Hog Island Boatworks

Hog Island Boatworks is a company out of Steamboat Springs Colorado.  They are making some bad ass drift boats and skiffs.  It is my personal boat for all my toothy missions and is becoming a favorite across Musky Nation.  I have the skiff model which rows just like a drift boat or you can put a motor on it and run it on the lake if you want.  These boats are tough as nails because they are rotomolded like a whitewater kayak.  These things float high too eveybody that gets on the Toothy Temptress (the name Jess gave the boat) is amazed by how little water it takes to float the boat.  John St. John is the owner and runs a top notch outfit.  Check them out at  hogislandboatworks.com

Hog Island SW16 Skiff

 Me on the oars

Brad Bohen and Penny of Musky Country Outfitters 

A cold day on the Allegheny

Predator Flyfishing Demo

For all you guys that REALLY want to piss that special lady in your life off on Valentines weekend, come see Corey and I do a musky demo at the Sporting Gentleman in Media, PA outside of Philly.  Or do what I do and bring her along too.

Addiction

My name is Todd Deluccia and I am an addict

Have you ever watched the show Hoarders?  Sometimes fly tyers could be classified as this.  If someone who does not tie flies would walk into my house they would think this guy is a closet serial killer.  Dead animal body parts in the freezer, bags of feathers, random animal parts throughout the rooms, and enough scissors and knives to scare Dexter Morgan.  They would also find enough flash to think a stripper lived here.

Box of deer tails and whole golden pheasant

When it comes to material for a predator fly fisherman, you can never have enough.  Good feathers and bucktail are about as addicting as what I can only assume crack cocaine is like to Tyrone Biggums. When I see a good saddle in a fly shop I get a little twitchy.  Someone said to me this week if you can count how many bucktails you have, you don't have enough.  I laughed and thought to myself this is so true.  I know many others who are just as bad as me or worst.

Predator Fishing in PA

I get asked a lot about where I do all my predator fishing in PA.  I'm always glad to help a fellow fisherman but musky fisherman sometimes can be as tight lipped as a native brook trout fisherman.  I fish the Allegheny a lot both above and below Kinzua Dam but thats big piece of water and lots of room to share, and everybody knows that waters like the Juniata River, French Creek, West Branch of Susquehanna, North Branch of Susquehanna, and the Monongahela offer great musky fishing.  But there are some waters I like to keep to myself.  The Fish and Boat commission has a list of most waters in the state both lakes and flowing water that have musky, pike, and chain pickerel.  With a little research you can do some exploring of your own.  Be careful though, you could end up a junkie like myself.

MUSKY
http://fishandboat.com/pafish/musky/00musky_waters_ranked.htm

PIKE
http://fishandboat.com/pafish/pike/00pike_waters_present.htm

PICKEREL
http://fishandboat.com/pafish/pickerel/00pickerel_waters_present.htm

Allegheny Sunrise

Blood, Piss, and Deer Buttholes

The hardest part of the flytying game is coming up with good materials.  The last couple years we had to compete with the hair industry over hackle.  That has since slowed down and schlappen and saddles are becoming available again.  The other challenge is finding good bucktail.  Once in a while you can find good long haired tails in the fly shops but the best way to get good bucktail is to get your own.

This is the type of stuff to look for

I am fortunate to live in a state with such a rich hunting heritage.  Between what I shoot myself, what my friends shoot, and what I collect from various sources, I have a steady supply of high quality bucktail.  It does not come easily though.  The real fun part is processing the tails (insert sarcasm).

First they need washed.  I usually hand wash them in a sink first to get most of the really gross stuff off.  Then I put them in a washing machine.  I don't suggest you do this at your own house or your significant other is going to hurt you.  I am lucky that one of my good friends is a taxidermist so I use his washing machine.  Thats what he uses it for afterall.

The Witch's Brew

Next the tails are skinned and then split up the middle on the white side like you buy in the shops.  After this I remove any extra fat that may accumulate at the base of the tail.  This can get pretty nasty even after washing initially because they are usually still bloody and was once covered in deer piss, shit, and most still have the assholes attached to them. After all of that they get washed a 2nd time and then get to go for one more swim in denatured alcohol. I just throw 30 or so tails in a 5 gallon bucket with 2 gallons of alcohol.  You are going to want to keep a lid on so your alcohol does not evaporate.  You can reuse the alcohol several times.  The denatured alcohol cures the tails and the best part is the tails don't smell like fermented shark shit like they do when they are tanned for the shops. I let them soak for at least 48 hrs but usually just leave them in the stew till I'm ready to dye.

Split tail

Dying the tails is a whole other process on its own and I will go into that another time but the end product is worth the hastle. By the way if you're looking for a good reproduction of that trophy musky or pike you released the taxidermist I mentioned is one of the best in the country.  Dave Mcbride of Mcbride Taxidermy in Clearfield, PA.  Get a hold of him 814-765-3649

Finished Product