Why am I not fishing?

Often times we have so many things to do, we can't do the "fun" things in life like fishing.  In my life, and I would bet yours also,  there is always something else that needs to be done.  As a new homeowner, I have finally figured out that there will always be something that needs to get done.  Over the last few months, I had a big project that needed to get done.  There was this big tree right next to our house that needed to be taken care of.  It had to come down.  We prayed it would come down on the date we scheduled it to come down and not before.  This was a big tree!

There were two trunks that made it even more dangerous.  The trunks split about a foot off the ground.

The second trunk almost took out the cherry picker truck.

Now after the crew was gone, all that remained were about 30-40 logs.  My plan was to chop all of these up for firewood.  Little did I know how hard that would be.

In between the tree coming down and splitting the wood, we did many things.  One weekend we traveled to my parents house in New Mexico to help pick up hay from the fields.  I always know that a good days work is in store, but looking back, it was pretty easy...compared to splitting all that wood.  It's not all work when we visit and I found some time to go out shooting with my cousin who was there that weekend.  I tried to trade a few fly rods for his rifle but it didn't work.

"SWAT shot"

The Colfax County Fair was that weekend and we checked out the parade.  We ate steak for dinner  and had a good time.

Now to this past weekend.  Wood splitting time.  Luckily I had some help from the neighbors and it made it easier, if I dare say that.  

This was about the average size.  Some were much bigger though.  

This was one of the bigger, lower logs above the split about 8' from the base of the tree, and it had an "inner core", the wrist sized beginning of the massive tree.  

We estimate that this tree was planted around 1960 and was near 90' tall.  It was a beautiful tree, but so close to the house. It was about 18" from the outside wall.  

This is the beginning of the wood pile.  It is now about 4 times that amount.  We were unable to use the fire place since the tree was basically right over the chimney.  Hopefully this wood will provide the warmth as I sit at the tying bench tying hoppers for the upcoming season and wishing it was summer time again.  

I will wake up tomorrow and feel better than I did today.  I should be able to walk near normal and not have to worry about getting across the street before that car that is pretty far away will run me over like I have the last few days.  I should be able to get out of my chair at work a little easier and the first few steps won't kill my legs like they have the last two days.  Man, I was a sore sucker.  I still am.  

What would you do???

If you had 5 days on the Bighorn River in Montana?  If you were lucky enough to go with fellow blogger, Dave Zielinski at The Happy Trout Chronicles, you would have fished Hoppers all of those 5 days.  Dave and his party gave the Hopper Juan a good workout on the Bighorn.  Take a look at his most recent post at The Happy Trout Chronicles.  http://thtchronicles.blogspot.com/2010/08/montana-bighorn-river.html

A couple tips for you.

Since I can't think of any good fishing stories or have any new patterns ready to unveil, I thought I would toss a few things out there for you that might be helpful.

The first tip I want to share with you is the sizes of the foam bodies I use for The Hopper Juan.  While many people don't have the foam  cutters I use, I recommend them for the ease of making these bodies.  If you can't obtain them or would just rather use scissors, here are the sizes that you should aim for.

For size 6 Hopper Juan's, I use the large cutter, which is roughly 7mm in width.  For my favorite size, size 8, I use the medium size which is about 6mm.  The small is about 5mm, and I use those for size 10 Hoppers.  If you want to cut these bodies straight, I recommend using a piece of glass or a self healing mat and a very sharp razor and a metal straight edge such as the one in the picture above.  Measure the widths and run the blade down the straight edge and try not to cut yourself.  It doesn't take much using a sharp bade.  Using these tools, you can make several strips of foam for hopper use.  

 The other tip I will share with you is the use of Water Shed on your dry flies.  I use this on all my dry flies and I do believe that it does help.  If you want proof, just put a drop of it on an untreated fly.  It soaks it up like a sponge. The same thing happens when you put your untreated fly on the water for the first time.  I even go so far as to treat my hoppers with this stuff.  Elk hair and synthetics soak up water and if you can help prevent that, then you are a step ahead of most people.  Your flies will still eventually soak up water and may need to be changed, but I usually don't mind if it's the fish that are causing that problem.  Water Shed is distributed through Hareline Dubbin Inc.

A day on the Middle Fork of the South Platte River

Middle Fork, S. Platte River

The only Hopper Juan-ish type I had in my box.  I wonder where the rest went?   

RS2

Tungsten F.B. Pheasant Tail Nymph #16

I suppose this could pass as a midge with the dark head...or a small caddis larva.......or....

