Baby Sparkle Sculpin Fly Tying Tutorial

Baby Sparkle Sculpin Recipe Hook: Mustad 36890, Size 10 Thread: 8/0, Black Wing: Pine Squirrel Zonker Strip, Natural Body: Dubbing (any bright, flashy dubbing, SLF Prism in Olive shown) Collar: Pine Squirrel Zonker Strip, Natural (same strip used in wing) Instructions As always, begin by placing the hook in the vise.  I prefer the looped, up-eye salmon hooks for all my streamers, but, as usual, any long shank streamer hook will work.  This pattern is also limited in its size by the natural length of the squirrel fur, meaning that it will begin to lose proportion in sizes much bigger than #8, and the...

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Sparkle Minnow Tutorial

Sparkle Minnow Hook: Mustad 36890, Size 6 Thread: Black 8/0 Weight: .015 lead wire Body: Polar Chenille (UV Pearl) Collar: Crosscut Rabbit Zonker (Blue w/ purple tip) Topping: Polar Fiber, Icelandic Sheep, Cashmere Goat, or similar (Cashmere goat shown) Instructions Place hook in vise.  I use up-eye salmon hooks for my streamers, but any long shank streamer hook will do. Wrap an underbody of .015 lead wire to sink the minnow.  This pattern has a lot of bulk, so a bit of weight really helps to get it below the surface.  Using heavier gauge lead would help improve the sink rate.  Push the lead up against the end...

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A Cool Photo to Share

Hi everyone.  I know I haven't posted in a few weeks, but its honestly just due to a lack of fishing and tying combined with the short days effectively eliminating photography-friendly light.  Hopefully I'll get a chance to both fish and photo tomorrow, though! To tide you over, I stumbled across this picture on a photography site I frequent, and while it may not be the most technically perfect or visually impressive shot, I think the power of the shot is in its message: Link to the photographer's Fli...

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This Fly Needs A Name

I'm finally getting around to using some of the beautiful feathers I brought home from the Symposium, and this is one that I'm very pleased with.  Figured I'd share it with you guys tonight: Tied on a 1/0 Dai-riki #899, purple seal in front of the floss, and a wing of hackle dyed 'grizzly mot mot crown' from John McLain of Feathers...

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Soft Water

Last weekend, I wanted to get out and spend an afternoon doing some photography, but as it turned out, I didn't even leave the house till nearly 4:00pm, already into the last part of the prime lighting of the day.  To complicate things, I'd decided to head for a scenic area that was located in the bottom of a valley, further cutting down on available light, and completely eliminating any warm, direct sunlight.  Should I have changed plans to get better lighting?  Probably.  But I didn't. Eventually, I got to my spot, just one the verge of having insufficient light for any shot, especially in the shady valley.  So I wasn't...

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The Golden Rod Classic Wet Fly

I finally got back around to the classic wet flies again this afternoon... The Golden Rod Hook: Mustad R70, #8 Thread: UTC 70, white Tail: Red mallard quill Butt: Peacock Herl Body: Orange Floss Rib: Gold tinsel Hackle: Orange hen Wing: Jungle Cock Another pattern from Ray Bergman's Tro...

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On the Rocks

I decided to take my new camera to Beam Rocks in Forbes State Forest for an afternoon just after a recent snow dusting.  While there's still plenty to learn with this camera, I was very pleased with most of the results. As always, clicking in the image will take you to a larger version, and all questions, comments, and suggestions are very welcome.  In addition, EXIF data for any shot is readily available upon request. ...

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