Swordfish Bill Scrimshaw
Category: Sports

I just got an offer for one of my Scrimshaw Swordfish Bill Letter Openers. I was asking $39.95. The offer was for $12.00! I understand that most people do not know how much work is in Scrimshaw. Well, I understand because this is an ancient art. Because I am old and have fished commercially for most of my life, I truly do understand that most people would never get to see the wonderful things I have gotten to see and the wonderful things I got to learn from the “Old Timers”. I just wish that the old custom of mentorship were still in place. It’s such an easy way to live. The elders pass onto the youngers the things they need to learn. Ther’s no competition, and only kind feelings and gratitude. I’m curious to hear how my fellow bloggers feel about the concept of mentorship. thank you, Capt. Bob 

Flyfishing/Surface Disturbance

Posted Oct-29-07 16:08:24 PDT

You come upon a pool in a trout stream and all is quiet. Where do you start? Tie on a # 12 Caddis Fly and give it some animation.  Let it tear up the surface. You will be amazed at the vicious strikes you can provoke! I used to waste time by floating the classic dead-drifted dry fly. No more! Try the hitched fly, the skittering fly or the skated fly. You will be amazed! Life is not static on a river. There is always something trying to get away. Sit, watch and you will observe what I am talking about. May the river gods smile upon you.   Sincerely, Capt. Bob

Spey Fishing/Overview

Posted Oct-15-07 12:02:52 PDT

Speyfishing is a somewhat misunderstood concept in the USA. Basically, it’s a type of flyfishing that was perfected in the 1800′s to deal with the difficult conditions encountered when fishing the River Spey in Scotland—big brawling water and trees right to the waterline. It consists of fishing with a long long flyrod with no backcast behind you. Every casting motion is performed in front of the angler or at his side. The TRUE Spey rod enables the angler to fish in Waltz time which allows the caster time to perform the Spey movements. Thee-quarters Waltz time also seems to be the rhythm of the rivers and defines the speed of the current in the areas where a fish will take a fly. Most of today’s rod manufacturers equate power with speed. This is the challenge for the rodmaker! A true Speyrod has SLOW power, best exemplified by the Greenheart flyrods of yesteryear. Too fast of a flyrod does not give the fisher enough time to complete the Spey movements without hurrying them along and putting pressure on the caster. The extra length of the Spey rod enables the angler to cast long distances as well as to mend and control those long lengths of line. (Some of the Scottish gillies routinely cast 140 ft. without much effort!). This feat requires a flyrod that bends into the cork. Otherwise, whatever percentage of the rod that does not flex, must be made up by the effort of the angler. It’s analogous to hiring an employee who will only do 50% of his job thereby forcing his employer to work harder. In my years of searching, I have found very few true Spey rods and I truly treasure them. I would very much like to hear from other fishers of the long long rod. Please go to the website: www.robertstackleco.com. Also visit the eBay Store: Custom-Made by Roberts. I hope my blog was of interest and I appreciate your time in reading it.     Sincerely, Capt. Bob

Prospecting for Trout/Salmon/Steelhead

When you arrive at a river you haven’t fished before, you would do well to get no closer than 30 ft. from the water’s edge. Slowly sit down and force yourself to observe for 10 minutes. Within that 10 minutes, you may see enough to tell you where the fish are and what they’re eating. But then again you may see no signs at all. If the latter is the case then you must “prospect” for the fish, which essentially means to search. Depending on the type of water, you can begin two different ways: with a searching nymph pattern or with an attractor-type dry fly. If it’s riffle water, you should lift some rocks and see the type of aquatic life that’s in this section of the river. If you find something, by all means choose the nymph that simulates this critter. Step your tippet diameter down  two sizes from what you would normally use. Remember, you are searching and may have to sacrifice a fish to get the information you need to be successful. If your in a stretch of dry fly water, choose an attractor fly like the Wulff series. Again, step down your leader a couple of sizes. If the traditional dead drift float does not produce, then try skimming the fly over the surface like a riffle-hitched fly in Atlantic Salmon fishing. You’d be amazed at the vicious strikes this can elicit!  I hope this information is helpful to you. I am new to blogging so I would appreciate all comments. Thank you for reading my blog and may the River gods smile upon you.    Sincerely, Capt. Bob

