Monthly Archives: January 2021

Gear Review: Revolution Amadou Fly-Drying Patch

For me, there is only one little negative to dry fly fishing the hatch.  When the hatch is on you want to fool the fish, set the hook, battle him to hand, take your picture and release him so you can do it again….as quickly as possible.  The longest segments in that sequence of events before you can cast again to try to catch another one are the battle and the process of drying your fly so it will float perfectly again.  Bigger fish, barbless hooks, & lighter tippets all contribute to taking longer to land a fish before release.  These are just 3 of the things that contribute to saturating your fly making it unable to float correctly.

The Revolution Amadou Fly Drying Patch

Until I started using the Revolution Amadou Fly-Drying Patch my process was to “grease” the fly with floatant before throwing it.  Once saturated, I’d “shake” the fly with a fly drying desiccant. This only works for a handful of battles or an amount of time before the fly will no longer dry out and float no matter how much or what you put on it.  Eventually the fly is going to saturate through the thread it’s tied with down the the metal of the hook.  There is no “goo” or shake that will dry a fly like that out.  So, eventually, I would have to take the time to change the fly out.  I am pretty sure most of you reading follow that exact same process.

I cannot tell you how much money I have spent on floatants and desiccants over the years.  i litterally have 2 gallon plastic bags in my man-cave.  one for floatants; one for desiccants.  In Montaña, the guides use a floatant called Flyagra.  To me, Flyagra seems like it’s pure gasoline.  Gasoline floats and it sure smells like gasoline.  It works pretty well.  But, it can’t be good for the river or the fish.  It doesn’t work as well as the Revolution Amadou Fly-Drying Patch.  I love the Loon company.  Loon Outdoors makes great environmentally safe stuff.  And much of it is great stuff.  I soak my Huck Hoppers in Loon Fly Dip for 5 minutes in batches right after tying them and let them dry overnight before shipping them to a customer or fishing them myself.  Those big huck hoppers, made of a lot of highly buoyant foam soaked in Loon Fly dip will pretty much stay up all day.  A size 18 parachute adams will not.

Well, this article is about the Revolution Amadou Fly-Drying Patch.  It replaces the need for floatants and desiccants.  Let me be very clear.  I know the people that have developed and sell this product.  I really like these people.  These are the same people from FlyFishingRomania.com who I have had the pleasure to be guided by in the Carpathian mountains of Transylvania.  These are great people.  I’m not getting paid to “pimp” their product.  They didn’t ask me to write this article.  I love their product so much I bought my son in Bozeman a Revolution Amadou Fly-Drying Patch.  He is a guide level fly fisherman.  Like all the other product reviews I have done on this site, I just really like this product.

So, what the heck is it and how does it work?  As crazy as it sounds this thing is made out of a fungus that grows on dead birch trees deep in the old forests of Romania.  Why is works is because it’s one of, if not the most absorbent materials on God’s good earth.  You basically squish your fly between two patches and it dries your fly like it had never touched the water.  You can read all about how it’s made, it’s history (which goes back to humans using it for wound repair over 5000 years ago), how it has been used in fly fishing internationally for over 50 years, and why it works in detail on the Revolution Amadou Web Site.

So let me elaborate my test.  I think you will find the results interesting, if not surprising.

That is a size 18 midge dry imitation, tied to ~ 18” of flouro, that I put into a glass of water.  Notice how nicely it is sitting perfectly on top of the water just like it should.

Next, I pinned that fly under a fork and let it “drown” for 30 minutes to make sure it was completely saturated and sunken.

There is the fly at the bottom of the glass: completely saturated and sunken after being pinned at the bottom of the glass for 30 minutes.

Next, I squeezed the fly in the Revolution Amadou Patch for just a few seconds.  you can see the water marks left on the Revolution Amadou Patch.  I dropped the fly back into the water and to my surprise and delight it floated like new; like it had never touched water before.

Right?!  Guess what happens on the river?  That exact same thing.  I will never use floatants or desiccants again.  And guess what?  there’s more:  The patch virtually lasts forever.  These folks invented the technology that dries the patch through the back sides.  Like many of today’s creatively tied flies, this product is the perfect combination of space age synthetic materials and a material from mother nature that just cannot be duplicated artificially.

So what is the bad news?  Well, none really.  I guess you could argue it is expensive. It is expensive in terms of upfront costs.  Floatants and Desiccants are consumables; you use them up, run out, and buy more.  So even though most are under $10, it adds up.  Technically, if you treat the patch well (ie: keep it out of the rain and don’t consistently drop it in a river) the Revolution Amadou patch will last forever.   If you are in US you have to purchase it in Europe in pounds. So there are shipping costs.  Also, it depends on the exchange rate at the time of purchase, but it is more than $50.  My guess is that that will change when these good folks find a distributor in the US.  Many of the floatants and desiccants I buy are over $10.  Because I fly fish so much I historically spend close to, if not more than $100 / year on stuff like this. So for me this is a total deal.  But, if you only fish 1-2 times a year this product may not be right for you.

