Fly Fishing Film Tour- Limited Edition event t-shirt from Bug Slinger

My buddy Rob McAbee http://bugslinger.com/ always amazes me with his creativity. A while back he told me he was thinking of designing a shirt just for our event in Stuart. My first thought was how cool can you make a shirt for a film festival? As you can see by the picture these shirts are awesome and better yet he is going to sell them for just $20. These shirts are 100% ring spun cotton and are very comfortable. They are a limited edition shirt with only 48 for sale, so get there early and get your shirt before they run out. The design was so good that we printed local posters for the event with his design. Just a reminder doors open at 6:00pm and the show starts at 7:00pm, ticket sales have been very strong so far so if you don't have your ticket get it now. The whole theatre is reserved seating. See you April 3rd at the Lyric Theatre

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my photography website http://pbase.com/stuartflyfishing

KISS "Keep it simple stupid"

KISS, I stole that phrase from my friend Mark Nichols he preaches that about his artificial lures, DOA, you may have heard of them. Anyway, the same thing applies to flies. Flies are designed for two things, catching fish and catching fisherman. The idea of this post came to mind as I was tying dock light flies for tonight's trip, as mentioned in the last post the lights have been my savior this week. The fly I have been using recently is a pattern that I stole from my friend Scott Cormier, he is the owner of the Southern Angler. Are you seeing a pattern here? Don't worry I only steal from friends and it is more of a trade off since I'm often the victim. Scott only ties a handful of flies a year, or at least that is our on going joke since he owns a fly shop. His newest creation is not much of a creation at all but man does it work. I know some of you guys reading this will say anything small on the lights will work and some nights that is true but I mean this critter has them crazy. Why? Because less is more in dock light flies. I think it is more about the material then the pattern. Synthetic materials are constantly evolving and the newest strategy by companies selling materials is to blend different materials so you do not have to. I love this concept. If I see a fly recipe and it starts, "take some of this, and a little of that, and mix it with this", I'm was not going to tie it! I have two kids and a very busy guide service, I need to tie a fly in minutes and there is nothing fast about blending materials. Problem solved, I can now tie killer flies fast with this preblended material. Here is my dock light fly, excuse me Scott's dock light fly. First, take a number 2 Gamakatsu glo-bug hook and put it in the vise. Take white thread or any color if you are lame enough to be out of white and high tie in a small clump of Steve Farrar's Flash blend natural. Follow that with another small clump of Steve Farrar's Flash Blend camo. Glue on the 3D eyes and epoxy it, done! I am obviously not revolutionizing the fly fishing world, but remember keep it simple stupid.

I think I should be sponsored by Corona?

As I was writing this post I got an email from one of the followers of this blog, RJ. It is so ironic how much his email related to this post. RJ had no problem with me sharing this email and after you read it you will see why, it is great stuff. Here is RJ's email:

Hey John,
I created this little fly that I thought you might be interested in checking out. I am not the best fly tyer, but since checking out your contest, I caught the bug, so to speak.

Anyway, like I said, it isn't that pretty, but it has other nice qualities. First, it is a true dry fly. I tied it on a really small hook. I think a #10. Then I tied some flash into the tail, and some hackle twisted around the hook to make legs. I then shaved off the top side of the hackle and covered it with this chartreuse foam. This was really helpful in seeing the fly floating in the water at night. I tied a few wraps around the green body, spaced out, to look like the joints in a shrimps back, and then tied in some mono eyes.

Well, it is a stupidly simple fly, but I thought what the heck. If I can get a snook to pop a dry fly, then fresh water trout fishing will officially have nothing over saltwater! I tied it in January, but waited until last night to test it out. It was the first "warmer" night in a while and the current was ripping with the almost full moon. I fished it exactly like a fresh water dry fly - no stripping, just drift in the current through the dock light.

I couldn't believe it, but it got nailed instantly! It was just like a trout rise - which in my mind is one of the best takes in all of fishing. His mouth nudged up to it and with a boil he sucked it in. The rod went heavy and it was game on! My first thought was how the heck will I land this saltwater beast with a #10 hook and a whole lot of structure. But with a little finesse and some nice boat handling by Jeremy Neff, we pulled it off. I snapped a picture of the 25 incher with the fly in its mouth and then got the signal from the camera "replace battery!" I have no idea yet whether the picture took. We landed about 4 or 5 more on this fly and then switched to a clouser after it got rocked by a beast, but the tiny hook didn't set.

Anyway, I thought you might be interested because you probably fish a lot of people from up north who are very proficient with a dry fly. They would probably get a huge kick out of this. Also, you get to fish a lot more than me, and might find a way to improve it or get one with a bigger hook to float. Its pretty easy to tie and fish, or if you want me to give you some I will, but then you have t let me take you fishing!

