Green Drake Comparadun 01/11/2016 Photo Album

The third style of green drake that generates success for me in western streams during hatches is the comparadun. I tie these in size 12 and 14. Historically I used moose mane for the tail of these large comparaduns, but during my tying sessions last winter and this year, I modified my method to use dark olive microfibbets. A size 12 fly is difficult to support on the surface of the water, and I discovered that the stiff microfibbets serve as supporting outriggers for the fly if split at a wide angle. I use six fibers and split them so that they each protrude at a 45 degree angle from opposite sides of the hook shank.

Size 12 Green Drake Comparadun

I was not satisfied with my method of splitting microfibbet tails, so I searched online and found a method that solved my problem. When I attach the thread to the hook, I allow the tag end to remain and trail from the hook bend behind the thread ball that I create. When I tie the microfibbets to the top of the hook shank behind the wing, I wrap backward until I am a couple hook eye widths from the thread ball. At this point I pull the trailing thread forward and split the tail fibers evenly and then stretch it against the near side of the hook shank and lock it down. This causes the near side fibers to splay nicely. As I wrap back to the thread ball I use my left hand to position the far side fibers on the proper plain, and when I reach the base of the thread ball, I am careful to make sure that the tail fibers on both sides split and remain even. This method creates beautiful split tails that I believe will dramatically improve the flotation of these large comparadun dry flies.

Another personal touch that I favor is using thick maroon sewing thread to form a rib on the abdomen. I love the segmented body that this technique generates. For the deer hair wing I select relatively dark deer hair, and I spread it to the sides as much as possible to help support the fly in an upright position, although I sometimes feel that the versions that fall on their side are equally if not more effective as cripple imitations.

Five Completed Size 12

During 2015 I did not encounter as many green drake hatches as I did in previous years, so I did not have the opportunity to test the ribbed mircofibbet tail comparaduns extensively. Hopefully this will not be the case in 2016.

Parachute Green Drake 01/10/2016 Photo Album

Over the years I discovered that it takes a variety of green drake imitations to successfully dupe trout in Colorado during hatches of these large western mayflies. Once I finished tying five Harrop hair wing green drakes, I progressed to producing my other green drake favorites. Next on the checklist were parachute green drakes. These flies have proven themselves repeatedly, although there are times when trout prefer the bristly Harrop version or the slimmer comparadun style. The parachutes represent a critical component of my green drake arsenal, so I approached my vice and produced five size 14 imitations.

Angled View

During 2015 my best green drake action occurred on the Conejos River on July 22. During this encounter the Harrop style fly excelled during the morning time period when I used it as the point fly on a dry/dropper configuration as I prospected likely holding locations. However, once the actual hatch commenced, the parachute green drake became the favored offering that fooled surface feeding trout.

I experienced a second encounter with western green drakes on South Boulder Creek on August 26, 2015, and on this occasion the parachute style flies performed quite well until I depleted my supply. These examples reinforced my confidence in the parachute green drake and motivated me to replenish my supply for 2016.

All the Materials Needed

I adopted a new method of tying off the parachute hackle during my recent tying sessions, and this modification yielded a significant improvement in the appearance of these valuable flies. I reviewed a YouTube video that demonstrated how to tie the hackle off against the wing post, and I applied this technique to the five flies that I produced. This method yields very nice flies with a symmetrical hackle image. I am not sure this will make a huge difference to the fish, but the flies are much more pleasing to a fisherman.

Symmetrical Hackle

Hopefully 2016 will produce some fast paced green drake activity, and my array of green drake offerings will satisfy the discerning inspection of hungry cold water trout.

This story begins in 2011 when I made a three day trip to the Conejos River. I chose this destination since the northern portion of Colorado was locked in an exceptionally long snow melt that year. After an afternoon on the lower river near Aspen Glade Campground with minimal success, I paid a visit to the Conejos River Angler fly shop and asked for advice. The store salesperson directed me to the upper river below Platoro, and as is my custom, I purchased some flies in exchange for information.

Harrop Hair Wing Green Drake 12/29/2015 Photo Album

The salesperson suggested some flies, and his guidance included salvation nymphs and green drake dry flies. The dry flies were the bushiest imitations I ever saw, and in fact they struck me as olive bodied stimulators, but they produced some very nice fish that day and the next day on the upper Conejos River. I deployed these green drakes on numerous occasions subsequent to the purchase, and they seemed to perform best during the initial stages of green drake emergence periods.

