Saturday, March 01, 2014

Light and Airy

FOR LARGE MIGRANTS
A Bit Off Center
the neighbors are swinging
WALLPAPER:  THIN WING STREAMER
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.. Into to the hint of Spring march our neighbors and the soon to spawn fish Between The Lakes.
.. Late Winter, (so far,) has been gentle and moist. It seems that the bitter cold has left us for the moment. Our days are bright and snowy. Temperatures just cold enough to keep the snow on the ground and warm enough to stir the catching lust among those that fish.
.. Many fishers, around here, abandon the streams for skiing or sledding or other cold weather activities. Some, (more than you'd think,) keep at it and they catch the hungry fish of Winter. The fisher folk are now switching from midges and other bits of fluff to streamers of various sorts.
THESE WORK TOO
.. Right now there is a brief window of opportunity to beguile large migrating fish that are on their way to sexual revels in the shallows.
.. These fish move, nay - are driven to the spawning gravels and are angry, aggressive, and hungry. Soon they will be just aggressive and there's little sport in that.
.. These two wallpaper flies are working wonders as we write. Simple little darlings they are. They are tied on 6x long Limerick hooks and take advantage of the keel-like properties of that design. They are also very sparse and wispy. Fleeting targets that induce firm or even violent strikes, (some of which miss entirely.)
.. These are fished in the seam between the main current and the soft water along the shore. Drift a bit - then short smooth jerks, - etc.
.. There are no formal names for these two flies. There  could be 50 of them in existence. Maybe a few more or less. The names used here are the current reference names that the fishers in the neighborhood are using at the moment. The flies have become fairly standardized over the last few years but there's always room for innovation. The neighbors have been at it for about two weeks and will now allow us to share them with you.
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SIMPLE RECIPES
Thin Wing Streamer
Hook: 6xl Limerick, (or other of your choice,)
Thread: Whatchagot,
Tail: Wood Duck Sprig,
Body: Gold colored metal tinsel,
Rib: Twisted silver wire,
Wing: Single pair white or light gray,
Overwing: A few bits of peacock herl,
Hackle: Red calf tail hair.


Sparse Wing Streamer
Hook: 6xl Limerick, (or your choice,)
Thread: Whatchagot
Tail: Elk inner thigh hair,
Body: Rear = yellow wool,   Front = orange wool,
Rib: Gold colored metal tinsel,
Wing: Calf tail in sparse layers = yellow, orange, red, chartreuse,
Hackle: White calf tail,
Eye: Herter's flat celluloid spade base eye, (optional.)
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WALLPAPER: SPARSE WING STREAMER