TRIFECTA

Dean Watch: Part IV

2007-05-29T23:30:00.002-07:00

I need to finish up a few more pinks and oranges, then a crap load of black and blues, I'm just waiting on a few key ingredients.

CMW

2007-05-16T23:12:00.000-07:00

Got to catch a few innings of this one on the net, and it was good to see CMW work out of jams with confidence. A couple of gappers put you in a two on, no out tight spot? No problem - a strike-out and a double play later and you're walking back to the dugout. But in watching the game tonight, and even when he took a perfect game into the 8th against the Mariners, you could still imagine him allowing a couple of cheap base hits and a double. That is the trouble with relying on a ball hit into play as the basis of your success, but hey, Maddux has made a pretty good career out of it. But as Rob Neyer has noted in the past, most pitchers who go on to long successful careers strike out more than 0.37 batters per inning. Like most types of pitchers, it's great fun to watch when things are going good, but it's definately more painful to watch when things are going poorly. So here's to fun.

Dean Watch - Part IV

2007-05-11T23:54:00.000-07:00

Just getting started on the Oranges and Pinks.

Why Is This Man Smiling?

2007-05-08T21:24:00.000-07:00

a.) He got to watch the latest bullpen meltdown from an air-conditioned box with a bar.

b.) The front office panic move involved signing Roger Clemens, rather than firing him.

c.) Doug Mientkiewicz just made it over the Mendoza Line.

d.) Kei Igawa was just sent down to Triple A.

So Willie Bloomquist, Seattle's modern day Rex Hudler, slides in and steals a split at Yankee Stadium, resulting in yet another tough loss. If the Yankees end up missing the playoffs by just a few games, here are 3 key losses that I will remember:

4-15-2007 New York 4, Oakland 5. Marco Scutaro Walk Off. How weird does that sound?

4-20-2007 New York 6, Boston 7. Five run 8th for Boston. Need I say more?

5-7-2007 Seattle 3, New York 2. Assist to Gerry Davis.

Mike's Intruder - Red

2007-05-07T23:40:00.000-07:00

Dean Watch: Part III

2007-05-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

Highlander

Purple

Kingfisher

Dr. Jekyll, meet Mr. Hyde

2007-05-06T00:33:00.000-07:00

5-5-2007

Seattle 1 2 0
New York 8 13 0

On a road trip this weekend, I had the opportunity to listen to almost all of this game on the radio. Both the Seattle and the New York broadcast were availible, and I chose the Seattle guys, because although their pre and post game coverage is always hopelessly optomistic, they call a good game, and John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman are just plain annoying.

The pitching matchup was an interesting one - Jeff Weaver and Chien Ming Wang. Weaver's welcome in Seattle is just about worn out, with the 15+ ERA and all. Wang is just off an injury, and although he was effective all of last year, he still gives up a ton of contact even when successful, and it only takes a few seeing eye singles to land in a heap of trouble.

Weaver dodged trouble through the first 5 innings, prompting the announcers to draw comparisons with his Cardinal playoff heroics, but then had a stat correcting 6th, using a creative combination of hit batsmen, walks, singles and doubles to allow a 5 spot.

Wang on the otherhand cruising along with a perfect game. I started to actually believe that it might happen when he struck out Ibanez to end the 7th after trailing 3-0. He would only retire one more batter before giving up a solo shot to Broussard. In hindsight, I'm sure they were happy to be able to keep his pitch count at 103. It would have been very interesting to see how Joe would have handled the situation in the ninth had Wang kept the perfect game alive.

OK, it might be time to panic

2007-05-05T01:10:00.000-07:00

Seattle 15 20 0
New York 11 16 0

With Kei Igawa doing his best Hideki Irabu imitation, the Yanks pulled off a number of amazing feats last night. I don't think losing while scoring 11 runs is what Cashman had in mind when he wrote out the $26 million check to talk to this guy.

