THE FLY FISHING PLACE BLOG
THE FLY FISHING PLACE BLOG
FLY TYING FURNITURE: THE SPOOL SAFE CADDY
Check out this
beautifully made solid oak spool safe that organizes, stores and
controls 72 spools of flytying thread, lead, floss, Ultra Wire -
anything on a standard spool. No more frustrating shoe boxes full of
tangled threads! A very attractive and practical addition to your fly
tying desk, and a great gift for your messy fly tier! Price includes shipping anywhere in the lower 48!Fly Tying Furniture: Fly Tying Thread Caddy
Eagle Cap Excursion Train Will Offer Salmon/Steelhead Talks
EAGLE CAP EXCURSION TRAIN HAS FISH STORIES
Elgin, Oregon__Steelhead & Chinook salmon are the topic for passengers who ride the scenic train Saturday, July 30. Our guest presenter for the trip is Ron Harrod, manager of the ODFW hatcheries at Big Canyon and Enterprise. An avid outdoorsman, Ron will speak about the Steelhead and Chinook Salmon Recovery Programs on the two rivers. The train leaves Elgin, Oregon, at 10 a.m. for a relaxing 3.5 hour ride along roadless sections of the beautiful Grande Ronde and Wallowa Rivers. Ron will give a short talk and Q & A, then be open for conversation and fish stories the rest of the trip. A delicious lunch is included and served on the train. Ticket prices are Adults, $75; Seniors, $65; Youth, $35. Reservations are strongly encouraged to ensure a seat and can be made by calling Alegre Travel, 800.323.7330 or travel@alegretravel.com. Ask about group rates for pre-formed groups of twenty or more. Go to www.eaglecaptrain.com for more information and a full 2011 season schedule.
Umpqua Introduces New Competition Hook Series
The New Competition Hook Series Includes an outstanding Czech Nymph Hook!Competition fly anglers continuously create and master new techniques to increase their efficiency on the water. When every landed fish counts, the hooking and holding ability of their fly offerings demands a style of unique high performance hooks. With the Competition Series, Umpqua offers the same models the best fly fishermen in the world use and trust. Designed in cooperation with individual and team world champions, these high carbon steel fly hooks have large gapes for superior hooking, black nickel finish for increased stealth, barbless extra-long needlepoints to hold fish with minimal impact. Umpqua Competition Series Hooks: Hook more and land more, just like the Pros!
FLY OF THE WEEK: THE LIGHTNING BUG IS RED HOT!
The most popular nymph fly at The Fly Fishing Place this past year, whether measured by on the river success or by our fly shop and online sales, has been the Bead Head Lightning Bug. This little nymph packs a lot of fish catching power into its insignificant self. The original Lightning Bug was probably tied by Yakima River guide Larry Graham in the early 1990's, but after that it moved on up to Montana and evolved first into the river guides' secret weapon, then into one of the most popular subsurface trout flies around the world for the past couple years. The Lightning Bug works as well on a spring creek as on large tailwaters, is deadly for prospecting in riffles and pocket water, and is perfectly at home as a dropper below a Dave's Hopper or a Stimulator in July on the Wallowa River, or trailing along behind an Egg Sucking Leech or Steelhead pattern in November on the Grande Ronde. We tie the Lightning Bug in sizes 12-20, and in Gold Lightning Bug, Silver Lightning Bug, and, new for the 2011 fishing season, Pearl Lightning Bug.
Umpqua Competition Hooks: Tie Your Czech Nymphs On The Real Deal!
Umpqua Hanak Competition HooksMade in the Czech Republic for World Champion anglers! Competition fly anglers continue to create and master new techniques to increase their efficiency on the water. When every landed fish counts, the hooking and holding properties of their flies demands a unique high performance style of hook. Read more about Umpqua competition hooks....
ADVANTAGES OF STINGER FLIES FOR STEELHEAD
Flies
tied in the stinger style, like the stonefly nymph illustrated, have
been gaining a following recently, especially from winter steelheaders.
