New! search fly patterns on any keyword including color, species, size, material etc...
New! search fly patterns on any keyword including color, species, size, material etc...
Show Schedule
I now have my show schedule set. I hope to see you there.
Turbo Prawn Pro Tube
While getting back into the swinging genre of the steelhead fly I often revisit old designs that I once tied that just need an update with new materials and/or concepts in fly design. My predator Prawn has evolved a lot since 2004 when I first started tying it and it was published in the summer of 2005 in Northwest Fly Fishing Journal. I still tie that original fly, I will post its picture next, but the evolution of the prawn has continued. This is my 2012 edition on a Pro Tube wth a sonic cone.
Update to Selective fishing with Tribal Gillnets
As part of my Salmon for Sale series, I am sharing an article as it is more detailed than what I was going to write. I did go out on one of these boats on the Columbia and watched as the selective gilnet experiment was being conducted. Here is another perspective on the same experiemnt further upstream. Tribal Gillnet with Selective Take Fishery Article - click here!
Married Wing Green Butt Skunk
Here is a Green Butt Skunk and my Summer Crush that I tied within past few years utilizing married wings, I don't remember when I tied these. I have not previously included them into this site as the photo do not match the style that I have established for this site since I photographed them. Obviously, I have not gotten around to re-shooting them in the style guide for the site. I would just like to include it here in the Blog section to remind myself that I also tie steelhead flies and that I should devote some more time to the craft of the classic.
Green Butt Skunk Married Wing
Summer Crush Full Dress
A Myopic Idea
As much as I support wild fish. I find the sport fishing community to be very myopic in its opinions and stance on wild versus hatchery fish.
The only truly inferior aspect of the modern hatchery steelhead is that a vital navigation organ called an adipose fin is removed making it difficult to to swim back home. By the time it finally reaches its destination it is beat up, tired and weak compared to a wild fish that still has its vital navigation organs intact. The adipose fin is not the vestigious organ currently held in popular opinion outside of academia. In fact, The adipose fin serves as a neural network which acts a lot like a doppler radar detecting pressure pulses that make up fluvial currents. This detection provides vital information to the fish about the water in which it swims. Without this information, fish struggle needlessly in choosing the proper flows that are the most efficient to navigate within. It is this needless struggle and inability to find good currents to swim in that cause an excessive energy expenditures. By the time an angler catches this fish far upstream, it is too tired to give up a good battle and deemed "genetically inferior".
Fish that dwell in fluvial and often turbid environments have developed an adipose fin as a function of detecting the pressure pulses of currents that guide its navigation. Salmonidae, Siluriformes and Alestiidae are just three examples of fluvial dwelling fish that rely on an adipose fin for pressure pulse detection. Most adfluvial originating species lack an adipose fin. Salmonids i.e, salmon and trout are anadromous fish that rely on information about fluvial currents to determine upstream migration routes. Siluriformes (catfish) being bottom feeders that dwell in the murky depths of rivers and streams that often lack visibility rely on information about the currents to be able better position themselves to allow the currents to bring food downstream to them. Alestiidae (Tetras) are an African family of characins that posses an adipose as well. One Species in particular, Hydrocynus goliath, the Goliath Tiger Fish lives in extreme fluvial environments, often in the plunge pools and below waterfalls in currents that stun or kill other fish. It is the stunned fish that fall through the waterfalls that compose the majority of the diet of the Tiger Fish.
Without an adipose, many of fish would fail to thrive, yet one family, the Salmonids still manage to navigate to natal waters and spawn despite the mutilation of the adipose fin and the excessive drain of fatty resources required to perform extra work that is caused by not having the neural transmitters that the adipose provides. Sportsman want to call these fish inferior? In fact, many so called wild fish are in fact un-marked fish of hatchery origin that the unwitting angler encountering will admire its "wild" qualities. So it's purely prejudice that these anglers feel that by missing an adipose fin, a fish is not worthy of living; yet its raceway companions that did manage to escape the fin clip are mistaken for the champions of our conservation and environmental protection efforts, the wild fish. Hypocrisy?
