Sage

Street fights in Marathon !!!
In Marathon, Florida street fights can break out in the best part of town,
especially at night. The humans seem pretty friendly, but there are some
bad-ass fish that hang out under docks and bridges. 
Tarpon, snook, jacks and an assortment of other ruffians often form gangs on the attack...
if you don't want 'em chewed, keep your flies out of the water!!!

It was after midnight and Captain Chris Morrison's sleek little Dolphin skiff slid along the inky surface in near silence.  The engine had been turned off over a hundred yards back but the momentum carried us forward.  Ahead the high powered lights turned the water under the dock a bright aqua blue against the deep velvety black of the night.  Shadows glided into and out of the light;...big shadows. Several bruiser Jack Crevels and a couple of medium sized Tarpon patrolled the area for baitfish and shrimp drawn to the light.  I was armed with a 10-weight BIIX and a Tibor 

Riptide.  The circle of light was an easy target from 75' and the 5-inch bright yellow streamer found its mark dead center.  The second fast strip came up tight and a juvenile Tarpon tore the glassy surface into shreds.  Six high-flying, gill rattling jumps and some hard pumping and grinding brought the 25-pounder to Chris's hand for the release and the healthy fish sped away free, but wiser.  It was one of five tarpon for the evening.  There had also been a host of jacks in varying sizes and a Lookdown.  Just because

people sleep at night, it doesn't mean that fish have to. Many species of predatory saltwater fish are very active at night. Florida coastal cities have canals with street lights, bridge lights, dock lights & building lights that ultimately attach bait to them. The bait attracts larger sport fish. The size of the fish varies from place to place.  Under some bridges the tidal flow is concentrated between the piers.  On some tidal changes canals can become 5-knot rivers.  Tarpon hold in the concentrated flow like steelhead. Most of these fish weigh 40 to 100 pounds.  Some weigh 150 pounds.  Fish that hang around dock at night tend to be much smaller.  Most are 2 pounds to

25 pounds.  Obviously you will want a variety of rod weights.  We take six outfits.  (2) #12's, one with a clear tip and one with a fast sinker, (2) #10, one with a Mirror Lure and one with a Swimminer, (2) #8, one with a Pencil Popper and one with a streamer.

they have proven durability. Many  experienced anglers believe that the 444 series of fly line are still the best.

1. 

Cortland 444 444 Classic Sylk Line
The 444 Classic Sylk fly line is the first ever fully synthetic fly line to recreate the original appearance and unique performance of the finest natural silk lines from the past 100 years - without all the maintenance and high cost. Skillfully designed for the avid bamboo and fiberglass angler, the 444 Classic Sylk fly line is butter-soft and is smaller in diameter than traditional synthetic floating lines, making it the line of choice for traditional action rod anglers, including those earlier rod designs that have smaller guides. With the traditionalist in mind, Cortland’s technicians have designed this line in a color that nearly matches the look of traditional silk line coated with linseed oil and mucilin. Their suppleness makes them great cold weather lines with virtually any fly rod. The taper of the new 444 Classic Sylk is based on traditional silk line designs with long front tapers and longer level tips.

Cortland SL Precision Fly Fishing Line

Cortland SL Precision Fly Fishing Line in-stock, no sales tax - $20 orders ship free in USA.

Taper: WF Rocket2, half sizes available.
Length: 30 yards
Core: Nylon Braid
Color: Straw head/body
SL Green running line
Featuring Cortland’s new Rocket2 taper design, these trout lines are available in half weights and whole weights to enable the angler to perfectly match their line to their rod. Precision SL’s also feature a color change for easy pick up and loading and Cortland’s newest formulation, Duraslik – all new chemistry to enhance slickness and durability.

We ’ve literally gone back to the drawing board with this fly line series, while at the same time remembering all the folks that have told us that the 444 SL just can’t be beat! It is hard to improve on a great thing, but not impossible.

Cortland 444 SL Precision® Tapers are an exciting new line of species specific fly lines designed to turn over flies perfectly, accurately, every time. The Precision Tapers also feature Cortland’s newest performance enhancer, Duraslik®.   Duraslik® is an entirely new formulation that dramatically increases durability and ensures that these lines will stay slick.

Important new features of the Precision Tapers include (on some models) the availability of half weight line sizes, two tone for easy pickup identification and an exciting new taper design called the Rocket2. Never before has a fly line manufacturer made available fly lines designated by whole and half weights. Driven by the tremendous diversity of fly rod actions, fly anglers will now be able to more precisely match their fly line weight to their rod’s action.

A color change has also been included, indicating the maximum load point for easy pickup. Finally, Cortland, the innovator of the original Rocket taper, now introduces the Rocket2 taper design - more weight up front for directional stability, with a long front taper for delicate, precise presentations backed up by an extra long back taper for maximum aerialization.
New tapers, new formulations. Choose your species, we’ll do the rest. Count on the finest quality from Cortland.
 

