• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Beulah Fly Rods

Top end fly rods.

  • Home
  • Shop
    • Rods
    • Lines
    • Accessories
    • Discounted
    • Cart
  • Dealer Locator
  • Media
    • Saltwater
    • Freshwater
    • Videos
  • About
    • Warranty
    • Returns
  • Blog
  • Contact

Beulah Blog

Protubed Vanilla Bugger

May 6, 2014 By Eric Ishiwata Leave a Comment

Protubed vanilla bugger1

Mark Boname’s Vanilla Bugger is a killer pattern that I have never fished. Chalk it up to stubbornness or stupidity, but I’ve never found bugger-style flies to be particularly lively on the swing. Don’t get me wrong, their stiff body hackles are certified-deadly on the strip, but under the constant pressure of a dead swing, buggers end up looking pretty wooden.

Curiosity finally got the best of me and I recently set out to see if I could steal borrow the best attributes of the VB (its size and color scheme) and combine them with the best characteristics of swing-style streamers (a tear-drop profile, flowing hackles, and a weapon of a stinger hook).

I began by converting the standard bugger over to a Pro Sport Fisher Nano Tube. The benefits of tubes are well-publicized; the most significant being they allow you to use the deadliest hook in the game: www.gamakatsu.com/fishing-hooks.php?pid=1014. I then added some “swimability” by lengthening the marabou tail, oversizing the collar and body hackles, and replacing the standard cone with a Pro Tube Ultra Sonic Disc. Last, to keep the fly swinging in “the zone,” I added a tungsten Raw Weight, which I hid between the body hackle and the collar.

I test drove this “new” variant last week using my Platinum 8wt Switch with 9′ of T-11, 4′ of 6lb Maxima to the Protubed VB, and 2′ of 6lb Maxima to a Kool Herc (white/dun/red). The results were impressive. While I couldn’t say for certain that those fish wouldn’t have just as readily grabbed a standard VB, the hook advantage of the Gamakatsu Octopus was undeniable. I went 7 for 7 with the Protubed VB and never once worried about the hook being thrown or bent. Confidence.

Protubed VB:

Tube: Pro Sport Fisher Nano Tube (clear) + Medium Pro Hook Guide (clear)

Tail: Marabou blood quills (cream or tan) + 2 strands of Midge Flash (pearl)

Body: Wool yarn (cream) + Whiting Farm Bugger Pack (golden badger) + wire rib (gold)

Weight: Pro Sport Fisher Raw Weight (med)

Collar: Whiting Farms Brahma Hen (golden straw)

Head: Pro Sport Fisher Ultra Sonic Disc (med; gunmetal)

Hook: Gamakatsu Octopus #6

 

A Protubed Thin Mint worked as well…

protubed thin mint

And, bycatch on the Herc…

kool herc walleye

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: flies, Ishiwata, Platinum Switch, Rockies, trout

Musky Country is now ‘Ice Free’!

April 16, 2014 By Brad Bohen Leave a Comment

About the time ol Bubba Watson was pulling own is Green Jacket down in Augusta the River Flambeau out behind the new MCO headquarters cut loose its ice cover!  We Rejoice!!
Flowing water is a sight to behold after the longest, coldest and snowiest winter in Wisconsin recorded history!! Musky season officially begins on the last Saturday of May.  Follow along with Musky Country Outfitters head guide and Beulah Fly Rod pro Brad Bohen this season as he plies the freshwater shark infested waters of Upper Wisco..

  bbhoen post image1 bbhoen post image2 bbhoen post image3

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Eddie K. on the Ark

April 12, 2014 By Eric Ishiwata Leave a Comment

Eddie getting techy on the Arkansas.