Now understand that there are other amadou patches out there.  All of them are lower grade or artificial.  Some of them are even made from synthetic Imation amadou.  You can find them on amazon and ebay.  Orvis, Umpqua and even Loon itself have an amadou patch.  The good folks at Revolution Amadou claim that theirs is the best because of the quality of the amadou and how difficult it is to harvest it.  That is so rare, it is a real chore to find in the ancient forests of Romania.  And I believe them.  i have fished there (yea, I’m going to pass on the obvious vampire joke for now. 🙂 ) No i’m not.  I can’t resist.  ok, it must also be quite hazardous battling the vampires while harvesting the amadou.

Since the Revolution Amadou works so well I wouldn’t even consider doing a test against other amadou patches.

Cottonwood Lakes – Land of the Giant Goldens

July 5-8, 2020

Yea, i stuck that gopro underwater thinking i could just flip that section around, but i like that upside down view of that golden so much i just kept it.  

Of all the fly fishing backpacking trips I do on an annual basis the hike in to camp at Cottonwood Lake 3 is the one that is historically the most difficult for me.  It’s only 6 miles.  It’s rated as “moderate”. There is only about 1,000 feet of elevation gain and its mostly wide easy trail that gently gains elevation.  I have done my share of 15+ mile hikes at altitude.  This one seemingly gives me trouble because it starts at 10,000 feet and that the 5th mile is a brutal switch backing set of stone steps that seems to go forever.  That 5th mile has got in my head.

My lovely bride Kelly (below) of 31+ years and her best buddy Mere (above), both with their first goldens. both on dries from Cottonwood Creek

The fishing at Cottonwood Lakes is so spectacular at certain times of the year.  And it is such a beautiful place, the pain of the hike in is totally worth it.  The Cottonwood Lakes are the land of the giant Goldens.  You thought a California Golden didn’t get bigger than 10”, right?  They don’t.  What happened here is the state of CA dumped rainbows into the Cottonwood Lakes years ago for fishing recreation purposes.  The California Goldens and the Rainbows crossbred and produced giant Goldens.  Wild, just not pure strained.  As far as i know, there are no longer any rainbows in the Cottonwood Lakes; they have all been hybridized.

I have backpacked to Cottonwood Lakes 4 times.  Every time led by my buddy Warren Lew; a seasoned veteran of the wilderness and of fly fishing.  Warren gets the permits and targets right around the fishing season opener of July 1st.  Yes, this is one of those places in the Sierras that is not open to fishing until July 1.  I have no idea why.  I was surprised that I have never written about Cottonwood Lakes on this site.  I had to search my own site to prove it.  Because it is such a special place.  A few years back I did write a magazine article on Cottonwood Lakes for California Fly Fisher Magazine.

The sun falling at Cottonwood Lake 3

On this trip Warren and I were joined by 4 females, so we were a bit out-numbered in terms of “getting a word in edge-wise”: My wife Kelly and her friend Meredith (both of who’s backpacking and fly fishing adventures with me have been chronicled on this site).  We were also joined by Warren’s girlfriend/Fiancé Lori and Lori’s step-sister Debbie.

As recommended above 10,000 feet, we acclimated at the trailhead backpacking camp the day before.  Mere, Kelly and I got up there a few hours before Warren, Lori and Debbie so we fished Cottonwood creek which is close to the trailhead.  Both Mere and Kelly caught their first pure strained California goldens in the couple hours of fishing we did.  I caught a whole bunch of little goldens.  I was trying really hard to take it easy fully knowing the hike ahead of me in the morning.  But it’s hard to go easy when the dry fly fishing is so fun.

you really don’t need to backpack this place to catch goldens.  fishing cottonwood creek which follows large stretches of the 6 miles of trail is not only beautiful, but very productive if you can be stealth with accurate casts.

You are allowed to have a campfire in the iron pits at the sites in the backpacking campground so we grilled, ate, had a campfire and hit the sack early.  Warren and Lori cooked a huge awesome breakfast that following morning so we were well fed and carb’d up for the hike in.  Our target was a large primitive site we stumbled into last year on Cottonwood #3.  We staggered the hike into two groups.  Me, kelly, Mere and Debbie were in the first group that took off.  Warren and Lori wanted to do a little cleanup and take it slowly so they went after us.  Well, we were at a great pace. My pack was a bit heavier than I wanted it to be on this trip, but it’s difficult to be light when carrying for two people involved.  The 3 gals were chatting away so I put a 100 yards of distance in front of them in the chance of seeing some animals.  But even at 100 yards I could still hear those three.  I was stressing a bit on finding warren’s spot from last year…. Or finding any site that could handle 4 tents.  But, generally feeling good after 4 miles.  The hike in is beautiful.  It includes meadows and multiple views and a few crossings of Cottonwood Creek.  Then we hit that set of switchbacks in the 5th mile with all the altitude gain.  I was pressing as hard as I could.  And I could feel…well hear the gals right on my tail.  By the time I reached the top….which seemingly lasted forever…I didn’t feel that badly.  But, I was surprised that there was no snow on the summit like there was at the very same time in previous years.

