Joe D

Here is what I've been busy doing in this cold weather. There are some glass shrimp, bluegills, deer hair bass bugs (some have lips for a diving action), there are two of my personal boxes, burrowing mayfly nymph, a couple of beemoth grubs, a x-factor swimming nymph, a carp hex, and lastly a couple of damselfly nymphs.

thats why I dont wear a watch when I fish......time gets lost and does not matter Joe

jonn, I dont think it came through?????????? Joe

thats it, I'm changing my tactics for '09 !! Joe

jonn, with your bottom dwelling craws you can add a hackle feather and palmer it from back to front. it will give it more "body" and move more water. I cant remember what I sent you and if there were any examples of what I mean. I'll try to get some pics up so you can see what I mean. but they are lookin good! you are a official tyer. Joe

well I'll toss one in for the heck of it. I dont really fish frogs or tie them for that matter , but I'll give it a shot anyway. I've only ever tied 4-5 of them. but its all in fun anyway and I get to tie something different than my usual carp flies. Joe

cant stress enough to get the best line you can afford, it does make a difference!! I think my next line will be a rio product. I've heard alot of good things about it. at this time I dont need anymore line because I take very good care of mine and it is lasting for a long time. Joe

if thats the case your screwed after fly fishing you need to get into centerpinning, then your pockets will be completely empty( like mine) thats a pretty pennt to get into, but I love it and its worth every dime to me!! Joe

other ways more catch more fish, but they are not as rewarding as fly fishing to me. and its better if you catch fish on a fly you made, thats cool!! I'm all for catching fish any way you can, but fly fishing is the most fun to me anyway Joe

a 5/6 wt rod should cover most fish on the rivers. I however have been severley biten by the fly bug and have about 5 or 6 set ups from 3wt to 9wt. I do more fly fishing than anything. 3wt for panfish, 5/6wt for bass and 7/8wt for carp. many of the big stores offer combos at a reasonable price, under $100. as you get more involed you will likely want to up grade. Joe

I second the loons product Joe

kevin, it sounds like you are almost defending that guy. he sounds like a real jerk to me. I've run into a few of those as well. he must have been the kid who got beat up all the time, and now HE'S the one with the badge. I know you said he was just doing his job, but it does'nt sound like he has any people skills and maybe he could do his job alittle better!?!?!? personally I'm not a big fan of cops, for that matter judges, lawyers and politicions as well! well thats enough of my big mouth. Joe

I think I'll toss a few of my patterns in the hat, what the heck. thanks for the heads up rich mc. I'll try for a few different catagories if I can Joe

if you are gonna use shot I would put it about 18" in front of the fly. also a neat trick is to use very tiny shot and space them out rather than having one big ball of lead. I use this technique to fish live bait too and its worked great for me. I have caught alot of browns in WWD's on the big lake using minnows. its great for bass as well using a whole night crawler with the hook threaded through with a baiting needle. I think the reason it works so well especially on fuzzy fish is that as they pick up the bait they dont feel all of the weight right away because the shot is spread out. still giving you the weight you need to get the bait down and to cast it. this is something I will be talking about at the shabbona lake sportsmans club meeting on sunday the 14th of dec. Joe

I guess it could be done, but I dont think it would be as effective as it is tied the way it is. a lead jig head would cause it act like a jig. the hex nymphs specificly works best when dead drifted. that is a much more natural presentation to the fish. in nature they are sometimes brushed off or somehow get washed away. they are not good swimmers so they drift in the current until they can cling back onto the bottom or a rock, weeds or whatever. the hex I tie is slightly weighted with lead wire, but only enough to get it down alittle, not enough to be fished like a jig. there are probably better choices to tie on a jig head, however a hex is not one of them. this is where a centerpin really shines to present a dead drifted bait. this is real float 'n fly fishing at its finest. I will also have some tandem hex wgglers that are dy-no-mite. see you guys sunday and we'll talk about this more. Joe

I'm getting my stuff all togather for sunday. I'm gonna bring the golden stones(realistics) as well. I will demo how to make them. but it will be showing each stage, cause they are so time consuming. you need time for the flex seal to dry. I'll have each stage so the guys can see how its done. I have 2 big foam boards full of flies to bring. Joe

kevin, YES that was me and I have really gotten into centerpinning alot!! I have a second pin in mind and as soon as I can get the $$ I'm gonna buy it. I dont remember which fly set up I sold you was. I got rid of alot of stuff I wasnt using back then. I still do alot of flyfishing and tying, I still have 5 or 6 fly set ups. I'd be willing to help you out with fly fishing if you need it. I'll be concentrating on steelhead in the creeks all winter and until spring if you want to give it a try we can hook up and go. that is really where my pin shines, in the creeks. man I love that kind of fishing. I chase carp with my fly rod all summer, along with the occasional bass and gills too. Joe

it absolutley can be done. I fish alot of flies under a float with my centerpin. while a pin is the best way to do this a spinning set up could be used. if you want to use dry flies they do make a casting bubble. it looks like a clear oval bobber. you attach it to the line and then use a leader off the back of it to your fly. you can partially fill it with water for added weight so you can cast it. and yet another way is to fish it like a lindy rig, a slip sinker, swivel with about a 18" leader to the fly. dont be afraid to try new things!! Joe

I use both flexseal and loons hard head finish. the flex seal has a strong smell to it like a solvent. when I color swiss straw for shellbacks with a marker I use it cause it makes the marker"bleed" or "run". that makes for a neat effect. but I have found that the loons product makes excellent thread heads, it is perfect. loons is what I use the most, unless blending the colored markers. loons is also water based and is much easier to thin than flexseal. if I had to choose just one I would go with the loons product. I have also been told that flexseal is very toxic to breath. loons also comes in a few colors, red, yellow and black for sure. they may make other colors but those are the ones I've seen. hope this helps Joe

john, when is the blowout?? I'll try to make it. Joe

john, will you be at the meeting in waterman??? I'm looking forward to meeting you. we think alike, I like to think about what might work and try to come up with something on the vise. I have posted a few flies that look great and work well............but I have a garbage can full of ideas that didnt quite turn out like what I had in mind but hey it keeps things interesting. Joe

tying is alot of fun. I try to use new materials in new ways. I dont consider myself a traditional tyer at all. I'm more "new school" and completely self taught. alot of trial and error stuff. I kinda make lures to be used with a flyrod, I'm far from a fly purest. Joe

I get foam from craft stores too. the only thing I'm forced to buy at the fly shop is razor foam. its 1mm and .5mm. thats thin stuff! I use the craft foam to make bodies for my hoppers and dragon flies, I will have a few at the meeting in waterman. I call them "sure float" hoppers because they sure float I use the razor foam for bodies and wing buds of golden stoneflies, I will also have a few of those at the meeting as well. see you there. Joe

pretty neat, what material did you use for the body?? Joe

cant wait to meet some of you guys, it will be nice to put a face on the names I know. Joe