Fishing instead of blogging...

When I did have some time away from school, I went fishing! When I was done fishing it was back to school. So, no blogging. But, I do have a bunch of pictures.

Here are some Nebraska fish from the last 2 years:

Some Nifty Flies

I am OBSESSED with fly tying. I have not been able to put everything together to make my own videos so I thought I would share a few of my favorites.

The first set is from one of my best fly fishing buddies. Bryan is super creative at the vise and he knows how to catch fish!


Hammer from Bryan w on Vimeo.

I certainly don't want to offend anyone with the next comment but I feel that I must be honest. My favorite blog to follow is The Hopper Juan. Juan's flies are so practical, excellently tied, creative and inspiring. I would like to know how he developed the creativity. I would like to know how to tie so well. I would also like to know how I can capture my flies on film like he does. Juan is definitely one of my greatest inspirations for trout fishing with the fly.

The first fly is Juan's Flossback Emerger. You can purchase it at Dream Drift Flies.

 

This next fly is one I have yet to try but it looks like a trout slayer!

Tying the Colorado Caddis from Juan Ramirez on Vimeo.

My favorite bugger pattern is tied by the dudes at the North Platte River Fly Shop. You probably need to be on Facebook to see this one though.

Vanilla Bugger

I could go on and on with my favorite flies but this should wet your whistle. I hope to feature a lot more of my favorite tying videos in the future. Happy Tying!!! 

Also, Happy Easter!

The Snake Charmer

While spending some time in Portland, OR I stopped in an Orvis shop to look for some materials I wasn't able to find at other shops in the area. I make it a habit to window shop the fly bar if I am buying some material. I stumbled across a fly called the Snake Charmer. It looked familiar but I couldn't recall from where.

When I got home I was "flipping" through my electronic copies of Southwest Fly Fishing and it was a featured tie. I knew I had seen it somewhere!

Here is a screen shot of Kevin Price's Snake Charmer (available from Idylwilde)

Last fall I became addicted to topwater bass! After tangling with two Nebraska Master Angler bucketmouths I have had thoughts constantly in the back of my head regarding the best ways to bring up that fish that flushes the toilet on my bug.

Here are two victims of my topwater adventures:

Kevin has a neat blog, though it hasn't been updated (like I have room to talk), with info about bass fishing on the fly. Here are my best attempts at Price's Snake Charmer:

I wound up using a 4/0 Mustad 3407DT. And, since I will be throwing it in the garbage and salad, I used TWO weed guards instead of KP's one 80 pounder.

 I will return and report once topwater heats up a bit.

Nebraska Trout Streams

As promised forever ago, I am writing about the little gems of Nebraska - Nebraska Trout Streams. If I had a nickel for every time some one said to me, "Nebraska has trout?" I would be rich! Nebraska, indeed, has trout. I will not go into it here, but the best trout stream in Nebraska is private water and requires a significant wait and monetary contribution to fish. Since I can't chase these monster tailwater trout, I have to get my fill on other streams.

The closest stream, a 3 hour drive away, is called Verdigre Creek. Of all the little spring creeks in Nebraska, this is the one I have spent most of my time fishing. It is a unique place. It is stocked weekly with 10-12" rainbows for put-and-take reasons. The rainbows are not very discriminating so a tug is almost a guarantee. The best part of this stream is that is has a wild population of browns! The browns were last stocked in the 1980's and all the browns that are in there are skiddish and smart. It has taken me several trips to key in on the "browny" structure but I have managed to get a handle on it (crossing my fingers). The hold-over 'bows are fun as well.

Here are some wonderful Verdigre trout:

The Sandhills in Nebraska are known for the amazing, nutrient rich lakes that hold bass, pike, yellow perch and trophy bluegills (which I have not had the fortune to tangle with). Amidst the Sandhills are wonderful streams that support trout. These streams are no longer stocked and support wild browns and rainbows. The commute to these streams is approx. 5 hours so I have only gone a couple times.

Here are some beautiful Sandhill trout:

Since trout in Nebraska seem to be unheard of in most parts of the country, I consider the time I get to fish for wild trout in Nebraska very precious. The brown trout in these gems are all the more special to me!!!

RESURRECTION!!!

It has been OVER 2 YEARS AGO that I last posted something here. It is time to resuscitate this blog. I have been contemplating getting the air back in the tires here over the last week and I think it is time to go on our first adventure in quite some time. So, here we go.

As many of you know, I have spent the last 4 years in a Doctor of Pharmacy program here in Omaha. Along with the fourth, and final, year of school comes deciding where to start working upon graduation. And one step past that is figuring out if you want to go straight into the workforce or do some post-grad training as a resident - similar to a medical doctor. I chose going into residency. As part of getting a resident position, you are required to apply to any number of programs and then interview at as many as invite you.

Our family had our hearts set on the Northwest - close to family - so I applied to programs in Montana, Oregon and Washington. Fortunately I received invitation offers to most of the programs I applied to. Needless to say, I selected all of these area with the fly fishing in mind!

My final interview was in Missoula, Montana at the University of Montana Skaggs School of Pharmacy/St. Patrick Hospital and Medical Center. How could I go to Missoula and NOT fish? So, I DID!

I spent a day on Rock Creek with a new friend. Here are some pictures:

Some of my first casts on Rock Creek. From this run I managed 2 decent Westslope Cutthroats and a couple whitefish.

The flies of the day seemed to be Pat's Rubber Legs (size 2, 4 or 6 didn't matter) and copper, olive, red or black PTNs and Copper Johns.

Maybe this is why my initial choices in flies worked?  So, I stuck with it since no surface activity seemed to be occurring

My long forum, new in-person friend fished a Tenkara rod all day and had some good success. With a little arm twisting, John talked me into trying it. After a few casts that required me to SLOOOOOWWW WAY DOWN, I hooked up with a decent brown.

It was a fantastic day on Rock Creek. After last summer's trip to Rock Creek and this day-trip, I have a VERY special place in my heart for cutthroats. It would be neat to see these fish in full-on spawning colors.

It was also a great introduction to the next year of my family's life. I am the newest pharmacy resident at the University of Montana/St. Patrick Hospital and Medical Center. Here we come Missoula!!!