First Fish Of The Day

Just a preview of what's to come in the colorado fishing trip posts.

Visiting The Vise! Red Headed Midge

 After toying around with some zebra midge patterns, I decided I would share this one. It is tour basic red zebra midge but with a red glass bead head. Simple tie and this week I am putting it to the test in Colorado. Hopefully it pans out for the better.

Hook: Size 16-24 (Size 20 pictured at the top and Size 18 with a Bigger bead head below that)

Thread: Red 3/0

Wire: Small Gold

Bead: Glass translucent red

Heading West!

  Well the time has come, and to say I am anxious is an understatement. I will be boarding a plane in a few hours and heading west to the mountainous state of Colorado. I have been day dreaming of snow capped peaks, and boulder filled streams all month long. I have spent numerous hours at the vise crafting flies that hopefully bring me a fishy surprise. I have a few streams and rivers on my radar that are chalked full of fish, it is just a question now of weather or not they will bite.

   The blog posts will be short for the next week until I get back . I am going to try and post a few that are short and sweet, but it all depends on cell service where I will be shacked up for the next few days. I can guarantee I will have plenty to post about when I get back though. Keep an eye out because the cameras, including video are packed and ready to shoot.  Here's to a safe trip, and I hope it turns out as good as I hope!

Visiting The Vise! Rainbow Warrior

Hook: 16-24  2x Short 2-3x Wide Gap

Thread: Red 3/0

Body: Silver Flash

Tail: 3-4 Pheasant Tail Fibers

Dubbing: Rainbow Ice Dub

Bead: Small or Midge Glass Irr. Crystal





Rainbow Warrior from Tightline Productions on Vimeo.

Visiting The Vise! Griffith's Gnat

Hook: 16-24 Dry Fly Hook

Thread: Red 3/0

Body: 2 Strands Peacock Herl

Hackle: Grizzly Hackle Tips

Friday Fish Porn

  This weeks addition of Friday Fish Porn is going to feature a bunch of short films on fly fishing that I have been watching. Sit down, grab a cup of joe, or a bucket of popcorn and enjoy! Some of these where or are on the Fly Fishing Film Tour.



Riding High: A Season on the Fly from Waterline Media on Vimeo.

Cold Blue Nights from The Fly Collective on Vimeo.

Best Guide Never Trailer from The Fly Fishing Film Tour on Vimeo.

Urban Lines - Fish Where You Are from The Fly Fishing Film Tour on Vimeo.

Fly Fishing is a Joke from Henry Harrison on Vimeo.

Visiting The Vise! WD 40

   The Wd 40 is a great all around emerger pattern and can be tied in a few different colors, but Olive is the most common. The WD part of the name comes from the Wood Duck fibers used in the tail. Pretty basic and easy fly to tie.

Hook: Size 16-24

Thread: Denier Olive

Dubbing: Dark Olive Squirrel Dub

Tail and Wing Case: 3-6 pcs. of  Wood Duck feather






WD-40 Fly from Tightline Productions on Vimeo.

Visiting The Vise! Barrs Bouface Streamer

  I tied up 2 different sizes with 2 different style heads to throw around. Typically the dubbing behind the head is black, but I substituted for a little more flash. I used a Peacock Ice Dub. The streamer is made up of two of the more popular streamer materials used in fly tying, marabou and rabbit strips.

Hook: Size 4-12 Streamer hooks 3-6x long

Lead: .025 about 10-12 wraps behind the bead

Bead: Gold, Nickel, Or Black bead or cone

Tail and Body: Rabbit Strip and Marabou Black

Thorax: Peacock Ice dub or Black Dubbing

Flash: 2-4 Pcs. Of Silver Flashabou

Thread: Black 3/0

Cold Blue Nights

  I originally saw this short film by The Fly Collective a week or two ago on the Fiberglass Manifesto .  With my up coming trip next week to Colorado, the night fishing on the Blue River in Silverthorne  was put on the to do list while out there. Check this out!



