Fly-Junk Bag

I am finally free from cows for the next several days. Meanwhile, I have noticed days are getting shorter and cooler. This week and next would probably be the last comfortable time for camping and fishing around mountain streams around here. As September comes, all the camp sites will be full of hunting parties and I'll have different fishing plans. I will think about what to do this month under the stars in a night or two.
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It wasn't too bad during the "breeding boot camp". I have read Percy Jackson books and did have time to do at my bench. Below is one of my summer projects, completed a couple of weeks ago. I bought this DVD by Kelly Galloup about his streamer fishing in June. I met him in person at his shop. In this DVD, he calls himself a "fly-junk" who can't stop tying, inventing, and experimenting flies (mostly streamers in this case).

Then he shows the viewers his Simms boat bag filled with boxes of streamers. I suddenly felt "I'm getting there!!" though I wasn't sure if this is good or bad. I had got to the point that I was getting annoyed by the amount of my own flies and boxes. Wal-Mart bags didn't do well any more during the trip to carry all and it got hard to organize even around my tying bench.

This Simms boat bag looks like a solution whether I fish from the boat or not. Then I looked for products. Simms is one of the best gear companies in the industry. All the products are worth for their prices. What I looked at are; large and medium. But, look at the price...... I did want the large one but right after I bought a TOSHIBA laptop and thinking to buy a 5wt rod, I needed to go cheap. Then here's my mantra; "trout can't tell what kind of bag I am carrying my flies and boxes". So I went to an outdoor store in my area and saw what they got in their fishing section. I did find a resemble in less than $40!!!! It measures 9L x 18W x 8H. It's close to Simms large one with 1/5 of the price, isn't it?? I just put a TU decal to look like a fly-fishing gear rather than a metalware or bait anglers' gear!! I will soon buy Simms decals to make a copycat!!

Here's what I have done. There are two bags on the top. I keep a spare spool with a full-sink line and an extra reel with an intermediate line in one pocket. Then I keep leader and tippet materials in the other.

In the right half of the bag, I could organize large boxes filled with streamers. This is definitely following Kelly's bag.

Then in the left half, I organized mayflies, midges, nymphs, soft-hackles, stillwater flies etc etc.

This bag and all the boxes are the storage. From these I pick up and assemble flies into empty boxes (not shown yet can be kept in the bag also).

I do enjoy this process at my bench to fish next day somewhere around here in eastern WA or in a motel room in West Yellowstone or Livingston. Planning what I would be doing and thinking about fishing condition and situation (even considering to lose several flies), then I select flies into empty boxes. Most of the time, my selection is good enough and I get myself covered. One thing for sure, I can't carry all of my flies and boxes in my vest!!!

I really enjoy this process every night at my bench or in my motel room. But for this week and maybe next week, I have a "summer box" to fish mountain streams so all I have to do is to pack thing and load my truck!!

Wreck of April 2010 - Review

I'm in the middle of "breeding boot camp". I do strongly miss my "fly-fishing boot camp" either in West Yellowstone or Livingston. All of these frustration and boredom for this summer will be wiped off in the fall..........., I swear.

As I was cruising around Google Earth and checking and pointing my favorite rivers, spots, and access sites, I had to come across where I wrecked my truck during the Livingston trip in this

April. Here is my blog post from April with pictures of the aftermath.

Now here's the picture from my computer screen for the "spot" from Google Earth. This is where I got stopped by two fence posts sticking from the ground, maybe several feet/yards, give or take.

See the gentle curve where Depuy's spills into Yellowstone River (emerald body). That was where I lost my steering as I was heading north (top) to town.

I still recall it simply looked just a wet road as I drive during the winter here in eastern WA. Furthermore, I am a good driver enough to go with my little work truck. On that day, I was with my Big F-150 so I wasn't paying special warning or attention. But later on I noticed the potential cause. As you can see, that's where the river comes closest to the highway and there is no large piece of land or trees in between. I think that was why only that section accumulated a few inches of snow.

I must have stepped on badly. But then again, I have to admit how lucky I was, as everyone told me. I could have been thrown away into the river!!! And nobody was involved in my cab nor on the road.

Though it cost me a lot to revive my F-150 in April and May, it actually ran better during the June trip. I remember Lieutenant Columbo says "if you take care of your car, it will tale care of you". Indeed.

Tying a Variegated Sparrow

This is another my own fly-tying idea and pattern, based on my experience at Madison River.

Sparrow by Jack Gartiside is very famous and doesn't need much explanation (simply click the link). Because this is a large soft-hackle, I just thought about what if I use variegated chenille. And I was positive that would be a cross-dresser = chuck & duck up-stream as a nymph, swing & strip as a bugger, etc list of opportunity goes on.

