The Alder Fly... And A Few Thoughts

 The Alder fly: Successful on freestone stream.  Tied size 10-16 with black silk, purple or black hurl body, brown hen wing, and black cock hackle.  A traditional fly for the classic angler but still an effective catcher of trout - so I have read.   I occasionally check out our fly fishing friends from over the pond and see what they come up with.  A lot of them are innovators of flies and new material but they do have a devotion to the classics. 
I admire that and feel somewhat that a connection to the classic is necessary for the sport.  It is really what has drawn me to fly fishing.  I love the old school way of doing things.  The reliance on ones own abilities to get a thing done.  If I need a thing fixed I try to fix it myself.  If I need a kitchen table build specifically for the size of my kitchen, I build it myself.  If I want to catch fish, I don't go down to the store and buy some fancy lure made by a machine - well sometimes I do - but mostly I tie up my own fly and catch trout. 
It might be the cheep Dutch blood in me that hates spending money on something I can make myself but its my way.  Its a way that our ancestors did things.  Its a reliance on ones own abilities or the drive to learn to do something, and do it well, that I believe a lot of Americans - and people around the globe - have forgotten about or no longer care about.  Anyway, sorry for the rant.  When I started typing I was only going to post the fly recipe but then the words started to flow.  Back to the fly - I got this little guy from a British fly tying book.  It ain't much of a painting but I hope this fly is to their tastes. Enjoy...

Do Trout Eat Butterflies

Here is a question for you, Do trout eat butterflies?  I have hear of them eating caterpillars if they fall from a overhanging tree but I am not sure if they would go after a full grown butterfly.  I thought about this idea last summer when I was rock hopping up a mountain stream, chasing trout, and watching swarms of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies fluttering up and down the water.  Incidentally the Easter Tiger Swallowtail is the South Carolina state butterfly - now you can say you learned something today. 
This butterfly is not the Eastern Tiger.  It is the Eastern Comma Butterfly and is also one of North Americas most common butterflies.  It is also one of the most people friendly and it is not uncommon to have one flutter up from your front yard and land on you hand.  Here is another question; Is it wrong for a grown man to know so much about butterflies?  Or  Is it wrong for a grown man to know so much about the insect world in general?  I don't know but I have always been fascinated with these little guys and defend my interest in them as a scientific interest an not just an interest in their beauty.
I made this for a friend of mine so it is not for sale.  It is another watercolor sized 8x10 on top quality watercolor paper.  She is by all accounts obsessed with butterflies and I thought this a fitting gift for Christmas.  I am fairly confident she seldom if ever reads this blog so I am not taking to much of a chance posting this here despite the fact that this is going to be her Christmas present.

The Classic Zulu

I've been doing quite a bit of late hour posts in the last few weeks and here is another one. This one, The Zulu, is a classic simple lake - loch - style fly common to the English and Scottish fly fisherman but I dare say has quite a following in the states as well. I have fished similar flies for trout and done okay but I can really see this fly killing Atlantic Salmon or sea run trout.

Tenkara Sketch & a Different Kind Of 3 Kings

The Tenkara army is growing and I believe that its bloggers that are driving this new wave of fly fishing.  Every day I see more and more posts on the subject of Tenkara and as this phenomenon spreads I feel inspired to promote it.
Also, I have finally gotten around to adding the Three Kings Of The Stream to my Buy A Fish page. If you are interested in a different three kings this season, just click over to the page and purchase this print.

B.H. Streamer

It doesn't have a name.
It's just splashes of paint that might resemble a bead headed Streamer.  Good luck trying to tie a version of this bug or bait.

Soft Hackled Late Post

Not much to add with this post. Almost forgot to post a fly today....again but in the 11th hour I remembered and quickly knockout a soft hackled fly for tonight.

Tenkara Santa

This little guy is called a Smut and was first known to be tied by a Danish fly fisherman and later perfected by Goddard.  Tied with all the material on the front of a small hook, this fly hangs on the surface like a fly unable to hatch.  I was going to title this post as A LITTLE SMUT but thought that it might get the wrong type of traffic on this site. 

Also here is a bit of bragging about my art being used commercially.  Daniel, from Tenkara USA asked me a few weeks ago to paint up a Tenkara Santa based on the Ebisu beer guy for a Christmas card.  It was a fun project and I was happy to see it on his site as an opening banner.  Check out it out at TenkaraUSA.com and discover the best way to fish the small streams of the world.  I have a Tenkara USA fly rod in my arsenal and know of no better way to backpack and fly fish a small stream

You should also check out Tenkara Bum and truly become part of the Tenkara Army.  Chris does a great job of supplying all the information you need to tackle a stream near you as well as providing gear to outfit you next trip.

