December 27, 2014
Latergrams- Week 52
December 15, 2014
Latergrams - Week 51
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
December 8, 2014
Latergrams - Week 50
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
Butting heads #carpfood #flytying #flyfarming #carponthefly #carppro #artisanflies
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
Solo #carpfood #flytying #flyfarming #carponthefly #carppro #artisanflies
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
December 1, 2014
Pass the Cocktail Sauce
Lipton's Cocktail Sauce:
Hook: Scorpion Venom 2X, Size 8
Thread: UNI Thread, 6/0 Black
Tail: Ultra Chenille, Micro, Olive
Case: Furry Foam, Tan
Body: Roughfisher's custom dub, UV Gold
Legs:: Krystal Flash, UV Tan; Coyote guard hair, coyote underfur
Eyes: #3 (2.4 mm) ball chain, black
Weight: Two strands .025 Lead wire
This fly is patterned after mysid (opposum) freshwater shrimp. Most shrimp range less than 25 mm (1 inch) in length. While mostly common to the Great Lakes basin, mysid shrimp have been introduced to certain tailwaters in the western US. This pattern, however can be tied small enough to mimic other freshwater amphipods like scuds, or even a bit larger to imitiate brackish water and saltwater shrimp species. The pattern can be tied several color variations to match the local forage.
Notes: The fly profile may appear to be less realistic tied hook side up compared to a traditional style tied fly (hook side down, body/legs covering hook gape and hook point). Having the fly tied hook side up, however, should allow for increased hook ups and greater hook penetration, especially when sight fishing on the flats. The ball chain eyes are tied double truck style on top of the hook shank, and there are two strands of lead wire tied on the top of the hook shank just behind the eyes. This should help your fly land hook side up and keep it riding that way.
Latergrams - Week 49
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
The turkey is done dude #thanksgiving #roundtwo #friedturkey #goodeats
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
November 24, 2014
Latergrams - Week 48
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
November 17, 2014
Latergrams - Week 47
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
November 12, 2014
moxostoma.com - an extensive resource on redhorse and other suckers

I've known about Olaf Nelson's website moxostoma.com for several years now, and I felt it was due to share with the masses again this fantastic resource for redhorse, sucker species of the Genus Moxostoma. These beautiful, native fish, are often misidentified in the field, and many times even after obtaining a good photographic record of the catch. Fret no further, moxostoma.com is your source for redhorse information and identification!
Redhorse can often be a difficult, tricky species to identify properly, especially if you aren't familiar with them or other native sucker species. The proper ID of redhorse can even be a challenge for fisheries professionals. Olaf provides a great downloadable resource of idenitification guides and cheat sheets for redhorse. These handy field guides should provide little doubt out on the water when it comes to properly identifying your catch. I know of serveral state fisheries biologists who use this resource out in the field, so don't feel ashamed for needing it too! Olaf also has prints available for sale on his Etsy page.
Follow Olaf and moxostoma.com on Twitter. If you're on Facebook give moxostoma.com a LIKE.
All of the content on moxostoma.com are free for anyone to download, print, share and use for NON-COMMERCIAL purposes (you can’t use them to make money somehow). Users may not be alter the design and credit must always be given to the copyright holder (Olaf Nelson) and source (moxostoma.com). Rather than posting them for download on other sites, please use the thumbnails from this page and provide a link to this site.
The above referenced work from moxostoma.com is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.
Latergrams - Week 46
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
November 3, 2014
Latergrams - Week 45
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
2014's pumpkin carve #pumpkin #halloween #carp #carponthefly #roughfisherdotcom #carppro
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
October 20, 2014
Latergrams - Week 43
Classic #northshore brookie haunt #minnesota #duluth #smallstreams #bkt #amitycreek
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
Glowing aspens, river right on the Knife. #kniferiver #minnesota #northshore #lakesuperior #onlyinmn
A photo posted by Jean-Paul Lipton (@roughfisher) on
October 3, 2014
JEAN-PAUL LIPTON JOINS UMPQUA’S TEAM OF DISTINGUISHED SIGNATURE TYERS
“It is an honor to be enlisted with the Umpqua fly designer corps, serving alongside the originator of the carp on the fly movement, Barry Reynolds. I am eager to help bring Umpqua to the forefront of global carp fly domination!”
—Jean-Paul Lipton
Lipton resides in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, where he performs fisheries management work for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. When he is not busy working on stream habitat restoration projects for the DNR, he enjoys spending time on the Otter Tail River where he pursues roughfish on the fly. Lipton is a GreenFish Ambassador and member of many industry pro staff teams. Lipton’s blog, “roughfisher.com,” features his latest carp and roughfish fly patterns and news. His Umpqua flies include Admiral Akbar, Carp Assassin, Carp Crack, Dragon Slayer, Darth Clam, Landing Strip and Mustache Ride.
“JP is an important addition to our line up of Royalty Fly Designers. With his extensive knowledge of fisheries management, he is an authority on carp and other sub terminally mouthed species. His innovative designs strengthen Umpqua’s impressive selection of warm water fly patterns.”
—Brian Schmidt, Fly Manager, Umpqua Feather Merchants
New Umpqua Signature Royalty Fly Designer, Jean Paul Lipton, doing what he loves to most.

