Category Archives: Fly Tying

Blogs related to tying flies

Beadhead Emerald Caddis Pupa – 11/19/2015

Beadhead Emerald Caddis Pupa 11/19/2015 Photo Album

My history with the emerald caddis pupa is explained in a 01/01/2012 post, so I will not repeat it here. In short I began using it with success in Pennsylvania, and its effectiveness translated to Colorado and western rivers. Besides being an effective imitation of various caddis species, I suggest that the emerald color is a significant triggering characteristic that attracts fish during times of the year when a specific matching caddis species is not present in significant quantities.

Top and Side View

The style of fly is copied from Gary LaFontaine’s emergent caddis pupa, which is described in Caddisflies. As Gary prepared to write his book, he performed dives in Montana rivers so he could observe the behavior of caddis as they emerged and moved through their life cycle. He was dissatisfied with the many patterns in existence at that time, and he sought improvements. During his dives he identified a significant triggering characteristic and then searched through many materials until he found a solution. He discovered that caddis pupa surrounded themselves with a bright air bubble as they swam from the stream bottom to the surface to quickly pop free and emerge into the adult stage. He was certain that imitating this glittering air bubble would lead to a caddis wet fly imitation with improved effectiveness.

After much trial and error he stumbled on to a material called antron yarn. This fabric was used in the manufacture of  carpeting, and during his experiments, he noticed that it created the illusion of an air bubble similar to natural emerging caddis. With this discovery he designed caddis subsurface patterns that used antron yarn which also was known as sparkle yarn. The critical element of the LaFontaine caddis pupa is the sheath that surrounds the abdomen, and this body component is comprised of antron yarn tied in at the bend and then folded forward to create a shroud above and below the body. Since LaFontaine’s ground breaking book, many tiers have created alternative flies and a vast number of variations, but the original design continues to catch fish and has served me well over many years. I plan to continue fishing with a proven winner that is fairly simple and straightforward to produce.

Perched on Deer Hair Used for Emergent Wing

For some reason I did not seem to fish caddis pupa as frequently in 2015 as in previous seasons, and consequently I counted twenty-five in my boat box and bins. Since I established a target beginning inventory of thirty, I only needed to tie five to reach my goal. I cranked these out yesterday, and I am prepared for caddis situations in 2016. One reason for less caddis pupa usage was fewer trips to the Arkansas River during the early part of April. I also suspect that I defaulted to the ultra zug bug in many situations where I may have previously resorted to an emergent caddis pupa.

A Fresh Batch

Hare Nation Nymph – 11/16/2015

Hare Nation Nymph 11/16/2015 Photo Album

Last winter I conceived a hybrid fly that I named the hare nation nymph. The name is a combination of hares ear nymph and salvation nymph, and my concept was to combine the features of two of my most productive flies. From the salvation nymph I borrowed the nymph back and flashabou strip along with the black peacock ice dub thorax and a coating of clear nail polish over the entire back of the fly to accentuate the flash and sparkle. From the hares ear nymph I utilized the buggy hares mask dubbing with plentiful guard hares for the abdomen and the pheasant wing feather fibers for legs. I produced thirteen of these new prototypes and used nearly all of them during the 2015 season.

Top View Shows Off the Flash

The fact that I consumed nearly all of my new flies indicates that it was a success. In addition to combining the salient traits of two productive flies, I also speculated that the hair nation fulfilled the role of a dressed up pheasant tail nymph, as it presented a similar color scheme. For some reason I historically tied my pheasant tail nymphs on size sixteen scud hooks with a bead, and this translates to a body length comparable to a size 18. I liked the idea of having some nymphs similar to pheasant tails that were a size larger for pale morning dun hatches.

A Batch of Hare Nation Nymphs and Key Ingredients

I did not pay close attention to the precise circumstances that favored the hare nation, but I recall using them early in the post-runoff time frame when pale morning duns are prevalent, and I am certain that they produced. Whether they outperformed a standard salvation nymph or not remains open to question. Perhaps in the coming year, I will alternate between the two flies during prime pale morning dun emergence periods and judge whether one is more effective than the other.

Zooming in on the Finished Flies

At any rate I experienced enough success with my new creation to convince me to tie twenty additions for my fly storage bins. In a worst case scenario I increased my salvation nymph supply by twenty, and that is not a bad circumstance. Stay tuned for updates on the evolution of the hare nation nymph.

