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Rules for the "Smallmouth Challenge"

5/31/2013

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 The "Smallmouth Challenge" is designed to be a fun, non-competitive fishing challenge we will be hosting in the shop this summer. The premise is simple. Bob Clouser, most famous for the Clouser Deep Minnow, has seventeen great fly patterns in his book "Clouser Flies" all designed to catch Smallmouth Bass. What the challenge consists of is tying three of four of each of the patterns in the book and landing at least one  Smallie on each of the seventeen flies in one season. I personally did this on my own last year and it was a blast. You can read about my completing the challenge here. Everyone that completes the challenge will be eligible for the prizes we will award at the end of the challenge. As mentioned this is meant to be a fun, non-competitive fishing challenge designed to push your skills at the bench as well as on the river. We are not big on rules as this is recreation. Here are a few things you need to do in order to help us host the challenge. 


1) Go to www.facebook.com/smallmouthchallenge and like our challenge page, then message us with your name, email address and let us know you want to take the challenge. We will set up an album within the page with all of the participants names. Each time you complete a set of flies or catch a fish on one of them send the picture to us and we will put it in the appropriate album. When you have tied all seventeen flies and caught seventeen Smallmouth, on each fly, you have completed the challenge and are eligible for the prize drawing. 


2) All flies are to be tied in the "spirit" of the pattern. Some substitutions such as hooks or some of the harder to find materials can be made, but, lets try to keep things as close to the original pattern recipes as we can. You may tie the patterns in any color you wish. 


3) If you have tied any these patterns before and would like to use them that is fine as long as you can provide a picture of them. I had tied several of the flies before, but thought I owed it to the "Challenge" to tie all new flies, the choice is yours. 


3) We would like the fish to finish their spawn before we start fishing for them. For that reason we would like to start the "Fishing" portion of the challenge on June 22nd and run until October 19th. You can tie as many flies before hand as you like. 


4) All fish are to be released after carefully photographing them. For a few tips on fish photography click here. The challenge is open to any and all people who want to participate.  Please be sure to follow any and all fish and game laws in the state you will be fishing. 


5) Have Fun!


 If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at tim@amarbleheadflyfisher.com Good luck to all and remember...get out and fish! 



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Our latest submission to the White Clay Flyfishers April News Letter

5/26/2013

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7 Ways to Treat Your Fish Better
 From 
A Marblehead Flyfisher

  I had a great piece almost ready to share this month about tips to take better care of your gear. I was almost finished when I came across this. With April the passing of Delaware’s opening day I thought this was a much better post. Many of these things are common sense, but these are tips that bear repeating. I can not claim writing privileges for these tips, I wish I could. This came to me through my Facebook page. I would like to thank the original author for sharing his or her thoughts.     Please take a few minutes to read these tips and put as many of them to task while you are on the river this spring. Without the fish all of these things we know and love so much would cease to exist. My hope is that we all will benefit from reading this. 


1. Use barbless hooks.  Yes, barbless hooks do less damage to your fish’s face upon removal – but more importantly, barbless hooks make it much easier to release your fish quickly and with minimal handling.

2. Minimize ‘air time’.  We all want hero shots – we get it.  You’re not taking the fish home in your cooler and you want a way to preserve the memory.  Keep the fish in the water until your photographer is ready.  Once they have the camera ready and have taken the practice shot, lift the fish from the water, smile real pretty, get the pic, and get that fish back in the water.  If you must do it again, do it again – but minimize the time that the fish is out of the water.

 3. Fight him hard.  Apply as much pressure as you can.  Get the fish to hand as quickly as possible.  Long battles mean exhausted fish, and exhausted fish die more.  Fight hard and fast and get that fish back on its way.

4. Stay away from the rocks.  Fish flopping around in the rocks can do serious damage to their own skulls – they’re just not built for that.  Find a spot to land the fish with as few sharp, hard objects as possible.  Sandy beaches are perfect!  If you’re in a run that’s totally lined with rocky shorelines, keep the fish in deeper water and do not swim him up onto the rocky bank.  You can land any fish that you need to land in a foot of water.

