I'd like to introduce a brandnew exciting book by Bruce Staples. I came to know him through my participation to East Idaho Fly Tying Expo .
You can easily find and purchase at Amazon, where I got my copy. I just started reading and I'm sure this is a great book!! I'm gonna start to mark and make my bucket list soon!!
Well, I did a little contribution from Livingston😊🙀👏 My photo also appears📷
My original fly is also featured😏👍
For fly anglers near and far, who fish regularly or plan to visit, this is a great addition to your bookshelf and in your vehicle while driving around the area. Also considering the season, it will be a great Christmas present🎁🎄🎅😉
Immediately after the previous post, winter arrived abruptly yet just as we anticipated. Hence, I started to spend more inside at my tying bench with much more time and enthusiasm than ever!
I try to upload tying videos on my YouTube channel once a week until spring. There might be a few absence due to holidays etc., but I don't think I would run out of patterns on the list!
Also, I often post these pictures on Instagram. I seldom handle my i-phone when I'm near and around waters for social media purposes............. It works well for me at my bench. And there are some superb tyers and enthusiasts out there too.
One project I was eager to work on was 6 flies of Plate 2 in The Salmon Fly (1895) by George M. Kelson. Within 2016, I finished 3 of them. Then rest of winter and spring were occupied with personal moves. So those 3 flies had been unframed and kept in small plastic containers for a year. Then the rest of 3 were finally completed😌. But also it was worth a wait. I came to know a professional framer in Livingston and he gave me ideas and tips. I asked him if he can make oval cutout mats. That makes my life much easier after dressing😄
So here they are.
In an alphabetical order,
The Baron
Harlequin
John Ferguson
The Lion
Silver Doctor
Thunder and Lightning
I also made a few single-fly frames.
The Wild Irishman - see the background photo of the frame😏
And..............
This is definitely the one of the most complicated and busiest patterns ever recorded with three tail veiling, two body hackles, two throat hackles, two cheeks, and the list of feathers for wings😓 However the result and accomplishment are very satisfying😙
October is ending and it's been a long month........just as every year. I have spent more time on Atlantic Salmon Flies (later stories) yet I'm not totally done with fishing.
Middle of October this year was very windy, indeed windier than I ever recall😨. Plus we had several very warm days, reaching 70F🙀. Finally it's been nice and ordinary for the past week or so.
My client and I chose perhaps the best fall day so far. Bearable air temp, mostly cloudy, and NO winds. We started with a feisty rainbow!
We caught some dandy browns😀
This one was on midge dry😲 Also, as the pump results show, we had some baetis hatches too😏
Cutthroat hang around the creek this time year.......
I was able to fish on my own in a very while😁
With my lovely companion😘
Yellowstone National Park season is coming to close on Sunday Nov. 5th.
Since September hordes of anglers start to fish West side; Madison, Gibbon, and Firehole Rivers. I did many times and nowadays I may slip in once in while.
We headed to the different side of Park, where summer traffic (fishers and visitors in general) were totally gone. Fishing may not have been at the best, compared to what the creek offers in summer, but we simply enjoyed the scenery, our own stretch, and total solitude. Handful of Cutthroat, each, were quite a bonus😁✌
November is still enjoyable to chase some large browns though fishing would be slightly limited (due to some harsh weathers and the end of summer time).
I'm still available for guiding primarily for Livingston's spring creeks, other than that, I may still fish a few, and spend more on fly tying projects. I try to update YouTube videos regularly while keep shooting new ones. I write some articles. Then the last but not the least, dedicated to the art of Atlantic Salmon Flies.
Enjoy Fall fishing & Winter tying!!
It's been quite a water year on Yellowstone River. The River is running way above average through summer and even now in the fall. Also, this year, we are all seeing the infamous mud-plugs (due to Lamar River and/or Soda Butte Creek "spikes" caused by storms over there) come and run through quick then the River is back to the "Fishable Green" quickly. Oftentimes, in spite of spikes seen on Hydrographs of those tributaries, we may not see muddy waters in Montana sections. My simpleton guess is Yellowstone River in Park section would be absorbing or diluting the muddy water even before reaching Montana, due to the massive flow of this year.
So if you are a boater, still keep your good eyes on waves and rapids. They can be swift.
