I will gone for a few days in search of fall lake trout in Canada. Upon my return I plan to have photos and stories of lakers on the fly in the shallow waters off Rocky Reef. Watch for the posts next weeek.

GB

Rocky Reef where we will search for fall spawning lakers.

The fall lakers really go for the Bullhead Silver Leech.

In the last post I described the non-slip knot that my old friend Harry Kime showed me many years ago. He called it the Casa Mar knot, but I changed the name to honor this pioneer of salt water fishing. I had a note from a reader that the knot is also called Clifford’s Knot, because a guide at Casa Mar named Clifford had used it. So, whether Clifford’s Knot, the Casa Mar Clincher, or the Kime Clincher, it’s been around for some time and is well proven as a great knot in heavy shock tippet material.

I don’t use it in lighter tippets, as would be used on trout flies, because it is the stiffness of the shock tippet material that allows the knot to perform so well. Another great friend, Lefty Kreh, modified Clifford’s Knot by adding another turn or two with the tag end around the tippet, before the tag end goes back through the overhand knot. This works on finer and softer tippet materials very well. Lefty’s No-Slip Loop Knot is fast and easy to tie.

As with all the non-slip loop knots, start with an overhand knot. Run the tag end of the tippet through the eye of the fly then back up through the overhand knot.

Wrap the tag end around the tippet 3 to 5 turns.

Run the tag end back down through the overhand knot.

Snug it tight.

I had some comments about the Belize Knot that Jeff Parker showed me, and so I thought I’d go back and work through some similar knots that have been developed over the years.

Harry Kime was one of the originals. Salt water flowed in his veins, and he never missed a chance to take is 16 foot pram out into the Sea of Cortez in search of anything that would take his fly. One of the problems that he addressed early on in his angling career was the problem of changing the fly—especially when that fly was attached to 80-pound, Mason hard mono. For those who have grown up in the day of fluorocarbon, let me note that 80-pound Mason is about as stiff as coat hanger wire. It’s a great material for a “shock” tippet (really an abrasion tippet) but boy is it ever tough to tie any reasonable knot in. Harry came up with a knot that is absolutely secure in the hard mono. In addition, the hard mono holds the shape of the knot and every kink that’s put into it allowing the knot to be untied and retied many times without having to cut the shock tippet material. It’s a knot that anyone who fishes the blue water or the flats will find highly useful. And like all the non-slip loop knots it’s built on an overhand knot tied in the tippet before the fly is threaded on.

Start with an overhand knot in the shock tippet.

Thread the tippet through the eye of the fly--up or down, doesn't matter.

Run the end of the shock tippet back up through the overhand knot.

Wrap the tag end of the tippet under the tippet. Look carefully at the direction of the end relative to the overhand knot.

Now go back through the overhand knot with the end of the tippet. Again, look carefully at the way the end of the tippet wraps around and goes back through the overhand knot.

Pull the overhand knot tight before snugging the end of the tippet down against the overhand knot. Clip the tag end of the tippet so that it's about as long as the knot. This makes it easy to untie and tied the knot over and over. One can make the loop small by making the overhand knot as small as possible before tying the knot.

Nancy and I spent a four day weekend on the shores of lake Michigan, and it got me to thinking of an upcoming trip to Ontario to fish for Lake Trout and, of course, the fall salmon and brown season. In turn that got me to thinking about fishing the flies on a loop knot. This last summer, I learned a new loop knot that I really like. It’s the Belize Knot, shown to me by Jeff Parker (“Parker”) who guides for No-See-Um Lodge in Alaska. He called it that because a guide (named Fabian) in Belize showed him the knot. What I really like about it is that it can be made as small as one needs. So small, in fact, that Parker was using it to tie on fry imitations (size 16 hook) when he showed it to me. In addition, when the knot is finished, the tag end points rearward, and when it’s clipped, doesn’t pick up weeds as the fly is retrieved.

Begin the Belize Knot with a standard overhand knot.

Run the tag end through the eye of the fly.

Make 3 to 5 turns around the tippet with the tag end.

