Assignment Two (With Peer Review)

Strip, strip, strip, Oh, hes on it! Keep stripping! Hes got it, set the hook! Fish on!
Fortunately in North Carolina, many conversations like this one are going on throughout the state
on a daily basis amongst fishermen. Whether it be carp, redfish, or brown trout, fly fisherman
derive their passion from fish that are willing to bite a proper fly. What good would fishing
without a properly made fly be? Answer; it would be no good. North Carolina has a variety of
fish species, each one requiring a different fly pattern than the other, which makes fly production
and tying in our state as versatile as the fish that populate the state. The ways that flies are tied
are no longer primitive like they were in their premature stage, but are hand-tied now with
incorporation of technology, craftsmanship, and unbelievable creativity. In order to really
understand the significance of tying flies, we have to understand the purpose behind it. Fly
fisherman have coined a term, matching the hatch to how and why flies are tied. The phrase
simply means, figure out what the fish are eating, and match it with a fly. Applicable to any fresh
or saltwater environment, matching the hatch is what makes fly fishing so darn effective. Flies
are tied with an endless myriad of materials, usually found around the house, outside, or in a
local craft store. Bird feathers, animal fur, carpet, animal hide, flash and glitter, or even old
articles of clothing can be tied to a hook in certain ways to look almost exactly like forage a fish
would eat. The point is, almost anything can be used one way or another to make a hook look
like a delicious gourmet meal to a fish.
Literature on the topic of fly tying is plentiful. There are a few sites online where information on
local redfish flies in North Carolina can be found, and what kind of flies are used to catch carp in
North Carolina but those resources are not as easily accessed, mainly due to the low volume of
fly fisherman and fly tiers in North Carolina. Basic information on flies found in my resources
are very general for the most part, like color of flies or what type of prey the flies mimic. In an
article by Derek Cross, "Time Flies - a Brief History of Fly Tying through the Ages", fly tying
history is explained by going as far back as possible. The Chinese are thought, by some, to have
tied lures much like modern flies to catch fish even before the time of Christ. The Macedonians
were the first to document the tying and use of fly-like lures for catching speckled fish,
presumably trout. In 1496, the first English printed book on fly fishing was produced, The
Treatyse of Fyshhing Wyth an Angle by an author whom many disagree on. Charles Cotton, an
aristocrat in the mid-17th century, was the first to document fly dressing in detail. He studied
insects and sought to recreate them artificially. In an extremely informative article, Robert
Satterwhite effectively divides up the main hatches in North Carolina trout streams. Because of
these hatches, he gives the reader a good idea of what kind of flies to use during the specific
month or time they will be fishing. He explains what sizes and patterns would be most effective
as the life cycle of certain insects are dependent upon what month of the year it is. He makes it
extremely simple to the reader as well, basically showing that an angler who wants to fish all
year round needs a few basic stone and caddis nymphs and dry flies. Also, streamers such as
wooly buggers are extremely effective all year round as well.

