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Little time at the bench


Nytracker
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No UNTRUER words can be spoken regarding trout fishing when the hatch is going strong (ask AT and Chef from earlier this year). If the hatch is strong and the fish are feeding and you don’t have THAT fly, color, size, go home.

I have also seen guys catch blue using candy wrappers and candy bars when the school are crushing bunker close to the shore or boat. Fun fishing but different than above.

Dangerously close to a fly fishing vs spin casting debate....no likey.


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Remember I said salt water. Never done fresh. Salt water is distance on cast to cover more surface area and retrieve.

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On 9/12/2019 at 10:53 PM, Pygmy said:

Either you have huge hands or that is the shortest 40 inch musky I have ever seen......

I did not put a tape on it but it looked to be pretty close to that.    I could only get the head into my 24" diameter rubber net and it seemed like close to half of it's length was hanging out of that as I held the tail with my other hand while lifting it into the boat.   It was pretty well played out, using a light action spinning outfit with 8 pound line.   I did not want to mess around with it any longer than necessary in the boat, to give it a better chance of survival, so I did not put a tape measure on it.   I wet my hands before touching it, and it swam right down to the bottom when I tossed it back so I think it probably made it.  They have to be 54 inches to keep out there now, and it was certainly no where near that.   I just put a tape measure on the one that is up on the wall in our billiard room (I got that idea from George Bolt from the one at his place on Heart island up on the St Lawrence).  I caught it in the same same spot, on the upper Niagara about 20 years ago (when they only had to be 44 inches long).  It measures 47" dried out and mounted (I think its "live" length was 48").    The one from labor day was definitely shorter (and lighter) than that one.  My best guess would be 39-1/2 inches or so.    

That particular spot (just a little upstream of the South Grand Island bridge, near the island shore) must be a real hot-spot for them.    Last year, during a bass tournament, one about the same size came up and pulled a decent sized smallmouth right off my jig up on the surface before I could get it in the boat.   That bass looked to be at least 15 inches long.   In my younger days, I fished for musky's a lot but these days they are all "accidental" catches.  They really do love those little 1/4 oz bucktail jigs though, probably seeing them as an "after dinner mint".    Musky's are a smelly, not particularly good eating fish (I ate a few back in the day when thye only had to be 30" long to keep), but they are fun to catch.   I don't think there are any smarter fish, when it comes to knowing how to get away after they are hooked.        

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12 minutes ago, Moho81 said:

Gotta say @Nytracker you sure tie a nice fly. Its been years since I have tied my own let alone fly fished but when I use to hit the local streams for steel head I use to use nothing but a simple egg pattern or a Wolly Bugger in various bright colors. 

 I like tying  flies . Swinging streamers and spey type flies is new . Kind of made tying  new and interesting  again . When I get time I will be trying  intruder and articulated leaches  soon.  Thanks for the  compliments . As the tyer I see mistakes when I look . They will get better.

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 I like tying  flies . Swinging streamers and spey type flies is new . Kind of made tying  new and interesting  again . When I get time I will be trying  intruder and articulated leaches  soon.  Thanks for the  compliments . As the tyer I see mistakes when I look . They will get better.
Flies are addicting to tie, but as I'm sure you've heard before, the fly is more for the fisherman than the fish most times!

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It's true . Funny thing is I tied a batch of estaz eggs  probably 15 years ago  ice blue and roe. Never caught a fish on it . Last spring I actually caught 2 fish in one trip on that fly .  It's all about what the fish want .  Could have been the water color ... angle of the sun... mood of the fish  who knows . Thats 2  fish I might not have caught  had I tossed those  useless  flies . I am a firm believer in a full fly box and a full magazine .

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