During July of 2015 I made a return visit to the Conejos River and camped at Lake Fork Campground in close proximity to the upper stretch where I experienced stellar success in 2011. Once again I knotted the heavily hackled green drake to my line and enjoyed splendid results during the late morning hours on two successive days of intense fishing. Of course extended usage of a fly exposes it to loss, and I depleted my supply of bushy green drakes to two bedraggled versions in my front pack.

Two Beat Up Purchased Flies and Instructions to Make New Ones

I resolved to tie some more, but I did not know what they were named. Fortunately our modern state of life offers a tool for such a dilemma, and it is called the internet. I typed hair wing green drake in my browser, and I was pleasantly surprised to observe results that included Harrop’s hair wing dry fly. I scanned the images on the screen and rejoiced when I spotted a green drake that matched the two remaining flies in my possession. I continued my search and found tying instructions for Harrop’s hair wing green drake and printed them.

Angled View

I am pleased to report that the step by step instructions were superb, and I cranked out five size 12 Harrop hair wing green drakes. My versions appear to be slightly more sparse than the purchased varieties as they possess a narrower abdomen, but my intuition says they will be productive additions to my fly box. The newly completed flies are slotted in my boat box, and they taunt me every time I spot them. I can hear the siren call saying, “You have seven months to wait before I can torment large trout and entice smashing top water takes.” That may be true, but at least I no longer worry about depleting my supply of these amazing fish magnets.

Zoomed in On Newly Produced Beauties

Light Gray Comparadun 12/27/2015 Photo Album

Up until several years ago the light gray comparadun was my preferred fly for matching the pale morning dun hatches that are prevalent in the western United States. I was always perplexed by the effectiveness of this fly since it possessed a light gray body yet most of the specimens I collected displayed light yellow and even cinnamon bodies. Despite this misgiving, who was I to argue with fishing success? I hypothesized that the light gray poly dubbing contained strands of yellow fibers, and this explained the positive feeding habits of targeted trout during a PMD hatch.

The light gray comparadun was so effective on the Colorado River near Parshall, CO that I encouraged my friend Jeff Shafer to tie some prior to a trip to Colorado. He asked me to take a photo, and I used the margin of a page of the Wall Street Journal as the background. We both felt that using a newspaper that documented financial results was suitable given the effectiveness of the light gray comparadun, and we jokingly nicknamed the fly the money fly.

Light Gray Comparadun

Unfortunately change is a constant in fly fishing, and I began to encounter situations where the money fly failed to entice feeding trout during pale morning dun hatches. Exhibit A for this circumstance was the Frying Pan River where I endured several outings when the light gray comparadun left me in a disillusioned state relative to my dependable comparadun. Fortunately during a September trip in 2013 I stumbled across the cinnamon comparadun as a more effective imitation for the feeding inhabitants of the Frying Pan. In addition to body color, I also downsized my flies to size 18 instead of the previously favored size 16.

A Completed Batch

My conversion to size 18 cinnamon comparaduns has not caused me to totally abandon the light gray comparadun. I continue to find scenarios where the light gray money fly performs at a high level. I can only theorize that different river systems harbor pale morning duns with different shades of PMD body color.

Closing in on Comparaduns

I reviewed the status of my light gray comparadun inventory and decided to tie an additional ten in size 18. These have been completed and added to my fly storage container. These flies should enable me to test whether size of fly or color explain the change is success from the light gray to cinnamon comparadun. Stay tuned.

CDC BWO 12/24/215 Photo Album

I do not have much to add regarding the CDC blue winged olive that I did not previously convey on my 03/11/2014 CDC BWO post. This tiny fly continues to be a must have for my fly box throughout the season.

On November 23 I visited the Arkansas River tailwater in Pueblo for the first time, and I was lucky to experience a fairly dense blue winged olive hatch during the afternoon despite a clear blue sky. My size 22 CDC BWO produced three fish during the early stages of the emergence; however, it was largely ignored during the peak activity. I was in a prime position next to a long pool where at least twenty fish fed aggressively on tiny blue dun mayflies, and yet aside from a few temporary hook ups, I failed to land any fish.

Size 24

Near the tail end of the lesson in frustration I seined the water and inspected the specimens that appeared in my net. I estimated that the mayflies were a size 24, and this probably explained my lack of success. I vowed to tie some size 24 CDC BWO’s, and I fulfilled that pledge during the first couple weeks of December. I tied ten minuscule blue winged olives, and then because I was not satisfied with the look of my carryover size 22’s, I manufactured ten more.

