The little homemade tool on the left will show you how much to use. The late Ray Holden of Athol, a superb tier (how about a size 28 quill wing Royal Coachman), showed me a trick years ago. Pictured here is a size 16 hook whip finished to a tiny dowel. The size 16 hook will capture the right amount of feather to make a single quill wing(see photo below)
The third photo is rather poor but it gets the message across. If I haven't used snowshoe in a while I'll break out the "hook" and I'll know exactly how much to cut.
Now, what part of the foot is best???
The bottom photo shows a hares foot right side up. You want to be interested in the sole and heel of the foot AND around the toes of the foot. This is the fur that FLOATS!!! The stuff on the top of the foot has little floating properties.
Good Bye 2019
2019 has been a good year. From salmon in January to great dry fly fishing in the summer to the brookie run this Fall, everything just seemed to come together. Guiding and fly tying was up over the previous year but most of all this blog just continued to grow.
Without a doubt, this blog has the most page views and the most/best reader comments of any owner operated blog in New England. And what's very cool is that readers visit this blog EVERY DAY and if they discover this blog on the web THEY COME BACK. They come back
because this site will give you up to date flow conditions on area rivers, will let you know what's hatching and WHERE it's hatching such as Hendricksons in early May, Sulphurs in June and Tricos in August. I will continue to highlight sections of rivers just to make it easier for readers and with over 1000 square miles of watershed that I report on I will not be causing any overcrowding.
So have a Happy New Year and try to fish more and keep reading this blog!!!
14 comments:
Great little tool Ken. One of my favorite snowshoe flies is Fran Betters' Usual.
You've expanded my horizon. Thanks for sharing.
As always your blog and its comments have been a wealth of information and encouragement in 2019. I only expect the same for 2020. Happy New Year to you and all your readers. Hope to see you on the water.
Bob O,
And I look forward to your comments also. You can expect more in 2020!!!
Ken
"Hendricksons in early May". Dreaming of that as the ice storm cometh!
Ken,
Oh man, Ray! What a tyer and character! I remember him showing me one of those #28 fan wing royal coachmans - mind blowing! Good memories to think of him. Thanks for that memory Ken.
Also thanks for the hook trick. Ive always eye balled or just sort of guessed, and fixed if it was to much/little... That trick will help. Thanks!
Happy new year and thanks for the great blog.
Will
Will,
Ray was a great tyer AND an impossibly good fly caster AND an all around expert on fly fishing - all you had to do was ask him!!! He was the best!
Happy New Year
Ken
Ken,
Hard to imagine the skill to tie a #28 quill wing Royal Coachman. I tried to tie a #18 Adams a few nights ago thinking it might make for a good midge, but it didn't turn out well at all.
It has been a good year, Ken, with a good number netted and some mystery fish that I never could get control of and were eventually lost. Still fun though just to have them on and feel the power.
Here's to wishing you a healthy 2020. Hope that knee of yours is 100%.
Best, Sam
Another great year of enhancing my Mass. trout fishing experience with the knowledge and opinions of Ken, his blog, and his readers. A valuable public service. HNY
Happy New Year Ken, and all on the board.
Sam, DRL and Gary,
Thank you and Happy New Year!!
Ken
Ken,
Yes, he was a character for sure. As you noted, if you asked, he would have let you know of his skills, sometimes even if you didnt. But he was a local institution and his high self belief was backed up with real skills.
When I was a teen, I saw a sign on the Petersham craft center for a fly tying class. I just stopped in to see (I'd been tying for a while and as most teens do, I was sure I had it all figured out) and he had me sit down and join the class using his gear - free - and I got to tie up a few bugs. It was fun, and I remember thinking there was a whole world of skill with the vice that I had yet to even see or imagine after watching his wizardry.
Happy New Year
Will
Will,
He was one of a kind just like Rodney Flagg!!
HNY!!
Ken
Happy New Year to everyone
Hope we will have Landlocks cruising the river soon
Mike
Mike,
Good to hear from you again!
We will not see landlocks until next year if we are lucky.
Have a great 2020 and hope to run into you soon.
Ken
I'm late to the party, but thanks for the snowshoe tips, Ken!
Cheers,
Dave P
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