That’s D-Dub for Dave Wiltshire a fly tyer from England who ties a mean looking Brassie. Planet Trout posted a bit about Dave’s site and his recent Brassie’s, with that I was hooked and immediately swung over to DW Fly Fishing & Tying which is getting added to the links list pronto. Digging a bit more I came across the article Dave wrote for Hatches magazine which details this pattern, I really enjoyed reading about this fly which is what prompted me to begin constructing a few of my own Brassies tied D-Dub (W) style. Shown here are a few of the more exotic varieties I tied up, I also tied many that mirror Dave’s patterns with a more simple look. The last creature here is a take on a black stone-fly nymph using the Brassie body. I think I’m going change it a bit to make it more natural looking by adding biot tails and a more natural wing case. Note: The soft-hackle feathers I colored with the Bic-Markit markers have held full color after being fully submerged in water for over a week. Also I apologize for the poor quality photo’s on this one. I was more concerned with tying the patterns than taking pictures I guess, the images at Dave’s site are excellent.

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I like tying flies mainly due to the large amount of creative freedom and connection with the process of fly fishing it provides. As a result of this interest I am almost always spying craft stores, garage sales, even the local salvation army for any items that would make good tying materials. This past weekend Liz and I stopped in to drop off literally a truck load of stuff from our basement, mainly clothes/electronics and stuff others will get more use from. After completing our drop off we scoured the store for the occasional odd item, we do this often as it’s ever changing in the salvation army, it’s a fun afternoon activity and a five dollar bill can go a long ways. Towards the end of our adventure I turned the corner and saw…tinsel. No? Crystal Icicles? No… Pearl Tinsel!! I scooped the package up, examined it, new instantly what I had in my hands and began to clutch tight the now very important item. The asking price… fifty cents!! At home I quickly pulled out my roll of pearl tinsel and compared it, exactly the same only the “icicles” were just ever so slightly wider, not by much at all so in my opinion this is the same product. It pays to keep your eyes peeled and your bench in the front of your mind. Now it’s time  for a bit of math… Read the rest of this entry »

For the winter season that is. A tip was passed on to me that some great gear could be purchased ridiculously cheap if one was punctual and willing to drive half an hour. The stop in La Crosse to pick up these snow stomping treads worked well with our migration south of the border to catch a few trout. I won’t say exactly how cheap these were but I will say I sprung for a smaller pair for the female of the house, a good winter activity together with the dog. Depending on the conditions these can drastically change a longer hike especially if your trying to get to your favorite winter hole with a bit of daylight to spare. I plan to bust these bad boys out for more than getting stream side in four feet of the white stuff though, it will be fun just to be outside with the dog and the girl.  Warranty against defects, light weight, rugged and meant for the winters around here these kick snowshoe a**. Read the rest of this entry »

The plan was hatched with little time to spare. The night before digging my gear from it’s hidden resting place, packing fly boxes, tying the last minute necessities and printing my stamp and license at home, sometimes you have to love the internet. We left with a few crappy maps (way to go Heath) to find trout in the state of Iowa, the place you go when your a Minnesotan in the off season if you want to scratch that itch that’s been nagging at you for seventeen days but who’s counting? We stopped off in La Crosse, Wisconsin to grab some winter gear that will be put to the test in the coming months (more on that later). After the stop we hit the road to ride the Mississippi down to our target. Read the rest of this entry »

It seems an unspoken truth that if you combine the color black, some kind of flash and a streamer hook your going to be catching fish be it trout, carp, bass, panfish, or pike. With that in mind I did a bit of digging and found a few leech patterns that use Zonker strips to form the majority of the fly, with this idea and a few items unique to the Winona Fly Factory bench I came up with the Kiss My Leech. In similar fashion as the Sprinkle Me Baby this fly has a collar but it’s made of Peacock Ice Dub and brushed out to be scraggly looking, also in the spirit of the SMB I plan to be singing come on baby, Kiss My Leech, Kiss My Leech, Kiss My…..Fish ON! Read the rest of this entry »

