Review - "Filson Tin Cloth Strap Vest"

In anticipation of the upcoming quail season here in Texas, I decided it was time for me to buy a new bird hunting vest. Also, it might have had a little to do with my old one being on it's last leg. After doing a little research by looking at all the different manufacturer's out there, I decided to go with Filson. Filson has been around since 1897, and has a stellar reputation for making gear that will stand the test of time and abuse. I'll be the first to admit that their stuff is pretty pricey, but after seeing the end product I have to say you get what you pay for. I decided to go with the Tin Cloth Strap Vest, one of the vests in the middle of their game vest lineup. After receiving the vest in the mail, I took it out into the field that night to give it a quick run-through and test. The vest has too large front pockets which can hold anything from shells to a sandwich. There is a divider in the pocket which allows you to separate shells or anything else you might want to keep separate in the large pockets. There are too large pockets on the front inside which are an extension of the main back pocket. They are large and can hold all sorts of stuff. The large back pocket is just that, "Large". It's got more than enough room in it for quail, pheasant, chuckar, or any other favored game bird. It's got more than enough room for birds, rain jacket, water bottles, or whatever your needs might be. I found that to be one of the biggest positives of the vest. One of the coolest design features on the vest is the small elastic pockets on the front of the vest made to hold dog collar transmitters. It's great to be able to have the transmitter right there handy, instead of having to dig in the pocket to find it. Another pretty cool feature is that the buckle that cinches the vest tight in the middle, is made of simple tough leather, instead of metal so that it wont put scratches all of over your gun when you are hustling to get to those birds. The only negatives that I could come up with are that the vest is a shade heavy, and not very breathable. However, the latter of those is irrelevant to those who do most of their hunting in the north and do not necessarily want breathability. Overall I am excited to start getting some use out of my new vest, and I'm happy with what I have seen so far. One more thing I wanted to share about my research process, is I found a great store on the web, that makes it really easy to see all the different choices you have in one place. Uplander's Warehouse at www.Uplanders.com. Their service was first rate and I got the product fast. Good Hunting to you all.

Fly of the Week - "Taylor's Simple Stonefly Nymph"

I came up with this stonefly nymph while fishing in Yellowstone this year in late June. I was camping in the park at the Madison campgrounds after a long day on the Gibbon and Belcher rivers. A lot of the fishing I was doing involved drifting a two-fly combo of a orange stimulator and a regular stonefly nymph. As the daylight hours were fading I got snagged on the bottom of the Gibbon and ended up breaking off my last stonefly nymph. That night I was searching through my tying materials in the tent trying to come up with something to mimic the stonefly nymph with the supplies I had. This is what I came up with, and it was amazing the results I got. I didn't even miss the store bought stonefly nymphs, this random pattern was twice as effective as the real deal. Also, I cant tie a regular stonefly nymph and this pattern was so easy and effective, I never reloaded my nymph box when we finally made it to another fly shop.

Fly Recipe:

Hook: Tiemco 2487 size: 14
Head: 7/64 Gold Bead Head
Body: 8/0 Black Thread
Ribbing: Fine Gold Wire
Thorax: Black Dubbing
Legs: Black Rubber Rounds

Fly of the Week - Sparkle Dun

The Sparkle Dun is quite possibly my favorite fly. It's a fairly easy fly to tie (no hackle which is great for me), and it's extremely versatile. The pattern can be tied in a multitude of colors in order to mimic the baetis, pmd, and flavs, just to name a few. I tie them in all colors and sizes to use when I don't have a fly in the pattern of the hatch. Using sparkle duns I can cover a lot of different flies with just one pattern.

Recipe:

Hook: Tiemco 100BL
Thread: Olive
Body: Olive Superfine Dubbing
Tail: White Antron Yarn
Wing: Deer Hair

Inaugural Wolf Hunts in Idaho

Well it appears that Idaho is having their inaugural wolf hunting season this year. The Idaho Fish and Game Commission has issued 220 hunting tags for the large predator, down from the proposed amount of 430 wolves, or roughly one half of the wolf population in Idaho. The move to begin hunts in the Gem state is not without controversy. Many environmental and conservation groups are outraged by the idea of hunting the recently re-established animal, especially since it was only removed from the endangered species list within the last six months. These groups are hopeful for a court injunction to stop the hunting in its tracks.