The stinger tie puts the hook at the extreme rear of the fly pattern, so
that even the softest, most subtle take will usually result in a
hookup. Once hooked, the shorter shank of the stinger hook offers less
leverage to the fighting fish than the traditional longer-shanked
streamer and steelhead hooks. Read more....
OREGON LEGISLATURE LUKEWARM ON FELT SOLE BAN
A national movement to ban felt-soled waders – shoes that fly fisherman
and other anglers use to keep steady in slippery waters – has made its
way to Oregon. But, unlike the boots, a bill to outlaw their sale and
use by 2015 doesn't seem to have much traction. Today, the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee took testimony which could potentially affect more than a half million Oregonians with angling licenses.
The felt, proponents say, is a particularly good hiding spot for tiny, unwanted organisms. As anglers move from stream to stream, those organisms get carried along like passengers and deposited in places they don't belong. Meanwhile, opponents say that felt offers the best grip. "It saved my life," Dennis Richey, the executive director of Oregon Anglers told the committee.
Richey, the only one to speak against the bill, was outnumbered at the meeting.....Read More
RESEARCH SHOWS WILD RAINBOW TROUT POPULATIONS ARE CRITICAL TO STEELHEAD POPULATIONS
Genetic research is showing that healthy steelhead runs in Pacific Northwest streams can depend heavily on the productivity of their stay-at-home counterparts, wild rainbow trout.
Steelhead and rainbow trout look different, grow differently, and one heads off to sea while the other never leaves home. But the life histories and reproductive health of wild trout and steelhead are tightly linked and interdependent, more so than has been appreciated, a new Oregon State University study conclude. READ MORE..
Worth noting, the researchers said, is that most other salmonids, such as coho or chinook salmon, do not have this type of fall-back system to help produce fish with a higher capability of surviving. As such, they may be more vulnerable than steelhead to the concerns about genetic weaknesses produced by hatchery fish.
BEST NEW FLY FISHING PRODUCT: UPG FLY BOXES
The new Umpqua Professional Guide, or UPG, Fly Boxes are in stock and flying off the shelf. In 40+ years of fly fishing, this is the best fly box I have used - bar none. Plus, there are several new models coming for 2011, including a Saltwater, Streamer, and Midge fly box that are specifically built for those of us that just want a fly box to do its job!
I have been using the Small UPG for my Midges and Copper Johns, the Medium UPG for my trout flies and the Large UPG for my steelhead flies the last year, and I can say that I have rarely been happier with a new fly fishing product. The Original Small, Medium and Large UPG Fly Boxes are in stock and shipping now!
The new UPG Fly Box models for 2011 should start shipping in March, and you can pre-order them now:
Five Top Egg Fly Patterns for Steelhead
Whether you are fishing the Great Lakes Steelhead Alley or the Pacific Northwest fisheries, egg and spawn fly patterns are among the most effective steelhead fly patterns. They have saved the day more than once when working over picky or sullen steelhead and salmon. They can be fished alone but are often used as a dropper fly below a bead head nymph pattern or even below a woolly bugger or streamer. Egg patterns are easy to tie and relatively inexpensive to buy, and since an egg pattern fished properly is always snagging the river bottom, it is a good idea to have plenty in your box! You should try several of the new variations in style, weight and color to find ones you feel confident using. The original Glo-Bug types work great, but a lot of the newer egg and spawn patterns have added egg sac, bead and hour glass weights, and use different materials to simulate the natural eggs that are an important food to many species.Here is a list of a few of our most popular and productive egg and spawn flies:
Anvil Egg Fly: A heavy bead inside an egg sack of egg yarn - gets down deep!
Pettis' Unreal Egg Fly: Similar to the Anvil but smaller and lightly weighted - lots of great colors!
Microspawn Egg Fly: A nice spawn sack pattern for clear of only slightly off-color waters
Gorman's Veiled Bead Head Egg Fly: Tied with a realistic translucent egg sack - one of the best dropper flies!
That's five great egg and spawn patterns to try this season - now get out there on the river!
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