Question:

"Greg Pavlov" wrote  The consolation is that you can then get next  year’s model: it will come with headlights, two  cup holders, and a reverse hydration system.

I assume that’s the women’s version? Bob

Response:

   Well Uncle Wally i guess i will have to have a talk with the big cheese at Simms i thought you was to get the G3"s last month ahead of everyone else.    Well did the rep at least leave the one’s you were prancing around the shop in?                    Handyman Mike           Standing in a river waving a stick

Response:

   Well Uncle Wally i guess i will have to have a talk with the big cheese at Simms i thought you was to get the G3"s last month ahead of everyone else.

shoot mike, that would be unethical <g    Well did the rep at least leave the one’s you were prancing around the shop in?

i tried…. but it was the only pair he had with him on his sales rounds. besides, they were a bit small fer me. he did leave me with some sage stuff to play with. have ya been down to penns lately? i have a buddy that wants to fish it in the spring and we’re planning on a long weekend in march or april. –wally

Response:

Hi everyone! I was planning on buying a pair of Simms guide weight waders when I’m visiting Canada next month. When I contacted a local shop about the waders, they told me that Simms had a new 2003 model of the guide weight waders coming out (the old model will be called ‘Classic Guide’ from now on). Has anyone seen the new model or heard of them? What are the differences?

No, but I figure the *real* difference is about a year. Op  –seriously– – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – — Jarmo Hurri

Response:

Guyz-N-Flyz No, but I figure the *real* difference is about a year. Not *only* that, but also 100CAD. But I’d still be interested to find out. — Jarmo Hurri address or apply rot13 to header email address.

Response:

Guyz-N-Flyz No, but I figure the *real* difference is about a year. Not *only* that, but also 100CAD. But I’d still be interested to find out. — Jarmo Hurri

Try to PING Uncle Wally at ezflyfish.com.  I be he has a new pair in stock, and would know if the differences are worth the extra cost. Op

Response:

Guyz-N-Flyz Try to PING Uncle Wally at ezflyfish.com.  I be he has a Guyz-N-Flyz new pair in stock, and would know if the differences are Guyz-N-Flyz worth the extra cost. Heck, he’s got it *all* http://www.ezflyfish.com/simmsg3waders.html — Jarmo Hurri address or apply rot13 to header email address.

Response:

No, but I figure the *real* difference is about a year. Op  –seriously–

And a lot of dollars   /Roger

Response:

Hi everyone! I was planning on buying a pair of Simms guide weight waders when I’m visiting Canada next month. When I contacted a local shop about the waders, they told me that Simms had a new 2003 model of the guide weight waders coming out (the old model will be called ‘Classic Guide’ from now on). Has anyone seen the new model or heard of them? What are the differences?

hey Jarmo, I’ve seen and tried a pair on about a month ago when the Simms sales rep was in the shop. It has new features and is more breathable according to Simms. I’ve just yesterday loaded the image and Simms press release at my site: http://www.ezflyfish.com/simmsg3waders.html I haven’t field tested a pair yet so I can’t give you any advise concerning it’s functionality etc. but the pair I wore around the store was very comfortable and seemed to be built very well. Tight Lines, –Walt Fly Fishing NC & more… http://www.ezflyfish.com http://www.wilsoncreekoutfitters.com

Response:

differences…. a few that I liked…. 1) Built in gravel guards. 2) the hand warmer will be ideal for holding bottled water or other beverages of choice…. easy access ;^) 3) the ass portion is more durable. i slide on my butt down boulders and hills quite a bit when i fish nc streams. i do this for safety because i’m not very stable walking downhill or downstream. 4) the knees are also more durable which is important here also…. low stealthy profile when fishing. 5) the little built-in chest pack will allow minimalist (no vest) fishing. — wally

Response:

Walt differences…. a few that I liked…. Walt 1) Built in gravel guards. Walt 3) the ass portion is more durable. i slide on my butt down Walt    boulders and hills quite a bit when i fish nc streams. i do Walt    this for safety because i’m not very stable walking downhill Walt    or downstream. Walt 4) the knees are also more durable which is important here Walt    also…. low Walt    stealthy profile when fishing. I think these three are pretty important. But… a bit of bad luck. I’m coming over there in December, and the product will be available in January. Sigh… — Jarmo Hurri address or apply rot13 to header email address.

