SHOP NOTES | C.J. BOVA RODS

So it took what felt like four decades but Rit finally shelved Pearl Grey in Liquid form. This is sweet news to the ears of most hardcore fly tyers because powder versions of grey can be very very inconsistent. Many of the greys lean towards warm to magenta and mixing grey as everyone knows is very difficult because of the variables. Now that Rit makes Pearl Grey in liquid for you can simply warm it up or cool it down using the other colors such as magenta or cyan. Most of my grey batches I add a smidge of red to warm the liquid form. I have found the liquid form is very consistent from bottle to bottle as opposed to the traditional salt crystal packs. The above photo of the biot dun illustrates the liquid form results with a tad of red added for depth, and warmth. Hackles, tailing fibers, biot, and hen tips all dyed with the new liquid form. The consistency is what excites me and cuts the guess work and dilution time in half. Happy dying everyone!     ...

Spring Buffet, Clint Bova, 5" x 5" collage During the early spring dashing through the woods avoiding lightning and getting smashed by falling branches is a challenge in itself. Another challenge is spotting insects that the trout are zeroing in on. Being a creature of habit and optimism I grab my box of midges without even thinking. Fore and Aft patterns, A.K. Best styled midges with modified biot wings, and the old standby, parachute emergers. The “Dark Child Box” is my pet name for flies that work best for me at this time of year. This is because the colors are cool grays that lean to near ivory black. Prospecting is out of the question for this time of year for a surface session. Go look for the fish from the banks. I don't even bother getting in the water if I do not see any surface activity. Be slow and methodical, don't feel rushed, and most of all keep your expectations in check. The spring fever is always entertaining and seeing other anglers whip ...

About this time of year I am fishing really shallow water around “super sippers” which I describe as large fish sucking in tremendous amounts of midges in the surface film. My go-to meat and potatoes fly has been a quilled emerger on a TMC 212Y sizes #16-22 for many years now. There are many variations of this fly. I tie it with a turkey flat post dyed medium dun. The extra protruding silhouette of the post makes it very easy to see in ultra contrasty light which is prevalent this time of year. Its a very basic pattern and can be tied quickly and floats well under many situations. You can use either black, light dun, or medium dun for the horizontal hackle collar. Note: I have recently been tying most of my midges with Veevus thread a company out of Denmark makes it. You can really bear down with this thread it is a little slick however but it makes for a tight and clean tiny fly. Quilled Para Midge Emerger Hook: TMC 212Y sizes #16 ~ #22 Thread: Veevus 10/0 Black Quill: D...