Thursday, December 22, 2011

Not My Forte

I am a very, very poor fly tier.  I am not sure when it all went to hell because I learned the basics relatively quickly, and enjoyed it to the point that I became relatively adept and my flies looked like what you could buy in a shop (for the most part) but somewhere along the line I realized that you don't need "shop" flies to catch fish.  A down and dirty dubbed brown nymphy looking cat puke fly fished just as well as a perfect pheasant tail with the correct number of tail filaments.  It got worse when I started carp fishing.  My personal theory is that carp don't see worth a crap when the moment is nigh.  The second they are faced with a close encounter with your fly they are as like to miss it as they are to eat it...and I have come to believe those instances are less refusal and more "where in the hell did that bug go?" So I simplified further, and my skills (meager to begin with) melted away.  

But I tied today.  One fly. Inspired by Jay at Colorado Fishing Reports I grabbed a sculpin head that I had bought a while back but not used.  These heads are sweet.
As I look at those beady eyes (glued on with zap a gap, and my fingers are still stuck together) I am envisioning the flats of lake MI.  Big, meat eating carp are prowling for gobies and I am chucking monstrous, rabbit strip flies and cackling gleefully as the beastly carp chase them down like smallmouth bass.  Throw this sucker at a Columbia River fish and everything within a mile will spook...so Lake MI is on my mind when I finish off my one fly for the day.
Not pretty, but it will fish.  Good material (beads, hooks, etc) make a difference in my opinion, but if you want to see what a really good tier can do with really good materials, head on over and check out Jay's work.  Absolutely outstanding stuff Jay.  

3 comments:

Jay Zimmerman said...

Nice!

Gregg said...

Montana,

Jay's work speaks for itself, I'd known of he since prior to my net searching. Also, he and I seem to share at least one past occupation in common. However, since joining the blogosphere there are those I consider my mentors, and you are one. Your tying lacks nothing. Very nice new addtions my friend.

Gregg

John Montana said...

Thanks for the kind words Gregg...I can tie well enough to get by, but am always impressed with the artistry that jay, Mctage, Erin, the roughfisher, and Winona fly factory put out there. Some pretty talented tiers...now, I am not ready to admit they can outfish me! Hah!