Chernobyl Ant 02/01/2022 Photo Album
In spite of the surge in popularity of the chubby Chernobyl, I continue to value and stock the classic Chernobyl ant. I have very little to add to my writings of 01/23/2021, so I refer you to that comprehensive report.
Counting Chernobyl Ants
As was the case then, I counted my supply and determined that I possess more than adequate quantities of size 8 and 10 Chernobyl ants. I passed on tying more and moved on to the next foam attractor on my list.
Hippie Stomper 01/30/2022 Photo Album
I cannot find enough superlatives to describe this valued weapon in my fly fishing arsenal, so I will just say, “Wow”. Check out my post from a year ago, for an update and click on this link to my post of 11/18/2018 for a materials table. The story of my introduction to the hippie stomper can be found in my 01/13/2018 post.
My success over the past year surpassed even my highest expectations, and I am a confirmed believer in the hippie stomper. The stomper delivers results year round, and I use it solo and as part of a dry/dropper and double dry rig. It is small enough to minimize the impact on the water, yet buoyant enough to support two size fourteen beadhead nymphs. In a double dry fly configuration I position it first and trail a smaller dry, and it enables me to track the smaller fly quite well. I recommend using a short dropper of six to twelve inches, should you wish to experiment with the double dry approach.
From the Side
What does a hippie stomper imitate? It is hard to know; however, I believe it is first and foremost a terrestrial. However, it could easily be taken for a stonefly or a green drake. During the western green drake season I often knot a hippie stomper with a peacock body to my line along with a nymph dropper or another dry fly during the hours that precede a hatch. I believe that the peacock hippie stomper is close enough to a green drake adult to draw attention or looks prior to the actual hatch. This technique enables me to hedge my bets, as I test for what the trout are tuned into.
A Clump of Stompers
As I generally forget the tying steps from year to year, I have settled on the fly tying video from Andrew Grillos to refresh my memory. Andrew is the creator of the hippie stomper, and it represents his signature fly and one of the most popular in the Umpqua Feather Merchants’ catalog. Simply Google Andrew Grillos to find the video.
A Different Angle
As you might imagine, heavy usage produced significant shrinkage, so I tied twelve new models with peacock dubbed bodies and five with olive ice dub bodies. The olive body flies are the first to go on my line during green drake season. I cannot recommend a fly more highly than the hippie stomper.
Sunk Ant 01/21/2022 Photo Album
If you visit my post of 12/21/2020, you will discover that I added sunken ants to my arsenal of trout chasing flies during the winter of 2020-21. The aforementioned post contains a materials table and points the reader to an online video by Kelly Galloup that provides the tying steps for his sunk ant. The brief report also explains why I adopted sunken ants, and they now represent a significant weapon in my search for wild trout.
Size 16 Sunk Ant
I made five size 16 and five size 14 ants last winter, and after I counted my remaining supply, I decided to increment my inventory by another five of each size. During the 2021 season I enjoyed continued success with my sunken ants. They seem to be particularly productive on small high mountain streams, and this seems logical, since trees and bushes tend to be closer to the water, and this in turn suggests a high probability of the ever present ants tumbling into the creek. I recall days on Clear Creek, South Boulder Creek and Lake Creek where the sunk ant was popular with the local stream residents.
5 14’s and 5 16’s
My goal for 2022 is to utilize the sunk ant even more, and in doing so I plan to test it in larger rivers and in all seasons. Ants seem to exist in spring, summer and fall; so why should they not catch fish in all three seasons? I plan to find out.
Crystal Stone 01/18/2022 Photo Album
I love the look of this fly, and I created it myself. Given the millions of flies out there, there may be another similar version, but I am taking credit for this small black stonefly imitation. For the story behind how it came into existence browse my post of 03/06/2021. This brief narrative contains a materials table and step by step tying instructions, if you feel the urge to produce a few.
Left Side View
I must admit that my intentions surpassed my actions with this fly. I did knot it to my line a few times, and I believe it delivered a fish or two; however, I would like to deploy it more frequently in 2022 to better assess its effectiveness.
Necessary Materials
Since last year it was purely experimental, I only tied five. Given my optimism for its productivity assuming more usage, I generated another ten for the upcoming season. I sincerely plan to give it a solid test run this year.
Arkansas Rubber Legs – 01/16/2022 Photo Album
I last tied the Arkansas rubber leg nymph in 2013, and you can check out the post that I made at that time by clicking on 01/17/2013. This report also describes how I became acquainted with this stonefly imitation.
In the intervening years I lost sight of the Arkansas rubber legs, until last spring, when I pulled one out of my fleece wallet and knotted it to my line on a trip to the Arkansas River on 03/09/2021. The large weighted fly with rubber legs accounted for two nice brown trout, and I made a mental note to check my supply and resurrect its presence in my fly supply.
Angled Left Side
Apparently stoneflies go through a molting process in February and March, and the trout view the light-colored and soft-bodied insects as delicacies. This explains my surprising success on my early March trip. I am not certain why I abandoned the rubber legs for such a long time.
