2011 FlyMasters Magazine

WWW.FLYMASTERS.COM

317-570-9811



4 317-570-9811

WWW.FLYMASTERS.COM

Fly Fishing 101 If you want to learn fly
fishing and get out on the water as soon as
possible then our Fly Fishing 101 class is for
you. This class is a three hour session where
you will learn the basics of fly casting,
equipment, techniques and even fly tying. The
Fly Fishing 101 sessions are all free and are
held through out the summer months. Simply
call the shop or check the web site for the next
date we will be hosting a Fly Fishing 101
session and show up. You do not need any equipment just an eagerness to
learn about fly fishing. All participants receive a savings card for shop
merchandise.

Advanced Casting Lessons If you have taken the Fly Fishing 101 or the Fly
Fishing School you might find yourself wanting more hands on instructions. At
FlyMasters we have a number of avenues for you to expand your fly fishing
knowledge. You can take advanced casting lessons with our instructor to
improve your accuracy or your distance. You can also learn different casting
techniques in our advanced casting to help you with fly presentation. These
sessions are billed by the hour and are booked by appointment. You don't have
to wait for warm weather to book a lesson. If you are going on a winter
saltwater trip we can usually find a fair weather day to have a lesson. Short
practice periods are all that is needed to improve your skill. Don't wait until your
upcoming trip to improve your casting technique. You can also improve your
skills by attending one of our Fly Fishing Clinics.

Fly Fishing Clinics

Once you get past the basics of fly fishing
there is no end to the application of fly
equipment to fishing. Nymphing, dry flies,
topwater, streamers, wet flies, swinging flies,
floating lines, sinking lines, single handed rods,
double handed rods, and on and on. It can be
overwhelming to someone just getting into fly
fishing. FlyMasters has a number of Fly
Fishing Clinics through the fishing season to
help expand your fly fishing knowledge. Here
is a list for some of our past clinics.

Two Handed Fly Rod Instruction
Nymphing for Trout

Fishing Topwater Flies
Swinging Streamers

Crawdads For Smallies

Check our website, often, for dates and times of our next Fly Fishing Clinic.
6 317-570-9811

WWW.FLYMASTERS.COM

317-570-9811

WWW.FLYMASTERS.COM 9

317-570-9811

WWW.FLYMASTERS.COM 11

317-570-9811

WWW3.F1L7Y-5M7A0S-T9E8R11S.COM 13

FlyMasters Destinations

At FlyMasters we are constantly
investigating new and different places
to fish, near and far. You can count on
FlyMasters to research and evaluate
waters to fish, guides to hire and
lodges for rest. We strive to find the
very best in quality and affordable fly
fishing destinations. Each year we
book fishing trips to the various
destinations we prefer. However, you
are not limited to going only when we go; we can make arrangements for you to
fish these waters during times that fit your schedule. Here are a few of the
destination we book adventure with.

Ascension Bay Bonefish Club – Yucatan peninsula, Mexico. Bonefish, Permit,
Snook, Tarpon and barracuda in the cold winter months.

Mission Lodge, Alaska - Five Pacific Salmon species as well as huge rainbow
trout, grayling, char, and dollyvarden. If you want all-out accommodations and 5
star service then our trip to Mission Lodge is for you.

Wilderness Place, Alaska – More Pacific
Salmon fishing on a more modest budget.

Tweed river, Scotland – Atlantic Salmon
fishing in the fabled Junction Pool of this
historic river. Another of our 5 star service
destination.

Camp Anjigimi, Canada – Remote
wilderness fishing for large Northern Pike
and Brook Trout.

Michigan and Ohio Steelhead – Spring and fall steelhead fishing on the Pere
Marquette, Muskegon, St. Joe in Michigan and the Northeast streams of Ohio.

Beaver Island, Lake Michigan – Great Lakes Carp and large Smallmouth Bass
fishing from May to August on a fantastic Island get-a-way.

Mosquito Lagoon, Florida – Fly Fishing for Snook, Sea Trout and Redfish on
the Est coast of Florida when it is cold back home.

These are just a few of the destinations we book trip for.
Contact us at the shop or through our web site for more

details and to book a trip for 2011.