Run the tag end back down through the overhand knot.

Pull the knot tight. Unlike a Clinch Knot, you can pull on both ends of this knot. Make the overhand knot very small and keep the wraps close, then pull both ends and the knot will be very small. Clip the tag end.

My apologies to those of you who view this blog on a regular basis. We lost our internet connection about a week ago and our service provider danced around the problem trying a variety of fixes that didn’t work. Then came the holiday, and they were closed. Finally they came out yesterday and replaced our modem. At last, we’re back up and running. I’ll be able to get items up on the blog with regularity again. Today’s topic is fishing with a cane pole and string, well not really, it’s a bit more sophisticated than that.

Tenkara is the ancient Japanese art of fly fishing with a pole and string. Yes, all fly fishing started that way, and up until the middle of the 1600s, basically stayed that way. The uniqueness of Tenkara is that it was, and still is, highly refined and very delicate. Tenkara anglers did not seek large brown trout and Atlantic salmon. The technique was developed on small, swift waters for cherry trout, the slightly larger Iwana, and other tiny chars that inhabit the mountain streams of Japan.

And while the tackle was greatly refined to reflect the fish for which it was developed, it is the flies that are of particular interest. Unlike their soft-hackle counterparts in the West, Tenkara soft hackle flies are dressed with the cup of the hackle facing forward. As Dr. Kevin C. Kelleher and Misako Ishimura explain in their recent book, Tenkara, “The traditional sakasa kebari or reverse hackle fly, is fished with a pulsing tip motion that flares the hackle tips in a seductive manner. Cast upstream of your target, and give the fly time to sink a bit. Send three or four pulses to the fly while retrieving it in the upper six inches of water.”

Tenkara is finding a small following among anglers, worldwide. It can be done with the classic Tenkara rod and static line, but it can also be done with standard fly fishing gear. See Kelleher and Ishimura’s book for more information on this ancient aspect of our marvelous sport.

Tie in the hackle feather at the head of the fly, cup face forward.

Wing the hackle rearward and tie off behind the wound hackle. Form a thread body (or dubbed body (one can add a tail, too, it desired, but it's not traditional).

Abel Reels is always coming up with new things for the fly fisher. Years ago, they started producing their very high quality reels with finishes that stepped well beyond the usual boundaries of the traditional black, gold, or silver. Now they’ve gone one better: reels that reflect the skin of trout. They are certainly beautiful—more works of art than simple utilitarian objects. See more at www.abelreels.com

Wild brown reel anyone?

Green back trout?

My Dutch buddy, Theo Bakelaar, was here in June to fish for stripers on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard. It can be a fabulous fishery when things are right, and Theo hit in spot on. There can be good fishing both day and night, with the dark hours usually trumping the daylight. Interestingly, the big fish often fall to smaller flies, representing injured or wounded sand eels or other bait. The Stripers (and blues) come right in next to shore (as in the first wave out) and slam through the bait, killing and wounding as many as possible by their violent swimming actions. The big fish then come back and casually scoop up the dead and wounded. It’s not the type of fishing that one assumes would be happening with big fish feeding on bait. There’s no casting and rapid stripping. There’s no 2/0 and 3/0  flies. Rather the imitations are small (like the bait) and usually black in color (to give a good silhouette). They are fished on top or near the surface, usually dead drift with a very occasional twitch (the death throes retrieve). The take is subtle–a barely imperceptible tightening of the line. And then look out!

Theo took this rather handsome striper from the beach on a size 12, curly eel-skin tail, black sand worm imitation

My friend Keith Scott, Bluesman, performs 200 shows a year throughout the US and Canada, and Europe keithscottheavyblues.com/. On top of that. he’s a maniac fly fisher. He performed at Malarkeys Pub here in Wausau the other night and we started talking about smallmouth bass. Then yesterday I received an inquiry from Chris McCall regarding a post I’d made on smallies. He wrote: Hello Gary. Glad to see the smallie getting some coverage. Have you got any special smallmouth fly patterns that you’d be willing to showcase? Regards, Chris.