Keep up the good blogging!
RJ

Thanks for sharing RJ. It is guys like RJ that motivate me to write this blog, so please get involved and send me any ideas or comments you can. On a side note, I meet RJ last year when I was invited to fish in the Martin County Boys and Girls Club tournament. He volunteers a lot of his valuable time to the club and he should be commended for it. Thanks again RJ. I look forward to the next Boys and Girls Club tournament so I can defend my title as "top guide", just a little plug for myself.

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Cabin Fever Fly Tying Contest, entry number 4- DH Classy Clouser

Deer Hair Classy Clouser

Here is entry number four. It was tied by Rich Santos from Jacksonville, Florida. Rich has been a client and friend of mine for over 6 years, and is about as passionate about flyfishing as anyone I know. He is actively involved in the Jacksonville fly fishing club and is also a casting instructor. Rich's fly like all the other entries is well tied and creative. He put a twist on the Clouser minnow by spinning dear hair on the head, kind of a mix between a slider and a clouser. I know this fly is basically a redfish fly but like the others could probably catch just about anything that swims.



Here is what Rich has to say about his fly, and then I will let the pictures tell the rest.

Name: DH Classy Clouser or ( Deer hair Classy Clouser)

Species: Redfish, Snook, Spotted Sea Trout, Bluefish, Spanish Mackerel and more

Materials: Mustad Shrimp Hook C47S-D No.2, Red or Black Danville’s 210 Denier Tying Thread, Medium Red/Blk. Lead Dumbbell eyes, Fox tail or equal under belly, Holographic Flash sides tied long, Bucktail back, Deerhair shoulder-head trimmed to shape.

Design Description: Jig like action. Produces an erratic flashy movement and looks more life like. The Deerhair head profile also creates a larger silhouette that pushes more water for better predatory fish attraction. It can also act as weed guard if tied heavy and possibly feel meatier to a fish!..maybe LOL Just kidding.



I got blown off the water yesterday so I do not have a fishing report, but I have 8 trips over the week after Christmas so I hope to have lots to report and photos to share. I can't wait until the new year when I get to launch my new redesigned website. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and I will be reporting back before the new year! Thanks for reading this blog, pass it on to your friends.
Merry Christmas, John

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Cabin Fever Fly Tying Contest

"Armor"

Here we go, a way for you to share your flies with others and win a cool prize. I am launching a fly tying contest right here on this blog, the “Cabin Fever Fly Tying Contest”. This contest is open to anyone who wants to enter and is not a species specific contest, any saltwater fly will do. The winner will get a 16X20 print of my photo, “Armor” a $60.00 value. Here is how to enter, just email me with the description and name of your fly, if you don’t have a name, maybe one of our readers can help? I want to know what species it was designed for and what makes your fly cool. Include as much information as you like, this will help me write a review. Each entry will get its own post with photographs and a description. I know many of you are thinking that I am just trying to fill my fly boxes. Well, I am! Just kidding, the winner will also get each of the flies entered. If you want me to fish with your fly and write future reviews then include a couple copies of your fly, because one of the flies is going to the winner. I would suggest that you send in different color variations, if they apply, it helps with photos. I am not the judge of this contest, you are. Once I have at least 5 entries, hopefully more, I will put a poll on this blog and you guys get to vote. The poll will run for 2 weeks, and then the winner will be announced. I will post entries as I get them, and then once I have the final entry I will group the post together before the polling, so it is easier to compare flies. Anyone who enters will also get the high res photographs of their flies for your own personal use. Good Luck and I hope to get many entries. You can email questions and entries to info@stuartflyfishing.com

check out my fishing webpage http://stuartflyfishing.com/
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Stay Hooked- become a fan of this blog

The best thing about having this public blog is that not only do I have an opportunity to share stories and photos with my clients, but that fisherman and photographers from around the world can get involved and interact. If you have found this blog and you enjoyed reading it or just looking at the photos please sign in as a follower. This will give me a chance to get to know everyone that is a fan of my blog. As an incentive anyone that signs in as a follower of this blog, I will mail you one of my new oval fly logo decals for free. You can put it on your skiff, your drift boat, your fly box, your camera case, your truck, or like I did my wife's mini wan. (It makes the minivan much cooler!) It is a very cool decal that will tell everyone you like to fly fish. I posted a picture of the logo with this post so you can check it out. Just email me the address that you want it mailed to. My email address is info@stuartflyfishing.com

proof of the one on the minivan

check out my fishing web page http://stuartflyfishing.com/
check out my photography web page http://pbase.com/stuartflyfishing