Cold Blue Nights from The Fly Collective on Vimeo.

Smurf Midge

Hook: Size 16-22

Thread: Black 6/0

Wire: Blue Small

Wing: Rainbow Flash

Dubbing: Mix of Peacock Ice Dub and Black Squirrel Dubbing

Bead: Glass Irr. Crystal

Salmon Confidential

  I saw this originally posted over at Trouterspace , and was defiantly moved by this film. I think anyone that has the slightest respect for fish, nature, or just the well being of some things natural, then you should sit down and watch this. It is defiantly worth the hour sit to see what is going on in the Pacific Northwest. A vast majority of anglers, mostly fly fisherman always dream of heading up this way to hit one of the spectacular fish runs. Unfortunately those fish runs could end in B.C. if something isn't done to stop the spread of disease among some species of fish due to fish farms set-up in the natural run rivers.


Salmon Confidential from Twyla Roscovich on Vimeo.

Blue Poison Tung Midge

Hook: Size 16-22 2x short 2-3x wide gap

Thread: Grey or Blue Dun

Wire: Blue Small

Dubbing: Blue Dun Ice Dub

Bead: Nickel Tungsten

Friday Fish Porn

  This weeks theme is Walleye's. Here's to hoping for spring!

2 Rod Builds Complete

  As of yesterday the 2nd of the 2 rods I built, are complete. The old yellow rod finished drying last night and looks new again. Needless to say I am extremely anxious to head to the stream to try these two out. If all goes well I will be hitting up the driftless area this weekend. Here are a few photos of the completed rods.

Visiting The Vise! Mysis Shrimp

  After doing some research on a stream I plan to fish in Colorado, I came across the Mysis Shrimp pattern. This particular river is loaded with these small freshwater shrimp and the trout just love to eat them. There are many different patterns for this fly so I kind of combined a few of them for the fly I actually tied. I can't wait to get this one wet and hopefully hook into a tank of a trout.

Materials List:

Hook: Size 16 2x short 3x Wide Gap

Thread: 3/0 White

Tail, Backing, Head: White Bucktail

Body: 2-3 Ostrich Plumes White

Eyes: Black Sharpie Marker

Rod Building Progress Continued

  The past week or so I have been posting some photos of my rod building that I have been doing. The 4pcs. 4wt. 9' rod is almost complete. It is currently in the rod dryer with the 2nd coat of thread finish on it. The full dry time is 24 hours. In the mean time I have managed to get the old glass rod rewrapped and a coat of finish on it. What a difference it has made. The rod used to look old and beat up and now it looks as new as can be, but still has hints of being vintage.

The improved Glass rod. New  cork grip, new titanium guides(grayish in color for an older look), and new red thread.
I left the reel seat and old ferrules on to keep a little more vintage look to the rod. 

The old glass rod before being stripped down. Notice the electric tape handle, and the brittle  thread wraps.

  Here is a shot of the new 4pcs. 4 wt. in the rod dryer. I wrapped all the guides with a metallic blue tread, so it really pops of the black slate finished blank.

Visiting The Vise! Brassie

  The Brassie is a popular fly but does come in many variations. The typical brassie you see has a copper wrap, peacock herl, and a brass bead. In this particular fly that I tied I used a black bead instead of the traditional copper, which defiantly complemented the peacock herl.

Materials List:

Hook: Size 12- 22 2x short 2-3x wide gap (size 18 shown)

Thread: 3/0 Black

Body: Small copper wire

Dubbing: Peacock Herl

Bead: Tungsten Black

Rod Build Progress

  As stated in my post from earlier in the week, I am venturing into the hobby of building rods. The past week has been late nights getting my first rod going. This 4 pcs. 4 wt. 9 foot rood is going to be a gem to me because its my first build. I wanted to keep it simple so I just did a straight metallic blue wrap for all the guides, hook keeper, and furrle ends. It is defiantly coming together and I should have it finished sometime this week. Here are a few pics I snapped of the rod after being wrapped.

