Tarpon Fly Pattern

In my fishing adventures I have had mild experience with Tarpon. These prehistoric beasts with a resemblance of the jurassic era, boast a skin made of armor and a mouth that would test of hardness of granite. There is a reason they call these fish Silver Kings. On a fishing trip to the Southern Keys of Florida, I had the opurtunity to catch a few Tarpon in their home waters. I wouldn't say that these fish are hard to hook. They do not require near the amount of searching as species such as bass. A good sized mullet with a large circle hook will test the will of any Tarpon's appetite. In my opinion it is the fight these fish pose that makes them the gamefish that they are. Their granite mouth, power, and ability to leap out of the water with stunning aerobatics tests the skill of any true angler. With all this in mind I wanted to come up with a fly pattern that incorporated two iconic traits of classic Tarpon Patterns as well as the durability to stand up to multiple fish. Chances are you will lose more Tarpon then you land and this poses a problem to any fly tier. My idea was to use the rabbit zonker strip tail of the Tarpon bunny with the thick and webby hackle collar of the Classic Tarpon Fly. I increased the durability of this fly and gave it a thicker collar by doubling the amount of hackle feathers on the collar and using them to form a dubbing brush. For those who are unfamiliar with the concept of a dubbing brush, let me explain how they work. Using a rotary vise with a secured hook, you are able to lay hackle feathers, dubbing materials, or furs between to pieces of heavier gauge wire. When the vise is rotated a few dozen times while holding the two pieces of wire the materials are twisted together within the wire to essentially form a wire reenforced dubbing loop that resembles a small pipe cleaner. This method, which was brought to America by fly fisherman from Czech Republic, allows you as tier to pack on more material when you need it most. Try it out and see if you can come up with some patterns that could benefit. You may even discover that this method is a replacement for chinnel.

Tying The Redfish Bug

This is a redfish fly that I have copied off a bass pattern. It is based on a deciever fly made of deer belly hair and saddle hackle feathers. The colors are based on those which I had success with in the Florida Pan Handle fishing for redfish and speckled trout. Let me know what you think.

Those Random Fishing Thoughts.....

Greetings From Mexico!!!,


           It is almost the middle of June and yet I am already feeling the withdrawals that come in the heat of summer when fisherman such as myself now have to accept the fact that the majestic creatures we strive to catch will go into hiding. Some may even die after years of growing and preparing to be stocked in a river that is unlikely to hold trout year-round. Currently I am on a vacation with my future wife. I wonderful nurse from the outer-banks of North Carolina. A woman who by luck happens to be from the salt-water fishing capital of North Carolina. Two days ago she became an official nurse but in my mind she was capable of healing long before that. What I have come to realize is that a true fisherman... and I mean true at heart... is someone who is at a life long battle with the impossible. A true fisherman will keep a line in the water as long as there is a fish to catch without thought of giving up. While one method may fail he is sure another will surely work. Fishing is a lifelong pursuit of a bigger and stronger fish. Some of us target trout, some of us target bass, and some of us target whatever is biting that day. What it always boils down to thought is nature and the will to survive. The understanding that we have to catch a bigger fish or another fish is in our very existence, from our ancestors who needed these fish to survive all the way to ourselves who just want to catch a fish big enough to prove that we can. What I have realized more then anything is that fishing has values, moral, and life lessons that should be past down from generation to generation. A fish is not just a creature, it is a life goal that must be pursued. It is the impossible and while we all are in search of different species, we must realize that to give up will only leave us to wonder what we could have accomplished.


Random Food for Thought and Tight Lines,
Mike

In Search of Reds On The Fly....

