Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica
The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.
Featured on the forum
This wild-looking little thing completely puzzled me. At first I was thinking beetle or month larva, until I got a look at the pictures on the computer screen. I made a couple of incorrect guesses before entomologist Greg Courtney pointed me in the right direction with Psychodidae. He suggested a possible genus of Thornburghiella, but could not rule out some other members of the tribe Pericomini.
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Oldredbarn has attached these 8 pictures. The message is below.
Oldredbarn on Oct 3, 2013October 3rd, 2013, 9:33 am EDT
Mark had a wonderful site called, "Flymphs, Soft-Hackles & Spiders". Unfortunately, as his illness progressed he could no longer afford to keep the site going. Before it disappeared I made copies of each fly. They are in page protectors and I keep them in a loose leaf binder. I did this to create the "Libertone Box" which I carry with me filled with these flies.
Mark had degrees in art from Syracuse University and had an artists eye. He had a unique way of making pictures of these flies. He somehow did it in a copy machine.
These photos are degraded since they are a couple steps away from the originals. I am starting with these eight to see how it goes. If they look ok and there is interest I'll get the other 35 flies up and maybe Jason or Kurt could place them in one place under Mark's name.
Mark had degrees in art from Syracuse University and had an artists eye. He had a unique way of making pictures of these flies. He somehow did it in a copy machine.
These photos are degraded since they are a couple steps away from the originals. I am starting with these eight to see how it goes. If they look ok and there is interest I'll get the other 35 flies up and maybe Jason or Kurt could place them in one place under Mark's name.
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Entoman on Oct 3, 2013October 3rd, 2013, 10:30 am EDT
Thanks, Spence. Consolidating his contributions into a single location was the intent of the "Best of Mark Libertone" thread. The problem is new photos like this require their own topic (at least to get them loaded). Perhaps I can imbed them and your post in the other thread? I'll try.
"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman
Oldredbarn on Oct 3, 2013October 3rd, 2013, 10:35 am EDT
Just give me a moment Kurt...Do you think loading the others would be something folks would use? I'll get them up if you think it will work and then you can place them somewhere where folks can find them to tie.
Thanks!
Spence
Is the quality up to snuff? Too bad we can't get the originals.
Thanks!
Spence
Is the quality up to snuff? Too bad we can't get the originals.
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Entoman on Oct 3, 2013October 3rd, 2013, 11:05 am EDT
Sure! It wasn't until after I created the topic that I found out we lost all his wonderful posts. I thought we still had all his photos.:( The only concern I have is copyright issues. Posting a few like you have is no big deal but if you have a lot, I'd run it by his family first.
As far as their quality - while obviously not as good as his original posts, they're still pretty good. A hell of a lot better than nothing, which is what we have now.
The only other problem (that perhaps Jason could address) is that submitting them this way sticks them in the photography board. They really should be in fly ting. Moving them there will de-link the photos from the post, though.
As far as their quality - while obviously not as good as his original posts, they're still pretty good. A hell of a lot better than nothing, which is what we have now.
The only other problem (that perhaps Jason could address) is that submitting them this way sticks them in the photography board. They really should be in fly ting. Moving them there will de-link the photos from the post, though.
"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman
Troutnut on Oct 3, 2013October 3rd, 2013, 11:20 am EDT
Let's just keep them here, and make a prominent link from the "Best of..." thread.
I wish he'd asked me for help when he couldn't afford to keep his website running with the medical bills... I would happily have hosted it for free. I didn't even realize it was down.
I wish he'd asked me for help when he couldn't afford to keep his website running with the medical bills... I would happily have hosted it for free. I didn't even realize it was down.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
Entoman on Oct 3, 2013October 3rd, 2013, 11:40 am EDT
Good idea, Jason. Will do.
"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman
Oldredbarn on Oct 3, 2013October 3rd, 2013, 5:14 pm EDT
Folks shouldn't forget the Hans Weilenmann site. He still has a section of Mark's flies and a vid where he mentions Mark.
Eric sent me a note that maybe, after some reasonable lapse of time, we could contact Mark's family and run it by them. He put a lot of work into that site.
Kurt...I didn't consider copy write issues...
Spence
Eric sent me a note that maybe, after some reasonable lapse of time, we could contact Mark's family and run it by them. He put a lot of work into that site.
Kurt...I didn't consider copy write issues...
Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Entoman on Oct 4, 2013October 4th, 2013, 1:55 am EDT
Not a big deal, Spence. I'm sure Mark would be thrilled and the famiy will probably be happy you are doing this. Perhaps they'll even let you access the original files? It is worth the ask, I think. It would be a shame to lose all that.
