And They're Off

Okay not just yet……….

For weeks now Sharon and I have been getting ready for our Big Adventure and finally the day is near; tomorrow in fact we’ll be on the road. The house sale seems to be all but a done deal although nothing is final until it’s final..............but……… with any luck at all the last papers will be signed Friday morning and that as they say will be that. We however are cutting out early because of an important date.

First stop Tulsa, OK via an overnight stop in Salina, KS. Tulsa may seem a weird place for a first destination but not when you consider our purpose in stopping there is to be in attendance when Rush kicks off their R40tour.

I have been a big fan for most of those 40 years and since this is likely their last big tour we want to get in on it. It took a few years but I finally converted Sharon and many a road trip has been declared “all Rush all the time”. Not to worry we also have Sinatra and Beethoven road trips too just to keep us honest.

So far the list of reservations for our Big Adventure includes a few days on the White River near its confluence with the Buffalo. I hear there may be a few brown trout and smallmouth in the area.

From there we will mosey our way down to Panama City, FL stopping off in West Memphis, AR. I hear there may be some barbecue in that vicinity but it’s just a rumor.

For the last week we have been living in our new little house, affectionately known as Hippie-pod-R-mus, in Manitou Springs on the other side of town.

I had hoped to kick things off with a report of plucking a few small trout from Fountain Creek but that didn't happen. Between the run-off of heavy low elevation snow-pack and heavy rains that creek is completely unfishable.

I suppose I could fish the creek but with zero odds of catching anything and extremely high odds of drowning it’s not my idea of fun.

Better luck with future plans I say. This promises to be quite the journey over several states. There is bound to be some fishable water along the way somewhere.

Changes

Anyone over a certain age knows that life, if anything, is a series of changes. Just when you think you know what's going on things change. Such is life in the Wood house and at J Wood Fly Fishing. The past few years have presented one challenge and change after another as I have tried to build a brand and some type of presence in the fly fishing world. This while moving around chasing doctors to find one that could fix a failing knee implant. All the while trying to build something that has never been clear what it is. Are you confused yet? Well I am, or at least I was until clarity set in.

The knee is fixed so now where do we go from here both geographically and otherwise? That's always the real question whether you're trying to change things up or just standing still.

The thing is, going through the changes that have come our way the last few years has brought a certain level of clarity. Some days at least it feels like clarity and others the edges are still a bit fuzzy, but not nearly as muddled as past vision. Then again things didn't seem so muddled until the epiphany struck. That's just how an epiphany works. It came like a car crash out of the blue and just when I thought everything was under control. Just like the incident when I pulled out in front of a large truck coming round a blind corner. There it was out of nowhere moving at 75 miles per hour and not a damned thing to be done to stop it. Wham! Shit hit the fan and when the dust settled the world was no longer the same. The difference between a car wreck and an epiphany is the epiphany just keeps coming, at least this one did. Ignoring it is not an option but following through isn't as easy as it might seem.

When I was younger the world was my oyster. All I had to do, all any of us has to do is just shuck it. The only hitch is the big picture gets in the way. You know that big picture don't you? The one we begin feeding on from the time We come of age. It gets hold of our conscience and starts telling us about stuff, possessions and money, the American Dream! As it turns out some of us just aren't cut out for that. Sure it worked out fine on TV for the Cleaver family but this isn't TV and few of us are Cleavers. So what's the solution? Rewind, regroup and restart.

You may be asking at this point, if you haven't dosed off. "What's the big epiphany?" The simple answer is this, the world is our oyster. That is the first part anyway. The second part is you can not start a new life while towing the old one along. It weighs you down and impedes growth. But here's the tricky part. How do we shed that old life and all the dead weight that comes with it? As it turns out it's easier said than done but not that hard if you just do it! Just do it! Just do it! Just do it! Just do it!

No that's not me stuttering it's the voice in my head and out loud saying it over and over as I/we shed our excess possessions; all those things we have accumulated over the years that have shaped our self image and perceptions of those around us as well as where we fit in. On close examination change is long overdue in a big way.

Big Adventure

To say I have been slacking at blogging of late is a real understatement. What I haven't been slacking at is getting ready for relocating away from Colorado Springs. The first question people ask when I say we're leaving is "Where are you headed?". The answer to that is a bit tricky, but the short version is we are not quite sure just yet. Somewhere in the Pacific Northwest is the front runner. Beyond that it's up in the air.