Hey Everyone,

Really quick before I begin I just want to thank everybody for the support. I really want to thank Phillis and Leita for your more then generous donation to the website. I promise I put the funds to good use and more fish will find a hook because of it! These past few weeks have been a journey. First off trout season in North Carolina is over... If you want I catch good trout you better take some days off from work and head to Tennessee STAT!! Sorry for the medical terms, my fiancé is a nurse. To be honest though the hot summers of North Carolina bring the withdraws of fly fishing. Trout slow down from the heat or die off in hatchery water and fly fishing for bass is tough unless you know of a holy untouched pond full of lunkers. Once you have experienced the sensation of tying a fly and landing a fish via your own creation, their isn't much that can fulfill that kind of need. Two weeks ago this time I was in Florida just south of Tallahassee fishing for red fish on spinning gear. My goal was to land a Red  Drum on the fly even if it wasn't a fly that I tied. I just wanted to know the feeling of catching a Bull Red on a 9 foot 8wt. When I got to the dock I was all but impressed with fly outfit and section of the worst clouser minnow flies I have ever seen. Don't get me wrong!!!! The guide I was with made an effort. He was able to put that boat right on the oyster bars. But with the line that I had and he rod which was a 24 year old sage limited my casting ability. It was all borrowed gear and I was ok with that. The suppliers for my families company had paid for the trip and a fly fishing guide with quality gear and excellent hand tied flies costs top dollar, more then most are willing to pay. After almost throwing my shoulder out trying to drop a fly in front of a bull red I switched to spinning gear and was able to land many smaller reds. We filled the boat with our limit of sea bass and speckled trout. It was also very interesting to see bull sharks, hammerheads, and manatees in their natural habitat. Something about the natural understanding of insects and the role the food chain that comes with fly fishing just causes me to appreciate how these animals survive. I returned to the Tar Heel State with a new goal in mind. I want to tie saltwater flies and land a Big Ol' Bull Red with my own intuition, understanding, and technique. In my life I have targeted a number of species such as largemouth, trout, and striped bass. I am a trout bum by heart and I know that veering off the path of a trout seeker is tough but I honestly believe that learning how to saltwater fly fish will make me a better river guide. So here is what I have done so far. First off I purchased a new vise. I wanted to start tying saltwater fly patterns. So I switched to a Nor Vise. For those who are not familiar with a Nor Vise please go to www.nor-vise.come and check it out. Basically the Nor Vise spins the hook so that the tier doesn't have to constantly wrap the thread like trout flies. I also went to orvis and made the hefty investment is some salt water fly materials. These materials are very hard to come by in the piedmont and mountain regions. I have tired a few dozen flies thus far on the vise and I can say that it does take quite longer to tie a saltwater pattern then it does a trout fly. I have been working on my technique in spinning deer hair and using z-Lon and I am getter better. Also I have been using clear cure, the UV epoxy quite a bit and I am very impressed with how easy it is to get a smooth fly head with no bubbles. Lastly I have to mention that my fiancé is from Morehead City, NC. For those of you who don't know, Morehead is ground zero for summer Marlin tournaments and is the southern capital for trophy redfish. The kicker to this story is that my future father is law just purchased a flat bottom hybrid from Carolina Skiff. I am one 9wt outfit away from my goal. A bull drum in excess of 35lbs is my goal for the year. Morehead is also know for beach fishing along the eddies for reds as well. I am really looking forward to this summer. Please let me know if you have any questions or tips. I will soon be posting pics of flies that I have been tying and once I get the hang of tying salt water patterns I really want to post a few more videos. I will be posting pics from the last trip soon. 

Thank You and Tight Lines,

Mike

New Fly Tying Videos

Hey Yall,
          So I figured out how to do something that i have been wanting to do for a long time and that is posting fly tying videos. Even before the launch of this site I wanted to start a youtube channel on fly tying, but in the wake of this blog I have now decided to incorporate fly tying videos in it. Before buying the new camera I had always had trouble getting the focus right in the shots because the shots needed to be zoomed in really close and the camera had to be very close to the vise. I figured it out though and now you, my loyal readers, can view my fly tying. Some of the patterns that I will be posting will be traditional patterns such as the Thunderhead and the olive stimulator, but alot will be patterns that I have created and fish very very often. Sometimes it is the new patterns that work the best because fish aren't used to seeing them. Give them a try or your money back.

Thanks and Enjoy the Videos!!!


As always... TIGHT LINES,

Mike

Hey Everybody!!