Rod: Classic 5/6 Switch

Line: Elixir Switch 325

Leader: 9′ tapered 5x to first fly; 2′ of 6x to trailer

Flies: #16 olive Ice Dub soft hackle to a BWO emerger

eddie k

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Platinum Switch, Rockies, trout

To the Coast, and Home Again

March 26, 2014 By Mark Martin 2 Comments

So I’d been perched here on the roof of Idaho all winter, skiing and swinging up a few cold-water rainbows and biding my time for a trip south by westwards for some winter steelhead.  My work schedule, I’ll admit, had my style in a cramp for most of the winter…scarcely an original complaint, but when it opened up at the same time the clouds did on coastal Oregon, I took the hint and made a run for it.  At the far end of a long drive, I found river after river running high and colored.  Perfect.

I'd swim all the way up from the Pacific just to spawn here, too.

 
I’d swim all the way up from the Pacific just to spawn here, too.

 

Or at least, perfect in theory.  Clear skies and sunshine made the mid-day fishing feel a little shaky, but the mid-day napping was outstanding.   I hit a succession of rivers while each dropped and cleared, and after a few days, found this bright little hen on a bright afternoon.  She fought as hard as any steelhead I’ve ever hooked, and sent me back to Idaho feeling pretty satisfied.  Thanks, James, for the drift boat ride and photos, and Asa for being a ninja with the net.

 

Doesn't get much better than this.

 

 
Doesn’t get much better than this.

 

I returned home to, ironically, a dropping, clearing river with big native rainbows trickling in.   Most days I’ve found a fish or two willing to eat a swung fly, which is more than enough to maintain my interest.  They’ll be getting their freak on in a month or so, but for now the spawning gravel is empty and the runs and buckets are occupied.  This one was the gem of this week’s float trip, brought to hand by the 12’6” Platinum 6-weight in the last light of sunset.  In the coming weeks, as days get longer and water temperatures climb, I’m hoping for plenty more of the same.

When I can't get anadramous, I'll take lake-run natives any day.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Ish’s Smalls (Pro Tube version)

March 17, 2014 By Eric Ishiwata Leave a Comment

The bulk of my swing-style trout patterns are 3 to 4-inches long. Recently, I’ve had pretty good luck swinging smaller bugs, particularly when colder water makes fish less willing to chase streamers. The nice thing about these light, 1.5-inch long flies is their versatility: you can dredge them with a skagit and 12′ of T-11 or twitch them across the flats with a scandi and clear intermediate polyleader.

 Smalls (black/chart)

RECIPE

Tube: Pro Sportfisher Micro Tube (black) + Medium Pro Hook Guide (black)

Tail: 1.25″ Pine Squirrel Zonker (black)

Body: Hareline’s Pseudo Hair (black) and Ice Dub (Black Peacock) combined in dubbing loop

Wing: Arctic Fox (black)

Horns: Hareline’s Grizzly Flutter Legs (black/chartreuse)

Eyes: X-Small Brass Dumbbell (black nickel)

Head: Senyo’s Laser Dub (fl. chartreuse) in dubbing loop

Hook: Gamakatsu Octopus #8

***Other proven color combos: white with red head, olive/rootbeer, brown/rust, and brown/UV pheasant tail.

ish's smalls (white/red)

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: flies, Ishiwata, Rockies, trout

Don’t Forget About the Short Cast

March 14, 2014 By Nick Rowell Leave a Comment

Something I see people do consistently while steelhead fishing is forget to fish the short cast. A lot of the time while guiding, I see people step into a run and immediately start peeling all sorts of line off their reel before they make the first cast. Usually their first cast is at least the length of shooting head plus the sink tip or leader they are using. That means the fly is fishing at least 30 to 40 feet out from the angler on the first cast, leaving the water closer in completely un-fished! Just because your fishing a spey rod doesn’t mean you have to instantly start launching casts out into the middle of the river. I know the urge to bomb it out there is strong, but don’t forget about the water right out in front of you.

photo 1

Erik hooked into his first ever spey rod steelie on a cast of about half the skagit head he was using.

This winter I’ve seen several steelhead caught with no more than half the skagit head out of the rod tip, and 2 fish caught on the very first cast of just the sink tip! Sometimes this is the only fish of the day. If we hadn’t started short, we would have never found these fish. Which can be the difference between success and a skunking.

