The North River Killer

North River Killer

I have not had a lot to post about lately.  Work has been tough with lots of long hours and I have not had much of an opportunity for any outdoor action let alone fishing. I figured it might be a good time for a quick post.  I had a lot of success this year with a Killer Kebari. This includes some rather handsome rainbows on the Nissequogue late in the season. Chris Stewart originated the Killer Kebari and ties his with a brown hackle.  I, like Paul Vertrees, prefer my killer with a grey Hungarian partridge hackle. Despite the effectiveness of this fly I still like to "tweak" flies like this from time to time. I call the fly pictured above a "North River Killer".  The only difference between it and the original is the addition of Krystal Flash in the hackle. I didn't have a chance to fish it this year but I plan on it as soon as I can next year.  For anyone interested the recipe is below.

North River Killer

Hook: Mustad C49S scud hook, size 12

Hackle: Hungarian partridge, color grey & several strands of pearl colored Krystal Flash tied in 

Thread: Pearsall's gossamer silk thread, color brown

Body: Shetland's spindrift wool yarn, color sand & colored with a prismacolor marker, color also sand

Squid'n

 

First catch of the night

This post is about time I recently spent on the water.  However, this post will not include and mention of tenkara (well, maybe not), rod and reel, or beautiful wild brook trout.  This time the quarry was squid.  There are several times a year when the right conditions present themselves to catching these fascinating, quick and delicious creatures.  On an incoming tides after dark, all that is required is a bucket, headlamp, long-handled net and some patience. Simply spot them and get a net into place before they dart away and quickly scoop them up....while trying to avoid the spraying black ink. On Saturday night I tried my hand at this for the first time and met with some success.

I managed to catch about a half dozen squid.  I planned to have these guys for lunch on Sunday but as I prepared to clean them I could not help but be fascinated by them.  This was especially true when witnessing the movement of the chromatophores.  These are the little brown spots visible in the picture.  They are used in communication displays, as well as camouflage.

Like many other aspects of Nature, the time for "squid'n" will only last for a short time. Hopefully, there will be a few more trips in the near future.  While netting them is the best method some were trying to catching them with rod and reel.  Who knows....I may eventually be the first to land a squid on a tenkara rod.

Rise of the Jack O' Lanterns

Halloween has always been one of our favorite times of year and it's always seems to fly by so quick. This year in an effort to extend this festive time of year one more night the family made a trip to a Long Island Halloween attraction... Rise of the Jack O' Lanterns.  The RISE features over 5000 carved pumpkins with several groups of pumpkins carved according to certain themes like superheros, the solar system and NY sports teams.  The unseasonably mild weather made the walk through the jack O' lanterns a very pleasant way to spend a Friday evening. Now with Halloween 2013 now in the books hopefully everyone had a safe and happy night and received a bag full of loot.

Our own little RISE

My little "renaissance vampire" and "peacock fairy princess"