Mike here.... So this weekend was the opening of Turkey Season in NC so I went out with my cousin to film a turkey hunt. Next weekend I'll be back up on Badin Lake seeking out spawning large mouths. I have always heard the old legend that when the Dogwoods start blooming the Bass start spawning. I have lived by this since I first started bass fishing as a young boy and in NC I haven't found a better indicator. Yeah water temp is a better indicator but temps on the lake can fluctuate so much this time of year. A heavy rain can drop the temp heavily this time of year where the days are warm but rains off a cold front can be quite cold. Thats just my little bass fishing knowledge for the day.

Just a little treat for you guys, I wanted to post a video with the new camera I just got. I have been wanting to invest in a new camera for a while now and I finally dropped the cash for it. I can share a lot more fishing wisdom through videos and that is what I plan on doing. So for the first How-To video I want to share something that I am positive can make, break, change, or save a fishing or hunting trip. Just about every outdoorsman has been trying to cut something and had a dull knife that couldn't cut its way out of a wet paper bag. So this is what I did......This video is about how I sharpen my knives. I have tried many ways and many tools to get the best results for different blade types. I have tried Lansky and Smith kits with the guide rods that hold the stone at an angle. I have tried electric machines with carbide blades and I have tried the things you suction cup to your kitchen counter that you drag your knife across to the point where it should slice through a tomato. None of those items works as good as the machine I show you in video #2 or the diamond whetstones from DMT that I use in video #1. So check it out and tell me what you think.

Tight Lines Everybody,
Mike

NEW VIDEO!!!!

             Well it is the last week of the DH (Delayed Harvest). Fly Fisherman everywhere have honed their skills on the DH waters and are warmed up for any adventures to wild streams that may come this summer. For me I am going to spend a little more time on the Watauga River this summer. Might even venture up into the trophy sections out in Tennessee. I am also going to find some time this summer to do the cross country trip that I have been planning on doing for a while time. Hopefully I can put everything together in time to leave in the beginning of June. That should be the perfect time to fish for steelhead up in Ohio and then make it to Wyoming just after the snow melt. As for the fly fishing in NC you better hurry up and make your last run up to the river before its too hot. Also this month is the start of spring bass fever. Whip out your 7 weights and bass rods because the bass should start getting up on their beds in the shallows in a week or two.

            As for Wilson Creek this week, there was about as many fish as their were parking spots. I have seen crowded rivers and streams before but this was ridiculous. Now don't get me wrong, keep the sport alive by all means. I don't mind some competition on the river but I found it hard to get settled into a spot without somebody wading in ten feet beside you and begin flipping over egg flies and #6 stones with a bunch of split shot right next to your #20 dry fly. They wonder why they aren't catching as many fish...... But I don't mind a slightly crowded river. I enjoy the moment when you as a fisherman glance over at each other as you catch fish as to acknowledge that your kind of keeping score as to be in a tournament with a complete stranger.
            It was a good weekend though. Beautiful weather all day and on top of that there were a few good sized fish swimming around. Most of the trout action for me was again at the surface. Tiny green, yellow, and white dry flies where what caught the eye of most of the trout I caught. Their was a little bit of a sulpher hatch but they were small. I would say they were #18-22 sized. I was using yellow and green midge patterns that I tied over the course of last week. Also I was using my little red blood midge fly in a size #20. Midges turn bright red before they hatch and I created a midge pattern that imitates this perfectly by using a #20 grub hook with a black bead, midge sized red stretch tubing and a peacock herl collar. I'll post a picture of it in the process of being tied when I get a chance. If you want some advice on where to go on the river I would go as far up the river as possible. The areas that I found worth fishing where up past the bridge on Edgemont Rd after you make the left and Betsey's Ole Country Store. Go up past the bridge about 200 yards easy and start their working your way up. The harder the spot is to get to the better. That's my policy at least.

Anyway, check back soon for some fly fishing updates. I will be up on Badin Lake next weekend. If you see a guy with a black dog on a red bass-boat fishing on Badin stop by and say hey.

As Always.... TIGHT LINES

Mike