Dean Watch - Day 2

2007-05-04T22:54:00.000-07:00

Kingfisher

Highlander

Oregon Beauty

2007-05-02T19:26:00.000-07:00

This was the first fish caught on the trip. We were fishing on the Nehalem River on the Oregon Coast. I was fishing across the river, so I'm getting my first up close look at her as well. Nice work my friend.

What were you thinking?

2007-04-30T23:32:00.000-07:00

So George has Joe's back. Not all that surprising, as George seems to be getting all the more patient in his old age. But is Joe really to blame for the Yankee's miserable start? Tough to say. The injuries to the starters have certainly been tough. But Joe, who earlier in his Yankee tenure seemed to almost never panic, seems to be making lots of panic moves lately. Here's one that really caught my attention.

April 22nd - Trailing the Red Sox 6-7, Torre answers the question we've all been asking - "Can Josh Phelps Catch?" With Posada unable to catch due to a injured thumb, Torre panics and pinch hits for Nieves, forcing him to put either Phelps or Cairo behind the plate. My biggest question was "What would of happened if they would have tied the game and forced extra innings?" Disaster. I'm sure Phelps is an excellent athelete, but given an extended opportunity, he certainly would of cost the Yankees a run, and most likely the game. This is the same game, by the way, in which Andy Pettitte was used as a reliever, for the second time this season.

The reason that this alarms me is that they aren't really playing all that bad, and they shouldn't be panicking. They've scored 131 runs this season, yet allowed only 125. That means that they are better than their 9-14 record would lead you to believe. These things seem to settle out over the course of the season. Just ask Tony Pena, manager of the 2003 Royals. They led the Central at the All-Star break, but allowed more runs than they scored. They slowly slid back to where they belonged, finishing third at seasons end.

If they can get just some of their starters healthy, and find a reliever that can post just one scoreless inning every once & awhile, and if Mariano doesn't have some serious elbow problem, then the Yankees will be fine. That's a lot of ifs, but I do know this - if you continue to put DH's behind the plate and pitch starters out of the bullpen in April, you should start panicking.

Summer On the Dean

2007-04-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

So my buddy Mike Opitz, the older brother of my fishing partner Chris, is off to the Dean this summer, to chase some hot chrome, fresh from the salt. I can't send him up there empty handed, so down to the basement I go. My desk was a complete disaster, so after a couple of nights of cleaning, I finally sat down to try to do some damage. Here's the first thing I came up with. A kingfisher blue intruder with the saddle hackle flanking tails that Mike likes so much. He prefers white for the tails, but I had these blue ones that were just too sexy to pass up. The photo just doesn't do this color justice. Stay posted, there's more to come.

Yankees MVP

2007-04-25T19:11:00.000-07:00

An interesting thing is happening in New York. Alex Rodriquez, who was nearly booed out of the Big Apple last year, is on pace for the best April in big league history. What's changed? Beyond his swing, which he clearly spent a great deal of time tuning up over the winter, I think the answer lies about 127.2792' across the diamond (although lately only late in games or before getting lifted for a pinch hitter.)
AP Photo

How, you may ask, can a skinny guy who isn't hitting his weight (currently his below Mendoza average is .152) be the MVP of the most potent line-up in the majors? Well it certainly isn't with his bat. And as brilliant a fielder as he is, it's also not with his glove. Doug Mientkiewicz's value to the Yankees lies entirely in his ability to keep A Rod's head on straight.

Baseball and football stars at the same high school, these two go way back, and other than an effective starting pitcher and a reliever that leaves his gas can in the bullpen, it's exactly what the Yankees needed. As expressed in Tom Verducci's Sports Illustrated article The Lonely Yankee, A Rod isn't exactly the most popular guy in the clubhouse, but now he has with Doug what he wished he had with Jeter.

What's really interesting is how Jeter is going to come out of this whole situation. Sabremetric types have know for years that Jeter is no wizard with the glove, but his ability to look so good (and almost never screw up the routine plays), while pulling off enough "to his right Jump Throws" to make the Sportcenter cut has fooled the general public, not to mention the Gold Glove voters, into thinking he's a great defender. But the fact is he has possibly the worst range in the league, and its really starting to show. Combine that with the cold shoulder he threw to "now everybody loves me" A Rod and a cluster of errors on routine plays, I think the captain is about one slump away from seeing just how bad Alex got it last year. Lucky enough from his .316 average should keep the wolves at bay for a little while.

