Real VS Ruff.

I've been having an online discussion the last few weeks with fellow guides, fly material manipulators and die hard fly anglers about patterns we all carry. We all have an overstock of tiny BWO patterns in our boxes due to a dismal appearance this past fall. Within those boxes are new patterns we long to use. The fly anglers Achilles heel are flies.

The amount of pattern recipes available for hatches out there right now is simply overwhelming. What's the intrepid hatch matcher to do? We split the difference. Having the picky eater patterns like Lawson's No Hackle and Mathew's Sparkle Duns are always at the ready. Though the more time we spend on the water the more we realize our (unintentional) ability to complicate things. Our first rule in breaking the code is to "turn around and take a forward step". Having the female egg laying, crippled, three legged dun with trailing shuck pattern may not be the fix all.

What works consistently is solid presentation skills combined with a reasonable match of what's happening. We've caught plenty of so called "smart" fish on simple soft hackles during hatches to bring that message home time and again. Kept the rod bent on some storied waters out west with The Usual pattern. Got some strange looks on a spring creek in California when fellow anglers inquired on our fly. A size 18 Royal Wulff was the last thing on their radar.

Stocking both realistic and impressionistic patterns in your boxes will cover the needs of most waters. Even the PHD trout on spring creeks. A couple of examples would be having both March Brown Sparkle Duns and Ausable Wullfs to cover the March Brown hatch. Quigley's Spider Midge and some Griffiths Gnat or small H&L Variants for midges. Slate Drake Compara Dun and a Purple Adams when Isonychias show.

The same goes for nymphs. Mercer's Hellgramite and a few brown rubber leg wooly buggers will cover those bad boys nicely. Craven's JuJu Baetis and the Pheasant Tail Nymph are money on any given bwo event.

Than again you could just emulate the Zen master/angler Sylvester Nemes and just fish soft hackles and not worry about this whole hatch matching thing.

Febuary Events.

Get out this month and attend some pretty cool available events here in Maine and beyond. Or you could just start making dents in the winter fermentation collection.

• For you bamboo geeks, the ninth annual SuperBoo conclave will take place on the 5th. in Fairfield. It's not just for old farts.

• On the 17th Maine's own Coastal Fly Angler owner Capt. Eric Wallace will be doing a tying class and talk on successful patterns and techniques at L.L.Bean.

• Eldredge Bros. fly shop in Cape Neddick hosts numerous tying classes and events throughout the winter.

• The Bear's Den will be hosting their 14th annual Fly Fishing Expo on 25th.

• Banff Mountain Film Festival will be in Maine at numerous locations.

• The Sebago Chapter of TU has tying club hosted by Greg Bostater a few times each month that's worth checking out.

Spring is coming. Eventually. Slowly. But it is coming.

Let's Do Lunch.

Lunch. One part of the day that deserves attention from both guide and client. Some go all out with elaborate riverside meals, others just barley squeak by. We take a fair amount of pride in balancing the lunch scene. Everything from tailgate style, riverside access sites, high water drift boat reserved seating and the folding table/chair shoreline affair. Take advantage of the break. Rehydrate, put your feet up and chill. Muy Importante.

Over the years we've served a varied menu. Anti pasta plates, grilled veggies and steak, burritos, chili, lobster rolls, hearty soups, pasta with smoked mussels, cheese burgers, steak salad, lemon chicken and mixed grill meats have all been served at one time or another. One constant is quality ingredients and variety. If you book with us for a week you will not eat the same meal twice. Neither will we.

We have always bought local for the majority of our stock and will continue to this year. Also making the commitment to organic/free range meat as much as possible.

This season will see some new additions to the menu. Grilled Buffalo wings? Fish tacos? Maybe spring rolls with wasabi? Who knows what we will bring to the table. I do know this though. I was told some secret guide advise from an "older than dirt" fly fishing guide once that has never been forgotten:
"How do you top off a shitty day of shitty fishing"?
"Serve a shitty lunch."

New Fly Box.