14 317-570-9811

WWW.FLYMASTERS.COM

317-570-9811

FlyMasters Events

At FlyMasters we recognize the best
way to spend your time is on the
water fishing, however that is not
always possible. Bills have to be paid
so work has to get done. As well, too
often the weather gods do not look
upon you fishing with favor. That is
why we consider the next best thing to
being on the water is time spent in our
fly shop.

Just stopping in and talking fishing,
tying, travel or trading fish stories is
good enough but we have so much for
to offer throughout the year when you
come by FlyMasters. We often schedule special “Events” that help keep you
connected to fishing when you can not be actually fishing. Some of these events
are a few hours in duration and some last all day. All are fun and informative
and most are free. Here is a list of some of the events we have planned for
2011.

Annual Fly Tie-A-Thon - Tie flies for the Healing Water Project and help
veterans enjoy fly fishing.

Hardy Day with John Shaner - John will be here sharing all he knows about
Hardy, past and present and hosting and “English Spider” fly tying class.

Gary Krebs Popper Jig Tying Class - Gary will be back in the shop showing
people how to use his incredible foam popper head jigs and tying some great
topwater flies.

Customer Appreciation day – An annual
event to show our appreciation for the
wonderful customers we have that keep us in
business.

Crawdad Round-Up – A special tying session
where we tie crawdad flies and cook fresh
crawdads cajun style.

Thanksgiving Turkey Tie – Celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday FlyMasters
style, tying turkey flies and cooking a trashcan turkey.

Visit our web site for the latest events and dates! 17
WWW3.F1L7Y-5M7A0S-T9E8R11S.COM

18 317-570-9811

WWW.FLYMASTERS.COM

317-570-9811

the gross organic pollution of my trout waters. My peers chose not to take steps
to correct this and wrongly chose to accept it. For me, I retired to the winding,
clear water, Ozark smallmouth stream that is my property's western boundary.
The author, Henry David Thoreau, once told his friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “I
have traveled much in Concord”. I am telling you, “I have waded far on an Ozark
mountain stream that a child can cast across and found both enjoyment and
enlightenment in my wandering” When I left my guiding career, I also left that
proverbial fly fishing box sitting in the green goop on the edge of those trout
rivers. I began to fish the way I wanted to and not by some imaginary set of
rules that fly fishers are expected to follow. I started asking myself questions on
the validity of today's traditionalism and of what value it truly was to me on the
stream. I started using my spinning rod more than my fly rod because it took up
less room in my canoe and its backcast was not as tangling. I began reading
books that were not about fly fishing, but of fishing in general or about a specific
species.

A long journey begins with a small step....for me, it was
reading. I suggest that every angler read these three books.
The first one was recommended to me by a dear friend, What
Fish See, by Collin J. Kageyama. It's basically about how
temperature, light level, and the particles in water influence
the color that fish respond to best. The second book was
cheap and about a unique way of fishing soft plastics, Slider
Fishing, by Charlie Brewer.
Brewer is the father of
fishing soft plastics. His favorite saying is,
”Don't over work nature.” His presentations
were meticulous in the speed of his retrieval
and the weight of his pattern. He confidently
claimed that one turn of the handle on his low
ratio spinning reel ever 3 seconds was the best
presentation.... but if this didn't work....slow
down even more. The third was bought at a
yard sale for a quarter by my wife, Joan,
because there were a couple pictures of a guy
fly fishing on the dusty cover, Lunkers, by Bob
A. Underwood. This book is a compilation of
1700 hours of underwater observations of
bass. Underwood left nothing to guess work.
His observations both destroys myths of fish,
presentations and lures, and enlightens the
reader to a new realm of understanding of
when, why and what make bass strike.

The concept of No Boundary fishing came to me out of necessity because of
three tragic natural disasters that happened in a two year period in the area that
I live. The first two were two five hundred year floods in March. The first flood

WWW.FLYMASTERS.COM 21

317-570-9811

WWW.FLYMASTERS.COM 23

317-570-9811

boning up on my soft plastics
techniques by reviewing the book,
Slider Fishing by Brewer, when I read
an observation he had made that
changed everything.

