About two years ago I started a Fly Of The Month (FOTM) program for Middle Tennessee Fly Fishers. The FOTM covers all type of trout and bass flies, covering larva, pupa, nymph, and adult stages of caddis flies, midges, stoneflies, mayflies, as well as streamers.
If you go to the website, you will see something like the following. The photo is downloadable if you wish to keep a copy for you own use at home. Not until recently, I have been including a PDF of the pattern and photo of the fly, also for available for download. Please check out the website if you get a chance. The FOTM is under “Fishing Forums”, then click “Fly Tying” and you will see “February 2008 – Fly Of The Month – KF Midge”.
As I continue to update the MTFF Fly Of The Month program, I will update Outdoorzy too. I hope that all of you find this fly as well at the upcoming flies useful for your fly fishing trips. At some point, I will try to update the website with the past flies from the program.
The Fly Of The Month for February 2008 is the KF Midge. The KF Midge is an effective pattern when fishing it alone during a midge hatch or as a dropper under a nymph. Please check out the MTFF website for a photo and the pattern for the fly as well as a downloadable PDF of the pattern with photo.
Online magazines are increasingly popping up on the web. I have frequented a few in the past, but some reason, they decided to change and become print magazines. Hopefully, this one will stay around for awhile. This Is Fly is the next online magazine that has a lot of potential for lasting many years. This Is Fly has fresh, new, young, rock and roll atmosphere to the magazine.
When you access the main page, the This Is Fly looks like a real magazine. You can turn the page by clicking the bottom right corner of the page and moving it across the screen, clicking on the page numbers, or the “Next” button. While you are looking through the magazine, you can activate the embedded mp3 player that contains a wide selection of music from rap (Beastie Boys), rock (Korn), reggae (Bob Marley), etc and the music changes every month with each new issue.
Within the pages of the magazine, there are interviews, stories, articles, and information on national and international destinations. If gear is your thing, then check out the “Goodz”. If you want to see a new and exciting online magazine, check out This Is Fly. I wish there were more online magazines like this one.
Fly fishing in general can be a challenge, whether you are catching fish or not. When you are fly fishing, you are constantly “Doing”. I am always thinking about my forward cast and if I have a tailing loop or my back cast, “Are there any trees behind me?” Should I mend now or present the fly on the “swing”? If I am fishing the “swing”, then I scan my surrounding for rising fish. I sure don’t want to miss a hatch of midges or caddis flies. The typical fly fishing season for most fly fishers in my area is from April until September; basically spring to fall.
And after the season is over, many fly fishers retreat to fly tying tables and start tying for the next season. However, for some of the brave, the fishing season doesn’t end. The winter fishing season poses a few new set of obstacles and conditions. There is increase wind, which can destroy a cast in a split second, snow, ice, etc; do I really need to go on about winter conditions?
Then there are the flies. My advice is GO BIG; big flies mean more protein. Think of it as this, a trout is not going to go after a slider when it can have a Double Whopper with cheese. In the winter, I typically fish flies from size 6 to 12 (except midges); of course, it depends on the weather and where I am fishing.
The most important aspect of winter fishing is clothing. Layering is an important topic worth discussing at a later date. But generally, if I am headed out for an afternoon, I will wear a medium cushion sock, a base layer (upper and lower), fleece wader pants (lower), and nylon pants and a fishing shirt as an outer shell, and possibly a fleece jacket or vest. Of course, I am wearing waders while I am fishing.
With all of that said, if you try to little bit of winter angling, just remember to stay warm, have an open mind about the fishing, and try some new flies or tactics you normally wouldn’t try.
I carry a wide range of flies for fishing my local waters and most of my flies have resulted from finding patterns from books and online that I think look good or maybe a twist of my own creation. They work well on my local waters as well as some of the distant places I fish too. But I have never collected aquatic bugs from my local waters to tie imitations of the bugs found in my home waters.
A few weekends ago, I attended a fly tying class at Fly South in Nashville, TN. The class, Caney Fork Essentials, involves tying flies designed by local fly fisherman (Guides / Former Guides) for the Caney Fork River, my local home waters. For the cost of $35.00, the student learns to tie eleven patterns ranging from a mayfly, to several caddis and midge flies, as well as a few others. My two favorite patterns from fly shop owner and guide Jim Mauries are JT’s Sowbug and JT’s Bead-Head Caddis Emerger.
