Editor’s note: To celebrate the holiday season, we are counting down the twelve days of Christmas with a fly-fishing theme. (Yes, we realize that the actual Twelvetide celebration comes after Christmas, but that didn’t seem as fun.) We’re using classic posts that align with the lyrics of the traditional tune as closely as possible. A busy weekend of holiday cheer (urp!) precluded posting, so here are days eight through six.
“On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, eight maids a-milking. . .”
The milkfish, which swims in the waters of the Seychelles, is a relatively new quarry to most anglers, and the killer video above from Beattie Productions goes a long way toward explaining what’s so exciting about this saltwater species.
“On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, eight swans a-swimming. . .”
“Swans” was a tough one. I couldn’t find a decent video of fly-fishing on Montana’s Swan River, so I focused instead on the “swimming part.” Tim Flagler’s Swimming Crane Fly Larva is a very cool pattern that offers a lot of action in the water. Click here for the recipe.
“On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, six geese a-laying. . .”
“Geese” immediately got me thinking of patterns that use goose biots, and the Prince Nymph’s distinctive tails and wings are perhaps the most well-known example. Click here for the recipe.
on my rabbit strip leach patterns i color the hide with marker( the usual white hide drives me nuts), and it seems to work. do you feel coloring the brown rabbit hide is necessary or does the pattern work just fine ? maybe give it a mottled appearance ?
thanks