top left: photo by Al Q, top right: photo courtesy of joe blades. bottom right: one of the original crease flies given to me by Capt. Joe.
original artwork by Joe Blados
a schoolie on the fly with Nick Curcione.
I was very fortunate to meet and fish with Capt. Joe Blados in Montauk, back in the mid nineties when Paul Dixon had invited all the saltwater fly fishing gurus and writers on the east coast to experience the newly discovered flats fishing off the north shore of Montauk during mid June. My buddy at the time, Nick Curcione introduced me to Joe, they were very close friends. Joe had just completed some really cool illustrations for one of Nick’s books that I got to see before it was published. Joe was a very creative dude. Me, Nick and Joe were fishing one afternoon and Joe handed me this crazy looking fly he called a crease fly. I had never seen anything quite like it. It looked like a cut piece of bait. When I casted and stripped the fly, I was blown away how it moved through the surface leaving a nice bubble trail. It was pretty innovative the way Joe folded the craft foam to make a popper/slider. He tied them on long shank hooks and they were around five inches long. A great imitation of a fleeing bait fish when the bass and bluefish would be blitzing and boiling baits on the surface. If you ever find yourself on the east coast and would like to fish with the originator of the crease fly, give Joe a call, he is a very good guide. You will have a great time fly fishing with him. Click Maverick Fly!
flies, sand & surf 
Who is holding the Striper? You?
You made me laugh over your line: my buddy at the time. Not funny, really. It must suck. I think I told you this before: I lost a fishing buddy in L.A, who never explained why he stopped answering messages and emails. We fished together for years. I was never given the opportunity to apologize if I had somehow offended him. I don’t have time to waste being a mind reader. It’s sad. I hope the best for him–he has to live with it, not me.
Although it was only one day for me, I have very fond memories of Albies off Montauk in the fall. I always enjoy your shots from the area. You take me there in my day dreams.
I went to Joe’s website. I like the photo of the crease fly with an extra layer of foam on the head, where he painted the edges red…it really looks like gills.
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2013 21:59:15 +0000 To: timmtews@msn.com
Timm,
Nick is one of the funniest guys I have ever shared a skiff or beach with. I wish him nothing but the best, we had many great times together and I learned a lot from him. We were like family. I saw him recently in Las Vegas in the Temple Fork booth.