www.slatedrake.com

Get the Latest ‘Fish’ In Your E-mail Inbox

alantonelli — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 03:16:47 +0000

The Fly Fishing Hotsheet is a weekly collection of direct links to the best discussions happening on forums and discussion boards around the web about fly fishing.

(PRWEB) December 17, 2007 — DLL Enterprises has published The Fly Fishing Hotsheet, a collection of the most passionate “conversations” happening online about fly fishing. DLL Enterprises surveys the Internet, through hundreds of forums and discussion boards, to get the latest buzz around the web on fly fishing. The best conversations are selected and then direct links to those discussions are published in The Fly Fishing Hotsheet.

“There’s so many fly fishing websites, blogs, discussion boards and so forth online that it’s very easy to get distracted, waste tons of time and still not find the information that you seek. The Fly Fishing Hotsheet is designed so that people who enjoy fly fishing, whether they fly fish for salmon, trout and so forth, can find the most relevant and most informative discussions about the exciting activity of fly fishing-all in one place,” says Duane Lawton, publisher of The Fly Fishing Hotsheet.

The Fly Fishing Hotsheet is published every Tuesday and delivered by e-mail. Subscription to The Fly Fishing Hotsheet is free. To subscribe or find out more information, visit http://FlyFishingHotsheet.com

American Fly Fishing Trade Association Show

alantonelli — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:26:33 +0000

WHEN: January 4, 5 & 6, 2008

WHERE: Colorado Convention Center, Downtown Denver

TICKETS: Adult 1-Day $15.00 at the door. Adult 3-Day $36.00 at the door. Youth $5.00 (ages 10-15). Children under the age of 10 free. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts in uniform and accompanied by a paying adult admitted free. All Children 15 and under should be accompanied by an adult.

**To Save Money and Time, buy your tickets in advance by clicking on the “Attendee Registration button to the right”!

Whether you’re a novice or seasoned fly angler, AFFTA’s Fly Fishing Expo offers you everything you need to gear up for all kinds of outings:

Hone your skills: Dozens of pros, including Landon Mayer and Lefty Kreh, will be on hand to help you master your casting techniques and fly-tying skills. AFFTA’s Fly Fishing Expo features separate casting ponds for beginners’ instruction, product testing, and competitions.
Gear up: Scores of top fly fishing gear manufacturers will be on hand to showcase their best products at AFFTA’s Fly Fishing Expo. You can be among the first to glimpse their latest offerings and find all you need to complete your setup.
Discover a new honey hole: Premier fly shop owners, guides, and outfitters from across the Centennial State will bring you up to speed on all the best fishing destinations and help you plan your next adventure. There’s no other event quite like AFFTA’s Fly Fishing Expo. And there’s no telling what can happen when some of the most passionate anglers in the nation come together to share the art of fly fishing.

For more information see the website.

Flymen Fishing Company announces line of Fly Tying Beads

alantonelli — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 03:47:51 +0000

Flymen Fishing Company today announced the availability of the Nymph-Head™ range of premium tungsten Fly Tying Beads in the United States. The Nymph-Head™ bead builds on the proven effectiveness of the common counter-sunk fly tying bead with the addition of three-dimensional “nymph eyes”. The eyes add realism and unprecedented detail in addition to the normal bead benefits of shape, flash and weight.

“We believe the Nymph-Head™ bead represents an important next step in the evolution of the basic fly tying bead as an important fly tying material” said Martin Bauden, owner of Flymen Fishing Company. “The result is the most effective and versatile bead available today. The ‘nymph eyes’ combine with the general bead shape and size to deliver a touch of realism, the tungsten material provides optimum weighting and the various metallic coating options give that “fish attracting” color and flash!”

Nymph-Head™ Beads can enhance existing beadhead nymph patterns as well as offer fly tiers endless possibilities for creating exciting, new flies. Available in 4 different colors and in 5 sizes, Nymph-Head™ Beads are versatile and can be applied to most Mayfly, Caddis, Scud, Stonefly and Midge patterns.

Nymph-Head™ beads are now available through a network of authorized Fly Shops and online retailers as well as off the FFC website. For more information on Nymph-Head™ offerings visit www.flymenfishingcompany.com.

Trout Unlimited Issues Report On Impact Of Climate Change

alantonelli — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 02:57:45 +0000

New Report Looks at Impact of Climate Change on Trout and Salmon
Report Analyzes Warming Climate’s Effect on Fish and Rivers

Washington, D.C. – Though climate change will have a dramatic effect on trout and salmon populations, a new report says that much can be done now to prevent widespread fish declines in rivers and streams around the country.

