Same Thing Murray

The Pheasant Tail Nymph

There are many versions of this wonderful nymph.  Frank Sawyer's original fly was created to imitate the Baitis family of of May Flies found on the chalk streams of England.  Today, the fly is tied to replicate many different species and works very well in all forms.

Most of my use of this fly is done in the most drab form with only a copper color rib on the abdomen.  I find that it is the most effective was to fish the fly.  One of the ways that I give a bit of life is to use nail polish that has holographic flecks embedded in the liquid.  I put a small amount on top of the wing case to look like the bubbles that are naturally created to assist the nymph to rise to the surface when changing to adult.

For larger species as Steelhead and Atlantic Salmon Broodstock I tie the fly on larger sizes and add some sparkle to the top of the wing case.  Also by using different color dubbing you can add some color.

Simple Pheasant Tail Video
Salmon River Steelhead Pheasant Tail Video

When Routine Is All But Routine, Landlocked Salmon Have A Funny Way Of Fooling You

This past Friday was a very special day angling in the lakes region of New Hampshire.  There is a golden opportunity that happens, but does not occur every year.

The weather, this year, has been at best different.  We had a lower snow pack than usual, high early spring temperatures with very low rain fall and now a cool and rainy late April and May.  Water temperatures are very normal given the weather pattern we have experienced.  What is making this season special is the quantity of dry fly action over the past week.  The salmon have been available in big quantities and can be found in all the usual places.

Friday I had four hours to fish.  I hooked fourteen salmon with the largest at eighteen inches all on Tan Elk Hair Caddis dries.  To me that is exceptional fishing.  This all happened in the first three hours with the forth hour going baron.  I did put on dropper emergers, and I tried leaches, and I switched to different size and color Caddis dry flies.  Time was up and I left scratching my head.

Yesterday, I had a short hour and a half to sample some of the same.  When I arrived, my good friends, Al and Bob were sitting in the truck and they were also scratching their heads wondering why with so many fish boiling and jumping and eating like crazy they only had one fish each for the entire morning.

I looked at the Elk Hairs they were using and saw a difference in the hackle and body.  Mine had ginger color with the tan wing and light olive body.  Would that do the trick?

I like to watch my fly drift with dagger eyes.  I notice every spin, flip, wake, rise in water from a fish taking a look as well as how the fish takes the fly.  Sometimes the only way to get a take is to wait for a fish to feed and put the fly on the ring quickly.  The fish are moving quickly without regard to look and can be fooled with whatever hits the water..  Sometimes you can cast and drift randomly because you are using a perfect match.   Well, I tried it all.  I started to go through the entire collection from tan to black and small to large and with fish rising all around I could not get a take.

Then on one drift I was watching closely and a fish rose to eat three inches from my fly.  There was clearly no adult caddis on the water and sure enough it was a salmon with a bright silver side.

A change was in the air, or in this case in the water.

I switched over to emerger style caddis.  First a Stalcup Medallion and had one fish take as I was stripping back for the next cast.  Then I switched to a Sparkle Pupa with no result.  Then I went to the Woody in size eighteen making slow and short strips.  I looked at the time and knew I only had a half hour left.  Time does melt away when I am fishing.  My time expired and I finished hooking a total of five salmon.  I handed some of the flies to Al and was gone.

So many adult Caddis easily available and the fish were zoning in on small emergers and would only take when they had movement.

I guess none of us like to eat the same thing presented in the same way day after day after day.............

William

Fly Tying Tip #128

For a long time I have been making all sorts of modifications to hooks and Waddington shanks to create a good way to make articulated flies.  Now I am happy to have found  a product from The Flymen Fishing Company that is worth purchasing.

They come in three sizes and can be used hook direct or as stingers.

Below The Suckers

Spring is here and oh what a season it has been.  The Fish Club Crew have been out in force since January first and the numbers of  big fish angled has been the best ever.

Now, that is saying a lot.

Even with the low flows all over New England, the fish are there and what is making a big difference, for me, is the combine experience my friends are sharing.  I have so many options that it is impossible to get to every location right now unless I skip out on work.

One of the events that happens at this time is the migration of large quantities of spawning Catostomids.  Commonly known as Suckers because of their downward facing mouth.  The Rainbow Trout have been in the river on their own migration for a month or more and the Landlocked Salmon have just arrived.  The aroma must be screaming that a big meal is on the way.