Here's where the conundrum comes into play. Kind of like the old Green Acres TV series Sharon and I have slightly different ideas of Nirvana. Left solely up to her we would live smack in the middle of downtown in some big city. Left solely up to me we would live as far away from said city as possible. We have always had a knack for working these things out in the past. I'll let you know how it works out.

But not so fast! A little traveling is in order first. So if we can ever get the house sale closed (it's not as easy as some would have you believe but I'll leave out that drama) we will be on our way. For years it has been a fantasy of ours to just bee-bop around the country with little specific agenda and see what we can see.

My goal along the way is to fish as many places as possible. Sharon's goal is to see as many sights as possible. From where I sit at the moment the two seem to be coming together nicely. We are both looking forward to many evenings by a fire outside The Hippie Pod sipping cool adult beverages. Now that's the life! Reservations have been made for the first leg of the trip in Arkansas, Panama City, Orlando and Key Largo all of which should provide us with fishing, sight-seeing and lots of evening beverage sipping.

We're pretty stoked about the whole Big Adventure.

Debutante

Whether you fish moving or still, cold or warm water the Debutante is one of the most effective and versatile flies you will find anywhere.

Soft hackle flies have been around and catching fish for a very long time because fish simply can’t resist the action of the hackle collar. The Debutante is no exception. 

HISTORY

The fly I now call the Debutante started out life as a completely different pattern. Desperate to find an easy to tie damselfly nymph pattern I began twisting marabou barbs on a hook. One thing led to another and I found myself fishing a super simple pattern (called Non Specific) that consisted of nothing more than marabou barbs positioned and wound on a hook to produce a tapered silhouette with a slender undulating tail. It fished (still does) really well for both trout and panfish but I seldom leave things alone when there’s tinkering to be done.

This is the time I should mention that over many years of tinkering with it marabou has proved to be one of the most reliable and versatile fly tying materials you can strap onto a hook. This has been proven many times over in widely varied situations when fishing flies of identical silhouettes tie with other dubbings. When observed underwater marabou catches light like no other material. The light refraction qualities of marabou falls somewhere between most natural fur dubbings and Antron fibers.

The next incarnation is what I now call the Twisted Damsel. This pattern has a double tail, one short and one long with bead chain eyes and a touch of flash in the tail. Again it is simple but deadly anywhere damselfly nymphs are present. I have been tempted to tinker with this fly many times but it’s so effective that tinkering seems a bit ridiculous. This is something that’s hard to learn in fly tying and design. When it works really well stop jacking around with it!

The next incarnation took me back to the Non Specific and the addition of a soft hackle. Next came a rib then a bit of weight tied with and without a tail. At the time I was fishing East Newton Lake outside of Cody, WY. East Newton is one of those places where, as a fishing writer fishes you either write about it or wish like hell no one else ever had. The trout are big and picky most of the year. At North Fork Anglers, the fly shop in downtown Cody it’s accepted knowledge that if a fly consistently catches trout at East Newton it will catch trout anywhere.  It took a long time to make the Debutant one of those flies.

The extremely clear water at East Newton made it easy to stalk trout in the shallows and judge their reaction to different stages of the development of many flies. It also turned out to be a great proving ground for trout running the weed bed edges and those keying in on mayflies as well as caddis throughout the year.

The recipe used for the Debutante has been revised so many times it takes up nearly 50 pages of notes. The combination of materials was determined by underwater observation and the reaction of trout when they see it. Almost universally a trout will react curiously when the fly moves into their field of vision. The speed and action that the fly is fished will determine whether the trout will take.

FISHING

The Debutante is definitely a great stillwater fly for trout, panfish, carp and the occasional bass. If you’ve spent your fishing life thinking large bass won’t feed on small insects it’s time to rethink that position. The only reason I don’t usually use the Debutante to target bass is that the small hook gape seldom allows you to land a large bass. Tying one over a size 10 is difficult except with the absolute largest marabou feathers. I have been able to tie some up to a size 6 but it’s rare and I hold onto those for special occasions.

The method of fishing varies greatly depending on what the fish might be keying on at the time. The Debutante is designed specifically NOT to imitate any one insect or insects in general. There have been times when a olive brown or pale olive version has been used to imitate small baitfish species with tremendous success. For these reasons the best I can say in general is to try and imitate the dominate food source at the time in size, color and action.

Darting the fly quickly around shallow weed edges is an excellent way to trigger a baitfish strike from a lurking trout or panfish.

