Kitty Litter
Ammo for tomorrow’s One Fly Tourney on Brushy Creek is ready to rock!
Rain or shine tomorrow I get to fish. Being constricted to one fly I have to choose wisely. I can think of no other fly for a multi-species event like this other than the Flying Cat. However, after an information prep of the battle field- I know the flying cat will have to be modified. Brushy Creek is a smaller body of water than I normally hit and so are the fish. So, there is a new minor addition to the flying cat family; which leaves us with a litter of kittens. Literally, its the flying kitten.
This is the second modification I’ve made to this fly. Mod-1 I went big and created the monster cat size 6, a step up from the original size 8 streamer hook. It also included adding some Woolley booger hackle for body. For Brushy Creek tomorrow I need to rotate to the other end of the spectrum and dial it down a notch. For Mod-2 I bring you the flying kitten, size 10. Just a drop down from the original.
I’ll take luck over skill any day, so wish me luck tomorrow!
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
Updated:
So, Dave gave me some good advise for a 1 fly tourney- add a weed guard.
The second one there is for my buddy Jason fishing with me tomorrow. If he wins off a fly I tied I might be just as happy as if I won. Maybe. Ha.
-AA
Chasing Tail
I spotted this in the twitterverse today shared by @Cabelas, “Here kitty kitty kitty…” Great photo!
The first thing that came to mind was George Clinton’s “Atomic Dog” lyrics.
“Why must I feel like that? Oh, why must I chase the cat?”
Click the links and enjoy both!
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
Close Range
At work we joke a lot about the 50 meter knife fight. It’s more of a pseudonym of sorts for for what we call pop-up targets or brush fires (small work emergencies). On rifle ranges the closest pop-up target we have is 50 meters away and its easy to hit. Whereas the furthest is 300 meters and a lot harder to hit. In a perfect world you could knock down all your targets at the 300 meter range and everything would be gravy. But as life would have it things come in as a surprise and a lot closer than we want for comfort- these are significant emotional events. Sometimes they get so close you have to put your rifle down- then you reach for your knife. That’s close range close work. So next time your boss drops an emergency on you with a deadline of yesterday- you’ll understand what the 50 meter knife fight really means.
This brings me to the Benchmade “916 Triage“. The last two weeks I’ve felt naked at the office. A little while back my last field knife gave up the ghost on me. Basically, it dropped and fell apart. Since then its been missing on my person and I’ve really felt unarmed. A soldier isn’t a solider without a good field knife. You never know when you’ll need one for life’s little surprises. Today I was able to drop a little coin and pick up this sweet little piece of work by Benchmade they call the 916 Triage.
As a soldier I’m picky with my tools. I’m as equally particular when it comes to being an angler. I like multipurpose functionality with everything I carry. The Triage features a flat tip blade for prying in addition to a serrated edge. It one hand opens easy with very smooth action and feels solid. This is just one of those knives I want to carry on and off duty; in the office or on the water.
Here’s straight from the Benchmade website:
“- AXIS® locking mechanism
- Opposing bevel blade style with ambidextrous thumb-stud opener
- N680 highly corrosion resistant blade steel (57-59HRC)
- 440C hook-shaped safety cutter (58-60HRC)
- Textured G10 handles (available in black or safety orange) with full stainless steel liners and a reversible tip-up deep-carry pocket clip
- Carbide glass breaker”
I’m looking forward to problem solving life’s little significant emotional events with this thing.
So tell me, what’s your carry all the time tool?
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
Never Say Die
This is why I love these things. Texas River Bum “Flying Cat” flies never say die. If you know me, you know I fish these a lot. And while I haven’t fished much lately, I like to think I get out there more than most. All that being said- I hate when a fly falls apart. In fact I hate losing flies period. If I am going to take 15 minutes of my life to create a fly (I tie super slow- Flying Cats can be tied quicker), I want a return on that investment. That means fish can gnaw on it all day, and I’ll be damed if I lose it to a tree, underwater log, or any operator error/malfunction. Yes, I am stupid when it comes to losing flies- I just won’t do it.
Last weekend the poor flying cat above finally gave up the ghost. It was a moment of shock, awe, and pride when marabou fell out as I removed river seaweed garbage from the shank. Shock because what had happened, awe because of how many trips that fly survived, and pride that I hadn’t lost it for so long that it could fall apart.
Little buddy you served me well! You are nearby honorably discharge!
Cue taps…. and I’m out!
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
From texasriverbum.com
Material List:
#8 Nymph Hook, 3X long
200 Denier UTC Ultra GSP thread, Black
Krystal Flash, Gold
Marabou, Black
Ultra Chenille, Olive
5/32″ Brass Eyes, Gold
Grizzly Hen Hackle, Olive
Black and Gold
Better days are harder to find. There’s not a lot out there that can equate to the feeling of fly fishing a new glass rod with a fun little popper. That’s how awesome today turned out to be when my Eagle Claw Featherlight was delivered to my door.
At first I thought someone was playing ding dong ditch when I heard my door bell ring. Then after peeking out the door- much to my surprise and delight was a 4′ PVC pipe. Instantly I knew it could be only one thing. It was my 5/6wt Eagle Claw I ordered from The Fiberglass Manifesto (TFM)- a seven-footer 2pc.
So naturally I had to go out and fish it.
The irony of the colors slowly sunk in as I rigged everything together. Something seemed familiar but I didn’t know what- the obvious was even screaming at me as I seated the Rio Gold fly line loaded reel. Then finally Captain Obvious came too- when I tied on a mellow yellow size 8 BoogleBug popper I realized everything was black and gold; Army colors.
The only other glass fly rod I’ve cast before was my 5’9″ CRG 3wt. This Eagle Claw was over a foot longer but still not the long rifle like my 8’6″ St. Croix. So I consider this the carbine of my quiver and my CGR my side arm. It casts well and doubled over quite well when I caught my first fish.
Fishing a little popper on glass as the sun sunsets on a Texas lake- well, again better days are harder to find. Golden to say the least.
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
Radio Traffic