Lakeside Flies

CLOSED FOR VACATION  imageCLOSED FOR VACATION  image
We will be closed for production & shipping until Tuesday May 30th. Taking a much needed vacation .
My apologies to anyone waiting . I promise they will be worth the wait.

Welcome to Lakeside Flies!

All orders recieve a Free Fly & A Free Shop decal!

Orders over $50.oo ship free

Specializing in Tandem Trolling Streamers.

Here you will find a variety of beautiful flies for all waters. Most patterns are original designs crafted with a wealth of knowledge & and artistic talent. My original designs reflect my passion for fishing and the allure of enticing fish with a beautiful tied creation. Growing up here in the beautiful state of Maine and fishing its beautiful waters is truly magnificent. My flies are crafted for Maine waters and beyond......

 I am dedicated to keeping the sport of fishing  alive with my beautiful flies for years to come.

For more info on Maine and its beautiful waters, fishing and more click here:

 https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/fisheries/species-information/index.html


♡♡ I Love to tie, it is a true art and passion.♡♡
Let me introduce myself, I'm Kat. I am the sole fly tier here at Lakeside Flies. All of lakeside flies are tied to order as received. Each order is tied for you personally and special requests can be made. 

I must say sometimes my creations takes a bit of time and orders can come in fast and furious causing delays at times. But I will always try and get your orders to you in a timely fashion and hopefully they are worth the wait! I truly love each creation I tie and want you, more than anything to love them and catch fish with them! My flies are like my babies sending off to a new home when I am done.

"Making Fishermen/Women happy one fly at a time"

So to all of you ~ I thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me grow and keep our fishing heritage alive for generations to come.

I want my flies in those fly boxes years from now, like the ones I cherish from past tiers and my Dad has passed down from his fly boxes.❤

Just some notes:

Before Spring fishing season opens we highly recommend to get your orders in by March 1st!

Before the April frenzy! The same rings true during the holidays, order early to avoid shipping delays. 

*****Update as of 4/25/ 2023~~Orders are piled up for the Spring Frenzy and are  currently shipping in about  4-6 weeks.

 Thank You for your patience & understanding.*****

🎣

So try a few of my flies ..

trust me, they aim to catch your eyes but really catch some fish! 🎣

Shop hours of operation for customer service are Monday thru Friday 8am-5pm. 

Not open to foot traffic. Curbside pickup is available along with shipping.






Newsletter  image
I loved this article so much a friend shared with me , I wanted to share with you all that love trolling with flies.
He has taken the words out of my mouth . His favorite flies, places he's fished and his style. The only way I troll. Rod in hand, waiting for a strike .
This article is shared out of the
Piscataquis Observer Bangor Publishing Company Dover-Foxcroft, ME

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



I’ve been trolling for salmon for over-65 years. Here’s what I’ve learned.
Contributed • May 10, 2022
By Leighton Wass



Yes, I am a fly fisherman, but hold your horses folks, because I also troll and even (gasp) use bait at times to seduce fish. I grew up in the 1950s learning to troll streamers for landlocked salmon with my father, Henry “Shorty” Wass, an icon (some of you elder statesmen might recall) on semi-professional basketball teams such as the Bar Harbor Black Cats and the Bangor Five Aces.
He also knew his fishing. We trolled for spring salmon in places such as Tunk Lake, East Grand Lake, Long Pond and Wilson Pond in Greenville.
This type of fishing was high on my whippersnapper enjoyment list (girls were first) — as long as we had action! Those reach-for-the-moon jumps, line-sizzling runs, jolting strikes and the beautiful greenish-silver hue, dotted with black spots, were all a big part of the salmon fishing charm.
My father’s favorite salmon streamers for trolling cold spring waters were the Grey Ghost, Liggett Special, Nine-Three, Red & White Bucktail, Mickey Finn and Pink Lady (actually more orange than pink) — all tandem flies. We always fished two streamers on each rod, giving us a better chance to “test the waters” with a variety of flies.

Photo:Courtesy of Leighton Wass BACK IN THE DAY – Bangor Daily News Outdoors contributor Leighton Wass is shown as a youngster with a five-pound landlocked salmon he caught using a streamer fly in Long Pond on Mount Desert Island.

I find myself returning to some of those very same patterns 65 years later, especially the Grey Ghost and Pink Lady. I don’t think an angler can do much better than the Grey Ghost for salmon, but not all Grey Ghosts are the same. Depending on the fly tier, they can range a great deal in color and modifications. I prefer those with the darker, slate gray hackles. I have also added streamers such as Jerry’s Smelt, Magog Smelt and several home-tied flies to my present-day salmon arsenal.
In the 1950s, we used trolling rods with small multiplying reels that were filled with black fishing lines made of Dacron, I believe. There were some fairly large swivels tied in at the end of the black line and the swivels were attached to a rather stout leader.
We trolled at a good pace with an extra rod stuck out over the stern with its fly in the boat’s slipstream and worked all the streamers by continuously yanking the rods. We trolled primarily off sand bars, stream tributaries and drop-offs close to shore, wherever there were smelts.
We landed our fair share of landlocks, and many of those fish ended up baked in my mother’s oven, after which a drenching of melted butter prepared them superbly for being wolfed down.

