Sage XP being discontinued?

There is a recent discussion in the Fly Anglers Online website's forum discussing that as of August 1, the Sage XP are being discontinued by Sage and dealers are starting to offer discounts of 25% to 40 % !

Now I wonder about that deal I got wasn't just one of those discounts on a discontinued model. The price I paid was exactly 40% off original price after all. It makes sense; there were a lot of XP s but then again there were also a lot of Xi2s. I also have noticed that the San Francisco fly shop Leland's is selling several new XPs on e-bay. Maybe there is some fact to this rumor.

But how can there be something better to replace the XP? Maybe it's time to call the local fly shop and see what I can pay for an XP 691-4.

Another Borski Fly

Here's yet another photo of a Borski fly I've tied. This one is the Haystack but with my favorite shade of cactus chenille, orange.

First attempt spinning deer hair

I figured it was about time to try and create my first fly with spun deer hair so I chose another Borski fly, the Bonefish Slider which supposedly works on redfish as well.

Well, it was a messy 30 minutes to create my first spun deer hair fly and apperently I need more practice with it. I did learn that I need to pull harder, pack it tighter and don't over wrap. I also learned that I should buy a new razor instead of trying to use a recycled old dull one which should help speed out trimming which ended up being more like sawing this time.

Here is the fly. You can see some extra red thread showing through the head which kind looks like gills so maybe it'll pass for them though this is supposed to look like a shrimp and last I remember they don't have gills. Anyways, I also had trouble spinning the hair over the eyes without getting any in the hook eye which is why it's all thread instead.

Chernobyl Shrimp or Chernobyl Craw?

In an earlier entry I mentioned how I had tested out another Borski design called a Chernobyl Shrimp but in a freshwater lake and got a monster hit. I was thinking that maybe the fish thought the fly resembled a crawfish.

I tied a new variation of the same fly but with a larger hook (#2) and longer cactus chenille body in orange with root beer hackle collar and lighter weight eyes (5/32" nickel I-Balz) so I can hopefully cast it with my 7wt or maybe even 6wt. I still kept the tan craft hair tail as the original with purple bars added with permanent marker.

It's still basically a Chernobyl Shrimp and should still work in the salt but I'm pretty sure it will work in freshwater, too. Only one way to find out...

Fishin' at the YMCA lake

I had to do some grocery shopping but took the 4wt and my younger two kids first to the nearby YMCA to fish their lake for a bit. I thought maybe spending 45 minutes at the Y would help me unwind and the kids would have some time with dad and mom some time for herself at home, too.

The kids wanted to play tether-ball first so we did and then walked down to the water. I found a spot beneath some cedar trees where I could see sandy spots were brim had been and proceeded catchin' bluegills, greenies and red-breasted sunfish on almost every cast. I was using a size #14 hare ear's n ymph in olive. The kids preferred to help me unhook each fish and return it to the water insead of casting. They were also busy with a couple of plastic cups catching tiny baitfish and releasing them.

I did end up catching one small bass at the end before my time was up. It seems like I caught and released at least 15 sunfish in those 30 minutes of fishin'. It was actually pretty nice.

First thing I did though when we got to the grocery store was take the kids to the restroom so they could wash the fish stink from their little hands. :)