DIY Cliff Bugger Boxes

If any of you guys have ever priced out the cost of those Cliff Bugger Barn Boxes well I have a solution for you. These boxes are very available through online craft stores and as well as drafting

supply stores also. At the most you can be into a completed box for no more than 15 bucks. Now depending on the size of box your looking for I have bought the Medium Size box and using 2 sheets of 6mm foam and a hot glue gun you can duplicate the same box as Cliff does with only a fraction of the cost. Once I have the box open what I have done is using a larger piece of paper use this to draw yourself a template for where the foam will lie inside. Once this is done transfer that template onto the foam. You could use scissors to accomplish this but a utility knife works best. Now once you have the foam cut out from the template, use a ruler and cut some grooves into the foam. Make as many rows that you need to accommodate whatever patterns your trying to fill the box with. Once this is done get your hot glue gun and lay down a few rows of the hot glue and insert your foam into the box. This process shouldn't take to long to dry, once done you can load it with whatever patterns you need.

Good Luck building your own.

I've listed a few places to start with.

http://www.google.com/products?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4GGLJ_enUS347US347&q=artbin+Quick+View+Series+8010AB&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=qEITS9W6JpC2M8v56TM&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCgQrQQwAw

Short but Sweet Stillwater

The past couple of days I was in contact with Scott to see what he had planned for the weekend and to see if he could get out. There was talk about heading north into Southwest Wyoming but with the recent snow storms in the area and temps hovering in the high twenties I wasn't quite ready for chipping ice off the guides yet. So we had contemplated about heading into some Indian Land to try our luck for some pre-spawn brown but the plan was derailed since Scott couldn't reach anyone for his permit. So the decision was made to hit some stillwater action since the weather here was decent. Once we arrived it was partly cloudy but comfortable, the wind for the most part was calm. So we got the toons ready and we went through the checklist on what we needed on the water and off we were. The fishing was slow but Scott was able to connect with a Cutt on a chironomid close to shore. I was too far away to get back over to him for a photo, but I did witness the battle he had going from where I was. Shortly after witnessing Scott and his fish I soon connected on a nice Tiger which I would guess went roughly 18 inches or so. I got him on a surprise. I was casting and the streamer him the water fairly hard and just the quick this fish came up and hammered it, I don't know what he was thinking it was when it hit but hey!!! I'll take it. Soon after we both got on the scoreboard the wind came up and pushed us off the water. Even though it was short and sweet it was nice to get out and get some bendo.

October Caddis Series

Some of the best caddis hatches can happen in October, so today I sat down and tied a few. Here is the pattern recipe.

Hook--------- Tiemco 100 size 12

Chenille------ Light Orange, Tan, White

Thread-------- 8/0 brown thread

Underwing--- White Poly Yarn

Overwing----- Amber Z-Lon

Legs-----------Whitings Furnace Hackle. 2 hackles wrapped together.

Feelers-------Stripped Furnace Hackle

Planning my 2010 Uinta Wilderness Expedition

So for a while now I've been planning an Expedition Trip into the Uinta Wilderness. I did some camping and some riding on the North Slope of the Uintas earlier this summer and I found so many streams and creeks that I knew I had to return to fish this area. The streams are so clear and you could spot the trout just waiting on a nicely thrown hopper pattern. I've been compiling maps of the area as well as what trout are in these drainage's. I have a few places planned even on the South Slope of the Uintas as well. There is so much water and area to cover we'll see how much of it we can cover. So if you are up for an adventure this coming Summer let me know.