One of the most effective forms of lure is the multitude of flies that imitate the roe of the suckers.  Sucker Spawn patterns can be made with a number of materials that are readily available.  For the rivers I fish a pale yellow combination with a tinge of light green or olive seems to work best.  Pearl core braid in combination with light yellow yarn and a sprig of marabou seems to be quite effective.  You can use Sharpie markers to add highlights in red to the under portion of the fly.

I fish these flies no different than any dead drift presentation.  The trout and salmon will move and follow as the water temperatures have been on the rise.

So along with all the other pieces to the puzzle, the Sucker Spawn has a place. A great addition to eggs and leeches as effective springtime flies when the big ones lie below the Suckers.  The window is short and taking advantage of the feast is now.

William

In Pursuit Of Salmo Salar

Angling the day away has it's rewards.  Getting out there makes me feel alive and I love the reflection I go through for days after.  Having a long week end adds a substantially heightened emotion because you can lock into a location and have the time to figure out what is needed for success.  I have also stayed at some very high quality lodges where your every need is taken care of and you and your guide spend the day on private water.  These trips to places like Toms Brook on the Restigouche, Camp Brule, Salmon Lodge and others have been memorable indeed.  A week during the fall season in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia can be spectacular.

The most number of days that I have fished Salmon  in a row has been ten.  I spent these days on some of the most important rivers in Quebec and for a number of those days the locations were legendary.  The rivers included York, Dartmouth, Grande Cascapedia and Matapedia.  If these were the only rivers available to me in the world I could be happy.

Right now there are a number of us who have booked into lodges, won the lotteries for water access on the rivers in Quebec or are using the vast access to public water that is available all through Eastern Canada.  The dates are locked and extending a trip means working with  public pools, seventy two and forty eight hour draws.  The first thing to do, no matter what you have booked now, is to create an information pack of every name, address and phone number that would have relevance.   I have been on more than one adventure when something happens and you must shift gears.  Torrential rains that had trees flowing down the Miramachi, in New Brunswick, once moved my week to Quebec where the rain caused the fishing to explode. You can watch the river flow for a while and go home or move quickly and save the week.  Over time, we all make friends and associates.  That list can be your personal life saver.

When I travel to a certain destination my equipment and fly selection is carefully prepared for the conditions that are expected.  I wait until the last two days before leaving to check the river flow and up coming weather.  I make phone calls to find out the exact situation and then set my gear to match what I have learned.  Then, I pack everything else in a separate bag as you just never know what might be needed.   Extra rods, reels, lines, flies, leaders and cloths.  Rods and reels break and lines wear out.  Having extra gear can save time and money.

Not all trips need to be planned far in advance.  Some of the most memorable have been a reaction to favorable conditions during the shoulder times of the year.  I once called Ron McWhirter, at Camp Brule during September, and being an honest camp owner he said I should not come.  "There are fish in every pool and they are not taking well at all".  I noticed that a reasonable rain was forecast for the next day and decided to go for a three day spur of the moment trip. Fish in every pool is all I needed to hear along with a change in weather.   I was guided on public water of the Petite Cascapedia by Ron's son, Andrew, where we were able to land two fish each day.  I fished both wet and dry fly and had a great time as the freshet had made the fish active.  I was lucky to have read the conditions correctly and just as important is the skill to read the conditions in the opposite direction and not go.  This of course is no easy task.  That time on the Marimachi when the trees were flowing in the chocolate brown current could have been switched from home had I had the proper system in place to know what was expected.

Of course having the ability to make these kind of decisions takes many years of experience as well as the knowledge of many rivers.  Keeping every bit of information written as well as photos of each trip will help you maintain a library.  I scan the old photos to have in my computer and have draws filled with pamphlets and maps.    A great source for information has been the back issues of the Atlantic Salmon Journal.  I have the entire collection back to the very first issue.  The people and conditions change but the basic information that gives you the ability to make decisions does not.

So, this season In Persuit Of Salmo Salar, save and savor the experience as if it were history.  You are building your own personal experience that will give you the ability to make a switch if needed.

William

The Hatches Have Started

The Blue Wing Olives and Midges are in full motion. Every time the sun poured over the gravel a hatch created some activity.

I went small yesterday with size 16-18 Feedinator's, Caddis Larva and Jailbirds. The fish were off the eggs and worms willing to eat some tiny emerging fare. It is really feeling like spring and seeing all the bugs made it look that way as well.

This 20" fish ate a #18 Olive Feedinator. 

