Fishidiot
Stonecats for Warm Water Anglers
In a recent stream report I indicated using a "stonecat" fly. For many PA FFers, this is an unusual pattern and not typically associated with trout fishing. Local river folks who fish bait for smallies, however, are very familiar with this critter.
The term "stonecat" is actually a misnomer and refers to a madtom found in western PA. The fish we have in the Susky/Potomac watershed is actually the marginated madtom. However, local folks have always called marginated madtoms "stonecats." Afishinado will tell you that locals in his home stomping grounds around Wilkes Barre call 'em "catties." They're a popular live bait.
Stonecat
Marginated madtoms are a shy, mysterious, largely nocturnal little catfish and many river anglers have never seen one. Bait fishermen often get them by seining weedy riffle areas at night or carefully feeling for them under rocks with their hands. Bass eat 'em like candy and, in my opinion, really key on the image of a stonecat. I love 'em, and stonecat flies are go-to patterns for summer bass for me, especially in clear water.
The fly I was using is one of a series of flies I've designed utilizing paint and craft felt. Like many of my personal patterns, it is realistic and detailed.
A much easier stonecat pattern would be tan or light brown sculpin wool for the head, a tan fur or chenille body, and a long tail of tan marabou. Tie a dumbbell weight Clouser style under the head so the fly swims hook upward and trim the head flat. Rubber band whiskers add a nice touch. The key, however, is to keep the fly very slender and very long.
Marginated madtoms are usually 2-5" in length and have a paddle like tail with a black edge; body is usually pinkish yellow on the ventral, light brown on the...
The term "stonecat" is actually a misnomer and refers to a madtom found in western PA. The fish we have in the Susky/Potomac watershed is actually the marginated madtom. However, local folks have always called marginated madtoms "stonecats." Afishinado will tell you that locals in his home stomping grounds around Wilkes Barre call 'em "catties." They're a popular live bait.
Stonecat
Marginated madtoms are a shy, mysterious, largely nocturnal little catfish and many river anglers have never seen one. Bait fishermen often get them by seining weedy riffle areas at night or carefully feeling for them under rocks with their hands. Bass eat 'em like candy and, in my opinion, really key on the image of a stonecat. I love 'em, and stonecat flies are go-to patterns for summer bass for me, especially in clear water.
The fly I was using is one of a series of flies I've designed utilizing paint and craft felt. Like many of my personal patterns, it is realistic and detailed.
A much easier stonecat pattern would be tan or light brown sculpin wool for the head, a tan fur or chenille body, and a long tail of tan marabou. Tie a dumbbell weight Clouser style under the head so the fly swims hook upward and trim the head flat. Rubber band whiskers add a nice touch. The key, however, is to keep the fly very slender and very long.
Marginated madtoms are usually 2-5" in length and have a paddle like tail with a black edge; body is usually pinkish yellow on the ventral, light brown on the...
2015 Mid Atlantic Fly Casting Championships
The Cumberland Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited will be hosting its Annual Mid Atlantic Fly Casting Championships on June 20th, 2015 at Allenberry Resort in Boiling Springs, PA. The competition will be conducted in conjunction with The Pennsylvania Fly Fishing Museum 13th Annual Heritage Day Celebration. The Heritage Day event is a full day of celebrating the fly fishing heritage in Pennsylvania with over 60 vendors and exhibitors, hands on demonstrations, special seminars, instruction, raffles, auctions and the always popular Fish Swim Race on the Yellow Breeches for a chance to win $500! More information on Heritage Day is available on the Museum website: www.paflyfishing.org.
Article by Dave Weaver
Photo courtesy tomitrout
Another Great Fish – Old George
On occasion, I’ll paint portraits of specific fish caught by anglers and using an old faded color photo and Ed’s description of the fish, it was my pleasure to paint a life sized image of Old George. This painting was presented recently as a gift to Ed at the 2015 Limestoner banquet held...
