Chart your progress and save time and effort. That will make you a better fisherman. Here are a few links to logsheets you can use. If you keep this going all year you will be at a decide advantage next year. These tricks are how the most successful guides always know what is happening where. Now that doesn’t mean you skip field research prior to a trip, but you’ll be better prepared.

The Links:
Fish Swami

Nodaoutdoors

Now for an online version specifically intended for flyanglers try:

MY DAILY LOG

This is my personal favorite, and one I am now using to log my trips. We’ll see how it works out. Looks cool and I like the amount of data I can track. In fact I am making up data sheets to take on trips where my laptop cannot go. Then I can save the data over to the log when I get home. Reliving each trip is a really cool thing for me.

I will add more links to this as time goes along. So come back and check this post often.

If you know any good links email them to me at : Aroostookflier@yahoo.com If you leave the link in a comment I will delete it! Please send it to me and I will get it posted within this article.

Well it seems FLW/Walmart is trying to get your attention if you love to bass fish. Try 1.7 Million for guessing the best anglers in each tournament and having the highest point score at the end of the year. Just like fantasy football you pick your team based on stats and hope they perform. May not be for all of you..but I kinda like the idea fishing is getting to be on the same scale as football.

Want to know more……. Check out FLW Fantasy fishing

Go over to “Daily Bag Limit” and read this article. Then hit the Youtube control to get a sneak peek at the movie. Love Joe Perham !!! Hilarious guy…good movie!!

DBL

This link wil take you over to the blog and you can read the review!!!!

Come on over to: NAFF FLY SWAP

Currently advising all of my readers to join me over at NAFF in a “Wetflies” swap. Until after this swap is completed. I will not host a swap here at AFT. Hoping to show you a great site and hopefully introduce more folks to swaps. A truly cool way to get great flies.

The Presidential rebate…..or “spending stimulus package”. Is a hot topic around most counters in the County. Stop by any conveniance store and someone is talking about how they will spend this money. Most of course just paid $3.22+ for gas, so part of this cash will end up in the gas tank, and heating oil tanks as well. Since the qualification is very liberal you can be pretty sure you will be seeing something.

Like most folks I have spent this “windfall” at least a dozen times. It could find it’s way into my flytying, or as a new vest. Buy new paddles for my canoes. Life jackets for “company” and a dozen other places.

In any event the cash will do what the President has set out for it to do. If you give me $600.00 to $1500.00 in expendable cash. I am going to spend it!!!

The ripple effect will or won’t do as he hopes. I just know with heating oil high and gas pushing $3.22 a gallon plus. Now that’s prior to “Tourist Season” which drives the price all the higher. We are all looking for any break in the never ending rising costs of life here. So cut my check and send it here ASAP!!

Want to learn more about the rebate? Here’s a great article over at Kiplinger. The links there will take you to the IRS and Treasury websites…so you get the facts.

You know if the government gave us $600.00 to $1200.00 of our money back every election year…. we”ld probably vote more often.

UPDATE: FOLLOW THIS LINK TO GET MORE INFO!!!!!! Details

Photos courtesy of troutflies.com
Pheasant Tail Nymph:

The Tye:
Tail T…three or four fibers extending about the hook gaps width past the bend
Body: PT wrapped forward 2/3rds
Wingcase: PT tyed over herl,
Thorax: Peacock Herl, leaving just enough room to tye down wingcase.
Thread: Black

This is the first fly any tyer should learn. Not only does it require minimal materials, it requires minimal skill to tye well. All you need is some pheasant tail feathers, black thread, and some peacock herl. The hooks you use are nothing special and most styles and sizes will work. The best part for the budding flyangler…trout love them.

Gold Ribbed Hares Ear

The Tye:
Tail: Rabbit fur
Body: dubbed hare’s ear
Rib: Gold wire, wrapped counterclockwise to bind the dubbing to the hook more securely.
Wingcase: Turkey tyed over thorax
Thorax: darker fur dubbed larger and with more guard hairs in it.
Optional: Some tyers add lead to the hook prior to tying. Either lead wire or sticky lead ribbon. If you feel you need more weight than the gold wire allows. Please try adding the lead. But you may choose instead to add a brass or tungsten bead instead.

The hares ear is the 2nd fly you should learn to tye. But some will tell you that it is more widely known and used than the PT. In Maine the PT ranks first with trout due to our insects. The hars ear comes in second only in that the earliest bugs are more like the PT in appearance. Try this in several colors to mimic the bug life in you pool. Paler colors work great for attractors in faster water.

The Copper John

The Tye:
Tail: goose biots or hackle fibers
Body: fine copper wire, colored wire variations add contrasts
Wings: Partridge fibers tyed V-style
Thorax: Peacock herl
Wingcase: Epoxy droplet
Bead: Brass (colored beads add contrast)
Thread: Black or red for contrast.

This is a heavy nymph that fishes deep without the need of lead . The copper shine makes it really atractive to all trout and most anything that swims. If I were setting up a trio to drift, the copper is always the anchor nymph. In fact these three are my go to patterns alot of the time when czech nymphing my local streams and brooks. I may go larger in the rivers and use a wetfly up top to add some bouyancy. But these three are deadly on trout. Either seperately or as the Troutman’s Trio. Hence the title…….

Poll

Squirrel Hair Streamers

I have permission to link over to Global Fly Fisherman to bring these to you. These are the best illustrated instructions I have ever encountered. So if you ever wanted to tye a streamer that catches fish here is your chance.

Not quite the same as me writing and photographing the whole thing but for a newbie this is a fantastic tutorial. So please click on it and see these three little beauties. Tye…… and use.

The Manitoba Monster !!!!!! 29 inches long x 21 inches in girth estimated at 15 to 16 lbs. was released as part of an on-line contest.

Just a word on two contests coming up for the spring season.
The first one will be for your best fishing or outdoor related picture.
(All entries to be emailed in and posted by me.)
The second one will be for your best fishing story. No minimum words or limits on length. (Pictures are optional.)
Both contests to be decided by the readers of this blog!

So get out your camera…….. and start writing!!!!!!

Need more information? Email me at: Aroostookflier@yahoo.com

Just curiuos about how many of you follow this blog. Especially in light of the fact that over the last year I have found myself off the net way too often. For that I wish to apologize. I began blogging not for you..(quite blunt huh?)..but for myself. Now that I have been without it for about 4 months I have realized that I wasn’t just doing it for me. I love to fish and write. The latter being abscent from a good part of my daily life left me feeling empty to a degree.

I found that people I knew were going on and reading my stories and learning about tying. They actually looked forward to my next article. Now I know I can effect others, and I so wish to do it for them and me both. So whether I get paid or not I will continue to write here as long as I can. In fact I am planning on holding classes on tying and fly casting this summer. either through my church or through my own classes. as a way to keep it fun to be an Aroostook Flyer and Tyer.

If you read this please let me know your thoughts and post a comment here.