"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman
Mlibertone on Oct 4, 2013October 4th, 2013, 1:29 pm EDT
Hi guys, I am Mark's daughter Michelle. Dad actually lived with me. I think it's wonderful that you are all trying to keep his stuff alive! He would truly appreciate it. I think my family and I would too. I'm not really sure what you need or how we could go about helping. Please let me know and maybe my brother could help too.
Oldredbarn on Oct 4, 2013October 4th, 2013, 2:14 pm EDT
Michelle...Where I got the above was from a web site your dad had up that was a wonderful site. I don't know if you or your brother know where that may have been but there used to actually be a link he had here on his profile on this site.
I can continue with the 30 some flies I have in the format I have them, but if you read above your dad had a process where he copied the flies and then posted them...It is rather difficult to get color etc correct when taking pictures of flies and your dad's process was perfect.
I'm not the techno guy here on this site, but Jason and Kurt would love to post your fathers stuff here with a link to it. He was a very big part of our wacky community here.
I visited with Jim Slattery in Montana and passed on to him and Ron my last conversation with your dad. We all were thinking about him and wondering just how he was doing.
I'll leave it at that. It is great that you now have a connection with us and can look back at all the great posts from your Pops. He was our resident expert on these old traditional flies he was so fond of...Welcome!
Spence
I can continue with the 30 some flies I have in the format I have them, but if you read above your dad had a process where he copied the flies and then posted them...It is rather difficult to get color etc correct when taking pictures of flies and your dad's process was perfect.
I'm not the techno guy here on this site, but Jason and Kurt would love to post your fathers stuff here with a link to it. He was a very big part of our wacky community here.
I visited with Jim Slattery in Montana and passed on to him and Ron my last conversation with your dad. We all were thinking about him and wondering just how he was doing.
I'll leave it at that. It is great that you now have a connection with us and can look back at all the great posts from your Pops. He was our resident expert on these old traditional flies he was so fond of...Welcome!
Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Troutnut on Oct 4, 2013October 4th, 2013, 2:19 pm EDT
Hi Michelle,
We're all sorry for your loss. Your dad was a cherished member of our community here.
If you or your brother are interested in bringing his website back online permanently, I could help with the technical side of things, and host it for free on this site indefinitely.
It looks like the troutnut.com/libstudio domain name has lapsed (and would cost some money to annually renew), so it would probably be difficult to bring the pages back at their original address. However, I could put them online at addresses like http://www.troutnut.com/libstudio/original-filename-here.html. I would keep the pages as they were, except for a brief explanation of why they're hosted on this domain name (and probably a link to these forum threads).
To do this, I would need the actual files from his website (both the images and the webpages). There are two potential ways to get them, and I don't know which one (if any) will work, because it depends on the technology he used.
Method 1: The files might all be on his computer. By looking at links to his site that he posted on here, I can give you some keywords to search for (unique names of some of his site pages): tup_s_indispensible.html, li_l_dorothy.html, sulfur_soft-hackle.htm, StomFlu.jpg, TupsWoolinLight.jpg. If the site files are all on his computer, running a search for any one of those should find the whole thing.
Method 2: The files might still be on his former hosting company's servers, even if his hosting account expired. If you have access to his email, you might be able to search it (possible search keywords: hosting, libstudio, troutnut.com/libstudio) and find out (a) who his hosting company was, and (b) his login/password with them. If you could share those with me, I could log in, briefly reopen the account if they still have it on record, and find and transfer the files. If you're not comfortable doing that, you could have someone you trust retrieve the files from there.
Feel free to private message me through this site or email me at jason@troutnut.com if you'd like to give any of this a try.
We're all sorry for your loss. Your dad was a cherished member of our community here.
If you or your brother are interested in bringing his website back online permanently, I could help with the technical side of things, and host it for free on this site indefinitely.
It looks like the troutnut.com/libstudio domain name has lapsed (and would cost some money to annually renew), so it would probably be difficult to bring the pages back at their original address. However, I could put them online at addresses like http://www.troutnut.com/libstudio/original-filename-here.html. I would keep the pages as they were, except for a brief explanation of why they're hosted on this domain name (and probably a link to these forum threads).
To do this, I would need the actual files from his website (both the images and the webpages). There are two potential ways to get them, and I don't know which one (if any) will work, because it depends on the technology he used.
Method 1: The files might all be on his computer. By looking at links to his site that he posted on here, I can give you some keywords to search for (unique names of some of his site pages): tup_s_indispensible.html, li_l_dorothy.html, sulfur_soft-hackle.htm, StomFlu.jpg, TupsWoolinLight.jpg. If the site files are all on his computer, running a search for any one of those should find the whole thing.