There are numerous videos for tying Pat’s rubber legs nymphs, and any will work fine for manufacturing a bunch for your fly box. Simply substitute an orange/yellow/light green chenille and also use rubber legs with a similar olive and yellow sheen. I particularly like the tying video by Tim Flagler at tightlinevideo. In this demonstration Tim shows how to form the antennae, tail and legs by using UV resin, and I feel this really simplifies the task of making the legs and weaving the chenille through the dangling appendages.
Three New Rubber Legs With Materials
When I counted my inventory of Arkansas rubber legs, I discovered that I had nine in my possession. I sat down at my vise and produced an additional three with conehead beads plus one that is weighted with wire but does not feature a bead. It will not be long before the stoneflies on the Arkansas River molt, and hopefully my Arkansas rubber legs will allow me to fool a few.
Prince Nymph 01/15/2022 Photo Album
The prince nymph is an old classic that remains an essential offering in my collection of nymphs. The peacock body, brown goose biot tail, and white goose biot horns are proven fish attractors. For more information of the prince nymph and my tying modifications click on this link to my 11/21/2020 post.
Angled and Closer
I counted my inventory of various sizes of prince nymphs recently and determined that I needed to tie only three to boost my supply to my goal levels. Within one day I achieved my target with three size 12 weighted prince nymphs. The prince nymph is a versatile fly that imitates stoneflies, green drake nymphs and egg laying caddis. There is some overlap with the 20 incher, but I utilize the prince in smaller sizes, when I attempt to mimic green drake nymphs and egg laying female caddis.
Three Additions
I am certain that I am prepared with prince nymphs for the 2022 season.
20 Incher 01/13/2022 Photo Album
The 20 incher was a popular subsurface fly on my line during the 2021 season. It is a classic stonefly nymph imitation designed by a Colorado fly tyer. For additional information on the 20 incher check out my 11/24/2020 post on this blog.
Left Side
There is a lot to like about this fly. Peacock is a dependable attractor, and I like the brown goose biot tail and the silver tinsel ribbing in contrast to the iridescent peacock herl. I utilized hares mask dubbing for the thorax and topped it off with a turkey quill section for the wing case. Other than the ribbing this fly is entirely comprised of natural materials, and that is a rarity in this day and age of synthetics.
20 Incher Clump
During the past season I defaulted to the 20 incher on numerous occasions, when I felt my flies were not drifting deep enough. and the dependable nymph produced quite frequently. I augmented my supply of 20 inchers by six, and I am satisfied that I possess enough to get me through another season. Bring on the stonefly eaters in 2022.
Iron Sally 01/09/2022 Photo Album
Read my post of 11/16/2020 for links to a materials table and an explanation of my introduction to this fantastic fly. I believe that the iron sally is one of the prettiest flies that I tie, but more importantly it is very effective at duping western trout.
A Fine Iron Sally
I reviewed the 11/16/2020 post before I composed this report, and this caused me to recall that I began substituting Tyvek material for turkey quill for the wing case. Guess what? I tied a new batch of six before I read that, and I reverted to turkey quill sections. The folded wing case is snugged in between wraps of thread and dubbing, so the durability of the material is not a major concern, but I hope to return to Tyvek, when I replenish my supply next winter.
Three 12’s and Three 14’s
I carry size 12’s and 14’s, and when I counted my inventory, I decided to manufacture six additional flies to increase my stock to desired levels. This fly has become a mainstay in my nymph collection, and I find it particularly effective on the Arkansas River. I would not want to be without iron sallies during 2022.
Soft Hackle Emerger 01/08/2022 Photo Album
My history with the Craven soft hackle emerger is documented via several links on my post of 12/16/2019. I discovered this pattern in a fly tying book by Charlie Craven, and it has since become a mainstay among my blue winged olive offerings. For awhile I tied them with beads to create sink, but I have recently relied on them for their original intended use as a wet fly just beneath the surface or an emerger in the surface film. For this reason I began tying them without a bead. I have quite a few beaded versions in my fly boxes should a deeper drift be required.
Nice Clarity
I counted my soft hackle emergers in size 22 and 24 and determined that five additional flies of each version were required. I produced these in a short amount of time, and I am now satisfied with my soft hackle emerger supply. The most difficult aspect of this fly is finding hen hackles for the tiny sizes. I have now tied enough of these flies, that I have improved my ability to fold a hackle. As they say, practice makes perfect.
Tiny Wet Flies
Sparkle Wing RS2 01/04/2022 Photo Album
The sparkle wing RS2 is a close cousin of the classic RS2. Simply replace the tail with fluoro fiber strands and replace the wing with antron yarn, and you transform the classic RS2 into a flashier modern version that utilizes some synthetic materials. Read my 12/15/2019 post to obtain links to a materials table and additional information regarding the fly’s effectiveness.
Unruly
As I progress through each new year of fly fishing, the sparkle wing RS2 seems to gain favor with me, and consequently it is allocated more time on my line. The natural outgrowth of this circumstance is the loss of more flies.
Materials and Flies
I counted my supply and determined that I needed to tie ten new sparkle wings to replace flies that I lost during the 2021 season. I accomplished this mission in several sessions at the fly tying vise, and I am now prepared with classic and sparkle wing RS2’s for baetis hatches in the forthcoming year.