Salvation Nymph – 11/15/2015

Salvation Nymph 11/15/2015 Photo Album

Trout candy. The salvation nymph seems to be irresistible to the trout of Colorado. If you click on the link in the previous sentence, you can read about my introduction to this fly. I now realize that the fly that I hold in such high esteem is officially named the tungsten salvation nymph and was designed by Devan Ence. I do not use tungsten to tie my version, so I simply refer to it as a salvation nymph. If adding a tungsten bead to this fly improves its performance, then perhaps it should be outlawed, since it is an extremely productive fish magnet without the tungsten.

As described in my 12/30/2011 post, I initially fished with a salvation nymph on the Conejos River during a 2011 trip, and I experienced quite a bit of success. Each year since then, I tied more of these jewels and fished them over greater time periods until they became my number one workhorse fly during 2015. During 2014 I discovered that they were particularly effective during the pale morning dun hatch time period, however, this past season convinced me that the salvation nymph is a superior fish attractor during all seasons. I usually start my day on the water with a salvation nymph attached to my line as the featured dropper in a dry/dropper configuration or as the point fly in an indicator nymph set up. Rarely does it let me down.

Top Producer

In many cases flies appeal to human beings more than they attract fish, but the salvation nymph is an example of a fly that is extremely pleasing to the eye of a fisherman and is also a tantalizing morsel to the underwater cold water inhabitants of our streams. I love the way the fly reflects light from all angles especially the iridescent sheen that emanates from the flashback and wing case. Adding to the sparkling appeal is the ice dub abdomen, the black peacock ice dub thorax and the copper rib. The small rubber appendages are simply icing on the trout dessert menu.

Salvation Nymphs and Associated Materials

All the materials are synthetic except for the tail, and this translates to durability. I dab the thread wraps with clear nail polish at three key tie down points, and then shellac the wing case and the abdominal covering with a thick layer as well. I nearly always lose these flies to rocks, tree limbs and break offs before they unravel or breakdown on their own.

Lots of Sparkle

Since I use this fly more than any others in my box, I also lose quite a few. I began 2015 with 50 salvation nymphs stashed in my fly bins, and when I recently counted my remaining stock, I discovered that eighteen remained. I increased my desired starting inventory for 2016 to sixty and the arithmetic told me that I needed to produce forty-two to reach my desired starting level. After diligently visiting the tying bench over the past week, I reached my quota, and I am excited to learn whether the salvation nymph can continue to satisfy the cravings of Colorado trout.

 

 

 

 

Hares Ear – 11/05/2015

Hares Ear 11/05/2015 Photo Album

I caught more fish on a beadhead hares ear nymph than any other fly during my fly fishing lifetime. My friend Dave Gaboury swears that my version, which he calls Dave’s hares ear, is superior to those he purchases. My modest modifications include tying them on a curved scud hook (Tiemco 2457), using small clumps of pheasant body feather fibers for the tail and legs, and including a generous amount of guard hairs from a hares mask in the dubbing. A hunting friend shot a rabbit many years ago in Pennsylvania and donated the hide to my fly tying material cache. I can certainly testify that my hares mask is the real thing, and despite tying at least a thousand of these flies, I still possess ten lifetimes worth of hares mask.

Brown Legs with Fewer Guard Hairs

Unruly Look with Guard Hairs

Gradually over the last couple years I gravitated to a salvation nymph and ultra zug bug ahead of the hares ear, however, I continue defaulting to this reliable general nymph imitation nearly every time I fish. I particularly favor the hares ear on the Arkansas River, as it seems to imitate caddis pupa and yellow sally stonefly nymphs, and these two bugs are quite prolific in Big Horn Sheep Canyon through which the Arkansas flows. Historically I attempted to enter each new season with 100 beadhead hares ear nymphs in my fly bins, but because I rely more on the other two nymphs mentioned earlier, I lowered the starting inventory goal to eighty.

Front Shot of the Pair

When I counted my existing stock of hares ear nymphs several weeks ago, I determined that I had 65, so I tied fifteen new additions to bring my total to the goal amount. When I tie beadhead hares ear nymphs, I dab head cement on the threads after attaching the tail and gold wire for ribbing. I am convinced that this helps to prevent the fly from unraveling at the rear. After I dub the abdomen, rib, and attach the wing case material; I apply another coat of head cement in the thorax area. Of course the head wraps behind the bead receive the final application of head cement to protect the fly from unraveling. This area remains the most vulnerable, and I have several flies that I plan to refurbish because the threads at the head got severed by the teeth of hungry trout.