Trout Unlimited’s new report, Healing Troubled Waters, highlights how global warming will affect our nation’s trout and salmon populations and the waters in which they live. Based on research by Trout Unlimited scientists, the report also provides recommendations for what can be done to help fish and rivers withstand these changes.

The report summarizes recent scientific studies that show that trout and salmon populations are likely to decline by 50% or more in regions around the country that will be most effected by global warming. According to new studies by the U.S. Forest Service, some trout species like the bull trout, found in high-mountain areas of the West, could see as much as a 90% population loss. Many trout species already listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act will become increasingly vulnerable to extinction. In addition, it has been shown that 20% to 40% of the Pacific Northwest’s salmon populations may disappear as a result of climate change.

“Climate change is not some uncertain future problem, it is happening right now and we see evidence in terms of reduced snowpack and earlier spring runoff,” said Jack Williams, Trout Unlimited’s senior scientist and one of the report’s authors.

“Salmon and trout are among our most vulnerable species and their protection in the face of a rapidly changing climate demands strong actions,” he continued.

In the Appalachians, scientists estimate that up to 90% of the wild brook trout there could be lost due to climate change.

Though the statistics paint a somewhat grim future scenario for coldwater fish, the report provides a framework for what can be done to help rivers and fish build resistance and resilience to the effects of climate change. By protecting high quality habitats and healthy fish populations, scientists hope that fish will be able to endure warmer water temperatures and additional stress as a result of a warming climate. The report points out that these investments are crucial now, before widespread changes occur.

With Congress prepared to address climate change, the opportunity exists for making this a legislative priority.
“We are pleased to see that a number of members of Congress have recognized the need to fund and implement strategies such as these to combat climate change impacts on fish and wildlife resources and have introduced bills that would provide such funding,” said Steve Moyer, TU’s Vice President of Government Affairs.

“One of the most promising is the Climate Security Act, S. 2191, introduced by Senators Warner (R-VA) and Lieberman (D-CT), to be marked up in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee today, which would invest an estimated $175 billion thru the year 2037 on projects designed to enhance sustainability of fish and wildlife in the face of continuing climate change impacts. We urge Congress to pass the legislation as soon as possible,” said Moyer.

For more information see the Trout Unlimited Website.

Tie The Best Dry Fly

alantonelli — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 01:07:57 +0000

I was going to write a post on tying the Slate Drake Comparadun but came across an excellent tutorial on the flyfishersparadise website and also on the globalflyfisher website. When I first started fly tying, all of my dry flies were traditional hackle wing flies. Now, most of my dry flies with the exception of spinners and larger (10+ hook size) are based on the Comparadun style by Al Caucci and Bob Nastassi. These type of flies work best on hook sizes of 12-18. I usually tie them with a piece of Antron for the tail to represent the trailing shuck. The flies float like a cork, are easy to see and hold up well after repeated trout catches. They have consistently outproduced traditional fly patterns for me. If the trout are rising, this is the first style of fly I’ll try.

Tying Al’s Ziplock Scud. A Simple Effective Pattern for Trout.

alantonelli — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:10:42 +0000

After having found plenty of scuds in my stream screen while on the Little Lehigh, it’s time to tie a few of my scud patterns for my next outing. Scuds are one of the most important food items for trout. They are considered Crustaceans and are really nothing more than miniature fresh water shrimp.

I always like to try new materials when tying flies and it’s always nice when you can use something that’s cheap. In this case it’s a heavy duty freezer bag. Before you begin tying the fly, cut the bag into strips about 1/16^th to 1/8^th inch wide by an inch long. Cut one for each fly you plan to tie.

I’m using Orvis Life Cycle Caddis dubbing for this fly. It has a nice Antron sparkle that makes the scud appear more life like.

For this pattern I’m using a Mustad C49S Caddis curved hook in size 14. Any curved Caddis hook will do. Start tying your thread on around the middle of the hook. Wind it back to the midway of the hook bend.

Tie in a dubbing loop about 2 -3 inches long. You wont use all of it, but the size makes it easier to work with. The dubbing loop will be used for the rib. Now tie in one of the freezer bag strips that you cut.

Wax the thread and spin a dubbing noodle on it. Wrap the thread forward making a tight body. Now pull the freezer bag strip over the top of the body and tie it off at the head with three turns of thread. Trim off the extra plastic.

Use your dubbing needle to pull out some of the dubbing from the bottom of the fly. These will be the legs. Grab the dubbing loop with your loop tool or hackle pliers and spin it tight. Now make 3 or 4 turns toward the hook eye. This will segment the body and add strength as well. Tie off the dubbing loop and whip finish the head. Add a drop of head cement. You can go back and tease some more dubbing out from the bottom of the fly if necessary.