Method 2: The files might still be on his former hosting company's servers, even if his hosting account expired. If you have access to his email, you might be able to search it (possible search keywords: hosting, libstudio, troutnut.com/libstudio) and find out (a) who his hosting company was, and (b) his login/password with them. If you could share those with me, I could log in, briefly reopen the account if they still have it on record, and find and transfer the files. If you're not comfortable doing that, you could have someone you trust retrieve the files from there.
Feel free to private message me through this site or email me at jason@troutnut.com if you'd like to give any of this a try.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
Mlibertone on Oct 4, 2013October 4th, 2013, 2:29 pm EDT
Thank you so much Spence and Jason!
Jason, let me see what I can figure out over the weekend with the help of my sister and my brother and I will get back to you. I would truly hate to have these things lost and would rather they stay out in the universe for all to see and learn from. Like a legacy for dad. I know he would love that and I think it would be amazing if we could somehow resurrect it all! I will be back in touch.
Jason, let me see what I can figure out over the weekend with the help of my sister and my brother and I will get back to you. I would truly hate to have these things lost and would rather they stay out in the universe for all to see and learn from. Like a legacy for dad. I know he would love that and I think it would be amazing if we could somehow resurrect it all! I will be back in touch.
Martinlf on Apr 10, 2015April 10th, 2015, 5:19 am EDT
Some fly patterns by Mark. I'll look to see if we have a full page on his flies.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"
--Fred Chappell
--Fred Chappell
Oldredbarn on Apr 10, 2015April 10th, 2015, 10:39 am EDT
Louis...Here's the link Jason created.
http://www.troutnut.com/libstudio/FS&S/
Go down to the bottom of the page and click Flies 1, 2, etc.
Thanks again Jason for preserving these!
Spence
http://www.troutnut.com/libstudio/FS&S/
Go down to the bottom of the page and click Flies 1, 2, etc.
Thanks again Jason for preserving these!
Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Martinlf on Apr 10, 2015April 10th, 2015, 5:53 pm EDT
Thanks, Spence.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"
--Fred Chappell
--Fred Chappell
Oldredbarn on Apr 13, 2015April 13th, 2015, 10:39 am EDT
http://www.flytierspage.com/mlibertone/mlibertone.htm
Here's a link to Mark's flies on Hans Weilenmann's web page....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyu6x792rT4
This is Hans' YouTube of him actually tying Marks' Lil' Dorothy. Hans mentions Mark by name in this vid.
Nice!
Spence
Here's a link to Mark's flies on Hans Weilenmann's web page....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyu6x792rT4
This is Hans' YouTube of him actually tying Marks' Lil' Dorothy. Hans mentions Mark by name in this vid.
Nice!
Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Oldredbarn on Oct 1, 2015October 1st, 2015, 2:23 pm EDT
Eric from Lebanon PA...
You are relatively new here on Troutnut and I decided to pull this up so you can see it. Mark Libertone was a contributor here on Troutnut before he passed away a couple years back. He went by the handle, "Softhackle".
Jason decided to permanently store Marks flies here so since you added your Partridge and Purple, I thought you may be interested in these flies as well.
It is Fall and I have heard that Orange is a good Fall color, maybe a Partridge and Orange...
Welcome to Troutnut.
Spence
Here is the whole site: http://www.troutnut.com/libstudio/FS&S/
You are relatively new here on Troutnut and I decided to pull this up so you can see it. Mark Libertone was a contributor here on Troutnut before he passed away a couple years back. He went by the handle, "Softhackle".
Jason decided to permanently store Marks flies here so since you added your Partridge and Purple, I thought you may be interested in these flies as well.
It is Fall and I have heard that Orange is a good Fall color, maybe a Partridge and Orange...
Welcome to Troutnut.
Spence
Here is the whole site: http://www.troutnut.com/libstudio/FS&S/
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Crepuscular on Oct 1, 2015October 1st, 2015, 7:11 pm EDT
Nice Spence! Not a bad idea for everyone to take a look at Mark's indelible contribution.
Smuggler on Oct 2, 2015October 2nd, 2015, 5:39 am EDT
Mark is dearly missed and this contribution of keeping his site alive is more than appreciated by more than just myself, trust me. His flies were amazing and one of the reasons why I dove head first into the wonderful world of flymphs.
Www.flymphforum.com
Partsman on Oct 2, 2015October 2nd, 2015, 3:32 pm EDT
Yes, thanks Spence. I have been following a neat blog, small stream reflections. He has mentioned Mr.Libertones work, and fishes wet flies and flymphs for native trout in small streams in new England. I think I may tie up some of these patterns this winter, see how they work on some of our beautiful small Michigan trout streams.
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