Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Mikes Stinky Mayo

It is streamer chucking time for big browns and this is a pattern that fits the bill, especially in off color water. The fly is realtively easy to cast for a fly of it's size and the big head pushes around a lot of water. Fished on a full sinking line this fly gets down and boogies.

Thread: UTC140 denier, tan
Hook1: Gamakatsu SP11 3L3H size 4
Hook2: Gamakatsu B10S size 1/0
Tail: Marabou, tan
Body1: Marabou, tan and yellow
Body2: Schlappen, yellow
Body3: Bucktail, tan and yellow
Body4: Cactus Chenille, yellow
Flash: Holographic Flashabou, Brown and yellow
Head: Senyo Laser Dub, Rusty Bronze and Dark Tan
Eyes: Large Lead barbell, white
Connect: Beadalon, 19 strand .018"

STEP 1: With your Gamakatsu SP11 3L3H size 4 in the vise get your thread started and wrapped to the back of the hook shank. Once at the rear tie in point, located above the midpoint of the hook spear, tie a single marabou feather hanging approximately one hook length off the back of the hook. Tightly wrap the material forward about two thirds of the hook shank then return your thread to the mid-point of the shank.

STEP 2: Prepare a single schlappen feather by carefully stroking the fibers back about an inch from the tip and tie it in at the rear tie in point with a few secure wraps. With the schlappen feather in place tie in a piece of cactus chenille and advance your thread forward towards the hook eye.

STEP 3: Wrap the cactus chenille forward with evenly spaced wraps, usually around 7 wraps, then tie it off one eye width back and trim the excess. With the under body on place palmer the schlappen feather forward and tie it off at the same point as the underbody.

STEP 4: Over the top of the hook shank tie in a second marabou feather. The tips should extend a little over halfway between the bend off the hook and the end of the tail to give it a proper taper.

STEP 5: Place your Gamakatsu B10S size 1/0 in the vise and attach the back hook using 5 size 'E' beads and 19 strand .018" Beadalon. Be sure to tightly wrap from back to front, then front to back, thenup to the middle to ensure a good connection.

STEP 6: To create a little internal flash in the body you will tie in yellow Magnum Holographic Flashabou. I usually take four strands and fold them in half then cut the loop so I have eight strands. Tie them in by the middle and the mid-point of the front hook then reverse over itself and tie tightly back to the rear tie in point.

STEP 7: About half way forward on the front hook tie in a tan marabour feather on top of the hook shank and a yellow feather underneath the hook shank, then trim the butts. The tips of the marabou, top and bottom, should extend to the approximate mid-point of the rear hook to continue the nice body taper.

STEP 8: The next step is to add a little exterior flash and darken up the dorsal area. Take two or three strands of brown Magnum Holographic Flashabou and tie them in by the middle then reverse them backwards and tie them down. Trim as necessary to approximately the back of the tail.

STEP 9: To give the fly a bit of girth the next step is to reverse tie insome bucktail. Over the tie in point you will tie in tan bucktailon top of the hook shankand yellow bucktail under the hook shank with the tips facing out over the hook eye. Then reverse the hair back and tie off with ten or so good wraps. The tips should extend about s far as the marabou on the front hook.

STEP 10: Directly on top of the bucktail wraps tie in a clump of Rusty Bronze by the mid point and reverse it back over itself and brush out. Tying in the clumps here gives a nice gill effect but more importantly it serves to add some structure for the rest of the head. This stepp builds up the 'under head' so that there is a nice transition from the Laser Dub head back in to the body...maintaining a profile without gaps.

STEP 11: The head will consist of a large center tied clump of tan Senyo Laser Dub. Pull out a clump and work it with your fingers so that the fibers go generally the same direction. Push the clump directly over the eye of the hook then use a pair of tight wraps in the middle of the material to hold it in place, and fold the material back over itself. Finish off the fly by figure-eighting large lead barbell eyes between the hook eye and the Laser Dub head.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

CALI RUSH getting Kickstarted

There are a few film-makers that I follow and am excited about when they have a project in the works...Mikey Weir is way towards the top of that list. His current project, three plus years in the making, is not a fishing film but rather a romp through the California action sports scene. Based on the existing footage it looks awesome, but he needs to raise some funds to get the film through post-production and out to the public. To that end he is using the site Kickstarter to see if those funds can be raised.



