Swingin' Flies in the Pacific Northwest: January 2013

Jan 10, 2013

Fun with Craft Fur, Part 5 -- Purple

The picture of this fly does not do it justice. It is absolutely awesome looking in person. I cannot wait to try it out. Once again, I'm using (purple) craft fur for the main body, along with purple angel hair over top. Underneath, something you can't really see is opalescent estaz. Amherst feathers and a blue collar round it out.

I'm hoping to jump out for a couple of hours later today. This is the fly I'm putting on before leaving the house.

Fun with Craft Fur, Part 4 -- Tube

I know I swore off tube flies a while ago. The main reason is that I find them a pain in the arse to rig while on the water. However, I may of found a way to make it a little easier. So, with that in mind, I'm tying a few tubes here and there.

Once again, I've made an enormous head. The beauty of tying on a tube is that you can trim the tube so that the heads aren't long like this! However, I was stupid in that I tied some thread way up top prior to putting any fur on. I inadvertently screwed up one of the best reasons to tie on these things. Oh well. Lesson learned. Lucky for me, the fish won't care.

This fly is not weighted. I will pinch split shot on prior to fishing it. Depending on how deep I want to get in whatever run I'm in. All in all, I'm pretty excited to give it a swing.

About Me

My interest in fly fishing began as a teenager in my home state of Missouri. After years of fishing rivers in and around the Ozarks, I moved to California in the early 90's. Life continued on, I happily drove hours around to various streams hunting trout. Then it happened. One rainy fall morning, I landed my first steelhead.

Game over. Buh bye trout. Hello steelhead!

Fast forward to 2011. My obsession with steelhead was out of control. I convinced my wife and family, that we needed to leave California and head to the Pacific Northwest.

Now, I'm able to happily fish for steelhead almost year around in both Washington and Oregon. My now home-water is a quick 10 minutes away. Within two hours, I can reach the Deschutes, Klickitat, Wilson, Sandy, Clackamas, Hood, Lewis, Cowlitz, Kalama, and dozens of others. Many of those are within a half hour. Paradise.

Although I started out with single handed rods all those years ago, I switched almost exclusively to 2-handed rods around 2005. I find them to be more efficient and less tiring over those long days. Initially reluctant to give them a try, I've rarely looked back.

This blog is my little spot on the internet to keep record of my trips, fly tying, and thoughts on fishing. Originally conceived as a personal journal to help myself remember where I went and what flies were productive- for whatever reason, I decided to make it public. Hopefully you will get something from it.