The T/A Brown Trout

Damn, I cant believe its been since May that I posted anything on the blog. I've got out a few times with Mike http://trouttripper.blogspot.com/ and instead of doing all the copying and pasting i thought I'd just throw the link from our last outing. Here is the entry from Mike on his blog. http://trouttripper.blogspot.com/2009/07/pat-m-makes-apperance_12.html Work this past summer has put a huge damper on the fishing this year and being that I've been working out of state the opportunities to get out have been slim. Anyways I hope I can get into the swing of things again and take advantage of the fall streamer fishing that is just around the corner. Here is a pattern that is probably not new to anyone if they have followed Kelly Galloup and his innovative streamer patterns. Instead of the T/A Rainbow Series I'd thought I'd come up with the T/A Brown Trout pattern which I'm hoping for some good result. As you can see I took some pictures of the materials that I used. The only think I did was I Incorporated the Brown Trout colors on the pattern. Its almost time for the throwing huge streamers and looking for big hungry trout as this time of year can be the best the year has to offer.

Flymph Swap 1 [2009] images are online

So this past winter I've been engrossed in tying soft hackles which I believe are very underrated patterns out there. If fished correctly with the right method can be effective if you use them correctly. These few months I decided to go up against some of the best names in the business and see if I had any game in joining the 1st annual Flymph Forum 1 2009 swap. Below are some pictures of the participants from that swap. My pattern is named the Baetis Buster. Scott, aka RnF was in this swap as well. You can visit Scott's site here at http://www.utahflypatterns.com/index/ I was very pleased on the patterns that I received.

http://www.danica.com/flytier/flymph_swap_1_2009/flymph_swap_1_2009.htm

The Olive Ghengis Kahn

Since the last trip I was on and seeing Cory do some damage on some
streamers I thought I'd share this.

Hook----------------------------Size 2 Mustad 79580 Streamer Hook

Tail------------------------------Olive Brown Marabou

Body----------------------------Brown/Olive Dubbing applied with a dubbing loop

Hackle--------------------------Whiting's Olive Schlappen

Eyes----------------------------Weighted painted yellow eyes

Head and Back-------------Sculpin Wool Dark Olive

Bars----------------------------Black Sharpie Marker.

Legs---------------------------Waspi Sili Legs Nymph Pumpkin Barred.

Operation-----------------Black Crow

So here is how the plan went down. 2 weeks prior to this weekend we had planned a trip to the Green River for an overnight stay however mother nature had a different plan and since highway 80 was closed, we simply bagged our idea and thought we could reschedule for another outing. Well that date came and I wasn't able to make that rescheduled trip so I was out. So Corey, Doug and Garth decided they were going to go to the Green minus me. So low and behold and Utah Spring storm canceled their plans and the weekend after we had discussed the option of hit the Green River below Fontenelle. The drive was further with a slim chance of catching a decent size fish. They were there we just had to weight our options to see if the extra 2 hours of driving would be worth it. Now Doug in the meantime is checking flows all over the place to see how the early season run-off is shaping up. So at work while I'm busier than hell I get an email from Doug saying.. "I think I want to go Tribal!!" well that sparked a phone call and after some quick discussion we decided the flows are really good and maybe since it would be interesting to check out we decided to get our Ute Indian Permits and have at it.
At this point Doug is calling Garth to leave a day early to see how things look. Throughout Friday now less at work I called Doug in hopes of having reception on his phone and low and behold he answered. So I asked him how were things looking and he said " I've landed a 20 brown 20 minutes ago and Garth has lost 2 so its looking pretty good being that they have only been on the water for about an hour. So I called Corey to relay the message and than both Corey and myself get another email stating to call the Ute Grocery Store and buy those permits!!! Right away I call and get mine set-up and I shot an email to Corey stating... " Yo man I got mine!!!" Right back at me Cor has got his as well. So the plan was to meet up with Cor at 7am to pick him up.

So Sat. morning rolls around and I meet up with Cory with the excitement of whats in store. Its a beautiful morning and the drive was quick. Talking about past trip and new ones to come the time quickly flashes by. Before we know it we are in town about an hour earlier than we were suppose to. I couldn't figure it out. How did we make such great time? So anyways we were not sure where Garth and Doug were staying the night so we stopped at a gas station grabbed a few things and we try Doug's cell again.... no answer.....crap!!! minutes later Corey's phone rings and it was Doug. Surprised at our early arrival, he gave us directions to dive of a motel that they were staying at and met up with them. This was the first time for both Corey and myself to meet Garth which by the way is one crazy and funny dood. Well our game plan was for 2 of us to fish high on the reservation while the other two fished the lower area. More or less to see what ares would produce first.

