailing shuck may be useful and I do add that to most of my bigger (#20!) flies.

Ninja!

I used to make fun of people who wore their Buffs up on their face because I thought they were trying to look look ninjas.   Well here I am doing a funky dance on the river.  At least I have a fish on the end of the line!!

Interesting..... Fly company feud

I post this because it is interesting not because I am involved in any way.  We'll see what shakes out in the coming weeks with this issue.  I will post the links here.

UMPQUA SIGNS LONG-TERM AGREEMENT WITH ESTABLISHED FLY FACTORY IN THE PHILIPPINES

In our continuing effort to address and alleviate the fly shortage
 that is affecting our industry, we have entered into a long-term
agreement with a well-established fly factory in the Philippines.
This marks the third new factory addition for Umpqua in three years.
“It’s no secret 2013 has been difficult due to the failure by fly
suppliers to meet industry demand. Umpqua takes this very seriously
and will continue to aggressively follow our expansion plans to
meet the industry’s needs.” said Jeff Fryhover, President & CEO.

“We were very fortunate when this well established, high
quality factory contacted us a few months ago. Unfortunately,
they had been left in a very difficult position and our new
partnership will enable them to continue focusing on tying
great quality flies and enable Umpqua to focus on meeting
the needs of the industry and helping dealers get back to
healthy inventory levels.” said Fryhover.

Umpqua will begin distributing flies from their new Philippine
 partner as early as October.

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http://idylwilde.com/wordpress/

SW CO

This equels this.... 

Does it get any better?  

Southwest Colorado 2013

PMDs

The PMDs in 11 Mile Canyon have been pretty good.  This pattern has been money on the picky fish there.  It's a simple pattern, basically a floating Barr Emerger.  If you are looking for a great little pattern, give this one a try.

The Floating Barr Emerger type fly that catches fish

Hook:  TMC 2488 #18-#20
Thread:  8/0 cream
Tail:  Brown spade hackle fibers, cut
Body:  Olive brown Superfine Dubbing
Post:  Dun or white colored Para Post/Poly/EP Fibers/ect...
Hackle:  Dun neck or saddle, sized to match
Thorax:  PMD Superfine

#18

"Unity with the Universe"

Do me a favor.  Take 15 or so minutes to read this article.  It's a great read and offers so much to fly fishers and anyone who loves fly fishing.  It's a great piece of work and a great layout with awesome pictures.   Click on the photo to go to the story.

A few more thoughts on rods and the new Scott Radian.

My initial thoughts on the Scott Radian were whoa!

If you have followed me on this blog for a while, you may know that I love fly rods and I love comparing them to each other.  I try to give you my feedback on how they feel to me, but every angler is different.   Some could care less about new gear and some just love it and want to find all the info they can get.
I have always considered myself a Scotthead, loving all the Scott Fly rods.  The old Gs, the newer G2s and the S4s.  The problem I was having with Scott was that they had old rod designs for the standard freshwater rods.  The S4 was released in 2007.  Newer rods had been coming out every year but the S4 was not being replaced.  The S4 was great when it was released, but 6 years later it was still their flagship fast action rod.   In early 2013, I got word that there was a new rod in the works and would be released in July.  A new S5 I thought.   When the Scott Rep came by Anglers Covey, I hopped in the car and drove as fast as I could to the shop to cast the new prototype.  I wasn't too impressed.  It was still a prototype and sometimes they are heavy and unfinished.
When the new Scott Radian was released, I was excited.  It won best of show at the 2013 IFTD show and many people were praising the feel and look of this rod.  I had to get my hands on it.
I rigged up the 9' 5wt rod and took it on Angler Covey's casting pond.  Dang!  This rod is sweet.  It felt great and I was already trying to figure out which rod I could sell to buy one of these rods.
A few days later, I brought one of my Hardy rods over to the Covey to compare to the Radian.
I was a little afraid the Radian was going to feel better than the Hardy Zenith.  It was a 1-piece rod I threw in the car that morning.  Both rods were casted by me and by a few others at the Covey and the unanimous decision was that the Radian was a sweet rod, but the Hardy was just that much smoother, lighter and overall pleasant to cast.  Now, this was the 1-piece rod we were casting, vs. a 4 piece rod but the 4 piece  9' 5wt. Zenith is the next smoothest rod I have ever cast in a 5wt.  Earlier in the week, I was able to cast the 9'4wt G. Loomis NRX LP and I was impressed.  That is a sweet rod also!  It has a very soft tip and cast like a dream up close.  I tend to fish up close, within 20 feet to rising fish eating tricos in 11-Mile Canyon and BWOs on the Arkansas River.   I rarely make longer casts than 40ft.
In my opinion, the top rods out there right now are the Hardy Zenith, the G. Loomis NRX LP, the Scott Radian and the Orvis  Helios 2.  I have casted all of these rods, but have only fished 2 of them.  In the future, I will do more casting and more fishing with different rods to follow up with more information.  2 rods that I really didn't like:  The Sage ONE and the Winston BIII-SX.  I'd like to beat the Winston BIII-SX with the ONE.  I am sure the One would survive and then I could fish it.  The Winston 9' 5wt is just that bad.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on rods.   My favorite rod may be the one you would like to beat with my least favorite rod. We all fish differently and rods are different to all of us.  That is what is great about it all.
Would I suggest a new Scott Radian?  Yes.  It is a great rod, but to me, not the best one out there.

The best 5wt. rod in the world!

Don't be surprised if I change my mind on that later down the road.  That rod still makes me say whoa!

Midges

 I always try to stay ahead of the game.  Tying hoppers and caddis in January and tying midges in July. I am not sure if that is planning ahead or just 6 months behind?

#26 Chocolate Foam Back Emerger

Pretty in Purple?

#22 Hot Shot Midge 

#22 Red Flux Capacitor

The Mercury Pheasant Tail Nymph

The Mercury PT Nymph has been in my box for a while now.  I tied some a few years ago and left them in there until one day I was looking for something a little different.  I didn't want to use the traditional gold bead head version so I picked one of these.  Ever since that day, I have made sure that I always give them a thought when I need a pattern with a a little flash, yet still represents the profile of the real insects.  The Mercury PT Nymph has been getting a lot of use recently on my classes and guide trips as it works great and is easy to tie and replace.  I had a client go through 8 of these recently and being easy to replace, I kept tying them on.   Make sure to give them a try.  I like to have them tied in size #18-22 in both natural and in red.  

Hook:  TMC 101 or Orvis Big Eye Hooks, #18-22

Bead:  X-Small Diamond Glass Bead

Thread:  Brown 8/0

Rib:  UTC Small Wire, copper or Copper Brown

Body:  Natural Pheasant Tail

Wing Case:  Pearl Tinsel.  I like to use Lagartun Mini-Flat Braid

Thorax:  Natural Peacock Fibers

Legs:  Natural Pheasant Tail Fibers from the Body