Buying a flyrod that does what you want it to do, requires numerous considerations. First of all, what do you want it to do and under what conditions, ie. small stream, big river, ocean? Are you of strong physical build, moderate or frail. Are you left-handed or right, tall or short? How big are the fish you are targeting, the flies you will be casting and what type of line(s) you will be using? Ansering these questions will help you determine the line weight the fly rod should handle, the speed of the action and the type of taper of the rod blank.  Will you be traveling with it on airplanes, ie. how many pieces should the rod be–2, 3, or 4? Once you have answered these questions, you will be ready to visit the Fly Fishing Shops and start wiggling rods. Take along the reel and line you will be using and attach it to the rod. Wiggle it again. Most Fly Shops will allow you to cast the rods in which you are interestd. Take advantage of this opportunity. This will allow you to find the fly rod you are looking for. One of the most common complaints when I guide Sports is that they cannot cast right with this “Stupid Fly Rod”.  Follow the above-suggestions and you will avoid this dilemma. I hope you have found this helpful and would welcome any comments.     Sincerely, Capt. Bob

Did you know that a Giant Bluefin Tuna can sprint close to 60 mph. and needs to eat about 300 lbs.of  fish per day. This is the type of topic I’ll be writing about. Please visit my eBay Store and About Me page to see what I make.       Thank you, Capt. Bob

Dear Coach—Thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, the more ferrules a rod has the greater the chance of breakage. The higher quality travel rods have a good track record but tend to be quite expensive. Try Orvis, St. Croix, Cabelas, L.L. Bean, Sage, and Loomis. Good luck.     Regards, Capt. Bob

Buying a flyrod that does what you want it to do, requires numerous considerations. First of all, what do you want it to do and under what conditions, ie. small stream, big river, ocean? Are you of strong physical build, moderate or frail. Are you left-handed or right, tall or short? How big are the fish you are targeting, the flies you will be casting and what type of line(s) you will be using? Ansering these questions will help you determine the line weight the fly rod should handle, the speed of the action and the type of taper of the rod blank.  Will you be traveling with it on airplanes, ie. how many pieces should the rod be–2, 3, or 4? Once you have answered these questions, you will be ready to visit the Fly Fishing Shops and start wiggling rods. Take along the reel and line you will be using and attach it to the rod. Wiggle it again. Most Fly Shops will allow you to cast the rods in which you are interestd. Take advantage of this opportunity. This will allow you to find the fly rod you are looking for. One of the most common complaints when I guide Sports is that they cannot cast right with this “Stupid Fly Rod”.  Follow the above-suggestions and you will avoid this dilemma. I hope you have found this helpful and would welcome any comments.     Sincerely, Capt. Bob

When you approach a body of water to go fishing, do not get any closer than 30 ft. Sit down on the bank for 10 minutes and observe. Lots of fish are within 10 ft. of the bank and when the unsavvy angler immediately steps into the water, he spooks the fish he could have caught. Just because waders enable you to go in up to your chest, it is a big mistake to do this until you have fished the water thoroughly from the bank, then ankle-deep, then knee-deep, thigh-deep, waist-deep and, finally, chest-deep. This system will significantly improve your catch rate.    Regards, Capt. Bob 

 Hi!—I’m new to blogging so thought I’d like to begin by sharing some information regarding my special area of interest.

 When fishing for migrating fish like Steelhead and Salmon, be aware that they are not interested in eating but primarily in spawning. They become very territorial and defensive so an effective technique to get them to take your fly is to present something that gets them in a fighting mood. Once the eggs are in the nest, many aquatic critters try to steal and eat them. The leech is one of the common ones. There is a standard pattern called the Woolley Bugger that simulates a leech. To make it even more provocative, place a yellow, pink or orange bead on the shank of the hook before you begin tying your fly. The result is a leech that looks like it has stolen an egg (the bead). This infuriates the fish more than a plain leech pattern and he or she is more likely to attack. Good fishing and may the River gods smile upon you.    Regards, Capt. Bob

 

When fishing for migrating fish like Steelhead and Salmon, be aware that they are not interested in eating but primarily in spawning. They become very territorial and defensive so an effective technique to get them to take your fly is to present something that gets them in a fighting mood. Once the eggs are in the nest, many aquatic critters try to steal and eat them. The leech is one of the common ones. There is a standard pattern called the Woolley Bugger that simulates a leech. To make it even more provocative, place a yellow, pink or orange bead on the shank of the hook before you begin tying your fly. The result is a leech that looks like it has stolen an egg (the bead). This infuriates the fish more than a plain leech pattern and he or she is more likely to attack. Good fishing and may the River gods smile upon you.    Regards, Capt. Bob