CDC, Microfibbets and Size 24 BWO’s

Despite its small size this fly is fairly easy to tie as it only involves three materials. The most challenging step is sizing the clump of CDC that is used to form the upright wing. I discovered through experience that an optimal amount of feather is necessary. If I make the wing too sparse, it mats readily and does not present a viable wing imitation. In addition once it gets wet it is very difficult to fluff back to the desired thickness. If the clump is too thick, the fly does not present an accurate silhouette, and the fish ignore it. In order to counter these difficulties, I strip CDC fibers from a feather and roll them into a clump. I gauge the thickness for proper bulk by focusing on the area just above my pinch because this section does not contain air spaces and more accurately portrays how the wing will appear once tied to the hook shank.

Macro of Size 22’s

Cinnamon Comparadun 12/23/2015 Photo Album

Up until several years ago, I relied primarily on size 16 light gray comparaduns to match the pale morning dun hatches in Colorado. During a trip to the Frying Pan River in September 2013 I encountered a heavy pale morning dun hatch, and the light gray size 16 comparadun was soundly rejected by the educated fish in the upper tailwater. Fortunately I searched through my excessive number of fly boxes and discovered some old size 18 comparaduns that I tied for the Dolores River. I blended light olive and maroon dubbing by hand, and these flies not only saved my day, but they produced spectacular results.

Of course this experience prompted me to produce some newer versions, and I purchased a bag of Hareline cinnamon dubbing for this purpose. In the two years since the Frying Pan River success story I tested the cinnamon comparadun on the Eagle River and Yampa River along with the Frying Pan River, and it delivered solid results in these additional settings. These encounters with positive results using the cinnamon comparaduns convinced me to tie additional numbers for 2016. I consumed quite a few of my size 18 imitations, so I began by producing fifteen of these and then added five size 16’s.

Overview

The two keys to tying effective comparaduns are split tails and a deer hair wing that is upright or even angled backward a bit. I was not completely satisfied with my ability to split the tails. My standard practice was to make a small ball of thread at the end of the hook shank, and then I attached the microfibbet tail fibers individually at an angle on top of the hook shank. Next I wrapped backward to splay the fibers against the thread ball. This worked reasonably well most of the time, but occasionally the near fibers rolled up, and the split tail fibers were not on the same plain.

Finished Batch of Cinnamon Comparaduns

I performed a search on split tail fibers and uncovered a tip on a fly tying forum. I adopted this technique for the comparaduns that I tied for 2016, and I am quite pleased with the outcome. When I attach my thread to the hook shank, I wrap back to the end of the hook, and then I hold the tag end of the thread angled upward at a sixty degree angle while I create a ball using figure eight wraps against the taut thread. I do not clip off the tag end of the thread, but instead allow it to dangle from the end of the hook. After I move forward and build the wing, I return to the middle of the abdominal area and attach the desired number of microfibbet fibers to the top of the hook. Once the fibers are adjusted to the proper tail length, I wrap back until I am approximately two or three eye widths from the thread ball. At this point I pull the tag end of the thread forward and evenly split the tail fibers and then angle it down along the side of the hook shank. This causes the near side fibers to splay, and I then lock them by placing some wraps around the tag end thread before I snip it off. I then carefully wrap backward while holding the far side fibers so that they splay against the thread ball and remain in the same plain as the near side microfibbets.

Macro with iPhone

The other trick to creating attractive comparaduns is to leave a gap behind the wing as you wrap the dubbing forward. After you complete the abdomen, allocate a gap and place some tight dubbed thread wraps against the front of the wing while using your left hand to push the wing backward. This causes the wing to angle backward into the gap. After the wing is cocked properly, make some loose dubbing wraps behind the wing to cover any thin spots under the wing.

There you have it. Use my suggestions to create attractive and effective comparaduns of various colors, catch a lot of fish during hatches, and save a bunch of money by not buying expensive dry fly hackle feathers.

When I began tying flies in the 80’s, the classic Adams ruled top five lists of “must have” flies. It did not imitate anything; it imitated everything, if that makes any sense. It was characterized as a general buggy looking dry fly that could pass for many different aquatic food sources of trout. I can remember reading several articles where accomplished fly fishermen swore they never carried any flies on the water except for a size 14 or 16 Adams. A classic Adams possessed a pair of barred grizzly hackle tips for wings, a medium gray body, brown hackle fiber tails and grizzly and brown hackle wound around the hook shank behind and in front of the wing. The distinguishing characteristic of this tie to me was the barred hackle tip wings.

Fast forward to 2015, and as with most things, there are all manner of permutations of the Adams. There are Adams wet flies and Adams dry flies with wings that are angled backward. Some were created with egg sacs, and an array of materials have been substituted for the wings, body and tails. At what point does an Adams cease to be one and become a totally different fly? Of course I probably skipped the most significant variation of the Adams; the parachute Adams.