For me, the really most fascinating part will be to see just how A Rod will react if Jeter runs into an 0-fer streak and the media unleashes the hounds. But of course Alex will have to keep yarding them out at a steady clip to enjoy the kind of love he's getting lately.

All and all, I have to wonder just how long Torre can stomach writing MIENTKIEWICZ onto the line-up card, and for that matter, how long Cashman can justify his spot on the roster. Hopefully, for A Rod's sake, he'll get his average up the 100 points he needs to keep his job, so these two old high school buddies can ride off into the sunset after a successful October.

Proof MLB has it's priorities all wrong

2007-04-25T11:38:00.000-07:00

Let me start with a disclaimer - Anyone who knows me is aware of the fact that I hate the Red Sox. But I also hate Jose Guillen, so I feel that this sort of cancels out the Red Sox anti-bias. That being said, let's review these two incidents:

1. Torii Hunter sends a couple of cases of expensive bubbly to the Royals clubhouse as a gesture of gratitude for handing the AL Central crown to the twins, and is told by MLB that his actions could result in a 3 year suspension, based on an archaic rule created to discourage the Eddie Cicotte types from throwing series.

2. 4-10-2007 - Brendan Donnelly, taking advantage of a blow-out, intentionally plunks Kenji Johjima (of all people) after a yelling contest with Guillen. Donnelly is still mad, and still has Scioscia's back, even though he isn't a Angel anymore.
AP Photo
AP Photo
Moral to this story - and pay attention MLB rookies - Display a good sense of humor by sending the worst team in the league a gag gift - 3 year suspension. Maliciously intend to harm another player with the hopes of instigating a fight by hitting someone who was playing baseball IN JAPAN at the time of the original scruff - no penalty. Makes a lot of sense to me.

I hate fighting in baseball, but as long as MLB allows this crap to happen, the problem will continue.

What I really don't understand is that Donnelly struck Guillen out. What more did he want? The only thing Johjima was guilty of was batting after Guillen. Just a punk ass move. I guess what happens when your pitching staff is being mentored by Curt Schilling.

Think these incidents are unrelated? On the surface, no - but here's where things get interesting. I would bet a paycheck that Scioscia sent Donnelly a bottle of bubbly, or a steak dinner, or something as thanks for still having his back - and it will go completely unreported and unenforced. This kind of stuff happens everyday in baseball, and Torii just got busted for being cute about it.

More Photos

2007-03-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

I just recieved these photos from our guide on the Skagit, John Farrar.

Winter Success

2007-03-25T16:39:00.000-07:00

Well, our trip was a success. Chris and I recieved some amazing casting instruction from Scott O'Donnell on the Oregon Coast, and then headed back up to Olympia to spend a little more time with Chris's family. We snuck out for an afternoon on the Cowlitz, although conditions were tough due to increased water levels. We headed North to the Skagit River, where conditions were tough, with the Sauk completely blown out and the Skagit rising fast. I managed to land this buck on our first morning, in a legendary run called "The Mixer."

Ghost Intruder

2007-03-09T22:35:00.000-08:00

Orange & Red

2007-03-06T00:03:00.000-08:00

We're getting down to cruch time, as Chris and I are heading down to Oregon in less than 2 weeks. I've still got about a dozen more left to check off my list. He's another color scheme I ripped from Tom Larimer's site.

Holiday Fly Swap Archive

2007-03-02T21:45:00.000-08:00

For those looking for the Holiday Fly Swap Patterns, they can be found in the archives to the right. A few are in December, most are in January, and a couple of stragglers are in February.