- - - -
Umpqua Feather Merchants late founder, Dennis Black, established the first royalty tyer/designer program in 1972 — a program that rewards fly tyers for their creativity on many levels, and inspires innovation and creativity among the fly designing world. Today, Umpqua has more than 150 talented designers in its royalty program, and introduces an average of over 100 new fly patterns per year to its extensive catalog of flies. In addition to being the world’s largest producer of quality hand-tied flies, Umpqua offers retailers a diverse and award-winning selection of fly-fishing accessories, leader and tippet, packs/bags/vests, hooks, and fly tying tools and materials. (www.umpqua.com)
September 28, 2014
September 21, 2014
September 8, 2014
Latergrams - Week 36
There is a need from time to time to have and maintain a static database, a log if you will, of all of my published content. This is where my blog will likely reside for the indefinite future. It is a trend I have been observing across the board, and frankly with my time constraints, it is quite burdensome and daunting to transcribe all of my content on the blog on a daily basis. Thus, I will bring to you a weekly digest highlighting my most popular Instagram photos of the week, so that you, the reader, can stay abreast of what's being created at my vise or being caught out on the water, even if you do not participate in social media. So please enjoy, and if you have any comments, question, or concerns, with my future publishing content and delivery methods, please do not hesitate to leave a comment or use the Contact form to notify me. The following listed are links to my various social media outlets. Please check them out if you haven't already done so and follow! Thanks!






June 10, 2014
Lipton's Black Flag

Lipton's Black Flag:
Hook: Umpqua U401 (O'Shaugnessy Stainless) Size 6
Thread: UNI Thread, 6/0 Black
Tail: Moose Mane
Body: Roughfisher's custom dub, Black Gold
Underwing: Krystal Flash, Black/Peacock
Legs: India Hen, natural
Thorax: 3.2 mm tungsten bead; Roughfisher's custom dub, Black Gold
Eyes: #3 (2.4 mm) ball chain, black
This fly is patterned after the black quill mayfly, Leptophlebia Cupida, prevalent in northern Minnesota in early Summer. Most nymphs range in the 9-11 mm size range with adults measuring around 15 mm. While not prolific enough to generate superhatches, their medium to large size and their propensity to school up and migrate upstream like minnows are enough to make this species of mayfly relevant to anglers. As a result, I would not hesitate to fish this fly as a streamer in riffle sections or in pocket water adjacent to the slack water they are known to reside in much of the year. Due to the dark coloration and size of this pattern, these would also fish well as a larger mayfly, or stonefly or skwala nymph pattern.
Notes: I like to tie on heavy, short-shanked hooks, so even though this particular pattern is tied on a size 6 O'Shaugnessy hook, the body of the fly is probably sized closer to a traditional sized 10 or 12 nymph hook. I colored the hook black with a marker to keep hook glare down and give the fly a dark, subdued look. Like most mayfly nymphs, I tie mine heavy; there is a tungsten bead tied in underneath the body just behind the bead chain eyes. This will help keep your fly in the zone when fish riffles or deep runs.
June 2, 2014
CARPICIDE 2014

CarpPro and Isthmus Flyfishing are teaming up to put on Carpicide 2014; a catch and release flyfishing for carp event in Minneapolis on June 21st. Each participant will receive a hat and prizes including a One-of-a-kind Helios 2, a TFO rod or flyfishing art donated by local artists. All proceeds benefit the local chapter of Trout Unlimited.
The festivities kick off Friday night at Mend Provisions in South Minneapolis with free beer, a presentation on carp flyfishing and general socializing. Saturday participants will fish all day on any water in the metro area followed by an awards ceremony and party to follow.
Register online at http://isthmusflyfishing.com/ or in person Friday evening at Mend.
April 17, 2014
Yeti Sighting! - Northern Minnesota
As the snowpack is finally diminishing here in northern Minnesota there have been some strange sightings as of late. Most recently has been a confirmed sighting of a YETI in Detroit Lakes. I intially spotted the YETI out of the corner of my eye. I was unsure of what exactly I saw, wondering if my eyes had been playing tricks on me. It's not uncommon for mirages to appear over snow, much like the apparition of water in a desert. But a YETI? Something came tumbling out of the woods, right at my truck. I came to a screeching halt as my front tire made contact with the object. What was it? I hopped out of the truck to see just exactly what it was.
I couldn't believe I was seeing this with my own eyes, a YETI in Detroit Lakes! A perfectly unscathed specimen too! Wow, the press will have a field day with this one! I quickly looked over the YETI for any signs of injuries and none were to be found. I quickly secured the YETI in the cab of my truck and made haste back to the Roughfisher Command Post.
After a closer inspection back at home base, I identified the YETI as a 50 quart specimen from the Tundra. A beautiful specimen indeed! There was so much potential with this YETI! I was practically giddy with excitement, dreaming of all the possibilities for good times I can share with the YETI! Think of all the fishing and camping trips we can go on! I can't wait to dress up my YETI. I'll be sure to post stories of my new YETI's adventures. Stay tuned!
Thanks YETI!