TCO Company Meeting - Salmon River

"What time you getting there", "you going up the night before?", its like we are all little kids again. I think the best part is the morning before the meetings, its a race to get there, "i'm leaving at 3:30", "ok perfect, ill leave then too".

Thats what the week before our annual company meeting sounds like, with text messages and phone calls all day and night, its like we are all kids again. Thats what I love about this company, we all still get excited about even the smallest fishing trips. Its rare that you can wake up very morning and know you are going to work and love it. Fly fishing is for all of us, our hobby, and our carriers, and I think I speak for all of the TCO employees, we wouldn't have it any other way.

Anyway, I can go on and on about the excitement we all share fishing together, and talk about how grateful I am for having such an awesome job. But once again, ill just let the pictures tell the story.

More Photos to come from George's camera!

Product Review - Simms Sling Pack

In the past I used to review products but for whatever reason, I haven't done them for a while.  A new goal of mine is to post a few reviews monthly and the first comes directly from our company meeting over this past weekend.  Our product reps were at the meeting so here are some of my (and other TCO employees') thoughts on soon-to-be-released gear that we tested over the weekend.

This review is on the new Simms Sling Pack, new for 2014, it will be available for purchase December 1st. You better bet I'll be the first to order this pack! The whole "sling pack" concept has been around for a while, but just recently has the concept turned from just a pack that is slung over your shoulder and out of the way. Today they have been designed to store your tackle behind your back and out of the way, but when needed they are pulled around front and turned into an organized work bench. I have always been a hip pack guy, not anymore, after fishing in the Simms sling pack for 2 days, I'm counting down the days till its available. A very well designed bag and super comfortable to have on when loaded down with all your steelhead fishing gear. It has two main pockets, one is a molded foam pocket, with a removable tippet post, two removable floatant holders, and is lined with micro fleece so you can put a velcro fly patch in it, if you choose. The second main pocket is the storage pocket, it can hold lunch a light raincoat and had pockets throughout to separate all your fly boxes. I could go one about the water bottle holder, and the new magnetic tool caddies with a place for a zinger, but ill show you some pictures. It is truly an awesome, and well designed bag, stop in the shop and grab one, if you are looking for an excellent steelheading or all around fly fishing pack!

Featured Fly - Great Lakes Angry Leech

This is a Guide Simple fly that I came up with the other day. I took one of my favorite Alaska flies, the Starlite Leech, tweaked it a bit and here is what I came up with, The Great Lakes Angry Leech. The original fly was a killer for me in Alaska, and has gotten me a few nice fish on the swing on the Salmon River. One night I was sitting around thinking about how I could make it just a leech and not an egg sucking leech, a spun rabbit head was the answer to that. Then when I sat down to tie it, the 35mm shank idea came up, so here it is.

Materials:

Hook: Fish Shank 35mm

Hook: Daiichi 2553 - Nickel 

Eyes: Lead Eyes - Small or Med.

Tail: Rabbit Zonker - Purple/Black/White

Body: Estaz - Purple 

Collar 1: UV Polar Chenille -  Black 

Collar 2: Rooster Saddle - Black 

Head: Rabbit - Dubbing Loop 

Step 1: Tie on the stinger Hook.

Step 2: Tie on the lead eyes, leaving a small gap between the eyes and eye of the hook.

Step 3: Tie in the rabbit, make the tail length equal to the hook.

Step 4: Tie in the Estaz, move thread forward, leaving room behind the eye for the collars.

Step 5: Wrap estaz forward.

Step 6: Fold the rabbit forward and tie off behind eyes.

Step 7: Tie in the UV polar chenille.

Step 8: Make 2 wraps of polar chenille.

Step 9: Tie in rooster saddle.

Step 10: Make 3 or 4 wraps.

Step 11: Make a dubbing loop with the rabbit.

Step 12: Wrap forward, forming the head. Whip Finish 

Finished Fly:

Great Lakes Angry Leech - Purple

Great Lakes Angry Leech - Black

Great Lakes Angry Leech -White

Lets Try This Again - Ohio

After a few tying sessions mixed with beer, and virtually no planning, Leland and I were headed west to Ohio to try it again. If you remember from our last trip, cold weather and slush made it almost impossible to fish the Ohio tribs, so we headed over to Elk and landed one fish. So this time, heading up in November instead of January, we were hoping for a better outcome. But hey its steelhead fishing, anything can happen.

We started off our trip on the Chagrin, going back to the same place we hooked the only 2 fish of the day, last trip. We fished for a while, leaves and high wind made it difficult to get good clean drifts, so we headed up stream. We walked around the corner and found a sweet run, looked deep, with a slight riffle to it. About 15 mins later I had a beautiful hen in the net. Seeing almost no one all day, it was an awesome day, Leland hooked 3 and lost them all, so 4 fish on was already better than last year.

Day 2 we headed to the Conneaut, to a spot Casey told us about. The water was a bit high and off color, but man was it a sweet section of river. No fish there, so we headed up river to a spot we looked at the last time we were there. Not a person on the river, and again some awesome looking water, we nymphed a while with no love, so I put a sink tip on and started swinging the slower water. After a bit of a quite spell, I hear Leland yelling "theres a fish!", I look up to see a chrome fish jumping out of the water. After that we went 3 for 3 and one on the swing. It was an awesome trip.

Tube Flies - Advantage

Well my fishing has been on hold for a couple weeks now, high water around the great lakes has kept me home this last weekend. Besides a half day on the Salmon River, hooking 2 fish and landing 0, and a local trout trip to Valley creek, I have spent most of my time the past 2 weeks at the vise. For the past 3 or so years, I've become very fond of tube flies, from steelhead to trout, I think they give you a huge advantage. I was surfing the web checking out new patterns, and new technology for this form of fly tying, when I came across this little write up from HMH Vises. These guys make some awesome tools for tubes, and have some great styles of tubes, simple and easy to use. So if you have been thinking about getting into tube flies, check out this list of advantages from HMH, then stop by the shop and we can get you all set up. Or just check the back blog for some tubes Ive tied up.

Tube Flies have real advantages over conventional flies:

·       Pattern size and style aren’t dependent on hook size or style.

·       Hook can be placed further back in the pattern resulting in more hook ups.

·       Many tube choices - including weight, color, size, shape and length options.

·       Less hook leverage with shorter shank tube hook when fighting fish resulting in more landed fish.

·       Fly slides up leader and away from sharp teeth during fight.

·       If hook breaks or dulls simply replace it.

·       Many hook choices including treble, double and single.

·       Change easily from barbed or barbless.

·       Can use non stainless hooks in saltwater.

·       Incorporate cones and beads to add and adjust weight of flies.

·       Tie convertible flies – mix and match tailing material.

Great Lakes Steelhead that feel to a Leech Tube Fly

Variation of a classic, Green Butt Bunny Skunk

Tube Fly Sculpin Pattern