Response:

And a lot of dollars  

Indian Joe replies–and for the big dollars they did not include a zippered fly for those us who had too much beer last night or too much coffee this morning. or a back supporting belt with a water bottle holder. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –

Response:

Sound to me like Uncle Wally has some Jarmo. He could proberly hook you up with a set.                    Handyman Mike           Standing in a river waving a stick

Response:

Sound to me like Uncle Wally has some Jarmo. He could proberly hook you up with a set.                    Handyman Mike         Standing in a river waving a stick

nahhh Mike, I won’t be receiving any until they ship them in January to all the dealers. I think I have 15 or so pair due in. –wally

Response:

Greg  The consolation is that you can then get next year’s model: it Greg  will come with headlights, two cup holders, and a reverse Greg  hydration system. I don’t think that reinforced parts in the posterior area and knees qualify in the same class as cup holders. It’s not an imagined need. On the other hand, I do admit that I don’t know how strong these reinforced parts are when compared with the ‘classic’ ones. — Jarmo Hurri address or apply rot13 to header email address.

Response:

I think these three are pretty important. But… a bit of bad luck. I’m coming over there in December, and the product will be available in January. Sigh… – The consolation is that you can then get next year’s model: it will come with headlights, two cup holders, and a reverse hydration system.

And tail fins!

Response:

Hi everyone! I was planning on buying a pair of Simms guide weight waders when I’m visiting Canada next month. When I contacted a local shop about the waders, they told me that Simms had a new 2003 model of the guide weight waders coming out (the old model will be called ‘Classic Guide’ from now on). Has anyone seen the new model or heard of them? What are the differences? — Jarmo Hurri address or apply rot13 to header email address.

Response:

Question:

Anyone here have any sage advice on how best to get a fly fishing club started? How would one go about applying to become a FFF club? Robert http:www.wwjournal.com WarmWater Fly Tying and Fishing Its there waiting for you!

Response:

I have started about 3-4 fly fishing clubs all of which are still going today in various parts of New Zealand. All I have done is obtained a suitable public venue, advertised at sporting goods stores and flyfishing shops and in the local newspaper. (keep receipts so the club can make reimbursement once established) At the first meeting just lead the way and conduct it like an AGM with an initial election of officers and away you go. Affiliation to the FFF is a grand idea but should probably wait until you have a committee or membership to make that decision. However more information can be obtained here… http://www.fedflyfishers.org Clark

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Anyone here have any sage advice on how best to get a fly fishing club started? How would one go about applying to become a FFF club? Robert http:www.wwjournal.com WarmWater Fly Tying and Fishing Its there waiting for you!

Response:

Nice post and thanks for the info. a lurker, Ronald

Response:

first determine if you have enough people interested.  Call a organizational meeting. Your local paper will probably carry the notice free. If you have enough interest Write other clubs for their by laws..modify for your club..put all of the power with the board of directors Register or incorporate in your state as soon as your formed..takes the liability off of the officers To keep peple interested you have to have a program or speaker at your meetings Becoming a FFF club just takes money…not too much though

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Anyone here have any sage advice on how best to get a fly fishing club started? How would one go about applying to become a FFF club? Robert http:www.wwjournal.com WarmWater Fly Tying and Fishing Its there waiting for you!

Response:

Question:

I was thinking of giving the pond a go at Wansford. Have you ever fished in the fly fishing part of the Canal? I am not sure if it is stil fly fishing only. I used to fish the normal bait part and there used to be some great Grayling in there. This was about 10 years ago mind you. A friend from work fishes Wykeham Lake at Scarborough quite a lot so I am going to give it a go also. I have done a bit of course fishing there also. Also maybe the lake at Pickering which I think is quite ‘easy’ for beginners.