Well, Smallies love crayfish, and the Fleeing Crayfish is one great imitation for these bass. I tie it on a swimming jig hook. These hooks have the front portion bent upward at an angle so the hook flips over when lead eyes are added and  allows the fly to swim. A standared jig hook works OK, too, but it doesn’t give the same action as the swimming hook. I make my own swimming jig hooks using a ring eye hook like Umpqua’s 9395. It’s 4 XL and 3 Xstrong. I bend it with pliers and it’s ready to go.

Fish it with a jigging motion as it’s being retrieved. Hmmm, tasty.

Attach the thread and tie in two lumps right at the front bend--look closely-the lumps form a little dumbell.

Position the lead dumbbell eyes in the groove of the thread dumbbell and secure them with figure 8 wraps. Finish by wrazpping between the lead dumbbell and the hook shank to cinch the eyes tight.

Wrap back and tie in a tail of olive marabou, then tie in a length of copper wire for a rib.

Form a spinning loop and apply a body of rough, rusty brown dubbing.

Flip the hook over in the vise and stab a rusty brown fur strip onto the hook. Secure it just behind the lead eyes, and then rib it to the body with the copper wire.

Form another spinning loop and add a collar of medium long rusty brown and olive fur (synthetic or natural). Fish with eager anticipation.

My fishing buddy, guitar playing, music composing, general all-around good guy, John Beth is also a very fine custom knife maker. He regularly sends out his “Knife News” email letter to any who want it. Unfortunately John does not have a web site, but anyone who want to receive his news letter can contact him at johnbeth@rucls.net.

If you love fine knives and hand work, you owe it to yourself to have a look at John’s offerings. Here are a couple from his latest newsletter.

John really does build every knife from a block of steel upward. He does not buy blades, he buys blanks and grinds every blade himself. He finishes and polishes them himself, too. Mine is thing of real beauty. And Oh, by the way, John hand makes every knife sheath, too.

The Zebra Drop Point !! This beauty is 7" overall with a 3 1/4" blade. Only piece of ZEBRA damascus I've had - hand forged damascus from Idaho Fall. This is very expensive and time consuming to forge as the pattern is so delicate. The handle is fossilized coral (with a few tinges of amber..) then white onyx (with gold veining..) and blonde box elder burl. Black blade/tang liner and spacers and fancy mosaic pins. I acid etched and carefully polished this steel numerous times. This is a very unique piece... one can stare at.. and into this knife forever ! Beautiful cowhide sheath too ! Want the best ?? Yours for $450.00

"SCAGEL" Tribute... This is a twelve inch " Scagel" style knife is made with the finest tiger stripe Damascus I've ever had.. A real handful and one of the finest "showpiece" knives I've made. Antler crown and stacked leather washer design as were the Scagel originals. Nickle silver guard and custom, heavy leather fitted sheath. A very impressive larger knife with spectacular Damascus. Original Scagels can fetch 5 figure selling prices.. This one (from my personal collection..) you can afford !! - $575 - SALE > > $475.00 Bill Scagel (1875-1963) is often considered the father of the modern custom knife - inspiring the likes of Bo Randall and others - Still copied my many top knife makers for over 100 years. Google him for fun sometime and learn a little more custom knife history !! ( Just a sample >> http://www.cartercrafts.com/scagel.htm )

My friend, Chuck Furimsky, founder and manager of The Fly Fishing Shows, is also the developer of Bugskin. It’s a thin leather product used in fly tying. Well, Chuck was cleaning a striper and found 3 baby flounders in its stomach. So what else could he do but tie a baby flounder fly? He found just the right leather and set out to build an imitation that could be used, jig style, on a fly rod. It’s almost too realistic. Great design, though. Forgive the photo, I only had  a moment to shoot it before sending the fly on to Jason for a good shot that will go in our book, Long Flies, that will be out later this fall. And yes, I’m working on book 4–The Angler as Predator.

Chuck's Bugskin Flatfish a.k.a. Baby Flounder