I just love this video….because i love teasing my dear friend Warren so much…

The four of us hiked the plateau with Cottonwood 1 and 2 in view to a spot where Warren reminded me prior that I needed to go off trail and bushwhack directly to the targeted primitive site on Cottonwood 3.  I totally missed it…. But lucked out find finding it with the little backtracking.  I was relieved.  I didn’t want to let my buddy Warren down and there are so few places on Cottonwood 3 you can put 4 tents.

Warren’s much better half, Lori – you know your special when your first fish caught fly fishing is a golden.

I set up the tent quickly.  I had Kelly to help.  I started to feel like hell because of the altitude and the hike.  I should have rested, but I couldn’t help it.  I knew the giant Goldens were waiting for me.  I immediately rigged up and started fishing right in front of the camp.  I got a bit worried about Warren and Lori because they hadn’t showed up at camp a couple hours after we arrived.  But, sure enough they wandered in eventually.  Warren asked me to fish to the north end of the lake but I felt so poorly (exhausted) I declined.  So not like me.  Also not like me is to go easy on the whiskey that first night; which I did.  But, I was just exhausted and felt a little bit of the hell of altitude sickness.

the author missing another set.  notice that ledge around 20 feet from the shore.  that is where the goldens hang, but they do wander into very shallow water in clear site.

Well, the next day was a great one, but I still had an altitude headache that I just could not shake.  No matter, I fished all day anyways and had the time of my life.  Debbie and I got a head start on the group.  We hiked to the North end of the lake, wadered up, and fished the inlet at Cottonwood #3.  We did well.  There were fish rising everywhere.  Kelly and Mere soon appeared as was the plan.  Warren and Lori decided to stay near camp and fish there.  So, up the mountain I went with Debbie, Mere and Kelly.  I didn’t feel so red hot and gaining a bunch more altitude to get to lakes 4 and 5 didn’t help.  But, I knew there were big Goldens up there.  We fished lake 4 and did well.  I remember catching a few nice Goldens at the inlet.  Then we went on a hunting hike through 4 and lake 5.  Kelly and Mere got a little bored with fly fishing and decided the glacier sitting 500 feet above lake 4 would be a perfect source of ice for the bourbon and the old-fashioned mixings they hiked in.  I laughed watching them climb up the shattered granite to that glacier.  I may have a dedication to fly fishing, but those two have an unparalleled dedication to a well-made old fashioned….even above 10,000 feet.

normally i would heavily criticize relaxing on the shoreline while sipping Old Fashioned’s when the fishing is so good.  But, if you are willing to hike in the bitters, bourbon, high end bar cherries and orange slices, then climb a scree of granite 500 feet to a glacier ~ 13,000 feet to harvest the ice to cool your cocktail.  then i guess you have earned it.

I continued to fish successfully as Mere and Kelly hiked back to the camp with their water bottles stuffed with glacial hard packed ice.  Warren soon joined me at lake 4.  We communicated through our Garmin InReaches which made it super convenient to find each other.  And safe.  we fished the upper lakes quite successfully.

fishing the inlets, outlets and the streams between the cottonwood lakes can be very effective

Kelly and Mere were casting pretty efficiently now so short of me releasing the goldens they caught they were pretty self-sufficient.  Debbie was a fishing machine.  Like me, she just doesn’t stop until she has to.  It was Debbie and I on the water each morning first.  In fact, I made it a habit to catch a golden right after the sun rose each morning while taking the first sips of coffee before the morning chores.

“Women with Fly Rods” – Deb, Mere and Kelly at the view overlooking Cottonwood Lake 3

It was just a great couple days of dry fly fishing.  Always with a Huck Hopper, but sometimes trailed by an emerger of what was hatching.  From the minute I started fishing when I got there, nailing my first big golden on a size 12 Huck Hopper within the first few casts to my last cast before leaving.  That is pretty much how it went.  I fished dries the entire time there.  Yea, you can argue an emerger is not a dry, but I was fishing them like dries in the film.  I never had a need to nymph.  I got consistent takes on top the entire time we were there.  We didn’t need to travel far for the fishing to be great.  I stayed right in front of the camp and it fished great until dark. It seemed like our time was so short there.  So many big goldens; so little time.  I Can’t wait until I get back there this coming July.

Debbie took this picture of me early in the morning staggering down to fish with me.  notice the dimples in the calm surface of the lake.  it’s pretty fun to cast and the rises.