I have written in the past about how much I really like my Dyna-King Kingfisher vise. It is a solid American made vise that has held thousands of hooks in its jaws. Getting ready for my San Juan trip last spring, I was tying many flies in the 20-24 inch range and although the #20 hooks were solid, the #22s were shaky and the #24s were a real trick to get tied in the standard jaws.
Midge Jaws vs. Regular Jaws
When I sat down at my tying table a couple of weeks ago, I was looking through my midge box and realized I had some serious work to do if I was going to head back to the San Juan again in the future. I had no desire to fight with the regular size jaws on those super small hooks so I talked with the great folks over at Dyna-King and ordered up their midge jaws for the Kingfisher vise. What a difference…
How to change out the Dyna-King jaws:
Unscrew the forcing cone from the vise. Make sure that the handle lever is up when loosening and tightening.Pull the standard jaws out of the viseSlide the midge jaws into the empty spotSlide the forcing cone back over the jawsTighten the forcing cone to the appropriate level of tension
The vise is simple to use and the changing of the jaws was intuitive. With the new jaws, I had no trouble with the #24 size hook and I hope I never have to tie anything smaller than that. (It kind of takes the fun out of it…) If you find yourself needing to tie those smaller sized hooks I definitely recommend checking out the midge jaws for your vise. They can be well worth the investment.
A #24 KF Emerger firmly in the Dyna-King Kingfisher midge jaws
* Disclaimer:
The reviews at Arizona Wanderings are my honest opinion. Arizona Wanderings is not sponsored by or associated with any of the stated companies and is accepting no compensation, monetary or otherwise, in exchange for this review. My independent status may change in the future but, as of the date of publication, no relationship other than described above has been pursued or established.
There is nothing quite like the start of quail season in Arizona. All through the summer months, excitement and hope has been building in anticipation of hills to climb, canyons to sneak, and birds to flush. For me, quail season brings with it the first true marker that the desert heat is on its way out and the cooler weather is shortly to follow.
Barbed wire
The morning brightened the canyon, and we located several coveys right off. It took a little while to get back in the groove, but pretty soon we started connecting on flying birds. Everyone ended up with quail in the game bag, but it was obvious that things were very slow in comparison to earlier years.
Gambel's Quail
I was fortunate enough to shoot a nice double off the flush, which is always a nice way to start the season. Even though I brought what I thought was enough water (2L), it ended up being extremely hot and a long hike back to the truck. Tough way to end the day, exhausted and dehydrated.
Cactus
If you are lucky enough to make it out this season, head on over to the Quail Hunting Forum and join in the conversation. Everyone there would love to hear how things are in your neck of the woods…or desert.
Today, the Arizona quail season officially begins again. Technically, I am at work, so tomorrow will be my first day in the field. My buddy, Austin, and I have unceremoniously hunted the same spot these past several years on the first Saturday of the season and so far this canyon is pretty kind to us. Usually by the end of the morning, we realize that we are far too out of shape, can’t hit the broad side of a barn, and October is still way too hot to be out scrambling over rocks and picking cacti out of your boots.
So while all of you hunters are out there skipping work to be the first in the field, I will tip my cap to you and plod off to work. Best of luck on the opening day. Shoot straight. Hopefully by Monday, I will have a nice little post with a beautiful Arizona sunrise and a couple of Gambel’s quail in the game bag.
Hunting Gambel's Quail: A Beginner's Guide to Hunting Gambel's Quail
Don’t forget that if this is your first Arizona Gambel’s quail season or the first time you have been out in a while, swing by the Arizona Wanderings shop and pick up your copy of the Hunting Gambel’s Quail E-book.
If you happen to get out this weekend, leave us a comment on how you did. The Arizona quail season runs from September 30,2011-February 5, 2012. Let the fun begin…
We bumped and bounced our way over the washboard road until we reached the creek and, after driving up a ways, found that we had the creek to ourselves. The water was a little low and gin clear with the aquatic vegetation growing thick.
On our way in, we saw what we figured to be the Tanner Fire...
Fishing has been getting tougher on this stretch of water due to the popularity and general accessibility of this stream. This creates some very spooky fish that are starting to turn very picky. Out of all of the Rim creeks this one has some of the most prolific hatches of insects that I have seen. Upon reaching the water, Blue Wing Olives were making a strong appearance and so after few missed fish on my mini-hopper, I tied on a #16 parachute Adams. A couple of small fish rose to the occasion and I managed to nab a nice 13 or 14 inch creek resident.
Brown Trout
I continued along upstream, as Jason hiked down to fish back up. The water truly was crystal clear and I had to lengthen my leader significantly in order to not spook fish. The going was very slow as I scanned for actively feeding fish.
Gin Clear
My efforts were not rewarded with any of the monsters who inhabit this stream, but I was able to tease a dozen or so browns to the surface. It amazes me how healthy the creek was in spite of the large amount of traffic that I know this water receives.
Creek Resident
All in all, it was a perfect way to spend a Saturday with a good friend. The time away from the water is always too long and I am chomping at the bit to get back up there…
It has been a month since I was last on the small streams and it has been too long. Saturday morning dawned cool and clear as my buddy, Jason, and I turned into the pullout. We decided he would drop my off on the lower part to let me fish up while he went up farther to fish the upper section.
Small Creek Brown
The resident browns were eager to take flies off of the surface from amidst the pocket water, and some beautifully spotted fish came to hand.