Thanks,

Matt

Black & Red Maribou Spey

2007-03-02T21:42:00.000-08:00

Flame Thrower

2007-03-01T22:33:00.000-08:00

Shank: TMC 7999 #2
Hook: Owner 5311 #1
Tail: Orange Bucktail
Flash: Red Krystal Flash
Rear Body: Red SLF
Rib: Silver Oval Tinsel
Rear Collar: Red Saddle Hackle
Mid Body: Orange, Red, & Yellow Maribou
Mid Collar: Orange & Red Ostrich
Front Body: Orange, Red & Yellow Saddle Maribou
Front Collar: Orange, Red & Yellow Schlappen
Wings: Red Grizzly Saddle
Cheeks: Jungle Cock

Red & Black Intruder

2007-03-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Here it is in Red and Black. I found a cool ostrich plume that was red with black tips.

Mishler's Prawn

2007-02-27T22:39:00.000-08:00

I found this Jeff Mishler pattern on Tom Larimer's excellent site - www.larimeroutfitters.com - and couldn't resist giving it a shot. What a great fly.

Orange & Black

2007-02-24T19:31:00.000-08:00

Pink

2007-02-22T22:09:00.000-08:00

Blue On Black

2007-02-21T21:27:00.000-08:00

Olive Intruder

2007-02-20T22:22:00.000-08:00

The lower fly is my streamlined rip-off of Ed Ward's popular Intruder, sans pheasant hackle, in an olive and black color scheme.

Silver Doctor Maribou Spey & Silver Doctor Intruder

2007-02-20T22:14:00.000-08:00

These are some of the patterns I have been tying for an upcoming Steelhead trip.

Holiday Fly Swap Completed

2007-02-20T22:12:00.000-08:00

Well, the swap is over, and everyone should have received their flies by now. I would like to thank everyone for participating, the results were great.

Purple Bunny Tube

2007-02-20T22:09:00.000-08:00

The final entry in the Holiday Fly Swap is the "Purple Bunny Tube", by Preston from Toronto. With that the swap is concluded. I really hope everyone enjoys their flies, I know I will.

Tippet Shrimp

2007-01-26T09:48:00.000-08:00

Danny in Amherst, Nova Scotia sent us Bill Hunter's "Tippet Shrimp", a great looking prawn pattern. He added "The fly fishes best in runs with the traditional down and across method where there is active current. The current really makes the fly snake along. Alternately in calmer runs and pools, cas the fly slightly upstream followed by a downstream mend. Then retrieve with slow steady strips."

Hook: TMC 700
Thread: Red
Tag: Oval Gold Tinsel
Tail: Mixed Orange and Red Bucktail with Copper KF
Rear Body: Medium Orange Chenille
Center: Two Golden Pheasant Tippet Feathers w/center cut out, laid on top and bottom
Front Rib: Oval Gold Tinsel
Front Body: Mixed Orange and Red Seal or substitute
Hackle: GP Body Feather, tied in by tip
Head: Red

Orange Heron Variant

2007-01-16T13:55:00.000-08:00

Here's Mike's fantastic take on the Syd Glasso classic.

Hook: Alec Jackson 2055
Rib: Gold Oval Tinsel
Body: Rear 2/3 Floss, Front 1/3 Ice Dub
Hackle: Blue Eared Pheasant
Collar: Mallard Flank
Wing: Arctic Fox Tail
Head: Orange

Sauk River Dee

2007-01-16T09:30:00.000-08:00

Here are some more of Brian's terrific Dee patterns

How to Win Friends & Influence People

2007-01-15T22:14:00.000-08:00

Brian from Issaquah apparently couldn't decide what pattern to submit, so he sent 16 different patterns, all of which are impressive, to say the least. Simply stunning. I picked 4 to post. And now for my toughest job, deciding who get which. I think I'll have my wife draw them out of a hat. Clockwise from upper left: Red Rocks Spey, Green Dragon Spey, Sol Duc, Unnamed Black Dee.