Brewer stated, ”90% of a bass's diet
is worms less than 4 inches long.”
If you have ever had a revealing
moment like a nine pound sledge
hammer just fell on you big toe or you
just sat down on a bare electrical wire
in a wet swimming suit, then you know
full well what I was feeling. Now,
Brewer's statement may not have
meant a lot to most anglers but to me

it was a magnificent revelation. I knew 25
that Brewer was not talking about
Earthworms, but instead, he was
referring to Oligochaete Worms. An
aquatic worm that lives in our stream
beds. You see, Earthworms are in the
water when earth is being introduced
to the water, like when there is a rain
storm or a bank collapses or a tree on
the bank uproots. Earthworms don't
last long in an aquatic environment
because they drown. I mean think
about it...they drown on the sidewalks
in a rain storm. So there was no way
Brewer was observing earthworms.
With my experience with the

WWW.FLYMASTERS.COM

26 317-570-9811

WWW.FLYMASTERS.COM

317-570-9811

let the current slowly bring it downstream as I take in the slack.” I made the first
cast with a red worm. It drifted about five foot before the leader started for the
far bank. I set the hook and the fight began. It was a twelve inch smallmouth. I
thought to myself, ”Dam, that was fun.” I made four cast with the red worm and
caught three smallmouth before losing it to a sunfish. I replaced it with an
earthworm brown colored worm and caught four more smallmouth and one large
sunfish in ten cast before sunset.

When I got back to the house, I started packing
my canoe ... paddles, life-jacket, a nine foot eight
weight fly rod and the ten foot one weight, thirty
pounds of soft plastics, cone-heads from five
thirty-seconds to three-eighths inch, extra tippet
material, offset worm hooks from #4 G-Locks to
#2/0 EWG's, nippers and forceps. Everything was
in the canoe except my lunch, frozen drinking
water and Ebby, my Labrador fishing buddy.

I woke up before sunrise, actually for the third time before I got out of the bed
and made my coffee and breakfast. I went downstairs hooked the canoe trailer
to the lawn mower, filled a small cooler with frozen bottle water and my lunch
and headed down to the river. I was so excited, I pulled that canoe down the
bank like it was a leaf. My plan was to paddle up the river for about a mile to the
highway bridge and then float back downstream past the house for another mile
to a place I called Long Shoal. At Long Shoal, I would leave the canoe and wet
wade for another mile to the Bailey Wood hole. Then I would wade back to the
canoe and fish the best spots again on the way back to the house. I had filled
my tackle bag with everything that I thought would work on my two fly rods. I
had crayfish from one and one quarter inch H&H Baby Spillway to two and one
half inches Yum Crawbugs, worms from three inches Slider worms to six inch
finesse worms, four inch Zoom lizards, minnow imitations from one and one half
inch Bobby Garlands to four
inch Bass Assassins, and curly
tail grubs for one inch to three
inches. I didn't have one fly or
popping bug, nor a spinning
rig, it was a go-for-broke day.
I knew that this was going to
work.

I started and ended the day using the same color, watermelon with black flake. I
chose this color because the water was fairly clear and the water temperature
was in the comfort zone of the smallmouth. The cone-head, I switch back and
forth between gold and black, gold in the sun and black in the shade. This was
straight out of Kageyama's book, What Fish See. Because the ice storm had done
away with most of the overhanging branches in the river, I concentrated on the
east-west portions of the river where there was still some shade on the water.

WWW.FLYMASTERS.COM 29





Again, as always, from early summer to fall, the combination of
shade, current, and structure (SCS) was the best producer.

There were lots of surprises and much knowledge acquired this day.
The first thing I learned was the presentation of any soft plastic is
better when dead-drifted with a little current using a fly rod than
the presentation by a spinning rig. The bulk of the fly line keeps the
imitation moving at the desired speed and the takes were so easy
and subtle that it took a bit of practice to realize how quickly the
fish were consuming the patterns. No matter what the imitation,
worm, crayfish, lizard, minnow, etc., the strikes were never hard
and aggressive. Second, setting the hook with the longer fly rods
was much more efficient. The sharp Gamakatsu and Owner hooks
set deep and seldom were fished lost even though the hooks had
been debarbed.

