http://jazzandflyfishing.com/?p=5011

Fly 10.67 from Long Flies shown as two halves (hey, it’s a *long* long fly). This is one of Bill Sherer’s beastly 4/0 BP muskie patterns. Don’t try to be a “hero” with a seven-weight when it comes time to cast these….

Yes, “This is Fly” and “The Flyfish Journal” have recently arrived via email and snail-mail, respectively. As many of you know, TiF is the not-safe-for-tweed e-zine that pushes the boundaries of what a fly-centric mag can be, and TFJ is, well, it’s one of the few mags out there that I’ll ante up $40 a year to get.

In addition to its usual blend of stylings, this issue of TiF also includes a nice piece on the guys over at Jazz & Fly Fishing (turn to page 66). They even talk about the J&FF Shadow Cast Competition and name-drop a bit while they’re at it (thanks, guys!).

As for TFJ, it is often referred to as a “coffee table mag,” and that’s right where mine is currently sitting (on top of a few past issues).

Yes, Long Flies is taking its time in getting done, but at least GB is well into book #4 of the “Fly Fishing” series, so once I get caught up with LF, I’ll just jump into that. But, in the meantime, I am plowing through fly photos for LF. Here is fly 10.75, an Ulf Hagström pattern that is especially fishy. This fly is also especially fun to shoot in that it requires white-against-white exposure, coupled with translucency and white-to-black tonal values. Thought a few readers might be interested.

Update: After GB and I talked last night re: LF pix, I decided to re-shoot some images to allow for better conceptualization of the designs. This fly has a paired-tail arrangement and it was key to really show that, we felt. So I re-shot the fly with the end result being what you see above. I think that GB still has the previous fly photo on his blog, and it should be obvious as to how much better (I think) this one is in terms of revealing structure. Off to re-shoot a few more….

There be trout in that water…

As noted in a previous post, Kel and I did a little small-stream scouting over the Thanksgiving holiday. In addition to the streamside images of rocks and weeds that you’ve already seen, I promised something a bit more fishy. Decided to get “old-timey” and sepia-tone with the trees and (well-scouted) water, and then went and grabbed some water and used it to get painterly with a fish. Fish photos are nice, of course, but I figure that I should be painting a few rather than relying only on focus and exposure. So, here’s a little dry-fly ‘bow for your viewing pleasure:

Click to make bigger.

Actually this is more than just a little dry-fly ‘bow. It’s really an experimental piece that I used as a warm-up for a commission that I am starting on today (that would be your redside, Byron). There are a number of things that I did in the piece that reflect some “play time” with paint, but in the end I felt that the piece still worked as a fairly cohesive unit. As a result, I am going to offer it as available art if anyone has an interest. It’s on 9X12 Canson watercolor paper, so it’s a manageable size and well suited to filling a smaller space in a tying room, etc. Price is $100 shipped in the U.S. Add another $5 if its going elsewhere. If you think that it might work for you, shoot me an email (you can use that Contact JB link above), and we can arrange for it to head your way.

Update: So Kel looks at this post and says, “What? You’re selling it? But I like it.” To which I deftly responded, “Of course I’m not going to sell it, I don’t know what I was thinking.” And then I immediately ran up to my office, logged on, and used the strike-through feature. If you do happen to really like this piece, and want something similar, let me know and we’ll work it out.

From years back, on a trip to Russia’s Kola Peninsula. One of many browns that nudged the measuring tape well past the 20-inch mark. Went for a bit of funky photo filtering on this one, just because I felt like it. This was one of the last trips on which I used slide film as a primary photographic tool. I still love film, but prefer to use it for special shots, rather than the basic grip-n-grins like this one.

Update: Couldn’t leave it well enough alone, so went back and added some wear and tear via a little Photoshoppery. Now it looks appropriately bleached out and beat-up!

After Jeff’s brutal week 47 (he mumbled something about 30-hours straight when we talked on the phone yesterday), we decided that today’s fish was to be whatever we wanted—anything goes! I decided to do a rather general “salmonid.” In other words, a fish that could be a lot of fish: trout, salmon, char, whatever falls into the general look-and-feel of a salmonid. Hope that FF&W readers like the concept.

Notes: Went back to shades of Week 41 of 2010 (see below). If you’re going to paint with watercolor, then you shouldn’t be afraid of water! This piece was scrubbed, soaked and washed before it was all through, and it has the cooler, more wintery look that I wanted. It’s a generic “TroutSalmonChar,” so it should look a bit generic in terms of color and form. I dig it.

Tech: Charcoal, pastel pencil, pen, and watercolor all mixed and mashed together on Canson paper.

Available for purchase? Yes. This one is on 6×9 paper. If you’re interested, shoot me an email and we can talk specifics.

JK’s Fish:  Find it here.

Within the Jazz & Fly Fishing Shadow Cast Competition (that I recently finished judging with an iron fist), there was one entry that stood out in a way that I had not expected. It came from the guys at Fly Society Belgium, and is, to my eye, simply beautiful. When you see it, you realize that it’s not really focused on shadow casting (parodied or otherwise), instead it is light and motion and fly casting as art in film. You can see it full-size at the J&FF site (scroll down to #15), but I have a smaller embed from Vimeo below:

Would love to have these guys shoot my own casting this way.