I fished the pond at Wansford once last Oct.  It was a windy day and I managed 6 fish.  The pond is quite an unusual shape,  much like the letter U,  though it is fed at one end with water running in from the canal nearby. The trout station themselves in the  manner of stream trout at the feeding end,  though the flow is not so apparent in the rest of the pond,  as the depth deepens.   I looked at the canal near the post office,  and it was gin clear.  I enquired in the post office about the prospects of trouting, though I was told that there were no trout in this bit.  I asked him if he was sure that there were no trout,  and he told me that the whole  section had been electrofished recently,  and there were only 4 trout found.  I did drive up towards Driffield,  and see  "Flyfishing Only"  signs a couple of miles away from Wansford,  so I imagine that there might be some good prospects further towards Driffield.  When the spring comes,  I might conduct some further research in this area. The lake at Pickering is extremely easy for beginners indeed.  One day I went fishing with my Pa.  As we  set off from the house,  I foolishly told my Ma not to bother with food for the evening, as my Pa and I  would provide the food!  On arriving at the river  (Derwent near Hackness  (Scarborough)) my father and I were totally dismayed to see it in spate.  My Pops sarcastically suggested that I would be eating my words for my supper that night.   Mmm,  we thought,  "what can we do?"  We  would look rather silly if we came home with no fish, and after a little thought,  concluded  that Pickering is not too far away… . We certainly brought home a lot of fish  upto 7lbs.  Whilst we were getting our catch weighed in,  we asked the guy how many fish are stocked in his lake,  as there were very obviously a lot of fish in there.  We were told that in the summer in peak season,  upto 2000 fish a day are put in!!!! I think that you have made an excellent choice in your recent taking up of flyfishing;  I introduced some of my friends to flyfishing,  and they all took it up with relish,  even those who’d never fished before.  I would be delighted to offer you a day’s fishing on my usual water near Ripon sometime in the summer. I would love to join you at some time. Dinner or tea on me of course..

Cheers,  I’ll fix a day in May sometime.   The river is quite small (just over 1cubic metre per second mean annual flow),  though it is quite diverse over the 6 miles continuous double bank.  I like the river a lot,  and the trout are all wild.  What size rod did you get? All you’ll need is thigh waders, rod & reel. I can supply the appropriate flies if you want.  One thing though,  if you wear glasses/spectacles/contact lenses,  be sure to bring them,  as keen sightedness is essential! If you would like to read more about the rivers I fish,  and see photos of the river,  plus fish and read some text,  check out my website (completely non-commercial,  pure hobby stuff only)  for a log of my days out last season.   http://www.snapper.karoo.net/index.htm Keep in touch,  and I’ll get a day’s fishing arranged. Regards, Mike.

Response:

There is a lake near Wansford that I have fished  and caught some rainbows, likewise there are many flooded gravel pits near Brandesburton that you can fish.  The Beck at Wansford is also a first class chalkstream,  however a formal club called "Sunhill" or something like that fishes it,  so it’s usually members & guests only there .

I was thinking of giving the pond a go at Wansford. Have you ever fished in the fly fishing part of the Canal? I am not sure if it is stil fly fishing only. I used to fish the normal bait part and there used to be some great Grayling in there. This was about 10 years ago mind you. A friend from work fishes Wykeham Lake at Scarborough quite a lot so I am going to give it a go also. I have done a bit of course fishing there also. Also maybe the lake at Pickering which I think is quite ‘easy’ for beginners. I think that you have made an excellent choice in your recent taking up of flyfishing;  I introduced some of my friends to flyfishing,  and they all took it up with relish,  even those who’d never fished before.  I would be delighted to offer you a day’s fishing on my usual water near Ripon sometime in the summer.

I would love to join you at some time. Dinner or tea on me of course.. Anyway,  if you need any advice  about flyfishing,  don’t hesitate to ask me. Regards, Mike.

Appreciate it – thanks, Steve

Response:

Plus, I’d bet, based on the description, he has the "755" (or the larger 756?), which, IIRC, comes with 3 spools, no? Either way, you’ve got fine enough gear to learn on and enjoy, at what, around 100 UK/150US?  Trust me, you’re got decent gear at a reasonable value for price.  Hey, who needs their name on a Winston…

I fished my first 12 years of flyfishing with a battered rimfly reel,  a cheapo 8.5 foot #5,  and a flyline that was old before I even got it.  I chuckle when I look at the rod now,  as all the rings are seriously grooved, and the tip hayfork is nearly worn through!  However,  that being said,  it worked "ok" at the time,  I caught my fish and had my fun with it.