5. Keep your fingers out of the gills.  In normal life, a fish’s gill plates protect its very delicate gills.  Once he’s been tired out to the point that you can grab him, he’s very vulnerable.  Please, please don’t reach up under his gill plates for the grip and grin – that’s a really nice handle but it’s also often a death sentence.

6. Use appropriate gear.  “I landed a 25 pound king salmon on my 6 weight with 6 pound tippet!  It took 45 minutes!”  We’re not at all impressed by that.  That fish was so exhausted that it probably couldn’t even hold itself in the current on release.  Use the heaviest gear that’s practical so you can minimize fight times – see #3 above.

7. Watch for predators.  This one is particularly relevant in saltwater.  Any fish that’s been landed is stressed out and not at the top of its game.  Make sure that you don’t release a fish right into the wheelhouse of a hungry shark or barracuda.  Here’s a great tip courtesy of our friends at Bonefish and Tarpon Trust – if you’re near some flooded mangroves, release your fish there.  That’s a great spot for him to find a place to hide while he rests up.  In fresh water, just look for cover.

Thanks again for being a responsible angler!

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Great link from a local news station.

5/20/2013

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It is nice to see some good news on a evening news cast for a change. Bob Paretta has been a long time supporter of A Marblehead Flyfisher. Thanks Bob for sending this to us. 


http://wnep.com/2013/04/12/trout-fishing-more-than-catching-the-big-one/

Congradulations Bob on the press, and thank you for sharing this with us. 
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Fishing Report 5-16-13

5/16/2013

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What a great week it was. Good reports from our local Trout rivers, the Shad are showing up in good fishable numbers, and the salt water seems to be turning on. We had a much needed rain storm last weekend that blew all of the local water for a few days. No fishing was had last weekend, but, I will swap a weekend of fishing for good, strong water levels any day. The weather has been crazy. I actually had to scrape frost off of my windshield the other day, I don't ever remember doing that on the 14th of May. This "true" spring we are having will hopefully set us up for good fishing throughout the summer. During years like this in the past we have had great trout fishing until the 4th of July and that is just fine with me.

The East branch of the Brandywine has been fishing strong. Terry has taken a few guide clients there and good fishing for them as well as a few of our customers lead me to believe this is the place to be. A large influx of stocked fish last week will have attractor patterns bringing their fair of fish to hand. Weenies, Worms, and Buggers will produce on the fresh stockers. If you prefer to stay to the science side of things May is Sulphur time and Sulphurs have been spotted on most of our local rivers. Rick had a great day fishing a Harrop emerger last weekend. Check out some of the pics. The rises seem to start late in the afternoon and continue late into the evening. Before the afternoon rises a tandem nymphing or a dry and dropper rig should be just the ticket. Be sure to have plenty of Sulphur dries in all stages and a heavy dose of Pheasant  Tails. Don't forget the Caddis as these bugs will be with us for the duration. Elk Hair Caddis, X Caddis, CDC and Elk and Goddard Caddis are all great choices for the adult, for the larva the nondescript bead head larva will fill the bill.

This pattern should hold true on all of our local rivers for the next several weeks. Get yourself a good supply of Sulphur and Caddis adults, add in a verity of nymphs and larva and have a blast.



