Category Archives: Outdoors

Did you know?

Fire Starters

Fire Starters

Fire Starters are handy to have when out and about in the woods, when bushwhacking and to have available for your bug-out bag. Many times campers and “preppers” have redundant sources to begin a fire, matches, flint and steel, magnesium sticks, etc. but they do not always have access to good dry material such as dry tinder. Hence, the reason for this post – Fire Starters, are a source of dry flammable material that once lit should burn for at least five minutes and help ignite longer burning materials. These are easily lit by most methods – like those listed above. Best of all, they are compact!!

Fire starters can be the answer and they are easily made at home and for free from materials everyone has. Here is how you make your very own fire starter:

  1. Take material from your laundry dryer, small bits of cotton/fiber string, shredded cloth and place into the egg holder compartments in a paper egg carton.
  2.  Take a lit candle and pour a thin layer of melted wax over the lint & cloth.
  3. Once dry, break carton sections off and pack in zip lock bags.

When you need them just take one out. Fluff up some lint and light on fire. Whether you use matches or flint and steel, the lint should easily catch fire. The wax will help keep the fire going.

Once lit just place under whatever the long term fire material will be. In five minutes you should have a cheery warm fire.

Did you know?

Gear Bags

Gear Bags Made from Frozen Turkey Netwhat not bag net bag for freeting

The netting from that frozen turkey you just bought makes for great gear bags. Instead of cutting the netting off, carefully remove one of the lead rings and slip the netting off. Make sure to clean it.

The netting can be used as a game bag for squirrels and grouse as well as trout in the back country. Use it for carrying or storing wet gear or cooking pots. The netting compresses down to nothing and to make it great the netting is free. For the creative people it is easy to add handles!! The ideas are endless.

 

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Fly Fishing

Grizzly Wulff Dry Fly – Fly Recipe

Grizzly Wulff Dry Fly

grizzly wulff dry fly

The grizzly wulff is high floating, durable and easy to fish. It is a relatively easy fly to tie. When I lived out west it was one of the most common

flies in my fly box. Many cutthroat trout ended up in the frying pan when I fly fished this fly. The grizzly wulff was developed by Lee Wulff.

The best hooks for this fly are:

Mustad 94840 or 94833
Hook: #8 – 14

Fly Dressing:

Thread: Black 6/0

Tail: Calf tail or bucktail

Body: Pale yellow floss

Wing: Calf tail or bucktail

Hackle: Grizzle and brown mixed

 

If you like to tie flies like the grizzly wulff, look at our other pages of wet flies, dry flies, nymph flies and streamers for fly tying. These pages offer pictures of fly patterns and provide information regarding fly tying material and the fly recipe for tying on a fly with fly tying know how. These are great flies for fishing and should become part of your fly gear and added to your fly boxes.

Back to fly tying page

Bucktail Flies:

Little Brook Trout; Black-Nose Dace; Mickey Finn; Muddler Minnow; Marabou Muddler

Wet Flies:

Royal Coachman; Adams Wet Fly; Black and Orange wet Fly; Black Gnat Wet Fly; Carey Special Wet Fly; Grizzly King Wet Fly; Parmachene Belle Wet Fly;

Streamer Flies:

Black Ghost; Hornberg Streamer; Woolly Bugger

Dry Flies:

American March Brown; Quill Gordon; Blue Dun; Light Cahill; Ausable Wulff; Black Ant; Royal Wulff; Adams; Mosquito; Black Gnat; Deer Hair Bee Fly; Grizzly Wulff Dry Fly; Parachute Blue Winged Olive; Parachute Pale Morning Dun; Parachute Royal Coachman

Nymph Flies:

Hare’s Ear; Hendrickson Nymph; Kaufman`s Stone Fly

Fly Fishing

Grizzly King Wet Fly – Fly Recipe

grizzly king wet wet fly is a good mid-water imitatorGrizzly King Wet Fly – Fly Recipe

Grizzly King Wet Fly

The Grizzly king wet fly is an old pattern and has been been very popular for brook trout in New England and Canada. The grizzly king wet fly is a fine fly to use with a sinking line in the clear fast streams trout inhabit.

The best hooks for this fly are:

Mustad 3906 sizes 10 – 14
Sizes 8-16

Fly Recipe:

Thread: black size 6/0

Tail: Red swan, duck or goose or any crimson red hackle barbs

Body: Green embroidery floss or green dubbing.

Ribs: Fine flat silver tinsel or with a Black tinsel.

Hackle: Mallard duck body feather (long fibers).

Wings: Mallard flank feathers

If you like to tie flies look at our other pages of wet flies, dry flies, nymph flies and streamers for fly tying. These pages offer pictures of fly patterns and provide information regarding fly tying material and the fly recipe for tying on a fly with fly tying know how. These are great flies for fishing and should become part of your fly gear and added to your fly box.

Fly Fishing

Deer Hair Bee Fly – Fly Recipe

Deer Hair Bee Fly – Fly Recipe

Deer Hair Bee Flydeer hair bee

The deer hair bee is an imitator pattern and is a great searching fly for most free stone streams. It is usually fished dry but may also be fished wet.

The best hooks for this fly are:

Mustad # 3399
Sizes: 10 – 20

Fly Recipe:

Thread: Black 6/0

Tail: Golden pheasant tippets or brown hackle fibers

Body: Yellow and black dyed deer hair – tied in sections of black-yellow-black

If you like to tie flies look at our other pages of wet flies, dry flies, nymph flies and streamers for fly tying. These pages offer pictures of fly patterns and provide information regarding fly tying material and the fly recipe for tying on a fly with fly tying know how. These are great flies for fishing and should become part of your fly gear and added to your fly boxes.

Fly Fishing

Carey Special Wet Fly – Fly Recipe

Carey Special Wet Fly – Fly Recipe

Carey Special Wet FlyCarey special wet fly

It is my understanding that this fly pattern developed in the Canadian west. The variations are are up to you. The body color can change according to what you think will work. The pattern here is red chenille but olive, black, orange, etc can be substituted. You can also use floss or fur – it is up to you.

I have used the Carey Special in red to clean up on a school of perch and have read that in orange on a larger fly works on salmon and steelhead.

The best hooks for this fly are:

3x long nymph or streamer
Sizes: 12 – 8

Fly Recipe:

Thread: Black 6/0.

Tail: Pheasant flank feather fibers

Rib: Copper wire or similar

Body: red chenille

Hackle: Pheasant flank feather, tied back.

You can add weighted if you want to fish deep.

If you like to tie flies look at our other pages of wet flies, dry flies, nymph flies and streamers for fly tying. These pages offer pictures of fly patterns and provide information regarding fly tying material and the fly recipe for tying on a fly with fly tying know how. These are great flies for fishing and should become part of your fly gear and added to your fly boxes.