I am personally attached to this topic because I picked up a fly rod passed down to me by
my grandfather after his death about 5 or 6 years ago. I taught myself how to fly fish over many
hours spent online watching videos and scouring through books to find the information on fly
fishing I wanted so badly. I finally figured it all out, and learned how to tie flies, and now I am
an avid fly tier and tend to use my own flies when I go fly fishing. I have been fishing my entire
life, the past three years have been dedicated solely to fly fishing. I have been tying, however, for
a little over two years. The first flies I learned how to tie were for saltwater fishing for redfish
and false albacore. As my tying abilities progressed, I have learned how to tie some pretty gnarly
trout, bass and carp flies. Tying is an art form that has been around ever since the Macedonians
recorded accounts of catching fish on primitive versions of flies. It is a satisfying feeling to know
you are preserving an ancient tradition that brought just as much joy to the people who first
began tying flies that it does to modern fisherman.
Carp must be sight casted to in shallow water, which means that you must find a fish that
is eating, and be able to cast to it. The hook is either set by feeling the fish eat the fly or by
watching the fish eat the fly. Clear water makes this method of fishing ideal which is why
anglers choose Lake Michigan, because of its large carp and large flats of crystal clear water. A
carp flat is just like any other flat in water, most commonly referred to in saltwater fishing.
A typical fishing flat is a large, shallow expanse of water that holds fish like redfish, tarpon,
permit, bonefish, or in freshwater, carp. Locations to fly fish for carp are scattered throughout the
world, with many great opportunities in the United States. Part of what makes fly fishing for carp
such a unique experience is that you do not have to travel to distant places to have a remarkable
day of fishing. Anglers are able to find and catch carp all over, even in urban environments. My
experience with fly fishing for carp differs drastically from other fisherman in states like
Colorado or Michigan where clear shallow carp waters are prevalent. My home lakes where I
carp fish are far from clear water or low turbidity, the river systems feeding my home lake of
High Rock are stained, high turbidity, and sometimes simply look like mud. Because of this
dark, stained composition of my home waters, we are forced to use tactics that are not common
in the carp fly fishing world. We have developed methods for finding fish without necessarily
seeing them. Carp often feed by pushing their faces down on the bottom, sifting for prey like
small crayfish, aquatic insects, worms, or small forage fish like minnows. When they do this, the
bottom is disturbed and a cloud of silt often shows in the water, we call this a mud. A mud is a
direct sign of a feeding fish, we then keep an eye on the muds until we can get a clear cast at the
fish. Also, when carp feed in shallow water by sifting the bottom, they will dig their heads down
at a sharp angle, and when the water is shallow enough, this will expose their tails. We refer to
fish in that situation, tailing. So by seeing muds and tails we can locate fish.
Very similar to a carp, are redfish. Redfish are found throughout the North Carolina coast
in saltwater and are approached by fly fisherman much the same way. Muds and tails often
expose the locations of redfish, but in some areas, especially the outer banks, redfish can often be
seen from a boat and casted to due to very clear water. Redfish are targeted by salt water
fisherman in the state of North Carolina for their willingness to eat a fly, the fight they put up,
and how beautiful the species is. Redfish, similar to carp, are opportunistic feeders and can be
caught on a variety of fly patterns ranging from crabs, shrimp, baitfish, to topwater surface flies.

Finding redfish can be difficult depending on where you are, each location where there are
redfish can differ in where fish are held, similar again to carp. Wind direction, bait movement,
tide, moon phase, weather, and seasons are all factors going into finding redfish. On large
saltwater flats, redfish are the most exposed and can often be the most productive place to fish.
Redfish on flats usually travel in schools, as the school moves, they produce a large wake that is
easily identifiable by fisherman. Aside from pushing wakes, redfish will burrow their heads
down into sand, oyster rocks, grass, or any of a variety of locations where they may find food.
Like carp, they can produce a mud by feeding in this fashion. Redfish also become exposed as
they tail while feeding on the bottom. Redfish can also be caught blind casting, which is
casting and retrieving your fly without being able to actually see fish. Blind casting is a
technique often used to find redfish that may be in deeper water where they cannot be seen, blind
casting with a fly rod has been productive when fishing in saltwater creeks where redfish feed on
the edges of deep banks, specifically the creek systems that run through Bald Head Island off the
coast of Southport.
My favorite part of fly fishing is tying my own flies. Catching trophy fish on fly is a
tough feat, and is an encouraging and accomplished feeling. Modern fly tying has become very
innovative, anglers are coming up with new ways to imitate a fishs prey that increase fly
durability and performance. Natural materials like bird feathers or animal fur are still used with
an incorporation of synthetic materials, and in some cases, especially in salt water, almost all of
the materials used by tiers are man-made synthetics. I have been fortunate enough to catch carp
and redfish, along with an innumerable amount of other species, on flies I have tied myself. After
spending enough time on my home waters, I have developed a sense of understanding for what
kind of flies carp or redfish like based upon where they are. I have recently developed a new carp
fly from scratch for the flats on Lake Thomalex near my home in Lexington, North Carolina. I
developed this fly with an understanding of some prerequisites; the fly should not be large, it
should not be heavy, it should be dark, and it should be buggy, which are all basic
characteristics of flies I use when I carp fish. Carp eat such a variety of prey whenever they can,
so I developed my fly I call a carp bruiser to mimic just about anything they may find along
the bottom. The fly is extremely light, the only weight on the fly is a set of small bead chain
eyes, because the lateral line on carp make them very wary of surface disturbance in shallow
water, so the fly lands very delicately. It is dark in color, it has olive marabou tied into the back
of the hook, and it is wrapped with black zonker strip which gives the fly an extremely lifelike
look in the water. Buggy is an adjective to describe flies that look or feel like an insect, or has
qualities of an insect or a crustacean. The carp bruiser has brown rubber legs tied in to give it
more realistic life. Lastly I added olive natural dubbing to the head of the fly. Dubbing is a
material used to form the body on some flies, it gives a full and wiry shape and texture to the
head of the fly, and for some reason the carp love it.
From the saltwater perspective, my life and fishing mentor Tim Hanauer taught me how
to tie my very first fly, a clouser minnow. The clouser minnow is all-around baitfish imitation fly
that is usually tied with deer hair and can be tied in any color combination you can think of. The
clouser minnow was the first fly I caught redfish on and has also caught speckled trout, flounder,
Spanish mackerel, bluefish, and false albacore. Tim and I encountered a dilemma of these toothy

