A Very Simple Emerger and Squannacook Reminiscing

 "If I couldn't fish any longer I would still tie flies." - Me

I have a lot of faith in this fly and have been successful with it in sizes 14 through 20. I tie it with a brown or olive body and with a grey wing stub.(note: a really think that ANY color will do as long as you match the size.)

Hook - light wire scud hook

Thread for the body - (Here's the fun part).  The thread is Coats & Clark All Purpose Thread found in the sewing section at Walmart. Now before you thumb your nose at that just be aware that Dan Trela, a great local fly tyer, uses that thread.

Wing Stub - a sparse amount of para post wing material in grey. This has become my favorite wing material.  It outfloats everything else and can take a beating.

Head - tie in some 12/0 thread and dub in a little brown or olive rabbit to make a head. Tie it with seed bead for the head and you have a neat small wet fly.

Back in the 1970's I used to fish the Squannacook all of the time with my favorite times being Summer evenings from Memorial Day through early Fall and I fished dry flies exclusively with an upstream presentation.  AND I CAUGHT BROWNS!!!!

My question is: Is that still the case. Are browns still the most numerous trout?

Ken

Seed Beads Get It Done

 

Like most fly crafters I will add some weight in the form of a tungsten or brass bead to get the desired sink rate but the above mentioned materials seem to overwhelm the small flies.(size 16 and smaller) I like a more moderate sink rate and you can get that with a little item known as a seed bead.

First of all, they are made out of plastic and have just the right amount of density to cut through the surface tension.  Second, they come in a million colors although I find that olive and brown are all you need. Third, where do you find them?  Go to any craft or hobby store and head to the "bead section".  I use size 11/0 and they work fine.

Well, we are half way past February and except for a brutal cold snap last week it has been an easy winter. Let's hope for an easy Spring!!

Ken

Tenkara Revisited

 "I fish knowing that every moment on a stream is a gift." - Unknown

It was about 15 years ago when I ran into a Swift River regular, an excellent flyfisher and fly tier, above the Pipe.  We shot the bull for a few minutes then the topic drifted over to Tenkara angling. "They hook fish but boy, do they have a hard time landing them".

Truer words have not been spoken. Tenkara, the way that it was developed in Japan, is an artform.  It was intended by Japanese anglers to fish for small trout and LL salmon in mountain streams. And it wasn't a catch and release situation.  These anglers ate these fish or sold them and their long limber rods could certainly handle the situation.

Fast forward to the present and we have tenkara anglers hooking  and, and many times, playing the trout to exhaustion. (if anglers play trout to death on the Swift with conventional tackle it will certainly happen with tenkara). The trout on our rivers are much larger  and harder to horse in.When I was guiding a tenkara angler who would hook into a 14 inch or better fish I would take position downstream with a net to end the battle quickly.  The solo angler can't do that.  Ending the battle quickly really counts on our freestone streams where higher temperatures could put that trout over the edge.

Don't hang up your tenkara rods but use them where they are meant to be used: hill country streams where the trout are 4 to maybe 10 inches long and you and catch and release quckly (if you want!)

Early Spring

Don't bet on it.  I remember the Winter of 2006/2007 where it was warm right into January but then iced up in February with huge ice dams up in the Bears Den  Only 60 days until April.

                                                                                          Bears Den Feb. 2007

Ken

P.S. Yes, Tenkara is a form of fly fishing!