The shad flies looked vibrant but my “FrankenStone” will be one of many beneficiaries. Blame SMJ’s coffee for clouded judgement, but shaggy and stitched works with both fur and Fritz.

Increase the amount of black vernille to hide or show the fritz underbody as your whim suits you. Brandon insisted on some fritz-based “fly porn” – and I banged out a mixture of trout and shad flies to restock empty slots.

The above closeup shows Fritz detail; the nylon fibers took the orange dye – and the opalescent polyester is unaffected by the color and remain transparent.

This is the 16mm large size wrapped as a body and hackle – a big bright meaty SOB that might pull some hoary ancient trout out of the depths and into your lap.

I’m fiddling with Targus hooks, the 3908T model (XS, duratin finish) that replaces the vanished Mustad 3908C. Chrome hooks are in awful short supply, and while I have plenty of old Mustad’s – they won’t last more than 5-6 seasons at the rate I’m gifting them.

Targus hooks appear to be a great substitute – but those silly 25 packs cause me to grate teeth together. I’ve mentioned it before; fly shops used to stock 10-20 boxes of 100, now it seems they stock 10-20 packs of 25. I mention needing 500 and the fellow looks at me and blinks…

More Shad action tomorrow, and a Thursday departure for the woods so I can shake off all those invasive species in the Trout Underground’s backyard.