What was most important was how perfect this fish was. Not a blemish from nose to tail.

The sun felt warm as I made the release.

Young Pups Can Teach Old Dogs A Trick Or Two

I received a great lesson yesterday.  I was fishing for trout and the water was way down.  All over New England flows are being held back due to our lack of snow for run off in the spring.  Holding water, in the lakes and impoundments, seems to be the mission right now.  This put the fish in the deep holes seeking cover and great care was needed to attract a take.  I was only rewarded with one fish for the day and I left the river at dark with a need for some answers.

My day started in a hard freezing rain that came in waves.  My solace was the understanding, according to the hourly Weather Channel forecast, I would only be subjected to this pounding for a two hour period.  I must admit it was absolutely beautiful being out through natures changes.  While pellets clicked off my hood and fresh snow fell from the trees, I hooked the only fish of the day.  The falling ice must have given some cover for my weighted nymph presentation.

As predicted, the rain stopped and an over cast calm took it's place.  When I say calm, I mean dead calm with no movement.  I covered the water in four locations without another pull and worked very hard using every trick I could think would work.  That is except the one I learned from a friend who has only been an angler for three years.

"Get rid of the weight", he said.  I didn't listen.  "I cast up river and let the fly settle on it's own and that seems to be working in the low water".  I didn't listen.   He then proceeded to fish the water that I just finished and landed a beautiful eighteen inch rainbow.  Now I'm listening, and thinking and coming to conclusion what was clear to my friend.

So, let's analyze what happens when we are indicator nymph angling.  The constant in this concept is that the indicator is used for showing strikes, right?  Well let's just say that the strike is the bonus.   The indicator is used to show you that you are dead drifting with your fly leading the way.  Ever notice that your indicator is constantly giving false takes?  Ever notice the direction it is spinning?  Over and over again and again the signal is given and no fish on the strike.  The reason for this is that the weight is dragging and the indicator is stopping over and over again.  Now think about where your fly is positioned.  It is hanging below the weight that is dragging and the indicator is the thing that is the farthest down river with the leader lining the fish right in the face.  This is not a pretty picture and one that will keep your success level to a minimum.

What to do.

First thing could be to make sure your distance from indicator to weight is no more than the depth of the deepest water you are fishing.  At least then your weight can't be too far behind the indicator.  You could also put a weight immediately under the indicator.  By having a larger weight under the indicator and a lessor weight below will slow the indicator and let your leader lead the way.  Or, you could get rid of the indicator and let the weight bounce along behind the fly.  Or remove the indicator and weight and use a weighted fly as the top with a smaller dropper fly.  And finally go to a Czech Nymph style with the weighted fly and one or two flies put on droppers tied with Double Surgeons knots to the main line leader above the bottom weighted fly.

Later this week I am going to set up rods with the last two choices.  Both get rid of the weight.  Both make for less invasive presentations and both are proven winners.

My conclusion is that even though we have so many years of experience we are never too old  to accept help.

Thanks,

William

Fly Tying Tip #127

Recently I spent some time with Enrico Puglisi.  I asked him to show and explain the uses of his various materials, and in what flies they were most often found.

Now, if you are a salt water angler, you probably understand the outstanding importance of these materials.  But as a Steelhead and Atlantic Salmon guy, I am going to find  some new aspects of what I was shown.

I have been incorporating Enrico's brushes with materials like Finn Raccoon and Arctic Fox and I am getting some great fat back effects.  The brilliance, body and colors are in a class of their own.....I'm looking forward to mid March on the Salmon River and close by New York creeks to confirm what I think I already know........

FlySpoke Spring Casting Lesson Schedule

During the months of March & April, I will be offering group lessons in single and two hand casting. Please contact me by phone or email for sign up. Every class will be strictly limited to the first 6 students paid at a cost of $35 for each class, except those classes indicated differently below. These are two hour plus classes unless indicated, and you are guaranteed to leave a better caster than when you arrived. The locations are listed. It doesn't mater what level you are at now. I am making these classes long enough so that personal attention is possible for all. Beginners to advanced are welcome. All classes are mixed gender. This is an opportunity to improve your casting as well as catching. I have scheduled these classes so that anyone who takes a week one or two class will get the time to practice before returning for a later more advanced scheduled class.

