FlyFishNewEngland.net 7th Annual Fly Swap

FFNE 7th Annual Fly Swap

We are in to our spring fishing season here in New England -- rivers and ponds are freshly stocked, the herring runs are going strong and sea lice laden schoolies are being caught in Rhode Island. And in true fashion of the "occasional blogger", the 7th Annual FlyFishingNewEngland.net fly swap, that happened in January this year, is finally being documented.
It's actually the dead of winter 2020 and one year has passed since the last fly swap. I started to write this post in the spring of 2019 (see lined out intro paragraph above) and am finally finishing just a few weeks before the FFNE 8th Annual Fly Swap.
Better late than never....

6th Annual FlyFishingNewEngland.net Fly Swap

-- 6th Annual FFNE Fly Swap --

It's hard to believe we've been doing this fly swap for 6 years now. I've posted about the 1st, 2nd and 3rd FlyFishingNewEngland.net fly swaps. With a record turnout and the high quality flies submitted, this 6th annual event warranted a post from the "occasional blogger".
This year was the biggest with 15 tiers and 18 total in attendance at our host's (Chris M.) house. We also had friends, wives and significant others join us for the festivities. Several tiers submitted multiple flies (Matt B. submitted 5!) so we had a total of 23 flies for each tier to take home.

New England Fly Fishing Event - Postfly

The good folks at Postfly are hosting a free Fins & Film Event on 13 January 2017. It will be at their HQ (101 Newburyport Tpke., Newbury, MA 01951). If you are in the area and want to attend, RSVP to info@postflybox.com by 10 January. Hope to see you there!

Dock Talk 365 Interview

--Dock Talk 365 Interview--

I was a bit surprised to have a fellow angling blogger inquire about a Question and Answer interview for the Dock Talk 365 Blog. What could a "weekend warrior" fly angler say or offer that hasn't been discussed a million times before?

I took a look at Chris' blog, read some of the other interviews and thought it would be fun to give my perspective with some background of why I fish and love it so much. This sentence from the "About Us" helped seal the deal, "Our focus is on the recreational or local tournament anglers who love to spend time on the water and are willing to share their valuable knowledge of their local waters and techniques as well as their overall perspectives on our sport."

2015 Top Twelve Days on the Water

-- First fish of 2016 --

I'll open this long overdue post with the first fish of 2016. A sweet native Massachusetts brookie from a stream with no name. We are now three months into 2016, but I'd like to look back on a personally successful 2015 fly fishing New England waters.

I use the phrase "occasional blogger" in my Instagram profile for a reason. It's hard to provide relevant content to the blog on a regular basis. It's been 11 months since the last post and I hope you'll enjoy this one.

Spring is in the Air

- The Melting Begins -

We've experienced a record snowfall this winter and the rivers and streams in New England will benefit. After two months of brutal cold temperatures and multiple 1+ foot snow storms, warmer temps have started the process of melting the ice on the streams and the snow in the woods.

I took advantage of the warmer air temps and went searching for open water this past week on the local trout streams.

The Meadows Project

-- The Meadows Project --

I came across an interesting feed on Instagram about a month ago called The Meadows Project. Exploring a bit deeper, I discovered the group is based in Southern Vermont and are putting together some stunning video about cold water river conservation and the fly fishing history of the region.

Here's an excerpt from their website.

"THE MEADOWS PROJECT is a pursuit for the protection of Southern Vermont's cold water fisheries and the native brook trout that reside in them. Originally, a collaboration of art, the project has evolved into not only a conservation effort but also an internet based television program detailing three trout anglers journey through the fishing season. the series covers fishing techniques, quirky anecdotes, and up-to-date news about all of the project's conservation and preservation efforts. Tune into Vimeo to watch and Instagram for day to day news."

3rd Annual FlyFishingNewEngland.net Fly Swap

-- 3rd Annual FFNE Fly Swap --

The tradition continues. After finding Ryan's board three years ago, signing up for the 1st FFNE Fly Swap and meeting a bunch of great local fly anglers, I look forward to this winter event every year.

The highlight of the swap this year came from our host, Matt, who recently has ventured in to the world of tying classic salmon flies. Matt consistently produces killer, big meaty, pike and bass flies, but wanted to explore the deep and beautiful realm of the salmon fly. As one of the most creative tiers I know, Matt knocked out 11 unique patterns for each swap participant and himself based on stories shared on the FlyFishingNewEngland.net board.

Bonefish Dick's Betsy Fly

-- Tying "The Betsy" --

As the snowy New England winter wears on, we find ourselves enjoying some quiet time at the vise to prepare for the warmer months that are fast approaching. As much as I love fly fishing in the winter, the closest tailwater is about an hour and a half away that typically requires 7x tippet and a 32 midge just to fool a 12 inch stocked trout. I'd rather tie flies and wait for ice out and the schoolies to return to the tidal estuaries.

2014 was my best year chasing New England Striped Bass from the shore and it will be hard to only fish the freshwater going forward. My saltwater mentor, Mark, has shown me some great locations, techniques and flies that have led to this success. One fly, the Yellow Betsy, accounts for 1/2 of the stripers I've landed and has become the "go to" fly when nothing else is working.

One of several stripers fooled by the Betsy in 2014

Marlboro Fly Fishing Show

-- Marlboro, MA - 16 and 17 Jan 2014 -- 

If you live in New England and are a fly angler, you've attended The Fly Fishing Show in Marlboro, MA at least once. Also, as a New Englander, you attend the show in Marlboro (not Marlborough -- the proper spelling). This year, I attended Friday and Saturday.

This was my 6th year at the show and, frankly speaking, it hasn't changed much -- most of the exhibitors are the same, most of the speakers are the same, most of the tiers are the same, but (and a big but), I got more out of this year's show than I have in years past.

