the marquesas headland by galen mercer

Posted on August 10, 2012 by ondafly

left: marquesas headland, original oil on canvas, 2012 by galen mercer. right Al Q with a marquesas tarpon circa mid nineties.

I recently purchased an original oil painting by Galen Mercer, who just happens to be one of the finest outdoor, landscape painters in the country. galen’s use of paint to portray the glistening sunlight as it tickles the clear turquoise waters of the marquesas headland is breathtaking. I can just stare at this painting for hours and imagine the tarpon rolling in the distance. the fabled marquesas keys are located approximately 30 miles off key west, florida. the marquesas was and is still, a legendary destination for record permit and tarpon. it was a place I used to dream about as a child. i remember paging through old issues of  the saltwater sportsman while growing up in brooklyn and reading about my fly fishing pioneers like lefty kreh & stu apte. the black & white images of tarpon flying through the air with the picture perfect background are etched into my mind. this picture has a deeper meaning to me than just being a beautiful oil painting. it is very dear to my heart, because it depicts the place I caught my first tarpon on the fly. a moment frozen in time and space. it reminds me of the generosity of my friend jerry, who invited a young wide-eyed kid from brooklyn to take this adventure with him. it reminds me of capt. ray fetcher who guided and poled us across this never ending holy water. i don’t know if i will be back there soon, but i smile and appreciate that experience every day i look at this painting….thank you galen!

satelite image of the marquesas keys

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beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Posted on August 7, 2012 by ondafly

A rare catch on the fly, the california opaleye will put up a scrappy little fight when hooked in and around rock piles and jetties. they do eat flies on occasion. they have strikingly beautiful blue cobalt eyes that light up in the sunlight. on a recent outing with my buddy vaughn podomore, adam and I landed our first opaleye on fly. © 2012 photo by Al Quattrocchi

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every fly will work…lol

Posted on August 6, 2012 by ondafly

© 2012 photos by adam perry lang and al quattrocchi

well august is upon us and massive crab beds are still bubbling under the sand’s surface as summer’s slow rolling waves recede back to the sea. this is good for corbina but often times no good for the angler. me and friend, adam have found large schools of healthy corbina doing what corbina do, gorging themselves. in the last four days have hooked at least 7 and put five on the beach, unfortunately all of these fish were FOUL HOOKED. why? well, i believe there is too much food for these fish to want to aggressively grab a fly. we have been putting our flies right in their  kitchen but to no avail. frustrating but still fun! all the fish we landed were all healthy fish with big fat bellies full of sand crabs. in past years i have witnessed the same behaviors. these fish get  less grabby as we head towards the end of the summer. the first two, minus low tide cycles in july have always been money for fair-hooked fish in the past, with the second not as good as the first. maybe they are on some sort of spawn cycle, who knows? for my friend adam, who has just started fishing our west coast beaches, it has been a great lesson in sighting corbina, observing their shallow water feeding and behavior. it never gets old for me when you look over your shoulder and see your friend hooked up with a big smile on their face…the tug will always be the drug! hopefully this foul cycle will change and they will start eating our bugs…

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calamari friday

Posted on August 3, 2012 by ondafly

calamari squid fly tied by Al Q. © 2012 photo by Al Q

squid are great all around versatile baits found in oceans worldwide. they are fun to tie. I have finally got some time to play around with the new articulated shanks by fishworks. i tied this squid last night using a 4/o mustad tarpon hook in the rear and then attaching it to the shank by clipping the hook onto the shank. this is a very easy system to build a long squid. the materials i used in this fly were: tan ostrich herl dotted with purple and orange markers, large doll eyes attached on each side with a gob of goop, enrico puglusi large orange brush, sf rainbow blend, lead wire, orange crystal chenille over the shank, and mono thread with tuffleye finish.

 

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sweet!

Posted on August 1, 2012 by ondafly

a first, corbina on fly for my buddy and barbeque master, Adam Perry Lang landed this morning in the south bay. © 2012 photo by Al Q

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fleye foils to be introduced at the reno fly tackle show…

Posted on July 30, 2012 by ondafly

 

new cover of fly tyer magazine with bob’s new fleye foil candies

just finished designing bob’s new two-sided business cards and fleye foil logo. I completely hand drew Bob’s signature from a loose sketch. the last signature I did similar to this was seriously, frank sinatras. lol

if any of you fine folks in fly fishing cyberland are going to the Reno fly tackle dealership show in August, please stop by the Tuffleye booth to say hi to ashley, ned and bob. bob popovics should be tying and displaying his new fleye foils. these new fleye foils will make tying candies a snap, no more fussing with individual eyes and trying to line them up. bob is always bending that curve…and making the process easier for everyone to tie nice looking flies.

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here’s one for the collection

Posted on July 26, 2012 by ondafly

2012 © photo by Al Quattrocchi

Just got my official Lefty Kreh, 2012, signed Topps Allen & Ginter card! I think this is a limited edition version, there are others available that are not signed but equally as hip and collectible. I had to get one of those too. Growing up with baseball cards as a kid, I never thought I would see my pal and mentor, Lefty on a Topps card but then, they put the Lefty’s Deceiver on a US stamp years ago, what am I thinking? Lefty has done it all. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge and has taught many US presidents how to fly fish. He is like fine wine, getting sweeter with more character as he ages. There will never be another like him.

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flying makos

Posted on July 25, 2012 by ondafly

flying mako logo design by Al Quattrocchi

My buddy Conway Bowman just had his Flying Mako Tournament out of Mission Bay, California this past weekend. Check out the footage Conway just sent me of one of the flying makos, it is
insane!

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bend backs for all seasons

Posted on July 24, 2012 by ondafly

bend back flies tied and photographed by Al Q.

one of the most simple, deadly and underrated fly patterns i keep in my arsenal is the bend back fly. this pattern was made popular by my old friend, Chico Fernandez for bonefish, jacks, redfish, baby tarpon  and snook in and near thick dense mangroves. these flies tend not to foul and hang up due to the unique way you bend the hook and tie all the materials on top of the shank. originally these flies were tied with bucktail and feathers which enabled the fly to keel and ride hook up due to the hollow characteristics of these materials. all materials are traditionally tied on top of the shank over the 1/8 to 1/4 inch slight bend. i have been using wig hair lately, which is cheap but isn’t hollow, therefore I like to under weight my bend backs with a little lead weight directly under the shank not around the shank. you can move the weight up and down the shank for desired sink rates and action, but the main purpose for this, is so the fly turns over and rides hook up. these flies can be tied sparse or full, long or short, depending on the baits you like to represent. i always have a few of these where ever I fish, but especially over rocky or weedy bottom. try one the next time you target halibut along a jetty.

 

 

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the origin of “old moe”

Posted on July 17, 2012 by ondafly

it is funny how we take for granted the adjectives we use to describe a trophy fish, or the names we give the big one that got away, like a Biggen, Walter or Mule? I was talking with my buddy Bernard the other day about hooking a “Moe” and he asked me if I saw the movie? I said, “What are you talking about?” Well, there was this old film entitled, “Raymie” (1960) which is about a boy hooking the fish of a lifetime, starring a young David Ladd. This film coincidentally is about “Old Moe”. Bernard sent me a link to the film’s summary and I was blown away, especially since it was shot right here on a pier in Southern California. I can’t wait to get a hold of a copy, maybe there is a movie night / fish tales at the Q’s in the near future? I wonder if the famous bonefish fly called the “Moe” , Mother of Epoxy” was was influenced from Raymie as well?

Click here for the film’s synopsis!

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