Monthly Archives: January 2026

Fat Albert – 01/31/2026

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Fat Albert 01/31/2026 Photo Album

Argentina was the place where I was introduced to the fat Albert, and I am thankful for that experience. Read about it in my 03/27/2016 post. The fat Albert is another hopper pattern, and it fishes quite well for me throughout the season. Similar to the pool toy hopper, it serves as an indicator for several weighted nymphs, and on many occasions that is its sole role. However, it is not uncommon for trout to choose the large foam terrestrial over the dangling nymphs.

Fresh Fat Albert

Typically this is my first choice for a surface fly, if I decide to fish a dry/dropper with two trailing nymphs especially if one of the nymphs contains a tungsten bead or is heavily weighted. The fat Albert is probably my most buoyant foam fly.

I Like This View

In a deviation from the tying instructions that one encounters online, I do not make the body by wrapping thread endlessly around a foam underbody. Instead I tie in a long strand of yellow floss, and then I wrap it back to the butt and return to the front of the hook. The wide floss provides coverage with far fewer wraps.

Needed Materials in the Background

I lost a few fat Alberts during my 2025 fly fishing adventures, so I tied an additional five. Two were refurbishments with only the replacement of legs required. I am ready for the 2026 fly fishing season with hopper patterns.

 

Pool Toy Hopper – 01/30/2026

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Pool Toy Hopper 01/30/2026 Photo Album

My post of 01/31/2013 documents my introduction to the pool toy hopper and some of my early fly tying challenges with this fly. There are more hopper patterns out there than one can even imagine, and fly designers somehow continue to envision variations. I have been tying and utilizing the pool toy hopper since 2013, and it has proven to be a very productive pattern.

New Pool Toy Hopper

The Grillos pool toy hopper is very buoyant and visible, as it supports a pair of beadhead nymphs. The three foam layers make it practically unsinkable. I tie them with a fairly narrow profile, and I believe this makes them more hopper-like and less indicator-like. Anglers ask me what the difference is between the pool toy hopper and the fat Albert, and I must admit the differences are subtle. Perhaps it is just my tying style, but my pool toys are higher and narrower than the fat Albert, and consequently I believe them to be more imitative of a natural grasshopper.

Grasshopper

I use this fly quite a bit and consequently I suffered some losses. I concluded that I needed to tie six replacements. Three were refurbishments, where I was able to replace missing legs, and the other three were fresh flies built from a bare hook. I am anxious for the 2026 hopper season.

Five Pool Toys

Chernobyl Ant – 01/25/2026

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Chernobyl Ant 01/25/2026 Photo Album

My relationship with the Chernobyl ant began many years ago on the Green River, and I believe the Green River is actually the birthplace of this famous fly. The person who named it had a knack for fly nomenclature. The story of my introduction to this fly is available on my 2/1/11 post.

The Chernobyl ant spawned the chubby Chernobyl which in turn produced the mini chubby. I tie all of them, and they are all excellent fish catchers. The chubby and mini chubby both possess a large poly wing or wings, and these are a tremendous aid when tracking flies in glare or shadows. However, I continue to carry and deploy the old classic Chernobyl ant with a single layer of foam and pearl chenille body. Why? The wings on the chubby Chernobyl absorb water over time and require maintenance in the form of false casting to dry the wing, or they beg for the application of floatant.

Very Buoyant

The classic Chernobyl, on the other hand, is nearly all foam. It floats like a cork and requires no false casting. This is a huge advantage in small mountain streams, where a backcast is difficult if not impossible. In these situations a solo Chernobyl ant rules.

Angled Right Side

I counted up my size eight and size ten Chernobyls and concluded I was adequately supplied. I can almost guarantee that I will encounter a situation in 2026, where the classic Chernobyl saves the day.

Jake’s Gulp Beetle – 01/25/2026

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Jake’s Gulp Beetle 01/25/2026 Photo Album

The entire tale of my introduction to Jake’s gulp beetle can be perused at my post of 10/22/2015. This post also contains my tying steps. This fly has become my “go to”, whenever I feel the need to prospect with a terrestrial. If trout refuse my Chernobyl ant and hippie stomper, I generally downsize to the foam beetle. I’m always amazed at the subtle takes this fly generates.

From the Other Side

I counted my foam beetles and determined that I needed three additional size sixteens. I produced these three and then refurbished a size 14 that was unraveling. I never approach a trout stream without having some beetles on hand.

Three New Size 16 and One Refurbished

 

Mini Chubby Chernobyl – 01/24/2026

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Mini Chubby Chernobyl 01/24/2026 Photo Album

The mini chubby Chernobyl is a fairly recent addition to my fly box, but is has already proven itself to be a nice complement to my array of foam dry flies. Check out my fist post on the chubby on 02/04/2024 for more insight on why I adopted this fly as a winner.