Response:

If you want a day on the Driffield Beck, drop me a mail.  I may be able to ease your waiting list problems as well, I am still a member of several clubs with fishing in the area, and where I am not a member my brother is. I can not promise of course, but you never know. TL MC — "Where fishing is concerned, most anglers are basically manic excessives" http://www.mikeconnor.de – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Do you have the shakespeare traveller/aerial?  8 ft  #5/6? (I had   one until it became my 3rd broken rod ) Where abouts are you in the UK?  I live there (East Yorkshire)  too and do a lot of flyfishing.  Let me know if there is any other flyfishing info that you require,  and I’ll do my best to assist. Micheal, a small world indead – I live in E Yorks too – Hutton Cranswick… Steve Ah,  really smart,  I live about 20 miles away  (N. Ferriby),  and frequently drive through HC.  Have you taken a look at the Driffield Beck system of chalkstreams?  They are truly fantastic.  I once fished on DB at the club there,  but I was only ten  and fished with my father as he was a guest for the day.  I am on the waiting list,  but it will be a long time before I get to fish there. There is a lake near Wansford that I have fished  and caught some rainbows, likewise there are many flooded gravel pits near Brandesburton that you can fish.  The Beck at Wansford is also a first class chalkstream,  however a formal club called "Sunhill" or something like that fishes it,  so it’s usually members & guests only there . I actually do the vast bulk of my flyfishing in the streams up near Ripon, or down near Ashbourne,  and these are very nice waters.  I am a memeber of 2 clubs that allow me fishing on about 15 miles of 4 rivers (Dove, Mannifold, Ure & Laver) Now and then I will go up to Scotland to fish the wonderful waters there,  but Yorkshire & Derbyshire has a lot to offer nonetheless. I think that you have made an excellent choice in your recent taking up of flyfishing;  I introduced some of my friends to flyfishing,  and they all took it up with relish,  even those who’d never fished before.  I would be delighted to offer you a day’s fishing on my usual water near Ripon sometime in the summer. Anyway,  if you need any advice  about flyfishing,  don’t hesitate to ask me. Regards, Mike.

Response:

Do you have the shakespeare traveller/aerial?  8 ft  #5/6? (I had   one until it became my 3rd broken rod ) Where abouts are you in the UK?  I live there (East Yorkshire)  too and do a lot of flyfishing.  Let me know if there is any other flyfishing info that you require,  and I’ll do my best to assist.

Micheal, a small world indead – I live in E Yorks too – Hutton Cranswick… Steve

Response:

Do you have the shakespeare traveller/aerial?  8 ft  #5/6? (I had   one until it became my 3rd broken rod ) Where abouts are you in the UK?  I live there (East Yorkshire)  too and do a lot of flyfishing.  Let me know if there is any other flyfishing info that you require,  and I’ll do my best to assist. Micheal, a small world indead – I live in E Yorks too – Hutton Cranswick… Steve

Ah,  really smart,  I live about 20 miles away  (N. Ferriby),  and frequently drive through HC.  Have you taken a look at the Driffield Beck system of chalkstreams?  They are truly fantastic.  I once fished on DB  at the club there,  but I was only ten  and fished with my father as he was a guest for the day.  I am on the waiting list,  but it will be a long time before I get to fish there. There is a lake near Wansford that I have fished  and caught some rainbows, likewise there are many flooded gravel pits near Brandesburton that you can fish.  The Beck at Wansford is also a first class chalkstream,  however a formal club called "Sunhill" or something like that fishes it,  so it’s usually members & guests only there . I actually do the vast bulk of my flyfishing in the streams up near Ripon, or down near Ashbourne,  and these are very nice waters.  I am a memeber of 2 clubs that allow me fishing on about 15 miles of 4 rivers (Dove, Mannifold, Ure & Laver) Now and then I will go up to Scotland to fish the wonderful waters there,  but Yorkshire & Derbyshire has a lot to offer nonetheless. I think that you have made an excellent choice in your recent taking up of flyfishing;  I introduced some of my friends to flyfishing,  and they all took it up with relish,  even those who’d never fished before.  I would be delighted to offer you a day’s fishing on my usual water near Ripon sometime in the summer. Anyway,  if you need any advice  about flyfishing,  don’t hesitate to ask me. Regards, Mike.