Emerging from my private screening room after days of coffee- and Jujyfruit-fueled film viewing, I have declared a winner in the Jazz & Fly Fishing Shadow Cast Competition. I can’t reveal the winner until the gents over at J&FF post my review, but I can tell you that it was a close competition. Rarely have I seen such a collection of masterful casting videos in one place! Rarely have I seen such bravery in allowing those videos to be made public! It took real guts to enter the competition, and frankly, I think that it took real guts to judge it. Or at least it took a solid 15 minutes to get through two replays of the finalists.

In the end, I had to go with where both my rational mind and emotional heart lead me. I feel for the losers in this competition, but in the immortal words of that classic film, Highlander, “There can be only one!”

Yeah, I know, DF52 week 41 is not in order (this is week 48), but I was thinking about big, late-season streamers, and had to re-post this. This Yellowstone Sculpin is vying to be my favorite from last year, and it is for sure in my top-five. I did one commission based on this painting, and personally just love this style.

For the full 2010 post, go here.

Realized that I forgot to post this on Friday. Sitting in my “drafts” area, but never published, so here it is as a Friday/Sunday Fish Fry. And what is it, you ask? It’s the back-cover fish from the upcoming Long Flies book (GB’s latest), and it’s from GB’s most recent trip to Alaska.

Looking at a number of photos, we felt that the big, bright salmon—almost black-and-white—with that fuchsia leech, had the right combination of elements. We could have gone trout, we could have gone tarpon, we could have gone jungle, but this seemed to be a good mix. The photo seems almost “trouty” (it is a salmon, after all), and the fish is big and wild, and the leech is recognizable as a “long fly,” while being modern in its design and coloration.

Of course, what we really hope is that at least a few anglers will find the contents sandwiched between this image and that of the front cover to be a worthwhile read….

So, Kel and I took a little hike post-turkey. Ostensibly, we were trying to reduce the effects of caloric intake, but we also wanted to scout a bit of local water. Along the way, we came across some fantastic light effects on the canyon-side above the stream, and we had to stop and shoot a few frames. For both of us, fly-fishing goes well beyond the core act of throwing and catching; it is really a holistic experience that includes things that the fly has lead us to, but that have no direct bearing on the end result (i.e. fish-in-hand). These two images won’t catch anyone much of anything, but they are part of the larger reason to go fly fishing. And don’t worry, there will some “real” fishing in another post soon….

Forgive the image quality, had to get this into my system using a point-and-shoot instead of my usual scanner.

This one is for my friends in Europe, in particular those of you in the northern Adriatic area (and your gorgeous, jewel-like waters). I like the marble trout for a a number of reasons, not the least of which is the potential for size, as well as its attitude and its looks.

Notes: So much for dollar-a-sheet watercolor paper. Was headed one way with this, got about 5 minutes in, and stopped. Looked at what I had, ripped it up and chucked it. Could’ve bought a track off of iTunes with that waste.

Feeling irritated and suddenly cheap, I grabbed a sheet of Kel’s college-ruled paper (she was sitting across from me, taking notes on small-bowel capsule endoscopy) and got down-and-dirty. Decided that since I was already devolving from art studio to study-hall, I might as well just draw and paint like I still had 20 minutes to go before English class.

The end result wasn’t at all what I had in mind when I started, but I like it anyway. Some freedom in there with both form and color, feeling more like a successful experiment than some paint-by-numbers piece that looks clean, but is “same-old, same-old.” I usually don’t like to wet a brush when I’m feeling frustrated, but this actually worked for me.

Tech: Pencil outline and watercolor on cheap, college-ruled paper with endoscopy notes on the back.

Available for purchase? Not this one in particular. If you really want something similar on college-ruled paper (and with my finest study-hall technique), I am happy to provide it, though. Just contact me directly and we can figure out what works or you. Okay, I was convinced to let it go, but if anyone wants a marble trout on “real” paper (and with no endoscopy notes), shoot me an email and we can talk.

JK’s Fish: Jeff was absolutely slammed this week, so his marble is late, too. When it shows up, you’ll be able to find it here.

This Blue-Butt Caddis was last year’s week 47 image from the DF(flies) 52 project. It was chosen in memory of the late Tom Helgeson. Check out the full post for more about the fly and Tom.

This year’s week 47 image will be a marble trout (due tomorrow, but with the holiday and all, it may be late for at least one of us, if not both of us). I’ll see if I can get mine done today/tonight, but I have about 17 other things to deal with—including Colin the turkey—before I can worry about the DF project.

There will be a Friday Fish Fry this week, as well, so watch for that through your tryptophan haze (or Tofurkey haze, if you are so inclined). And while I realize that some FF&W readers in the world don’t have T-Day as a holiday, I suggest that to get into the spirit, you bake a dish that involves a full stick of butter, a pint of light cream, and a several scoops of brown sugar. Add appropriate libations to wash it down. Then pass out.

See you on the other side….