Salmon for Sale II
UPDATE I will be going out on a boat this week October 19th to participate in a class on alternative fishing methods conducted by the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. The purpose of this alternative fishing methods research is to find a better solution to the use of gill nets on the Columbia River. I will post a full update with photos next week. I also had the opportunity to listen to the tribal spokesperson for CRITFIC on how the tribes are managing their fair share of 50% harvest of the escapement numbers. I will also include a full update that will hilight the tribal point of view on this
issue.I must say that I am still finding my middle ground on this issue and my opinions are always being shaped by the knowledge that I garner by listening to both sides present arguments. I support wild fish and I intellectually realize we will never get rid of the dams nor we will we ever get rid of hatcheries. The tribal point of view is that we are too attached to the term "mitigation". I find that anglers who think we can get rid of hatcheries all-together to be very myopic in their point if view. Honestly, if it weren't for hatcheries, many fisheries would not exist at all. The anglers displaced by the loss of those fisheries would only increase the pressure on other, possibly more sensitive fisheries. Trust me, you do not want that crowd showing up on or rivers that are already managed for wild fish. Please note however, not all rivers should be planted with hatchery fish and we must find those that CAN support a sustainable population of endemic wild stock. Not all rivers can support a sustainable population as too many factors exist that are of the detriment to supporting sustainable wild stock. It should still be a goal that we strive to make that happen, but we must be realistic that too many entities all consire to make it a very difficult goal to acheive. If you want to support your wild fish, you need to do that in the voting booth when you vote FOR supporting environmental candidates and not corporate candidates.
Salmon for Sale
Whenever I mention the subject of gill nets on the Columbia River, people are quick to blame the dams and advocate for the tribes to be allowed to fish as they want based on historic treaty rights. I find that blaming the dams is the common excuse that they teach in our local middle schools. An excuse that will actually do nothing to help solve the issue of wild fish decline. Regrettably, the dams on the Columbia River are here to stay and are likely to never be going away in our lifetime. I think that it's time to stop blaming them. Dams historically killed salmon, but not so much anymore. Sadly, for some extinct races of salmon (ESU, evolutionary Significant Units), its too late and we can never bring them back, now we have hatcheries to replace lost fish, another heated issue I wont touch on here. Due to the extinction of many populations of salmon, we have learned many lessons and have since improved fish passages or removed antiquated dams that posed a migration barrier
A serious illness still occurs right here, right now, which is a modest part of a larger picture in wild fish recovery; the treaty rights to use gill nets on the Columbia. As long as we continue over fishing of the seas and climate change runs un-checked, we must stop ALL practices that kill wild fish REGARDLESS of any treaty rights do so. It is a growing controversy to allow gill nets to be placed across the confluences of tributaries that empty into the Columbia so the natives can practice treaty rights and indiscriminately kill fish while our government spends billions in habitat restoration. We have become fiscal and moral slaves to the tribes. We spend billions of dollars on habitat restoration so that the Columbia River Intertribal Fisheries Council (CRITFC) can allow gill netters to harvest fish and sell them at roadside stands at about $25 per fish and make a dismal living for an impoverished native? Sounds great, lets offer a way to make a living for an impoverished native but that is akin to subsidized corn where the government spends billions to support the unprofitable corn industry just so that they support unprofitable farms. Monsanto and High Fructose Corn Syrup are obvious side effects to that kind of subsidy.
I have heard many people lament in my 23 plus years involved with this subject, mostly from the sport fishing community that believe the tribes are killing fish to spite our efforts and billions spent as some sort of revenge on white man for taking away their food supply. That sounds harsh and I certainly don't take that stance, but it does give one to pause a moment and contemplate a deeper issue that may be present. Perhaps that is a statement originating from white mans guilt? Dams versus salmon is a battle that bears minimal weight in any modern salmon recovery argument outside of Mr Penobscot's eighth grade biology class, yet many people still cling to it as if it is the only argument that matters. In truth, people are martyrs to the Dam issue because of a social conscious. Treaty rights vs salmon is a growing debate that bears obvious social consequences, more than blaming the dams ever did. It is easy to blame the dams because they are inanimate objects built by white man that killed the Pacific Northwests aboriginal peoples food. We suffer white mans guilt when it comes to the Native American population and the dams are just a thorn under the saddle of the American consciousness. Nobody in the context of social issues wants to blame the natives for being part of the problem. How dare we blame the natives for salmon declines, that is socially immoral, after all, we are the ones that took everything away from them and killed their women and children and built dams that flooded their fishing grounds. Fishing grounds I later learned were not in fact ceremonial but just good places were salmon congregated. I think its time we get over our white man guilt and restrict ALL forms of activity that kills wild salmon regardless of race religion, creed, nation of origin and political affiliation.
I would like to give props to CRITFC for actually having salmon management plans and leading the way in salmon recovery for both tribal use but as well as for sport fishing use. My argument is about the practice of using gill nets while spending money to save salmon you are killing. You cannot do both and succeeded. Its like a dog chasing its tail. Reduce the amount of fish you take out of the river for roadside vending stands in Cascade Locks and you will improve the odds of more fish reaching the spawning beds.
