Dave and I had another trip foiled due to boat gremlins. Last time it was his boat this time mine. The wood in the trolling motor mounting plate finally rotted out around the lag bolts and we had to end the trip with about two hours of daylight left. Did hook up with a pretty nice Musky that hit one of my Smallmouth flies. I fought it for about as long as you can fight a decent Musky on 8# tippet that's been swallowed... Got to see the fish as it sway up stream so wasn't too upset. Had another eat just as I raised another smallmouth fly outa the river to recast. This was a smallish fish but he gets an A for effort as he exploded on the fly as it was leaving the water. Had a great time despite the rain and chilly wind on Sat. Put a nice long battle scar on the Supreme too. I figure 10 years without any major cosmetic scars was long enough.
The fly I was using is an invention of mine that I'm sure someone has tied before,, but I've yet to see another. It's about as simple a fly to tie as they come and the action is just amazing. Go to the yarn store and find the fattest Chenille Yarn you can find. It needs to be the size of a finger. Tie it on a Gamakatsu hook with a clouser weight leaving about three to four inches hanging off the back of the hook. On the back section of the chenille use a lighter to shape the tail to a taper and then light the very end on fire. Once its lit smash it with your fingers. This will flatten it out and make it like a paddle. Sometimes I use a 50 pound mono loop off the back to prevent the tail from wrapping but its not important (its gonna wrap sometimes). Next wrap something for a head. I use Marabou, or fox tail, or Schlappen, or whatever suits your fancy. This fly, once saturated, is as close to a plastic slugo as I've ever seen. It's amazing in the water and has caught a ton of smallmouth, rock bass, and now Musky. It's a staple in a river fly box IMO.
