Super Nova Baetis 04/04/2020 Photo Album

@hopperjuan_fly_fishing is one of my favorite tiers on Instagram, and during the corona virus pandemic he has been posting various patterns to occupy the hours while abiding to the stay at home order. His super nova series caught my attention, and I produced five to test on the local waters. Juan presented two recipes; one for a baetis imitation and one for a pale morning dun. I attempted the baetis version first.

Small Flashy Nymph

I largely adhered to his materials list; however, I was forced to make a few substitutions for items that I did not possess. With the stay at home order I am limited to online purchases, and I was too impatient to wait for a delivery. In addition, I am making a concerted effort to draw from my vast quantities of materials that would in all likelihood supply five lifetimes of tiers. Juan’s recipe lists diamond brite, bronze olive for the thorax, and I substituted peacock ice dub. For legs he listed MFC midge body thread, and I substituted black crystal flash. I use black crystal flash for the legs on the iron sally, and I love the look, when small appendages are desired. In one other deviation from the prescribed pattern, I utilized two strands of brown super hair for the rib instead of brown slim rib for three of the five super novas. For the smaller sizes I think I like the finer rib of super hair, and I was making size 18 baetis nymphs.

Nice One

Otherwise, I love the simplicity of this design, and I am hopeful that it effectively supplements my already generous supply of baetis nymph imitations. RS2’s and its variations are my main source of baetis nymphs at the moment, but I am not averse to a new fly earning my trust.

Partridge and Orange 04/03/2020 Photo Album

I Did Not Have Orange Thread. Only Neon Orange.

Next in line for trial flies selected from my fly fishing magazines was the partridge and orange. This is a classic wet fly, and I am intrigued to tie some old time favorites to determine, if they might still produce in these high tech times. The materials list specified only a handful of materials, and all were in my immediate possession. This was a relatively simple fly to tie, and I am quite pleased with the result. Wrapping the partridge soft hackle was the greatest challenge, but once I completed one, it became fairly straightforward.

Since I tied this fly in early April, and I completed a couple trips afterward, I tested the partridge and orange on a local stream. Unfortunately I am unable to report any success; however, when wet, it looks amazing. I will continue to test it during 2020, and I am very confident that the old reliable partridge and orange will produce its share of fish. A fly would not last this long without a history of success.

I Love This Macro Look

Pat’s Rubber Legs 01/10/2020 Photo Album

The impetus for tying ten Pat’s rubber leg flies was the glowing reports that I received from my friend Dave G. Dave fished the Eagle River and Colorado River with much success during the 2019 season, and his top producer was an olive Pat’s rubber legs. He became acquainted with the fly on several guided float trips, and his guides referred to it as the pickle fly because of the olive green variegated body.

Which Leg Material?

Previously I tied some Pat’s rubber legs, but one version used yellow-brown chenille and another utilized black and coffee. On one of my recent trips to Charlie’s Fly Box in Arvada, CO I purchased a new card of variegated olive chenille. I searched for and found a color that matched the shade of a pickle.

Tan and Black

Since quite a few years transpired since my last Pat’s rubber legs tying project, I searched YouTube for some tutorials, and I settled on one produced by Tim Flagler of tightlinevideo. I highly recommend this take, as Tim offers some unique tips. The most difficult aspect of tying this relatively simple fly is wrapping the chenille through the rubber legs, and Tim’s recommended techniques tame the uncooperative appendages.

A Finished Batch

I tied ten for my first foray into green Pat’s rubber legs, and I am anxious to take them for a spin on local rivers and streams.

Wiggle Damsel Nymph 01/06/2020 Photo Album

I searched this blog for wiggle damsel, and I was surprised to discover a post on 12/04/2011. The wiggle damsel is a simple fly designed by Charlie Craven, but the reason I was surprised was learning that the last time I produced these creations was in 2011. If you are interested in tying these damsel fly nymph imitations, check out the 12/04/2011 post for a materials table and tying steps.

