I’ve always liked Winter. Growing up on the south shore of Lake Erie we saw plenty of snow. I know that there are other places that receive more snow per year than Erie (hey, I lived in Buffalo for a minute) but we got enough. I remember being a kid playing outside through the “dark months” as my mother calls them, as much as we did in the Summer. As snow ball fights and snow forts turned into snowboarding and skiing, embracing Winter, by default, became a point of pride. In a way, venturing out into the overcast chill of a mid-January day, hoping for open water, in search of a few lake run rainbows or browns is a connection back to those carefree kid days sled riding or firing a few snowballs at your friends.
So with the dog days in the rear view mirror and Fall allergies in full swing I wait. Checking USGS gauges in the morning and regional weather in the evening I wait for that first freshet to raise the levels of our meager tributaries. The leaves and the mercury will drop and the fish will come in like they always do. In the meantime I’ve been tying a bit for the Fall. I thought I’d post some photos here of what I’ve been working on. See ya’ out there in the snow.
This is a fly similar to a previous post but with rooster for wings and saddle for body hackle.
This is an older fly that I haven’t had a chance to swing yet.
This is the first time I’ve taken a crack at Intruders. They are big but sparse and don’t weigh as much as you would think. These are tied on Fish-Skull articulated shanks using a lot of dubbing loops. And the Gamakatsu hooks are sharp as hell…don’t ask how I know.
Finn coon, amherst, ostrich.
Peacock, amherst, schlappen.
This started as a Thor but I didn’t feel like digging through bins looking for materials to make it “correct” so I used what was on the table.
The following is one from Dec Hogan’s book, A Passion For Steelhead. It’s called the Olive Garden and it normally has saddle wrapped forward following the rib but I broke it. I’ll still fish it though. If you haven’t checked out Dec’s book I highly recommend it.
More hackle tips.
As always, thanks for reading.
Trout Purgatory 