Right Side View

As noted on my 02/04/2024 post, the mini chubby offers a nice downsizing choice, when the trout are inspecting my larger chubbys or hopper patterns and refusing them. The fly is somewhat smaller, but it remains quite buoyant and maintains the profile of a grasshopper or stonefly.

Nice Wing Angle

On several occasions this fly was on fire, although it’s productivity in 2025 did not equal 2024. Nevertheless, I like carrying a decent supply of these, and they are much easier to tie than the full scale chubby Chernobyl.

Five New Chubbys

I tallied my mini chubbys in various storage locations and determined that I required two more to round off my inventory. I produced two, and I was on a roll, so I churned out another three to bring my additions to five. I cannot wait to toss a mini chubby in 2026.

Hippie Stomper – 01/23/2026

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Hippie Stomper 01/23/2026 Photo Album

Read my post of 01/13/2018, as it documents my fortuitous introduction to the hippie stomper. I labeled it hippy stomper, before I learned from its creator, Andrew Grillos, that it was spelled with an “ie”.

This fly has grown from an obscure random introduction to the top producing dry fly in my fly box. I love the hippie stomper. I carry red, silver and purple body versions, but the real workhorse fly is the one with a peacock dubbed body. The hippie stomper produces all season long, and it does double duty as a fish catcher as well as an indicator.

Peacock Body

I particularly like to use a hippie stomper as the first fly in a double dry arrangement with a smaller more imitative dry trailing on a twelve to eighteen inch dropper. The buoyant hippie stomper with the white wing allows me to track both flies. This ploy is especially useful during the blue wing olive hatches, when the tiny olive tufts are nearly impossible to follow under cloudy skies and glare conditions. Many times I am surprised with the effectiveness of the hippie stomper itself in this double dry configuration.

Ready to Float

Used as the surface fly on a dry/dropper is another effective approach; however, I do not combine it with a heavy nymph such as a 20 incher or olive perdigon. A single beadhead or a beadhead along with a tiny RS2 work quite well.

Very Popular Fly

I counted my supply of hippie stompers, and this exercise revealed the need for an additional ten. I refurbished three and tied an additional eight to add eleven to my collection. They were all the peacock body variety, as I rarely deviate from this choice, and I have adequate quantities of the other colors. I cannot wait to tie a hippie stomper to my line in the new season.

 

San Juan Worm – 01/18/2026

San Juan Worm 01/18/2026 Photo Album

A must read is my 02/15/20216 post on San Juan worms. I am not very proud of this fact, but I have a long history with worms. I actually enjoyed reading my post again in preparation to write this blog.

Some anglers scoff at using worms for fly fishing, but they represent a protein rich food that is naturally available to trout. Do I like dredging worms along a stream bottom? It is not my favorite method of fishing, but if it results in fine, fat trout, I will not bypass the method. I am not a purist.

A Palette of Colors

Several times during the spring season I encounter turbid and high conditions, and these days find me tumbling a San Juan worm along a river bottom. A San Juan worm and a pheasant tail nymph were a lethal combination on the South Platte River in the 1990’s, but I rarely visit the Deckers area due to the heavy fishermen pressure. There are times, however, when I deploy the worm in other sections of the South Platte as well as other western rivers.

I counted all my San Juan worms of various colors, and I was pleased to learn that I did not need to supplement my supply for the upcoming year. As you will note in the embedded photo, I tie flesh, brown, red, pink and chocolate. A San Juan worm is one of the easier flies to tie, so skipping them was not a huge time saver. Nevertheless, it gives me confidence to know that I possess an adequate supply.

2025 Top Ten – 01/13/2026

I was unable to complete my top ten ranking of fishing outings for 2024, so I made it a priority for 2025. I read all my posts for the year excluding the ones on flies tied, and I narrowed my outings down to sixteen that were worthy of top ten status. As a side note, I counted my outings, and I spent seventy days on lakes or streams in 2025. I feel quite fortunate to achieve this amount of fishing at my age. With that brief introduction, I will launch the 2025 top ten list.

10. Arkansas River – 03/24/2025 – I was quite pleased to land fifteen trout from the Arkansas River on 03/24/2025. I am accustomed to catching single digit fish in the early season, but this day was a welcome surprise. A brief blue wing olive hatch and some resulting success on my part were icing on the cake.

Long and Fat

9. Beaver Creek – 07/30/2025 – I love prospecting small streams with my Orvis four weight, and that is actually how this day unfolded. I had not fished this small mountain stream in a few years, and I was pleased to discover that it maintained an abundant supply of spunky wild fish.