Response:

.  Hey, who needs their name on a Winston… Winston?   If it wasn

Question:

Anyone know websites where good examples of a wide range of Tyed Flies can be found? One with good color pictures would be great to see the nuances of a well-tyed fly.

Response:

To : Keith Harkins Take a look at  www.popularfishingflies.com More pictures will be added soon, over 470 different pattern. All high quality flies tied on Mustad  quality hooks . One of The Best Prices on the Net. Regards Popular Fishing Flies Robert Lindberg – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Anyone know websites where good examples of a wide range of Tyed Flies can be found? One with good color pictures would be great to see the nuances of a well-tyed fly.

Response:

Question:

Thinking about camping in vermont and want input on good campgrounds with large private sites and activities for children. I was looking at Lake Dunmore Kampersville. Has anyone ever been there and what is it like. Thanks Pat

Pat, Lake Dunmore is very nice.  You may also want to look at the Vermont State Parks Website.  I have included my standard message below for your ease of access.  Good luck. You can visit the Vermont State Parks website at http://www.state.vt.us/anr/fpr/parks/. The site details all of Vermont’s state parks and camping opportunities. James Ehlers Underhill, Vemont Uncle Jammer’s Guide Service 1997 Guide of the Year Vermont Fly Fishing, Hunting, River and Woodland Outings http://pobox.com/~uncle

Response:

The 1998 Vermont Campground Guide is now in print. Call VT Forests and Parks at 802-241-3655 to have a copy mailed to you. The guide lists all state parks as well as private. Good descriptions for both. VT Campground Association:  http://www.campvermont.com VT Forests & Parks:   http://www.state.vt.us/anr/fpr/parks Dev Vallencourt                      "Simplicity is the essence Center Designs                                 of good design." Waterbury Center, VT         -Mr. Brossier, 7th gr. art teacher http://www.sover.net/~laserldy

Response:

Thinking about camping in vermont and want input on good campgrounds with large private sites and activities for children. I was looking at Lake Dunmore Kampersville. Has anyone ever been there and what is it like. Thanks Pat

Response:

Question:

I am going to the Boulder Mountain area to do some fly fishing and was wondering where the best spots would be. I don’t have a 4 wheel drive, so I am limited. Thankyou. J.b.

Response:

Please check out the Utah Fish Finder for the fishing conditions. — Rich Utah Fish Finder http://www.xmission.com/~utah/fishing

Response:

Question:

Great responses from all

Question:

Does anyone have a suggestion for spring Bluegill patterns? Thanks!

Response:

Does anyone have a suggestion for spring Bluegill patterns? Thanks!

About the best source for panfish fly patters is: Stewart, Dick.  Flies for bass & panfish /  1st ed.  Intervale, NH : Northland Press ; New York, NY : Distributed by Lyons & Burford, c1992.  v, 80, [7] p. : col. ill. ; 29 cm. If that’s not locally available, her are some suggestions: The traditional favorites are various rubber legged sinking flies with names like ‘Brim killer" and so on.  A simple, efective and easy to tie fly of this sort that I use a great deal is as follows: Lightly weight a #8 or 10 nymph (or baitholder) hook with lead wire. Tie in a lenght of medium black (or olive, hot pink, white, etc.) chenelle and wind to front making a "fat" body.  Tie in two long (2") strands of rubber hackle (white, black or to match body color) in the center, and pull the 4 ends back.  Wrap in a head, and whip finish.  Trim the rubber hackles to about twice the lenght of the fly.   Other simple sinking flies that work well for Bluegill are wooly worms, gold ribbed hare’s ear nymphs, peacock herl bodies with black or brown tail and wet fly hackle, black gant, bee patterns, small streamers, small wooly buggers, & mini-jigs. For surface bugs, the traditional cork poppers – sneakey Peets, pan pops, etc., are very good, but not worth tying given their cost vs. the time to make them.  Small (6 to 10#) hair bugs are good, and if you want to use dry flies, irresistibles or other deer hair body flies hold up well, as do hoppers, mudlers, etc. Basically, amuse yourself.  If you like it, the bluegill will too.   —

Response:

Does anyone have a suggestion for spring Bluegill patterns? Thanks!

