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| Salmon Mountain ~ Sheila Cano |
Where I live & fish, June
is a month of striking juxtapositions & portent. A month of transitions.
While daytime temperatures may approach the high nineties, we still see snow on
the surrounding mountains. The fitful spritzes of early Spring low-water
hatches & ant falls give way to the high-water spate & bounteous
hatches of mid-June – Spotted Sedge, March Brown, PMD, Olive Stonefly, among
others.
The Sheila Cano collage covering
this month’s issue of SHJ is also an interesting juxtaposition that might be
interpreted as portentous, so I include it for your consideration. Interpret it
as you will. Sheila Cano is a friend & member of
a writer’s group I belong to, she is a visual artist, writer, art educator and
program staff member at Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby, BC. She attended Simon Fraser
University, and graduated
from Emily Carr College of Art (now ECUAD) in 1979. Sheila has done free-lance
media production and illustrations for government and non-profit organizations,
and her short story writing has been published by Cat Oars and Sage Press. Her
art work includes drawing, painting, photography and collage/mixed media. Sheila
is a back country camper who enjoys hiking, camping and fishing in beautiful BC. Her
work is available for sale & anybody interested in the original or a print
of Salmon Mountain, contact me at
columbiatrout@sbcglobal.net
Muff The Cast?
We are all guilty of having troubled the
water. We’ve all done this: Staying low, not letting our shadow touch the
water, careful not to rattle the stones underfoot, we slink into position for
the cast, let it go – and our fly falls two feet short of where we meant to put
it – bummer – so what do we do?
The trout are edgy. On
heavily fished water, having seen a fanciful assortment of imitation insects and,
probably a good many of them hook-stung, they are hyper-wary, their lateral
lines functioning as bare-wired bullshit meters so sensitive they can detect
even the most innocuous ghost of a presence, and that sure to put them down.
What we do in this
often-repeated situation could make the difference between a successful hook-up
and a dry run – and make a real difference in our overall success.
Guiding for river trout, the
most common mistake I see anglers make in this seemingly innocuous situation
is: without thinking, immediately pulling the line off the water and replacing
the cast. Maybe even replacing it several times until it seems right to the caster.
Here’s the problem with that:
The first time the line hit
the water, any fish in the vicinity were alerted. They may not have been
spooked enough to quit feeding, but a potential danger was noted. The line
being pulled (or ripped) from the water registers a second alert, this time possibly
causing a fish to pause in seeking food and maybe move away. The replaced cast,
a third disturbance, may blow the deal altogether. Too much funny stuff going
on and trout hunker down with mouths closed, or bolt.
Let’s go back to the initial
cast fallen two feet short of the desired target. Now, even though short of
where we want it, that fly may have fallen into a trout’s feeding lane. Just
because it didn’t fall where we chose, doesn’t mean there’s not a fish there.
Best thing I’ve found to do is: Inhale. Suck up the muffed cast and resist the
urge to pick up the line and replace it. Exhale. We fish out the cast until
line, leader and fly have drifted well out of the sweet zone.
And here’s something that’s
likely to happen: We hook a fish on what we thought was a muffed cast. Happens
all the time.
Fish live in constant danger
and are ever attuned to it. If an irritating disturbance isn’t too intrusive or
repetitive, they will momentarily get over it, and fishing the cast out gives
them time to do that. The second disturbance, the line being pulled from the
water, is eliminated, as the line and fly have been allowed to drift well away
from the fish’s window before lifted.
Here, we pause. Ours is a
natural-paced (slower than the operating speed of the average Californian) and
thoughtful game. Even though we muffed the first cast, that deep slot looks
good and odds are there’s a nice fish holding there. Have a drink of water,
maybe eat an apple. Now is a good time to observe for a moment, in no hurry to
replace the cast. Resting the spot between casts increases the chance of
getting a grab.
The above should be regarded
as a rule-of-thumb. In most circumstances it’s a good idea to fish out the
muffed cast. Of course the level of stealth a given piece of water requires
will vary according to environmental factors including: water clarity, depth,
surface turbulence and light conditions, among other factors that might
contribute to mask the presentation. Consider these and fish accordingly. But
remember, in any case: fish like a patient heron, not an over-caffeinated
flamingo.