The tying class begins at 9:00 AM and finishes any where between 3:30 / 4:00 PM with an hour lunch break. The class provides all tying materials and tools, but if you have your own, I recommend taking them since you should familiar and comfortable with your own tools. If you do take your own tools, take your vise, a couple of bobbins spooled with black, tan and olive thread, scissors, hackle pliers, dubbing brush, bodkin, and whip finisher. Also included with the cost of the class is a nice paper handbook with all of the patterns, a brief description, and space to take notes as you tie the fly.
The class is limited to six to seven participants. I was lucky enough to have only one other classmate, so the interaction between the teacher & student was great, which was nice when I had a couple of problems with the patterns. The Caney Fork Essentials tying class is an intermediate tying class. The participant should already know how to put a hook into the vise, attach thread, etc. If you are interested in learning to tie flies, start out with a beginning fly tying class.
Fly South is also offering other fly tying classes including, Fly Tying 101, Smoky Mountain Classics, Tennessee Tail Water Flies, Saltwater – Bonefish/Tarpon/Permit, Saltwater – Jacks/Redfish/Trout, Saltwater – Striper/Blues/Albies, Flies for Freshwater Stripers/Hybrid, Tennessee Smallmouth Flies, Carp Flies, Bass Flies Top to Bottom, and Tennessee Trout and Terrestrials. The cost of the other classes range between $35.00 and $85.00. If anyone is interested in learning some new and interesting patterns for the Caney Fork River, I highly recommend taking the Caney Fork Essentials fly tying class.
The Orvis brand of reels has been a choice of mine for several years. I started out with a Battenkill reel, then I upgraded to the Battenkill Bar Stock reel, and then to the Battenkill Mid Arbor reel. Still own all of these reels, but I mostly use the Mid Arbor reel. I have used these reels for both fresh and salt water fly fishing.
The Orvis Battenkill Mid Arbor reel is anodized and machined from 6091 bar stock aluminum making it durable and lightweight. Since the reel is a mid arbor, it picks up the line faster than a standard small arbor reel. This is especially important when a fish runs towards you, rather than down stream. A mid arbor can have an impact on line coil. Fly lines on small arbor reels coil up when pulled off the reel due to being tight on the reel for given period of times. That is why before every fly fishing trip, an angler should stretch out the fly line before any use. This should remove the coils.
The spool is easy to take off and put back onto the reel. There is a small lever in the middle of the reel spool to remove the spool from the body. I would recommend carrying an extra spool with a sinking or sink tip line for fishing streamers and big nymphs when you want to get the fly down deep into the water. The drag adjustment knob is large and easy to adjust at anytime.
The reel is priced between $119.00 and $129.00. It is medium price freshwater reel when compared to a large and small arbor reels from Orvis. If you are considering about getting into fly fishing and are looking to buy your first outfit, consider this reel.
Game Fair Ltd is the last of the three fly shops in town. They specialized in fly fishing and wing shooting. If you are the market for a fine shotgun, rifle, or fly rod, this is the place for you. Game Fair Ltd is the local Orvis and Filson endorsed store in town and carries a wide range of Orvis and Filson gear from shirts, vests, fleece, luggage, and the list could go on for a mile. Game Fair Ltd also offers beginner fly tying and beginner fly fishing classes.
Game Fair Ltd is located at 5703 Old Harding Road, Nashville, TN. Their phone number is (615) 353-0602. Ask for Steve or Jeff, both of these guys area great and knowledgeable about the sport. Steve and Jeff are both fly fishing guides on the local waters here in middle Tennessee.
Steve and Jeff are also members of Middle Tennessee Fly Fishers and I have personally fished with both of these guys on separate occasions. On one of my first trips to the mountains with the club, Steve pulled me aside for a day to show me his technique of “Rambo Commando” fishing and how to be sneaky on the easily spooky trout of mountains. I learned a lot about fishing that day that I still use today.
Fly South is the place I usually end up at on a Saturday morning if conditions aren’t great for fishing or I just don’t have time for quick trip to the Caney Fork River. But then again, a quick trip to the Caney is about five or six hour fishing excursion.
Fly South is another one of the fly shops in town and has a wide variety of fly fishing and fly tying materials. Fly fishing is Fly South’s only sport and they all excel at it. Fly South carries Sage, Scott, G. Loomis, St. Croix, Abel, Lamson, Tibor, Ross, Hardy, and Bauer. As a fly tier, I am a huge fan of their fly tying room with all of the feathers, fur, hair, hooks, and hackles. If I am on the search for a material for a new pattern, they usually have it, and if the don’t they are quick with a response on another material that might substitute. They also have a wide variety of books and movies on fly fishing.
