Mike G

Paul, Maybe you can get the story too. When I lived in DuPage County, Don Labrose, the fish biologist, was always very responsive to inquiries from the citizens. I figure you have an in being in the county. Here is some contact info: Media Contacts: Don LaBrose, Office of Natural Resources, 630-933-7668 Bonnie Olszewski, Office of Public Affairs, 630-871-6402 Since I lived in Butterfield East just north of Hidden Lake, it was one of my favorites. I would like to know what they are doing to my old pond.

Don, If you do not have the jig hooks, you can bend an Eagle Claw Aberdeen back to the 120 deg position. Here is my first attempt on a #2. I used round nosed pliers to avoid a sharp bend that might break. Next time I will make the bend a little closer to the eye. This Wacky Fly is another outside the box approach to tying a true float'n fly fly. Tie the line to the hook shank with a Trilene knot and slide it to where the fly balances. I used one of Craig's ringers so I could change weights also. Jonn, Thanks for posting the winter flies. They look. great.

Great Popper, Terry. I like the use of sparkely stuff. It is an eye popping popper for sure. to bad you could not work a little latex into it I think I can make one like it with one of the 1 1/2" foam cylinders I use for poppers by cutting the cylinder in half. Would there be an advantage in using ear plugs instead?

Rich, Pmail me the link to the post where you saw the photo. I may be able to get it from there. Mike

Fred, Any chance you could give us a link to the device on Bass Pro on line? Though I am not in the market I want to be ready if my gadget breaks. Thanks.

Rob, You guessed right. The spring is not necessary. The gadget I have never had a spring and works fine. Also, though those Worth systems are nice, mounting a reel like that for short lengths of rope is probably overkill. The ratcheting reel is noisy too from my experience using one. A picture is worth 1000 words.Here are some pictures of the custom aircraft grade knotty pine anchor boom for my homemade canoe. It is about 2 feet long made out of 1" X 4" genuine scrap. Since my gadget is stored with my jon boat and the canoe is also stored, you will have to use some imagination. The boom sits on top of triangular wooden deck plate at the bow or sterm ofthe canoe. TOP From left to right, at the tapered end, barely visible are the two wood screws that hold on the anchor pulley in place. The blue tape "<" shows about where the tip of the canoe would be. A 2 1/2" hex bolt passes through the boom and canoe deck and is fastened underneath with a wing nut. I used an appropriate flat washer on both sides to distribute the load. The second hole works on the other end of the canoe. BOTTOM You can see the wing nut and the washer here. On the right end-squared end, a 1/2 x 1" strip of wood is nailed on. It rests against the back edge of the deck plate to keep the boom from wobbling. I also have a Wenonah. If your Wenonah is like mine the boom would not work as is. Mine has a small deck plate. About a foot back is a short carrying thwart. The boom could be installed on the Wenonah by drilling a hole through the deck plate for the bolt and fastening the rear of the boom to the carrying thwart with one or two u-bolts. Is that a u-bolt? no it's a belong to someone else!

Bonus! Two more from Cabelas: Catalog Catalog

Rob, Here is the gadget that you need. Just add a rope and anchor. It keeps it simple for a canoe. I mount one of these on a piece of wood that sticks out over the bow or stern to keep the anchor from banging the canoe. The gadget has a clip that the rope passes through so that you can operate it one handed. Or you can bypass that and just tie off to a thwart. Source Long ago a C-clamp version was popularized by Fishing Facts since so many guys fished from rented boats that had primative anchoring systems. Hope you can find one closer by.

What or should I say who is missing from the picture? Can you find him?

Don't be such a worrier, Terry. Our bubbas down south figured this out long ago. Just tell your wife you found the condoms under the seat of the pickup. The previous owner must have forgot they were there when he sold the truck. No sense letting perfectly good materials go to waste.

Terry, If you use ear plugs for flies, did you ever think of this? http://www.midcurrent.com/video/clips/tying/latex_caddis.aspx

Mike, Thanks for the picture. That looks like a McNally Frog to me. In his book Tom McNally describes how to make them using the tips of wooden matchsticks for eyes. Did you make that one? Gavin, Those two pictures are great. I see several forerunners of the blockhead there. That "chewed" Gerbubble Bug is the first time I have seen a picture of the original 20s version. They are a nice piece of Bass Bug history. Thank you.

Terry, I never did, but my hat is off to you for seeing the connection and application. Tell me, do th ear plugs work better before or after you have used them as ear plugs?

Good idea! Though it is not as toxic as lead, plastisol can be melted down and recast just like lead soldiers or lead jigs.

Mike, What is that "front loop designed weed guard" made of? What does it look like?