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| Watercolor & Ink ~ Jan Cottrell |
American
Masters
Wanting to bring more fly
tiers into the mix at SHJ, I thought to begin an ‘American Masters’ series, starting
this month with some designs from a fine Colorado tyer, Eric Biggerstaff. Most of us who are students of the wingless
wetfly style are familiar with the Welsh, Scottish, & English Yorkshire
spiders & wetflies that are foundational to our tradition. The earliest
European fly fishers into the New England & Mid-Atlantic States were, for
the most part, from Britain,
& they brought the traditional flies with them to the New
World, where they found streams & insects not unlike those
they’d left, but many different, as well as different trout. With time, in the
creative crucible of the American wilderness, the earliest designs morphed in response
to American conditions, fish, insects, & also the application of native
tying materials, & new patterns arose, some of them entirely indigenous. Eventually, the British school grew a distinctly American
branch – this exemplified, I think, in the designs of James Leisenring &
Pete Hidy – continuing to grow in our time with quite a few talented, creative,
contemporary American designer/anglers like Eric, who graciously shares some of
his work & design insights with us.
Eric
Biggerstaff
“My personal journey into fly tying started
a few years ago when my wife and oldest son took up fly fishing. I had
purchased them an introductory class from our local fly shop and before long my
son was big into tying so he began to needle me about taking it up. I had done some
fly fishing in my younger days as a Boy Scout but had dropped it as I was more
interested in technical rock climbing and photography, it wasn’t until a few
years ago my love for the sport and the art of fly tying took hold.
I was immediately attracted to
fly tying as it is an artistic endeavor. For more than 30 years I have been a
serious large format fine art photographer and printer working mainly in the
West Coast landscape tradition of Ansel Adams. My involvement in photography
was an outgrowth of my love for the great American wildernesses, so when I was
reintroduced to fly fishing it became yet another way for me to experience
beautiful, wild places.
My introduction to soft
hackle tying really began in a class taught by Eric Way of Gunpowder Tackle here in Colorado. I spent a
weekend with Eric learning to tie traditional English spider and wet fly
patterns, and during the course I became enamored by the elegant beauty these
patterns possess. The fly dressings resonated with me for the same reason Japanese
photography and art do, the work is distilled down to the bare minimum in terms
of materials and composition which in turn creates a strong, visually elegant
work of art.
When I am working at my tying
desk, I try to bring lessons learned from photography into my fly tying. I am
mindful of the importance size, shape and color are too any fly pattern. Along
with those I play with composition, balance, proportion and contrast.
Composition is simply
deciding on the overall dressing; what size, shape, materials, color(s) and
design will be used and why. Which materials and how much of each will
determine the overall profile of the fly. I normally lay materials out on my
desk prior to starting a new pattern to give me an idea what the materials look
like together.
Balance and proportion are
concerned with the amount of material used and where on the hook that material
is placed (in photography balance relates to where the primary subject is
placed in the image and how it relates to background subjects while proportion
would be what is and is not included in the image). This again impacts the
profile of the fly and how it moves in the water.
Contrast is more about tonal
relationships, both in photography and fly tying. Think of artistic contrast as
the range of tones between the lightest and darkest. In black and white
photography, contrast is used by the artist to direct the viewer’s eye towards
those area’s most important in the image.
In fly tying I use contrast to help the fish see my fly against the confusing
and tangled background of the stream bed.
I like to play with tones,
darker (negative) materials are offset by lighter (positive) materials. One
tone plays off another. Colors of course change as the fly sinks into the
water, the deeper it sinks, the more the colors change. The color red moves
towards grey within a few feet of the surface while blue doesn’t begin to
change until around ten feet in depth, so using colors that change at different
rates can create contrast on the fly.
Another way to create
contrast is using materials with different textures next to each other. An
example would be to create a body using moose mane and a thorax using ice dub,
different textures set next to one another. Flash, wire and tinsel are all ways
to help increase the contrast, these along with the body and hackle materials
impact how quickly a fish may see and key in on a fly floating along in the
stream or lake.
Studies indicate contrast is
used by predatory fish to define a prey item. Scientist have learned most ocean
based fish only see in black and white (and shades of grey) while fresh water
fish see in colors thus a fish relies on contrast as much as color (or
movement) to help it determine what to check out as food. When I am playing
with a dressing I want to try out on my local water, I focus as much attention
to the contrast I build into the dressing as I do for the color and movement.
One of the great things about
tying soft hackle patterns is having freedom to be very creative. Most are not
imitative designs (perhaps the English spider dressings are closest), they tend
to fall in the impressionistic area of fly design. Because of this the tier is
free to use her/his imagination. My tying theory is simply based on lessons learned
in other disciplines that seem to help me when I am at the desk creating.
Hopefully, you may take an idea or two then apply them to your own efforts.
They are just tools in the tool box to be used as needed.”
