Meandering through life.

[panfishonthefly]

The Virginia Fly Fishing & Wine Festival

It’s show season! Fly fishing show season that is. During the winter months you can find fly fishing and fly tying shows all around the country. Some are small and some like the Edison, New Jersey and Denver, Colorado Fly Fishing Shows are HUGE! These two shows are so big it really takes more than one day to see it all.

My first show of the year is also one of my favorites. It is the Virginia Fly Fishing and Wine Festival in Doswell, Virginia. This show combines fly fishing with wine, beer and spirit tastings. What could be better than that! One of the reasons this show is one of my favorites is that the attendees always seem to be in a great mood (it may have something to do with all of the wine, beers and spirits being sampled!). As we move through the winter months I will be in a different part of the country almost every weekend attending various fly fishing and fly tying shows. You can check out the Calendar of Events page to see the other shows I will be tying at.

At this show I will be sharing a table with good friend and fellow guide and fly tier Fritz Miller. While my side of the table will be turning out flies for some of the smallest fish we chase with a fly rod, Fritz will likely be spinning up some foot long musky flies! He is one of the best “predator fly” fly tiers in the game today. As usual we will be joined by Harry, one of the best behaved dogs I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. If you plan on attending this event please stop by our table and say hello!

The show takes place on Friday January 9 & 10th (Friday & Saturday) at the Meadow Event Park in Doswell, Virginia. This is a family and dog friendly event that focuses on learning the quiet sport of fly fishing. There will be lectures and presentations, casting instruction and some of the country’s best fly tiers on hand showing off their skills behind the vise. How I got mixed up with this crowd I’ll never know!

To learn more about this show click the button below.

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I will not be in attendance but, if you are in the area go out and support the fly fishing community.

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Getting down.

Went to Max K Rodes this evening. It was a little windy. 9-10mph out of the NE. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the grass line around the ponds was being properly maintained instead of sprayed with weed killer. There were spots of thick water plants called Pickerel weed (see pics). Most of them had been mowed down but, something good is better than nothing. The water quality has greatly improved from the last time I was there. I started off in my usual spot near the basketball courts. It is where I usually have the best luck and it was out of the wind. I tossed both the white pattern that has been getting hammered at the old golf course, and a fire tiger. Both were top water flies. Nothing, nada, zero, zink, zilch. Not even a Bluegill tap. I saw some activity around the shoreline but nothing wanted anything to do with my offerings. I worked my way up the west side of the pond back towards the entrance. Still nothing. I was using my 9' 8wt and casting into the wind was not fun. With the wind was fine but, I was still strike free for the day. I decided to switch to a subsurface fly. The water was cool and I had nothing to lose. I tied the fly a few months ago and had yet to give it a go. It did not take long before I had a fish on. I proceeded to catch four in the next 20 or so minutes. Three were caught on the west side of the east pond. One from the east most pond near the lillypads. I fished the fly in about 1-6 feet of water using a 9'+ leader on a floating line. I fished the fly slow with short strips. Three of the fish took the fly deep. All looked like they were eating well. The largest was 12". I plan to fish this pattern the next time I visit the golf course as well as near some mangroves sometime soon. I did not fish the west side pond for long but, I included the pics of the lillypads because they looked nice. Good to see some healthy bodies of water. Hopefully they will remain clean.

Tight lines & have a great day,

TJ

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I recently started fishing an old golf course that will soon be full of unwanted & unneeded houses in Palm Bay. The property has been sitting unused and overgrown for almost twenty one years. Instead of turning it into a much needed large park, it was sold cheap to a developer. I have it on good authority that NO impact fees are being collected on most of the development in my city. I don't think this development will be any different.

Now that I got that off my chest, it is time to get on with the good stuff. I have fished some of the ponds a few times. All of my catches have come from the two large central ponds that are connected with a large underground pipe. The fly that has been getting it done is posted above. Tied on a size 4 saltwater Eagle Claw hook with 25lb mono weed guard. Most of the Bass hit this fly with a vengeance. The first Bass I caught today was chasing something, saw the fly, turned around and hammered it from behind. The two large Bass in the first picture were caught in the same area on different days. They both rushed out of their cover in the corner to eat this fly. It is always exciting to see the wake of water they push before they break the surface. The water temperatures have been cool. The days I fished were both warm days after a small front. Light 5-8mph winds or less provided the best bite. The weeds are thick next to the shore. While the fly has a weed guard it is a losing battle if you try to fish over the thick grass. Weeds will catch under the fly lip and over the hook eye. There is also a lot of trash that the construction crews allow to blow into the water, and they do not clean up. The best bite seems to be about 1-2 feet off the edge of the weeds. I have been using my 8wt with a homemade leader. Leader is approximately 6-8 feet of 30lb, 4.5 feet of 25lb and 1-1.5 feet of 12lb with ties to the fly.