fish ripping our deer hair flies apart. To solve this problem we found synthetic materials that
were similar to deer hair but made of a wiry, monofilament based material. We have not given
these flies a name but they are more resistant to toothy fish that turn your fly from having a full
head of deer hair into a bald fly with no deer hair. In order to improve longevity, we coat our
flies numerous times throughout the tying process with a sort of clear drying fly cement, which
coats and hardens the flies sensitive areas, like around the weighted eyes and around where the
thread is tied off to ensure tying thread is not damaged or loosened. Fly tying is essentially the
same everywhere, the flies and methods are not always the same but the process of
understanding local fish and how they behave or what they eat in order to mimic that in the form
of a fly is the universal concept. My personal tying experience is evidence of how fly tying is
constantly developing, but also how fish are constantly being understood and the development
anglers are making in patterning fish behavior to catch more and larger fish.
Flies come in a huge variety of sizes, styles, and colors that serve specific purposes, but
understand bodies of water and fish behavior make the fly selection seem less intimidating.
Being able to understand fish behavior can lead to more advanced fly development, it causes
anglers and fly tiers to figure out how a fly can be tied to increase fish catch rate. My small
contributions in fly tying, either the carp bruiser or a new Clouser minnow concept, are examples
of how I have understood a body of water and adapted flies to specific conditions. Adjusting to
specific fish or regions is what makes fly tying unique and special based on geographical
location. My contribution, especially with the carp bruiser, can give anglers that fish my local
waters a good idea of what carp can be caught on. Fly fishing is not a common mode of catching
fish on my local waters, there are very few fly fisherman which leaves a lot of room for new
anglers and new concepts, and I like to think I am one of a few catalysts for fly fishing in my
hometown through my contributions. Fly fishing is a clean industry that offers therapy and
passion to many people. It takes specific personality to fall in love with the sport, but the lifestyle
of conservation and outdoors is something that can be appreciated by all kinds of people,
including non-anglers. The progress made in fly tying opens up realms of possibilities for
catching new fish on fly which were previously thought to have not been catchable on a fly rod.
Fly fishing is about pushing boundaries and adventuring, new fly concepts have the potential to
open up new species on fly tackle when paired with the development in fishing gear and angling
abilities.

Cross, Derek. "Time Flies - a Brief History of Fly Tying through the Ages." Pocket Farm Magazine.
December 3, 2012. Accessed October 8, 2014.
"Get In on the Outer Banks." Fly Tyer Magazine. Accessed October 7, 2014.
Satterwhite, Robert. "A Trout Fly for Every Season." North Carolina Sportsman. December 26, 2006.
Accessed October 7, 2014.
Churchill, Gordon. "North & South Carolina Coast." Reel-Time. Accessed October 7, 2014.
Rose, Paul. "Bonefish in Your Backyard." North Carolina Sportsman. June 29, 2010. Accessed October 7,
2014.
Garris, Josh. "Girdle Bug." Curtis Wright Outfitters. Accessed October 7, 2014.
"Patterns." Fly Fishing NC. Accessed October 7, 2014.
"Redfish Flies Archives." Sight Fish NC. Accessed October 7, 2014.
"Matt Pike." Catch Fly Fishing. Accessed October 10, 2014.