Fly-Fishing in Patagonia
By: David Osgood
It sounds exotic; and it is!  I had always heard stories about great fishing in un-spoiled waters with little pressure from other fishermen.  Finally, the opportunity presented itself as an add-on to a trip primarily devoted to hiking with a group of friends in the Argentine National Parks dedicated to the glaciers that come down off the crest of the Andes Mountains.  Where to go?  I got on the internet

and searched for guides in the area and found Patagonia Adventures, an operation run by Kent Shoenauer, a native Oregonian.  I told him that my wife and I were interested in seeing his part of Patagonia and getting some help for her in improving her casting and fish-playing skills.  His response was, “I have the perfect guide for you.  He is a good and patient teacher.”  What he didn’t tell me was that the guide would be his 23-year-old son, Eric who was born in California, but grew up in Chile and Argentina.

Kent operates from three lodges, one in Argentina, and two in Chile.  We were the only guests at the oldest one, located just a few kilometers across the border on the Puelo River.  You get there by flying into Bariloche, Argentina, from Buenos Aires, Argentina or Santiago, Chile.  From there you travel south by SUV for about two hours to the town of El Bolson, where you transfer to a 22 ft jet-boat for the trip to the lodge.  The trip across Lake Puelo to the border takes 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the wind and waves.  At this point you visit a tiny Argentine border station and have your passport stamped as leaving Argentina.  Now it is back in the jet-boat, down a short stretch of the Rio Puelo, and onto another lake for the short trip to the Chilean border station where you get your passport stamped again as entering Chile.  Again you board the jet-boat for the ride across this lake and down the Puelo for about a mile to the lodge. Here you are about as far from civilization as you can get, but the lodge is equipped with all the creature comforts any of us need to be happy on a fishing trip.  Think good beds, flush toilets, hot showers, and did I mention a well-trained chef?  The meals are both varied and beautifully presented.  The lodge has a garden, orchard, flock of ducks, and sheep to provide much of the fresh fare for the table.

We arrived at the lodge about 5:30 in the afternoon and were fishing within an hour.  Eric took us up to the lake in his new “fishing boat” and checked us out as he introduced us to the fish.  The boat is constructed entirely of ABS plastic; the stuff we know as drain pipe for our houses.  The larger pipe sections are filled with closed cell foam, making the thing virtually unsinkable.  It is about 18 feet long and is powered by a 40 hp Yamaha 4-stroke jet.  We found it to be a great river boat as it handles rapids well and provides a very stable platform for two fishermen. It is equipped, like all of their

fishing boats, with the Oar-Rite system from Madras, Oregon.  That was another indication that we really were not too far from home.

When we reached the lake Eric cut the motor and took up the oars.  He rowed us along the edge of a tule bed that looked a lot like the shore of Hosmer Lake in our own Central Oregon.  We cast Chernobyl Ants up as close to the edge of the reeds as we could get them.  This was my first time using these outlandish-looking flies and I was a bit skeptical that any self-respecting trout would give them the time of day but I was rewarded within the first ten minutes by a nice 18 inch brown trout that put a real bend in my new Temple Forks TiCr 5 Wt.  Thanks, Mark for recommending these reasonably priced rods.

While Eric rowed and worked with Judy on her casting technique, I caught a slightly smaller rainbow and missed several other fish that gave this piece of foam on the end of my line a serious look.

About eight o’clock we fired up the motor and went downstream past the lodge to a broad flat to anchor for the evening hatch.  Here Judy stayed with the Chernobyl while I switched to a stimulator to simulate the stoneflies that were expected to start coming off.  The local stonefly looks very much like the golden stones we see on the Deschutes and they land on the back of your neck just like back home.  Shortly after we anchored the surface action started and before long a feeding frenzy was in progress.  Judy hooked at least 8 or 10 fish during that 45 minutes before dark but managed to break off or pull out all of them.  Eric was very patient, as promised, and finally convinced her to let the fish run against the drag to tire the fish before reeling it in.  She managed to land the last one, a fat 18 inch rainbow.  Meanwhile, I was having a ball hooking and releasing enough fish to give my arm a workout.

When it got too dark to see to un-hook the fish, Eric radioed Paolo (the chef) and we headed back to the lodge for a fantastic dinner and a shower before bed around mid-nite.  The South American schedule of eating late and getting up late takes a bit of getting used to, but we adjusted to breakfast at 8:30 and lunch about 2 pm.  We would then take a break until about 4:30, when fishing would begin again and go until dark.  Fishing the Rio Puelo was much like big river fishing anywhere.  We had our best success in the daytime on stonefly nymphs (both golden and black) dead drifted through the riffle bottoms and woolly bugger and leech patterns in the deeper pools.  A couple of times we ran into brief mayfly hatches in the early afternoons and did well on parachute Adams and blue-winged olives. All of this was done with the normal amount of Patagonian wind.  It generally blows from the West, but occasionally switches around for a few hours and comes form the East.  What it seldom does is stop.