To Write or Not to Write, That is the Question
I just read through my website access logs and found a search on a popular search engine that read "John P. Newbury fly fishing book" I didn't know I had a fly fishing book? I don't think the "other" John Newbury from Washington has a book either. Of course, the "other" John is John M. Newbury; we often get confused for each other especially if we tie at the same show. Just remember, I am the Oregon tyer and he is the Washington tyer. A few other traits set us apart, but there is no need to divvy up the tally.
I have talked about writing a fly fishing book before, but every time that I start to outline the subject, somebody else publishes a book on the same or nearly identical subject. One example I recall, is in the mid 90's, I was fascinated by using spey fly's from Scotland as western steelhead patterns. It was the rage amongst west coast steelheaders at the time, and largely still is. Several of us innovative fly tiers set about adapting classic Spey and Dee patterns to our favorite bright candy steelhead colors. With my background in hair dressing, photography and fine art, I prefer to dye all my own materials and am able to achieve some exquisite colors you just can't buy. Just as I was getting the momentum up and started to put in some effort to write about Spey flys, John Shewey and Bob Veverka published books on the subject. So instead of writing a book which I admittedly knew little about in contrast to the other two authors, I gave various friends samples of my flies away and moved on to other fly tying interests. Some of my original speys have even been photographed and published in a few locations on the web. Some of my early adaptations to spey patterns can be seen on Bruce Harang's beaucatcher website here along with a few other patterns I was fond of at the time.
I also have some other patterns I posted on the Spey Pages website. Aside from a few Spey Flys that I have tied in 2006 for a fly tying plate to be auctioned off for the FFF Oregon Chapter, I have not tied a spey fly since.
Ironically, my fly, The Carron, for that plate was wrongly labeled as being tied by the "other" John Newbury of Chelowah Washington.
I have been an avid nymph fisherman my entire life. I learned young that if you want to catch more and larger fish, you have to get your fly down to them. Big fish rarely move up to intercept floating flies but smaller fish do. Later in life, I have been able to verify this fact while snorkeling many trout pools and observing fish. I have fished small freestone streams on the front range of Colorado and big burley western rivers in Montana and Oregon. One fact remains the same, I always start the day with a nymph pattern affixed to my tippet and thats what I will fish 90% of the time. Suffice it to say that in spending thousands of hours a year over many many years on the river, I have developed some pretty successful nymphing strategies. Should I write a book about it? No! It's already been done. Now we even have the so called "euro nymphing" craze. Thats nothing new, thats the same techniques I developed on my own and by reading every other book out there already written on the subject. Those other books written as far back as the late 40's and mid 50's clearly outline the same methods of nymphing that the new Czech books are describing. Euro nymphing Is not new, its just been re-branded and re-sold. As a scholar, I have to do my research and then add to the knowledge pool, not just re-word it.
Is there still room for another fly fishing book? I certainly feel a deep void when I visit Powells books, the nations second largest books store in search of new material to inspire me. Many books are targeted to the beginner or early intermediate tyer or fisherman. Advanced fly fly tyers tend to congregate together in the same circles and ideas get passed along in person. Occasionally, someone takes the effort to pen a new book. Most folks just throw up a You Tube or Vimeo video and a host of other web related sources.
I set out the entire summer this year to develop my book ideas. Those ideas are still brewing in my mind on what I want to do. Maybe I should just do it my way and then you can take it or leave it. The mileage on this summer is getting pretty high though, I better just go fishing instead.
Cheers,
John
Straining the Limits
As our population in Oregon grows from transplants arriving daily from all over the country, so does the strain on our limited and precious natural resources and beloved green spaces. To offset that strain on our resources, Neo-Oregonians have adopted a sticker to display on their cars (pictured at left) with an outline of the state and a green heart in the middle. By displaying this sticker, these Neo-Oregonians are saying:
"Don't blame me, I love Oregon and promise to be environmentally friendly and live a sustainable lifestyle, I am special."
The irony is, hundreds of thousands of you are moving here and adopting that same mantra. With that population growth, there comes a breach in our ability to sustain the new population without some sort of critical mass depleting the resources. So you sticker bearing Neo-Oregonians, in your haste to be special like everyone else, you have become THE PROBLEM, and not the SOLUTION.
