Keepn' Busy

handful of beetles

my office

chubby variation

in progress

Those who don't fish......tie instead. I have had some back issues (ruptured disc) so haven't been out as much as i'd like so been doing lots of tying.

Tying on uncle sugars time

Here are some patterns i've been tying up on uncle sugar's time since we've been pretty slow. tonight i focused on the chubby's and some mice, the morrish mouse, to be exact. ssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh

What a Pain......

In the ass, literally. Ifinally got michelle out on the river again. the problem is is a have either a pinched nerve or a slipped disc in my back, according to the doc. the pain has migrated to my ass cheek and the back of my thigh. the drugs that he gave me (loratabs, flexoral and something else) are not working much. the pain is so intense that it hurts to lie down or sit down and walking can be a bitch sometimes as well. actually i am walking now just like minni me from austin powers, i have a nice limp and a waddle going on. my leg is not cooperating with me right now. me and michelle chucked streamers for about 3 hours without even moving a fish and we debated on moving to a different stretch of river but i had to call it quits. my leg feels lifeless. did see alot of bugs though so shot some pics of those.

A Little Twist on a Golden

This the same pattern i died up a couple weeks ago but i changed the legs from goose biots to flexi floss. it gives it a new look and i believe more liveliness in the water.

A Couple New Streamers

Still in the tying mode so have been whipping out a bunch of random stuff. here is a double bunny and an afro streamer

Loop OPTi 3L vs. Cloudveil 8x Pro Jacket

Last year i bought the loop opti jacket and this year, since the price was reduced, i picked up the cloudveil 8x jacket. they are both xxl but fit entirely different. the loop xxl fits me just right if i don't bulk up underneath it. i think it is perfect for when the weather is a little warmer when i would wear the jacket by itself. the cloudveil xxl fits me quite a bit bigger, not to big, but bigger. this jacket is perfect if i want to wear a hoody and more underneath it for when the temp's are considerably colder. i find myself wearing the cloudveil more often then not cause of the extra room. i love both jackets but there is one thing i like about each jacket that the other does not have. the cloudveil has a neoprene wrist cuff inside the sleeve that can be tightened with a velcro strap, which allows me to stick my wrist in the water without the sleeves of my shirts or sweatshirts getting wet. i really like this feature. on the other hand, the loop jacket has fleece lined hand pockets and the cloudveil does not. my hands stay a lot warmer in the loop jacket. hopefully with cloudveils new line of jackets they will incorporate some fleece lined pockets. all in all, both jackets kick ass!

Polly Wanna............

The sex parakeet wrecked havoc on some browns today. well only 2 browns but who's counting? i didn't move or touch anything for the first couple of hours then came to one hole and caught the 2 fish on 2 casts, so that was cool. after that i had 2 hits and that was it. it snowed on me all day but the temperature was nice. the snowy banks were full of life, lots of midges, more winter stones then i've seen and i saw my first blue wing of the year.

Today Was a Good Day

So this morning when we woke up i proposed to michelle and thankfully she said yes. then she encouraged me to go fishing and have some me time. right off the bat i hooked up with a 20 inch range fish. was cool to see as i saw it hit the fly twice and the second time right in front of me. a few head shakes and gone. i caught a couple smaller fish today within the first half hour and then it shut off. today was a good day.

BWO nymph

I am hosting a blue wing swap and had my deer hair emergers tied up but as i looked at them i decided i didn't care for them so i changed patterns, then changed patterns again. this is what i decided on. don't know if it has a name but i like the looks of it and will give it a test drive soon.

Blood C Chironomid

For some stillwater nymphing

The Fripple

This is a pattern shown to me buy curtis fry. sweet looking pattern but i've never fished it.

tail-micro fibettes

body-olive spanflex

wing-pearlescent wing material

thorax-olive dubbing

HB80 Is Now SB267

Last Minute Move- HB80 is now SB267
It became apparent late Thursday the House Natural Resources Committee was not going to allow HB80 to pass to the House floor.
In a quick turn of events Representative Fowlke called a bill file. She met with Senator Neiderhauser, Sen. Bramble, lobbyist Jeff Hartley and Chris Barkey about moving the bill to the senate.
This bold move will allow HB80 to avoid all House committees, which was stacked against us. Senator Bramble was ready, willing and able to help.
SO… House Bill 80 has a new name, Senate Bill 267. [text will not be available until Monday. SB267 is identical to HB80]
We ask you to now contact your Senators and let them know you support SB267/HB80
**BILL WATCH**
Rep. Webb -HB290 –>http://le.utah.gov/~2010/bills/hbillint/hb0290.htm
Rep. McIFF – HB141 – [box car/no text] –>http://le.utah.gov/~2010/htmdoc/hbillhtm/hb0141.htm
other Bills we’re keeping an eye on…
Rep. Ferry – HB374 [boxcar/no text] –>http://le.utah.gov/~2010/htmdoc/hbillhtm/HB0374.htm
Rep. Cosgrove – HB450 -[boxcar/no text] –> http://le.utah.gov/~2010/htmdoc/hbillhtm/HB0450.htm
***Article Image – [click] courtesy of Heather Nan Photography [click]

The Stonefly Inn......A Kick Ass Outfitter

This past summer i had the pleasure of heading up to twin bridges, montana to do some fishing. the guides were great, the chef's were great and the beer was flowing nicely. fished there 3 days and we caught some nice fish. if you ever have the opportunity, head up that way and look them up. http://www.thestoneflyinn.com/

The Sex Parakeet

Hot damn! fish are on streamers again, at least for the 2 hours i had on the river. before i loaded my gear in the jeep i contemplated throwing streamers or throwing stones since i have been experimanting with some new stone patterns. the last set of pics of matt's streamered fish got my blood pumping and ken posted a report that stones were working on a local water so i was torn on what to do. well i will usually always choose streamers over nymphs and i did. wise choice! the weather was great......i wore no jacket, there was no wind and no ice on my guides, perfect! since i was limited on time i skipped a good chunk of river to get to where i wanted to start. i worked around a few bends and hit this little run that has produced in the past. a few casts later and i got whacked. even though the fish didn't get enough of the hook to pin itself it was sweet to have a fish hit a streamer again. 2 more holes later, stripping my fly back to me along some snags i was into a strong fish. after a good tugging match the fish came to hand. a few pics and a measurement and i was skurrying upriver as light was short. it was a short section of river i fished but i did manage a couple more fish and got nailed by another. i think it was the best streamer day i've had in that section and i only fished for 2 hours.