Category Archives: Fly Tying

Blogs related to tying flies

Ultra Zug Bug – 11/27/2023

Ultra Zug Bug 11/27/2023 Photo Album

For more in depth background information on the ultra zug bug, I suggest clicking on this link to my post of 12/07/2014. This fly is very simple and easy to tie, yet it can be amazingly effective at times. I particularly like to deploy it in the early season from March through early May, before run off sends me to stillwater locations.

During 2023 I only depleted my supply by a modest amount, so I tied six additional UZB’s for my storage boxes. I kept four for myself and donated two to a friend. Give this simple fly a try, and you will not regret it.

 

Salvation Nymph – 11/25/2023

Salvation Nymph 11/25/2023 Photo Album

For the last two seasons the salvation nymph has been unequivocally my top producer. Historically it ran neck and neck with the beadhead hares ear nymph, but during 2022 and 2023, the salvation nymph clearly moved to the top of the list. I have written a report on the salvation nymph every year, as I tie a new supply, and these posts contain much information about this outstanding fly. I suggest you start with last year’s post, and that report provides links to other years.

Occasionally someone asks me why they are unable to find this fly, when they perform an online search. If you type tungsten salvation nymph, you will find photos of this fly and online sources to buy them. My version is the same except that I typically use a brass bead rather than the more expensive tungsten. I actually just completed a Google search, and I found a very well done tutorial on tying the tungsten salvation nymph on YouTube by walkyourlinedesigns. I watched it, and it is quite well done. Give it a look, if you are interested in tying a salvation nymph.

When I counted my supply of this productive fly, I determined that I had 76 remaining in my various storage compartments. I approached the vise and cranked out another 24 to reach 100, and then I added five for a friend. I can say with certainly that this fly will catch a bunch of fish in the coming year.

 

Hares Ear Nymph – 11/18/2023

Hares Ear Nymph 11/18/2023 Photo Album

My post of 11/04/2023 covers everything related to the beadhead hares ear nymph including a link to the materials table. I continue to rate this fly among my top producers; and, therefore, I attempt to enter each new season with a stock of 100. I began coating the wing case and head wraps with Solarez UV resin last year, and I continued this practice with my November 2023 tying efforts.

When I counted my inventory of beadhead hares ear nymphs, I learned that I had 86, so I tied an additional fourteen and then I added five more for a friend. I am anxious to drift some hares ear nymphs through deep runs and pockets in 2024.

Olive Perdigon – 11/04/2023

Olive Perdigon 11/04/2023 Photo Album

On 10/03/2023 I was fishing on the Eagle River with my friend Dave G. In the first hour I landed two small fish, while Dave G. netted several very nice rainbows, with one in the twenty inch range. I was using a Pat’s rubber legs and RS2, so I swallowed my pride and asked Dave G., if I could borrow one of his flies that was savored by the Eagle River trout. He graciously handed me a size 16 olive perdigon, and the switch proved to be a winner, as I went on to land a bunch of hard fighting rainbows, and all clamped their mouths on the perdigon. This caught my attention.

I avoided losing the perdigon, and I took it to Charlie’s Flybox on one of my return drives after playing pickleball. Charlie himself waited on me, and I handed him the fly and asked him to select the matching hooks and beads that were required to replicate the popular perdigon. A few days later I settled in at my fly tying station, and I produced ten new olive perdigons that matched the fly that Dave G. gave me. The fly is actually quite simple to produce, as it consists of a tail of grizzly hackle fibers, an olive thread body, a copper tungsten bead and a jig hook. The hardest aspect of this tie is threading the slotted bead on to the hook and positioning it properly on the angled neck of the jig hook. Also the finishing steps involve applying UV resin, and that can be a somewhat delicate process. I advise using too little resin and not too much. I used a black marker to create the spot on top of the bead and extended it over the upper collar of the fly, and then I applied thick resin to fill in and smooth the gap between the bead and abdomen. Once I dried this with the UV torch, I applied thin UV resin over the entire body of the fly and carefully avoided hitting the tail.

I am amazed at how heavy the tungsten bead is compared to the brass beads I normally use. I suspect much of the success of this fly accrues from the density of the bead and the fast sink rate. Of course, the price of tungsten beads is another drawback, but if the effectiveness matches my experience on 10/03/2023, I will pay the steep price.

Green Drake Comparadun – 02/07/2023

Green Drake Comparadun 02/07/2023 Photo Album

I tie five different styles of western green drakes, and although the parachute version typically outperforms the others, there are occasions when it goes ignored, and a different style saves the day. I am fairly certain that the second most successful green drake tie is the comparadun style. I use dark coastal deer hair for the wing clump, and I surmise that this fanned out image does an exceptional job of portraying the large fluttering wing of a green drake. Although I have not studied the matter scientifically, it seems that the comparadun excels during the densest portion of the hatch, when the drakes are fluttering and skittering on the water the most.

Closer Look at Left Side

Historically I utilized microfibbets for the tails of my comparadun green drakes, but over the last several years I became dissatisfied with the buoyancy of the comparaduns. They tended to get waterlogged and sink after a fish or two. Having viewed the effectiveness of the moose mane tail on the parachutes, I transferred the same tailing material to my comparaduns during my tying efforts this winter. It will be interesting to see if this move is popular with the fish. Perhaps the comparadun is now too similar to the parachute? It will be fun to continue the experiment during the upcoming summer.