Local Confidence Builder

-- Good Day on the Water --

Oh forgive me bloggers, for I have sinned! It's been 4 months since my last post and I have no excuses. Summer has flown by, again with no vacation, but a couple of fun outings chasing local bass & gills.

Yesterday was definitely one of the highlights of the summer.

With the trout streams at record low flows and recent salt skunkings, I needed a confidence builder outing and decided to hit a local pond yesterday. I've had both good and bad days on this pond, but that didn't matter -- its 10 minutes from the house and has some decent variety of fish (pickerel, bass, perch, cats, and gills).

Why Knot Fishing

-- Why Knot Fishing Team --

I had the privilege of connecting with a new group of New England anglers through social media earlier this year. One of the founders of the group, Joe G. (@j_googe on Instagram), started a conversation with me about the group and I offered to help spread the good word.

Joe sent me this info to share about their mission.

"Why Knot Fishing is a community fishing company based on the North Shore of Massachusetts, but with team of anglers located around the state.  We will be focusing on providing fishing reports, fishing reviews and fun fishing stories.  We will also be running events over the summer including a surf fishing event on Plum Island on June 14th and a kayak fishing even later in the summer.

5 Months

-- Bookends of a Skunk --

That's how long I waited to feel another fish on the end of the fly line. In the eight years of active fly fishing, I've never had a skunk that long. Would like to blame it on the brutal New England winter or lack of time on the water, but for whatever the reason, I'm calling the 5 month skunk over.

The Winter Solstice post last December was the last time I had a fish on the line. I've been out plenty of times -- chasing trout, bass, gills, carp and stripers -- but no luck for 5 long months.

Low Tide in the Salt Marsh

 - Early Season Schoolie Hunt - 

Got out with my striper buddy, Mark, on Saturday looking for the first striped bass "schoolies" of the season. It was a beautiful day exploring some old and new water in Rhode Island. Also met some new fly fishing friends as well.

Water temps were 50 degrees, but the schoolies were not interested. We started at place where I had luck last year with my first striper on the fly and fished the tide change from high to low.

#theartofskunk

-- First 2014 Outing --

It's been a very long, cold winter here in New England and most other parts of the country. In the seven plus years I've been fly fishing, I don't remember the local streams being as frozen over and unfishable as they have this winter.

With Matt (aka Troutdoors) home for spring break, our first order business was to get out to the river and wet a line. We checked flows and they were rising so we knew the spring thaw had finally started.

The title of this post, #theartofskunk, comes from Ariel over at Atom Fly Fishing, who coined this hashtag about 2 years ago. It's become an unfortunate label to many of my Instagram posts, so if you looking for some fish porn in this blog post, leave now.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos and a Fly Swap

 -- Fly Fish New England Fly Swap -- 

I joined the Fly Fishing New England board a little over a year ago and am really enjoying the great local knowledge and camaraderie. Right after joining, I was able to get into the board's first fly swap and wrote a post about it.

The best part about this fly swap is that it's local and our host, Matt, brews some excellent beer. Last year, in addition to swapping flies, drinking beers and getting to know everyone, I brought some bacon wrapped jalapenos (BWJs). The BWJs were a big hit. Well, as the December winter froze over all the local streams and cabin fever sets in, posts on the board started up about "When is the next fly swap?" When the date got set for 1 February and the theme of fly swap was "your most productive fly", discussions about the BWJs also surfaced. A tradition is born.

Every Picture Tells a Story

 -- Every Picture Tells a Story-- 

Of all the social networks, I waste most of my time with Instagram. I keep two accounts -- @ginclear for fly fishing & tying and @deanwo for family, work & other random stuff. My affection for the Red Sox, Patriots and Bruins bleeds into both feeds from time to time.

If you are on Instagram, you've noticed everyone posting "Year in Review" videos that flash by the most memorable or liked posts. Both Statigram and Flipagram are two of the more popular sites/apps that provide this service for free.

I thought it would be fun to tell a little story for some of the most memorable pics this year from the @ginclear Instagram account. The year was full of fly fishing firsts in many ways. First fish, first hatches and first time fishing with new friends.

Winter Solstice 2013

-- Winter Solstice 2013 --

It's been awhile since the last post and I thought it would be nice to share some of the simple winter beauty found today in the New England woods, next to the stream, while out fly fishing with my son, Matt (aka Troutdoors), on the shortest day of the year.

The winter solstice is my favorite day. It's the turn of the season and as the days get longer, spring is on the doorstep.

It's been about a month since I've wet a line, and with Matt back from school for the Christmas break, I dragged him kicking and screaming out to our local river.

First Striper on the Fly

-- First Stripah on the Fly --

Four times a charm, or something like that. Last weekend, a good buddy, Mark, took me to his "spot" in Rhode Island to chase some pre-dawn schoolies on the fly. This was my 4th outing ever to chase stripers.

We went to this same spot last year with no luck, but this time the tides were right and the week leading up to our outing had ideal temps and weather conditions.

5 Things You Won't Find at #F3T

-- #F3T Coming to a Theater Near You --

I'm getting pumped to check out the 2013 Fly Fishing Film Tour next week on 13 February at the Somerville Theater in Davis Square in Cambridge, MA. I've attended a couple F3T's in the past, but never at a legit theater, so this should be a real treat.

Discount tickets for the event are available at the Bear's Den Fly Fishing Company. The Bear's Den will also host two showings on 16 February at Noon and 7:30 PM during their annual Fly Fishing Expo in Taunton, MA.

Having reviewed some trailers of the films and knowing the filmmakers from their past work, this is a show you will want to see.