I love the soft wings on the RS2s.  

A worthy trio

#20

Black foam Caddis worked well also.  

New patterns available from MFC, Spring 2011

Montana Fly Company (MFC) is adding 5 of my patterns to their 2011 catalog and I'd like to share those with you.   I am honored to have fly patterns picked two years straight with them.  I believe that they are one of the hottest companies moving up in the fly fishing industry, if not the hottest.  Just take a look at their website here and see what products they have out.  From fly boxes to tying materials, they are adding innovative and useful products to it each year.  So the flies you ask, well here they are:

 Juan's Midge Ice Emerger 

This is a great fly to use during the winter or even during the trico hatches.  We all know that midges are in the water year round and the fish know that too.

 Juan's Chocolate Floss Back Emerger

This is a great fly to use during the BWO and PMD hatches.  I love to put this behind a parachute when the fish are eating emergers and will not take a dry or a deep running nymph.  By doing this, you can sight fish and watch the fish eat the fly.  

 Juan's Grey Floss Back Emerger 

Again, just as with the chocolate version, this one can be fished high to fish eating emergers, or it can be fished deep in a double nymph rig.  These are very versatile flies.  

Juan's Ice Emerger, PMD

The second in the Ice Emerger series, this one sports a yellowish wing bud of Ice Dubbing to represent the emerging body or the wings.  Fish may take this as a cripple or as an emerger.  It's up to them.  You can also fish it deep or behind a dry fly.  That's up to you.  

The Hopper Juan

Thanks to those fly shops that demanded that MFC carry this pattern so they could offer it to customers, it will soon be available to you.  I couldn't keep up with the demand and I only have one or two in my box.  I hope that this becomes one of your favorite flies.  I love to throw this thing all summer long and put a heavy nymph behind it like my Glossy Back and fish those areas where the nymph fishers just can't hit.  Oh, it also works well as a stonefly and a hopper.  It's just buggy and big and fish like it.  

These flies will be available this coming spring at your local fly shop if they carry MFC flies.  If not, just look up someone that does and order from them.  

Tying the Mercury RS2, PMD

Here is a short video on tying the Mercury RS2.  This is the PMD version, but you can change colors easily to match any insect you want to .  I only tie these in PMD and Adams Gray color.  Maybe black as a third color.  Do me a favor and tie your tails a bit shorter than I did.  I didn't notice that they were a bit long until I looked at the fished fly in my hands.   I was in a hurry to get this done.  See what happens when you rush things?


Tying the PMD Mercury RS2 from Juan Ramirez on Vimeo.
A quick and easy tie, this is a true guide fly.  Easy to change colors and to get a different look, this thing is effective in PMD, gray and black to name a few.  I would keep the tails a bit shorter than what I did here.

Got Stats?

Blogger has recently made some upgrades available to us that allow bloggers to keep track of what people are looking for and what they are looking at. This is a great tool to have as I can look to see what is the most requested post or the most interesting post. As suspected, the Hopper Juan step by step post is the most popular, followed by some of the most recent posts. Over the following month, the top five viewed posts are:

Dang Bubba!!!!!!!! Must read!!!!
Jul 23, 2010, 5 comments
194 Pageviews
The Hopper Juan Tying Steps
May 15, 2009, 17 comments
157 Pageviews
Yes, there is still a pulse here.
May 27, 2010, 10 comments
117 Pageviews
Caddis pattern revisited
Jul 11, 2010, 2 comments
45 Pageviews
Tungsten Glossy Back Baetis Tutorial
Oct 11, 2009, 3 comments
31 Pageviews

Over the last year the fly patterns are the most viewed. The tutorials for the Hopper Juan, the Glossy Back Baetis and the Ice Emerger are the top three viewed.
I hope to go back and add some additional comments to the original posts for these patterns as I have made some changes to the originals and would like to share those changes with you. Look for those in the future.
For those of you using Blogger, take a look at the new "stats" option and you can find out what your most requested posts are and where they are coming from. I've noticed a lot of folks come over from this fine blog. Go and take a look, it's one of the best out there. http://midgeman-midgemansflybox.blogspot.com/

Dang Bubba!!!!!!!! Must read!!!!