If you fish Tenkara already then you no-doubt already know about these sites but if this is the first time you have heard about Tenkara then these sites are for you.

Downwing Caddis

The classic Downwing Caddis



Scott SC Bamboo Fly Rods
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March Brown Wet Fly

Big Eyed Squid Fly

Nothing new to add to todays post so all you get is a saltwater Squid Fly quickly done for the daily post project.

The Hornberg Special

Here is a quick rendition of the classic Hornberg fly.  A Wisconsin conservation officer, Frank Hornberg, developed the fly prior to the Second World War.   I'm not entirely sure of the actual history of the fly or the man but I got the impression  that this man was not one to share his secrets.  I also remember reading that he had a particular dislike for any 'worm dunker" that dared to fish his hole.  If anybody has more info on the subject - please inform us in the comments..

Three Kings Of The Stream

 Right now you are thinking to yourself, man that look quite a bit like the last three trout painting he did, why doesn't he get some new stuff.  Well in case you missed yesterdays post, this painting is similar to the previous on purpose.  It seems that during shipment of the previous painting, the shipper decided that it would be good to place an elephant on top of the box that was holding my clients painting.  As you can guess, this is not a good thing to do to a piece of art.

 So in order to replace the first original I have tried to duplicate it with the same style and at the same time make this piece original in its own rite.  You might notice the addition of a more colorful background to this work.  My client suggested that I add some of the effect I have used as a background for some of my flies and this is what I came up with.  Overall I think it worked well.  It adds a dimension of the fish in their natural environment.

 I have also changed the layout of fish in the work.  I find that when I copy the same painting over and over again, I get board with it and the overall work suffers.  It is important to keep the artistic drive for each of my original works if I want it to truly be special.

 After dropping in all the color layer by layer, nothing is left but to add the finishing touches.  Adding spots, sharpening lines, detailing fins and so on take time but in the end it improves the piece too a polished work of art.

On the suggestion of a few bloggers, I have added a picture of me at work.  I am not sure why anybody would like to see me working on a piece but as they say, give the people what they want.  Notice my fishing cap -Life Is Good - Trout Cap.  Hopefully I can replace it soon with a custom Year On The Fly Cap.  I have been looking into making a handful of baseball caps with a bit of art on them for sale on this site. Keep an eye out for them in the future.

Midgeman Inspired .... & A Doubletake

 Here is a quick midge inspired from the midgeman.  I took a little liberty with the colors but the overall look is direct from the man himself.  I am not sure how he ties such small and beautiful flies so consistently but he does and is worth a visit.

It took me a bit to do today's post but as you can see from the photo below, I was a bit busy.

If you are thinking that this painting looks remarkably similar to my last large three trout painting, you would be right.  Unfortunately a shipping mishap destroyed the last work so I in order to replace the one that got ruined I set to work on another piece.  This one does have a look all its own despite some similarities but I will wait to give you details until I post the final work.
As for the destroyed work of art.  I was nearly physically sick when I got word of how badly the shipper had treated it. This was the first time something like this had happened to one of my works and I think how it happened was that I let the package store pack the work for my instead of packaging it myself.  It was insured so there was no monetary loss but when you loose an original work of art that took so much time and energy to produce, it still hurts.  On the plus side, you get to see yet another three fish painting.  I am going to call this one "Three Kings Of The Stream" and should have the final work for you tomorrow or Sunday.

Bass Bug Quick Colors

Just a quick bass bug for today.

Salwater Streamer In Greens & Some Thanks

This green little guy has a lot of color in the tail that in the clear blue water of the gulf would catch the eye of any passing bonefish.  It has been my dream to spend a month or two (or a year or two) sailing the Caribbean fishing for tarpon and bonefish in the shallows of some forgotten reef.  Until that day comes - if it ever does - I will paint these beauties and dream of latching onto one of the scaled beasts for the ride of my life.

Also I would like to thank Albert Rasch from Rasch Outdoor Chronicles for profiling my art on his blog. When he contacted me about doing it I was really humbled. He runs one of the top hunting and outdoor boots on the web and it is an honor for him to take time and do a post dedicated to this blog. I would post a link to his blog but unfortunately I'm mobile posting and can't pull up to link option. You can however click his link on my blog role and give him some traffic.
Many thanks to all that have given my blog post time over the past year. PLEASE CLICK ON THOSE AND THE MANY OTHERS on my blog role that take time out of their lifes to share with the rest of us. Thanks once again.