Visiting The Vise! Mercury Midge

  Another killer looking midge pattern I tied up. It varies a little different than your typical zebra midge, and adds a little more flash to your fly.

Materials List:

Hook: Size 16-24  2x short 2-3x wide gap

Thread: 3/0 red or black

Bead: Small or Midge size Glass Crystal

Wire: Small Silver

Dubbing: Fine to match dubbing. Pictured is a fine squirrel dubbing in Rusty Brown Color


This video on The Mercury Midge is Brought to you by The Catch And The Hatch.







Fly Patterns - Mercury Midge from The Catch and The Hatch on Vimeo.

Friday Fish Porn

  In honor of the early trout season opening up this past weekend, I thought the theme this week should be small stream trout. Enjoy!

Christmas In March???? Rod Building???

  Well yesterday felt like Christmas to me. I finally got all the things I wanted and then some it seemed. As I mentioned back in my first post, I am going to start to do somethings that I have never  done in the past. The one thing I had mentioned was rod building. Rod building is a unique hobby of it's own. After countless how-to videos and reading on the subject, I decided  to pull the trigger and jump into it. Yesterday my package of rod building goodies arrived along with another package from Cabelas containing my new wader and wading boots.

  After sorting through all the goodies I started to get organized. I purchased a 4pcs. 4wt. 9 foot rod to build out first. I also have a vintage glass fly rod that I am stripping down to rebuild, and another 4wt. rod that needed a repair. Like I said before I am jumping right in to get my feet wet. After getting everything set-up last night I started the preparations to start the new 4wt. I got the reel seat prepped for installation, and the cork grip reamed out and prepped for installation. Mixed some epoxy paste, and started installing.

Here is the grip and reel seat installed and drying in my rod wrapper. Looking pretty sweet!

  Next thing I did was snapped a few pics of the old glass rod I am going to rebuild for some before and after pics when I complete it. The rod was in pretty sad shape and was that bad when a friend of mine gave it to me. The cork grip split into three pieces constantly rotating on the rod so I improvised some electrical tape to hold it together and stop the rotating while it was being used. Some of the threads started to unwind themselves as well. This rod is an old eagle claw or south bend rod. I haven't been able to figure out the date of manufacture, but the old gentleman I received the rod from thought it was from the late 60's or early seventies possibly. Either way it is going to be a cool piece of glass when it is complete. Here are a few of the before pictures.

  As you can see this rod is in pretty sad shape. The guides are worn, there is barely any thread finish left on the threads, and the cork grip is obviously shot. I am keeping the original reel seat, but replacing the grip and guides. I am going to put on titanium guides so it keeps the older gray look of the the guides, and replacing the cork grip with a new reversed half wells cork grip. 

  After stripping down the rod last night I was able to get the grip reamed and mounted, and the rod pretty clean. Here is a shot of the new grip mounted and the guides stripped off the rod.

  It is already looking a ton better than before. I can't wait to see what it will look like when it is done.

Visiting The Vise! Pat's Rubber Leg Stonefly

    As I am sure you can see a trend forming here this week, I have been busy at the vise filling my boxes for my much anticipated trip to Colorado at the end of the month. This stonefly pattern is supposed to be the bee's knees for early spring fishing on some of the waters I will be venturing out on. There are a few different colors that this can be tied in, but the best part is that it is a heavy fly due to all the lead wire you wrap on it. Due to the weight this should get your fly down on the bottom of those deep holes where the big hungry trout await food.

Materials List:

Hook: size 6-12 2-3x long 2x heavy

Thread: 3/0 Black or Brown

Lead wire: .20 or .15

Body: Variegated Chennile in black,coffee,red,yellow,orange, olive

Legs: Rubber spanflex Brown

This Video on Pat's Rubber Legs is brought to you by The Catch and The Hatch