Park Royal

2007-01-12T20:15:00.000-08:00

The "Park Royal" from Alan in Prince Edward Island arrived today. Alan stated "The Park Royal fly was designed by Stu Simpsom of Island Rod and Flies and is named after his Church. The fly came about one night when a friend of Stu noticed that the Minister was wearing a colourful stole that Stu's friend thought would make a nice fly; he provided Stu with the colour combination and the Park Royal was the result. Stu fished the fly for the first time in Labrador and on the first cast rose a fish and on the second cast he hooked a nice salmon. It has also done well in the fall on the Margaree River."

Hook: Salmon
Tag: Flat Gold Tinsel
Tail: GP Crest
Butt: Black Ostrich Herl
Body: Purple Floss
Rib: Fine Flat Gold Tinsel
Wing: Black Squirrel
Veil: Hot Pink Hackle
Throat: Yellow Hackle

Lester The Lobster

2007-01-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

"Lester" came from Dwayne all the way from Prince Edward Island. Apparently this pattern is also know as the "Squamish Poacher."

Hook: Medway Salmon #2
Thread: Orange
Flash: Gold Krystal Flash
Feelers: Orange Polar Bear
Eyes: Black Plastic Eyes
Ribs: Gold Oval & 6lb Mono
Body: Orange Chennille
Hackle: Orange Saddle
Shell: Orange Survey Ribbon

Rusty Akroyd

2007-01-10T16:24:00.000-08:00

Mitch sends us his striking rendition of the classic Akroyd, all the way from St. John, Newfoundland.
Hook: Salmon
Tip: Small Oval Silver
Tag: Yellow Floss
Tail: GP Crest
Topping: GP Tippet
Rib: Small Oval Silver
Rear Body: 1/4 Gold/Brown Floss, Yellow Ice Dub
Rear Body Hackle: Yellow Soft Hackle
Front Body: Rusty Brown Ice Dub
Front Body Hackle: Fiery Brown Hackle
Throat: Long Ostrich or Rhea tied around shank
Collar: Teal
Wing: Amherst Pheasant Tail

BRG

2007-01-10T16:17:00.000-08:00

"BRG" arrived today from Vinnie in Gig Harbor, WA. Vinnie was the last minute entrant into the swap, and I'm glad we found room for him. This is a sharp looking pattern.

Hook: 3/0 Salmon Eyeless
Tag: 2 Turns of Red Uni Yarn
Body: Black Seal or Substitute
Ribs: Gold Embossed Tinsel, Red Uni Yarn
Body Hackle: Blue EaredPheasant
Throat: Teal
Wing: Bronze Mallard

Winter Surprise

2007-01-09T20:11:00.000-08:00

"Winter Surprise" arrived today from Mike in Albany Oregon. The colors of this elegant summer pattern really look great together.
Hook: Heavy Wire 1/0
Thread: Red
Body: Flat Silver Tinsel
Hackle: Light Purple Schlappen
Collar: Widgeon
Wing: Claret Hackle Tips

AlexO

2007-01-08T13:42:00.000-08:00

Bill in Corning, NY attached this note with his pattern,
"Not many people have seen this flat-wing fly. It was devised by one of my fishing buddies - artist and fly tier extraordinaire Dave Hall, who lives on the North Umpqua. Originally developed to fish during the October caddis hatch, the fly has proven to be very productive in all seasons. I've also caught Atlantic Salmon on it on the Gaspe and in New Brunswick in both spring and fall. The fly is named 'AlexO' after Dave's daughter, Alicia. O because this version's body is orange."

Hook: Tiemco 202SP, Gold
Body: Orange seal and poly mix
Hackle: Blue-Eared Pheasant
Flat Wing: Golden Pheasant
Flat Topping: Ring-Neck Pheasant "Church Window"

Dakota Moon

2007-01-08T13:29:00.000-08:00

Steve from Corvallis Oregon sends us the "Dakota Moon", a fly with a great name, and a great color scheme. The colors really leap out at you.