Working to replicate a prolific life force that inhabits nearly all the trout water everywhere, I have been fooling around with tiny hooks to replicate some of the midge larva that I saw on stream this last season. I like slim bodies that are truly accurate to size and shape and to make these small larva I turned to a prolific force on my bench, Zap-A-Gap. This stuff has been hailed by tyers of all kinds for its variety of uses and I have a small bottle that seems will never end right next to some of the more important tools I use. Constructing a Wire Fly the way I have here is relatively easy requiring few materials, just a bit of control and most importantly patience, an attribute fly fishing and tying tests me on frequently. I made a kind of double bodkin by taking an old dentist tool and grinding each side to a sharp point, this metal tool allows me to use one side to apply the product and the other to pick up any extra with a quick rub. After a dozen flies I use a razor blade and some steel wool to remove the build up from my tool, this thing works very well. Read the rest of this entry »

The Black Wet Fly tied Winona Fly Factory Style

• Hook: #12-#18 Wet Fly/Nymph Hook
• Weight: 10 Turns of .15 (for a #14)
• Thread: Black 8/0
• Bead: Optional
• Rib: SM Black Ultra Wire
• Undershell: 6 Strands of Peacock Herl
• Overshell: 16 Strands of Black Krystal Flash
• Underbody: Black Dubbing + Peacock Ice Dub (Blended)
• Hackle: Black (Oversized)
• Collar: Peacock Ice Dub

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I have been looking for a way to change the color of a few materials without too much in the way of cost or without much in the way of mess/trouble. After doing some research (on google) I found a post at Fly Art Studio regarding the Bic-Markit line of permanent markers. According to the post these relatively cheap markers ($18.99 at Shopko in Winona) withstood several days in both water and salt-water solutions and still held their original color and they are non-toxic so I’ve got to think if I can put them in my mouth I should be able to put them in a trout stream. I was certainly intrigued and ran out to find the markers for myself. Note: Get the 36 count, it has several more shades that will make the fly tyer in you scream and if you short change yourself with the 24 pack your going to be kicking your own arse. Once home I whipped up an initial pattern and got to dunking, drying, and rubbing to determine if they were truly worth my time and effort. I should also point out that I’ve never used markers and haven’t tried the PrismaColor Brand of fly tying markers but the post I read claimed these out performed those markers. Two days later and my original test subject look the same, wet, but the same. Success! Read the rest of this entry »

I visited my two CSMP sites yesterday to take my last set of data measurements for the season and to spy on the trout that hold at my site. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency asks volunteers to record daily rainfall totals as well as weekly visits to the stream site and after significant rainfall events. Looking over my data there was little to do in September as a nearly three week long dry spell made visiting my sites easy as each time the water remained gin clear. I was hoping that with the recent rain we’ve had the stream would look a bit different but even the few inches we have gotten hasn’t done much, didn’t even bump up the flow level. The trout look good and I was pleased to see the fish have grown over the last few months, there is now atleast one fish over 14 inches residing here and a brookie moved in which is excellent (note the brightly colored fins). I hope it’s a female, my thought is that it is with a shorter face and a wider gut. I will be turning in my data sheets and my rainfall measurements electronically with the data submission forms that the MPCA has conveniently put up on their website here. Also if you live near water and would be willing to take the time to record a few basic measurements contact the MPCA about volunteering, there is way too much water in Minnesota for the MPCA to keep track of it all and it should be our job as users of the resource to ensure that it is frequently monitored and maintained the same way we would approach poachers and other non-beneficial behavior when say a DNR CO isn’t around. Water-Stewards, Be One. Read the rest of this entry »

This was a season to remember as it was my first full season fly fishing the driftless area from January 1st in the frozen tundra, to September 30th with the arrival of fall. My goal was to see as many of the natural processes first hand as I could, to record and use that knowledge later to improve my angling abilities and my understanding of the fish I pursue in the environment they reside in. With confidence I can say that I did my best and although I missed a few things I have enough first hand information to begin the off season tying new patterns and altering old ones to better suit my needs. After having fished this entire season I have a better understanding of the changes that occur on our streams throughout the season and will use that knowledge to make better choices next season. I plan to concentrate on difficult to get to places earlier in the season and try to fish places that are more suitable after the full summer bloom kicks in, also for next season with the addition of a 9ft. 7wt rod that I have plans to build I will be targeting more warm water specie throughout the season, especially during the prime summer months of July and August. Read the rest of this entry »