The ups and downs

Every long time angler knows that this sport is seasonal. You get hot streaks and cold streaks. Just the nature of the sport. We hit a cold one on our Blue Fin Tuna trip this time. It was literally the coldest trip we have done to our spot. The average temps were 5-7 degrees(Celsius) colder then normal. When we landed in Barcelona it was only 7 degrees!! 7!! People were wearing big down jackets outside the airport.

The fishing was even colder then the weather. There just were very few fish around and the ones that were around stayed up for very little time. Lots and lots of bait but no fish on them. The chances of catching one was very slim. We kept at it for most of the week and tried our best. Our captain worked he's ass of for us. A big thank you for that.

Anyone who has fished for feeding BFT with a fly rod knows that the sport is super hard 90% of the time. It's like fishing for Key West Tarpon, but you have to cast from a moving skiff in a 6feet swell. They are just so picky and see everything with their big eyes in the crystal clear waters of the MED. They are magnificent creatures that can drive you crazy! It really gives a fresh perspective on things when you fish for them. I have never been disappointed when I have cast'd almost all of my fly line to a fish in to the wind, but when chasing BFT you always feel like you should do better then your doing. I have been lucky to fish with some of the worlds best fly casters and even they feel the same frustration of not getting the fly far enough to really work on the fish before they see and feel the boat and go down. That sport really makes you feel like a shitty angler at times, but I can assure you that the reward is totally worth all that.

We ended up having a nice holiday even though the fishing was bad.

After the tuna trip I did not touch a fly rod for a week and stayed off the tying bench for two. Eventually the post tuna trip "trauma" faded and I hit the vise again and started going to the lake after some post spawn pike. I have only managed to do short trips between work and family stuff. There's lots of pike around, but all are small. Good fun though.

The real up side has been my tying. I am preparing for my Cape Cod Striper trip and with all the great reports of the amounts of big fish around there, it got me on a fly tying frenzy. I have tied every day before and after work. The amount of ideas and motivation has been huge. Every fly tier knows that when the tying is good its real good. When it's bad, it's the worst thing you can do. When it's good it's almost as good as the actual fishing! Here's a few examples of what I've been doing.

I even managed to do a SBS of a basic, BIG synthetic fly. It's a mix Bob Popovics Spread fly and Mark Sedotti's slammer. Give it a try!

Start off by tying a sparse clump of fibers 360 around the hook. I am using a mix of long off white Slinky, Sybai SW angel hair and gray Chinese cheap ass fibers.

Add some resin to keep the fly foul proof and add some weight to it. A flexible resin like DC Builder is my favorite for this stuff. 

Angle the fibers a bit before hitting it with the light.

Hollow tie the rest and use resin on it too.

Add some lead to the bottom of the hook. This will keel and make the fly cast better. It will also keep the fly down better.

Cover the lead with silver braid and glue it. Make a smooth surface that you can tie on.

Tie another clump of fibers. Use a bit more material on this one and taper them to be a tad shorter then the previous ones.

Use resin to angle and secure the fibers.

Turn and hollow tie. Angle and secure with resin

The last clump. I am using bait fish belly Mirror Image, Sculpting fiber and Gliss&Glint in silver color on this one. If I remember correctly. 

Olive SF blend, gray Slinky and sculpting fiber on top. Maybe?

Brush and angle it with resin.

The finishing tie can be left out if you want a bullet shaped head on your fly. On this one I am adding a tie of soft and short sculpting fiber to make a really round, big head on the fly that will push some water.

Reverse and secure.

Add some color with markers and Jerkbaitmania eyes with gel super glue. Finish off the fly with a nice coat of Liquid Fusion that will leave the fly with a big and flexible finish.