Hook: Salmon
Tail: GP Tippet dyed Cerise
Rear Body: Flat Silver Tinsel
Rib: Small Gold Wire
Front Body: Chartruese Seal Substitute
Hackle: Electric Blue Schlappen
Collar: Natural Guinea
Wing: Pheasant Rump

Ally's Shrimp

2007-01-04T20:03:00.000-08:00

From Ted in College Park, Washington comes "Ally's Shrimp", a terrific version of Alastair Gowans' classic prawn pattern.

Hook- Daiichi 2161 #1
Thread-6/0 red Uni
Tail- long Orange Bucktail over 1 strand UV Orange and 1 rainbow Krystal Flash folded twice to give 8 strands.
Rib-Silver oval
Body- In two equal parts Chinese Red Uni-Stretch and Black Floss
Beard and underwing-Grey Squirrel
Over wing- GP Tippet
Hackle- Orange Cock, Doubled or Orange Guinea 3 wraps followed by 3 wraps of Orange Duck Flank
Head-Red

Patricia

2006-12-27T11:48:00.000-08:00

From Preston, Idaho, Lane sends us a sweet little Randy Stetzer summer fly, dubbed "Patricia"

Hook: Daiichi 2162 #2
Thread: Black 3/0
Tag: Gold Mylar Tinsel
Rib: Small Oval Gold Tinsel
Tail: Claret Hackle Fibers
Body: Claret Leech Yarn
Hackle: Claret Saddle, Soft
Wing: (2) White Hackle Tips

Dawn Patrol

2006-12-26T23:02:00.000-08:00

All the way from Big Pine Key Florida, Bill sends us the second entry into the Holiday Fly Swap. " Pattern tied is a 'speyish' take off on the color scheme that I like to throw at early morning laid-up tarpon. I call it Dawn Patrol." Nice work.

Hook: Alec Jackson Spey, Gold
Tag: Fine Oval Tinsel
Butt: Black Ostrich
Tail - Natural GP Crest veiled by Orange dyed GP Crest
Body: 1/5 Bright Yellow Seal, 2/5 Flourescent Orange Seal, 2/5 Fire Orange Seal
Hackle: Bright Yellow Schlappen & Flourescent Orange Schlappen thru Fire Orange Seal, 1 side stripped
Wing: Orange dyed Silver Foxtail under GP Crest
Collar: Dyed Orange Teal Flank
Cheeks: Jungle Cock
Head: Red Thread

Highland Intruder

2006-12-20T20:33:00.000-08:00

Here's the first entry in swap, my Highland Intruder. More should be rolling in any day and I'll post them as they come in.
Shank: Mustad 34011
Trailer: Owner 5311
Connector: 80# Spider Wire
Eyes: Chrome X-Small
Thread: Black Uni 6/0
Tail: Bucktail
Feelers: Ostrich Herl
Flash: Chart KF
Rear Hackle: Black Saddle
Body: Cactus Chenille
Body Hackle: Chart Saddle
Crest: Highlander Green
Schlappen, cut into V
Collar: Green Guinea
Wings: Grizzly Hackle
Head: Black Chenille

Holiday Fly Swap

2006-12-19T21:31:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the first installment of the Spey Fly Swap. Our initial swap has 16 participants from across North America. The category is "Steelhead & Salmon". There are no limitations on patterns. New or Old, Summer or Winter, Tube or Hook, whatever you choose.

So Far, Here's who has signed up, and what they will be tying.

Matt "Highland Intruder"
Matt the Knife
Mike "Orange Heron Variation"
Spey Dragon
Mitch "Rusty Akroyd"
M.J.Adams
Steve "Dakota Moon"
sspey
Ted "Ally's Shrimp"
t_richerzhagen
Mike
swingndeep
Alan "Park Royal"
salmon guy
Lane "The Patricia"
lfn
Preston "Purple Bunny ATLF"
wrx_canoe
Bill "Dawn Patrol"
saltsprey
Dwayne "Lester the Lobster"
Salmon Chaser
John "Summer Tube"
jhicks
Vinnie
o clarki clarki
Bill "AlexO"
wrke
Danny "Tippet Shrimp"
Rip-Tide

highlander2

As each of the flies arrive, I'll post photos, recipes and notes.