While cleaning out the gear room we started our yearly foray into the fly bunker. Fly box designs are in constant flux. Boxes for midge, dries, attractor dries, soft hackles, large nymphs, medium nymphs, tiny nymphs, small streamers, huge mammalian streamers, emergers, small streams and the never ending experimental patterns. Then there are the western hatch pattern boxes. The left over Alaska trip boxes. Oh yeah, we can't leave out the Atlantic salmon collection. The Maine salt water box is strangely MIA. The list goes on.

It's enough to make a guide throw in the towel. At this point I'm thinking of combining all the flies in a 50 caliber ammo can and calling it good. Cheap, waterproof, durable and enough volume for a seasons worth of patterns.

Plus room for a flask.

Getaway.

If you are starting to make plans for the 2012 season this winter, you might want to give the Maine Huts and Trails system some thought. Miles of trails designed for hiking, trail running, mountain biking and nordic skiing. Very comfortable lodging. Great meals. Shuttle services. Monthly programs and events.

By the way there is some pretty good fishing surrounding the huts also. These huts are well suited for the novice and experienced fisherman alike. We will be running another fly fishing school at the Grand Falls hut this season. We are also available throughout the season (April-November) for half and multi day trips.

Give them a shout this winter to learn more. Better yet jump on one of the trails for a day trip and enjoy some of the newly arrived snow.

Speaking of huts. We've had the pleasure of staying in quite a few backcountry shelters over the years. From alpine huts, rangers cabins, yurts, lean tos (N.E. ones being our least favorite), bunk houses and hunting/fishing camps. They all have been a unique lodging experience. If you've ever thought of building your own little get away hovel check out Cabin Porn for some inspiration.

Stay warm and stoke that wood stove some more.

Whitey.

The Round Whitefish (Prosopium cylindraceum)aka; whitey, rig wrecker, poor man's trout and dozens of other degrading nicknames is not on the bucket list of many anglers. We catch on average one to three per season here. Most Maine anglers misidentify them as fallfish or chubs.

The round whitefish is native to Maine. It's found on the Kennebec and St. John Rivers and numerous lakes throughout the state. The whitefish is just one more species that is being compromised by illegal species introductions.

We like whitey. He's rarely seen during the season and is subtle in his takes of micro nymphs. Besides he is part of the Salmonid family. Nice family as far as we are concerned.

Required Reading.

If there is one item we look forward to getting every winter it's the Blue Ribbon Flies catalog. Years ago while in West Yellowstone I walked into the Blue Ribbon shop after a not so successful session on the Fire Hole. A shop clerk listened to my tale of woe with great interest. After deciphering my report, he suggested a few patterns, approaches and techniques to up my odds.

A few days later I was back in the shop for more patterns and more importantly to thank the guy working the floor. That guy was Craig Matthews. The owner. You will rarely find a more humble, unassuming and knowledgeable fly fisherman. That experience left a lasting impression to this day.

Blue Ribbon's catalog reminds me of the old Chouinard climbing catalogs. They always had useful information, excellent images and gear that worked. BRF is no different . This year is possibly the best yet. A couple of stand outs are John Juracek's article on fly casting. This should be required reading for anyone picking up a fly rod. Yvon Chouinard's essay on Tenkara will get you thinking outside the box. Everything about sport Chouinard has ever written has always struck a chord with me. Now he goes on to open my eyes to a "new" simpler way to fish. Damn you Yvon!

For the fly tyer, you couldn't ask for a better selection of materials. If you dig soft hackles, look no further. Video tutorials available on their website will help get you through the winter and stocked for spring. Check out the soft hackle vid and get psyched for some upland hunting next season.

Most importantly take notice of what BRF does in terms of giving back. This shop is not feeding off the gut pile and walking away. It's doing the right thing and setting the bar pretty high in terms of environmental commitment. I know they have made us better stewards by example.

Start today by doing the green move. Instead of ordering a catalog from them, go directly to the site and view it there. There, you just did a green thing. Didn't even hurt.

Think Pink.

This Saturday at the Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel the Fish Tales and Cocktails event. All proceeds going to the Maine CFR organization. 5:00-7:00 P.M.

Ski some new snow during the day and attend the event that evening. Get your pink on!

Color.

