While Sarges Crappie Fly may be my go to fly while crappie fishing, when the fish are shallower or perhaps a bit more wary, my next choice is always the Crappie Candy. In fact, a few years ago I even used it in a local tournament where we were only able to use one fly the entire time and I won. I believe the original pattern is by Al Campbell. Typically I tie this pattern in some combination of white and chartreuse, however, I have found an all black body and tail with red crystal flash and red buck tail work very well in dingy water. All bodies of water are different, experiment with a few different colors and see what works in your lakes and ponds. It is an easy pattern to tie and I am sure it will help you catch many crappie, panfish, and even smaller bass. If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I hope you enjoy this pattern as much as I do. 

On days I cannot fish or be outdoors, an outdoor video short is generally a good way to put a smile on my face. As such I am going to begin posting a few videos from time to time that I really enjoy and think you guys will as well. I hope some make you reflect, some inspire, and others laugh. To begin, here is one of my favorites entitled, "Where the Wild Fish Are" from Bobby Foster on Vimeo. Enjoy.

In a monumental win for conservationists and the environment, Wednesday, President Obama declared Bristol Bay off limits to oil and gas drilling indefinitely. Roughly the size of Florida, Bristol Bay is home to one of the worlds largest wild salmon runs, a multitude of endangered species, and 40% of the seafood supplied to the United States. The fly fishing community has long been one of the foremost champions of the area and advocating wholeheartedly for its protection. This is a huge first step, but we are only halfway there. While the new policy will do much to protect the area it has no effect on the proposed Pebble Mine. The proposed mine undoubtedly would yield vast troves of copper, gold, and other rare metals worth an estimated value of $300 billion, notably to corporations which aren't even from the United States or Alaska, but at what cost to the environment? Trout Unlimited and even several EPA reports warn of heavy metal contamination, seismic unrest, and heavy acidification and sedimentation of waterways. This area is truly a national treasure and already is an economic powerhouse, generating an environmentally sustainable $2.5 billon for the economy, what kind of country endangers that? Bristol Bay deserves protecting and while I applaud the President for his actions we are only halfway there.

Let me begin by saying, what an awesome book. 50 Best Tailwaters to Fly Fish by Terry and Wendy Gunn is an incredible resource to those who travel, are looking for destination ideas, or are just wanting to pick up additional information on your favorite fishing spots. Many a night has found me flipping through the pages of this book dreaming of the next trip that may await me. In actuality, the book covers 56 locations, I agree that "50 Best" has a better ring to it than "56 Best", but I am not complaining in getting 6 more. Of those, as of the date of this writing I have been fortunate enough to visit five: Lees Ferry, The Frying Pan, Norfork, White, and Taneycomo; and I can attest to the information given and even for those places I have now fished several times I still learned a lot. Further, had I owned this book in my arsenal prior to arriving I think it would have helped me tighten my line much faster. Each chapter consults a guide in the area for their expertise and includes a map of the area highlighting points of interest, hatches that occur annually, when to expect them, what tackle to bring, and area guides and fly shops. This has become one of my favorite fly fishing books and serves as a great compliment to another great destination book: So Many Fish, So Little Time. This book deserves a place on the bookshelf of every serious angler and will pay itself back several times over in the wealth of information given to you. The only thing I can't promise it will help with is the travel expenses that will result from you purchasing it. Your destination bucket list will easily double, I promise.