A Batch of Hares Ear Nymphs

 

Ultra Zug Bug – 11/04/2015

I first discovered this fly in my Scott Sanchez book, and I tied some as a quick simple replacement for a prince nymph. I use a prince nymph primarily during the spring caddis hatch, as it seems to be a reasonable representation of egg laying adults. I can tie the ultra zug bug much faster than a prince, since I do not attach goose biot tails or wings. I am not sure why I limited my usage of the prince to the spring, since I suspect it would be a fish catcher all year long.

During 2014 I attached an ultra zug bug to my line when I was running low on salvation nymphs. Much to my surprise I discovered that this simple fly was highly desired by Colorado trout in the fall as well as during the spring. Consequently I tied a large batch during the off season and entered 2015 with 50 stashed in my storage box. Because I possessed a significant supply, I opted to attach this sparkling nymph to my line very frequently, and I was pleased to find that it produced fish throughout the season.

A Newly Completed Ultra Zug Bug

I recently took an inventory of my workhorse nymphs, and I determined that I needed to tie twenty-one new versions to boost my supply to fifty. I churned these out in two relatively brief tying sessions, and I am set for the next season.

Tying an ultra zug bug is about as simple as it gets. I tie them mainly on Tiemco size 14 2457 hooks, and I drop a 3/32″ gold brass bead on the hook point and push it around the bend to the hook eye. Next I attach a small clump of brown pheasant feather fibers for the tail, but I am sure alternative sources of brown tailing materials are acceptable. Next I tie in a strand of pearl crystal hair, and this step is followed by dubbing the hook shank from the tail to the bead with peacock dubbing. Taper the body and take it all the way to the bead and fill the area behind the bead generously. Next wrap the crystal hair strand as a rib to the bead and then tie it down and snip it off. I believe the crystal hair rib is a key ingredient of this fly, as it provides a nice sparkle from beneath the shaggy dubbing. Finally spin a couple sparse clumps of dubbing around the hook just behind the bead, and then pull the fibers that extend forward back and place three wraps over them to lock in a rear facing position. Whip finish and coat the thread wraps with head cement. The last step is to comb through the spun dubbing and then cut off the fibers that extend beyond the hook bend.

Ten Additions to My Fly Box

That’s it. You now have a simple productive attractor nymph that seems to attract fish all season long. They look extremely buggy, but I am not sure what actual insect they actually imitate. As long as I am catching fish I really do not care.

Jake’s Gulp Beetle – 10/22/2015

Jake’s Gulp Beetle 10/22/2015 Photo Album

Jake Chutz is the Sales Manager for Montana Fly Company, and he invited me to join him for a day of fishing on the Elk River near Fernie, BC in August. We floated the river from Hosmer to Fernie on 8/8/2014, and we used a Jake’s gulp beetle nearly the entire time. I landed twenty fish over the course of the day, and all but one or two succumbed to the size 10 foam terrestrial. The west slope cutthroats loved the fake beetle, and quite a few of my landed fish measured fifteen to seventeen inches.

This was my first introduction to Jake’s gulp beetle. My fishing partner, Jake Chutz, was the designer, so he obviously knew it was an effective imitation. During the morning and late afternoon we fished a beetle with a deep purple dubbed body, and during the middle of the day we switched to a version with a red body. Both seemed to produce equally based on my unscientific observation.

A Different Angle

At the end of my trip to British Columbia, Jake allowed me to retain the size 10 gulp beetle with a purple body, so I stuffed it in my front pack. I gave it a try on the East Fork of Brush Creek when I returned to Colorado, but it did not produce any results. I essentially forgot about my gift fly until I visited the Big Thompson River on September 30. The resident trout began to refuse my Chernobyl ant, and I pondered what sort of adjustment to make. Jake’s gulp beetle leaped into my mind, and I knotted my sole size ten to my line. Much to my amazement the Big Thompson trout feasted on my lonely beetle with confidence. Since it was the only one in my possession, and I wanted to use it as a model to tie more, I was extremely protective and checked the line for abrasions frequently. This is something I rarely do, although I probably should.

I landed twenty-eight fish that day on the Big Thompson, and most gulped the beetle. On subsequent trips to Clear Creek, the same scenario played out where fish rejected the large Chernobyl ant but did not waver in their approach to Jake’s beetle. On two separate occasions I sat down at my vice and produced three size 12 gulp beetles, so I was adequately prepared for my remaining fall fishing trips.

