Moodah Poodah 05/14/2020 Photo Album
I possess quite a few foam dry flies, but I am always susceptible to adding a new pattern. Toward the back of one of my past issues of Southwest Fly Fishing, a fly that carried the unusual name of moodah poodah caught my attention. During this coronavirus and surgery recovery time I could not resist the temptation to construct a few of the foam attractors.
| Fly Component | Material |
|---|---|
| Hook | Tiemco 2487 Size 10-12 |
| Thread | Black 6/0 |
| Hot Spot | UV Hot Orange Ice Dub. I substituted orange poly. |
| Body | Black Ice Dub |
| Ribbing | Pearl flashabou |
| Underwing | Black deer hair |
| Head | Black 2MM Foam |
| Legs | Speckled Orange centipede legs. |
| Post | Orange poly |
The features that differentiated the moodah poodah from other foam flies in my boxes were the dangling Klinkhammer-style body, the size, and the shape. This foam fly struck me as a size that fit in between a hippie stomper and a Jake’s gulp beetle. It was large enough to float a single beadhead dropper, and the shape reminded me of a beetle, cicada and horsefly. Surely this fly covered enough bases to be a viable addition to my fly box.
Pumped to Try
I gathered my materials and churned out five reasonably accurate imitations of the moodah poodah that was displayed in the magazine article. I lacked UV hot orange ice dub for the hot spot, so I substituted orange poly and coated it with UV resin. The pattern specified black elk hair, but I utilized black deer hair instead. I also improvised for the legs by dabbing orange-red rubber appendages with a black magic marker to achieve the speckled effect. I was quite pleased with the final product, and I am anxious to give the moodah poodah a spin in western lakes and streams.
Standard Materials
Very interesting pattern, Dave. I spent some time last year playing with the concept of what I was calling a “half-drowned hopper” where the back half of the body rode lower in the water, but never managed to create a pattern I was truly satisfied with. Utilization of the kilnkhammer style hook might be the perfect solution.
Best wishes on your continued recovery. I’m looking forward to once again living vicariously through your field reports once you’re back on the water.
Chris
Chris – I like your idea of a half sunken hopper. Let me know when you have success with it. Thanks for the well wishes.
Hey Dave,
Just wanted to follow up regarding my experiments using the moodah poodah concept to create a half sunken hopper pattern. I played around with the concept a bit and came up with something that has worked quite well for spotted bass and various sunfish here in Louisiana.
https://fatfingeredflytyer.wordpress.com/2020/06/03/a-west-feliciana-morning-field-testing-the-half-drowned-hopper/
The original in the post was designed to mimic the young black Lubber Grasshoppers that are prevalent in Louisiana during the spring time, but I’ve also tied various combinations of green, tan and brown (with and without wings) more recently.
I have no idea if the fish think the fly is a grasshopper, beetle or something else all together, but it seems to work. I even landed a surprise largemouth measuring ~18″ on a size 14 version of this pattern while fishing one such stream last week. Largely populated by spotted bass under 10″, I have no idea what the big largemouth was doing there.
Chris
Chris,
Thanks for sending me the link to your blog and the half drowned hopper post. I like your creation. Have you ever fished a cricket pattern? That fly would be an awesome cricket imitation. That little warmwater stream was amazing. I can’t believe the clarity. I never imagined that a stream in La. could be so clear.
Reading your post on the hopper was interesting, but it led me to discover your posts on your trip to Colorado last summer. I devoured them! You are a fine writer, and I love your style. I saw some of me in your adventures. You certainly had your ups and downs on that trip, but I sensed that it was all fun. I searched for a way to subscribe to your blog, so that I would be notified whenever you post, but I was unsuccessful. Can you tell me how?
I have to ask, what do you do for a living? I would guess something in oil and gas or chemicals, thus, the move from New York to Louisiana. I’m kind of second guessing that though, and this will sound like a prejudiced statement, but it is unusual for an engineering type to have your writing skills. I suppose those companies hire folks in other areas such as marketing and human resources, so I may be on target.
Are you planning another trip to CO or is Covid19 an impediment? If you come, I’d like to meet up, if we can socially distance, etc.
Nice work. Keep the posts coming.
Dave W. (Wellerfish)
Thank you for the kind words and suggestions, Dave. I consider that high praise given the source. Your blog has been an inspiration both in my own writing efforts and in my time on the water. The knowledge I gained reading your blog played a big part making last summer’s trip a success. And I do agree, the pattern may very well represent a cricket. Though I do not see many along the streams I fish, that is the likeliest explanation for the continued success of the small, black version this late into the summer.
Academically speaking I’m a biologist (Marine according to the degree on my wall), but I’ve found a niche as a sort of STEM businessman over the course of my career. Currently that entails running a pair of Industrial Hygiene and Environmental Testing laboratories here and in Texas. Not the most romantic of fields, but something I’ve come to enjoy as the varied challenges presented by both the business and analytical pressures keep me on my toes.
Regarding subscribing, there is a “subscribe” option at the very bottom of the “blog” page below the “load more posts” button. I apologize as it took me quite a while to locate it as well. I’m still learning to navigate wordpress and will see if I can move it to a more obvious location.
Also, I’d love to meet up next time I’m in Colorado. Sadly, it likely won’t be until next summer at this point. My wife and I have decided to forgo air travel while COVID plays out (Louisiana is still a mess unfortunately) and are sticking to locations within driving distance for the time being. As such, a trip to the Smokys next month will be my only chance to trout fish this year. I do have high hopes of a return trip next summer, however, and will be sure to reach out if/when the time comes.
Thank you again.
Chris
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