Iron Sally 12/22/2024 Photo Album

Review my post of 12/11/2023 for additional incite on the iron sally. As mentioned there, it has become a workhorse fly among my arsenal. It combines flash and weight for depth and attraction.

Size 12

It is not an easy fly to tie as a result of the actions taking place in the thorax area, but I persevered. The effort is worthwhile since the finished product is quite pretty. I tie the iron sally in sizes 12 and 14. I suspect fourteens mimic the nymph of yellow sallies, and the twelves imitate golden stonefly nymphs.

Size 14

For whatever reason I did not deplete my supply as in past years. It seems as if I never encountered strong stonefly emergences as was the case in prior summers. I counted my supply and determined that I needed to tie three flies; one size 12 and two size 14’s. I finished them today, and I am pleased with the output.

Materials and Completed Flies

Emerald Caddis Pupa 12/21/2024 Photo Album

A good starting point to deep drilling this fly is my post of 12/08/2023, and that narrative contains a link to a 2012 post with a wealth of additional information. As stated in the 12/08 post, I believe much success of this fly derives from the emerald body color. I have captured caddis that have the same color at the tip of their abdomen, and I have also harvested caddis worms with a similar body color.

Angled Emerald Caddis Pupa

All my caddis pupa follow the design created by Gary LaFontaine in his milestone book Caddisflies. The antron sheath was the foundational design concept that LaFontaine devised, and all my pupa contain this feature. The antron sheath imitates the air bubble that forms around the pupa, as it ascends to the surface to transition into an adult.

A Group of Three New Flies

I suffered very little shrinkage of this fly in 2024, so I only tied three additional models. One was deposited in my storage box, and two were gifted to Ben, the young man I mentored during 2024.

Go2 Caddis Pupa 12/21/2024 Photo Album

The go2 caddis pupa is a favorite offering for me during the spring grannom hatch. The grannom hatch is famous on the Arkansas River, but I have also encountered it on other Colorado rivers during the pre-runoff time frame.

New Go2 Caddis Pupa

Check out my post of 11/20/2022 for a bit more information on this fly, or click on the link on that post to drill further into my experience with this fly. I love the substitution of the bright chartreuse diamond rib material for the body of this fly.

Three Go2 Caddis Pupa Added to Iinventory

For some reason I did not lose many of these flies in 2024, so I produced only three new ones for my fly boxes. I kept one to increase my supply to a multiple of five, and I made two additional flies for Ben, the young angler that I mentored during the summer of 2024.

Psycho Prince 12/18/2024 Photo Album

Was it the name or appearance? If a prince nymph is an effective fly, why wouldn’t a psycho prince be an even more dynamic fish magnet? I decided to tie some and test the allure of this flashy subsurface fly.

Not Bad for an Early Attempt

I found a YouTube tying video and collected the requisite materials. Various body material combinations were suggested, but I settled on purple. Brown and white goose biot wings were carryovers from the prince nymph. I used copper wire for ribbing, as detailed in the fly recipe that I followed, and brown ice dubbing was used for the collar behind the bead. I deviated from the prescribed pattern in four ways. For the abdomen, I did not possess purple ice dub, so I substituted a fine purple synthetic material. The YouTube video utilized six strands of pheasant tail fibers for the covering over the abdomen. I felt that material was too fragile, so I replaced it with a strand of pearl flashabou over a strip of flashback black, and I coated this overlay with UV resin, before I completed the forward part of the fly. My third modification was the usage of white antron for the wing stub at the back of the thorax area. For a fourth modification I wrapped a strip of weighting material around the hook in the thorax area as a foundation.

A Batch of Five

Since this fly is at an experimental stage with me, I only tied five prototypes. Three were size 12 and two were size 14. These flies went into my active fleece wallet immediately. I plan to tie one to my line instead of a prince nymph at my first opportunity.

Prince Nymph 12/17/2024 Photo Album

For a brief rundown on the prince nymph and a link to prior year posts, please click on 11/19/2022. The prince nymph is always among the top five nymphs cited as necessary flies to maintain in one’s fly box, and I agree with that assessment.

Small Version

I always carry an adequate quantity of sizes 12 and 14 in my fleece wallet. I also weight these flies with non-toxic wire, and I tie with a bead. This fly sinks, and I frequently deploy it as the top subsurface fly in a dry/dropper arrangement, thus, assuring deep drifts. Quite often the fish demonstrate a preference for the weighted nymph over the smaller end fly.

Size 12

My count suggested that I needed four prince nymphs of each size, so I applied my talents to the vise and produced that quantity. Three of the smaller nymphs were derived from old prince nymphs that outlived their usefulness.

A Batch of Eight Awaiting Storage

20 Incher 12/13/2024 Photo Album

I have little new information to offer on the classic 20 incher. Check out this link to last year’s post for more insight.

Classic 20 Incher

The 20 incher continues to be a stalwart offering among my collection of nymphs. The stonefly imitation represents a large fly on a heavy wire with added weight. When I sense that my flies are not getting deep enough in a dry/dropper configuration, the 20 incher is often the answer. It is a fine fish attractor in addition to providing ballast for deeper drifts.

I cycled through several materials for the wing case, but I settled on turkey quill segments for the time being. They are more fragile than Tyvek, but when topped with UV resin, I like the natural look.

Additions to Inventory and Materials Required

I counted my stock and determined that I needed five additional to bring my total to a nice round number going into 2025. I produced five size 12’s, and I am ready for some early season stonefly nymph action.

Ultra Zug Bug 12/10/2024 Photo Album

This simple yet effective fly was designed by Scott Sanchez. I found it in one of his fly tying books, and it has proven fairly effective in the subsequent years. To learn more about this fly click on this link to last year’s post, and that in turn provides a link to earlier posts.

One More Ultra Zug Bug

This fly offers several advantages. First, it is very simple and can be tied quickly. Aside from the bead and hook, it only utilizes three materials; fibers from the body feather of a game bird for the tail, synthetic peacock dubbing (I use Ligas), and a strand of crystal flash for the ribbing. Of course you can substitute different dubbings, should you wish to vary the color of the fly.

One Bug Plus Materials

My supply was barely depleted, when I counted my UZB’s, so I tied one additional fly to increase my inventory to my target level. I found one in my damaged fly container that was unraveling, so I salvaged it for my one add on.

Hares Ear Nymph 11/27/2024 Photo Album

The beadhead hares ear nymph has perhaps accounted for more fish than any other fly in my arsenal. I deployed it often during 2024, and I was not disappointed. Here is a link to my post regarding this workhorse fly in 2023. I have very little new information to offer other than a salute to its continued productivity.

Scraggly the Way I Like Them

As mentioned in last year’s post, I adopted the practice of applying UV resin to the wing case and the top of the thread wraps. I feel that this step adds a bit of weight, provides added strength, and I love the appearance.

Necessary Materials and Completed Batch

During my September trip to the Flattops I scavenged some grouse body feathers, and I used these to fashion the tails and legs of my newly tied hares ear nymphs. I had seven damaged versions in my canister, so I refurbished them first, and then I tied an additional ten to bring my fly boxes back to my targeted level of one hundred. I am certain that the beadhead hares ear nymph will once again be a top producer among my stock of flies.

Zoomed on the Completed Clump