Friday, May 15, 2015

Remembering BB

   On the subject of authenticity, which he equates as ‘dead center’, John Gierach writes: ‘There are few things in this world that are truly dead center…’, & then goes on to list BB King as one of the precious agents abiding within that rare space.

With deep regards for BB King, an authentic artist who spent his entire life deeply engaged in his craft & the history of that craft, expanding the tradition, taking it further, while remaining ever true to the abiding core principles.  

Truly a king.

BB King

Hook: #12 Mustad 3366-BR (with the exception of a larger barb on the Mustad, this hook is, near as I can tell, identical in configuration to the Alec Jackson soft-hackle hook, at about 1/10th the cost)

Thread: black UNI 8/0

Body: bronze/black turkey (or crow) tail swords twisted with blue midge flash (I tie versions of this with copper or pearl flash too) – leave a tag of the tying thread to twist with the body materials – & dub over the thorax area with a bit of black rabbit

Hackle: natural bronze/black hen

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Fly Fishing Mommas

     Yup, girls like it too. And in celebration of Mother’s Day we give a nod in their direction.

Advise: best to give the girls attention every day, be nice to them, not just on Mother’s Day. You will live better. You will get more pies, for one thing.

The girl holding the trout is a killer. I know that to be true because I have lived with her for more than half my life. She is Norwegian (awesome baked goods) & would live on fish if I let her kill enough of them. (I have witnessed her blithely suck the eyeballs out of trout fried with the heads on. The Viking in her.)

Here is my all-time favorite fly fishing video, filmed on the home water, Jennifer Mitchell fishing the UC black quill hatch:

Remember, girls & boys, we are in this together & for always. Be kind to one another. Boogie chillen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4pp02_GN9A

Late edit: Quote from my wife after reading the above entry: "You do know how male-centric yer blog is, don't you?"