Another cold day...

NOAA's local forecast says we should start warming back up to reasonable temperatures tomorrow. After a good cold snap like the one we have had, the low 30's is almost T-shirt weather. Meantime, I am daydreaming about past catches and starting to think about getting to the fly tying vise to ramp up for some serious fly tying.

Fly fishing wisdom comes like everything else in life, you have to get out and take your licks and hopefully you learn from your mistakes and observations. I almost always start new hobbies by buying all kinds of crap that a seasoned veteran wouldn't even look at. I could not afford to do that with rods and reels but my god, did I go crazy on fly tying material. Its easy to rationalize $5 or $10 here and there for some new sexy thing that may or may not bring a gleam to your preferred salmonid's eye. But but before you know it you're into it for $500 and most of the stuff never even gets so much as a twitch of attention from the finned prey. So it goes with my little cache of materials. This season I am putting myself under materials lock down. After a couple of seasons of serious pursuit I am beginning to learn that there are certain patterns that seem to always work, some you can tweak with some of the new stuff and improve upon but almost none that are total makeovers requiring the latest, greatest flashy goo-gaw. Buying materials is a form of addiction that is best broken early in your fly fishing career, especially if you are married and even more so if you find yourself plotting ways to plan your work days around your fly fishing. Let the pioneer take the arrows.

There are ways to pinch pennies when stocking up on materials. Always be alert for alternative types of hair/feather colors, the coarseness, and how it will hold up to tying and then hopefully surviving several trips over the jaws of a nice trout. This is an open season kind of deal too and there are no bag limits because we are talking about alternatives, not big game animals. Road kill can be a good source, just be careful that you do not end up in same condition. Your neighbors cat or even the dog. You don't necessarily have to lay out and snipe him when he wanders or is lured into a safe line of fire. Its actually preferable to just harvest a little from him now and then and have an ongoing supply. Dogs are much more cooperative in this endeavor and they are generally easily bribed with table scraps, doggy treats and so forth. My dog is a great source of large, course black hair that serves as a great replacement for Moose hair. Cats are not so easily handled so you may find that your preferred method of restraint or sedation when relieving them of some of their fur results in their untimely demise. Its unfortunate, but it is after all for a good cause.

So, for this season, in looking over my mountain of material I hope to keep it to a sane minimum and only spend a modest fortune on hooks and continue my search for alternative sources of hair and feathers.