Reel Adventures of Fly Fishing
Part of the fun of a lake vacation is spending time with my kids, teaching them how to fish and watching them in action. On Keuka Lake they caught smallmouth, bream, perch, catfish, rock bass, and got very close to catching a pike.
This year my oldest stopped using worms and learned how to use lures. One evening she caught more fish than the rest of us using a red spoon.
My youngest is still intrigued with the sport, but loses interest quickly if she does not catch a fish after 5 minutes. She can be deadly with her Disney princess rod, but doesn’t like to get her feet wet.
Neither is ready for a fly rod, but they’re getting close!
Here are a few photos. Enjoy!
Recently I fished a 200-acre lake in Connecticut. While paddling along the bank I found a small opening, barely wide enough for a kayak to pass through. On the other side was a small cove, maybe 15′ by 15′ at best.
I stopped at the opening and cast into the middle of it. Here’s what I caught. By far it was the largest panfish for the day.
Today I had a chance to put a few of the CBBs to work. They did quite well. Here’s some video.
If you want to see how I make them, click here.
A few weeks ago I came across an article on coffee bean beetles. I am not a fly tyer by any stretch of the imagination but this intrigued me, primarily because it didn’t really involve tying at all. Instead it relies on the ability to use a magic marker and some glue – skills that are regularly employed by 5-year olds across the country without incident.
I wandered over to the kitchen cabinet and found a bag of coffee beans. Poured some into a bowl and picked out the largest round beans that I could find. Took them down to my basement workbench and, using a small file, created a small straight recess on the bottom of the bean for the hook to rest.
Next I used the black magic marker and colored the bottom of the bean. Set the hook in the recess and epoxied it to the bottom of the bean. On a couple of the beetles I cut up monofilament (old leader) to make legs.
Once the epoxy dried I turned the beetle over and, using an orange magic marker, colored the back of the bean. I also left some in the natural bean color as well.
Finally I covered most of the beetle in clear nail polish. Not only does it add a certain shine, it will help protect the beetle from cracking and water damage.
Done! Now let’s see how they do. Check this out
