Haystack Dry Fly

Its been awhile since I last posted.  I will try to do better.  Here is a quick video of me tying Fran Betters Haystack.  If you have ever seen any of my fly boxes you already know I always have a couple tied up in different sizes and colors.  It's a fast tie doesn't call for any expensive hackle and can be tied to match nearly any bug.

Tying an Ausable Bomber

This is my first attempt at a fly tying film.  I decided to start out with a quick, easy and effective Adirondack dry fly pattern the Ausable bomber.  

Adirondack Brook Trout

Living so close to the famous West Branch of the Ausable River it is sometimes easy to loose track of the other fishing within a 15 minute drive of Wilmington.  Of course I fish the ponds at ice out and when the river is to high to fish.  But how about all of those small streams stretching down the mountains?  The truth is many of them offer the opportunity to catch the only true Adirondack trout the Brook trout.  Brook trout aren't known as a hard fish to fool almost any bunch of feathers tied to a hook will do the trick.  I remember my first time fishing for Brook trout in the High Peaks near Keene Valley hopping from boulder to boulder up the steep stream watching as the small pods of trout eagerly chased my bucktail streamer.  Only one or two casts in each pocket then the fish would disappear signaling the time to try the next pocket.  I don't remember catching a fish over 8 inches that day but it's impossible to forget the feeling of those fish tugging my line and how soft their skin felt in my hand compared to any other fish I had ever caught. Since that day I have had fewer great days of brook trout fishing then great days fishing for browns but every time I go hunting for brookies I get closer to the real reason I fly fish. 

Happy hunting!!

The Ausable Bomber has every characteristic of a great Brook trout dry fly unsinkable, buggy looking, durable and most importantly easy to tie!

thread: Hot orange

hook: 2x long dry fly

tail: Woodchuck 

body: Australian opossum dyed rusty orange

hackle: Brown and grizzly over entire body

wing: calf tail

Getting Ready

Despite the cold winter-like weather, most Adirondack fly fishermen are gearing up for trout season. Organizing fly boxes, checking line, patching waders, purchasing new gear, the list goes on and on. I have tied a full stock of flies for my personal use, as well as a couple hundred for Tom Conway at the Ausable River Two Fly Shop in Wilmington. I will be dropping them off at his shop around April 1st. If you are in the Wilmington area, be sure to stop in the shop. The season starts off slowly in the north country; it's not easy to find productive fishing unless you are very familiar with some of the early spring "honey holes."

Over the winter I managed to finish a few new rods for my guide service. The first one is a 4 piece 81/2 foot 4 wt. I used a Batson Rx 7+ blank; it's my favorite Batson product, but for some terrible reason they do not make the blank anymore. I used TiCr single foot guides, a reverse half wells cork grip and a lightweight uplocking reel seat with cork insert. The rod balances perfectly with a Hardy LRH fly reel, loaded with WF 4 wt line. I have only cast the rod in my yard. It feels very light in hand with med fast action and enough power to punch out a ton of line. I created a feather inlay using grizzly saddle hackle; I really like how it turned out. It looks like fish scales or snake skin. It is hard for me to look at the inlay without imagining the many dry flies I could have tied using the feathers.

I also got my hands on two fiberglass 7 foot 3wt blanks from Great Bay Rod Company. By the way, I really like this company; everything they sell is manufactured in the USA and the costumer service was very friendly and quick. I bought the Northeast series blank. It is a 4 piece blank with spigot ferules. They use S-Glass to roll the blank; it's faster and lighter then E-Glass. Great Bay sells a whole line of finished fiberglass rods designed for small stream fishing. I used TiCr single foot guides, TiCr tip top, Silk wrapping thread, a 6 inch cigar shaped cork grip, and a REC down locking cap and ring reel seat. After spending some time casting this rod, I was very happy with its medium speed and buttery-smooth feel. I tried it using both 3wt WF line and 4wt WF line. The rod is a true 3wt. After trying a few reels, I have decided that the perfect reel is an old Pflueger Progress 1774. I love the reel; it's sturdy and utilitarian, plus I think it looks cool especially on glass.