Dressings:
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| Black Spider ~ Eric Biggerstaff |
Simple Black Spider
Hook:
Partridge K2BY (or any favorite hook for spiders) #12-#18
Thread:
Pearsall Black Silk
Body:
Black Silk
Rib:
UTC Gold Wire – Small
Hackle:
Black Francolin Flank
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| French Connection ~ Eric Biggerstaff |
French Connection
Hook: Daiichi 1760
#10-#14
Thread: UTC 70 Brown
Tail: French Partridge Cinnamon Colored Tail Feather
Rib #1: UTC Amber Wire - Small
Rib #2: Uni Copper Mylar Tinsel (This is set on top of the body with the wire counter wrapped)
Body: Fox Squirrel
Thread: UTC 70 Brown
Tail: French Partridge Cinnamon Colored Tail Feather
Rib #1: UTC Amber Wire - Small
Rib #2: Uni Copper Mylar Tinsel (This is set on top of the body with the wire counter wrapped)
Body: Fox Squirrel
First Hackle: Cinnamon Colored Feather from Under Tail
Second Hackle: Blue and
White Flank Feather
(if you cannot find a
French Partridge, Chukar is a substitute)
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| Root Beer Float ~ Eric Biggerstaff |
Root Beer Float
Hook: Partridge K2BY #12 - #16 (any grub style hook)
Thread: UTC 70 Rusty Brown
Body: Root Beer Crystal Flash
Hook: Partridge K2BY #12 - #16 (any grub style hook)
Thread: UTC 70 Rusty Brown
Body: Root Beer Crystal Flash
Rib:
Brown UTC Wire - Small
Hackle: English Red Grouse Neck
Hackle: English Red Grouse Neck
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| Blue & White ~ Eric Biggerstaff |
Blue and White
Hook: Partridge K2BY
#12-#16 (any grub style hook)
Thread: Pearsall's Brown Silk
Thread: Pearsall's Brown Silk
Body: Thread
Rib: Amber / Copper UTC
Wire - Small
Thorax: Peacock Herl
1st Hackle: Asian Kingfisher
2nd Hackle: Bob White Quail
Thorax: Peacock Herl
1st Hackle: Asian Kingfisher
2nd Hackle: Bob White Quail
The Reel News
Life after warming.
Questioning stereotypes.
Will going backwards improve our lives?
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| Bob Margulis speying a trout at the Columbia/Kootenay confluence. |
A Simple Dubbing Cruik
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| Woodcutter ~ hook: #4 - #8; thread: rust-brown UNI 8/0; tail: GPT; rib: gold or copper wire; body: olive hares mask mixed with a bit of Hareline UV Shrimp Pink Dub, & golden yellow antron as a color spot behind the hackle collar; palmer: brown saddle or shlappen; hackle collar: rust-brown or natural pheasant rump |
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| Carpenter Ant ~ hook: #8; body: black UNI 3/0 -- build to shape with the tying thread & cover with cement; hackle: black or dark brown hen |
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| Damselfly Nymph ~ hook: #8 - #12 TMC 200R; thread: olive UNI 8/0; tail: olive grizzly chickabou taken from the base of the hackle; rib: chartreuse wire; body: olive rabbit -- tie in a few strands of olive crystal flash at the thorax & fasten with the ribbing wire; hackle collar: olive grizzly hen; head: olive rabbit |
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| Pheasant Craw ~ hook: bass-worm style -- wrap the hook shank with lead or copper wire for weighting; thread: olive or brown UNI 6/0; claws: 2 clumps of rubber leg material; body: pheasant rump & body feathers -- wind as tight collars, one in front of the last until hook is covered -- start with longer rump hackle behind the claws & work to shorter hackle toward the hook eye to provide some taper -- mix in some blue flash |
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| Salmonfly Nymph ~ hook: #4 - #6 TMC 200R; thread: black UNI 6/0; tails: 2 dark brown turkey or goose biots; abdomen: large black D lace; thorax: black dubbing; rear hackle collar: black hen spade placed at the rear of the thorax; front collar: black hen spade |
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| Redband on Salmonfly Nymph |
Tailout
Special thanks & a tip ‘o
the glass to Sheila Cano, Eric Biggerstaff, Jan Cottrell & those of you who have
generously donated to keep this publication going. Ever at the fore of
effective marketing, we’ve elected to run SHJ in the way of an honor vegetable
stand. Whatever you drop into the can is immensely appreciated.
Also, a big ‘ol wet &
loving smooch on the lips to those who have written to comment that their game
has actually improved with the fly patterns & info garnered from SHJ. That
is our goal, & that makes this project most satisfying & worthwhile. ~Steve
