Thursday, December 27, 2018

January 5, 2019 - Tightlines Fly Fishing - Tying Class

This coming January 5th, Saturday, I will be at Tightlines Fly Fishing Shop in Parsippany, New Jersey teaching a fly tying class from 11:00am until 2:00pm.

The tying class is titled "Matt Grobert's Favorite Mayfly & Caddis Emergers".  We will go over not only how to tie them, but also why we use the materials we do and I'll show you some tricks for getting the patterns to look and fish as they should.   In addition to tying the flies, we will go over presentation/recognizing when to use the patterns and how to fish them as well as the leader system I use for fishing emergers and dry flies. The cost is $30/person and you can sign up by contacting the shop here Tightlines Fly Fishing. 

You will need to bring your tying vise, tools and light.

Missing Link Caddis
Sharpen your hooks.

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Merry Christmas Everyone!


 Bryson Carey (2) and Henley Carpenter (5)

And Peace and Happiness in the New Year! 

Friday, December 21, 2018

We Won't Be Fishing...Again, But We Still Can Tie Flies.

This has been the story of our Autumn fishing in the Northeast this year.  It seems like every weekend we have gotten blown out by late week rains and this weekend is no exception.  Of course, last weekend when we couldn't find the time to fish, the river was in good shape.


This weekend you can always head to Shannon's Fly Shop in Califon, NJ and have some fun tying flies.  On Saturday morning Len Ruggia will be instructing the beginner's fly tying class at 9:30AM.  And on Sunday at 9:30AM, Tim Flagler will be there demonstrating how he ties some of his favorite flies.   Both of these classes are free to all - just bring your vise and tying tools.

Sharpen your hooks.

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Tying the Gallagher Special

After a rain filled Autumn in which we did little fishing thanks to swollen rivers throughout most of the period, we did manage to sit down in front of Tim Flagler's camera and tie up a little known fly whose origins go back to before I was born.  The Gallagher Special was first published in J. Edson Leonard's book, Flies, in 1950.  This is the same man who originated the Dark and Light Edson Tiger streamers, that are better known than his other patterns.  I was first introduced to the Gallagher Special several decades ago and it has been in my fly box ever since.  Like most peacock-bodied patterns, this one produces well throughout the year.


There's no question there are other similar patterns out there and whether this one predates any of them is anyone's guess.  All I know is that it is easy to tie, and it works great.  I fish it by swinging it, and also dead-drift down deep. 

Sharpen your hooks.