On the surface I have used small hard bodied poppers #10/12 in black or yellow and hair wing dry flies like a Humpy or Irresistible #10/12.  Under water I have had good luck with a black wet fly.  A little wooly worm, soft hackle fly or nymph #10/12. William Kiene Kiene’s Fly Shop Sacramento,CA,USA

Response:

Does anyone have a suggestion for spring Bluegill patterns? Thanks!

I have found the Pass Lake pattern to be very effective for spring Bluegills.

Response:

Does anyone have a suggestion for spring Bluegill patterns? Thanks!

A black beadhead wooly bugger fished at sundown, and right after, did the trick for me today.

Response:

I admit I may be missing out on something, but I have literally only used one fly for panfish and caught hundreds over the years: a tiny yellow cork/balsa popper! Throughout the summer, I have never felt the need to fish underwater, as bluegill are 100% willing 100% of the time to savage a surface fly. At least, this is the case around the mid-Atlantic region. I _always_ catch them right along the edges of rivers and streams, in the shade under the banks. Scott (who sometimes believes fishing with wet flies is a glorified form of bait fishing!)

Response:

        Jack Ellis (author of The Sunfishes) and I publish a newsletter every month that is devoted entirely to warmwater fly fishing (esp. bluegills).  Anybody who’d like to receive a couple of free samples just needs to email me their postal address and full name.  We feature patterns and tying tips in each issue.                                                 Brian

Response:

Bivisibles work great!!  Use soft hackles on a size 12 or 14 and fish as a wetfly.  Quick inch retrieves with pauses between seem to really excite gills.  This is a favorite technique (of mine) in weedy ponds.   Color preference varies with light conditions. DBZ

Response:

writes: Does anyone have a suggestion for spring Bluegill patterns? Thanks!

   I haven’t fished for bluegills for 25 years, and rather miss them.  My experience: on the spawning beds, nearly anything works.  In the summer, when the fish are scattered and lying deeper, two patterns really worked well — black gnat (#10 or so) with or without the wings, and a sort of spider that the local hardware store sold for two bits which had a soft vinyl body (like those Creepy Crawlies that kids make) and rubber legs. Crappies seem to like larger flies, esp. tinsel bodied patterns, and light, bright colors, yellow, white, pink.  Bluegills seemed more interested in buggy, naturalistic colors, # 10 or smaller.  The vinyl-bodied bug (a slow sinker) was effective at least partly because the fish didn’t spit it out.  See if you can borrow the neighbor kid’s Mattell machine, perhaps?   — Kilchis

Response:

: Does anyone have a suggestion for spring Bluegill patterns? Thanks! I tie a large elk hair caddis(size 10 or 12), tan or florescent body, furnace hackle and a gold rib.  Use about twice as much wing as normal, coat the clipped head with Sally Hansens and you have a fly that dives pulling a lot of air under with the over large wing. Good luck, Bob Capistrant

Response:

tw Does anyone have a suggestion for spring Bluegill patterns? Thanks! i like to use a threadfin shad, maybe size 10-12. it is a very natural minnow imitation which in springtime is larger than the current year-class fry, but smaller than the previous year-class. that makes it a very tempting morsel both for crappies and the larger bluegills. i find that the smaller bluegills will eagerly go after small bugs (nymphs, gnats, etc) but will be a leetle more hesitant about attacking a minnow. hence the streamer seems to work well for mixed panfish beds (i.e. crappies, bluegills, in several year classes). but the threadfin shad is expensive! 2-3$ per. does anybody have a recipe for it? it would be great if i could manufacture them myself. i suppose the reason for the high price is that it has an epoxy body (???). it has a tiny tuft of marabou tail. the body has 3 black spots on each side. the body is silvery, dark back, light belly. the good news is that i only need 2-3 of them each spring, since each one will catch about 50 fish before it disintegrates. ra. — Richard Atkins              Phone: (612) 951-7339           Honeywell Technology Center FAX:   (612) 951-7438 MN65-2200     3660 Technology Drive                                      

Response:

Does anyone have a suggestion for spring Bluegill patterns? Thanks!

