Fly Tying Tutorial Link: CDC & CDL Caddis

Great looking, simple fly that promises to be light, easily floatable, and easy to tie.  I will be tying up some of these to try them out this spring and I'm sure they'll work out.  Check out the full step by step tutorial for tying two variations of this interesting fly on Passion for Fly Fishing.

Please note that the site is written in Spanish.  My browser (Google Chrome), offers to translate the entire page and does a pretty good job, though if your browser doesn't offer this option, the efficient photography should really be all you need.

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Ducks in a Row...or a Group

Here's a few pictures from a recent photowalk.  The ducks and goose were all congregated around the only open water on the entire lake.  By now, this water should be nearly completely open for them.

The joys of f/2.8.

This lone trooper was out there when I arrived, and just started packing up as I left.

There were probably 40 or 50 ducks in an area not much bigger than a living room.

Even with my 70-300VR, getting a sharp shot was tricky.

This was the only non-duck on the water.

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Kindred Spirit from the Left Side

In my internet wanderings, I came across Adipose Fin, a blog run by a guy with the same interests in fishing as myself: small streams, wild fish, ultralight gear...but not so hung up on it that it becomes how he defines himself.

Adipose Fin operates out of California, making for a highly noticeable change in scenery compared to the flora and fauna you may see in pictures here at Dharma of the Drift, based in Pennsylvania.  It's a refreshing contrast, and a subtle (and photogenic) reminder that there's lots of little streams out there, waiting to be discovered.

Granted, there hasn't been any new posting for some time, but what IS there should be enough easy to read content and eye-catching photography to help tide any small stream angler over just a little closer to spring.

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Fly Tying Tutorial: Partridge & Olive Soft Hackle Wet Fly

NOTE: This entry is carried over from my old blog.  It has been published before, but its one of the entries that I felt deserved to be brought over and shared on Dharma of the Drift.


The soft hackle is a great example of how a simple fly can be made with an infinite number of variations. It's also a fly that you can ask 5 people to tie it, and see 5 different methods of tying what is essentially the same fly. Here's how I tie the Partridge & Olive, one of the quintessential soft hackle wet flies...

Partridge & Olive



Materials:
Hook: Tiemco 3769, Size 10. Any standard length, or short, straight-shanked nymph hook will work, in any size.
Thread: 8/0 Uni-thread, black
Body: Olive Uni-floss
Rib: Silver Ultra Wire, X-Small
Dubbing: SLF Squirrel
Hackle: Partridge

Instructions:

1. Place hook in vise. Start thread about 1.5 eye lengths behind eye. Advance thread to bend and tie in ribbing wire extending out over the back of the hook.



2. Advance thread to thread tie-in point. Tie in floss, trim tag.



3. Maintaining tension on the floss, wind onto the hook, advancing floss to the bend (where the wire is tied in). Keep the body as flat and smooth as possible, and not overlapping. Basically, you want as thin of a body as possible without having bare spots.



4. While keeping tension on the floss with your left hand, grab the ribbing wire with your right and start to wind it forward, locking the floss in place with your first wrap, which should be made tight. Though you've wrapped both the floss and the wire in the normal direction (away from you, on top of the shank), you'll still be creating a counter-wrap, because the floss was wrapped toward the bend and the rib was wrapped toward the eye.



5. Trim tag ends of both floss and wire, as close to the body as is possible.



6. Prepare a tiny amount of dubbing, and twist tightly onto the thread.



7. Dub a tiny ball of the squirrel dubbing near the head of the fly, about 1 eye length back.



8. Select a speckled partridge feather, from the front of one of the wings.



9. Prepare the feather by stripping away fibers and stroking the rest (save for the tip) back against the grain as shown.



10. Tie in feather by the tip, curvature down, at the front of the hook, just a bit behind the eye.



11. Wind the hackle 1-2 turns tie off and trim feather.



12. Whip finish. Cement if desired.



Fish this fly, really, any way you like. Drift it, weight it, grease it, swing it, strip it...there isnt a wrong way to present a soft hackle, though most agree that some combination of drifting and tight-line swinging will entice the most fish. These elegant, impressionistic flies can imitate everything from emerging mayflies to caddis pupae, to terrestrials.

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The Drag Free Drift on How To Select a Fly Line

Hey all, I just want to share a great piece I just read over at The Drag Free Drift on How to Select a Fly Line.  Excellent, clearly written piece, in plain English, explaining the pros and cons of various options that the modern angler has when choosing a line.  Definitely an article I'll keep within a link's reach, to help out anyone looking to buy a new line.

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Winter Drags On...

I've decided that winter is about over, whether it likes it or not, and to that end I've been trudging through icy water several times over the past week.  Still nothing to show for it, but time and mother nature are on my side.  In the mean time, I've taken a few pictures.

I've had just about enough of this snow, but in six short months, it may be hard to recall these chilly days.  In any event, here's my two favorites from a recent walk:

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