Fall weather has been settled in since the middle of September (sorry for the blank of update😓). We are having more cloudy and rainy days with cooler temperature. Our first choice of favorite method is the streamer to hunt the aggressive fall browns, hoping some of the best for the season!
This was on Madison River.
Then on the Yellowstone.
As always, nymphing works. My favorite is the tandem rig with stonefly nymph and a beadhead nymph.
Then there are still great opportunities for dry-fly fishing. Fall baetis and midges are hatching through mid-morning to mid-afternoon = warmer part of the day. As we float, we spot the pods of rising fish. Oftentimes, small trout and whitefish seem to be the most active however, if you observe before you even make casting, there always are a few to several huge trout mixed in.
There are a few scenarios to fish this situation. These pods are spotted right along the bank, even just the edge of super deep pools with moving surface. In this case, there's no way to securely stop the boat. We have to fish as we float. We have to choose either to set up two rods, one for dry-flies and the other for heavy stuffs, or tie on dry-flies and wait patiently till opportunities arise if you have only one rod.
If we can stop the boat just at the right distance from pods, go ahead and cast! Most likely this scenario occurs when the bank is too steep and then it's hard to impossible to scoot around the pods.
Another scenario is to stop below the pods, right along the bank, and get out of the boat and cast from the bank. Super ideal situation is it's easy to walk and has enough room for back-cast........ Usually the latter is challenged by willows or hills....... If that's case, try to make the best angle of casting and presentation!
Over all have fun!
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It's about time for me to shift into the next cycle of the year: dressing Atlantic Salmon Flies and many other fly-tying projects. As for trout flies, I try to update videos and catalog as much as I can. I start to take framed salmon fly orders from now on, along with a few of my own projects.
The first one for the season is Charlies (Geo. M. Kelson) on a Harrison-Bartleet 4/0.
This is one of a few patterns that doesn't have a topping (Golden Pheasant crest) over the married wings. I'm satisfied with the entire silhouette, finished with the most ideal head I can wish for.
Enjoy the fall fishing before totally into tying mode😁! - like I am😉
I came back from a week-long guide trip on the legendary Bighorn River. I brought back so many good memories, experiences, observational notes, and homework for next season on my sore body. My clients and I fished literally from dawn to dusk. We hit the legendary Trico hatch & spinner falls just at right period. My experience on Yellowstone River = rowing the drift-boat and reading water = and Livingston's spring creeks = match-the-hatch and all the fine techniques and adjustments = help myself adjust quickly to this river: of course fishing methods and fly selection to catch trout, but also what other anglers/guides do on this particular river during this particular period of year. Over all we fished for hatches & spinner falls with dry-flies all day long and all through the trip, then we caught so many trout. Without exaggeration, no other rivers in the world produce this much insect hatches and number of rising trout. And those trout are in very good sizes and conditions.
Below, pictures will tell you stories & scenes. I may insert technical comments here and there.
September 3rd, as I checked in the area, I wade-fished for a few hours in the afternoon. I didn't catch anything but insect observation was interesting as always and the anticipation for next several days was getting high.
From the next day, the official trip kicked off!
Oh yeah, on this river and for this hatch, everyone was early risers😪!!
Trico female.
Million bugs occupied the sky at the height of spinner flight & falls😲
Eastern Montana sky was smoky because of wildfires all over the state😿.
Bighorn Tarpon😂
We must have some of few anglers/boats on the river who constantly picked up dry-fly actions in the afternoon😏
Evening Black Caddis was very exciting😎
Each morning was new beginning🌅
My highlight of the trip: Trico Double 😎😁👏👏
Evening again.
My wader was infested by caddis eggs😨
That was the moon over Afterbay Dam😴🙀
We had some neighborhood fishers😲😉
Can you spot a beaver?
It was not just Trico or caddis that were mating, flying ants were also making their mating flight.
Every morning my boat etc were covered by Trico.
Sep 10th, our last day was the most productive!
I was able to capture the scene😎, starting at 6:58AM
In this slightly less than 3 minutes footage, how many rises can you count?
We caught some nice ones.
The last evening.......
The last trout of the trip, well-done😎👌👏
Oh what a trip😌 Bighorn - where the legend still remains and the dreams come true.
Bighorn is my go-to destination, along with Livingston's spring creeks, Yellowstone River, and Yellowstone National Park. All the fly-fishers who are thinking of future trips should consider the Bighorn (there will be a more detailed information page coming up soon!).