Tom: Here’s a suggestion on something called a "Pus Fly" (don’t blame me, I didn’t name it).  I read about it on the wall of Jene Hughes’ fly shop in Des Moines, the 2nd. Ave. Bait Shop, and have been using it for two seasons now. Use a size 8-12 3x nymph hook and chartreuse thread.  Tie in a piece of bead chain so the hook rides upside down.  Tie the chain "eyes" about a quarter of an inch back from the eye of the hook.  Tie in a short tail of chartreuse marabou, and then tie a stubby body of some sort of chartreuse material (I’ve used chenille, ice chenille, body wool, and even floss) to just behind the bead eyes.   Tie in one or two turns of chartreuse or green hackle.  Finish by building cross-tying around the bead eyes and then tapering a kind of long, sloping nose down to the hook eye.  Coat the nose fairly heavily with head cement (you’ll catch a LOT of fish on each fly).  The finished fly has a little resemblance to a Crazy Charlie bonefish fly. You can also tie them in purple, black, orange, and white (sort of my descending order of preference). My most effective way to fish it is anywhere from 18" to 4 feet under a fair-size bass or bluegill popper.  The popper acts as a strike indicator but also can catch a lot of fish on its own. The ice just went out on our farm ponds about three weeks ago, and I’ve already caught several dozen pretty nice ‘gills on these flies.  They seem to work particularly well during early spring and late fall, but will work all year. Enjoy, Bob

Response:

Question:

I think I’ve seen a guy at some of the FF shows who sells antique old style hooks for fly tying.  I want to do some tying for displays and would like to use good reproduction hooks.  I’m mostly looking for wet fly hooks with the squared off bend.  Can anyone suggest a source for these?  Thanks in advance.  E-mail or post response. Dave Wood Catch and release

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writes:  I’m mostly looking for wet fly hooks with the squared off bend.  Can anyone suggest a source for these?

This type of bend is called a sneck bend.  It is the weakest type of bend and was originally done to help hide the point of the hook under the body of the fly.  I believe you can still get these from Partridge and possibly from Daiichi.                                                      Dan Dan Gracia                                                               Orvis West Coast Fly Fishing Schools If you kill that big fish you can’t catch ‘em again.  So what if they eat other fish?  If you kill the big ones there will only be little ones left (funny how that works!).

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Wouldn’t you know it, OJ’s a fly fisherman too… but I don’t think he’s been fishing for over a year now. My wife’s cousin (I’m not making this up) runs the stables in Yosemite Valley, and has guided OJ and cohorts, on horseback, to The Secret Spots. Unfortunately, I’ve only met the guy once (wife’s cousin, not OJ), and I’ve yet to extract the pertinent info from him (and I don’t mean what kind of knife OJ used to gut his fish). Anyway, I don’t know of what value this info is… It’s just one of those things a guy has to share when given the right opportunity. Perhaps this thread would be more appropriate rec.outdoors.fishing.fly.tabloid newsgroup… -chuck oey — Professional Publications, Inc.                       profpubl.crl.com

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Let’s just hope he doesn’t release cutthroats.

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If Judge Ito reads this I hope he accepts my invitation to snook fish in the 10000 islands.  Anyone with the patience he has must be a good person to fish with…

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Wouldn’t you know it, OJ’s a fly fisherman too… but I don’t think he’s been fishing for over a year now. My wife’s cousin (I’m not making this up) runs the stables in Yosemite Valley, and has guided OJ and cohorts, on horseback, to The Secret Spots.

That’s a good one!  Ha!  "Secret Spots" in the Yosemite Valley.  That place is Disneyworld. If only we the people who own that park could break the stranglehold that the "vendors" have on the valley, it could be returned to the majestic place it ought to be.   Yosemite Valley, where you can rent a VCR and a movie about the park and order a pizza to go with it, (in the park) so you don’t even have to look out the window of the RV! Gotta love America.  We do it like no one else! Phil Calvin                                       ‘91 Hawkgt, DoD#242

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That’s a good one!  Ha!  "Secret Spots" in the Yosemite Valley.  That place is Disneyworld. If only we the people who own that park could break the stranglehold that the "vendors" have on the valley, it could be returned to the majestic place it ought to be.  

Dream on.  The trend is toward turning all the parks over to private vendors.  "If it don’t turn a profit, it ain’t got no value." — -Wayne Trzyna

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