The one day it did let up we went up to the lake in the morning and fished the far end where the Rio Puelo comes in.  Here there is a lot of floating debris from the fast water upstream.  The river also carries a good supply of bugs and the fish in the lake come cruising.  We would motor up to the inlet and drift through all this with Eric on the oars steering us toward feeding fish.  It was like sight-fishing for bonefish.  You would drop a Chernobyl a few feet in front of a cruising fish and wait until it got within a foot or two of it before twitching it.  The takes were very slow, but purposeful, and it was hard to wait until the fish grabbed the fly to set the hook.  I think I pulled the fly away form more than I hooked, but this was the most fun part of the trip for me. Unlike my past bonefishing experiences, there never seemed to be a lack of fish.  When you either hooked or missed one, it only took a minute or two to find another to try.  I would have been happy to spend the whole week at this spot, but the wind never died enough to try it again.

In addition to the rainbow and brown trout, the Rio Puelo is also home to introduced runs of Chinook and Atlantic salmon.  The Chinooks come in in December and the Atlantics in late March and early April.  These are relatively new introductions and the runs are getting stronger every year.  The Schoenauers maintain a “fishing camp” lower down on the Puelo to focus on the salmon.  The camp is a much more rustic experience than the lodge we stayed at.  It is about 5 hours by horseback from the lodge.  The reward is the opportunity to go after some really big fish that are harder to find most other places.  The Atlantics are numerous enough that clients average more than one per day and the 30- pounder is not uncommon. I certainly want to go back in early April to give them a try.

In addition to the Rio Puelo, Kent takes clients fishing in the adjacent area of Argentina including Alerces National Park. The Argentine fishery includes 3 rivers and 5 lakes that offer both day-fishing from his lodge at the edge of the park or multi-day float trips on the local rivers for both rainbows and browns that “all seem to be between 18 and 26 inches.” The third lodge is farther south in Chile on the Rio Yelcho. His prices are reasonable, the scenery is fantastic, there are no snakes or biting insects to contend with, and did I say anything about the food? 
Check him out at: www.ArgentinaChileflyfishing.com

The Old Steelhead Fly Fisher
An 80 year old man went to the doctor for a check-up and the doctor was
amazed at what good shape the guy was in.

The doctor asked, "To what do you attribute your good health?"

The old timer said, "I'm a steelhead fly fisher and that's why I'm in such
good  shape. I'm up well before daylight and out chasing steelhead up and
down the Sandy River."

The doctor said, "Well, I'm sure that helps, but there's got to be more
to it. How old was your dad when he died?" The old timer said, "Who said
my dad's dead?"

The doctor said, "You mean you're 80 years old and your dad's still
alive?  How old is he?"

The old timer said, "He's 100 yrs old and, in fact, he fished steelhead
with me this morning, and that's why he's still alive... he's a steelhead fly fisher."

The doctor said, "Well, that's great, but I'm sure there's more to  it.
How about your dad's dad? How old was he when he died?"

The old timer said, "Who said my grandpa's dead?"

The doctor said, "You mean you're 80 years old and your grandfather's
still living! How old is he?"

The old timer said, "He's 118 yrs old."

The doctor was getting frustrated at this point and said, "I guess he
went steelhead fly fishing with you this morning too?"

The old timer said, "No... Grandpa couldn't go this morning because he
got married."

The Doctor said in amazement, "Got married!! Why would a 118-year-old
guy want to get married?"

The old timer said, "Who said he wanted to?"

Salmon Fry Flies

Salmon Fry Emergence Unseen Super Hatch?

Links To Salmon Life Cycle Information
Eggs and Alevin
The Salmon's Perspective
The Role of Chinook

2005 Northwest Fly Tyer’s Expo Report
By: Bob Larsell
The Northwest Fly Tyer's Expo is the granddaddy of fly tying shows on the west coat of the US. It is held each year in Eugene, Oregon as a get-together of over 160 of the area's most noted tiers and is attended by huge numbers of fly fishers that enjoy watching and learning and talking.

This year's Expo featured a number of the most famous names in fly fishing.  Alec Jackson was there along with Bob Quigley, Denny Rickards, Henry Hoffman, Brian Silvey, Harry Lemire, Derek Fergus, Loren Black, Harry Gross and many others, all of whom have contributed innovative ideas and methods to the rest of us to help fool the fish that we love to pursue with a fly rod. The doors to the pavilion were opened at 9:00am and the tiers worked two hour shifts at the vise, ending at 5:00pm.

There were all sorts of patterns being tied; everything from tiny trout patterns to full dress Atlantic Salmon flies, all one needed to do was pull up a chair at a certain tier’s station and watch, ask questions and if you wanted, take copious notes.

A material sale went on where you could pick up bargain priced items, everything from floss to hides to tinsel and feathers.

At the end of the event each year is a banquet and auction, during which you can bid on some of the dozens of items donated, these included fly-plates, shadow boxed classic patterns, rods and reels as well as guided trips and even tying materials, can you use a pound bag of feathers?

Plan on attending next mid-March.