Yellow Stone On Brown Gill Plate

I've been busy all weekend with work and unable to enjoy the holiday so I've got nothing interesting to add just to wish all a good Monday. Hopefully come Tue or Wed I'll be able to post a few fish - real ones - and a good trout report. Cheers.

Simple Hares Ear SH Emerger

Got the spring FlyRod & Reel magazine the other day from a news stand and was impressed by the new take on streamer patterns. Feathers and rabbit strips with a lot of weight. Looks good and easy to tie. I realy took notice of the rabbit-strip jiggy and the kickin' chick'n. Big browns watch out.

CDC Ant

Nothing to add today, just a little ant. Have a good Saturday.

Three Midges

Here are three Midges I did in pencil and pen/ink.  As the holiday weekend approaches I want to send out a big thanks for all those who have put there lives on the line for this country. Without you we would not enjoy the freedoms we now enjoy. Job well done!

Also if you get a chance, check out troutrageous.blogspot.com and his June contest. Of course if you don't I have a better chance to win. Good luck.

Rainbow Trout & Softhackle

ORIGINAL SOLD - 5 x 7 PRINTS AVAILBLE

Here is a nice little 10x8 Rainbow Trout painting I did yesterday. I was at a loss for the type of fly to put on it and finally settled on a standard soft hackle. Of course, with the exception of the fly, the work is done in watercolor.
On the fishing front, I am looking forward to a trip up to WV for a morning fishing with my buddy from Killbillies Outdoors. He has promised to show me some good water and the weather looks great. Hopefully I'll be able to hook up with some nice fish and get some killer pics for this blog and future paintings. Also looking forward to trying out some flies Bigerrfish sent me. Look for the post in a week or so.
Also my favorite forum is back up after nearly a three week absence due to a bit of an infection. It got cold I guess but its fixed now...

Mullet

Not to be confused with the redneck version, this Mullet does have a business in the front and party in the back look to it. Also like its human counterpart, it does catch fish.

Red Humpy & Paypal Is Up

First,  here is a red humpy.  It's been a while since I've posted a dry fly and I particularly like the looks and fishing of this fly.  I used a toned down palette for this work instead of going brighter with the red and I like how it turned out.  It gives it a more aged, rustic look.

Next,
I finally added a paypal buy now button to the blog. For now I only got it up for prints of the Brookie & the Dolphin but will soon be adding an additional button for all 6x4 prints of any fly on this blog. Also my art website will be getting buttons for buying original paintings as well as prints. I hope that this makes the whole process easy and user friendly for those that have inquired into the process and prices for purchasing any of these pieces.

Thanks for the support.

Muskie Streamer

Here is a muskie streamer with a bit of camera manipulation for the Canadian aviation map background.

I have purposely kept politics out of this blog, and will continue to do so because fly fishing and politics don't ever need to mix just like work and fly fishing need to be kept apart, however.....  A while ago our president caught heat over a comment he made over our social dependence on technology. Now while the prez & I have not seen eye to eye on a number of issues, I tend to agree with him on this one. Kids are growing up today without an understanding of the natural word around them and are escaping into their ipods and playstation instead of being outdoors and interacting with people.
  To cut to the chase,as a Blogger I'm as guilty as the next guy when it comes to using technology ( this post is from my smart phone ) but used properly it is a valuable tool to learn. An example is last year I  had less than a dozen days with a fly rod in hand. This year I've exceeded that and then some plus learned and grew as a fly fisherman and painter. I think a mix of old and new is healthy, to much technology and one looses sight of where we have been, to much focus on the past and you can't see the the road ahead.  Use technology as a tool and never forget that that is all it is.

Bottom Line... Don't let our kids escape from reality, use the internet to find a killer blue line and take them fishing.

Green No-named Streamer

Lime Trude

This in a Knoxville Lime Trude. If you take this fly into the mountains of TN you are going to catch trout. Again, this little fly is done on an aviation chart and is a mix of watercolor and pen.

Black Zonker

Here is a rabbit strip Zonker with a mylar tube body. Add a bit of fur for a collar and you got a killer streamer.  The color variations with this fly are vast but black and white seem to be the most widely used. 

  I know there are quite a few of you out there that live by the midge and would classify it as your favorite fly (bigerrfish, and midgeman come to mind) but for me it is the streamer.  Midges probably catch more fish on average but fish, of any species, seem to hit streamers hard!  There just is no mistaking a hit when you are stripping in a bucktail or Zonker and a hawg of a fish takes you fly. I love it! 

Dolphin

Did a bit of work on a fish I've wanted to paint for quite a while. Some time ago my father in-law and I did a bit of offshore fishing and he was lucky enough to hook into the best fish of the trip. It was a dolphin and it has to be one of the best looking fish I have ever seen. Blues, yellows, and greens, this fish was a piece of art and it was a memorable trip. We caught several other fish on that trip but this is the one that I remember.
This piece measures 18"x10" unframed. The fly is an Offshore Deceiver. I will be selling this piece for $80 unframed and $130 framed. 10x8 prints with a simple 14x11 mat cost $11+s.h. Until I can get my website setup with a paypall function, If you desire to purchase the painting or a print just Email me and we will work out the details.




For those of you that have asked about the Brookie painting and prints, the 10x8prints will run $11 + Shipping and the Original will run $110 for the painting and $160 if you want it framed.

Crawdad & Bassin

Here is a quick crayfish but the real story is a bit of bass fishing at a hidden pond a friend of mine took me to this morning. These are a few of the fish that hit my fly, notice the nice bass. What realy got the blood pumping was a hoss of a bass that was about twice that size and tuged on my 4lb line then lept in the air in a few heart stopping explotions. It was by far the bigest bass I had every caught on a fly or on a spin rod. I got it to the heavily weeded shore where I got a great look at it just before he hooked into a bunch of weeds and swam off. No picture so YES this is just another 'fish story'. Also, I out fished my spin casting buddy 7 to 2 and he is seriously thinking about picking up fly fishing. This is the second time he and I have gone fishing and the second time I have out fished him. Long live the FLY--------->>>>>

Crazee Charley

Red & White Clouser

Seriously, does anybody have any idea how many variations of the clouser there are out there. And it takes just about all types of fish when dressed in one way or another.