Wiggle Damsel

I utilized the wiggle damsels sporadically over the last eight years, but their main effectiveness lies in the stillwater fly fishing realm, and I fished flowing water ninety percent of the time. This explains the fact that seven wiggle damsels remained in my possession, when I counted my storage containers. As a result of the extended run off in 2019, I visited lakes more often than usual, and on one trip to Flatirons Reservoir, I enjoyed a modest amount of success with the marabou nymph pattern. I also lost a few during the lake fishing season, so I decided to produce ten new versions to increase my supply to seventeen. This quantity will likely suffice for quite a few years into the future.

A Batch of Ten

The highlight of my association with the wiggle damsel occurred during my trip to Patagonia in 2013. This experience affirmed my confidence in the breathing and wiggling nymph imitation, and I plan to maintain a supply during all my fly fishing adventures.

Scud 12/20/2019 Photo Album

Back in the 90’s an orange scud was one of my most productive flies on the South Platte River in Deckers and Cheesman Canyon. From late April through May, I presented an orange scud along with a San Juan worm or beadhead pheasant tail, and the scud was often the top producer. My trips to that area dwindled after the Heyman Fire in 2002, and my usage of a scud faded in a similar fashion. Over the intervening years I occasionally experimented with an orange scud, and the freshwater shrimp produced a few fish. It was never a first choice, however, and consequently it occupied a position on my line infrequently.

Pleased

I recently read some articles that suggested a scud is a very productive fly during the cold weather months on tailwaters, and I decided to assess my supply and diversify to some different colors. My counting exercise determined that I carried eight orange, three gray and zero olive scuds in my storage compartments. I decided to tie five olive, five gray and three orange to increase my holdings to respectable levels.

Side View

During the 90’s I tied orange scuds with no shell back as recommended by Roger Hill in his Fly Fishing the South Platte River book. For this replenishment exercise, however, I decided to include a shell back, and I viewed several videos on YouTube to refresh my memory on tying steps. I settled on Charlie Craven’s approach, however, I did not possess the Swiss straw material that he used for the shell back, and this forced me to improvise. Another video used a translucent product called thin skin, and it displayed a pattern of random black spots. I pulled an old Ziploc storage bag from a kitchen drawer and determined that it was approximately the desired thickness. I dabbed a square section in the corner of the bag with a black permanent marker and then cut the square from the bag. Voila! I now had a handcrafted shell back material for my scuds.

Scuds and Materials

In addition to the substitute shell back material I skipped the weighting step, but I otherwise followed Craven’s approach and produced the targeted number of scuds for 2020 and beyond. I hope to knot these ever-present crustaceans to my line more frequently in 2020.

Salad Spinner 12/17/2019 Photo Album

The salad spinner was designed by my friend, Danny Ryan, and he demonstrated its effectiveness on a fishing trip to the South Platte River in 2015. This eye opener prompted me to tie a batch, and my post of 12/12/2015 provides the tying steps and some background information on the fly.

Between 2015 and now I tested the salad spinner on numerous occasions, and it yielded enough success to secure a permanent place in my fly box, I counted twenty-one in my various storage boxes, and this prompted me to tie an additional four to increase my inventory to twenty-five for the upcoming season. I refurbished two that were unraveling and created two from bare hooks.

I Love the Red Rib

I should probably fish midge larva and pupa more frequently, and if I modify my behavior to do so, the salad spinner will be a likely beneficiary of more time on my line.

The Key Materials

Soft Hackle Emerger 12/16/2019 Photo Album

During the winter of 2012 I began tying the Craven soft hackle emerger, and my initial post on this fly along with a materials list is available for your perusal at 01/19/2012. An update on the status of the soft hackle emerger in my stable of blue winged olive imitations is available on my post of 01/20/2019. In summary, the wet fly version without a bead has served as a viable option during baetis hatches, particularly on windy days, when the adults get blown off the water in rapid fire fashion. The soft hackle emerger fished in the film or just below the surface seems to fool trout that are keying on emergers and cripples in adverse mayfly emergence situations.