Wild Brown Trout
While fishing up the small creek, I was greeted by two other fisherman who were walking down the bank. After a little small talk, we figured out we frequent the same online fly forum. We exchanged some flies and talked for a bit and it truly was a pleasure to meet these fellow Arizona fly fishermen.
Rainbow
Out of all of the trout that came to hand were browns, but one large rainbow made an appearance. After taking a an orange mini-hopper out of the film, he flipped and jumped around the pool until finally coming to the net.
Rim Creek
All of the creeks are still cold but definitely running skinny. I spooked several deer and I was surprised to see some horns amongst them. Although that is usually how it goes when the season is over.
Arizona Brown and Sierra Net
Jason and I met up back it his vehicle around noon and headed to lunch. From there, we game-planned for the evening and settled on one of the popular rim creeks that holds a strong population of browns. With our minds made up we pointed the SUV towards the new water and spooky brown trout.
I never gave much thought to my feet while I was growing up. Wearing flip-flops and flat, non supportive shoes became a way of life until about 3 years ago. After a couple of very long days in the field, the arches of my feet were killing me. I would get the same burning and aching feeling when I would get up in the morning and take my first steps. After some time on webMD and other research I figured I had plantar fasciitis (yeah that’s a self diagnosis, but who wants to pay a co-pay) I tried everything from sleeping in a special boot to rolling a tennis ball under my foot for an hour a day. I was still miserable. Enter Superfeet insoles.
Superfeet Premium Insoles
First impressions:
Price – Having read horror stories on the internet of other people with “feet issues” shelling out gobs of money for custom made insoles, only to have them not fix their issues, I was much more ready to check out Superfeets options. When looking for services online with financially capable of settling monthly financial obligations attached to the loan. Visit www.moneyfall.co.uk for more details.
Selection – Superfeet Premium Insoles come in a couple different colors. Each color corresponds with a different fit for different activities. Their website and/or sales associates can explain the difference, but I use black (low impact) for my every day shoes and green (more aggressive) for my hiking and running shoes.
60 Day Guarantee – Superfeet guarantees their product and if the customer is not satisfied, they have the opportunity to return them within 60 days for a full refund. As they put it, “You have nothing to lose but your sore feet.”
Green Superfeet Insoles
Field Use:
At 40 dollars a pop, I started with the Green insoles in my hunting boots. What I instantly noticed was that my arches actually felt supported and after the initial break in period, my dogs did not hurt so bad at the end of a long day of hiking.
I picked up a pair of the Black insoles for my every day shoes. Being a teacher, I am on my feet most of the day and desperately need that extra support. If you do not have problems with your feet, this next statement may not make a whole lot of sense, but it was not as if Superfeet made my feet feel a hundred times better. Instead, I felt normal and my arches did not burn when I first stepped out of bed in the morning or kicked off my shoes at night.
Superfeet (Might be time to replace the Black insoles too...)
The Superfeet Premium insoles are not an extremely padded or squishy insole. On the contrary, they are noticeably stiff. The heel of the insole actually helps to lock the foot into place and reduces the amount shifting of the feet when walking. Long story short, I like these insoles.
The insoles do need to be trimmed to size in order to fit into your shoe.
Superfeet trimmed to size...
Pros:
A product that actually works
60 Day-Gaurantee
Price (much easier to swallow then the custom insole prices)
Cons:
Need to be replaced roughly every 12 months or so based on wear.
The reviews at Arizona Wanderings are my honest opinion. Arizona Wanderings is not sponsored by or associated with any of the stated companies and is accepting no compensation, monetary or otherwise, in exchange for this review. My independent status may change in the future but, as of the date of publication, no relationship other than described above has been pursued or established.
After a couple of requests, I have tied up a San Juan River Fly Collection that is on sale now in the Arizona Wanderings Shop. This collection is full of the classic San Juan patterns that are sure to get you into some fish not only on the San Juan river but on just about any tailwater in the West. The San Juan Fly Collection comes with 24 flies:
– #24 KF Zebra Midge (silver rib on black)
– #24 Zebra Midge Emerger (gold on brown with poly wing)
– #22 Red Glass Eye Midge (silver rib on Red)
– #22 Brown Thread Flash Midge
– #20 Red Hot
– #20 Bead-head Pheasant Tail Nymph
– #16 San Juan Worm (Pink)
– #16 San Juan Worm (Orange)
These San Juan flies are a great place to start when thinking about filling your box for your New Mexico fishing trip. Head on over to the shop and stock up your box today.
I had a couple of hours free on Saturday morning, and even though I did not have the alarm set, my eyes opened out of habit at 5:00 am. After filling a thermos with coffee and grabbing my 6 weight, I hopped in the truck and drove over to some of my favorite ponds. I had contacted the usual suspect to join my on my walks, but everyone was busy, sleeping, or fishing elsewhere, so I aimlessly walked from pond to pond, looking for feeding fish. It did not take long to get hooked into a spunky koi that did not like the idea of coming to the net.
Whitey
I had a green simi-seal bugger tied on and it seemed to do the trick as always. The recently stocked tilapia, who could not seem to get enough a couple of weeks ago, were much more wary, although I did fool one into taking a fly.
Tilapia
The last pond I visited is one of the bigger ones and a bit out of the way. I had never fished it before but found a very aggressive carp who actually chased down my fly, which is definitely out of the ordinary. After letting him peel off line, he let me net him for a photo before releasing him.
Carp
Fall is in the air here in Phoenix. It was 80 degrees when I left the water and I drove home with the windows down. It is nice to finally feel human again here in the desert…