So the story goes that this is little Trevor Manhart's first fish he's ever caught.   Now considering that he is 5, he probably hasn't had as much time on the water as some of us.  Now image this.  Father's Day 2010, in Montrose, Colorado, a co-worker of mine is visiting his father and at sometime during the day, they walk down to the local pond/lake that is part of the community.  I image this water doesn't get fished much, but looking at it, it looks like great water.  Trevor was exciting about fishing, using an old Fenwick Ultra lite spinning rod with 4# test.  That day they tied on a Panther Martin with 2 hooks clipped off and the barb pinched down on the remaining hook.  While Trevor was reeling in, the fish hit.  Being 5, he fought the fish but he tired quickly and handed the rod over to his dad, Steve.    After a battle, the fish was landed by a firm grip of the tail, and just then the hook fell out!   It measured somewhere around 27" and I wouldn't argue with that,  maybe add a couple of inches just for the hell of it.  Many of us dream of landing a fish this size and few of us us have actually been able to hold them in our hands.  I would bet that none of us have ever had a first fish like this!    The look on Trevor's face is priceless once he figures out that thing is about half as big as him or more.  The big brown's mouth could have easily swallowed a smaller child and I think Trevor realized that as he looks to be bolting back to Grandpa's house.  Enjoy, because you might never see another 1st fish this big by a little guy.

Comments welcome--his dad is proud.  

Caddis pattern revisited

 A while back, I posted these flies and said I would have to try them out.  I tied a large one in size 10 and stared at that thing and imagined where I would throw it and how big a dropper I could put on it.  Well, I did get the chance to test the size 10 out earlier this year and was disappointed.  It would probably work just OK by itself, but holding a dropper up was not a good idea.  The weight of the hook alone was a detriment to the fly itself.  The percentage if body below the surface was to great to keep the rest of the fly from sinking.  This was more evident when a dropper was added.  So, after reviewing, I feel the large sizes were a failure. Perhaps a size 12 on a light wire hook would be a better size to test. I have thrown the smaller #14s and 16s, but not enough to have a good feel for how they will work.  They do float better than the larger sizes though.  More testing to come!

Are you fishing hoppers yet?

You should be!  The fishing right now is pretty good.  I was out today and fished a hopper/dropper set up for about an hour.  It was fun.  I was basically running and gunning, not having much time and only wanted to hit choice areas.  I moved about 12 fish, with about 50% of them on the hopper and 50% on the dropper.  The hopper pattern I used is the same fly I used at Rainbow Falls.

It was still rigged up and I just re-tied a dropper on to it.  The dropper was my Tungsten Glossy Back Baetis Nymph.

The fish pounded the hopper near the banks and that is what I love most about this type of fishing.
The biggest fish of the day was a 19" rainbow that was almost as think as it was long, she took the TGBB and proceeded to take me up and down the stream until I finally netted her.  Of course, there are no photos of said fish.
The hopper in the photo above no longer resembles the actual pattern as it is now chewed up and missing about 65% of the hair.  It can still be fished and probably still has another trip it could be used for, but I think I'll just retire it now.  It has done what it was tied to do.  To hold up a dropper at the right depth and to catch a few fish.  That's good enough for me!

If you want to throw some hoppers, do so NOW!  I don't wait until some report says it's time.  Fish are looking up for adults and when they are eating Doritos, and a hamburger steak is offered, it's usually not turned down.  Just remember to throw close to the banks and enjoy the excitement when a nice brown rolls on it and takes you for a ride.

Desert wind, Brookies and Browns

While I figured I would never use it, I packed the 3 wt. anyways.  You just never know.

A family reunion in Arizona  took us down through New Mexico past the Cimarron River turn off where golden stoneflies were being eaten by browns, past the Pecos River where caddis were fluttering, past Bluewater Lake where Tiger Muskies and Rainbows swim, into Arizona where the desert rules.  But I had the 3wt. just in case.  

Needless to say, there were no good trout streams around.  

While the wind blew and the dust flew, a plan was hatched.  Rather than return the same way, maybe a trip north, through Colorado could be made.  

Heading north around Chinle, AZ

So beautiful!  

A different landscape than before.  Wolf Creek Pass, CO

Elevation 10,863' Temp: 66 degrees

The fishing wasn't bad for pull off, take a break from driving fishing.  Remember that 3 wt. that was mentioned earlier?

Big Ben with his first fish of the day.  

Kids being kids.  

It was a quick trip, but so much fun.  We all really enjoyed it and plan to stay home for a while before going anywhere else.  On the way back into the Springs on the interstate, we were able to watch fireworks all over town and surrounding communities.  It was great.  

Happy 4th!