Chamois Flys

I have noticed a very notable increase in traffic via searches for chamois patterns. Very cool. When I first started fishing chamois it was a difficult task to find any reference on the net. My introduction to the material came through a buddy who tied it in worm patterns. Big, dew worm like constructions tied and coloured as such. A great pattern, especially in targeting big trout in off coloured water. These days I am seeing a lot more patterns appearing on the web. Not sure how many folks are fishing them though.

Shortly after I started to tie it in minnow patterns. It really shines in this capacity. Such life like movement. I have said right from the start, the only material that is really needed in a chamois streamer is the chamois. Just tying a strip to  a hook will catch you fish. I had a reminder of this last season, and I may have remarked about it on this blog. A day where a pattern I was fishing fell apart. The only thing left on the hook was the chamois. It caught fish. Good fish.


An obvious property of Chamois is it is very water absorbent. As far as us fly fishers are concerned, this property not only helps impart a very lifelike action, it also gives it a life like feel. Fish do not seem to be in any hurry to expel the fly when they chomp down on it. Instead they tend to bite down hard. As far as the action is concerned, it is phenomenal. If a chamois streamer is held in a current, it undulates just as a minnow would. If dead drifted, it tumbles like a dead minnow. A stripping retrieve will see it swim with a dying flutter at the end of the strip. All of this makes for a great fish catching tying material.

It's not to say that chamois is new to the fly tying world. I have seen some rather old nymph patterns that incorporate it. While it is gaining in popularity, it is hardly something you'll see in most anglers fly boxes. It is something you might want to try if your looking to expand your repertoire. One thing I will caution, is if you decide to pick some up, make sure it is the real deal. The faux stuff is not a substitute. I bought a real chamois at Canadian Tire years ago I still have not gone through. Goes a long way.

Below is a video shot last season using a very simple chamois minnow pattern I had thought up the day before.

Post Season Reflection

I suppose with ice starting to form on the lakes, I can start to look back on the season it was.

I made more outings this year, than in the previous three. This is not to say that my back recovered that much. That is hardly the case. It seems to be getting worse, not better. However, the close proximity to so much water made it very easy to get out for a couple of hours in spots where there were likely going to be fish.

The season was a slow start. We had snow on the ground, and ice on the water till towards May. It took me sometime to shake of my hibernation mode too. When eventually things started to line up, I was able to enjoy some of the best fishing of my life, if not the best.

When I look back at posts prior to the season starting, I see things I wanted to do, but never got around too. Like hunting Lake Trout and Walleye. Other species I found I just didn`t want to make the effort for, like Trout. I found it hard to drive 40 mins to fish when I could be on the water in 10 minutes. Consequently, other species saw much more of my time. I did catch some trout. Not many, not too big. But trout they were.

The smallmouth fishing in this area is phenomenal. It succeeded my expectations immensely. The average fish does seem to be in the 2 -3lb range. Over 4lb`s are rarer, but happen often enough that they don`t seem to
be ever out of reach. I was rather pleased with how quickly I figured out were to find them in the various lakes I fished. I thought there would be more of a learning curve there. Thank goodness for fishfinders!

I also fished with spinning gear for the first time in decades. I picked up the routine again quickly, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Towards the end of the season I was fly fishing more than gearing it, but that had to do with old habits than anything else. I am comfortable taking either method out on the water solo, though I do prefer both at my disposal. Catching fish on my own lures was no less satisfying for me than any flyfishing accomplishments. And those lures caught me some great fish. Plastics have come a very long way since I last fished them. Was happy with how consistently productive they are.

Pike I wish I had chased a bit more. Most of my success on that front  was with spinning rigs. I have a couple of good lakes earmarked for next year. Even if I did not get out for them as much as I should have, I did scout and secure some great water for next season. Plan on getting them early season on the fly.

Then there was the Perch. I tangled with them a lot this year. So many of them were eaten. It was a staple in my diet all summer long. I was not a happy camper if I caught bass all day, and no perch. A man needs to eat!

Bird. Bird is the word.

So what now?

Unlikely I will be ice fishing this year. I am not Jesus Christ, I do not walk on water. Even the frozen kind. I suspect I will spend my time hunting this winter. Something I only started this fall, but absolutely love. I regret not having started this in my youth. So far, I`ve only been after grouse. I would like to find some rabbit once that ends. Thing is, you will never see me hiking. The idea of walking from point a, back to point a, just does not make sense to me. Yes, nature is beautiful, but I can observe that from one spot. The walking part of the hike just seems to interfere with the enjoyment from my perspective. However, doing it with a rifle and playing natures equivalent of `Where`s Waldo`is a much different story.