Six Completed

Parachute Green Drake – 02/05/2023

Parachute Green Drake 02/05/2023 Photo Album

My love affair with the western green drake continued during the summer of 2022, and the hands down leader in the dry fly style of green drake remained the parachute version. For more background information on the parachute green drake, I encourage you to visit my post of 11/14/2021.

Opposite Side

If you read that blog post, you will learn that I settled on two salient features for my parachute green drakes. First and foremost was the usage of moose mane fibers for the tail. The trout seemed to show a demonstrable preference for this fly design feature. I also settled on using white poly for the wing post. This material stands out more than a turkey flat, and this translates to better visibility for the angler. In addition, poly provides more bulk, and I believe this better imitates the struggles of a large green drake attempting to get airborne.

From the Side with Materials

Several excellent outings on South Boulder Creek during 2022 put a significant dent in my parachute green drake supply, so I approached the vise and manufactured fifteen additional versions in size 12 and 14. I cannot wait for the green drake days of 2023.

Chubby Chernobyl – 01/24/2023

Chubby Chernobyl 01/24/2023 Photo Album

Each year I resort to the chubby Chernobyl more frequently. My post of 02/12/2022 provides further background on my experience with this awkward looking fly. Links from that post can guide you to my introduction to gaining confidence in the chubby Chernobyl, but suffice it to say that large trout on the Yampa River favored a chubby with a tan ice dub body.

Angled Front

When I utilize a chubby in the surface position on a dry/dropper, and a fish grabs the trailing fly, I find the progressive submersion of the chubby wing to be quite seductive. I suppose that makes me weird, but I must confess to this predilection.

Clump of Five

After I counted my carry over supply from 2022, I determined that the chubbys needed replenishment, so I churned out an additional five for the upcoming season. I cannot wait to see the white wing disappear once again.

Fat Albert – 01/23/2023

Fat Albert 01/23/2023 Photo Album

Refer to my recent post on the pool toy hopper for a comparison of the pool toy hopper and the fat Albert. They are very similar. Check out this link to my report from 2022 for additional links and narrative on the fat Albert.

Refurbished Fat Albert

I continue to deploy the fat Albert early in the season, when I desire a large and buoyant top fly on my dry/dropper set up, and it does the job quite well and even occasionally pounds up an eager fish. The fat Albert also sees heavy usage during the end of June and early July, when I edge fish the larger rivers, as the snow melt remains high, but the rivers are clear, and the fish are bunched along the banks seeking refuge from the fast current. Again the buoyancy is a major plus, and the large yellow bodied foam fly also imitates the golden stoneflies that are prevalent during this time period.

Teeth Marks Make Them More Effective

As was the case with the pool toy hopper, I found five flies in my damaged fly canister that were missing legs, so I simply added legs to restore my inventory to adequate levels for the upcoming season. These flies will see action within a few months.

Pool Toy Hopper – 01/22/2023

Pool Toy Hopper 01/22/2023 Photo Album

The pool toy hopper is in all likelihood the foam fly that logs the most time on my leader other than the hippie stomper. If you search the web for foam hopper imitations, you will find hundreds of patterns. Imitating a grasshopper seems to be the fly tying equivalent of building a better mousetrap. It seems that every fly designer takes a crack at creating a better hopper. Are there better hopper patterns out there than the pool toy hopper? Probably, but this fly has served me quite well for many years now, so I remain loyal to it.

Very Clean Look

I also tie fat Alberts, and in all honesty the pool toy and fat Albert are very similar flies. For some reason I use the fat Albert in situations, where I am not primarily imitating a grasshopper, but instead I am using the surface fly as a strike indicator. I also tie fat Alberts with yellow bodies and pool toy hoppers with tan bodies. If I were to vary size and body color, perhaps these flies would perform in comparable fashion. Nevertheless, at my age and at this stage of my fly fishing career, I abide by the phrase, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”.

Waiting for Rework

The pool toy hopper was created by one of my favorite designers, Andrew Grillos, and I regard him as one of the foremost architects of foam flies. I actually took a tying class with Andrew, and this may also influence my bias toward the pool toy. For additional background information and links to a materials table and directions to tying instructions, follow this link, 02/04/2022.

Eleven Refurbished and Two New

When I counted my pool toy hoppers, I discovered that I had quite a few damaged flies to refurbish. Nearly all of them were missing legs, so I simply tied on some thread and added legs to create eleven refurbished hoppers. I also tied a couple from scratch to remain in practice.

 

Jake’s Gulp Beetle – 01/17/2023

Jake’s Gulp Beetle 01/17/2023 Photo Album

For some reason my success with the beetle has waned in the last several years, and this circumstance may be attributable to my tendency to favor a hippie stomper over the beetle. If fish refuse the hippie stomper, my next succession in downsizing is the beetle. My post of 01/16/2021 provides quite a bit of background on the beetle and my application to fishing situations.

Angled for More Depth

When I counted my supply of beetles in sizes 10 – 14, I concluded that I was adequately stocked, but I uncovered five foam and deer hair beetles that were damaged and unraveling. I stripped these down the the bare hook and supplemented my backup supply with five refurbished flies. I suspect that I will once again find myself in a situation where the beetle delivers on its promise, and 2023 could be the year.

Batch of Five