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Here it is March….the snows are thinning and the rains are at hand…and yes spring is nearing.

The last days of ice are at hand and bring great joy to my heart. Soon the rivers will flow and the trout will rise.
Oh I have “icefished” a little this year ..just to keep me sane. But as the old joke goes…”it’s just too hard to cast into that little whole……not to mention trying to work that 9 foot rod in the ice shack.”

But I am reviving a tradition of my youth….. yes I will be fishing on April 1st, Opening day ..even if I have to wear a snowsuit!!!

To keep me sane I have been tying flies incessantly…… doing as many as 3 to 4 swaps a month online. The swaps are exchanges of flies among fly tyers from all over the planet or state. Someone acts as the “swapmeister” and collects the dozen or so flies from each participant. Then mails out these packages of 12 to all who signed up to enter. Usually these swaps have a theme…..wetfly/streamer/nymphs or whatever. The greatest part of this is that I get packages of flies in the mail all the time…and some are incredible.

But now my mind has shifted to spring and to tying flies for my forays. Theres the musky fishing at Baker Lake in June. Bass In Mattawamkeag after June 21st. Trout all over the place up here in Aroostook. Ice out on Nickerson and Drews…trolling greyghosts and Joes smelts for early togue. Then down to Grand lake to troll the same patterns and a few secret creations for landlocks. Perch runs and schoolers on Drews in late June. Not to mention some exploratory trips to Portland lake for brookies and Deering for shallow bass action. As well as the usual trips to Mill steam to land a few pickerel on my big yellow seaducers.
There’s the Beaver ponds I found on Google Earth…. the stocking reports telling of big fish stocked last fall and assorted other “exploration” trips to look over places we hunted near last fall.

I could go on for hours about all the places I want to fish this summer. But will keep it brief and “on topic”. The greatest thing about being a fly tyer…..fishing!!!!
Each new pattern creates the wife friendly excuse… but I have to test that new pattern.
Now with the blogging……I see many days afield for me this summer. I have to come up with more to write about.
Not to mention I owe it to all the fly swappers from last winter to try what they sent and report back to them how they did here in Aroostook County Maine.
Then there’s coming up with “proven” patterns to tye next winter…..all of which must be tested thoroughly and on as many species as possible. I owe it to them to provide complete and accurate data.
The one only real preparation necessary for spring……… is for it to hurrry up and get here!!!!!!!
(Sorry…..just a little cabin fever …….and maybe too much coffee.)

I find myself reading and writing more and more about the particulars of flyfishing, due mostly to this Blog. I am well versed in all of the traditional fly tactics and equipment. But endeavor to develope more concise opinions on the subject. Therefore it is with much hesitation I embark on this particular subject. You see although I appreciate the greater tradition of fly fishing, I think most anglers miss the point. The sole purose of the hook and feather is to fool trout and to catch them. The rest is bunk……

In all my years fishing I never saw an LL.Bean vest make anyone a better student of trout water. But I have seen “Tapps Tips” in Field and Stream show a budding angler a thing or two. Knowledge doesnt come with the equipment you buy. Even the helpful how to videos that get shipped with some things are a waste of time. What you need to catch fish is time on the water and add to that…more time to watch and less to waste by aimlessly lashing the water. Observations have caught more fish than flies have. The fly is useless if you put it in the wrong place at the wrong time. Here are a few things to consider:

1. Stand back and study the water you are about to fish. Look for current flows and back eddies that hold foam.
2. Watch for trout feeding, on or below the surface
3. Look in the shore pockets for dead insects, make note of color and size, and species. (But species is of lesser concern here.) Tie on something similar.
4. Now plot a course along the bank, that won’t cast shadows on the water
5. Pick a spot out there, if you can’t cast to it from shore , wade out carefully and down current from it.
6. Make your first cast up stream and on the near side of the object you are casting to. Be it a rock sheltering trout, a current break that funnels food, or an eddy that slows the current and lets fish rest.
7. Once you cast to the near side twice or more, try to work the mid area and lastly the farther area.
8. Thoroughly fish each suspected pocket, even if it means you have to change flies to do it. Try to fish from top to bottom as well as near to far.

These basic tactics hold true everywhere….. match the hatch…..and fish the patch to catch. A good fly is priceless, but worthless if tossed into the wrong place. Spend your time… not your money. Learn the water, learn the bugs, and learn to put more value in the knowing than the showing. Being fashionable doesn’t fool fish knowledge does. That 300.00 Sage rod means nothing to the fish. Neither does the 20.00 Shakespeare. What matters to them is you tossing what they want where they want it… and you only get to know that by learning it. If nothing else become a keen observer of trout and water. If you do that they will show you where to place the fly… and nature will show you the type and size to use.