It did work during the last trip. Please re-check one of my posts, "Sparrow on Fire!!".

Because of "on fire!!", I had to notice a problem and improvements later on.
My problem was that chenille on curved hook was not durable. It rolled as I tried to remove the fly from trout. And that caused front end corruption. I can't emphasize how big the pain is when whitefish take this fly of mine aggressively. (I'm still surprised that whitefish took this large soft-hackle on swing with solid hook-ups.)

I had to improve. Solution was simple. Apply a bit of Zap-A-Gap on body length of the hook!!

Here's a different coloration that I haven't posted before. Now the chenille body is rock-solid.

I hope some of you out there like my idea, especially if you are fellow soft-hackle addicts.

Madison-River-Cold-Turkey-Symptom

Declaration of Boredom..........

I am officially bored. I'm surrounded by cows and no time for fishing. Then here in eastern WA, we are having triple digits if not upper 90s. That shuts down fishing anyway even if I had a time or two. Trying to keep myself busy at my bench, I worked to fill summer box with my brandnew Blue Ribbon Flies 30th Anniversary box.

But it took me only a couple of nights to list and tie summer essentials............
Trying to be positive one more time, since I've got a brandnew computer, I started to work on my pictures. I cropped and resized most of all of my flies.
All along these, I relapsed in less than a month.......... I need to fish Madison right now......

Now I feel melancholy rather than day-dreaming. As of typing this, trout are rising and feeding subsurface for Epeorus duns/emergers/spinners and Hydropsyche caddis cripples/adults.

As I worked on this picture of Epeorus Rusty Spinner,


An idea hit me like a thunder along with my previous experience. I came up with a soft-hackle, my obsession that I don't have to emphasize any more. I meant it to be a drowned rusty spinner. Tied in a "Flymph" style, yet I kept the body thin, not as shaggy as Flymph. This can be fished as dry as a regular spinner on surface then swing as drowned just subsurface.

Need a proof? Two summers ago, I swung a Flymph right under the famous $3 Bridge about at 10pm before I went back to my motel room. This 18-incher took it on swing. This was just below the parking lot which would be one of noisiest for us and trout. Also, my fly-tying was way immature than now yet my soft-hackles were accepted.

This was actually my birthday two years ago.
This summer I spend my birthday with cows............
I've got all the reason to fish hard in the fall.
Yet till then, I have to face this melancholy feelings and Madison-withdraw-procedure.
That sounds torture to me...............

Up & Running

I'm back with a brandnew laptop. I've been checking and collecting information. Modern laptops have as large capacity as desktops. Since I had reward points from my credit card spending, I really went to a decent one, TOSHIBA. Here's a look of it. I'm not a narcissist or that sort. I just used one of my "grip & grin" pictures quickly as a background for this shot because that's exactly how I feel about my brandnew gear!!

It's so smooth and fast like Johnny Cash's songs. It even has a web-camera!! Of course, it can run Google Earth just fine. I think what I'm gonna do next is to mark all of my favorite spots and stretches along Madison and other Yellowstone area rivers!!!

New Computer

Last night, I finally decided to replace a computer. I go shopping right now. That was why I posted my camping so quickly and then I don't have internet maybe a day or two.
This piece of crap PC has been annoying me. When I wanted to see Google Earth, it got stuck. I finally got to the point to kick it and dump it in Yakima or Columbia River.
Practical reason is that my internet provider has updated their network and device, which my current PC probably can't catch up with. And also, I don't make a trip to Yellowstone this summer so I have some funding to spend.
I'll pretend that I don't have online because I am gone camping in mountains or on the road to Yellowstone. All good reasons to read books and tie lots of flies!!

Another Unnamed Creek

Following morning was really cool at high in the mountain. I wished I brought a blanket or kept a winter coat in my truck. But once I was up, I was rested enough to start a day. I started to boil my "cowboy coffee".

I drove up to Ellensburg for another unnamed little creek to explore. It is surrounded by private properties but there are several accesses and it goes into National Forest eventually. I never expected to catch large fish but was willing to fish with dry-flies. My first choice was again Royal Wullf Cripple.

I was fishing for this kind of rainbow from mid-morning to mid-afternoon.

In the afternoon, I tried a Mini Tiger Beetle.

A tiny one liked it!!

These are not stocked rainbows at all, I bet. Their coloration and spots are very gorgeous for their sizes. But I wanted some more colorful, either or both cutty or brookie..... As I went back to my truck, I finally met a nice little feisty cutty!!!

Regardless of the sizes, take a look the way Royal Wulff Cripple was torn down............(two on the left). I would try to salvage hooks and re-tie on them.

I decided to stop, though a bit too early, because my floatant and "deet" were out. So I treated myself after lots of hiking and wading in hot days....... The other kind of fuel bought at a gas station. I had to close my eyes at a pull-out for 30-minute as I was heading home though.......