The bass have full bellies and are pulling hard. I have caught a fair amount of smaller fish & have lost one or two when they jump. The Bluegill love to slap and attack the fly. I think most of them are too small to swallow enough of the fly to get hooked. If I want to fish for them I will have to tie a smaller version.

I hope to take this pattern and a few color variations out to some larger water. I do not know if it will be fresh or saltwater, but I expect good results either way.

The fly was designed based on my years of tying, and a few things I borrowed from flies Dave Whitlock tied.

I will be offering boxes of these flies soon on ebay. Keep an eye out for the announcement.

I plan to keep fishing these pond until I am told I can no longer do so. I might fish a few of my other ponds in the coming weeks but, they have not been in good condition from all the poison the city sprays around the shoreline and in the water.

I will try filming soon. Hopefully I can get a little bit of fun footage for you.

I am fairly certain the 16.5" Bass was 3lbs. It was short, but girthy.

Tight lines & have a great day.

TJ

Song of the day. "Americanism", Teenage Politics, MxPx

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For sale on ebay. Link below. Four lots of five flies. Flies are tied on size 4 Eagle Claw hooks.

fishgamesstuff on eBay

Follow fishgamesstuff on eBay. Buying, Selling, Collecting on eBay has never been more exciting!

Song of the day: "Politics of Humanity" by The Suicide Machines

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For sale on ebay. Five Fire Tiger flies. Three are tied on Gamakatsu b10s hooks. The other two are tied on Eagle Claw hooks. All have weed guards.

fishgamesstuff on eBay

Follow fishgamesstuff on eBay. Buying, Selling, Collecting on eBay has never been more exciting!

A few of the fish I have caught this year using Fire Tiger flies. Top to bottom 13", 14", 17 1/2".

Song of the day. "Which way are you going?" by Jim Croce

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Another fire tiger for my fly box. Should be cool enough this weekend to give it a fling. Tied on a size 6 Eagle Claw aberdeen hook with a weed guard.

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Anyone like to throw yellow & black bass bugs? Size 4 Gamakatsu b10s stinger hook with weed guard.

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New hooks & new looks.

Customers have been asking so, I finally took the plunge. I will be using Gamakatsu hooks for some of the flies I offer on ebay & etsy. I tied this one for myself. Hope to test it Friday morning. Size 4 wide gap stinger hook. A different take on the Fire Tiger color pattern. I moved the chartreuse to the tail and the yellow to the head. I swapped the orange hair for marabou. I filled in the section that joins the head and tail with a little tan bucktail. I think it is going to work well, but ultimately it will be the fish that decide. Going to film and take the still camera this time. I hope to get some good footage & make a new youtube video.

[1009ryos]

🦠mold attack

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Check out these super cool lures. 1009ryos makes some cool stuff. He posts lots of pics of his catches. Go check him out.

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I forgot something.

In the day & age of pics or it did not happen, I will understand if you do not want to believe this story.  Early this morning I set off to fish one of my local ponds at Arc Park in Palm Bay Fl.  I was able to get a look at the ponds conditions yesterday.  The water levels were up about 2-3 feet & the city had not sprayed weed killer on all the beautiful green grasses which stuck out a foot or more from a large portion of the waters surface.  A month earlier we were experiencing another major drought.  Grasses & weeds that had taken hold in the muddy areas that remained are now being fed plenty of water & extend up to ten feet from shore in some spots.

When I reached the waters edge & reached for my phone to take some pics of the pond I found myself without it.  I jogged back to the car to make sure I had not left it in there.  Nope.  “Oh well” I remarked to myself.  Then I chuckled at the thought that I might catch a nice fish that I would kick myself for not being able to get a pic of.  Well... that is exactly what happened.  In the short span of about an hour and fifteen minutes I caught six Bass & a beautifully colored dink Bluegill.  Two of the Bass were about 9-10”, one was 11”, one 12”,  one 13”, & one was a whopping 18”.  As usual I measured them against my rod with the tail even with the butt of the rod.  When I got home I used a tape measure to find the length of the largest.  The others I know by the length of the grip. 

