» Sophie’s Hook
Image courtesy of Flickr member Sophie.
Sophie’s caption on this photo read:
“An orange stimulator I found on the floor – or actually, hooked onto my sock – the other day. We have a bad habit of sticking flies in our pockets or hooking them onto our jackets, thus their sudden reappearance in unexpected places. Friday, Nov 13.”
Ok, I’m intrigued. I have absolutely no idea what an orange stimulator is, but I think I know enough that it’s referring to the fancy fishhook sitting atop of the Rhodia pad. Going one step further, I’m going to assume that it’s used for fly fishing- a sport I know absolutely nothing about. I don’t even know what kind of fish are um… fished for when using a fly. All I know about it I probably learned from that movie with Brad Pitt when he had long hair… and truthfully, I was too busy watching Brad to learn anything about fly fishing. Oh – but wait a second… he didn’t have long hair in that movie – that was Legends of the Fall…. uh-oh I feel like I’m digging myself into a deeper and deeper hole here… so let’s get back to the topic at hand.
Googling “Orange Stimulator” I find “Designed to imitate a stonefly, hopper, or caddisfly, the Orange Stimulator has proven itself to work in a variety of dry fly fishing situations and demand a spot in every trout fishing fly box.”
Aha! It’s used for trout! But is trout the only fish that’s fished for via a fly? According to Wikipedia; “Fly fishing is a distinct and ancient angling method, most renowned as a method for catching trout and salmon, but employed today for a wide variety of species including pike, bass, panfish, grayling and carp, as well as marine species, such as redfish, snook, tarpon, bonefish and striped bass.”
I’ll tell ya, I learn more & more every day. I’m no stranger to fishing – I practically grew up in the fishing department at K-Mart with my dad, (a seasoned bass fisherman) but my own fishing experiences have been limited to putting a worm on a hook and dropping it into the canal to fish for Sunnies.
Have you ever tried fly fishing?
Comments
My dad taught me how to tie flies when I was 12 or 13, but haven’t done it now in many years. They are fun to make and create. The “Orange Simulator” reminds me of a “Royal Coachman”. The last time I went fly fishing was in Alaska. New York State has a lot of good places to fly fish, and one of these days I should get my pole and reel cleaned up and go.
I can’t say I have been fly fishing before. I usually fish with spinning tackle.
Thanks for using my picture Stephanie! what a kick to find it here!
yes – finding this orange fly in my sock, it seemed fun to pair it up with another very useful orange object :)
Karen, the Royal Coachman is also a favorite fly out here – also built for riding high on fast water like this stimulator.
I’m an avid fly fisher (my friends swear they’ve seen me fishing in ditches), but I’ve never used this particular fly. Not only is it gorgeous (especially on a Rhodia pad), but it looks just the thing to catch an elusive brown trout . . . and a brookie . . . and a rainbow . . . and . . . Well, I’m just going to have to tie it and find out! Thanks to you both, Sophie and Stephanie!
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