I am planning several ideas to do during the summer around here in eastern WA. I really leave fishing in Yellowstone till the fall settles in. My ideas and information around here sound like to keep me busy for this August and September.

I will find more as times go by!!!

Westslope 2010 & Little Camping

Just came home from a little adventure right here in eastern WA. I drove up to mountains and fished little mountain streams. First of all, wet-wading is a good enough reason to get out. Then, I have some secret holes to catch fine native Westslope Cutthroat on dry-flies. This is my 4th summer to fish this lovely stream. Every year, the run-off changes the whole structure of the creek and habitats of trout. Yet, it does hold some decent size Westslope and Rainbows. No stocking in this stream so I love both.

I'd like to see what I would get this summer. My best fly to get started and search the water was a Royal Wulff Cripple. And it ended up as the only one I needed......... How about all of my fly assembles and tying efforts?? That's how great this pattern is.

I caught a small yet fat Westslope.

Keep fishing, I caught a hefty 13-incher!!! The rise was definitely of typical Cutts'. So deliberate.



Gotcha!!

In this stream, Westslope is larger than Rainbows. I don't mind catching bows regardless of its size.

In the afternoon, I started to try terrestrial patterns, trailed behind Royal Wulff Cripple. I thought this Flying Tiger Ant should work as I observed lots of ants.

Little yet hefty Cutty liked the ant over Royal Wulff Cripple!!

For the first time at this stream, I saw two people ahead of me. They didn't look like fishing, at least not fly-fisher men (t-shirts & shorts but no vests or packs). I didn't see any fresh foot-prints (dry or wet) at all so I wondered how they got ahead of me.......

I could have walked behind them without bothering each other but I'd rather have gone down and back. I got back to my truck and had enough time to look for a new camping site or two. And potentially new waters to wet my line. I ended up somewhere high in the mountain to secure my solitude. I made a camp. It's been two years that I did this kind of camping..........

I can't eat much in the evening after hard fishing. I just like to get rested. Especially on this day, I didn't hike or fish hard at all so I only had a plate of salad. All I needed was my camping essentials............. I carry my big knife for my camp to feel being a Mountain Man. As the level of Canadian goes down, I try not to hurt myself...........

After I wrote down on my diary and fishing log, I was deciding what to do on the next day with a WA Atlas and Ranger map. Probably "gotta make Laredo by dawn.................."

I lost reading lights and slept in the cab. There were lots of mosquitoes that annoyed me (yet not really bad ones).

I kept my knife and bear-spray in case of intruders but also I dropped my pair of glasses somewhere in the cab, so I was blind anyway instead slept very tight..............

New Flies - Good to Go!!

I think I go camping/hiking/fishing into mountains tomorrow. If I find myself getting soft, missing a cozy motel room, I might be back home by night and be updating a post or two...... So quickly, I'd like to post new flies tied with new materials that will be used tomorrow.


First, Tiger Beetle here is not new. But I'd like show this lovely striped foam.


I was using the tiger strip with regular width for smaller sizes and foam ant patterns but they hadn't come up with really nice looking. So in June, I finally purchased a bag of "Mini Tiger Strip" at Blue Ribbon Flies.

This is it. Width and thickness are perfect. Mini Tiger Beetle #19.

Pretty much with the same materials used for Mini Tiger Beetle above, this foam also makes a perfect skinny silhouette for ant patterns. Regular Tiger foam had been a bit too hard for all the wrapping and pressing. Shown here is a Flying Tiger Ant.


Right now I'm working on my summer box. So I'll tie several flies from now and then start packing. I'll find more tomorrow. Westslope Cutty will let me know.

But first of all, I hope I can make a camp without crying...........

Nice Little Boxes

Another quick post from my bench.

Though I tie my own flies with my best, there always are certain patterns I simply can't copy. I buy those flies at the shops. Oftentimes I pick them up in boxes that are unique to each shop. They can be very useful and practical afterwards.

Dai-Riki hook boxes are very useful too. I don't throw them away after I use up 50 of them or transfer to my storage boxes.



I use these nice little boxes to keep feathers that have come off from pelts and skins accidentally. I also stuff them with flies of the day. Later on, I would secure "memorable flies" (that I want to paste on my picture frames) and separate "salvage flies" (that have been broken or crushed by trout yet hooks seem OK to salvage).

I press my lust to go fishing to Yellowstone this summer. Instead I have tied and am still tying lots of flies for summer fishing around here and for fall in Yellowstone. Also I am assembling my gears and fly-boxes............ Meanwhile I have to get out to little mountain streams in my area for Westslope Cutty. Too many things going on, that keep me busy, without actually going fishing....

There will be more posts..........