For those of
you who have not made it to the Absaroka
Knoll Farm in Pray, Montana it is quite well known
that Doc Knoll is not "politically correct" for fly
fishing. His refreshing and common sense approach to fishing products,
fishing
techniques as well as his humorous insights into the world of fly
fishing will educate you during your summer visit to Montana and
Yellowstone waters
or hopefully bring cheer to you on a cold winter's night.
Here are a few of his published short stories.
The
Reading Material
(If you click on the highlighted
title you
will be directed to the story of choice)
It's in
the Timing
A short story on casting methods
One Lost Fly Box
Angler's helping other anglers
Twenty Minutes
The short time before the evening meal is tough to
get through.
The Defining Moment
Amy Knoll takes out her rod on the Hoh river.
California Corbina in the Surf
an excerpt taken from Doc's The Beginners Guide to Saltwater Fishing
A Dance at Dawn
Jim Young's poem created on the banks
of the Yellowstone 2003
Sometimes a Variation Can
Make a Difference.
A short story first published in the Montana Pioneer 12-03
One of the advantages of owning a flock of genetic birds
used for premium fishing flies is the fact that I get to choose what is
bred and what variations in feather color will be attempted
during the upcoming season . Often, world renown fly tiers hang out at
the shop’s bar and together we contemplate what the other may be
wishing to have produced for new or different patterns. Sometimes
when the right birds are selected the color that is created can
be spectacular. However, once the breeding is complete the wait begins
and the expectations can take time to prove whether I really “did
good.” Then there are the little things in life that will make us
continue whatever it is we like to do.
For instance, last April I attended the Snake
River Cutthroater’s Spring Show in Idaho Falls, Idaho. It’s a well
thought out show and is something more of us who live in
the West should attend. All the regional hot shots of the industry were
there. Each showed their talent for whatever their expertise is but one
attendee rose above the others and honored me by spending a little time
at my booth. But, before I toot my horn too loudly, there is a
reason I am making mention of this particular visit and what
transpired.
Henry Hoffman is commonly
known as the originator of the breed of birds which I raise. I’ve
seen what he has done and I’m impressed. He has also worn the
crown as Fly Tier of the Year for the year 2000 and I‘m certain there
are numerous more awards in his possession. This is not too shabby an
honor in anyone’s books. So, as he tied his flies near my
booth, the four live examples of Genetic Hackle birds I normally
take with me to shows beckoned him at times with their clucks and
crows. Nearly as soon as he arrived a novice tier showed up and
began to ask numerous and various novice type questions. Not being one
to eliminate Henry from any ongoing conversation I introduced
this beginner to the pillar in fly fishing. The next few minutes Henry
and I entertained ourselves by showing this young tier some of the
genetic variations I had laying around the booth and how they are used
for various flies. We explained how this practice of growing
birds for a specific fly is now practiced, in the spirit of
competition, by accomplished fly tiers and their hackle growing
friends from all over the world.
And, to educate
some of you this same principle is what makes a stained glass lamp by
Tiffany totally different then a craftsman who just cuts and
assembles colored glass. Tiffany colored the glass for where it
was going on the “picture.” He just didn’t use what was available from
the scrap heap. Well, maybe he did but not often. But, in hackle and
feather selection the principal variant which is I am referring to is
the Cree. A tri colored mix of white, brown and black. And, if you fish
with Adams or Light Cahill flies then this little article should get
your attention.
To tie an Adams Fly the
common practice is to take one feather from a brown neck and another
from a Grizzly neck and blend the two into the hackle of the fly. But
if you take a well mixed brown and grizzly Cree feather you can
accomplish the same task without the use of a dual feathers. Taken one
step further the variant Cree also comes in a wide spectrum of color.
The bred birds will span the spectrum of mix from a barred cream to
nearly all black. Capitalizing on using this variety of multiple
colors, all of your fly patterns can become just a little deadlier on
the rivers and streams where you fish.
For instance and I
use this example quite often in the shop when discussing the Cree. If
you tie a common light Cahill onto your line and drift it down a riffle
you may catch a fish. However, if you alter the hackle of
this particular pattern by using a light Cree variation that is barred
with the Cree tri-color and cast this new variation of the
fly within inches of the control Cahill the chances are 80-90% in
favor of the Cree Cahill being taken before the common Cahill. Don’t
laugh I’ve done it. Overall, Charlie Darwin would call it
survival of the fittest or unfit test depending on how you look at it..
This formulation of survival and predation I adhere to and
implement in many of my own personal flies. The Cree variation just
makes this principal a little easier to create a fly which casts an
illusion of a weak or, in the case of a full blown insect hatch,
a better target for a feeding fish to focus on. Think about
that…. A fly that might cause a fish to see it in a flotilla of
floating bugs.
If you
take this same concept away from the trout stream and slide it into the
realm of salt water you would immediately see how a Cree feather would
“outlook” a mix of several feathers. Therefore, shrimp patterns can
become almost identical to the shrimp that flood the waters where you
fish. My parents live down in Florida and when I fish on visits to
their home the Cree feather duplicates the color and “look” of an
Indian River shrimp and the birds around Islamorada and Marathon
have watch me take fish after fish using these feathers in shrimp
patterns. Some friends of mine who haunt the Texas coast find that the
Cree is the best feather to cast at that particular feeding fish red
fish. In fact, they like to say, “one cast one fish.”
So maybe there
is a better mousetrap after all. And, regardless of what fly you tie or
whatever the size needed, a Cree neck or saddle can add a little spice
into that common fly which you have been fishing. Give it a try. I have
yet to hear from anyone, from Maine to California, who has diverted
from the “norm,” that the results of this concept didn’t surpass their
expectations.
