Boilies… That's Right, Boilies for Carp

Been meaning to post this for some time now.  If you can tie a hair rig then you'll need to pair it with a boilie.  Here's a tried and true recipe you can make at home.  Whip up a batch and hit the bank.

4 ounces of rice flour
3 ounces oat bran
1 ounce whey protien
1 egg
Food coloring to desired color

Directions.  Mix together.  Break off small pieces and form balls by rolling between hands.  Drop balls in boiling water for 4 minutes.  While boilies are, well… boiling, throughly sprinkle salt and cinnamon over a large tray.  After 4 minutes are up, scoop out the boilies with slotted spoon.  Place hot boilies on tray and roll around to pick up salt and cinnamon.  Sprinkle some more cinnamon on the boilies for good measure and let cool.  During this process the hot boilies will soak up the seasoning.  Once cooled, place boilies in a small tupperware and keep refrigerated until ready to fish.  These are perishable and moldy boilies won't catch… so take care of 'em.

The nice thing about making boilies is you can experiment with different ingredients and seasonings to see what works best.  Think of it as making your own craft beers… but with boilies. For carp.

      

Fall Means Lake Trout… Big Lake Trout.

Put 'em back… dammit.

Float Tube'n Trout

Sustainable Fly-Tying Materials

Well, I'm finally back on writing the PWA blog again.  It was an extremely busy year and I'll spare the details.  But, I still managed to get plenty of angling in.

A long time friend and fly-fishing mentor and I got to talking about sustainability of late.  Quickly, the topic turned to sustainability in the fly-fishing industry.  We've all seen it in apparel and other paraphernalia.  But, I asked, what about fly-tying materials?  I mean, if we're so careful about our image in the sport that we're using non-toxic shot, wearing recycled plastic T's from Patagonia, the latest waders designed to prohibit transport of exotics to other bodies of water, and support conservation groups like Trout Unlimited; then, what are we using at the tying bench to create our flies?  Like where does our food come from… so ask, where does our fly-tying materials come from, right?

I became very curious and promptly shot emails to Hareline, Wapsi, and a few others inquiring  about their material sourcing.  I received one response… almost immediately, it was from Hareline.

Here's my e-mail.

Hi:

I am an avid fly fisherman and fly tier of over 20 years; and, have worked in the fishing industry.  I use your products and enjoy them.  
As fly fishermen continue to advance their status as stewards and conservationists we are beginning to examine the products we use and buy for the sport.

Some anglers are starting to look for products that match these sets of ethics; and, imagine this will only continue to grow.  

Does Hairline have a sustainability program or green product certification for the feathers and fur they sell?

Best Regards,

Andy


Response from Hareline.

Hi Andrew,

All the fur and 99.9% of the feather products we sell are a byproduct of the food industry.  Marabou from our Thanksgiving Turkeys, Chicken feathers from the birds that end up at our supermarkets/restaurants and rabbit hair fromEurope that feeds their dietary rabbit consumption. All these materials would be buried or destroyed if we would not use it along with Mardi Gras and Brazilian Festival attendees.


We have put emphasis on developing more and more synthetic materials as you can see from our new products over the past 5-10 years.  I hope this will help you make a decision regarding the animal products we sell.  We have our own ethical beliefs which we meet and exceed all State, Federal and Global requirement to legally deal in these products.


If you have any further questions you are welcome to ask.


Greetings,
Marcos Vergara
Hareline Dubbin, Inc.

Grey Ghost

My rendition of the Grey Ghost… reckon this will be a fine streamer anywhere there is smelt.  I made a few artistic liberties to the original pattern; and, gave it more orange since anadromous fish here seem to like that color.

Grey Ghost
Hook:  Size 2 Mustad 79580
Thread:  6/0 Black
Tag:  Oval silver tinsel
Body:  Orange floss
Ribbing:  Oval silver tinsel
Underwing:  White bucktail, 6 strands peacock herl
Wing:  2 grizzly saddles, 2 white saddles
Shoulder:  Barred wood duck
                (original tie uses silver pheasant)
Eye:  Golden pheasant tippet, stripped down to size
         (original tie uses jungle cock eyes)
Gills:  Hot orange thread
Note:  This is a classic landlocked atlantic salmon fly in Northeastern US.  But, I could see surf casting it with a spey rod and shooting line on Lake Superior during the spring staging period.  Trolling it deep behind a float tube for trophy trout may have potential on inland lakes.


Here's a nice video on how to tie the original:

Thinking and Tying Brook Trout Streamers

From the archives… a 14" NE Minnesota brookie.

My biggest brook trout have always come on streamers.  Specifically olive and black woolly buggers. I'll admit, I never really gave "traditional" wets/streamers a chance for brookies.  I have just habitually tied on a size 8 woolly bugger, cast upstream and across, and stripped it back.  It works.  There really has been no reason to change it.

However, as I get older (it must be the calendar), I am beginning more and more to appreciate the traditions embedded in the sport of fly-fishing.  Sure, innovation has its place and needs to occur to advance the sport.  And, I'm all for that.  But, there is something pretty cool also about catching fish on flies that have been around for awhile and still work.

This recent bout of fly tying once again sources back to some spruce grouse I shot this past fall.  I am a fan of their feathers for fly tying, especially the hens.  And, am always thinking of patterns to tie with them.  Then, I remembered the good old fly the "Spruce".  What better material to use to tie a "Spruce" than Spruce Grouse feathers.  That's when thinking and tying brook trout streamers all started for me, with three variants of the "Spruce" tied as Size 10 wet flies.

The Spruce (naked; with spruce grouse soft-hackle)

Dark Spruce (furnace hackle wing - Spruce Grouse soft-hackle)

Dark Spruce (Red Squirrel hairwing - Spruce Grouse soft-hackle)

A time-honored classic… the Royal Coachman.

Royal Coachman (Kip tail hairwing - Spruce Grouse soft-hackle)

The Pass Lake…. this fly gets a lot of props here in Minnesota and Wisconsin.  

Pass Lake (Kip tail hairwing - Ruffed Grouse soft-hackle and tail)

Click here to view some waaay cool classic wet fly patterns.

Winter's Day Angling the Driftless