One tactic my father liked to use when things started to slow down was to hook a small smelt on the upper hook of a streamer. Oftentimes, a change like that would make all the difference, and in some lakes, it produced some nice squaretails as well.
One other trick he swore by (and sometimes at) was to dip the net in the water three times after the lines were all out. I believe he said that he had picked that up from fishing with a guide Down East.
Some anglers wear lucky hats to improve their fishing, and a few are worried about a bad day if there is a banana on board. I guess you can choose your own path to success, but you probably should know … this codger still dips his net on occasion.
More recently, the salmon in Moosehead Lake, the Moose River, Aziscohos Lake and Rangeley Lake have all been witness to my trolled streamers, as have several Vermont water bodies, Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog. Do I ever still love that jarring strike when a salmon hits, but folks, you have to be holding the rod to feel that adrenaline-producing lightning strike! Downriggers won’t do it. Rod holders won’t do it. Nor will the expensive gadgets that automatically do the yanking for you.
Today when trolling for springtime salmon, I prefer fly rods spooled with sinking fly lines. I still yank my fly rod to give the streamers a darting action (the strike almost always comes on the rod’s return stroke) and I continue to use that extra rod in the prop wash. I get as many strikes, and sometimes more, than the one over the side that’s long-lining. This gambit proved very successful for salmon and squaretails on Moosehead Lake last spring.
Another difference from my younger years of salmon trolling is the direction I troll. It’s never in a straight line anymore, but instead in a zigzagging pattern. That produces a change in speed of the flies from time to time, as well as sinking the flies a little or raising them on the turns to give them more of a bait-fish action.
That technique was further impressed upon me when fishing the Moose River in May several years ago. Several of the “old pros” were constantly angling back and forth across the river instead of fishing straight up the river or down, and they were by far the most successful trollers.
After chatting with one of these friendly gentlemen (thank you, Warren Hall), I also learned that when trolling a river during a smelt run, most fish will strike a fly during the downstream zig-zagging run, instead of the upstream route. Matter of fact, one savvy old-timer only fished downstream and then would zoom back upstream without trolling, turn around and start all over again.

I’ve said it before and will say again,old-timers can be a huge wellspring of information

Kat

Owner, Fly tying Artist

The simple about me low down ... I was brought up 1st born girl with 3 sisters and 2 brothers. I was a Daddys girl right from the start. Wherever he went I wanted to go . Whatever he was doing I wanted to learn about. He taught me so much and instilled in me a great passion for the outdoors. He was also passionate about family, honor, integrity, hard work & self worth. All traits I hope to carry through life & pass on to my 4 Sons. Some of my fondest memories with Dad were family camping & fishing trips in the wilderness of Maine & NH. and spending time at our family camps. My Dad loved to fish and I loved to tag along❤️. So the fly tying love I have ...how did it even start ?? I went from a hairdresser to fly tying ....🎣 I think it goes way back ...My Dad was a hunter & a well know butcher and had his own shop . I loved helping my Dad in his butcher shop from a young age . Something most girls would shy away from, but I got to hang out with him . Every so often he would bring the bucktails and hides to local tiers and I would tag along. I was young & fascinated by the the flies created from the goods he brought in . Spinning fly carousels in the shops and listening to my Dad talk fishin stories with the owners. Many, many years went by .... and one day my Dad was showing me some mangled old flies in his box that were his " favorites" he remarked. He asked if I remembered them from way back getting them from a tier. He said he couldn't find the patterns anymore and wished he could. So it began........... I got a vise and materials from a friend that just so happened to be getting out of tying . And I started to tie, self taught with a basic book. Some scraggly attempts at 1st ! Yet my Dad always told me they were beautiful when I'd show him. The patterns I attempted to replicate for him were made with love .❤ He always told me I had talent and an artistic eye and to stick with it . He always believed in me..... After he passed I created more and more . Filling the void of missing him , I took to my vise for comfort...and still do. He was such a great Sportsman, fisherman and most of all an amazing Dad.....he is truly missed with all my heart..... he gave me what I needed to raise 4 amazing Sons of my own .... I see him in each of them in their own ways ❤ Not only filling a void with my tying, but with all the fisherman & women I have met & I speak too. Listening to their fishing stories and thanking me for my beautiful flies I create....fills my ❤️ & soul. Im truly loving what I do. Call it a passion, a journey, a legacy and I'm just going to keep on tying .......... I want to leave behind something for generations ahead to enjoy ....

Gronk

Devoted Companion/ Co-Captain

Basically wherever I am he is! ❤🥰❤ He is my sweet boy! Totally adored! Extremely smart ! Our shop mascot, he never misses a fishing trip with us ! He always makes sure to "kiss & release" the fish. He gets very mad if we don't

Lance

Business Financial Manager

Lance is my Fiance. He handles all the marketing,ordering, shipping & receiving, finances and ME! I'm a hard boss at times lol We have committed together to start this business and left our other careers behind. We love what we are doing and will never look back. It's been an all in venture and the business is continually growing. Lance is also the boat Captain, product tester, fishing trip planner and chef for any "keepers" .

  • 110 Cottage Road, Windham, Maine, United States