Carp Swap Swag

This week just keeps getting better and better.  Returned home from 4 days on the Juan, saw my fly and bio in CarpPro magazine, and then this little goodie package arrived at my house yesterday.  Getting me awfully excited for a some warmer weather and feeding carp.  The DSP stands no chance this year!!

Carp Pro Magazine!!!!

Was very fortunate to be included in the 2013 Fly Carpin fly swap this year, being included with some of the more prominent carp tiers from around the country.  Dan Frasier with CarpPro Magazine contacted everyone that had been included in the swap about a possible article in the latest edition of the magazine.  I responded with a very excited yes and passed along the information that was requested.  I opened up my email this morning to see that the CarpPro Issue 2 was out with a headline on the front cover about the swap.  I started flipping through the pages, and there I was on page 109!  So cool to see a fly that I tied surrounded by who's who in the world of fly fishing for carp.  Want to send a huge shoutout to Dan and McTage for making the swap and the magazine happen.  Awesome!!

Click here to read CarpPro Issue 2

San Juan River- Feb. 2013

Headed down to New Mexico with a group of fraternity brothers for 4 days of fly fishing on the San Juan to celebrate the 30th birthday of our buddy JP this last week.  Had the opportunity to catch up with buddies I hadn't seen in a while, and meet some new friends along the way.  Lots of beer was drank, poker chips exchanged, green chili was eaten, stories embelished, flies were tied, beautiful trout were caught, and most importantly, a damn good time was had.  The fishing wasn't quite as good as other times of the year due to the lake turnover and stained water, but that did not stop everyone from catching a boat load of fish.  Everyone from the experienced fly fisherman to the newbie hooked up their fair share, and enjoyed feeling the tug on the end of their line.

We fished all up and down the river this trip, from Cable Hole at the top of the quality water to Crusher Hole at the very bottom, hooking trout at every stop.  Everyone got their fill of stockers at Texas Hole and in the braids, with some larger fish being landed in some of the deeper holes and at the Sand Hole.  The fishing was slower up near the dam, but the fish that were landed were very healthy fish.  The lower water yielded larger (and more) fish to the entire group, including one of the prettiest fish I've ever seen on the Juan, which unfortunately, was caught by the birthday boy himself.  The normal assortment of midge patterns were working well, especially the tried and true red annelid (larvae).  The best fly of the trip for the majority of the guys was a small, white bunny leach, fished on the dead drift, swing or strip.  All techniques brought fish to the net.  I had never fished bunny leaches on the Juan prior to this trip, but it is definitely a fly that is going to be well stocked in the fly arsenal.  It seemed that the bunny leach fly would entice some of the larger fish to feed.

All in all, it was a great trip with great people.  Happy Birthday JP, you're now one old SOB!

Snowy San Juan

The boys in front of Fishheads of the San Juan

Clutch TTx 905 (review on the rod to come later)

Sunset over Texas Hole

Haws fishing Texas Hole

Birthday boy hooked up

Brett and the birthday boy

JP's nice rainbow to end the trip

Mr Beaver in Kiddie Hole

Pete with a nice fish at Simon Canyon

Pi Kappa Alpha- Epsilon Theta
 

Pizzle the night after his b-day

"Flashy" Annelid Patterns

Been messing around with tying some different annelid patterns for my upcoming trip to the San Juan.  I've heard that Navajo Lake is turning over, causing the tailwater to be a little more stained than usual.  Red annelids have been one of the most productive flies for me down there, so I wanted to tie up a few "flashier" variations that the trout will be able to see (aka eat) easier.  I'm using a lot of red Krystal Flash, which is a very fragile material, so I had some ideas on how to increase the durability of the fly, allowing it to be used to catch a handful of trout before it needs to be retired.  Nothing new here, just some variations to some time tested patterns that hopefully help make a difference next week on the San Juan.

Pure "Flash" Larvae

Hook: Tiemco 2488 (sz 20-26)

Thread: Red 8/0 Uni-Thread

Underbody: Red Krystal Flash

Overbody: Clear Magic Tubing

Head: Thread

Notes: This is just a variation of Barr's Pure Midge Larva with the Krystal Flash under the clear tubing to add some flash to the pattern.  I really like how the tubing gives the body segmentation, and this fly will last a long time.

Boogie Nights Midge

Hook: Tiemco 2488 (sz 20-26)

Thread: Red 8/0 Uni-Thread

Body: Red Krystal Flash

Rib: Black UTC Wire (extra small)

Head: Thread

Coating: Loon Hard Head

Notes: A variation of a disco midge, keeping the name in the same theme.  Coating the entire body with Loon Hard Head gives the fly a sheen I like, and increases the durability a ton.  Have caught a lot of fish in the Braids on this pattern for some reason.  This fly in smaller sizes has been more productive for me.

 Blood Cell Midge

Hook: Tiemco 2488 (sz 28)

Thread-Red 8/0

Rib: Red UTC Wire-  (small)

Wing: Red Krystal Flash

Head: Thread

Notes: I picked the name of this fly because of the tiny size and the totally red color, sort of like a blood cell.  Really, this is just a KF Midge Emerger that is all red, with a red wing.  Never fished this before but I'm sure the trout will enjoy it.

Disclaimer:  These pictures suck!  They will be replaced with better ones as soon as I can learn how to take better Macro pics of flies.

Homemade Magnet Box

I know I'm not the first one to do this, but I think it is a very cool idea that I would like to share.  I've seen people out there make a homemade magnetic fly box, and that's exactly what I decided to do this last weekend.  I bought the box at the local fly shop, and bought magnet tape at Office Depot.  Spent a little time piecing the magnet into the bottom of the box, and adding the numbers to distinguish sizes of flies.  I've really only put about an hour of tying into this box, mainly little blood midges and yong specials.  I think this little box will come in handy in a few weeks when I head to the Juan with a group of buddies.  We have a group of 12, and only me and one other tie our own flies, so I know I'm going to need to crank out some flies to keep everyone fishing.  I'll just let this box get passed around, with people free to choose the size of flies they want to fish.  Even the first time fly fishermen will be able to get a sense of the size of flies they are fishing.