Ten Size 12’s Completed

After a long and unseasonably warm fall in Colorado, some cooler temperatures and rain arrived on October 21. This forced me to take a break from fishing, and I used it as an opportunity to kick start my production tying in preparation for the next season. What better way to begin my tying than to crank out twenty Jake’s gulp beetles. I made ten size 12 beetles with a peacock dubbed body, and today I expanded my inventory with ten size tens. Half of the size tens have a peacock dubbed body, and the other five have a red body. The red body worked on the Elk River, so I needed to have some to test in Colorado. I’m also hopeful that the red body will be an answer to the phenomenon of a trout rising to a red strike indicator.

Red Dubbed Underbody

Since I did not have tying instructions, I developed my own through trial and error. Here they are if readers wish to try:

1.  Place a size 12 or 10 Tiemco 2457 hook in your vice. Jake told me to use a heavy nymph hook as it acts as a keel so that the fly lands properly.

2. Attach black thread and wind it a good distance down the bend of the hook. This is important. If the tie down is too far forward, the fly will have too much bare hook shank visible after the foam is folded forward. I also coat the thread with head cement before proceeding.

3. Take a strip of black foam that is cut so that the width equals the hook gap. Create a V in the end that you will tie down.

4. Place the V portion of the foam on top of the thread wraps so that the non-tapered portion lines up with the beginning of your thread wraps on the bend, and then wrap the thread around the V portion of the foam and bind it securely to the hook. When you reach the end of the foam, wrap back to the starting point. I’ve started tying a whip finish knot at this tie down point, but do not cut the thread. Also I coat the entire foam tie down area with head cement. These are all steps that help prevent the foam from twisting around the hook shank after extended use.

5. Dub over the tie down area and the hook shank with a thick clump of dubbing. I use peacock and red, but you can exercise your preference. You want the area from the tie down point to approximately two or three eye lengths back from the eye to be very wide and fat like a natural beetle. Dub a thinner amount over the last three eye lengths and then return to the spot that is three eye lengths behind the eye with your thread.

6. Tie in two sets of fine rubber legs on either side of the hook shank where the thick dubbing tapers to thin.

7. Fold the foam forward over the top of the body and use your scissors to snip a slit on both sides at the point where the legs are tied to the hook shank. Be careful not to snip too deeply as you need a decent amount to remain to securely tie down the foam. I snip the side closest to me, and then fold it back to its original position and snip the opposite side across from my first slit.

8. Once the slits are created, fold the foam back over the top of the body and tie it down through the slits with three or four solid wraps.

9. Carefully cut off excess foam so that it ends just over the hook eye. Make sure your legs are out of harms way when you cut the foam..

10. Carefully create tiny notches where you made slits by cutting out a tiny amount of foam in front of the slit. Again make sure the legs are not in the way.

11. Turn the fly upside down and shape the small foam head by making angled cuts from the end back to the notches. Avoid snipping the legs as you do this.

12. Position the fly right side up, and tie in a narrow section of brightly colored foam as an indicator. I prefer bright orange.

13.  Move the thread underneath and make five wraps between the eye and the point where the foam is tied down underneath the head.

14. Whip finish and coat the thread wraps with head cement.

15. Trim the legs and indicator to the proper length.

Size 10’s

Cathy’s Super Bugger – 03/12/2015

Cathy’s Super Bugger

While searching for tying instructions on YouTube for Cathy’s Super Beetle, I encountered a video showing the tying steps for Cathy’s Super Bugger. As I was looking for ideas to augment my supply of streamers, this caught my attention. I possessed all the materials required to produce this variation on the ever popular woolly bugger, so I scheduled it for my next tie.

The woolly bugger is one of the simplest yet most effective flies ever created. It is typically the first fly that beginners attempt as only a few materials are attached to the hook, and it introduces the novice tier to wrapping chenille and hackle.

Four Completed

I made one modification to the YouTube video instructions by substituting a cone shaped bead for barbell eyes, but everything else followed the script. I added crystal flash to the tail, and wrapped a very webby hackle from my grizzly cape. The other enhancement over a traditional woolly bugger was the addition of long speckled silicone legs dangling just behind the cone head. I think that the reader will agree that these flies look like certain fish attractors. The combination of the marabou tail, oversized grizzly hackle and wiggling legs should create constant movement in the water and attract any fish in the vicinity. I made six with grizzly hackle and two with brown hackle. One never knows what color the fish will prefer.

