Vanguard Binoculars and not exactly about fly fishing

I am doing a couple of odd posts because there wasn't much fly fishing this year. It was a rainy cool summer, and every weekend the rivers were too blown out to bother fishing, unless you owned a drift boat, and had a fishing partner capable of helping you row while you threw giant streamers and poppers. So I worked on getting ready for serious deer hunting.

Last year I had a new experience- big woods hunting for deer up along the NY/PA border. This is very different from Michigan hunting, where you put on about 17 layers of clothing and sit in one place for hours hoping something will pass by. It involves light clothing, and tracking. You work you way through the woods until you pick up a track, then follow it until you see the animal that made it. No matter where it goes, and for several miles. My two friends Matt and Mike excel at this, but for me it was a learning experience. In addition to more stamina, lighter clothing, organization skills, experience, skill, and woodcraft, they both had another thing I lacked: good binoculars. As they tracked, they would constantly glass the area in front of them. I had a cheap-ass pair of binocs that were so lame I did not like using them, and on two occasions I spooked deer that I should have or could have seen had I scanned. So I decided to get a real pair of hunting binocs.

Went to a big box outdoor store that had every brand ever made and tried them all.  I had never looked through 20 different brands and models at once the differences were amazing. There were sort of three levels of optics: the 100 to 150 dollar range, the 350-450 dollar range, and then the insane dollar range. The expensive ones were not a possibility, and I was getting vexed because I did not see that much difference between the cheaper and mid-price brands that would justify the cost. I had about settled on an inexpensive pair that has become very popular with deer hunters, and then ran into the Vanguard rep. He asked me if I had tried their brand, and I said "no, because I have never heard of them." He handed me a pair of ED-II 8 x 30's (400 bucks), and I focused them on the eye chart that someone in the store had cleverly taped to a heating duct about 75 yards away. Whoa. It was the only pair where I could read the entire chart, and there was far less distortion at the edge of field. Color was spot on. Light. They were by far better than others in the same price, and even better than some of the more expensive ones. I took a pair home.

Vanguard is not new, but for years they made optics sold as house brands in other stores. They felt they could do better, and started selling their own stuff.

Anyway, the field testing was even better. They really are waterproof (although legally advertised as only water resistant), armored, light, and they do not fog up. Whoever designed the focus and diopter knobs was actually a hunter, because you can use both with gloves in really, really, cold weather. The part I like best is the focus, which is neither too coarse (you are rotating the knob back and forth to dial it in to the tiny sweet spot) or too fine (endless rotation to have an effect by which time the deer is out of sight). They are the binocs that I can look through all day without eye strain, and they added a new dimension to my experience. Although a hunting binocular, you could use these as your primary birding binocs too.

Note that I have no financial interest, and the bitches would not discount them for me either. I paid full price. But this is a rare case where I found something so good I wanted to tell other people about it. If you hunt, beg for these to appear under the tree this Christmas.

The Best Emerald Shiner Pattern Ever

I have long wondered about streamer patterns, and what I wonder is if any of the originators ever actually saw a real prey fish. The smelt imitations are the worst, but other minnow imitations are almost as bad. This one has been working like a charm on smallmouth, and it has supplanted most of my previous favorite patterns. I can take some credit, but it was based on a pattern I saw years ago by Bill Murdoch of the Tampa Bay fly fishing club. Anyway, I actually designed it to look like an emerald shiner. If you choose not to tie it, then it is on you because I gave you the pattern.

Hook: Gamakatsu B10S stinger, size 2

Body: none, but I am planning to tie a few with a thin copper flashabou wrap to resemble the lateral line. A base of white thread with pearl flashabou would probably be OK too, but you do not need a body.

Wing: A good bunch of white bucktail. Then layer 10-15 strands of chartreuse bucktail and a half dozen pieces of pearl Flashabou. Then 10-15 strands of olive bucktail, and 8-10 strands of green flashabou. More strands for bling, fewer for subtle. Top with either peacock herl or a synthetic substitute. I like herl better because nothing matches it, but flashabou is more durable, so I often used some of each.