It is great to see the variety of patterns people are tying around the blockhead. I was wrong; you are not all icefishing. Is Lefty’s Blockhead a radical pattern? I have to admit I have been soaking up a lot of the gospel according to Lefty lately. At 85+ years young he is really unorthodox when it comes to bass bugs. That cam be seen in his signature Lefty's Bug. I tried to incorporate his radical recommendations into the Blockhead. 1. Color-Choose a color that is easy to see. Bass key on the surface fuss and do not seem to be picky about color. 2. Eyes, Dots, Stripes, Finish in general-These are not necessary. Because they are above the surface of the water, bass don't see them. 3. Hackle Tails, Hackle Collars-Avoid these for two reasons. First, their bouyancy lifts the hook in the water making hookups less likely. He likes the hook to angledownward at 30-40 deg. Second, the fluff adds wind resistance making casting more difficult. 4. Squirrel Tail Tails-Squirrel tails are a must tied at the rear of the shank. The relatively stiff fibers will not wrap around the hook like other materials. They do not bouy up the rear of the hook. They soak up little water so casting is easier. 5. Rubber Legs and Marabou Whiskers-Use these for still water fishing. They provide action even when the bug is sitting still on the surface. Largemouth Bass are suckers for that lazy waving action. Well that is the theory. We will see how it works this season.

Rich, You will get your chance to shorten the legs since I am sending the Gabe Blockhead to you. I deliberately left them long so that the final user could shorten them to taste. I understand that silicone skirts on bass jigs are left long so that the user can trim them to taste just like Denny Brauer. So I am doing something like that. I will also send some small willowleaf blades in case you want to tie them to the ends of the legs for more action.

No new flies here since November? Everyone must be tying in secret for the Blowout contest. Or is everyone into ice fishing? Though my wife's recovery from surgery is still job 1, I did manage to fit in a few. the article on blockheads in the last bulletin inspired me to get some blockheads and try them out. I also figured out how to use the auction feature on my camera to put several views of one subject into one frame. Results. Lefty’s Blockhead https://www.flickr.com/photos/141375071@N06/24761999688/in/shares-921909/ Miller's Roadkill pattern reminded me of Lefty's classic. I eliminated the hackling as Lefty would. Gerbubble Blockhead This is a 4th incarnation of the Gerbubble Bug. The first from the 20s featured a balsa body gruved along the sides for hackle wiskers. Dave Whitlock reincarnated it as a deerhair bug with hackle wiskers along the sides. Dave Bartlett used a keystone shaped body with marabou wiskers. I was having trouble figuring out how to do the body till I saw the blockhead. Gabe Blockhead Yet another Gabe. The head just seems right for this fly. The banjo string brush guard goes with the theme. For best results hum, "Froggy went a'courtin'..." as you cast. PS Converted to Tiny Pic for these. Can't figure out how to link to Flickr. Yet.

This time of year the caws of Crows, screes of Bluejays, and an occasional Redtail screech is all I usually hear when I am out. On this morning's walk about 9:00 AM, I was surprised to hear woodpeckers drilling - one to the northwest, one to the northeast, and one to the southeast. They never drilled at the same time. There was always about 5-10 seconds between the rata-tat-tats. Since there is little likelyhood that this drilling would yield insects at this time of year, I have to think that the noise making is in preparation for the rites of spring. Either the guys are defining their territory for the rites or they are drumming to attract the ladies for the rites. Spring is coming.

Source No doubt the old two edged razor blade is the primier tool for trimming spun deer hair. Problem is,"Where to get them?" Some say Walgreens has them; but my closest Greens is 15-20 miles away. Here's an on-line source. http://www.duluthtrading.com/search/searchresults/59064.aspx?feature=product_1&kw=RAZOR BLADES&processor=content

Look at your crystal ball. Remember that the concentrations we are seeing are caused by severe cold. Ask your crystal ball if the conditions in late February will be the same as they were in early January. Go now. Who knows what things will be like late Fwbruary. That's almost March!

Here's a nice writup on on a piece of equipment frequently recommended by Lefty Kreh and Bob Clouser. Make one yourself for less than $10. Slip plastic tubing over the rough push pins to avoid having line catch on the pins. http://www.midcurrent.com/flyfishing/lowcost_stripping_basket.aspx

Another Reason for C&R? Fish Advisory

I saw one flying over Lake Summerset yesterday at 4:00 P. While the Illinois river is where we expect to see eagles, it seems that this year we are seeing them in many other places. Does anyone know why?

Jim, You are getting a lot of good advice here, though it may be information overload. Curb the urge to buy stuff till you get more familiar with tying. You can't beat the free loaner vise and free materials from Jude. Right now your best investment would be the Rock River Fly Tyers class. You will get a chance to see various vises and other equipment. I am not sure if ISA will have a tying session in Rockford this spring. That would be another place to check out vises, equipment, and materials.