8. Taylor River – 07/22/2025 – I anticipated green drake action on 07/22/2025 on the Taylor River tailwater, and although the early hours required dry/dropper drifting, things heated up considerably in the early afternoon. Green drakes took over, and they were accompanied by some pale morning duns, and I enjoyed the ride.

Olive Perdigon

7. Eagle River – 04/09/2025 – This was a rare early season visit to the Eagle River. This outstanding day featured a blue wing olive hatch and meeting new friends on the river. I explored a new section of the river with unexpected success, and this served as a segue to quite a few additional outstanding outings on the Eagle River.

6. South Boulder Creek – 08/04/2025 – Every summer I attempt to hit the green drake hatch on South Boulder Creek. During this outing I succeeded. It was a pure green drake fly day, as I used exclusively green drake dry flies. My green drake user friendly surpassed all previous trials in terms of effectiveness. Lots of fish spent time in my net.

Amber Hued

5. North Fork, White River – 09/09/2025 – Several things were impressive about this day. I drove four plus hours from Denver to this fishing destination, so this allowed only four hours of afternoon fishing. In that relatively short amount of time I landed thirty-four trout, and they were not dinks. I was very strategic in my approach and casting, and it paid off.

4. Yampa River – 06/25/2025 – This was another example of getting a late start, yet enjoying excellent results. Jane and I took down our campsite and drove from Steamboat Lake to Steamboat Springs, before I launched my three hours of fishing. I landed twelve fish, but it was an action packed time. A nice pale morning dun hatch developed, and I took advantage, and the size of the trout was very respectable. It was reassuring to learn that lots of robust trout remain in the Yampa River in spite of some very hot summers.

Excellent Spot

3. Eagle River – 09/24/2025 – 2025 seemed to be the year of the Eagle River with many outstanding outings, but this day stood out for several reasons. I explored never before fished water and met with excellent success. Based on a previous outing, I searched out water types that produced and stuck to a consistent approach, and I was rewarded with an abundant quantity of plus-sized trout.

2. River Nire – 06/03/2025 – My ranking of this day was biased by the fact that I was fishing in another country, Ireland. I booked two days of fly fishing in Ireland assuming that I would catch 5-10 brown trout per day in the ten to fifteen inch range. Guess again. Thirteen fish were landed, and most were in the fifteen to twenty inch range. This far surpassed my expectations, and I was surrounded by the beauty of the stunning Irish countryside. If you get a chance to fish in Ireland, grab it.

Wild Irish Brown Trout

1.Frying Pan River – 08/19/2025 – An outstanding day was required to surpass my day on the River Nire, but 08/19/2025 met that requirement. How about forty-eight trout on the Frying Pan River? I have fished this small tailwater nearly every year of my residence in Colorado, but this day surely topped all others. Between 9:45AM and 1:30PM I landed twenty-two trout, and quite a few were very respectable fish from a size perspective. I was satisfied with my day, as I resumed after lunch, and I spied a few western green drakes. I changed over to a parachute green drake, and the fishing action accelerated from the morning and early afternoon! What a day!

Lots of Possibilities

Big Mouth

 

Mini Leech – 01/13/2026

Mini Leech 01/13/2026 Photo Album

I always categorize my flies, when I create these posts, and I always hesitate whether to place the mini leech under nymph or streamer. I chose streamer this time, but in reality, it is probably a hybrid.

Black No Bead

My experieince with the mini leech extends over a few years, but you can read my last post on 01/14/2025 for a bit more information. This is another fly that has potential, but I fail to give it adequate line time. I have landed some trout on the mini leech during my lake fishing expeditions, so I need to make a concerted effort to tie one on more frequently. The olive mini leech can represent a damsel nymph, so tossing the green version should be considered during damsel fly season.

Olive No Bead

I counted my leeches and decided to tie two blacks with beads, two blacks with no bead, and two olive with no bead. This brings my inventory to ten of each. I am ready for leech fishing in 2026.

Ostrich Herl Visible

Crystal Stone – 01/13/2026

Crystal Stone 01/13/2026 Photo Album

My history with the crystal stone is documented on my post of 03/06/2021. This may be the only fly that I created on my own. Most of my creations are simply modifications of existing flies. The 03/06/2021 post contains a materials table and tying steps.

Small Black Stonefly Nymph

I wish I could take credit for creating a new killer fly, but I must confess that this fly has not been a top producer. I have managed a fish or two here and there, but it is not among my top flies. I suspect that part of the problem is my failure to knot it to my line on a consistent basis. I often read about anglers achieving success with a black pheasant tail, and I suspect my crystal stone is a viable substitute.

Side View

Nevertheless, I like to maintain some of these in my fleece wallet, so I took stock and concluded that my supply of the crystal stone was adequate. Of course, this is a sure sign of my reluctance to deploy it, since I suffered no shrinkage.