Third, when fishing a spinning rig, the angler always fishes from
where the pattern lands back to him. This is not the case with a fly
rod. The angler can let the current dead-drift the pattern along the
opposite bank or straight down a run or under low hanging limbs
and branches of bushes and trees. Fishing the edge of water-
grasses and lily pads and other types of vegetation was a snap
when compared to spin fishing. With a little current and a
downstream mend, you can fish these edges and objects within
inches of them. Fourth, Underwood in his book, Lunkers, states that
the most common mistake of anglers is to assume that only one
good fish is in a small area. Repeatedly, I found myself catching
several bass out of a small area that had shade, current and
structure (SCS). About 1:00 pm, I caught eleven bass out of an
area that was smaller than my canoe where a willow bush had
grown out of a pile of rocks in a moderately slow current. Three of
these bass were seventeen to eighteen inch long, nice fish in any
smallmouth stream. This is significant in that the angler needs to
concentrate more of his/her efforts in the shaded areas when the
sun is high and the days are warm.

32 WWW3.F1L7Y-5M7A0S-T9E8R11S.COM

WWW.FLYMASTERS.COM

317-570-9811

WWW3.F1L7Y-5M7A0S-T9E8R11S.COM 35

317-570-9811

It’s a carnival of sounds when you’re mousing for big browns on the Pere
Marquette River in the dark. You want the night to be
as dark as possible, no moon, no headlamps. The
guide navigates by memory and by the soft sounds of
water pushing off logs jams and shallow gravel bars,
the oarlocks creak quietly and the dip and drip of the
oar blades click repetitively in the background. And
believe it or not, the angler even becomes accustomed
to the sound of openness, the sound of a clear casting
lane.

The big mouse fly whooshes through the air and splats downstream on the water
near the bank, the fly gurgles as it wakes and then, in mid-swing, if everything
goes right, the explosion, the kerplooooosh of a hungry brown slashing at what
he hopes is several hundred calories of mammal meat. He is sorely disappointed
when you raise the rod tip and drive that hook home. Then comes the sound of
the anchor being dropped, the click of a headlamp, you squint against the
brightness, everybody is probably hollering pretty good at this point, the fish
splashes on the surface and the net dips under what is usually a very nice
brown. The cameras click, or beep I suppose, everyone settles back into their

positions, the anchor is
wound up and the soft drip
and creak of the oars
resume as you concentrate
to regain your night vision.

There is a lot of grass on
the banks of the Pere
Marquette and as the
seeds on the thin tips of
the flowering stalks begin
to grow fat in mid-summer,
the mice cannot help
themselves. They climb up the stalks and hang perilously over the water
Sometimes, they fall in.

The cover of darkness affords these big browns the comfort they need to range
out into the river to feed. Mousing is usually poor when the river is high and off-
color for two reasons: (1) they can’t detect your mouse pattern as well and (2)

WWW.FLYMASTERS.COM 37

more importantly, they can eat all day long when the sun is up. The best
conditions for mousing are low, clear water. When the water is up, throw big
streamers during the day to target the same fish.
Any standard mouse pattern will work, but we find those with trailer hooks
increase hook-ups. Check out our Robot Mouse pattern here
(http://vimeo.com/14077599). The best tackle for throwing these bulky, heavy
flies in the dark is a 7 or 8wt rod over-lined by two line weights. A glow in the
dark fly line like Rio’s Lumalux can help you get a feeling for how far you’re
casting.
We start mousing in mid-June and go until mid-September. A typical mousing
trip begins around 5pm. We fish until dark throwing hoppers and then typically
mouse until 1:00am or later. Both myself and Steve Martinez love to get out
after the carnivores. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to drop either of
us a line.

Indigo Guide Service

Matt Dunn - [email protected]
Steve Martinez - [email protected]

38 317-570-9811

WWW3.F1L7Y-5M7A0S-T9E8R11S.COM

40 317-570-9811

WWW.FLYMASTERS.COM

317-570-9811

easy to cast and sinks like a rock. Quick strips with this one.

Crab Fly

Legs? Who needs em? This little bug can be a
crab, shrimp, or even a mud minnow, all
depending how you fish it. As effective as it is
simple—the large profile gets this fly noticed!
Crabs around? Cast, strip 6 inches, and wait
for the pickup, it’s coming. Shrimp or minnows
the preferred bait? Short, quick strips will get it
done.