An Award Much Deserved
An Award Much Deserved
By Dave Weaver
For Cumberland Valley Trout Unlimited and Paflyfish.com
A fine time indeed was had at the recent Cumberland Valley Trout Unlimited (CVTU) Limestoner Banquet. This is CVTU’s main fundraising event each year. Like many TU chapters, CVTU relies on volunteer efforts to complete a wide range of valuable endeavors and this includes putting together an annual banquet to raise funds. Among these outstanding endeavors, CVTU is involved in land preservation, youth fly fishing outreach in the form of the Rivers Conservation and Youth Camp and Trout in the Classroom; fly fishing schools for women, US military, and disadvantaged youths as well as wounded veterans.
Dave Kile and Justin Pittman
Among our recent stream improvement projects during the last year include the Phase 2 project on Big Spring as well as projects to improve habitat in The Run in Boiling Springs, as well as restoration of habitat for native trout in a recovered lake bed. Every year, CVTU juggles an array of stream improvement and outreach programs designed to raise awareness and protect cold water resources and trout habitat across hundreds of square miles in the Cumberland valley and adjacent areas – an area encompassing many of our state’s best known trout streams but also dozens of lesser known freestone and limestone trout streams. And CVTU isn’t alone. Roughly fifty chapters of TU and the State Council are all in the fight.
In CVTU’s case, not only do we run a very nice banquet with the typical array of fun items to bid or purchase, but over twenty years ago the chapter decided to include a couple awards that would be presented at the banquet to deserving recipients. These include the...
Pennsylvania Fly Fishing Museum Association Heritage Day 2012
The Pennsylvania Fly Fishing Museum Association Heritage Day was a fun and informative event, as usual. The weather was gorgeous and the turn out seemed good. I had the pleasure of hanging out with forum members Troutbert, Wetfly01, and dc410 among other Pa fly fishing luminaries. Good stuff. Enjoy the pics of us and some of the artist/vendors.
Forum members Fishidiot and Troutbert
New and old editions from Dwight Landis
(Link to interview on Paff)
Fly fishing stuff from Fishidiot found at www.rodandbrush.com
(link to interview on Paff)
Forum member and wet fly master: Wetfly01
www.wetflywaterguides.com
Wetfly01’s handiwork
Artist Michael Simon
www.michaelsimonanglingart.com
Fish artist Thom Glace
www.thomglacewatercolors.com
Allenberry pavilion
Lots of bamboo rod vendors
So much bamboo, so little time.
Forum member Lestrout typically finding the sweet spot.
Forum members Fishidiot and Troutbert
New and old editions from Dwight Landis
(Link to interview on Paff)
Fly fishing stuff from Fishidiot found at www.rodandbrush.com
(link to interview on Paff)
Forum member and wet fly master: Wetfly01
www.wetflywaterguides.com
Wetfly01’s handiwork
Artist Michael Simon
www.michaelsimonanglingart.com
Fish artist Thom Glace
www.thomglacewatercolors.com
Allenberry pavilion
Lots of bamboo rod vendors
So much bamboo, so little time.
Forum member Lestrout typically finding the sweet spot.
A Great Fish
This article is another in Dave Weaver’s on going “Casting through History” series. His previous article in this series was John Brown’s Bass.
Over the years many of you, if you’ve visited Yellow Breeches Anglers in Boiling Springs, have probably gazed at one particular dusty old mounted brown trout. When I was a kid, I’d look at this fish and think that it wasn’t the best taxidermy job. If you’re a Cumberland Valley regular or otherwise familiar with the writings of Charlie Fox and others, you’re probably aware of the story behind this fish. If not, we’ll re-tell the story behind this dusty old trophy…..a veritable sacred relic of Pennsylvania fishing history.
Ed Koch is part of Pennsylvania’s unique fly fishing heritage. His book Fishing the Midge is a classic and, like many of the writings of his generation, is always worth a re-read. Ed was also the long time owner of the Yellow Breeches fly shop. Many of you may remember chatting with Ed in the shop. This was Ed’s great trophy, caught from Letort Spring Run in August 1962. Charlie Fox recollects the story in his classic, This Wonderful World of Trout: Ed had hooked the fish three times previously. Finally, he saw the giant again and, after several casts, the big brown rose and ate a Letort Cricket, a popular deer hair dry fly. After a tough, twenty five minute fight in the weeds, the fish came to the net: 27 and a half inches and over nine pounds. Fox describes Koch’s trembling hands when the fish was weighed and photographed. Shortly later, the Fish Commission announced that this was the largest brown trout ever caught in Pennsylvania on a dry fly. Does this fish still hold this distinction today? I don’t know - perhaps. I think every fly fisherman dreams of that fish of a lifetime; a fish that takes perseverance and...