It wound up being a super fun morning.  There were tons of missed strikes, a few quick releases, & two broken hooks to top off the day.  I was pulling hard on some of those fish.  The second hook I broke was when I was trying to pull a nice bass (probably pushing 2lbs) through the grasses.  The hook snapped & I lost em’  I have attached a pic of the first hook I broke.  I have put that fly through its paces.  I originally tied it without much thought.  It wound up being a major producer.  I don’t know how many fish it caught in the past few weeks but considering the 18” Bass (which probably came in around 3lbs+) contributed to its wear, I will make sure I hold onto it.  Maybe I will start a small cork board of retired flies. 

You are welcome to consider the story hogwash.  I have made this post mostly for posterity & to hopefully be a reminder to always remember to check and make sure I have my phone. 

In case anyone is curious, the lunar fishing calendar says today would be one of the worst days of the month.  If this was a bad day then I cannot wait to see what happens on a good one.  It also happens to be national get out and fish day.  So maybe lady luck decided to smile upon me. 

I plan to head back to the same area soon if the weather permits.  I am going to make sure I take ALL the cameras. 

As for all the grasses and what not.  It is great to see what happens when you have a healthy ecosystem.  There were bugs of all types.  Bass & Bluegill were making all sorts of top water noises in the taller grasses.  Out of the corner of my eye I caught something come out of the water to grab a fly insect.  Stop spraying poisons and do a bit of manual labor so we can all have a great time on the water. 

The 18" Bass is a personal best.

Have a great day.

Tight lines,

TJ

[boxcutterbaits]

I have several new fly lots for sale on ebay. Get em' and go fishing!

I don't know why the link says security measure but, it should take you to my ebay store. In case it doesn't you can copy and paste this link www.ebay.com/usr/fishgamesstuff Here are a few of my new offerings.

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Double digits

Went fishing tonight at Max K Rodes park. It was slightly overcast, with light breezes and not too much humidity. The temperature was in the 80's. A bit cooler than it has been the previous three days. I was able to use my 3wt rod. I intended to do a bit of Bluegill fishing tonight but, the Bass had other plans. I made my first cast close to 7pm and it wasn't long before I was hooked up. Over the next hour and a half I landed 10 Bass. It was a night of double digits for the number caught as well as multiple double digit length fish. Not bad for a park pond. There were a few tiny ones. The largest fish of the night measured about 13". For reference, from the butt of the rod to the top of the cork handle is 8 3/4".

I used three flies. I started with the yellow/black, then the neon green, then finally the tan/yellow.

I fished the north bank which is probably no more than 75 yards in length. The grasses have been cut all the way back to the waterline which has receded a lot due to our recent drought. The fish were hanging out in submerged grass and clumps of algae, or under what little cover there might be. A two foot by one foot out cropping of grass might be holding a couple of fish. The fish were not on beds. They were chasing bugs that landed on the waters edge. They were fairly aggressive considering the moon phase calendar rated today as a 3.3. Almost all the action took place no more than 6 feet from the bank. I hooked at least half the fish within 2 feet of the bank on far casts.

I hung and lost two bass. I played both of them incorrectly. The first was purely my fault. I was pulling the rod in the direction it jumped, making it easy to throw the hook. The second time I had to hold the rod high because the line was next to a depth marker and I didn't want to get hung up.

There were many Bluegill hits and slashes. I don't think they were aggressive enough. It was almost like they were too scared to come out from cover for more than a couple seconds for fear of becoming prey to a bass.

The pictures below are posted in the order I caught them. The 5th is the 13" fish.

If you are interested in purchasing my flies, please check out my ebay store. They are the same patterns that I use. www.ebay.com/usr/fishgamesstuff

Tight lines & have a great day,

TJ

[1009ryos]

🚶‍♂️‍➡️Today I went fishing with a completed fishing rod🎣

🪰🪶🪝🐟📸

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Check this out. He completed a rod build and took it fishing. #flyfishing #flyrod #rodbuilding #fishing Head over to his page and check him out.

[1009ryos]

🦟made a fly rod 🎣

🐟Some things are still in progress🐟

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Check out this dudes amazing work.

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Sightfishing Saltwater Fly Fishing Flies Redfish Permit Snook Spawning Shrimp | eBay

Great for sightfishing. I tie flies while streaming on twitch. Saltwater flies. All flies will vary slightly in size due to the nature of ha

For sale on ebay. Great for saltwater flats and fishing near mangroves. Also great for any fresh water fish that eats big crayfish. Link above takes you to them.

[1009ryos]

🚶I caught a small species🎣

Similar but different kind🐟

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Fly Fishing Flies Bass Bluegill Bug Popper Gurgler largemouth smallmouth | eBay

I tie flies while streaming on twitch. All flies will vary slightly in size due to the nature of hand making these fine lures. For sale are

For sale on ebay. Link above takes you to them.