Working the fly with short erratic strips near the surface is a good way to trigger strikes during a mayfly or caddis emergence. For particularly selective trout during caddisfly emergences the tail can be clipped of to give a better silhouette of the caddis pupa.

During periods of little to no hatch activity work the fly around underwater structure or weed beds with really slow, short, deliberate strips. This is the time to try using a larger point fly and a Debutante as a dropper. Many times even really big trout and panfish will take the smaller fly in favor of the larger point fly. My go to in this situation is usually a Super Dragon (another and later incarnation of the Not Much).

Venturing out onto rivers throughout Wyoming and Colorado the Debutante has proven to be highly effective used as a nymph or emerger. Dead drifted like a standard nymph the soft hackle, tail flash and peacock thorax adds to the fish attracting ability. Used with a down and across or Leisenring lift technique put the fly in front of emerger feeding fish for excellent results. Just match the size and color to the insect they are keyed on.

Where the Debutante really shines in moving water is inducing strikes from extremely selective trout. I first read about the technique in Challenge of the Trout. When a really finicky feeder is encountered that won’t take other imitations try this technique. Move to a position across and slightly downstream of the feeder. Measure your cast and “splat” the fly even with or just behind the eye of the trout 3-6 inches out from the trout’s eye. When executed properly the feeding trout will instinctively turn and strike the fly. The take is always fast and vicious with a very high hook up percentage. This is an experience every fly fisherman should enjoy. The takes are spectacular!

For all you tyers out there here are the recipe and tying instructions. Photos coming soon.

RECIPE

Hook-   S80-3906 3X heavy nymph

Thread-   Color to match thorax

Tail flash-   2 strands Krystal Flash

Tail/abdomen-   Marabou barbs

Thorax-   Peacock herl

Collar-   Partridge, grouse or hen pheasant soft hackle

TYING INSTRUCTIONS

1-      Start the tying thread 1/3 of the way back on the shank from the hook eye. Trim the tag end and move the thread to the middle of the shank.

2-      Catch in the Krystal Flash and cover the butts forward to the thread starting point.

3-      Catch in the ribbing wire and position it on the back side of the hook.

4-      Wind the thread back to just over the hook barb covering the ribbing wire and Krystal Flash while keeping the Krystal Flash on top of the hook shank. Cut the Krystal Flash leaving a tail equal to the hook shank length.

5-      Move the thread forward in one open wrap a distance equal to 4 thread widths and let it hang.

6-      Select a group (18-16 barbs) of long slender marabou barbs from a blood quill and strip them from the stem so that the tips are as even as possible.

7-      Measure tips to a length equal to the entire hook length less the eye. Transfer that length so that it is over the position where the thread is hanging. The barb tips will be positioned over, and slightly longer than the tail flash.

8-      Take one very snug thread wrap making sure the barbs are positioned exactly on top of the hook shank.

9-      Make 3 threads back to where the thread stopped when tying in the tail flash.

10-   Fold the butt ends of the marabou back over the tie in point and take two very tight thread wraps moving forward. This action locks the marabou barbs in place.

11-   Wind the thread forward to the original starting point and let it hang.

12-   Grasp the butt ends of the marabou in a rotary hackle plier. Twist the marabou barbs into a slender tapered rope.

13-   Wind the marabou forward to the starting point where the thread hangs and tie it off securely. Trim the excess butts.

14-   Tie in 2-3 strands of peacock herl and wind a thick thorax on the hook to 1 hook eye length behind the hook eye.

15-   Prepare and tie in a soft hackle feather by the tip. Do NOT cut the tip as you normally would on a soft hackle fly.

16-   Fold the tip back over the top of the thorax and secure it in place.

17-   Wrap the hackle, tie it off and trim the butt. Take several thread wraps over the hackle stem to train the hackle fibers backward creating a shroud around the fly.

18-   Whip-finish.

Welcome to the New J Wood Fly Fishing Website

For quite some time now J Wood Fly Fishing has been in a state of limbo. Circumstances of life have had things tied up as it were. Well those surly bonds have been broken. Say hello to the new website for J Wood Fly Fishing and the new blog.

I have worked on building the new site for many weeks now and consulted a few friends who have much more experience than I at getting these things done right. Hopefully this site makes sense and is easy enough to navigate. Though I have had consultation with professionals the website still retains my personality. It's not just about commerce but also about sharing fly fishing experience and experiences.