Alex got this cartwheeler on his sink tip length cast!

Alex got this cartwheeler on his first sink tip length cast!

When steelheading it’s important to remember that the fish can be just about anywhere. Sure, each run has it’s sweet spots or “buckets”, but steelhead (especially winter) are on the move. Obviously there are times of resting or holding, as well as times when they are more likely to be moving around than others. But, in general they are on an upstream migration until they reach they’re spawning grounds. I’ve heard a couple legendary steelhead guides say things like, “they are where you find ’em”. To me this means that where one fish decides to stop and hold isn’t necessarily where the next fish will hold in that same run. So next time you head out to the river and step into your first spot, remember to fish all the water in the run you can. This starts by not forgetting to fish the short cast, you never know where you might find your fish!

photo 3

The Reward

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Town Brown

March 12, 2014 By Eric Ishiwata Leave a Comment

Water temps are still pretty low, but the swing bite through Town is starting to heat up.

Rod: 10′ 5wt Platinum Switch

Head: 325gr Skagit Short

Tip: 5′ of T-8

Fly: Ish’s Smalls (black/chartreuse)

3.11.14 town brown

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Ishiwata, Platinum Switch, Rockies, trout

Winter in the Rockies

February 5, 2014 By Eric Ishiwata Leave a Comment

wyo

Swinging for trout in the dead of winter is an exercise in misery. The days are short, the weather is lousy, and the fish are lethargic. You’d be better off staying home.

bow

Rod: 8wt Platinum Switch

Head: 475 Tonic V2 Switch

Tip: 7’ of T-8

Fly: Idylwilde’s Grand Master Flash (tan/gold)

Photos: Aki Koyama

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Ishiwata, Platinum Switch, Rockies, trout

October in Baja

February 1, 2014 By james shaughnessy Leave a Comment



October can be an and was an outstanding month for flyfishing in Baja. Warm water and plentiful bait brought marlin, dorado , skipjack and a few tuna into the area. Large schools of Humboldt squid swam at @ 500-1000 ft and had pelagic species whipped into a frenzy. We landed dorado in the 10-30lb range, huge skipjack and Marlin @125lbs. The action kept us busy all day without ever having to go more than 10 miles from home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_OT8wcX8AQ

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The Flats Are Still Fishing Strong

August 21, 2013 By Jeff Iadonisi Leave a Comment

Cape Guides and The Beulah Fly Rods crew took a recent run out to the “Elbow”.  Sun was shining and the wind was down and we had our selves a good day.  Even got to play with some of the local hard shells.  The small stuff continues to be the fly of choice with Sandeels being the favorite.  The fish in the system are not the cows we had earlier in the season but strong numbers of little guys kept us busy.  With water temps pretty high and the End of August coming quickly the time is now to prepare for the fall madness.  When you are ready to get out on the water Contact Us and book today.

www.capeguides.com

Filed Under: Uncategorized

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to page 5
  • Go to page 6
  • Go to page 7
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Beulah’s Latest Catch

  • Columbia Fishing Adventure
  • Beulah G2 Two Hand Opal Surf Rod 5/6 review, by Bo Bennett
  • Nervous Water
  • Steelhead Magic
  • Christmas Island

Footer

Beulah’s Latest Catch

  • Columbia Fishing Adventure
  • Beulah G2 Two Hand Opal Surf Rod 5/6 review, by Bo Bennett
  • Nervous Water
  • Steelhead Magic
  • Christmas Island
  • Temptation & Weakness, Long Odds.

(800) 537-7137

  • Warranty
  • Returns
  • Event Calendar
  • Contact Us

Newsletter Signup



Copyright © 2023 · Beulah Theme by Red Key Designs On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

MENU
  • Home
  • Shop
    • Rods
    • Lines
    • Accessories
    • Discounted
    • Cart
  • Dealer Locator
  • Media
    • Saltwater
    • Freshwater
    • Videos
  • About
    • Warranty
    • Returns
  • Blog
  • Contact