There you have it. A simple and inexpensive nymph pattern that is very effective on trout.

Materials Used:

Mustad C49S Caddis curved hook or equivalent, size 14.

Orvis Life Cycle Caddis Dubbing Grey

Grey 6/0 monobond thread or equivalent.

Plastic bag strips 1/8^th to 1/16^th inch wide by 1 inch long.

Nymph Fishing is Easy

alantonelli — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 02:07:22 +0000

I was reading a post over at the North American Fly Fishing Forum titled “Nymph Fishing is Easy”. The fly-fisher who made the original post went on to explain his frustration when he first attempted nymph fishing. Luckily he persisted and caught a few fish. He’s hooked! Another convert to the world of nymph fishing.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people never even try to nymph fish. 95% of the time trout are feeding below the surface on nymphs, larva, scuds, minnows and sculpins. So why is it that most people show up at the stream, tie on a dry fly and start flailing away at trout that aren’t even rising?

“Nymphing” is one of the most rewarding and productive methods of fly-fishing. I’ll take a look at some of the techniques and flies to use in a few of my future posts.

Tying the Caddis Larva, an easy but killer trout pattern.

alantonelli — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 19:14:33 +0000

After going down to the Little Lehigh with my newly constructed Stream Screen, I thought it would be a good time to tie the flies that were captured. Today I’ll start with the Caddis Larva. This is one of the most important/used flies in my fly box. It never fails to produce trout for me and the great thing about it is that it is soooo easy to tie.

The materials that we’ll use are:

Hooks: Tiemco 5263 size 12 or equivalent. This is a 3xL nymph/streamer hook. Don’t get hung up on the exact hook. I also tie this pattern with a Mustad Caddis Curved C49S and a Orvis 1510 curved nymph hook. Experimenting is part of the fun of tying flies. These caddis larva typically run in the 12-16 hook size in my area.

Body: Orvis Light Olive Spectrablend fur dubbing.

Head: Ligas Black Ultra Natural dubbing material.

Thread: D.H. Thompson Monobond Black 6/0. I love this stuff. It is strong enough to tie deer hair yet lays flat on the hook.

The first step is to tie in the thread about half way back from the eye. Wind it back to the curve at the end of the shank.

Put some dubbing wax on the thread (I’m using Wapsi). Spin a tight noodle of the light olive dubbing onto the thread. Wind the noodle up the shank and stop about 15% away from the hook eye. Make sure you keep the body tight.

Now spin another tight noodle onto the thread onto the thread with the black dubbing. Wind this up to the hook eye.

Now whip finish the head and put on a drop of head cement.

Your done! This is the easiest fly to create, but it is one of the most consistent performers. In my next tying article we’ll tie the scud pattern. Good luck!

Coho Salmon Win Protection

alantonelli — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:23:51 +0000

Sacramento – The California Court of Appeal today upheld a previous ruling by the state’s superior court, affirming endangered species status for the embattled California Coho salmon in the case of California Forestry Association et al. v. Fish & Game Commission et al. The original petition for listing of the Coho under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) was successfully submitted by California Trout on behalf of the Salmon and Steelhead Recovery Coalition in July 2000, and re-affirmed today.

“This is a resounding victory for California’s natural heritage,” said Brian Stranko of California Trout. “With this ruling, the hard work of protecting this magnificent and important species can begin in earnest.”

California’s Coho salmon received full protection under a finalized CESA listing in March 2005, but a group of timber interests attempted to undo years of recovery planning by repeatedly challenging the listing. The case for CESA listing has been upheld at every level of decision-making, including a ruling by the state superior court in June 2006.

Coho habitat has been severely degraded over the past century, largely due to poor land use practices that have resulted in increased river siltation, low water flows, rising water temperatures and a lack of habitat complexity in historic Coho streams. As a consequence, the Coho salmon population has been reduced by over 90% in California, with many stream populations wiped out entirely.

California Trout intervened in this case as part of their ongoing work to protect the wild native fish species of California, an effort which over the last four decades has resulted in significant conservation improvements throughout the state.

See the California Trout Website Here.

VINTAGE 1958 ORVIS BATTENKILL FLY FISHING ROD

alantonelli — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 02:42:30 +0000

If your looking for a vintage Orvis Bamboo fly rod I found one on eBay here.

Here is the description:

Style: Special, Serial Number: 22167
Length: 7 1/2′ 2 pc. 13
Weight: 4 oz.