Ed Koch is part of Pennsylvania’s unique fly fishing heritage. His book Fishing the Midge is a classic and, like many of the writings of his generation, is always worth a re-read. Ed was also the long time owner of the Yellow Breeches fly shop. Many of you may remember chatting with Ed in the shop. This was Ed’s great trophy, caught from Letort Spring Run in August 1962. Charlie Fox recollects the story in his classic, This Wonderful World of Trout: Ed had hooked the fish three times previously. Finally, he saw the giant again and, after several casts, the big brown rose and ate a Letort Cricket, a popular deer hair dry fly. After a tough, twenty five minute fight in the weeds, the fish came to the net: 27 and a half inches and over nine pounds. Fox describes Koch’s trembling hands when the fish was weighed and photographed. Shortly later, the Fish Commission announced that this was the largest brown trout ever caught in Pennsylvania on a dry fly. Does this fish still hold this distinction today? I don’t know - perhaps. I think every fly fisherman dreams of that fish of a lifetime; a fish that takes perseverance and...
Book Review: Fly Fishing for Striped Bass by Rich Murphy
Fly Fishing for Striped Bass
Rich Murphy
Wild River Press, 2007
457pp
The claim that any book is “definitive” has always caused me to dismiss the reviewers glowing claims that inevitably follow – and I’ll not use the term in this review – but Fly Fishing for Striped Bass by Rich Murphy comes close to meeting this ideal. I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with Rich at the Somerset show in the past and marveling at his beautiful and innovative fly patterns. When I asked him if he’d ever caught a tautog on a fly (something I’ve tried to do for years, without any luck) he responded with a tone suggesting that it was downright easy.
Looking at his crab patterns, it doesn’t surprise me that ole Mr Tog would fall for ‘em. Anyway, this book, is simply put, a pleasure to read or just peruse. Replete with color photos on every page, it’s a coffee table book that reads just as well. In its 9 chapters, FFfSB starts with an intriguing chapter that follows the migration of “Sax,” a fictional, fifty pound cow bass on her migration up the coast.
Other chapters describe the various techniques for flats, rocks, bays, etc as well as Rich’s excellent flies and other gear. Murphy, a driven, rail thin runner and type A angler is highly intelligent and you can sense his intense focus on every page. The book can be difficult to read in a bit too many sections and sometimes it seems that Murphy tries a bit too hard by half to find a sophisticated voice, writing too many passages like this:
We know from Chapter 2 that a major physiological change happens in her eyes at sundown – the color receptors or cones on the surface of her eye’s retina retract and contrast detecting receptors, or rods are deployed in their place. This enhances her capacity to detect subtle changes in the contrast gradient of the water column around her caused by the movement of her prey or predators…My surface night patterns are configured to...
Rich Murphy
Wild River Press, 2007
457pp
The claim that any book is “definitive” has always caused me to dismiss the reviewers glowing claims that inevitably follow – and I’ll not use the term in this review – but Fly Fishing for Striped Bass by Rich Murphy comes close to meeting this ideal. I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with Rich at the Somerset show in the past and marveling at his beautiful and innovative fly patterns. When I asked him if he’d ever caught a tautog on a fly (something I’ve tried to do for years, without any luck) he responded with a tone suggesting that it was downright easy.
Looking at his crab patterns, it doesn’t surprise me that ole Mr Tog would fall for ‘em. Anyway, this book, is simply put, a pleasure to read or just peruse. Replete with color photos on every page, it’s a coffee table book that reads just as well. In its 9 chapters, FFfSB starts with an intriguing chapter that follows the migration of “Sax,” a fictional, fifty pound cow bass on her migration up the coast.
We know from Chapter 2 that a major physiological change happens in her eyes at sundown – the color receptors or cones on the surface of her eye’s retina retract and contrast detecting receptors, or rods are deployed in their place. This enhances her capacity to detect subtle changes in the contrast gradient of the water column around her caused by the movement of her prey or predators…My surface night patterns are configured to...