Jonn Graham

Here is what I have been working on of late. This first fly is Joe Cornwall's take on the Murdich Minnow. Definitely a little different as the body is made up of xlarge cactus hackle rather than estaz:

Now, Joe's version does not include the cone head. I wanted the cone head on this particular fly to give me some weight so I could effectively get it down on a floating line. The original "Joe" model uses no weight and is fished on a sinking line. I tried this fly out in the water last night and it is going to be a real winner!

The fly below is one I call "Casper". I am really into the tying material known as "body fur". It comes in many colors and is relatively cheap. So far, I have made this fly and a sculpin pattern made from this same body fur. When I make this simple fly I attach the 1/4 inch zonker strip, then make a few wraps of white cross cut, add 15 or so wraps of .025 lead free wire wrap, and last I wind on the body fur. Whip finish the head and then I get out the scissors and trim the bottom fairly flat and trim the sides of the fly heavily. I think the trimmed sides make the fly dart better in the water. I also trim the top just a little to give it a minnow-head look. Attach the eyes with Marine Goop and I am done. The fly rides hook down in the water, which is not a problem as I use this fly much the same as I use a fluke.

Now all I need is for my rivers to come down and clear out. I head to Georgia on Tuesday and these flys will see my playing time.

I don't really care how it happens..........as long as it does happen. By committee would be fine. It is just time for me to take a back seat.

Keep in mind central region members, this is my last year as regional coordinator. As of October of the year, my tenure is over. If you still want to have meetings and outings in 2011, someone will need to step up and become the coordinator.

The following is a list of the outings for the Central Region for 2010. YOu will find dates, meeting times, and any other pertinent information. I plan to also post these on the calendar very soon. Hope to see big crowds this season.

Friday April 30: Fly Cast & Compare outing. Evergreen Lake at 4:00. Meet at the main boat ramp. Bring all the fly rods you have so everyone can enjoy trying out new sticks.

Saturday June 19th: Fishing outing on the Kankakee River. Float or wade. Meet at the 3k state park (concession area) at 8:00 AM.

July 16-18: Rock River weekend trip. Come when you can. Camping is available at the state Park in Prophetstown for a nominal fee. The state park will be our headquarters. Hotel lodging is availabe one block from the river. This will be a combination boat trip (boat with motors) and wading/bank fishing. If you don't have a boat, come anyway and we may be able to get you into a boat.

Saturday August 14: Mackinaw River/Cookout trip. Canoe or wade. Meet at Busy Corners restaurant at 6:00 AM. Busy Corners is located right off of I-74 at the Goodfield exit. After fishing we will hold a cookout at Harold's house (right down the street from Busy Corners). If you wish to attend the cookout, please bring own beverage and meat to put on the grill.

Saturday September 11: South Vermillion trip: Meet at truck stop just off of I-74 at the Oakwood exit at 8:00. Float and wade trip.

Saturday September 18: North Vermilion trip. Meet at Tonica exit on I-39 (truck stop) at 8:00 AM. Float and wade trip.

Saturday October 16: Green River trip. Meet in Annawan (in Holiday Inn parking lot) at 9:00. Annawan is located on I-80. Float or wade trip.

That is it. If you have questions, simply respond to this post and I will try to help you out.

It is going to be a short meeting. Set the dates for the outings, and then I have to hit the road. cya there.

We will hold our last winter meeting of the year in Heyworth. 6:00 at the library. We will discuss and set our outing dates for 2010. In addition, we will be scheduling our first "cast and compare" outing for April. cya there.

We are going to set all of our outing dates and the date for our fly casting day. cya there.

Plumbing Goop. Works great.

Joe Cornwall has come up with a new take on the Murdich Minnow. It looks fabulous. I have already ordered most of the materials to make Joe's version. Check it out here:

www.flyfishohio.com

Craig:

Thanks for the kind words about my flies. Coming from you, it truly means alot. I have definitely been hard at work trying to get better with my tying each and every night. A few of those new flies will be in my box when I come to fish with you..........cannot wait.

Thanks MIke G.

I will not be able to make it.

I found the power poxy in the automotive section at Farm and Fleet, just as Greg mentioned. Jury is still out if I like it better than marine/plumber goop. I will have to see how well the eyes stay on when the fly is worked on the end of a fly line.

I will say one thing about the power poxy, you need to hold the eye in place for at least 30 seconds.

Okay I will bring 2-3 variations

I plan to make it as long as nothing else comes up.

Yah, I may enter that second one in the contest or another variation I have. How do I enter the contest officially?

Crap, if I would have know you would have shown me how to tie the worm, I would have definitely stuck around. I could not stay long as my father in law has messed up his ankle/foot real bad and walking on it is tough. You may have noticed he was using a cane.

This winter sucks here in Illinois. I have had enough of cold. The only saving grace has been my vise. Here are a few of my latest.

Lonestar does not own the property anymore.

I along with at least three others will be there. Make sure you got your vise so you can teach me a new fly.

Are you coming to our fly tying meeting tomorrow in Heyworth?

what type of hair is on top............elk?

For anyone who cares, I will havea booth at the Tinley show this weekend. I will have Scout swim jigs for sale as well as float n fly jigs. In addition, I will be booking Camp Smallmouth trips for the upcoming 2010 season. Stop by and say hi.

The older I get the more I hate winters here in Illinois. This winter has been real tough on me. Too many cold weekend days for me. Why can't we have a mild winter where every so often a Saturday or Sunday gives us a high in the forties? Well, I have had enough and I need to take a trip.

This past weekend it became official. On the last week in March I am heading down to Georgia to fish with my buddy Craig Riendau (aka Crawdad Craig). We will be fishing the rivers down there for Shoal Bass and anything else that wants to strike my fly. I am very excited to spend three days down there exploring the beautiful streams that this southern locale offers. In addition, fishing with Craig will be a real learning experience for a newbie fly fisherman. Cannot wait.

This Friday is our second of four winter meetings for the central region. We will be meeting at the Heyworth Library at 6:00. The main theme for the night will be fly tieing. We are asking all who attend and tie flies, please tie up six or eight of your best pattern. In addition, be prepared to tie that same fly live. Also, it would be helpful if you could compose the recipe for that fly and make copies that can be given to other tiers at the meeting. If all goes well, everyone should go home with some new flies.

After the meeting we will most likely retire to a local watering hole for food and drinks.

Looks alot like Polar Chenille. I have come to love polar chenille, but you sure as heck do not get 100 yards in a package. I will have to check my nearest hobby lobby.