Santa brought me a new video camera.  While it will get most of it’s use at chorus concerts and the kids’ sporting events, it’ll spend its off time at the tying bench and on the water…

I’ve got a lot to learn when it comes to this video stuff, but I gotta say that I’m pretty happy with the results of the tying video I did below at the camera’s default settings and basic lighting.  I should be able to ramp up the quality level a notch or two once I figure out all the buttons and stuff.

Anyways, here is a video tutorial on how to tie a very simple damselfly nymph pattern that proved itself over and over again on my local panfish puddles in ’09.

The biggest perk of this blogging thing is the friends I’ve made along the way.  One such friend is Keith Barton, the dude who writes the Singlebarbed blog.  Among his many talents, Keith makes a pretty sweet dubbing blend or three.  I got a baggie of one of his newest blends a month back or so, the peackock blend I used on the bottom right flies in the pic.  I think Keith nailed the peacock herl color scheme in this blend, but what I was really impressed with was how soft the stuff is.  It stuck to the thread like glue.

The copper/brown mix at the top is also from Keith, but isn’t really a blend, more of an uncut ingredient that isn’t too shabby by it’s lonesome.  The flo-orange stuff on the bottom left color scheme is the stuff you get at your local fly shop.  It isn’t too bad to work with, unlike some sparkle dubbing stuff I’ve used in the past, but it lacks the softness of Keith’s stash.

I drew the line off my fly rod and draped the loose coils in my left hand. I felt the 30 lb, wire leader between my fingers as I grasped the hook in my right. The eye of the fly looked at me as if to say “you better mean business this time.”

Check out the full story at FlyAddicts.com

Ya know, I’m pretty sure that if I ever heard you say a fly fishing celebrity was your hero, I’d either laugh or roll my eyes at you.  Yet, there is some hypocracy there, cause most of the people I look up to are in fact, fly fishermen.

I’m deeply saddened to report that Rusty Gates is no longer with us.

Once in a lifetime there is someone that touches your life in so many ways. Rusty Gates was one of those people. His spirit and tenacity had an affect on everyone involved in environmental causes, from hikers to hunters to the many of us who came here to cast a fly far and fine. He was a fighter and it was the good fight that he chose to engage; catch and release on the Holy Waters, National Guard noise pollution on the North Branch, oil wells on the South Branch, and toxic chemicals on the Big Water. Da Gator led the way. A tap on the shoulder, a glance from those blue/grey eyes, a short conversation; that was usually all it took. We set to our tasks with a brio, partly from the cause, partly not to let him down.

You can learn more at either his website, or at the Anglers of the Au Sable website.

From the hilarious, Typical Question on a Local Board thread at The Drake Magazine’s message board-

I was fishing the ********** a few days ago and I noticed a spot in the river that was really white so much so that it stood out clearly. I went over to inspect and picked up a few rocks but found no bug activity. This worried me I don’t know if there is a problem like some kind of disease or something foreign that was introduced into the river. So I went around and picked up a few rocks that had moss and lots of bugs on them, I think they were blue wings, and set them up in this area hoping to revive it. I also kicked up some stuff right above it so it could settle on the rocks and reinvigorate bug life. I am going to the ********** tommorow and I will fill in all the white spots to insure a better fishery for all of us. Has anyone had experience or seen something like this before? I don’t really fish too often but I would hate it if the ********** lost all its insect life it is a really nice place to fish close to home. Would any one like to help me tommrow?

I can never recognize the reflection looking back at me when I stand in front of a mirror, or look at myself in pictures. I make eye contact with myself, and it’s like I’m looking at someone that isn’t real.  Or rather, it’s like looking at a picture of someone who passed away.  The eyes in the picture, they stare back, following me around the room as if they were still there.  You get a sense that thoughts are still happening behind them. I guess the only time I see me, and feel like I’m looking at the real me, is when I see pictures of myself fishing. I like to think this is because it’s when I’m doing what I love that the real me comes out.