Thanks for sharing guys!

So I went t o Bedford this morning and picked up some more materials so that I might try some copper johns in a more appropriate size.  The others I posted as it turns out were a size 10. According to the nice guy that works there in big rivers and lakes he claims, "Do not be afraid of 10's and 12's.  They can seem um."

So I'll post some pics, but I learned as I attempted red copper johns that red turkey Biots that I had in red are no where near as rigid as goose biots.  They worked nicely but getting them into place wasn't easy.  I forgot to put the flash on the back of them too.  Oh well, I figured these two would be a blow out at that size and I learned that I really need to get a better vice for smaller flies.

I am really considerign dropping the green one off to you Koda.  The tip is so messed up and I can't seem to bend it back right.

I hope to get some pics up either tonight or first thing in the morning.

Theron

Quote by: Dave V

 Oh yes indeed . I remember trolling flies with my dad and Uncle Dick for years .  I think trolling flies is a tradition up in the North Woods of Maine where I grew up.  We trolled for Landlocked Salmon , Togue and occasional Brook trout.  Grey Ghost . Pink Lady , Supervisor. The Ed Muskie , Woodsman Special. Mickeyfinn.  Joes Smelt.  Black Ghost  were among the streamers in our fly box. Them were the days.

Dave

Believe it or not, if anything, "Them days" have gotten even better! Seems trolling has become a lost art, at least around here. So much so that I was running a course along Rattlesnake Island on Winni and a charter boat was paralleling me some 40 yards out. We were pulling in one salmon after another, the charter boat getting narry a hit. They were using down riggers and all the fancy stuff, we were in a canoe with a pair of fly rods and a few flies.

It is my belief that we have been conned into a lot of hype about thermoclines in regards to ponds and lakes. We've caught good salmon in August in 6 feet of water. Fish may seek the lower depths to get in a comfort zone, but they won't stay there forever, they have to eat to stay alive. And where are all the baitfish? In the shallows.

Did you fish Moosehead area in Maine or further North? Beautiful country up that way.

Quote by: Dave V

 Ya Koda we fished Moosehead when I was just a young lad.  Wish I had photo's of the Landlocked from those days.  I don't think my dad was interested about photo's but food on the table.  Our true stomping grounds were Indian and Moxie ponds. My grandfather built a camp on Moxie. I can remember stringers of Trout and Salmon. Remember those were the days they thought there was an endless supply of fish. I also remember my dad saying bass , pickerel   . yellow perch or pretty much any fish other and Salmon or Trout were trash fish.  Things sure have changed up there mainly due to the illegal stocking of pike and bass and other species of fish in those prime Salmon and Togue lakes and ponds sad in a way. I remember the up rise when they found white perch had been stocked by a couple of guy.s in Moosehead . If the locals could have got their hands on them two men I think they would have had a public hanging.

In my lifetime I can remember when the legal limit on trout was much greater than 5 fish. I can imagine what it was like up there back in the day. Yepper, there is the law, and there is THE law. I believe as you, they would have strung em up. And justifiably so.

Here in NH it seems that the transient tourist weren't having much luck catching the salmon in Newfound Lake. So our fish cops decided to introduce rainbow trout in the watershed. The salmon of course lost out. It is possible to get rainbows in the 7 to 10 pound range these days in Newfound, but myself, I'd rather a 7 to 10 pound salmon. It was a sad day when they did that trick as Newfound was the premier lake in the state for Landlock Salmon, even moreso than Winni.

They pound Winni for salmon to the point it is rare to see a good size one. Because the Lakers like to hug the bottom the dudes don't do much damage to that population. But I know for fact there are lakers in that body of water that will scare most fly fisherman as I have caught them myself.

The Connecticut Lakes up in Pittsburgh NH have a good supply of Landlocks but most who journey there like to pound the streams rather than the lakes because as said, trolling has become a somewhat lost facet of fly fishing here abouts.

Lake Francis in that area has some very nice brown trout and again, the boys with the technocrap like to dump in boats with 300 horse Black Max motors on them and dredge the bottom with 10 pound cannon balls.  The fish are wise to this and not much damage is done to the fishery in terms of reduction.

It's kind of like the difference between a true stalker who drifts through the timber as silent as a shadow verses the chump on a blown out ATV. One will collect a good buck, the later will spend a good buck and get no buck. Hey but "hunter" No2 is having fun so who am I to say nay.

I am old, so I am set in my ways. What has worked for so long I see no reason to change. Actually, I'm more prone to stick to the old ways if for no other reason than that's what my Dad or Grand Dad did

Quote by: LeeGoldsmith

......As for screwing up a lake nothing takes the cake over what F&G in Maine did to Sebago Lake when they introduced the Lake Trout.  In hind sight they now know that was a big mistake.....

Sorry Lee, we get top honors for a Darwin award here in NH.

At one time Winisquam was a premier lake for salmon and lake trout. So much so that every inch of shoreline had a camp built on it by for the most part, out of staters.

Septic system? Nah, too much money to sink a proper one in.  So they just emptied it in the lake!  In not so long a foul stench reeked in the air, and a green algae began and did take over the lake.

At the time, our "Pal Mel" was the Governor. The wisdom became to kill everything in the lake, and that's just what they did. Today that lake is laced with yellow & white perch, bass, kivers, pickerel and some other non indigenous species. If there are any salmon or lakers in there they are few and far between.

When I lived in Litchfield NH in the 80's they were still dumping sewage into the Merrimack River. There was a plant on the Merrimack side above the Budwiser plant that was dumping chemicals in the river while we were hunting ducks on it!

A lot of GrandFathered camps on ponds have inadequate septic systems and are poisoning the waters. But until an autopsy is done on a loon where they scream pollutants killed it I'm afraid not much if anything will be done.

Quote by: Koda

Quote by: LeeGoldsmith

......As for screwing up a lake nothing takes the cake over what F&G in Maine did to Sebago Lake when they introduced the Lake Trout.  In hind sight they now know that was a big mistake.....

 

Sorry Lee, we get top honors for a Darwin award here in NH.

 

At one time Winisquam was a premier lake for salmon and lake trout. So much so that every inch of shoreline had a camp built on it by for the most part, out of staters.

 

Septic system? Nah, too much money to sink a proper one in.  So they just emptied it in the lake!  In not so long a foul stench reeked in the air, and a green algae began and did take over the lake.

 

At the time, our "Pal Mel" was the Governor. The wisdom became to kill everything in the lake, and that's just what they did. Today that lake is laced with yellow & white perch, bass, kivers, pickerel and some other non indigenous species. If there are any salmon or lakers in there they are few and far between.

 

When I lived in Litchfield NH in the 80's they were still dumping sewage into the Merrimack River. There was a plant on the Merrimack side above the Budwiser plant that was dumping chemicals in the river while we were hunting ducks on it!

 

A lot of GrandFathered camps on ponds have inadequate septic systems and are poisoning the waters. But until an autopsy is done on a loon where they scream pollutants killed it I'm afraid not much if anything will be done.

What you say is so true here.  There is no common sense applied, only a dramatic reaction to the outcome of that infinite lack of common sense. 

"You mean dumping poisonous chemicals into the water will kill the fish and wildlife?  Duh....?  How does that work?"

It happens everywhere, all the time, on smaller and bigger scales.

Theron