Gotcha Clouser (Bahamas Bonefish Fly)

Simply the best fly for big bonefish in the Bahamas, period. When I’m trophy
hunting it’s all I’ve ever needed. I’ve
taken my biggest bonefish with this
fly… and lost bigger. Go big, go heavy,
hope your knots are good and you’ve
got plenty of backing, you’re in for a
ride. By the way, those big bones
aren’t leader shy, nothing but 16-lb.
and up for those bruisers.

Tan Shrimp (upside down version of the LC
Usual with more legs and marabou tail)

For tailing fish you can’t beat this little treat.
Marabou and rubber legs for lots of action—all
you’ve got to do is give it an occasional twitch
and wait for the take. With this fly less really is
more. It’s a very shrimpy pattern that works on
sand or grass. I can just let it sit on the bottom
and know it’s still looking very alive. Since it rides hook up, I can be sure it won’t
foul over grass.

Sometimes buying local flies can be an advantage. A local guide fishes the water
often and is successful with certain fly patterns. But with some destinations local
guides don't have access to new materials, different patterns, and techniques
that have worked well in other destinations with similar species. The relationship
between Davin and FlyMasters brings together local knowledge with worldwide
experience.

That is a great combination for a successful trip!

WWW3.F1L7Y-5M7A0S-T9E8R11S.COM 43

A stick from a tree branch, a short braided line of horsehair and a piece of yarn
on a crude hook was probably the first time someone caught a fish (at least tried
to) with what we now call the fly rod. Along the way the tree branch yielded to a
variety of materials. Wood, such as lancewood or green heart, bamboo,
fiberglass progressed to today’s modern high-modulus composites in the making
of fishing rods. The one material that has withstood the test of time and is still
sought after today by those longing for the ultimate, magical fly fishing
experience is BAMBOO.

Bamboo was originally used on just the tip section
of wood rods in a 3 or 4 -sided construction. It
wasn’t until around 1870 that Hiram Leonard
developed the use of bamboo with six-sided
construction for the entire rod. Up until about 1915
most bamboo rods were made with Calcutta cane
and long wet fly, soft action rods were the
standard. By 1930 modern glues replaced animal-based glues and the need for
countless intermediate wraps to help hold the rod together. Tonkin cane also
became the material of choice and the technique of heat-treating provided the
maker with a superior material which enabled them to develop livelier, better
casting rods.

During this same period, tournament or distance casting became popular and
served as a venue where tapers could be tested and compared to the
competition. The resulting tapers, with the speed and ability of casting long
distances became the foundation of modern, dry fly tapers. Eventually the
temporary demise of the cane rod came on the heels of World War II. The
resulting embargo on Tonkin cane interrupted the very foundation of the bamboo
rod industry. This helped lead to the
development of fiberglass as a rod
material, nylon and plastic lines, and
eventually to the graphite rods and PVC
lines of today.

Fast forward to 2010. While modern day
rod manufactures continue to refine and
develop newer and higher modulus
materials, bamboo as a rod-making
material has experienced an astounding
resurgence. Presently, there are more bamboo rod-makers and tapers available
than at any time in history. Using modern materials and techniques, today’s rods

44 317-570-9811

WWW.FLYMASTERS.COM

may out perform their classic counterparts. Furthermore, today’s rods are
available and can be custom made in lengths, weights and actions to suit your
casting style. They also range from short, light, dry fly rods to big, powerful
salmon rods with actions that can range from a fully flexing nymph rod to a fast,

crisp, dry fly rod.

I believe bamboo’s resurgence is enhanced by
the desire, once again, to experience the joy
and magic of fishing that often times becomes
lost in our fast-paced world. The bamboo rod
as a fishing instrument that makes you slow
down, it feels alive and tells you what it
wants. It becomes an extension of yourself.
What was once a living plant is alive again as

you hold it in your hand.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to cast some of the modern rods, whether a
reproduction of a classic taper, or a taper designed by the maker himself, now is
the time. Contact me or stop by FlyMasters for the opportunity to experience the
uniqueness of BAMBOO. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Randy Fridlund

317-258-8955 ● [email protected] ● www.amabilisrods.com

317-570-9811

WWW.FLYMASTERS.COM 47

317-570-9811