Though the site is live it is by no means as complete as it will be in the future. More flies will be added as time permits, a pair of new net models are in the works as well as a fly leader especially for short (6' 6" and under) fiberglass, bamboo and deep flexing graphite fly rods.

Fishing tips and ideas will be added some time in late spring. This is a project that has been in the works for a long while now and should be a great extension of the information and fishing information listed on the fly pages on the site.

Please stop by and have a look and share the site with your friends. A great amount of time and effort has gone into building this site. I hope you appreciate it as much as I have enjoyed building it.

Because this is such a big project for a guy who's focus is as scattered as bird shot at 100 yards there may be a bug or two. Please let me know if something shows up.

As for the blog, now that I have the website for commerce purposes I can get back to rambling about what we all enjoy. Fly fishing and everything that connects to it either loosely or directly. Since Dragonfly Angler Post is no longer I will be pulling some of those old posts over here for rehashing, rewriting and generally because they get a lot of views.

Welcome to 2015!

Twisted and Tied Leader Feedback

Recently I sent out a bunch of hand Twisted and Tied Fly Leaders for field testing. Though I haven't heard from many of the field testers yet a few have reported back. As I had hoped, and expected the feedback is very positive.

Mike Gillen at Fringe Element Fly Fishing posted his review in August 2013 about the leaders he tested. The name on the packaging is Dragonfly Angler but the leaders are the same. 

More recently this is what field testers have to say.

"I had the opportunity to try out a J Wood Fly Fishing leader several times last month. I was using the 8’ 4X leader with a nymph rig and small yarn indicator to stalk (and catch) some picky trout on the South Platte River in Colorado. I have tried thread furled leaders for nymphing in the past, but found that they didn’t sink fast enough to get my bugs down where I wanted them. I have also used many mono tapered leaders that, while convenient for rigging up quickly, were too stiff in the thicker sections and didn’t cast well. The J Wood Fly Fishing leader I used performed much better than both the thread furled leader and the tapered mono leader. Pros: Strength: I had no issues with breakage when snagged on the bottom or hooked into larger fish. Presentation: I was able to get my bugs quickly to the desired depth. Casting: The leader turned over like a dream, allowing soft delivery of my nymphing rig. Cons: The hand twisted butt section makes it difficult to quickly adjust/slide an indicator without compromising the structure of the line. But… This could also be considered a “Pro” since the indicator stayed put unless I really wanted it positioned higher or lower on my line. I look forward to using the 9 ½’ 6X J Wood Fly Fishing leader for casting dry flies in the warmer months ahead."
David Moore- Castle Rock, CO

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"Here is my opinion from 1 to 10. Conditions were 77degrees, wind 10-15mph. Layout out out of leader when laying down; 10. Casting into the wind 10-it sliced through the wind. I compared it to the Orvis leader I had on right before yours and it did not perform nearly as close. Durability; 10-no issues and held up with hitting all the debris in the water. Over all i like that you can use the braided section. Over and over I cast into the wind and it was like the wind wasn't blowing. I decided to use dry flies at some point and use floatant on the line and it worked perfect. when I was done, I wiped it off and it worked great. The braid visibility under water was minimal. In my experience, these are great leaders and I plan to use them again on my next trip. If you have any questions, let me know. Thanks for giving me the opportunity and I feel privileged to have done this testing."

Nick Haxhijaj- East Bernard, TX 

Nick also posted this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL27XhQZl-Y- of trout fishing the Guadalupe River in Texas.

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"I gotta say....the leaders you sent me. I absolutely LOVE them! I have fished them hard the times I have gone out and they work far better than the leaders I have been using. I plan to keep testing them."
Sam Stone- Marrietta, GA

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"Those leaders were great I'm still using them."
Dan Patch- Sebago, ME

An Unexpected Surprise, Mike Gillen Rod

On December 23 a pleasantly surprising package arrived at my doorstep. I knew my good friend Mike Gillen of Fringe Element Fly Fishing was sending something but I had no idea what it was until I saw the mailing tube. Earlier in the year I had crafted a landing net for Mike and this was his way of thanking me for the net and some long distance mentoring.

Over the past few years Mike has become a go to tester for many of my fly patterns and leaders. We are constantly swapping ideas related to just about everything fly fishing. At some point he started picking my brain on the subject of rod building. Mind you I am not exactly a guru at it but with  over 140 rods under my belt no novice either. It has been a pleasure sharing some of my now mostly unused knowledge with him. I can only have so many rods and in 2010 I started focusing on net building. So when the mailing tube arrived I was ecstatic to see what was inside.

