The Early Stoneflies ...

“Heard of a van that’s loaded with weapons, packed up and ready to go. Heard of some grave sites, out by the highway. A place where nobody knows.” If you struggle to get into a groove tying flies you might want to spin some Talking Heads songs. It works. So does this little early stonefly pattern I call the “Early Black”. While my first love in my fly fishing life is cracking the code and casting imitative dry flies, there’s a really great vibe to fishing these North Country Spider type patterns, and as the years go by I find myself fishing them more and more and they are pretty good medicine for this pre-spring hatch. On those days when you can’t get in the water you might want to listen to some Heads and tie a few up. My fly box is loaded with weapons and ready again for the next day of fishing. I will no doubt be tying one of these on when I get there. “This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco... This ain’t no fooling around…..”    

Refueling ...

  It’s often said that an angler’s optimism is an eternal thing that manifests itself in many ways, and I know that to be quite true in my own world. There’s a nice blanket of snow outside and the thermometer read 10 degrees Fahrenheit when I walked out the front door this morning. A group of birds sat intently waiting for me to fill the feeder and leave; their feathers fluffed to keep warm on a bitter morning. While the world in my part of the world is in the grip of winter; my thoughts are optimistic, and this little box of flies tied to match those early season stonefly and caddis hatches is starting to fill. My instincts say that spring will come early this year. I’m not one to trust the wisdom of a rodent, so I won’t put much weight on Phil’s announcement when it comes, and will stick with my own thoughts. Maybe mine are based on a hunch. Perhaps it’s just wishful thinking. Maybe it’s just an angler’s optimism. Either way I’ll go with that hunch and keep refueling my fly boxes and my thoughts of spring. Right or wrong, I’ll be ready to tie one of those flies on when the ice melts, the flies are starting to hatch and the trout rise to meet them. It won’t be long. Till next time … www.ramsayflies.com #tieoneon

Last Casts ...

Last casts are always the hardest ones to make. The last cast of the day, the last cast on a trip or the last cast of the year. A fly anglers optimism is eternal, and the last cast in any scenario is the hardest one to make. I've always said that it's hard to concede to the end of the day, even to the darkness that overtakes it. Yesterday I made what is most likely my last cast of the 2023 season. I wanted it to be a fitting conclusion to the year, so one of my favorite rods took a ride to a stream that is very special to me. I wish I could write an epic story about my success, but not everyday is like that. I did spend some time thinking back on this past year and can tell you that I had a fantastic year of fishing and so much to be thankful for. There were trips to the Catskills, some beautiful waters in Maryland and my home state of Pennsylvania. There was an epic trip to New Mexico and a chance to catch Rio Grande Cutthroat for the first time. I made a few new friends, shared pools with some great friends and have many memories to look back on. Thinking forward, 2024 is shaping up to be an interesting year with a long list of new waters to explore, the opportunity to tighten up some new fly designs I've been testing, continued writing on another book and some exciting news about the future of Ramsay Flies. If you are fishing this weekend, be sure to make your last cast of 2023 a good one. Fish well and have a very Happy New Year!