Here is part of a note from Mike about the project:
I'd like to take a second to tell you about a new movie project I'm working on called CALI RUSH. CALI RUSH Movie is a celebration of California and some of it's most adventurous and talented athletes, spectacular landscapes and diverse wildlife. The movie features athletes who are in search of the Ultimate rush as well as a more harmonious relationship with the Natural world through sports, lifestyle, recreation and environmental technology. Join this modern day tribe of adventurers as they explore some of California's most wild and beautiful places in search of epic conditions and the ultimate ride. CALI RUSH features all human-powered sports that work in harmony with the flows of nature, don't rely on gasoline and create the least amount of impact. This HD multi sports adventure movie follows the changing of the seasons through some of California's most wild and beautiful places and highlights some of the burliest action sports and progressive athletes our state has to offer.

CALI RUSH is like a California Adventure Film Festival all rolled into one package. The Movie is broken up into 12 different chapters that represent the different months of the year. Each chapter features a different sport and location. I've been working on this movie project for over 3 years now from concept to execution. It's been a fun but huge and sometime overwhelming task to gather all this footage. I've filmed a good portion of the movie myself and the rest is footage i'm buying from other film makers who specialize in the the different sports we're featuring.



I think this is going to be a super cool film and am excited to see it come out. Figuring I will purchase it when it comes out, it seems to me to be a no-brainer to pledge atleast the $25 to help it along...and that pledge entitles me to a copy when it is done. Win , win!

If you are able to and excited like I am then pledge a couple bucks to CALI RUSH through Kickstarter at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1391060526/cali-rush-movie

-mike schmidt
www.anglerschoiceflies.com

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Inside lately

So...despite the weather I have been inside lately knocking out flies. It has been nice to have the office window open though for a nice breeze and listening to the birds thinking that spring is here to stay. Above is about 20 dozen streamers headed to the Catskills to chase some trout. If you roll through Roscoe then stop by Dette Trout Flies and check them out. Below are the fruits of todays labor...so far...and headed to the post in the morning.



Saw a few more shots from up on the Au Sable this week as well. Looking forward to getting up there on Easter weekend and seeing what I can find. It can't come soon enough!




-mike schmidt
www.anglerschoiceflies.com

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Fontinalis Rising puts me to print



Jason Tucker, of Fontinalis Rising, contacted me last month and asked about catching up with me at the Midwest Fly Expo to knock out one of a series of interviews. I had run in to him over the last few years at shows and been an avid reader of his writing ever since, which is fantastic, so I of course agreed. I ended up having my booth right next to The Fiberglass Manifesto's Cameron Mortenson, which was his base camp at the show, so we got to chat quite a bit over the weekend. Early on one morning we decided to go ahead and knock out the interview and the following is the result.

Good Takes - Mike Schmidt

Check it out and let me know what you think. You also have the opportunity to win a half dozen streamers at the bottom so make sure to enter and check back in with Fontinalis Rising often!

-mike schmidt
http://www.anglerschoiceflies.com/

Sunday, March 18, 2012

St Pattys Day weekend

That's all I have to say about that. Can't publicly post most of the shots from yesterday anyway...

-mike schmidt
www.anglerschoiceflies.com

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Film Tour and end of the show season

Had a great last week between doing the Film Tour, heading up to Detroit for the Midwest Fly Fishing Expo, and having Mike Schultz down to wet a line then give a presentation to Central Ohio Fly Fishers. It was a busy one but now it is in the rear view and I am looking forward to getting caught up and hitting some more water. Here are a few shots from the events.

Pulled in for the Film Tour stop and had Cameron Mortenson of the Fiberglass Manifesto pull in next to me. You could say we are long lost car twins...

Before the films kicked off our host and show organizer, Michael Decoteau, got up front to thank everyone and touch on the beneficiary of the showing which was Project Healing Waters.

It was a packed house and the films did not disappoint! I already have visions of Tarpon, Char, and Silver Creek dancing through my trip planning...

One of the other vendors there was Ethan Smith of Smith Fly. He produces modular fishing components that are all produced stateside. A couple items were very interesting to me and I took the opportunity to pick up an El Poquito. I put it to good use on the river yesterday and am sure it will be a valued piece of gear for my wet wading season.