A few of Rick's shots from last weekend. 
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A Wild Brown from Terry's guide trip on Wednesday. Congrats Jason!
The Hickory Shad are showing up in fishable numbers. This years run is not the epic runs we had in 2005, 06, and 07, but there are fish to be had. It seems like moving around is the better bet rather than camping out in a single area. The best report we have heard has been about 50 fish in a extended evening of fishing, but, more realistic numbers are 10 to 25 fish in an evening. The evenings seem to be more productive than the mornings. Last weeks rains have the water level in Deer Creek up so a Versa leader or a short sink tip may be a good idea. The shops "Deer Creek S Fly" have been producing well, as well as the Micky Finn streamer. Anything bright and shiny will get a reactionary strike. We are never sure how long this run will last, so get down there as soon as you can to take advantage of this ever changing fishery.
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THe Deer Creek "S" fly. Thanks to Lee for the picture
These next pictures are from a Shad guide trip on Monday. Special thanks to Jim S. for taking these great shots.   
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The salt water reports we are getting are promising. A 41 inch Striper won the local surf fishing tournament last weekend, and several Flounder were caught also. Reports of Weakfish have been coming in as well with the area between the piers at Cape Henlopen being especially active. Roosevelt Inlet and the ferry wall deserve a look. Closures and Deceivers are always a good choice. If smaller bait is present some smaller Sand Eel imitations or glass minnows will be just the thing. Grab your 8 or 9 weight and head south, you just may hook your biggest fish of the year now!


With good action on the Trout rivers, Shad in Deer Creek, and the salt water action heating up it is a great time of year. Remember, Smallmouth fishing is just around the corner. Until next time...

                                                                                                                                               Just add fish..

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Kelly Galloup's new DVD

5/6/2013

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I have been a HUGE fan of Kelly's stuff for quite some time. His new DVD, "Streamers on Steroids" is available now. I have my copy on order already. If you are interested please give us a call. Great stuff here for Trout bums and Smallie addicts alike. Don't miss out on one of the most anticipated DVD releases to come along for quite some time. 
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Fishing report 5-2-13

5/3/2013

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  It is hard to believe this is the first fishing report of May. The past week shows a gradual, but steady increase in water tempatures and with that comes a increase in bug activity. Water temps in our trout rivers are hovering between 45 and 50 degrees depending on which river you temp and what time of day you take your reading. Caddis will most likely dominate on the White Clay, east branch of the Brandywine and the wast branch of the Octoraro. The Caddis hatch has been pretty consistent with the bugs starting to come off in the late afternoon and the fish are on them shortly there after with the last hour of daylight being the most productive time for great dry fly action. Midges continue to pop, but I think the fish have kinda switched over to the bigger, belly filling, Caddis adults. That being said if you see fish rising and can't really tell what they are on try a Griffiths Gnat in 22 or 24 or a CDC Puff Midge imitation. For the Caddis the tried and true Elk Hair Caddis in a tan #14 should get the job done. For the times before the top water action a tandem nymph rig is hard to beat. Bead head Caddis and a bead head pheasant tail would be a great combo. The pheasant tail is a dead ringer for the Sulphur nymph, keep a sharp eye out for these guys. The Sulphur is one of the most consistent mayfly hatches we have in our area. Trout fishing when Caddis and Sulphur's are popping can be awesome. I love the month of May!

 We have been keeping a close eye and ear on the Shad run. I can say we have received  some very promising reports. Deer Creek seems to be giving up fish in good numbers. Water levels are a little low, but nothing like last year at this time. We received three good reports from three different customers that were down last week. A word of caution here, we also received a few reports that were lack luster at best. Our suggestion would be head down with a good supply of the shops "Deer Creek S flys", be prepared to move around a bit and cover all levels of the water column. Versa leaders will help to get down if need be. Start at the bottom and work your way up by modifying the weight of your set up until you find where the fish are holding. It seems like the guys that are willing to "fish" for them are having some success. I know I plan on giving my new Loomis light Spey rod a workout on Sunday morning. Who else is in?

The salt water seems to be heating up a bit. Stripers were breaking between the piers and a few Flounder have been picked up as well. Give our friends at Old Inlet Bait and Tackle a call for a more detailed report.

 Sulfurs and Caddis on the Trout rivers, Shad in Deer Creek and Stripers in the surf. Is it possible to have too many opportunities available? We think not. Hopefully we will see you out on the river. Until then...

                                                                                                                                                        Tight lines...

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A Marblehead Flyfisher INC.
5716 Kennett Pike Suite D & E 
Centreville, DE. 19807
phone (302) 654-6515
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