Still a few days to be ready...

We are only a few days away from the opening of the fishing so it is still time to prepare for the trout fishing season. As always I approach the preparations with calm and without haste because I know that whatever happens I will be ready. 

It has been raining a lot these last few days and there is a chance that it will continue, so it is at the last minute that streams and rivers that did not have a flood during autumn or winter will see their water levels rise. It is therefore useless to rush, since the opening will undoubtedly be symbolic and the fishing in itself reduced to the congruent portion.

I do not devote the winter to tying hundreds of flies like some people do first because I usually take only a very limited number with me when I go fishing and also because this will of compulsive accumulation does not seem to be a good idea. I prefer to tie only few flies, use them then if necessary to tie a series again. In any case, the only box I carry with me to the fishing can contain little more than two dozen.

So I started this morning by tying the large sakasa kebari for which I used cock and ringneck pheasant feathers. I had not used feathers from farm roosters instead of "fishing" roosters fir very long time, but a blog reader offered to provide me on condition of sharing the tied flies with him and it was a pleasure to accept.
Feathers from farm cocks have longer fibers and really softer fibers than those of the genetically selected roosters but since I intended to use them to tie sakasa kebari this is no problem, quite the opposite in fact.
I use the Oni hooks that were designed by Masami Sakakibara and manufactured by a famous Japanese firm, it starts with a "G", which is the world leader in the market. They are excellent quality and the four different sizes, from 8 to 14, cover my needs.

I will also of course use feathers from ringneck pheasant wings.
The dubbing used this year will be only three: zenmai, squirrel tinted in black and washed squirrel. Natural materials, inexpensive or even free, and which make solid kebari.

I will not use these kebari at the season opening.They are not suitable, because of their large size, to fishing in small streams. If I started with these patterns it is only because that they are the fastest to tie fast.
The sakasa kebari, especially if tied on large hooks, are mainly interesting flies for fishing downstream because it is the current that gives life to their soft hackle.  Function determines shape.