Team GFR

Now that the Eagles are out of the playoffs, it's time to tie some flies.

Anyone trying anything new?

I will mostly be tying pheasant tails and sulphurs, but I'm up for new ideas.


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I'll be tying a bunch of different smallmouth bass flies, to imitate hellgrammites and crayfish and such.
I'll also be tying some nymphs with various materials to make them look more life-like, I thought that may be fun.
And I am going to stock up a few fly boxes with mountain wild trout stream favorites like elk hair caddis, yellow stimulators, interactors, etc... so I can load up one of my old chest packs and just leave it at the cabin.

I am also going to invent some sort of hella-cool dry fly that catches enough trout that I can name the thing "McNasty".

Yes, I need to start tying some also. I got me a new rotary vise. May I suggest, in addition to Hare's Ear and Caddis Pupa in a variety of hues, Light Hendricksons. Last year when I was reviving with you guys, there was a good hatch of those buggers just before and with the Sulfers. I got many refusals with the sulfer as they were sipping the Hendricksons. I will be ready this year. Oh yeah, it's damn cold here!!!!!!!!!!!!

I also saw some other mayfly duns on the water while the sulphurs were hatching, though not nearly in the same number as the suphurs. I think maybe the cooler weather and the fact that sulphurs came off all afternoon had something to do with the mix-match hatching.
I really didn't notice many trout eating these other flies and refusing the sulphurs, although I probably wasn't paying attention that closely. The nice thing about Spring Creek is that there are so many trout that if one keeps refusing your fly, you can just move on to the next rising fish. If a trout was consistently refusing my sulphur, I just figured that fish was being super selective because my fly wasn't tied with grade 1 hackle or something, and so I'd move on to the next one. But maybe that particular fish was eating something other than sulphur duns. Who knows?
What kind of rotary vise did you get?
I have one and although I don't seem to use the "rotary" function all that often, when I do use it, it definitely comes in handy.

Finally, after 30 years, I bought a Renzetti Vise. I have always wanted one. They're supposed to be the smoothest out there. Maybe it will help these aging eyes and fingers. I also got a new Orvis Clearwater 8 and 1/2 foot 5 weight rod. Now I can leave my Cummings on the wall so i don't break it. Now it just needs to warm up. Only 2 days above freezing since Jan 9th. Come on Spring.

A Renzetti vise sounds really nice. Mine is nothing at all like that.
New fly rods are always nice. I have an Orvis rod (a 7' 9" 2 wt.) and it's really nice, but I think the action is a bit slower than what I like. Maybe 'cuz it is such a light rod. How is the action on your new Orvis rod?
I am in the final stages of building my first rod, a 9' 6 wt. to use for smallmouths. I had a chance to fish the upper Susquehanna in New York a few times last fall, and it was alot of fun. But casting size 6 weighted crayfish flies was a bitch with a four-weight rod. Hopefully this will be more up to the task.

I tried to tie a pheasant tail using fine copper wire instead of thread... it didn't go well. After about ten minutes, i unwrapped the copper wire, threw it out and tied on some thread.


gotta try something new,
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