San Juan Worm 01/14/2025 Photo Album

If you are squeamish about worms, you will not want to read my post of 02/15/2016. If, on the other hand, you are fond of slimy earthworms and nightcrawlers. you might enjoy my walk down memory lane as described in that post. I know I certainly did.  When I searched my blog on San Juan worms, the 02/15/2016 post was the only one that appeared. Could it be that long, since I tied San Juan worms?

At any rate, my usage of the worm has dwindled over recent years. I’m not sure why. It is most effective during high murky conditions, and I try to avoid those scenarios, so that may be the reason. I do recall a relatively recent outing on the South Platte River in Eleven Mile, when the river was a bit high and discolored, and I landed a few fish on the San Juan worm.

Lots of San Juan Worms

I decided to review my supply of San Juan’s of the various colors, and I counted at least ten of my most popular shades, so I decided to pass on tying more. I can knock then out in a matter of five minutes, so the time saving result of my decision to skip tying them was minimal. I took a picture of the section of my boat box that is loaded with various San Juan worms. My favorite colors are flesh, pink, chocolate, red and tan. Perhaps 2025 will be the year, when I stumble into a situation, where the San Juan worm is a must have fly.

Crystal Stone 01/12/2025 Photo Album

Despite my pledge to do otherwise, I mostly ignored this fly in 2024. I have spotted small black stoneflies in the spring and fall, yet for some reason I overlooked this nymph that I designed to imitate those very hatches. I continue to believe that my crystal stone would be a productive fly should I allocate more time on the end of my tippet. For additional information on the crystal stone click on my 01/03/2023 post. My 03/06/2021 post contains a materials table and tying steps. I used this report myself to refresh my memory on steps to tie this fly.

Close Up of Crystal Stone

I love the look of this fly, and perhaps I am the first to design such an imitation. Crystal flash black is used for the tail, wing case and legs; so very few materials are required. I counted my stock of crystal stones, and I concluded that my supply was adequate, but I tied two more to stay in practice. I need to tie one to my line in March, and I plan to keep that thought foremost in my thoughts.

Two New Crystal Stones

Pat’s Rubberlegs 01/10/2025 Photo Album

Pat’s rubber legs has become a fairly recent essential addition to my stable of flies. My post of 12/29/2023 contains a link to a post from an outing on the Arkansas River, where the rubber legs nymph convinced me of its permanent place in my fleece wallet.

Dangling Legs

This is a fly that, in my opinion, truly lives up to the name ugly. It strikes me as a mish mash of materials that were lashed on to a hook by a very young beginner fly tier. Do not judge Pat’s rubber legs by viewing it, when it is dry. When I strip it in along the river to inspect it for aquatic junk, it is obvious why the trout go for it. The chenille takes on a translucent appearance with soft undulating fibers, and the long dangling legs flop along in an enticing manner. It looks like a tasty morsel that is easy prey for the fish.

A Different Angle

Although this fly is fairly simple in terms of materials required, it can be a bit tricky to tie, and the complicating culprits are the six dangling rubber legs. Up until this year I followed tying instructions from Tim Flagler on tightlinevideo on YouTube. As I prepared for my new tying session on 01/10/2025, I decided to refresh my memory, since the video outlined a series of steps involving UV Resin to bind the legs to the hook shank before wrapping the chenillie. When I completed my search on YouTube, I noticed a newer Pat’s rubber legs video from Flagler that was eight months old. I viewed this revision to method, and it struck me as much more straightforward, so I utilized it to tie three additional rubber legs in the green/black color. I was quite pleased with the new method, and it avoids dealing with UV resin and an awkward leg wrapping maneuver.

Three New Rubber Legs

The three new size 10 Pat’s rubberl egs increases my inventory to adequate levels of black/green, coffee/black and yellow/green. I am ready to dredge stoneflies in the early season and beyond.

Zebra Midge 021/08/2025 Photo Album

The zebra midge is another fly I should deploy more frequently, particularly when I am fishing lakes during the run off time frame. Here is a link to my post regarding zebra midges from December 2023.

Size 20 with Copper Wire

This fly is easy to tie yet effective. I need to convince myself that trout can see this tiny morsel in the drift. Since I use the fly infrequently, I suffered very little in the way of losses. I counted my flies in my various storage containers, and I determined I was adequately supplied; however, I decided to crank out three to stay in practice, and because they are so easy to make.

Red Rib Version

Bring on the midges in 2025.

A Batch of Three with Two Necessary Materials

Salad Spinner 01/07/2025 Photo Album

I encourage readers to follow this link to last year’s post, and that narrative in turn contains several additional embedded links to previous years. I should probably fish midges more frequently than I do, but they tend to fall outside more normal routine of productive flies, and I am always in disbelief, when a trout of significant size eats one of these tiny morsels.

Nevertheless, midges are prevalent year round in our streams and lakes throughout the country, so it is obviously a necessary food source for resident trout. They make up for their small size with density of biomass.

Nice View of a Salad Spinner

The salad spinner is an emerging midge pupa, and I love the look of the fine red wire rib over the black thread body along with the trailing white antron shuck, that then forms a wing case and an emerging forward facing wing. This fly was designed by a friend of mine, and he enjoyed so much success, that I had to add it to my arsenal.

Two New Salad Spinners and Required Materials

Over the last several years I have expanded my efforts to stillwater especially during run off, so I should offer the salad spinner more frequently in those environments. I counted my supply, and I easily had adequate quantities, but I elected to tie an additional two to stay in practice. They are quite easy to tie and require minimal time.