Looking Down

My supply of beaded size twenties remained adequate at thirty-six, so I concentrated my tying efforts on the wet fly style without a bead. I counted seventeen size 20’s, nine size 22’s, and fourteen size 24’s, when I surveyed my various storage containers. I positioned myself at my vice and produced three additional 20’s, one 22 and one 24 to increase my quantities to amounts divisible by five. Why? I have no idea, but I needed to practice building soft hackle emergers.

Closing In on Five New Flies

Sparkle Wing RS2 12/15/2019 Photo Album

I added the sparkle wing RS2 to my repertoire during the winter of 2017, and I used it with less than glowing results during the 2018 season. Last winter I replenished my supply and began the season with twenty, but when I counted my stock recently, I discovered that my inventory shrank to eleven. Clearly I utilized the sparkle wing version fairly often during 2019, and thus the decline in quantity.

Sparkle Wing

I added sparkle wing RS2s to my arsenal, after I noticed many anglers on Instagram testifying to their effectiveness. I am not totally sold that they are preferable to the classic version; however, I acknowledge that they possess significantly more flash, and perhaps during emergence situations are superior fish attractors. My post of 01/17/2019 provides a bit more information regarding my shift to the sparkle wing. The tying steps follow those of the classic RS2. For a materials table refer to my 01/21/2011 post, but replace the tail with fluoro fiber and utilize white antron fibers for the wing instead of the fluff from a pheasant body feather.

The Cluster

I churned out nine new sparkle wing RS2’s and restored my beginning inventory for 2020 to twenty. Hopefully the deployment of classic and sparkle wing RS2’s will continue to deliver hungry trout to my net in the new year.

Three Materials

Iron Sally 12/10/2019 Photo Album

My love affair with the iron sally began in 2013, but for a solid introduction read my post of 02/04/2014. This entry chronicles my early association and provides a link to an early success story on the Arkansas River. If you take the time to read 12/14/2018, you will understand the rapid advancement of this fly on my nymph ” must have” list. As I prepare this entry on 12/10/2019, I can report that the legend of the iron sally with Dave Weller continues to grow.

Flash and Folded Wing

Of course, it serves as an excellent representation of yellow sally and golden stonefly nymphs during July and August, when those insects are prevalent on western streams. However, I also discovered that trout relish the gold hued nymphs throughout the season. Apparently stonefly nymphs get knocked loose from their rocky homes frequently and subsequently drift into the mouths of hungry trout. During the fall of 2019 I knotted the iron sally to my line in many situations, where I previously utilized a hares ear nymph, and I was pleased with the results. The wire abdomen adds weight to the fly, and this enables me to achieve deeper drifts in fast water and pocket water situations. During 2019 I experimented with using heavier lead flies such as the iron sally and 20 incher to gain more depth in dry/dropper situations, and I concluded that bouncing close to the bottom of the stream is a benefit in many scenarios. I suspect that I missed out on some solid fishing in previous seasons by ignoring the important fly fishing practice of adjusting weight for stream conditions.

Symmetrical From the Bottom

The iron sally occupies a position near the top of my preferred nymph rankings, and it consequently receives increased time on my line each year. The only drawback to this fly is the additional amount of time required to tie it compared to a hares ear nymph. During my recent tying efforts, I tried a modification suggested by Hopper Juan Ramirez on his YouTube video. Instead of tying in 8-10 strands of black crystal flash and then using it for the back of the abdominal area, I substituted a strip of flashback black. I delayed tying in the black crystal flash, until I reached the thorax construction stage. This change reduced tying time moderately, but managing the small legs and the folded wing case continue to be the major time consumers. I am considering some alternatives for the wing case for future seasons, so stay tuned.

Even Closer

I counted my iron sally nymphs and determined that I maintained a stock of twenty-six size 12’s and five size 14’s. I am increasingly interested in testing the effectiveness of the smaller size version, so I tied five 14’s to boost that inventory to ten, and then I added four size 12’s to even up that quantity at thirty. I guarantee that the iron sally will continue to excel in the coming year.

A New Batch of Size 12’s and 14’s