March 24, 2012
Class 1 - 9am Single Hand Service Veterans(free class)any donation will be 100% given to Project Healing Waters. The only requirement is you are serving or are a veteran. This is a land class and will cover the many aspects of what it takes to make a great presentation. Massabesic Lake Park, Auburn, New Hampshire
Class 2 – 1:30pm Two Hand Steelhead Skagit & Scandi Short Head Underhand Casting, this is a water class, waders are required. Headed to Pulaski post spawn on the swing? Perfect timing. Profile Falls Recreation Area, Bristol., New Hampshire

March 31, 2012
Class 3 - 9am Single Hand Casting, this is a land class for beginner to medium skill levels. You will go as far as your ability will allow. You will leave this class with the total understanding of what and how a tight loop is made. Correcting and improving will be the focus. Massabesic Lake Park, Auburn, New Hampshire
Class 4 - 1:30pm Two Hand Casting Including Shooting Salter Style. This is a water class. Waders are required. Traditional Spey, Scandi, Skagit and Salter Overhead. The Switch Rod will be addressed. Get all the information you will need to fish in the style of your choice. Rods, lines, tips, leaders and casting style for each will be detailed. Profile Falls Recreation Area, Bristol, New Hampshire

April 7, 2012
Class 5 - 9am to 11am for 12 to 17 year old Single Hand Beginners Casting, Parents welcome to attend $20 per student, This is a land class. Massabesic Lake Park, Auburn, New Hampshire
Class 6 - 11am to 12:30 11 years old and under Beginners Class Any donations will be 100% given to Casting For Recovery. Parents asked to attend. This is a land class, Start a casting life correctly. Massabesic Lake Park, Auburn, New Hampshire
Class 7 - 1pm Single Hand Casting with the emphasis on Spey Casting style for one hand. This is a water class and waders are required. Massabesic Lake Park, Auburn, New Hampshire

April 14, 2012
Class 8 - 9am Single Hand Casting, let it all hang out and finish with the longest cast of your life. This is a land class. Geared to casters who feel they have good to excellent skills. Massabesic Lake Park, Auburn, New Hampshire
Class 9 - 1:30pm Two Hand Casting, all styles will be addressed. For the two hand caster who wants to refine their style. Personal attention will be the key to making sure that you are maximizing the potential of your style. This is an in the water class, waders required. Profile Falls Recreation Area, Bristol, New Hampshire

Please contact me at William@FlySpoke.com or call 603-501-9511. Private lessons can be arranged at any time. I work specificity geared toward your angling agenda. I am a Federation Of Fly Fishers Certified Casting Instructor having achieved what it takes to offer the highest of learning experience.

Detailed information will be supplied for all casters who register for a class. Soft drinks and water will be provided. No hooks or flies are needed. Your equipment as is will be fine. Should you desire purchasing equipment that is style specific I will be happy to advise what is needed. Cleaning lines is encouraged.

My Letter In Reference To Rebuilding the Dam At Scribner's Mill On The Crooked River In Maine

Dear Mr. Bullard,

I write to you in opposition of a favorable decision to obstruct the Crooked River at Scribners Mill.  

Throughout New England there is an understanding, that at one time, dams were erected for a propose.  The greater good of the people was served.  We also have an understanding that the decimation of our natural resources caused by those actions were not serving the interests of the greater good.

Today I see no positive application or effect of a greater good by allowing a single company or person to obstruct any waterway, let alone a water resource as valuable to the great State of Maine as this one with it's fate in your hands.

Respectfully,

William 
                                                   If you are opposed to damming the Crooked

River, then now is the time to stand up and be

counted. Please send your letters and e-mails to:

Bill Bullard

Project Manager

Division of Land Resource Regulation

Maine Department of Environmental Protection

312 Canco Road

Portland, ME 04103

Bill.Bullard@maine.gov

If you feel that you need more information, e-mail:

Steve Heinz: heinz@maine.rr.com  

  Here is the reply I received to my letter.

Thanks for your letter expressing concerns about the Scribner’s Mill dam and sawmill project proposed by Scribner’s Mill Preservation Inc. (SMPI)

The project has been assigned Department #L-21190-35-C-N and is being reviewed under the Maine Waterway Development and Conservation Act (MWDCA) and is also being reviewed for water quality certification under Section 401(d) of the Clean Water Act.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) is reviewing the project for potential impacts to existing fisheries in the Crooked River with a particular focus on the spawning habitat and fish passage provisions for landlocked salmon.

MDIFW provided initial review comments and SMPI submitted a response to these comments on September 30, 2011. MDIFW is now evaluating that response and, when complete, will then issue their final review comments on the project. Water quality impacts and the erosion control plan are being evaluated by Department staff.

