It’s time to tie some bugs!
This Saturday, January 10, from 9 am – 12 pm, we’ll be hosting the first of our Free Fly Tying Saturdays! Bring your vise, your tools and your materials and we will help you tie some flies. If you don’t have a vise, or tools, or materials…we will provide them free of charge! The goal of this class is to help YOU tie the flies that YOU want to fish. It’s also a good time to drink coffee, eat a few donuts, peruse the shop, and maybe even get an afternoon of fishing in. Questions? Or, want to let me know that you’re coming? [email protected]. We have open rooms this weekend if you want to make an actual vacation out of it. There’s not much else going on — come on up!
Here’s a good one — the Henry’s Fork CDC Caddis. Not a difficult tie, and incredible effective in May.
There hasn’t been much fishing due to both the weather and the flu. No need to bore anyone with details, but let’s just say that I’m very excited to hit the river tomorrow and do a little streamer fishing. I’d have waited to make an actual fishing report with some, you know, fishing…but it’s Wednesday, and it’s been awhile. The plan tomorrow is simple: Get in the raft with Lance and throw streamers toward the dark water. We are both desperate to be on living, breathing river.
Today’s fishing report from Marv Miller, comes from Exuma, Bahamas.
Exuma is an island about mid-way down the Bahamas chain. My wife and I have been coming here since the early 90’s and seen a lot of change on the island. One thing that hasn’t changed is the bonefish are still a challenge to catch.
The tides are something you quickly learn to follow and I chart them before every trip, although they can change slightly in both height and timing if the winds are strong. We stay in a VRBO right on a bonefish flat. I think during most tides you can walk out, but given my height challenges I prefer to kayak the 30 yard channel. From there the flat stretches about 3 miles wide and 2 miles deep. I like to fish 3 hours of the outgoing and an hour or two of the incoming, depending on the fish’s moods. You think I’d have it figured out, but as my friend Bob L. says, “..everything I know about fishing is sometimes true.” The day consists of a 5 mile loop around the flat, trying to stay in the 5 to 8 inch depth range. The bonefish like this depth I’ve read, because the crabs and other marine life like to move about as the tide drops, then as it dries the sand they climb around, and then the bonefish come back through before they find their home and they become easy pickens. On a good day I might get 20 plus shots and connect on 5 plus. A normal day is more like a dozen or so shots and connect on 2 to 5. And some days I might only get a shot or two. Still other days the fish are moving so fast to go somewhere, you’ll see a lot but they are not eating and it can be frustrating. Today was in between. Spooky moving fish then the ones I saw wanted to eat, but spooked easily. The flat I fish gets pounded and even the small bonefish have PHD’s, so every fish landed is an accomplishment. Even if my wife and I (she doesn’t fish but is a darn good fish spotter) don’t see many or catch any, it’s still a nice 5 mile walk in calf deep water with endless beauty. It is a nice retreat from the blustery cold Michigan winter.
We have taken in a great collection of used fly rods from one of our esteemed tyers who decided he had too many (ha ha). Check these out:
Winston TMF 8′ 4 wt — the original. No sock. $700
Winston IM6 8’6″ 4 wt — “Anglers of the Au Sable” personalization. No cap on tube. $550
Winston WT 7’6″ 2 wt — A beauty. $550
Winston BIIX 8’6″ 5 wt — “RiverGod” personalization. $550
Winston BL5 9’6″ 8 wt — “RiverGod” personalization. Rare. GREAT steelhead rod. $400
Winston BIIX 8′ 4 wt — Super clean. $600
Winston BIIX 8’6″ 4 wt — RiverGod” personalization. $550
Orvis 7’9″ 2 wt Ultralight — $300
McFarland Tailwater 9′ 5wt — If you know, you know…that this is one of the finest rods in existence. $500
And some others…
Winston Air2 Max 9′ 7 wt — near mint condition. $600
Sage 8’6″ 4-weight 3-pc LL — Very good condition. $400
Nautilus XM Fly Reel — Mint condition, original box and reel case. $300
Tom Morgan Rodsmiths — very collectible. Email [email protected] for details.