A Brown Hackle Version Featured

Cathy’s Super Beetle – 03/08/2015

Terrestrials are top producers among my dry fly collection, and in fact I love to use them as visible surface attractors while I probe the more shallow parts of the river with one or two nymph droppers. I frequently prospect the rivers of Colorado with four different grasshopper imitations: the Letort hopper, a parachute hopper, the Charlie Boy hopper, and the increasingly popular pool toy. A Chernobyl ant is a mainstay attractor and supporter of beadhead nymphs, while small parachute ants have worked for me when sight fishing to selective risers.

Side View

The main category of terrestrials missing from my fly inventory is coleoptera or beetles. I suspect that contrary to its name, the Chernobyl ant actually imitates a large beetle, so the frequent usage of a large foam ant probably fills the beetle void. There are frustrating times, however, when fish rise to inspect my Chernobyl ant, but then turn away and drop back to the depths of the river. Once the trout refuse my Chernobyl ant, I am usually unable to induce a take from the trailing nymph. I’ve often wondered if a smaller beetle imitation that more closely resembles naturals might be a strong second option when fish reject the Chernobyl ant.

A Better View

As I browsed through my notebook of flies that I copied from the various fly fishing magazines, I spotted a pattern named Cathy’s Super Beetle. This foam terrestrial was designed by Cathy Beck, and I liked the simplicity of it, so I decided to tie a few to test during the upcoming season. The fly did in fact prove to be quite easy to tie, although I never like dealing with super glue. Nevertheless I produced eight super beetles and placed them in my new boat box. They feature black foam bodies over under bodies of black peacock. I made five with white antron yarn as an indicator, and then I created two with a pink poly indicator wing and one with a visible orange poly tuft. Speckled silicone legs add life-like movement and the final step involves folding the foam back over the front of the fly to create a beetle head.

Pretty in Pink

Perhaps these super beetles will thwart the selective trout that refuse my normally productive Chernobyl ants. I’m quite excited to toss them on local waters during the approaching spring season in Colorado.

JuJu Emerger – 03/06/2015

Having completed my production tying of proven producers, I began to search through books and saved magazine articles for interesting fly patterns that I could tie and add to my expanding inventory. Several years ago I made some soft hackle emergers from Charlie’s Flybox, and these flies proved to be mainstays in my box and very effective during blue winged olive hatches. Charlie Craven writes a column in Fly Fisherman magazine, and a recent pattern from that source caught my eye. It is called a juju emerger, and it has several materials in common with the soft hackle emerger. Given my success with the soft hackle emerger, I resolved to tie some juju emergers.

Yellow Quill Body Emerger

When I reviewed the material list, I discovered that I was missing one key ingredient – olive superhair. I immediately tried to visualize a replacement material and after a short pause, I remembered the quills that I purchased to make quill body flies as described in A.K.’s Fly Box. Unfortunately these require soaking in water to soften them sufficiently to wrap around a hook. I immediately placed some light yellow and medium olive in a cup of water, but when I attempted to wrap the olive one around the hook shank on my first juju emerger, the surface layer cracked and separated from the base. I was anxious to tie an initial prototype, so I improvised again and sorted through my antron yarn supply until I settled on gold antron. I manufactured my first juju emerger using the prescribed materials and steps in the Fly Fisherman article and ended up with a nice wet fly with a gold antron body. I was reasonably pleased, but I still yearned to tie the pattern using the body materials specified in the Craven recipe.

Brown and Olive Super Hair on These Jujus

The following evening I adjourned to my fly tying area and produced two more juju emergers with quill bodies made from the softened quills in the plastic cup. I liked these better than the dubbed body version, but I remained curious to create the specified emerger with a two-toned super hair body. I made one additional deviation from the Craven pattern on these two flies, and that was the substitution of brown pheasant feather fibers for the microfibbet tails. The pheasant fibers are much easier to tie on, and I’m hopeful the microfibbets are not essential to the effectiveness of the fly.

New Juju Emergers Ready for Action

The next weekend I drove to Charlie’s Flybox store in Old Arvada and purchased olive super hair along with an assortment of other needed fly tying materials. With the missing ingredient now in my possession, I cranked out six more juju emergers, and I am quite excited to give them a try. The CDC tuft and the white flouro fiber topping should be great fish attracting attributes.

Parachute Adams – 02/27/2015

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.