When the reviews of these and other provisions of the MWDCA are completed an order approving or denying the project will be issued.

Bill Bullard, Project Manager
Division of Land Resource Regulation
Department of Environmental Protection
312 Canco Road
Portland, ME 04103
207-615-3149

Spring Steelhead , Swing Or Drift? The Choice Is Yours..........

Right now the door is opening wide on the available styles to fish the fly for Steelhead in New York State.  As February turns to April, there is a constant increase in the effective amount of time per day that offers a connection.  Between now and the second week of April you should plan to make the trip.

Right now we are in the pre spawn mode waiting for water temperatures to increase from the winter's lows.  The sun is getting higher and there is a relatively small amount of snow in the woods.  This is an odd year for sure.  Cold mornings will turn to increasing temperatures that can raise the water by very small increments that will give fish the trigger to get on the bite.  You are looking for days that the high temperatures will be in the low forties at best.  The reason is that when the day is bright and extra warm the river will receive melting snow and ice that will lower the temperature.  This is a key factor to putting the fish down.  A gradual melt from the hills is what will make for the best conditions.

February
My number one desire is to swing flies with a two hand rod.  Because I know that my options are limited during the beginning of this period,  I make sure that I am well prepared for my day on the water.  I will have time enough during March and early April to use a longer two hand rod for the pure swing. Water temperatures will raise and the fish will get far more aggressive to chase a fly. During the end of February right until the spawn I use a two hand rod that can be converted by a change of tips and leader to swing or nymph.  I refer to this as my Swimph Rod.  The soft tip is the key to handling Steelhead with light tippets.

March
This is the transitional time where a number of things are happening rapidly.  You are going to need to make choices between how you will spend your time as well as where. This is the time when the biggest fish of the season will be on the move, fresh from the lake and swimming with the direct purpose of nature.  This is the greatest opportunity for a trophy on the swing in the lower part of the river.  This is also the easiest way to go home for the day without a fish.  There is always the option to stay in the middle and upper river to nymph to the largest quantity of fish that the resource will receive for the year.

By the end of March it is spawning time, the air and water temperatures are moderating, fish are all there.  The entire river is full of a mixed bag of fish and depending on the water quantity and temperature some fish will start to drop back to the lake.  When this happens I go to full swing mode.

April
The spawn can continue depending on water temperature.  This is a time for me to swing with any number of fly styles.  There are a lot of hungry fish available in a warming flow.  I am prepared to go really big with stinger leaches, intruders and tubes.  West Coast Syd Glasso style flies as well as smaller soft hackle and collar creations will all take fish.  The lower part of the river will get my attention as the fish are starting to make their way past me to the lake to spend the summer.

This is the time to go as much as you can.  There is no other fishery on the East Coast that compares with the possible quality fish you could hook.  Don't let the talk of crowds and unruly people stop you from experiencing this fishing.  Pay attention to the weather, the river flow and making sure you are fully prepared to be out all day.  The reality of Steelhead fishing in New York is that the angling civility is increasing with the quality of the fishing.

Nymph when you must.  Swing when you can.............

William

Maine Atlantic Salmon In Jeopardy

I received this letter today and asked to spread the word......

Unfortunately, the Atlantic salmon restoration program in Maine is officially on it's deathbed.   As of July 1, 2012 the program will enter into a death spiral and become a vestige of its former self.  The program is in a whole lot of trouble.

How did we get here?  


Here is a little history lesson.  If you recall, beginning with the McKernan administration when it cut the Atlantic Salmon Commission budget by 63%, the State of Maine has repeatedly failed to properly fund diadromous fish restoration.  With each successive budget since those dark days of the early 1990's , more and more (State of Maine) General Fund dollars were diverted for other uses (some obviously legitimate, others not).  Riding in on their white horses were the federal agencies waving a few dollars that the State gratefully accepted in lieu of funding programs that the State should be funding.  First, it was the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - that lasted less than 10 years until they tired of being the State's sugar daddy.  Second, it was NOAA who established a grant program with specific deliverables essentially making the state's scientists their field technicians. 