Fly South offers classes from entomology and knot tying to fly tying for bass, trout and salt water species of fish. They also offer a weekend fly fishing school and a ladies only fly fishing class.
Fly South is located at 1514 Demonbreun Street, Nashville, TN. Their phone number is (615) 251-6199. Jim Mauries (Owner), Steve Nix, or Jim Monroe can answer almost any question you have about fly fishing and the local waters. Jim Mauries and Steve Nix are the shops in-house guides, so if you are interested in a guided trip on one of Tennessee’s best tailwater trout fisheries, give them a call.
With every outdoor sport, there are outdoor retailers, and I bet you have your favorite. Even though you have been there a thousand times to look at gear, clothing, or other odds and ends, you probably will end up there when the river is blown out with excess rain, or on just a plain lazy slow weekend. I too have my favorite outdoor store or in my case fly shop. Nashville has three fly shops and on some days, I make it to all three to hang out and talk “shop”. Since there are three fly shops, consider this part 1 of a 3 post series.
Cumberland Transit is a variety outdoor retailer, they carry fly fishing, camping, backpacking, rock climbing, canoeing, kayaking, and mountain biking / road biking gear. As for fly fishing gear, Cumberland Transit carries Orvis, Temple Fork Outfitters, Winston, Cortland, Bauer, Hardy, Titon, Tioga, Fishpond, and Korker. Cumberland Transit has a wide variety of fly tying materials, tools, and vises to tie your favorite midge, nymph, streamer, bass, or saltwater pattern.
They are located at 2807 West End Avenue, Nashville, TN. Their phone number is (615) 321-4069. Ask for the fly shop and you will end up talking with Ronnie, Leo, or Don. All the guys are knowledgeable about fly fishing and can answer any questions about fishing the local waters. Ronnie is CT’s in-house fly fishing guide, so if you are interested in a guided trip on one of Tennessee’s best tailwater trout fisheries, give him a call.
If you were to look around my “Man Cave”, you would notice along the walls a five tier book case with fly tying book and fly tying materials, fly tying table, a computer, TV and stereo, and the closet with all of the other miscellaneous gear for over night camping, backpacking, day hiking, kayaking, etc. I have noticed that my past or not so used gear and current gear is good for other sports or as I should say aspects of other sports.
For example, I have a Fishpond lumbar pack that holds two water bottles, several fly boxes, leaders, tippet, hemostats, and all kinds of fly fishing goodies. But as you look at the pack, it would be great for day hikes too. Again, it can hold a couple of water bottles, sandwiches, maps, compass/GPS unit, digital camera, or whatever small items you would want to take with you.
Within my pack, I also carry a headlamp. How is a headlamp going to help you fish? It doesn’t, but it is great to have when you are kayaking a river and your fishing spot is so great that you don’t want to leave the honey hole. Well, when the sun is setting and you are two miles from the take out point, I am willing to bet that you wish you had a headlamp to keep your hands free for paddling the kayak.
Yet again, here is another piece of equipment crossover; a kayak. I am not a white water kayaker, or touring kayaker, but I own one. I use my for fly fishing and have rigged it up to hold a fly rod fly rod in the front, or I can attach a milk crate in the back with fly rod holders, along with a soft sided cooler and gear/dry bag. I could go on all day with listing gear that crosses over into other sports.
The real question here that you should ask yourself is, “What gear do I own that could be used in other sports?” Who knows, you might find yourself floating on a river in a kayak fishing for a fat trout, backpacking to that quiet little spot in the Great Smoky Mountains, or biking along an old dirt road.
For years now, fly fisherman have been making “How To” & other technical type movies on casting, fly tying, fly fishing, trout streams, etc, and they are all usually pretty tame. The instructor/narrator is usually standing in field casting, sitting a tying table, or riding a long in a drift boat while a fishing guide floats them down a river. The basic point here is that there is a lot of comfort.
But what do you get when you have four young fly fishermen that have nothing better to do than fish? This is what they do. They form Angling Exploration Group (AEG) and travel to Patagonia (Argentina and Southern Chile) for five months; surviving off of beer and pasta, sleeping in dirt, and fishing their asses off. They filmed the entire adventure, added some music, and now have created FISH PORN!!
Trout Bum Diaries: Volume 1 Patagonia is pure fishing porn and has set the bar on what all outdoor movies should be like and is a must see for everyone; whether or not you are a fly fisherman, you will enjoy this movie for the story, scenery, mishaps, and BIG FISH!