So the teams were picked I went with Garth to start on the lower section while Doug and Corey started up high. So what we did was since we drove 2 vehicles we decided to park mine upstream to get it later in the day and we drove Garth's rig and dropped off Doug and Corey in the middle section of river so they would be working their way towards my truck. Garth and myself drove down stream and started there.



early on the water was pretty cloudy and I was a little concerned but kept my spirits up hoping that something would come of it. Well after losing a few rigs to the tree behind us and some wind knots we moved upstream to some other holes which Garth said they are fail proof. We should get something out of the run up higher. Well after walking upstream and finding the hole produced zilch zero squat!! Well at this moment Garth realized he didn't have his phone on him so he decided to walk back over to his truck and grab his phone to see how the fishing was for Corey and Doug. To our surprise they were having a Hogfest!!! Damn It we said so we crossed the river and decided to move further upstream in hopes of some clearer water.



That idea paid off. Once we parked and decided to move into a nice run Garth hooked up right away with a decent Brown. That brown fell victim to a San Juan that Doug tied up and it worked great!! Even on the phone call to Doug earlier said that they were smoke'n on San Juan's and that we should try them. I wasn't ready to give up the big stone and soft hackles just yet so we walked up further and finally met up with Doug and Corey.

To my surprise there were Crane Flies in the river. Not many but they were there. I thought to myself.."That's probably what the fish are keying on."

photo credit Corey K.


These are some of what Doug got into with his SJ's earlier when we called him.

Photos by Corey K.

So here is how things start to get nuts!! in the picture below Corey and me are on the bottom end of this run. I simply had a change of heart and decided to totally switch up on what to use. I decided to throw on a Red Copper John size 16 and a Flashback WD-40 size 20. Knowing from the past that this river for some weird reason is always a small fly producer. I worked my way to the boulder in the middle of this run. casting upstream and letting it drift on either side of that submerged rock you see in the middle of that run. OK, so I'm drifting my rig and all of a sudden my junk stops... Thinking I had probably snagged the bottom of that damn boulder, I rip back in hopes that I can get out of my jam. Well that's when things go crazy...Suddenly that snag starts to move and its got some serious weight behind it. Now keep in mind I have about 30 yards of fly line at my feet and the current is somewhat strong through here. That fish or what ever the hell it was started to move upstream real sloooow. I've got that damn 5wt bending back into it self now. At the same time I'm trying like a SOB to get that fish on the reel so I can work him against the drag so now I'm trying to to reel in all this line while maneuvering this heavy bastard. I finally get the line on the reel and now the fish has changed directions now and is heading downstream. I couldn't see the fish from this vantage point due to the sun's reflection on the water. Not sooner than that the hook come out of the fish and all is lost. My heart just fell apart as I was at least hoping for a glimpse of that toad. My after thought on the whole ordeal was I bet it took the WD-40 and since it has a small gape that I didn't get a decent hook set on that damn boney ass jaw of it. So next cast yielded somewhat of the same results but this time the fish came out of the water and Shazam!!! Off as well. Needless to say I was fishless, but the thrill of hooking into something that large was insane!! I know its out there what ever it was and it was a shame I didn't get a chance to see its true size. Damn!!

Photo's by Corey K.

Right before all this went down Corey decided to change up and throw some meat. To his surprise he's getting a lot of attention and he's witnessing follows but none of the fish wanted to commit to his streamers. There was something that these fish wanted but we just couldn't figure it out. We tried different colors and stuff but they would follow that flies to a point and turn away....frustrating none-the-less. We well have to be ready when we return with some other patterns and see if anything makes a difference.