I always find it interesting that these anti-hunting environmental conservationist groups are always so quick to get upset at hunters, the "real" conservationist. I'm afraid they don't understand that hunters are responsible for more conservation and environmental improvement that any other group out there. I know some of you reading this are going to say where are the statistics behind this, my answer is just google it. There are multitude of reports out there for anyone to see.

I believe in hunting, and I think its completely necessary to maintain environmental stability. Hunting helps to keep in check the results of overpopulation due to under-predation. By enabling hunters to cull a researched quota from the population, you are allowing the animals to stay within a healthy balance. I'll leave you with a quote by Aldo Leupold from his book A Sand County Almanac, "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends to do otherwise.

Death of a Legend

It's a sad day here at The Mediocre Fly, as I just heard the terrible news that the famed western writer Elmer Kelton passed away on August 22, 2009. Kelton one of America's most prolific and well-know writers of western literature, left a great legacy for future generations through his writings. Kelton one of my favorite writers, was one of the best storytellers I have ever been privileged enough to read. With his flair for the historic and his Texas story-lines he kept readers enthralled for years. Texas lost a legend.

Fly of the Week - "Shop-Vac"

I first came in contact with this fly while fishing on Soda Butte Creek in the northeastern part of Yellowstone National Park. A few of my buddies and I were fishing with so-so results when we witnessed an older gentleman fishing about 200 yards down river from us reeling in fish after fish. This was our first trip to the Yellowstone area, so we were kind of flying by the seat of our pants as far as patterns and fishing strategies. After about an hour of watching the disparities between our catches and his, we decided to go watch, from a distance though, cause you never want to interfere with a man's fly fishing, it's a rule. We meandered our way down stream, crouched down and started watching the fellow. After a while, the gentlemen noticed our intense study of his fishing techniques and motioned for us to come over. We slowly came down to the river bank and talked to the man for a little while, discussing things such as this being our first trip, our ignorance, the weather, hometowns, and finally his strategy. Turns out he really wasn't doing anything different from us, he was just using a different fly than we had tried. He was using what turned out to be a "Shop-Vac", since then I have found it to be a truly effective fly when looking for a pupa pattern that sinks quickly. The fly is, in Randy Moss's words, "Straight Cash Homey." Needless to say, I don't leave home without a couple of these useful flies in my box, and with the simplicity of tying the pattern, neither should you.

Recipe:

Hook: Tiemco 2487 size-16
Thread: 8/0 Black
Head: 3/32 Gold Beadhead
Body: Pheasant Tail Fibers
Ribbing: Fine Gold Wire
Wing: White Antron

Dove Season

It's September again and with its arrival, comes the beginning of cooler temperatures, but more importantly dove season. An American tradition like no other, dove hunting gives family and friends just one more reason to get together for a good time. I like to think of dove season as a warm-up for Thanksgiving.


Dove season is an early test for the hunting skills that have been forgotten over the long cold winter. Though the long cold part is not as applicable for those of us living in Texas. That first shot at a live bird always seems to be a bit of a surprise for me. Usually I miss, and I'm sure some of you can relate. The surprise comes from a combination of three simple facts. Dove are fast, I am not, and no matter what you do to practice, nothing can replicate the nervous, energy filled thrill of the hunt.

Dove season also brings back memories of past hunts with friends and family who are not with us anymore. The field can be a good place to reflect on things. I sometimes find myself drifting back to times past spent in the field with my grandfather. I expect many of you can relate to these feelings.

I'm ready to get out there and start hunting and I'm sure the rest of you are too. So I want to wish everyone a successful and safe dove season. Get out there and make some memories.