A Parachute Adams

My fishing friend Danny has been joining me for fly tying sessions on Tuesday nights, and I introduced him to many of my productive favorites. Two weeks ago, however, I completed my standards so I asked him what he would like to tie. Danny quickly replied, “parachute Adams”. I had not tied any of these for quite some time, so I agreed we would produce some. Before we started, we viewed a YouTube video where a tier demonstrated how to tie off the parachute hackle against the wing post instead of to the hook shank. I prefer this method as it greatly reduces the risk of trapping hackle fibers in front of the wing while tying off and whip finishing. Danny began with a white poly wing post while I elected to attach calf body hair. The originator was probably shuddering at this scandalous defamation of the classic Adams and the substitution for two barred hackle tips.

Five Parachute Adams Ready for Action

Danny produced a very passable first prototype and then proceeded to knock out eleven more and took home a dozen beautiful parachute Adams dry flies. With each fly, Danny’s wing post and tie off improved until his flies surpassed the quality of store bought imitations. I meanwhile churned out five, and three left the vise with calf tail wings while two possessed pink poly wings. After I completed five, I moved on to another new fly pattern I planned to test in 2015, but that is the subject of another post.

May the Adams live forever in all its different forms. It appeals to all fishermen and all fish.

Last winter I sorted through my four canisters of damaged and unraveling flies and consolidated all the caddis into one container. As I resumed my off season tying in October, I placed the plastic caddis cylinder on the counter top, and it remained there as I worked my way through nymphs, terrestrials, attractors and mayflies. Last week I completed the green drake inventory, so I dumped the clump of bedraggled caddis on to my magnet.

Damaged and Unraveling Caddis Flies

I separated the flies into four piles by body color, and I discovered peacock, olive hares ear, gray, and light yellow. In excess of forty mostly size 16 flies were arranged on my fly tying counter top, so I began the process of rescuing them from a date with the landfill. I began with the peacock and quickly completed five.

A Neater Head on This One

For the most part the misfit flies exhibited unraveling thread in the head area, possessed cut hackles, or suffered from hair loss. In a few cases I could reattach my thread and simply tie a new whip finish knot to lock up the loose thread, but the prevalent situation called for replacement of the hackle and deer hair wing. In these instances I used my X-Acto knife to slice through the thread head and the hackle tie down point. I simply removed the thread and hackle waste along with any remaining deer hair and reattached my thread in front of the dubbed abdomen.

A Closer Look

I essentially saved forty dubbed hooks, and I was only required to complete the final two steps of the tying process. The resulting finished flies look nearly new, and I transferred five peacock, twenty olive hares ear, ten gray, and five light yellow caddis to my Montana Fly Company boat box. At this point I estimate that I have enough of the various body color caddis to take me through 2015, and I did not have to tie any new versions from beginning to end. Recycling has never been more fun.

A Group of Gray Rehabilitated Deer Hair Caddis

The western green drake hatch has been a roller coaster ride for this avid fisherman. I’ve encountered them on the Big Thompson River, St. Vrain Creek, Roaring River, Clear Creek and South Boulder Creek along the front range in the state of Colorado. One year not long after I moved to Colorado I chanced upon a decent hatch on the Fraser River near Tabernash. In the south central part of the state I was fortunate to meet large green drakes on the upper Conejos River one July. These fish were not the least bit picky, and they smashed my large bushy green drakes with reckless abandon.

Moving west my best green drake experiences have been on the Taylor River and Frying Pan River. I remember one fine day on the Eagle River when I spotted one or two in the air during my lunch break, and I then switched to a green drake imitation and enjoyed a great afternoon attracting fish to the surface.

The most dependable source of green drake activity remains the Frying Pan River. Nearly every afternoon that I visited this reliable tailwater after mid-July resulted in some level of green drake emergence, and this continues into October. I have enjoyed spectacular days when the feisty residents relished my flies like no other, but I have also had days of frustration when large dark olive mayflies blanket the river, and yet my various offerings went ignored. This is the roller coaster ride that I alluded to at the beginning.

The worst scenario is when I have a very successful outing on my last trip to the Frying Pan, and this leads me to believe I solved the puzzle. I make a note of the type of fly that produced success, and when I sit down at my vice during the winter, I churn out five to ten specimens with the misplaced notion that these flies will yield many more days of double digit fish counts. Typically when I return to the Pan and tie on my fresh killer pattern, I experience disappointment. This cycle repeats itself from season to season. Last winter I did some online research and discovered there are two if not three species of western green drakes on the Frying Pan River.

