[TJ Rowden]

Hello all:

Just thought it might be fun to get some stories on those experiences where you were in a bind, it was late at night, or you just had a wild hair and you tied a fly with, shall we say, unconventional material that actually landed you a fish.

No I'm not talking about materials jumping the fence into bait fishing tactics. I'm thinking still artificial but a bit outside conventional thought. If you have a story about the one who didn't get away due to your franken-fly, please share.

Any takers?

TJ

[Fish Bones]

TJ

As a matter of fact, I have a great story for you. This is true.

One January morning a few years ago, I was fishing the Lower MT. Fork River at Beaver’s Bend State Park in Oklahoma. It was a frigid 18 degrees that morning. It was one of those mornings where you had to frequently break the ice from your guides so the fly line would pass through. I was wearing some fleece fingerless gloves but my fingers were still numbing cold.

I caught a few rainbows on nymphs until a midge hatch started coming off. It was a huge hatch. Trout were rising like mad. I scooped up a midge to determine the color and size. It was cream and about a size 26. As fumbled through my fly boxes I thought I was out of luck until I found one cream midge size 26. My fingers had lost all dexterity due to the cold. As I awkwardly tied on the midge I accidentally got it caught in one of my fleece gloves. It was stuck well. By the time I got it out all of the material was off. So… there I was with a bare hook tied on with no other flies to match. As I stood in the middle of that rise with my mind racing as to what I could do, I came up with a wild idea that might just work. Like most fly vests, mine had a wool patch above the upper-front pocket. It was a little creamish in color. So… I pinched off several strands and twisted on the hook. I had no means of permanently securing it to the hook so I just twisted it real hard. I cast out… nothing happened. I decided it was too much material. Now I pulled off only a few strands of wool and twisted it on real well. I cast it out… and boom... a nice rainbow attacked it. I got it in and released it. The wool was gone, of course, so I twisted a few more strands on and continued to work the hatch. I made many drifts during that hatch. The wool would only stay on for one drift so I had to replace it after each pass. I caught about six fish or so with that method before the hatch dissipated.

Only my close friends truly believe my story and I’m not real sure about them. However, the story is true.

Steve
:lol:

[TJ Rowden]

Steve and all:

Okay, I've gone back and forth on this one and, at the risk of TMI, here is a personal best in terms of unique contributions to our beloved endeavor.

About five years ago, I was just beginning to flirt with the idea of fly fishing due to my youngest brother Brad (10 years my junior). He was about sixteen at the time, had discussed his experiences of flyrod, fish, and fun with me, and I soon had my first rod/reel combo. It was at this time I also signed up for an intro FFing/Tying class at the university I was attending. Brad and I continued to have frequent conversations about his newfound ventures with a flyrod on the lakes near Flagstaff, AZ while I shared some "the-one-that-got-away" stories from UT. I also began to report on my in and out of class experiences with learning how to tie.

As in class tying became more and more fun, I quickly purchased a vice, some basic tools, some thread, . . . and ran out of $ (starving student budget and all that). Unknowingly, Brad called one evening and asked if I might tie and mail him some flies for an upcoming trip he was going to be making with some friends soon. Of course I agreed. I would worry about the small problem of limited materials later.

To make a long story short, I used desparation as inspiration with a dash of brotherly love (the mischevious sort) thrown in and tied/mailed some patterns. I anxiously awaited the report. Brad called after his trip about a week later to fill me in.

He immediately got to business by asking about a particular fly. It seems that after a day of he and his friends getting nothing on their lines, he tied the pattern on just before they left and promptly caught a fat little rainbow. The backlash from friends was immediate, "wha'd ya catch him on Brad?! What are you using?!!!" To which Brad could only reply in a bit of smug frustration, "I don't know, it's a nymph but T.J. said it was called a BLS!" Stumped buddies crowded around my brother and began furiously scanning flyboxes before they had to call it a day . . . to no avail.

It was then I couldn't hold back any longer on the phone and between attempts to breath and hearty guffaws I informed him of the fly's rightful title and truly unique origin . . .

the "Belly Lint Special" -- materials harvested close to home, in limited supply, yet tied with selflessness and in the name of scientific exploration of the most rigorous nature. [*NOTE* Any further information is, of course, top secret. But I will throw out the following teaser: Through lengthy negotiations with Jeff Foxworthy under the cover of extreme confidentiality, nationwide sub-contracts have been established to ensure mass production of the BLS and shipments of the little gem in all sizes will come to a fly shop near you Spring of 2005.]

P.S. The disclaimer of "just kidding" on the final note is necessary, but does not apply to the preceding content. All of which is true and can be verified by a certain younger brother (still trying to convince his friends) and a spouse (who chooses to remain anonymous on this forum).

*sigh* Oh the shame,

TJ

[Cliff Hilbert]

Steve, you have close friends????

[Fish Bones]

Well... if you count my wife and my dog, I think I have one.

[Fish Bones]

So TJ... How can we get this lint in large quantities??? :lol:

[TJ Rowden]

My wife ensures me that "large quantities" of this material will never occur in, near, around, close to, etc. our home. Alas, there goes the potential for the perfect fish story fly.

TJ