Buncha streamers...06.20

It's been a busy couple evenings, but I am headed to bed 'early' tonight. Double Deceivers headed one way and the other flies headed the other way. Wish they were all headed to my boxes!

-mike schmidt
www.anglerschoiceflies.com

A few flies from the last few days...big and small

It has been awhile since I have tied trout flies, but got back in the swing and knocked out some size 16 and 18 loopwing emergers this morning. Also a couple of snowshoe hare emergers in the mix...going to have to tie some more of those for my pathetically stocked boxes.

Here are a few more shots of flies ready for the water.

The last shot is Deceivers and Andino Deceivers headed to Bolivia in pursuit of Golden Dorado, wish I could go with them!

-mike schmidt
www.anglerschoiceflies.com

ACF customer Brock Dixon takes February SOTM!

Congratulations are due to ACF customer Brock Dixon for taking the Moldy Chum Slab of the Month title for February. With a total voting percentage of 37.5% it is obvious that there were plenty of others as impressed with this hog brown as I was...and the shot is totally worth posting again. Good luck on the Slab of the Year voting Brock!

The pattern that this hog took was an ACF tied Senyo Shaggy Minnow tied up in white with blue/pearl flash and blue eyes. Greg Senyo came up with pattern to chase steelhead, but it has been proving itself plenty deadly on a number of other fish species.

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

Mufasa and Oscar's Junk

Lately I seem to have been asked more often "So, what's really in your streamer box?". I generally respond that I do fish the patterns I offer on my website quite a bit, but of course there are a few patterns that are a little less accessible. It is not that I want to hold things back, or keep secrets to have some perceived edge...some patterns are just a pain in the ass to tie! The above picture shows two such patterns; five inches of meat apiece...Mufasa and Oscar's Junk.

The two flies are very similar in construction, having a standard rear hook and an inverted front hook. The back half of the flies consist of a bi-color marabou tail, two colors of schlappen palmered through an Ice Dub underbody, three rubber legs per side, and a topping of barred marabou. The front of each fly appears similar at first glance but are not actually so.

The Mufasa is heavily weighted on the front hook. After the connection is made the fly shank is lined with two strips of .035 lead wire. The fly is then constructed over that base similar to the rear hook but with four rubber legs per side. Once up to the head the Senyo Laser Dub is tied in so that it has the appearance of bleeding gills and a tuft both above and below the hook shank. Finish the fly off by sliding on a Fish Skull which forces the Laser Dub down a bit but it still looks a bit like a mane...thus Mufasa.

Oscar's Junk was actually tied first, have been fished more, and is the precursor to the Voodoo Squatch. The front hook of Oscar's Junk is tied the same to the head as Mufasa, but rather than lead wire there is a set of large lead dumbell eyes tied in. Once the eyes are in you add a small tuft of Rusty Brown Laser Dub as bleeding gills and then clump buils a head around the barbell eyes. The barbell eyes are there only to add weight and width to the head, they will not be seen in the final product.

These flies aren't likely to be offered on my site any time soon as they simply take too long to be able to produce them in quantity, but I may do some by special request if piggybacked on another order. They are a blast to fish. At some point I will get a step by step together on them and get it up here.

These are the rest of the flies I knocked out this evening so far; Mike's Voodoo Squatch, Mike's Meal Ticket, Mike's Lunkergetter, Robinson Muchable Minnow, Mike's Red Rocket, Senyo Sick Puppy, Bellyache, Senyo Sculpin, Galloup's Sex Dungeon, Senyo Shaggy Minnow. A solid batch of flies headed to California in the morning. Now time to hammer out the other Cali order before bed.

***Quick 'Tying in the Pines' update: two spots have been filled, so only four remain. Give me a call to secure your spot if you would like to get in on this weekend of tying!

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

A few flies from tonight...03.01.2011

OK...so maybe it was the last few nights.

As bad as I want to keep this batch of flies, this order is headed to northern Michigan in the morning and I am off to bed early tonight. Tomorrow I will get going on the next set and have week three of the advanced tying class at Mad River Outfitters.

Today we hit 25 followers, so we are half way to some free flies out the door...

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

Hog Johnson sighting...

I woke up this morning to an email from ACF customer Brock Dixon that I should check out the recent Moldy Chum SOTM additions. Groggily booted up and went to the site, and...WOOF! Staring back in my face was 28" of Bull Shoals brown trout with an ACF tied Senyo Shaggy Minnow still in it's chomper! Powerful thick old shoulders and a bifurcated top lip to accept the kype...solid fish to say the least. Congratulations Brock and thanks for the heads up.

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