Dark and Light Wing Color

According to my findings, the early green drake is larger in size and darker in color, and a later species is a hook size smaller and possesses a lighter olive body color. Armed with this information, I tied some size 14 comparaduns with a lighter olive body. On my trips to the Frying Pan in 2014 I met with mixed success. During two memorable days I had decent success in the early stages of the hatch, but once the density of adult flies peaked, the fish ignored my offering.

Tissue Background

So what is a fly fisherman and fly tier supposed to do? I’ve reached a point where I tie three different styles of fly in two sizes with two types of abdomen. The three styles are a bushy version that is a heavily hackled Catskill style. This fly is quite buoyant, rides high on the surface and seems to work well when the emerging green drakes create a frenzied commotion as they try to become airborne. I usually tie these flies with a fairly dark olive dubbing and rib with a maroon section of thread. I make these flies mostly in size 12 with a few size 14’s to cover my bases.

The second style is a parachute green drake, and I tie these in both size 12 and 14. These flies have a moose mane tail and white calf tail wing post that I color black, but I keep the tip white for visibility. I wind a dyed olive grizzly parachute hackle around the wing post, and the body is the same color as I described previously for the Catskill style. These flies float quite well and are very visible, and they seem to work quite well early in the hatch. In the two hour period before the expected hatch time I like to prospect with the paradrake because it is quite visible in fast riffles and pockets. If green drakes are present, the fish will generally hammer a paradrake opportunistically.

A Green Drake Comparadun

The final style that I carry in my fly box is a comparadun. I’ve had some superb days with the comparadun style, but mostly the smaller size 14 3XL version. I make these flies with a splayed microfibbet tail, and I use three fibers on each side. These stiff tailing materials serve as outriggers to keep the large comparadun afloat. I tie some comparaduns with a very dark wing of coastal deer hair, but I also arm myself with several that utilize a lighter charcoal coastal deer hair wing. For the body I make some with the medium olive/maroon ribbed combination, and then I supplement these with a sampling with olive antron yarn and no rib. Several of my best days developed when I tied the antron yarn size 14 comparadun to my hook.

Green Drake Comparaduns with Antron and No Rib

I am sure the reader’s head is spinning my now, but at least you understand the complex nature of finding success on the Frying Pan River during a western green drake hatch. Of course I have not even mentioned the simultaneous hatch of red quills, pale morning duns and blue wing olives. What are the chances of selecting the correct fly during these frenzied feeding orgies on the Frying Pan River? It is fun to continue attempt to solve the puzzle, so I have tied a bunch of the above versions, and I anxiously await the opportunity to continue the experiment in the outdoor lab.

Every once in a while something occurs that feeds my penchant to horde and stockpile flies. I’m perpetually reading articles about traveling light, carrying only a minimal supply of flies, and preparing fly boxes for the season of the year and the stream being fished thus leaving behind the excess flies that rarely come into play. Unfortunately my personality imposes a level of thoroughness to everything that I do that dictates that I carry four or five fly boxes just in case some rare event comes that causes me to dig deep. One of the small fly boxes that I always have with me contains flies that I tied for my trips to Pennsylvania even though I fish in Colorado rivers and streams most of the time.

On a trip to the Frying Pan River in September 2013 with my friend Jeff Shafer, I observed some pale morning duns that had a light olive and maroon body. The combination of these two colors yielded a hue close to cinnamon. The fish were feeding actively on these flies, but the pale morning comparaduns that I normally use with great success were generating only refusals. My favorite PMD fly is a size 16 light gray comparadun. Besides not being a close match from a color perspective, it also was a size larger than the mayflies on the water.

A Nice Close Up

I systematically began rummaging through my fly boxes and eventually came upon the Pennsylvania box. There along the edge I spotted a size 18 comparadun that was tied with a  blend of light olive and maroon dubbing. I recalled tying these fifteen years earlier after a trip to the Dolores River in southwestern Colorado. I tied this fly on to my line and experienced an exceptionally fast paced hour and a half of hot action as the Frying Pan trout slurped my antique comparadun.

Cinnamon Comparaduns

I purchased some cinnamon dubbing the next winter and produced 5-10 cinnamon comparaduns in case I visited the Frying Pan River again during 2014. On several occasions during the summer when I encountered pale morning dun hatches I tried the cinnamon comparadun and had reasonable success. During a trip to the Frying Pan River in September, it produced a few fish, but I did not encounter the dense PMD hatches that I expected. In addition, I believe several were in the fly box that I lost while trying to untangle a massive monofilament snarl.

20 Cinnamon Comparaduns

As I moved through my fly bin stocking process during January, I decided to tie twenty new cinnamon comparaduns; fifteen size 18 and five size 16. Hopefully this supply will carry me through another summer season, and I will be prepared for pale morning dun hatches on western rivers.