Photo by Doug Barnes

As the afternoon progresses the Spring Thunder Clouds started to build and it was refreshing to have some sprinkles on this warm day.The birds were out and singing away. A nice sound to hear from a long winter behind us now.

Came across some private property and I thought this old stable was pretty cool so I decided to take a shot of it. Needless to say the day was full of excitement and disappointment on not bringing that beast in but that's what makes you hungry for more. Its the challenge that us as Fly Fisherman keep coming back for more. I know I'll be back again but until than I can only dream of what that fish could have been like.

Photo credits Doug Barnes

Thanks again to Corey, Doug and Garth for a great day on the water. It will not be forgotten soon.

Special thanks to Corey and Doug for their photo's you can visit their sites bellow. Check them out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/coreyk/ Corey's site

Corey's Blog http://western-fly-fishing.info/wordpress/

http://www.nowpicturethis.com/ Doug's site

Photo credits Doug Barnes.

Typhoon Hopper

The lowdown~
Hook-------------------TMC 5263 size 6
Body-------------------Sow Dubbing
Wing-------------------Hareline No Fray Wing--Tan
Overwing-------------Polypropylene in Tan
Head------------------2mm Foam
Legs------------------Mini Tan Tarantu-Legs
Tubing----------------Brown Hollow tubing from Waspi.

Honcho Hopper

This morning I met up with Corey and Doug to hit the Green River to only be turned away due to snow on Interstate 80 past Evanston WY. So while we stopped and eat at the McD's and talking about summer fishing and Doug showing Corey and myself a few patterns that worked for him this past Summer I figured I'd tie this version up.

Recipe:

Hook-------------size 8 streamer hook

Thread-----------8/0 Black

Foam-------------2mm Tan Foam

Underwing------ White Poly yarn

Overwing-------- Cow Elk

Thorax----------- 3 strands of peacock herl

Post--------------White Poly yarn

Parachute------Grizzly Hackle wrapped downward on poly post.

Legs-------------Black Micro tubing and one strand of Tan Micro Centipede Legs

pulled through the Micro tubing using a piece of small ribbing wire

made into a loop. I than placed the micro legs into the wire loop

and pulled it together through the Black Micro Tubing. Once through,

I just trimmed the even the section.

Stillborn Baetis

Receipe: Left Pattern

Hook:----------------- Size 18 Tiemco 206BL

Body:----------------- Olive/Brown UTC70 thread

Rib:------------------- Gold UTC70 thread twisted in a dubbing loop than wrapped forward

Thorax:-------------- Gray Ostrich Herl

Wings:--------------- Whitings Size 14 100 pack Med. Dun Tips.

Post:----------------- 2mm White Foam cut square.

LOOP ARMY

Join the Revolution!!! Get on it!!!

http://www.looparmy.com/

Trailer | Drift | A Confluence Films Production

Trailer Drift A Confluence Films Production

If you haven't had the chance to check The Drift it is an awesome production courtesy of The Drake.

Random 2009 Wasatch Expo Pics.

The 2009 Wasatch Fly Fishing & Fly Tying Expo was a great success. Thanks to all the made this happen. There were a lot of excellent tiers that I got some great tips from. I personally took Cheech's class about tying with foam and I took Charlie Craven's Signature Fly Patterns class as well. Meet a lot of guys I already knew plus a few others. Below are just some random shots that I took yesterday. Cant wait for next years Expo!




Cheech showing his skills. He had quite the gathering at times at his station.


Scott aka RnF tying some mad soft hackles.


Joni, showing a few others how its done.

The start of the Raffle is beginning.

Plenty of tiers around to get any question answered.

Also there were a lot of vendors on hand to answer questions as well.

Mini Trude Series

Since I've had a few days on my hands from work and I REALLY need to be on the water I thought I'd arm myself with a couple of small experimental Trudes. These are tied on a 18 dry fly hook and with this little spin and a little off the norm, I'm excited to give these patterns a try.

Left pattern------------------Mini Adult Midge Trude

Right pattern----------------Mini Baetis (BWO) Trude