The weekend saw me at the Midwest Fly Fishing Show put on by the Michigan Fly Fishing Club. By all accounts it was a fantastic show...the biggest in a long time. This is the premiere show in the midwest and none left disappointed this year. The show is always packed with interesting stuff to see and do including a full presentation schedule full of presentations anchored by Skip Morris, Bob Jacklin, Eric Stroup, George Daniel, and April Vokey (who also stuck around and helped at the kids tying area when not on stage. It was an amazing show and fun to catch up with new and old friends. Next year it will be March 9th and 10th, and be anchored by Ed Engle, AK Best, and Jeff Currier!

One visitor was my nephew, Hunter, who was enjoying the show for the first time and digging the feathers everywhere.

It was also my last show for the season, so this was the last time until the fall that I will have all the gear crammed in to the car.

Tuesday night was our Central Ohio Fly Fishers meeting and we had Mike Schultz of Schultz Outfitters coming in to discuss his warm water program. With the weather set to be amazing he came in early and we hit a local river to see about some fish. The first hour or so saw some decent action with a few fish to the boat and numerous other follows, but then the sun burned off all remnants of haze and it got real bright...

Here was the best fish on the day...another victim of Pat Kelly's Butter Buster sculpin.

Today I got home to my copy of Ann Miller's new book, Hatch Guide for Upper Midwest Streams, waiting for me. Ann has been working onthis for some time now and asked me last year to assist by submitting a few patterns for inclusion...and of course I agreed! It is an extremely thorough book covering every river hatch in our area; including pictures, descriptions, and fly patterns. If you are in the Midwest or travelling here you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy.

Back to the vise I go now to knock out as much as I can. March Madness and St Patty's Day are upon us so be careful out there this week. Should have some more fly pics soon!

-mike schmidt
http://www.anglerschoiceflies.com/<

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Catching up

So...for the last few weeks I have been so busy that I have been pretty much off the grid and out of touch compared to normal. I assure you I am alive and kicking, just been working to hammer out flies and now finally have a weekend at home to catch up a bit. Here has been what has been going on for ACF lately.

A few weeks ago I drove out to Elkhart Indiana to give another tying workshop to the St Joe River Valley Fly Fishers. They are a great group with a lot of talented tiers so I was really looking forward to it. We hammered through quie a few streamer patterns on the day and had a great time in the process.



I got an email mid-week from buddy Mariano down in Costa Rica. Since heading back down there he has been out quite a bit guiding for trout in the mountains as well as a good number of other species...and occasionally making it in to the office to practice dentistry. This was a shot he sent of himself with a hell off a nice Guapote, also known as a Rainbow Bass. It is basically a giant predatory cichlid that will practically pull your arms off!

Last weekend I drove up to Grand Rapids on Friday to participate in the Celebration of Fly Tying the following day. That evening I decided rather than hang out at the bowling alley it was a better idea to pick up a few beverages and tie in my room.

This was the end result that evening...a perfect meal for a big hungry brown trout.

I realised this morning when I grabbed the camera out of the bag that I never actually took any pictures at the actual event. It was a well attended show and a lot of fun to hang out with all of the Michigan crew. Following the show I headed farther north as my plans for Sunday were to head out and chase fish somewhere with Tommy Lynch of The Fish Whisperer Guide Service. We decided to swing for the fences and hit some lesser fished water with big streamers. We did see a few but in Tommy's words...the unicorns were bedded down tight. Next time...

The sun did come out for a few brief appearances but the rest of the time it was cloudy with steady 30+mph winds, not exactly ideal.

There were some eagles around to keep us company.


We fished it hard until the sun was below the trees. Looking forward to the next time I can get up there and get some more time on the oars..I need the practice for sure!

Over this week I have been hammering out as many orders as I can since this weekend I had to start a big wholesale order for out east. Here are some of the flies:




Got moving on that big order last night. Here is the first half of the back ends, and working on the rest of them until the order is done now.

Looking forward to seeing some of you at the Midwest Fly Fishing Expo in Warren Michigan next weekend. That is my last big show for this season so I can get back to just tying and a lot more fishing!

-mike schmidt
www.anglerschoiceflies.com