Now, NOAA is backing out of its agreed to 5-year commitment to the State starting with year 2 of the agreement.  The State had requested $1.5M per year for the five year term of the agreement in order to perform all the deliverables that NOAA was asking of the State.  The grant is to support 14.5 Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs = staff positions).  NOAA countered with $1.2M and the State agreed and the State was poised to layoff  2.5 FTEs on July 1, 2012.  Additional positions were not to be filled at retirement (also on July 1).  So effective July 1, the program was to be pared down to 11 FTEs.  However, NOAA reconsidered and is now cutting an additional $500K from the grant.  Needless to say, this cutback will have a devastating impact on the State's ability to perform any semblance of restoration.  As it stands today, effective July 1 the State will have 5 FTEs in the entire State working on restoration.  (Incidentally, the Penobscot will be down to 1.5 FTEs or 2.5 FTEs depending on how staff are realigned).  It is a travesty in two respects: 1) NOAA has reneged on its agreement and essentially has pulled the rug out from under the State's program late in the game; 2) the State should have recognized the risks of federal handouts and the fact that the spigot could be turned off at a moments notice.  Sadly, but not surprisingly, the State has no backup plan.  What makes it even sadder is that this is occurring on the eve of the removal of two dams that has been ballyhooed as the greatest thing to happen in diadromous fish restoration.  Well, the State of Maine is certainly not prepared to move forward and the entire restoration is now threatened: no resources = no restoration.  NOAA has not so secretly desired control of the program.  Looks like the ball is now in their court.  Unfortunately, the State has abdicated its management rights and NOAA is the big bad wolf waiting for little red riding hood, ready to pounce on the carcass. Mark the date - July 1, 2012.

It would be helpful to spread the word and get some sort of groundswell of support to communicate concerns to the Congressional delegation and others who may have control of purse strings, federal or otherwise.  John Burrows at ASF has been contacted and he and Andy Goode are now aware of these dire circumstances.   We all need to let others know. 

Scuds Are Everywhere

As part of the order Amphipoda, the physical composition of scuds offer a substantial food requirement for trout and land locked salmon.

They tend to thrive in an alkaline environment and are rich in calcium.  The other great feature is that they are available all year long.  They live world wide with over 700 different varieties.

The life of these macro-invertebrates starts as an egg that hatches aquatically.  There is no metamorphosis as in the mayfly and caddis insects we might be more familiar with.   The scud grows in size over it's one year life span through a molting process as in other Crustaceans.

There are a few distinct characteristics that are most important to us as anglers.  The first is the color range.  The most abundant family of scud is in the Gammarus genus.  They range from white, tan, brown, olive and when dead will be a pale orange.  Their size range can be as large as a size 8 and as small as a 22.  You will find scuds primarily in dead water lakes and ponds and small streams.  They hide on bright days and are most active when cloudy.

Scuds should be tied on straight hooks as well as the more common curved.  This is because, when active, they dart around and extend their bodies to swim.  The features that should be included in our creations will incorporate two pair of antennae, two eyes, thirteen individual body segments from the head and eight pairs of appendages that are spread to the end of the body.  There is no tail as they are not true shrimp.

I fish Scuds as part of my regular routine.  There is nothing like a white Scud to get a big brown trouts interest.  In waters where this rich food form is present, they should be part of your daily routine.

William

Fly Tying Tip #126

Many years ago, I fished Atlantic Salmon  in New Brunswick, Canada  out of Arlington Bamfords camp.  Sadly I only knew Mr. Bamford in his ending years.  He was a wise angler who lived the legends of the Marimachi and I remember one very valuable piece of information he shared with me.

One day in October he asked me, "what is the first thing you do when you get to the river?.  Looking puzzled and too young to bother with anything other than jumping in and catching a fish, he said, "ya take a big hand full of gravel and wash your hands, they can smell you"

Given the incredible sense of smell that fish possess, and the understanding that fish automatically turn off instinctively when factors are out of sync, it has led me to think about this statement in broader terms.  Not only what smells I am adding to my fly just to tie it on, but the storage containers where I keep my materials that could be adding unwanted aroma.  We might enjoy the distinctive value of a good Cuban cigar, but last I heard, fish don't smoke....

Please Welcome A New Sponsor

Mark Wilde, owner of Uncle Jammer's Vermont Guide Service, has been guiding for 14 years.  His passion for fly fishing, combined with the skills and patience developed over 30 years as a high school agriculture and natural resources teacher make him an effecive guide and instructor.  A Federation of Fly Fishers Certified Casting instructor and Instructor at the Wulff School of Fly Fishing, Mark especially loves teaching fly fishing and witnessing first time experiences of his clients.

I highly encourage you to let Mark by your guide.