Unknown to me Mike had for many weeks been picking my brains about specific components- reel seats, grip shapes and guides. All the while I thought I was helping him build a rod for himself and telling him these are just my preferences. When I pulled the rod from the cloth sleeve it was not a complete surprise to see a rod that perfectly fit all my specifications for a small stream fiberglass fly rod. From the finely shaped cigar grip to the nickel silver winding check and unlocking reel seat the rod meets my specs to a T.

Being a perpetual pain in the ass my first instinct was to go over the entire rod looking for blemishes. There are none! The placement of the guides, grip, reel seat and winding check is spot on. The windings are done in Antique Gold silk and finished with spar varnish. This makes for beautifully transparent wraps that allow you to see the precision ground guide feet. Everything I would expect from a seasoned rod builder. Here's the thing, the serial number on the rod is 002. Yes that's right this is the second rod Mike had built. Having all those rods under my belt it's easy for me to recognize the level of accomplishment he has achieved in a very short time. Ladies and gentlemen I believe we have another fine rod builder on our hands.

Being completely honest there was one thing that concerned me about the rod was the blank, but not too much. I've purchased some products from Angler's Roost in the last few years and mostly I've been happy with my purchases of fly tying materials, rod components, a pair of reels out of curiosity and a pair of lines but I have intentionally avoided the rod blanks Johnny sells. Call it a prejudice. Over the years I've tried not to lock myself into any one niche, it tends to limit possibilities. But for some reason I have always been weary of rod blanks made overseas opting to stay with U S makers. Like I said it's a prejudice, or at least it was.

Yesterday I was finally able to lawn test the rod. It is 7' long rated for 3/4 line. Back to the guide placement for a bit. Mike fitted the rod with one stripping guide and eight snakes plus the tip top, enough guides to accommodate the deep flex of the blank. I started with my normal testing line a weight forward Orvis Wonderline in 3 weight. I always use the WF Wonderline for consistent comparison. I was quickly pleased with how easily the rod handled the 3 weight. So pleased I didn't notice I had casted all the way into the backing until it slipped through my hand. Even with 90 feet of line and 8 feet of leader out the guides the rod still felt crisp and responsive. I stripped the line in and cast it back out paying more attention. At about 50 feet is where I started to really feel it flex just into the cork. Again I was able to lay the entire line, leader and 10 feet of backing out the tip top.

I switched spools on my Lamson Liquid loading up a 4 weight. For my taste this line is where the sweet spot lies with this rod. At around 30 feet I started to get a good feel of the flex in the cork but not enough that it felt too soft. At 50 feet the rod responded as well as it did at any time during casting. I had no problem whatsoever being completely in tune with what the rod needed to cast well. This is where the guide placement really started to mean something. Too often I've cast glass rods, mostly inexpensive vintage rods, that didn't have enough guides and the casting suffered from uneven travel through the guides, not so here. With the WF4F I was able to lay out the entire line but it was not quite as crisp, pretty or accurate as with the 3 weight. But really when do you need a 90 foot cast on a small stream.

Just for grins I strung up a 5 weight to see what happened. The short version is this. I was hitting a skillet size target very accurately at 35 feet. Beyond that there was too much flex to control accuracy.

My conclusion is this. For medium to large, not giant rivers I will be loading up a 3 weight line for distance and accuracy. As a 3 weight the rod has the push to very accurately fish up to 60 feet in the real world. For small but open streams a 4 weight line is the ticket. The rod also roll cast best, at least on the snow covered lawn with the WF4F. For small cramped streams I may even load up a 5 weight to see hoe it does in really cramped quarters.

Keep in mind that all this casting was done on a 200 foot wide lawn where I have established distance markers. The area is protected from winds even in the 25 mph range we had today. I use my hand twisted leaders and a small yarn "fly" so it is all very controlled. Only stream time will tell if the rod performs as I suspect it will while casting in the real world with swirling winds and back cast obstructions. And only being hooked into a live fish will tell how it behaves in the fish fighting capacity. My guess is it will do just fine. As soon as I get a chance to try it out I will let you know. Until then if you are wondering about these blanks or looking for a rod builder Mike Gillen and Angler's Roost are a good combination.