Tying power bait

I'm getting ready for the annual trip w/ FB up to the Salmon River in a
couple weeks, and part of that preparation for me is the traditional
tying-more-flies-than-any-ten-humans could use ritual. One year, it was
little estaz eggs. Tied up a hundred or two, only to find out on the river
that they were so last year. Then there was the year of the Altmar
Sunrise. That one worked great, and I'm glad I had lots of 'em; so many,
in fact, that I may not tie any more this year. Which leads me to my
newest tying obsession, (gasp) glo bugs.

Ya know, I can't really get past the honest self-appraisal that I'm only
bait fishing when I use these things; but dammit, they work; and sometimes I
just *do* want to catch a big fish. I'm not proud of it; but I'm not
ashamed either. On last year's trip, I drifted eggs for a few hours with
great success. Oddly enough, I found that I simply had no egg patterns in
my box this year. Time to tie some.

Through the tip of one fellow and the resourcefulness of FB, I came into
posession of maybe the world's simplest tying tool, "The Amazing Glo Bug
Dispenser". Not much more than a short piece of plastic straw, it affords
good material control and allows a ten-thumber like me to tie eggs with
efficiency & speed. So after mastering a few subtleties of material
thickness, thread tension & hand positioning, I found I could crank out glo
bugs at a rate of about one every 45 seconds. They aren't sophisticated
flies, and they aren't much different than powerbait IMO, but there's
something kind of fun about amassing a pile of production in front of
yourself at that rate. Heck, I knocked out a dozen and a half during the
ninth inning of the BoSox game.

Like any obsession, you start to justify yourself. See, any color *might*
be *the* color for the day, so you need to be sure to have enough of every
color. Hmm. Is 10 enough? Maybe, but what the hell, tie 20. Aah, make
it an even two dozen. Of course, there are lots of available colors. Hmm.
I need to buy more hooks. The online tackle dealer backordered my last
order. By the time I reach Altmar, I'll probably have 300 or more glo bugs
in every conceivable color and combination. And I'll probably come home
with 290. I know this, but I can't stop tying.

Hello, my name is Joe; and I'm a yarn-a-holic.

Joe F.

"rb608" wrote in message
...
.....any color *might* be *the* color for the day....

True.......as far as it goes. However, there are days when a simple
solid color simply will not do. No, you also MUST have a sufficient
supply of each color WITH a spot of another color. For example, a
yellow glo bug may work on a relatively unsophisticated fish on a good
day, but eventually it will become more discriminating and demand a
yellow bug with a red spot.......and there you sit with nothing but
solid yellow. See what I mean?

You'd best get busy........REAL busy!

Wolfgang
real soon!

(Greg Pavlov) wrote in news:3f83d828.7957762
@news.cis.dfn.de:

I am going to hit a steelhead stream or two tomorrow
and have been debating for the past day whether
I should "allow" myself to use glo bugs. I avoided
them last year for the most part, tho I often used
egg-sucking leaches as a barrestarian substitute.



Why avoid them?? They really work well.

Scott

"rb608" wrote in message
...

Heck, I knocked out a dozen and a half during the
ninth inning of the BoSox game.


You obviously were too busy tying to watch the game.

Paul (who's heart rate is finally below 100)

Scott Seidman wrote:

(Greg Pavlov) wrote in news:3f83d828.7957762
@news.cis.dfn.de:

I am going to hit a steelhead stream or two tomorrow
and have been debating for the past day whether
I should "allow" myself to use glo bugs. I avoided
them last year for the most part, tho I often used
egg-sucking leaches as a barrestarian substitute.

Why avoid them?? They really work well.

Asked and answered.

--
Ken Fortenberry

"Paul Goodwin" wrote in message
You obviously were too busy tying to watch the game.

Having a different baseball loyalty, I confess I wasn't glued to my seat and
risking an anyeurism. A few key moments and crucial pitches stopped me in
mid whip finish a time or two; but even at its best, baseball isn't so
action-packed to prevent concurrent mindless activity. :-)

Joe F.

"Wolfgang" wrote in message
but eventually it will become more discriminating and demand a
yellow bug with a red spot.......and there you sit with nothing but
solid yellow. See what I mean?

Ha! Way ahead of you. And of course, a red spot may be too dark, so I'll
need a few with orange spots, and pink spots, and.....omigod, I hope that
backorder comes through soon.

Joe F.

Ken Fortenberry wrote in
y.com:

Scott Seidman wrote:

(Greg Pavlov) wrote in news:3f83d828.7957762
@news.cis.dfn.de:

I am going to hit a steelhead stream or two tomorrow
and have been debating for the past day whether
I should "allow" myself to use glo bugs. I avoided
them last year for the most part, tho I often used
egg-sucking leaches as a barrestarian substitute.

Why avoid them?? They really work well.

Asked and answered.


Catching steelhead can be a ton tougher than catching trout. If you're
gonna be standing in frigid water that's warmer than the air around you,
you might as well be giving yourself the best chance of catching fish, and
even glo bugs can't guarantee you that, but they're a move in the right
direction.

Scott

"rb608" wrote...
snip
Hello, my name is Joe; and I'm a yarn-a-holic.

CRIPES! We've nearly lost another one! Give me the paddles, nurse, stat! And
hurry with the EKG and the chest film. Do we have a pulse? DO WE HAVE A PULSE,
DAMMIT!


-----^-----^-----^-----------------------------------

Hmmmm, looks like he's passed over to the other side.
--
TL,
Tim
(Joe, can I have your fly rods?)
------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj

Scott Seidman wrote:
Ken Fortenberry wrote:
Scott Seidman wrote:

Why avoid them?? They really work well.

Asked and answered.

Catching steelhead can be a ton tougher than catching trout. If you're
gonna be standing in frigid water that's warmer than the air around you,
you might as well be giving yourself the best chance of catching fish, and
even glo bugs can't guarantee you that, but they're a move in the right
direction.

Glo bugs are a move in some direction, whether it's right or not is
personal taste. I went steelheading with Peter Charles in Michigan
a couple of years ago, we had hired a guide and when we got to the
river he pulled out a half dozen huge plastic boxes with thousands
and thousands of glo bugs in every imaginable size and color. When
we told him we didn't use them he looked like somebody had hit him
between the eyes with a ball bat. He made a hell of a recovery though,
and turned out to be a great guide. Peter wrote up a trip report
at the time.

--
Ken Fortenberry