Former Governor Tom McCall was a visionary when he saw how other states such as California lusted to develop all available green spaces and resources for the benefit of man. He closed our borders and discouraged anyone from moving here. There was a sign on our border that urged visitors leave. Sure, the economy lagged behind the rest of the nation because of that, so what? There was a purpose in life that did not need to have an economy that matched that of California or live up to the standards that others have set. Oregonians have "opted out" of many things that New yorkers, Californians and most mid-westerners value such as the pedestrian need to keep up with the Jones's. While Californians were busy building strip malls and condos in the most beautiful natural settings they could find, we were out chasing beautiful steelhead in remote forests and protecting our beaches from greedy developers. Now, those same Californians that jumped on the "California Dreaming" bandwagon of the late 60's through the 70's have all moved out of California because they have completely decimated the place in just a few short decades. Many of them landed here in Oregon bringing with them the same exploitive "It's all about me" mentality and bought condos in the Pearl District and Bend or Sisters and even Camp Sherman. Lets not mention what they are doing to Bozeman Montana, Boulder Colorado and other beautiful places ACKK! the term Californication is self explanatory.
For all of you moving here, I have a new sticker to display in your car. I offer it up with true love for my home state that I will fight to protect from your unwitting exploitation. I am out there doing something to protect our resources, you are moving here to consume those resources. Now there are too many of you here and the balance is soon slipping the wrong direction.
In the words of Governor Tom McCall, "please go back"
Governor Tom McCall
Oregon Land Use Laws
Fly Tyers Frustrations
I purchased a new copy of Oliver Edwards Fly Tyers Master Class back in the summer of 1995 for $24.95 new. Now considered rare, new copies are selling for a $125.00. This book was at the time, fast forward in fly design for American fly tyers. I purchased it 10 years before the "euro" fly fishing and tying craze started taking over in '05. In the book, there are several realistic yet fishable patterns that have influenced my fly design strategy.
It took me 20 years to obtain some of the materials listed in that book. I have thus adapted many of the patterns with readily available materials. Sure, I could have been more pro-active in the search for materials listed in the Fly Tyers Master Class. After all, I do have connections in England and could have ordered the materials online, so it truly is my fault that it took 20 years to get on the ball. I am lazy that way, I would rather jog down to my local fly shop and support them by purchasing the materials that they are offering for sale. In return, I design fly's with those readily available materials. When I demonstrate at tying shows or in-house fly tying events, I will showcase those materials that they are selling. I once cleared an entire pegboard of materials by demonstrating a new fly tied with those materials. It makes sense to me that I have developed a relationship with many local retailers, many of whom have fancied my tying whims and brought in new materials for me.
During the Northwest Fly Tyers and Fishers expo held in Albany Oregon last weekend. I walked straight to a vendor that I know sells the materials I am looking for, namely Nymph Skin and some European hooks. Innovative Fly Tying Specialties. Not exactly supporting my local fly shop is this? This got me to thinking about what my local fly shops are selling compared to the big box retailers. Second, are my local fly shops offering enough innovative or unique materials as compared to the big box stores? I spent a lot of money with Innovative Fly Tying Specialties, more than I usually spend at my local fly shops lately. It is important for me to continue to support my local fly shops but many are just not offering anything beyond the ordinary.
I went on a mission yesterday to compare the offerings of my fly shops and the big box stores. Fist stop was to Fisherman's Marine Supply. They have a small fly shop tucked in the back corner of the store. The last time I was there about 5 years ago, it was a modest little operation with a large supply of the basic materials such as chenille and marabou with the odd Mustad salmon fly hook...YAWN. My visit yesterday found the fly shop pretty much existed of nothing but a few cards of chenille and a tuft or two of marabou. The bast part, I didn't have somebody with a pedestrain skill set asking if I needed help. The worst part, I walked away empty handed.
I crossed the parking lot to Dicks Sporting goods. I need to find some hot orange hard mono to make a coiled indicator leader. I found some small swivels I could use for fishing my Stinger Stone without twisting my leader.
I hit I-5 south and went down to the Box Farm known as Bridgeport Village. Lets see what that four letter word of a store called Orvis has to offer. I digress, I promised I would never step foot into that establishment. I was immediately attacked upon my entry with offers of help." I am looking for specifically Flame Orange running line" and was led to a wall with fly lines. "yes, but I need the mono kind". I checked out the rest of the offerings.
Listen up fly shop owners. I know times are tough right now and everyone and their kissing cousins are infatuated with spey rods, intruders and Subarus. Do you realize that you are selling the same exact materials I can buy at Orvis, Fishermans Marine Supply, Dicks, Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas or Sportsmans Wholesale? They offer the same line-up of hooks, brass bead heads and uni-thread that you do. The only reason I shop at your store is to support YOU, but you are making that hard when I cannot find the materials I am looking for to tie something OTHER than an intruder or wooly bugger and have to spend more on gas to reach you.
I don't expect you to change your retail inventory just for little ol me, but lets start thinking about offering innovative materials to stimulate the fly tying economy here. APATHY runs amok in our industry...WAKE UP!
let me just say that there are 2 fly shops that will continue to get my business in the area as both will do whatever it takes to go beyond the ordinary...I thank them.