It's the tenth of January and it looks the same as it did at the end of October. The banality of color needs to end. We can only take so much khaki, brown and gray before something bad happens. Snow in the forecast for Thursday from the weather gurus sounds promising.

In the mean time, I'll just stare at brookie photos.

Small Stream Kit.

Small streams are starting to freeze over a little bit more everyday here. If there is one type of trip we really enjoy it's the small stream excursion. Fishing in microcosm with a small array of tools keeps one's perspective at the task at hand. Simply fishing.

• Rod: Bamboo, fiberglass or graphite they all have their place here. Seven feet is our short limit on length and three is our lightest line weight. Our preference is just that. Ours.

• Reels: Simple, light and spring and pawl.

• Lines: Camo colored double tapered or weight forward. We prefer Rio's LT for this application.

• Leader: Hand tied. Try this formula. Throw in a couple of spools of 3 and 4X of PowerFlex to finish the kit.

• Tools: Abel Perfect Tool, Dr. Slick 4" scissor clamps, floatant and a medium Ketchun Release tool attached to a homemade lanyard.

• Flies and Fly Box: One C&F twelve compartment box. We recommend this selection of flies for the small stream game. Keep it simple.

This is carried in either an old Patagonia hip/chest pack. For longer trips we use an even older Patagonia pack/vest with the vest portion removed.

Going light leaves one unencumbered to cover more ground/water. Give those small streams some attention this season and reconnect back to where it all begins.

Fishy Friends.

Not much for resolutions. One thing I do miss throughout the season is fishing with friends. Once prime time hits it's impossible to get together with members of the posse. When it does happen it's always fun, relaxed and somewhat productive.

Secret techniques, flies, rigs and holding lies are revealed. Missed strikes and sets are followed by good natured ribbing. Beer and B.S. always on hand. The worst lunches ever served. Working together breaking the code. It's all good.

The Brotherhood Of The Lie. Making it happen in 2012.

Knot Head.

Tying knots as a guide becomes second nature after awhile. Coming from a background as a climber and a rigger, knots take on a whole different level of importance.With as many seasons under our belt, we still keep it a simple affair. Time and experience have taught us what works best for various conditions and applications.

• Backing To Reel: Arbor knot. If you think you are ever going to see this knot again either start running or pull the anchor.

• Backing To Line: Albright knot or a seven turn Nail knot. Both treated with either Aqua Seal or Loon Knot Sense. Smooth it out for a better transition at the tip.

• Line To Leader Butt: Six turn Nail knot or Blind Splice for floating lines. For small stream floating lines we use a Krazy Glue Splice. With sink tips we use braided factory loops backed up with two nail knots fore and aft. Same set up on custom T8 spey heads. Perfection Loop for loop to loop connections.
  

• Fly To Tippet: Clinch and Improved clinch knots for dries, wets and nymphs. Non Slip Loop Knot for streamers and soft hackles. Trilene knot when we need to drop down in tippet size for larger sized flies. Turle knot for salmon/steelhead hooks. A Riffle Hitch for floating waking patterns like mice.

• Tippet To Tippet: Five turn Blood knot. Easy, fast and bombproof. Clean and tapered when tied correctly.

Rigging well takes time and patience. Put as much into this overlooked skill as you would tying flies or casting and you'll be way ahead. Remember fast and proper is the mantra when the game changes.

The 2012 Season.

If you happen to read this blog often you have probably noticed the sparse posts lately. Yeah we could blame it on the hectic holidays if we wanted to. To be truthful the last few weeks have been a technological pain in the ass.

We recently upgraded to an Apple iMac. It hasn't been an easy transition loading email accounts, image libraries and documents from one machine to the Apple. Relearning everything has been struggle at times also. Yesterday marked the end of that journey. We hope.

Look for more posts on this blog with improved images in the near future. We now have two image editors to work with as apposed to one. The two images accompanying this post are just an example of what to expect.

With some trepidation we decided to join Facebook. The response has been good so far. Look for short posts, links and almost daily images on our page. Feel free to stop in and check it out.

One of our goals for 2012 is to provide more informative, useful posts for readers/clients/friends. Keeping it low key with a side of humor is paramount. Thanks for stopping by and think snow.