I finished tying all the flies on the list I generated in November, so now the fun part has arrived. I decided to make some new flies I’d never tied before, and last night I browsed through my Charlie’s Fly Box book by Charlie Craven and selected two new patterns to tie; Craven’s soft hackle emerger and a mugly caddis.
| Component | Material |
|---|---|
| Hook | Tiemco 100 Size 18 |
| Thread | Gray 6/0 |
| Tail | White fluoro fiber |
| Abdomen | Muskrat |
| Wing | White fluoro fiber |
| Hackle | Blue dun hen hackle |
| Thorax | Muskrat |
The soft hackle emerger appeals to me as a potential alternative to the RS2 that I frequently fish when blue wing olives are in the air. The white tail and wing made from fluoro fiber looks like a true fish attractor. On Tuesday I made the lunch time drive to Old Arvada and purchased 5 minute epoxy to appropriately finish the jujubaetis flies, bought white fluoro fiber for the soft hackle emerger, and finished my shopping with two tan colored snowshoe rabbit feet for the mugly caddis.
Craven Soft Hackle Emerger
On Wednesday and Thursday I sat down at my vice and produced ten soft hackle emergers. The first five were tied per the directions in the book, and I was quite pleased with the results even though I struggled to fold the hackles. I added five on Thursday night tied on a size 18 scud hook with a small silver bead. I’m anxious to try both types as replacements for the RS2.
Beadhead Soft Hackle Emerger