being the skipper

in some form or another this is usually true on boats and elsewhere:

Calamari flies

Despite the God awful weather this weekend I'm tying up some flies for the May and June squid run on the cape. The poppers are tied using an articulated shank designed for steelhead flies. I've used these to make the red can squid variations longer as well. The other fly is like Dave Skok's red can squid but I used a 6/0 pike hook. This moves the eye further down the "mantle" of the squid to make it look a little more proportional to the actual Atlantic long fin squid that I'm trying to imitate. I don't know how the pike hook will do in saltwater but hopefully the fly will be so mangled by the end of the first day that it won't matter. 

Squid Tying

I love tying flies for the late spring and early summer squid run on the cape. There aren't that many different squid flies out there so there is a ton of room for interpretation and experimentation with your squid patterns. Squid also change color from almost clear to tan to pink to purple when they're scared and being pursued. This gives a lot of poetic license to the coloration of squid patterns. They also have spots on them and when they're not scared they are almost clear which makes their internal organs visible. There are so many ways to skin this squid (or tie it as it were). Here are some of my favorites. The two are based on the Skok red can squid (named for the number of bud diesels consumed when he tied them) and the other is a jointed squid popper

February

There are only 24 days left in February, in my book that means 24 days until I can realistically start targeting bass again.  The first decent striper fishing in the Chesapeake is generally once we've had a sustained period of weather over 50 degrees and some sun that will warm up the water.  In late February and March the sun will warm up the water considerably more than the air temperature.  On a sunny in shallow areas with dark bottom you can actually see higher water temps than air.  These are the places I target first.  This is also a good time for kayak and shorebound anglers to explore some local spots that don't get much boat boat pressure.  In my experience the same philosophy will apply up and down the east coast for bass.  On the cape the shallowest parts of the harbors and bays will warm up to the point bass can be caught there by late April as long as we get a normal spring weather pattern.

winter fly fishing trials and tribulations

In the middle of miserable winter like this one there isn't too much to do involving fishing.  I've tied up about 1000 clousers of varying length, color and sparseness (wicked spahse is my favorite most of the time).  The boat has had every bit of maintenance done to her as have my reels.  At this point in the in the winter I strongly suggest watching the immortal boating classic "Captain Ron".  As my friend Captain Brett says: "Every boat should have a copy".

"If anything's gonna happen, it's gonna happen out there!"

Welcome Aboard Swabs!

Hello and welcome to Madness Fly Fishing!  I'm Captain Mike and I set up this blog to share some tips, experience and why I love fly fishing and all of the accoutrements that surround it so much.  Boats, motors,  trucks to tow boats. rods, reels, flies, fishing clothes, flip flops and the list goes on.  I primarily fish the east coast for bass, blues and tuna in the Chesapeake and on Cape Cod.  I take a few trips a year to the keys to fish for tarpon as well as some freshwater fishing.  

I've been fishing pretty much my entire life and I can't remember a time when it wasn't my passion.