Esten again.

I put in a couple of hours flippering around Esten Lake tonight. I was hoping for a repeat of last nights affair, but it was not to be.

Not sure it was just me. I overheard some other anglers as we were all pulling out our watercraft at nights end and my numbers were higher. Since the lot of us seemed to be in the same boat, more or less, I'm guessing it had more to do with the fish.

It's not that I didn't catch fish. I did. The numbers were fewer, and only a couple of the bass were decent. I did catch my first perch in the lake..........so I know they are there, now I need to locate them in some numbers.

The rodents were hounding me again. I am hoping we can come to some sort of compromise whereby I am allowed passage for fishing in their territory. Tonight the seemed less aggressive, but still very wary, keeping tabs on me. I see the pair at around 6pm. One will head up the western shoreline, while the other goes east. If this is not their standard foraging pattern, then I suspect they are setting up an ambush.

I tried to do a vid shoot today. Maybe the last time for a while. I ended up getting fuck all footage due to either camera or operator error, and ended up losing more fish than was worth it. Aggravating. If I had stuck with just shooting stills this post would have more eye candy than it does.

Fished the Rabbabou Streamer all night.

........green fishing again.

Some footage from the other night. With trout water in the high temps, there's no reason to be putting those fish at risk, so it's sticking with the warm water species. I'm loving the 'toon. It's alot easier on my back than wading. Still on the same negligible fishery, fishing the GFC. Probably was out for an hour and a half.



 

...........more of the same.

Puttered around for a bit again this evening. Tried a different section of the lake than previous. Found some promising and somewhat productive water. Did a bit of filming. Unfortunately, the manufacturers of the camera have a sense of humor. While the camera maybe able to record for over 2 1/2 hrs continuously, the battery cannot. The best fish of the night where not recorded because of this. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Again, fished only a GFC. Was very sad to have finally lost the original one I had been using. I got a lot of miles out of that one fly.

More GFC'ing.

I was out for an hour and a half this evening. Puttering around in the tube and throwing the Green Fish Critter. When I start playing with new patterns I generally throw them alot. Not just checking for efficacy, but also will work out any design flaws, or find some improvements.

So far, I've only used the same fly on all outings. Haven't lost it yet, and haven't had to change up for lack of production. Nor have I thought of any tweaks for the pattern.

On the evening, it produced very well. Eschewing the crappie for the most part, I did really well on Large Mouth. I did more leg ( flipper ) work than usual and found a nice shallow spot in the centre of the lake that had some nice drop offs. Working the edge of the structure kept me into fish for the night.

GFC

With the temperatures high on the trout rivers, my sporadic outings have been for bass and panfish. I'm lovin' the pontoon on the hot evenings. Previously I had a tube...............finding the pontoon much more enjoyable.

With the fluctuating temps, I've had some days better than others. Even on the slower days there's usually enough playful fish to keep me happy.

The fly pictured is something that just popped into my head on night. Very easy to tie, and effective. It pops nicely, or can be made to slowly swim. This one has a mono weed guard. Interesting to note this fly can literally be tied from scraps. Being familiar with food fare of Bass, you could probably guess what I was aiming for.

I hadn't even considered a name till now, so for lack of anything better, lets call this the

Green Fish Critter
Hook: 4 -6
Tail: Marabou
Body: Olive Mono
Thorax: Olive Saddle Hackle.......sort of. It was yellow till I took an indelible marker to it.
Head: Closed cell foam. Was yellow, olive marker.

With any pattern I pull out of my head, it goes through a number of variations. If I have used marabou, the tail is often shorter.

This pattern floats well, is easy to tie, and uses cheap, readily available materials. All good things. It catches fish, even better. If your looking for a new addition, give this a try.

So, did some more green fish'n this morning. Really wasn't my day.


Not long into the morning I snapped my rod just above the ferrule, leaving me with a 4' stick to fish with. Long casts were out. SMH.

After a painful while of crippled casting, I hunted down and hooked a big pig of a carp. Drag was not set at all and and in short order my reel was bird nested and the carp gone and laughing. Oh well. Par for the course at that point.

I did briefly get to play around chucking some plastics. Works as good as they always have, and accounted for the largest bass of the day.

This was only my second broken fly rod in several decades, and is a prime example of the dangers of buying a rod used. There is no way it should have broke under the conditions that it did. There was a flaw in the blank. I read awhile ago, that the number one cause of broken rods is due to damage from bead heads. 'Dingers' are not too much different than shooting your rod with a BB. I highly suspect this was behind the demise of this rod.