Cathey and I stopped by the new Cabela’s in Huntsville Friday on our way to
see our daughter’s family in Tennessee. This store is
larger than the one we visited back in the summer in Nebraska. I was really
impressed with all the merchandise I saw in the store especially in the fly
fishing department where I spent the majority of my time. The main reason for
the stop was to purchase some new fly line and some waist waders. I haven’t
replaced my 3 weight fly line in four years and wouldn’t replace it now but the
loop broke and I didn’t want to use a knot to connect leader and fly line. I
clean all my fly lines at least 4 or five times a year and I assume that is why
it lasted as long as it has. The price of the fly line is ridiculously high so I
was looking for a quality line, at a reasonable price
I feel my chest waders with the seams wearing
are nearing their last wade and will need to be replaced for this season. I’ve
wanted to try some waist waders for some time not only for the comfort in the
summer months but for the depth of water I wade in now. I never wade in water
nowadays above my knees.
As always when I visit the
big box sporting goods stores, I find something that I think I just can’t do
without. Well, today was no exception; after touching the surface and
feeling the flex of Cabela’s Prime fly rod I was impressed big time!! The 7’ 1”
---4 weight was awesome, but a number of anglers looking at the fly rod in the store as well as me all agreed that Cabela needs to add a 3 weight in the 7 ft. series. I have fished with numerous fiberglass fly rods over the years, but the Prime is in another class, simply put; it is the best fiberglass fly rod I have ever touch!!!
*********Check out the reviews on this fly rod*********
I have been watching birds
feed on our back porch for years.I’ve
never bothered to find out the name of some of the species, I was just content
watching them fly in and out through the day. It’s not that I am clueless as to
the names of some of the more common birds that visit the feeders; such as the
Cardinal, House Wren, and Morning Doves, but others I didn’t recognize.
I decided a couple of
weeks ago I would make an effort to try and identify the other colorful birds
that frequent my feeders; so my first stop on this bird journey was Barnes and
Noble. The big-box book stores can be overwhelming with the volume of books. I
spent some time sorting through numerous books that dealt with everything about
birds. I finally found a small handbook titled “Birds of Alabama” which had everything I wanted to know about the bird
species in Alabama.
This little book is loaded
with information about each species of birds. ----according to size, color
images of male and female, types of nests, number of eggs, incubation period,
type of food and much more. For someone getting into bird watching at a
beginner's level; this book really got my attention.
The book states the types
of bird seeds that will attract different species to your feeders.
I’ve been using the Black
Oil Sunflower Seeds for years to attract numerous species of bird. It is
probably the most popular of all bird seeds.
I just started using the Pennington Ultra Premium Nut and Fruit Blend Bird Seed. I read in the book where this seed will attract even more species of Sparrows and Wrens. I may add another feed later such as the tiny White Sunflower Seed, but for now I feel this is a good seed start.
I’ve had this feeder in
use for years and over time had to add a tray on its bottom to collect all the
sunflower hulls. The birds will crack the outer shell to
get to the soft seed inside. I am cleaning the tray out daily. Notice the cast iron tray bird feeder; prime for another type of bird seed in the future.
This copper feeder has the
nut and fruit blend seeds. I am seeing more Sparrows and Wren species since I
started using this feed.
Adding the piece of round
metal below the feeders made it squirrel proof.
Guys, I'm sorry for the blur on this video, but it was shot from my den filming through the window. I wanted you guys to see the activity around the feeders. I believe most of these birds are Goldfinch. Let me know if you think they are a different species. I believe I have found a new hobby!
This is the time of year I
get to thinking of landing beautiful rainbow and browns on the Sipsey and Caney Fork. As stated in my last report it will be some time
before that happens, because of high water on both tailraces. So all I have to
satisfy the urge to cast to a live trout or bluegill are viewing some of the trips I made in 2015. This past year was my best on the Sipsey when it comes to
landing quality rainbow. I think as each year passes I get more use to the
tailrace and which patterns work at a particular time of the day and season. One
of my best trips of 2015 was a trip where I felt I landed
most all the quality trout I had lost the day before. I felt I really learned
some things on this outing about position casting, patience, and how to really
concentrate on the movement of the indicator, which in this case was a dry and a stick
on indicator.
Back in early April of
2015 right before the spawn begin was one of my favorite trips going after some
super size gills. The reason this trip really stands out in my mind was how
hard I had to work to land some monster bluegills that were extremely wary of
any boating activity anywhere near the super clear water where they were located. The numbers of huge
bluegills I lost from break-offs in brush and not getting a solid hook set was
another reminder of this outing.
Bass fishing was somewhat
limited for me in 2015, because I was so busy going after the big bluegill on Smith and
the rainbow on the Sipsey. Of all the bass outings I had this past year one was
really memorable because I was breaking in a new bass bug line and using some
really big poppers to attract big spots on Smith.
Looking for too 2016 for more fly fishing action!!!!
I thought I would
share this fly rod find I discovered the other day while searching the
net.Troutlet is selling their Feather
Light Eagle Claw Fly rod for 32.00 bucks in lengths of 6 ½ ft., 7 ft. and 8 ft.
All these rods are fiberglass and have the stainless guides and taper fit
fiberglass ferrules. I am probably going to order the 8 ft. one as if I needed
another fly rod.
No fishing for me on the Sipsey heavy rains here has shut
down the tailrace for weeks. Both generators are running every day with muddy
water being released below the dam. The water at the tailrace outlet is higher
than I have ever seen it. My first fishing trip will be sometime in
February. So in the meantime, I will enjoy conversing with all my blog buddies.
I am sure a lot of you
guys have heard of Hatch Magazine, if not I thought I would share a blog post
that was written back in November of this past year. The post details the top
five fly patterns for the winter months. I use some of the same patterns that were mentioned in his post, but what I found interesting is the various comments he received
from his readers.
I have become a fan of Jonathan
Barnes Fly Fishing Videos. His videos are filled with lots of information about
the type of flies, equipment, and the techniques he uses to land the different
trout species he is pursuing. If you are free for the next 25 minutes this one
video featuring soft hackles is worth the watch.
I thought I would share with
you guys one of my woodworking projects I just finished this week. My daughter
mentioned to me some weeks ago that the children’s little table and chairs were
broken. The table legs had come off and the chairs were all broken. So I
volunteered my services to build a table and chairs out of solid wood, instead
of the compressed wood they were using. The solid wood version should last the grandchildren for
years.I have a small woodworking shop
in my basement that keeps me busy with different projects throughout the year, especially during the slow fishing months. It will be weeks before I get to wet
a fly because of all the rain we have had here lately, so I have time to spend
in my shop.
Cathey plays an important
part in a lot of my woodworking projects with the painting, stencil painting, staining, and varnishing. My main job is construction work and sanding the finished
product.
Gorilla glue will hold
anything together including these chairs and table; some tuff stuff!!! A chair for Cash, Laelyn, Bryson and a friend.