Head: the tiedown of all those bulky materials leaves sort of a mess, so I put in a few wraps of red stuff to cover it all. You could use flashabou or krystal flash, but I think the one in the photo used red micro chenille or wool. This is optional, but it makes the fly look cool. Then wrap a fairly large head and whip finish. Twice. The head should be substantial to provide a base for the eyes.

Eyes: stick on fake eyes with superglue. Then add some of that UV cure clearcoat if you have it, or epoxy if you don't. I use Solarez because it is cheap and someday I might want to take up surfing and repair my surfboard. You need just enough to hold the eyes on permanently.

Emerald shiners were formerly common in the Great Lakes but became rare after Alewife proliferated. Recent declines in alewife have led to a comback, and everyone eats them. This fly gave me my best "insane numbers of really big smallmouth bass" day, the fly in the photo was the actual fly that provided the experience.

The one drawback to this pattern is that the materials occasionally wrap around the shank during fishing. It can't be helped (or at least I can't figure out a way to stop it) so you have to check it occasionally. To me, this is minor because it produces so well, but I had to point that out. But it is durable, the fly above is still pretty after over 25 bass.

The double strike indicator revisited with remarkably bad photos

A reader asked me to post a photo of the double strike indicator rig. This was the only way to portray it, but you can see the two Kahuna strike indicator pieces that have been slid into position and secured by blood knots below each one. Gotta tell you, they seem kind of dumb when you are fishing for hard hitting smallmouth bass, but they will inform you of a surprising number of gentle takes that you would miss, or not detect for a few moments. The trick is to watch the two in relation to each other, and typically one starts moving in a different direction from the other. A blast to fish.

Jeez, time flies

I had not put up any new posts for about a year, and had sort of lost interest in blogging. But then I went to the Midwest Fly Fishing Expo, and actually ran into 1) someone who had read my blog and liked it, and 2) encouraged me get the thing up and running again. Wow. Pretty pathetic that all it takes is one positive comment and I am again typing away, but hope springs eternal in the human heart.

The past year has been busy with the following events:

My first Montana trip in years, with the most uneven fishing I have ever experienced. There were good days, and poor days, and even one close to skunk day when I caught nothing. About 15 minutes before total darkness I tied on the biggest wooly bugger in the box and started swinging it aimlessly. Caught a nice rainbow as the sun set. On the other hand, on another day I hooked a Chinook sized brown on a size 18 BWO nymph presented with a cane rod. It didn't last long, but it was glorious. And I did land a huge rainbow that rocketed up from the depths of a tiny pool up in the Gallatin headwaters to take a dry fly. So going back for more.

A night where I stood on a rock and caught over 30 large smallmouth from a single spot. After it finally died down I made a cast back to the rock itself and hooked the largest fish I have taken from that river. Nineteen inches, but rather slim and only a few pounds.

Answered a craigslist ad for large lot of fly tying material, and when I picked it up the guy said "there was more stuff under the steps than I thought, so there are some extra boxes of junk". The extra boxes were filled with unopened Metz saddles in their original bags. I recouped the cost by selling 2 of the 3 vises I found in the stash, and most of the nylon rod winding thread.

Did a wonderful hunt with two friends from grad school in the big woods country of Pennsylvania. No deer were harmed, but I saw more in one day than in several years of hunting in Michigan. That along with all sorts of wildlife sightings.

My lovely and adorable wife got me a Dyna King vise for Christmas. They are worth every penny she paid.

Started making cane rods again after a long stretch of not making them.

Waited patiently for Orvis to call me with an offer of a Helios2 and Mirage reel if they could include the smiling minnow in their catalog. Still hopeful, but I might have to send them some. Seriously, I have gotten a lot of feedback on the pattern. Everyone says the exact same thing:" I thought you were nuts, but that thing really works!" You heard it here first. New readers, check out the older posts.

Watched my beloved Michigan Department of Natural resources be transformed from a resource management agency into an arm of Michigan's agriculture, logging, and mining industries via the worst legislature in the history of this state.