Fat Albert – 02/04/2021

Fat Albert 02/04/2021 Photo Album

As is my custom during the cold winter months, I visited my fly storage containers and counted my supply of fat Alberts. I was pleased to discover that I possessed adequate quantities of size 8 fat Alberts with yellow bodies, so I quickly moved on to the next pattern on my schedule of flies to tie. I tend to use the fat Albert quite a bit in the early season, and I missed the latter half of April and most of May during 2021 due to my recovery from heart surgery. This perhaps explains the lack of shrinkage in my inventory of this popular fly.

Plenty of Fat Alberts in Stock

Click on the link to my post of 12/30/2019 for additional information about the fat Albert. The brief report provides a materials table and several links  that describe my introduction to this popular fly. In addition there is a link that takes you to a post that describes some of the successful usages of the yellow fat Albert. Hopefully I will be on the western rivers early during 2021, and the fat Albert will bounce along the currents and attract attention from hungry trout.

Pool Toy Hopper – 01/31/2021

Pool Toy Hopper 01/31/2021 Photo Album

The pool toy hopper designed by Andrew Grillos has evolved into my favorite hopper imitation. I tie them mostly on a size 8 Tiemco 5262 or equivalent. Andrew recommends the heavier hook to serve as a keel that allows the fly to always land right side up, and that seems to hold true for me. A reader of this blog asked me to explain the difference between the pool toy hopper and a fat Albert, and I was forced to admit that there is not much to separate them. Nonetheless, I tend to favor the pool toy hopper during the summer months when natural grasshoppers are most prevalent. The fat Albert is my favorite top fly on dry/dropper rigs in the pre-runoff season and during July, as the river flows subside to fishable levels. I tie most of my pool toy hoppers with a tan body and a tan foam underlayer; whereas, I tend to use yellow for the body of the fat Albert. Perhaps body color is the simple explanation for why one fly seems to outperform the other during the various seasons of the fishing year.

Bringing It Closer

Check out my post of 01/13/2020 for links to a materials table, and a link that describes my introduction to the fly.  I have a scanned copy of fly tying steps from Southwestern Fly Fishing that I can email, if a reader would like to tie some of these hopper patterns. Just let me know in the comments. I experienced one of my best pool toy hopper days in quite awhile on 09/18/2020, and I was very pleased to be able to fish the buoyant foam hopper solo for much of my time on the North Fork of the White River. The pool toy hopper is extremely buoyant and easy to track, and I took advantage of these features on the September day in the Flattops.

Tan Pool Toy Hoppers Complete

I tied eight new pool toy hoppers to replenish my supply for the upcoming 2021 season. I adopted the practice of dabbing a bead of super glue to the rear leg knots to prevent slippage and unwinding. In addition I cranked out a few versions with a tan ice dub body. The tan ice dub body chubby Chernobyl has yielded some surprisingly solid results in a dry/dropper arrangement, so I thought I would give the sparkling body color a try with a pool toy hopper. Stay tuned for a report on the results of this experiment.

Another Underside View

Chernobyl Ant – 01/23/2021

Chernobyl Ant 01/23/2021 Photo Album

Chubby Chernobyls are everywhere. They’ve taken the world by storm, yet this seasoned angler continues to stock classic Chernobyl ants, and in fact uses them fairly frequently. What situations would dictate a classic Chernobyl ant over a chubby? High mountain streams with an abundance of overhanging branches and vegetation represent the primary situation, when I resort to a classic Chernobyl ant. My Chernobyl ants are very simple creations that require only two sections of foam, pearl chenille, and rubber legs. All these materials are synthetic, and, therefore, do not absorb water. In tight quarters I can dap, bow and arrow, and roll cast this fly without the need for a backcast to dry off the fly. This characteristic is very welcome, when trees and branches attempt to nab your fly with every stray movement.

Boat Box

Of course this positive would be useless if a Chernobyl ant did not attract fish, but it does that as well, and in many cases quite well. The buoyancy of the Chernobyl also supports a beadhead nymph or two, so it can also perform in fine fashion as the surface fly in a dry/dropper arrangement. The small yellow indicator is relatively visible, although other foam flies can outperform the Chernobyl in this regard, as it rides low in the water thus making tracking a challenge at times.

Fly Box

For a materials table and more links to previous posts on the Chernobyl ant, please refer to my 01/15/2020 post. I counted all the Chernobyl ants in my possession and determined that adequate quantities remained for the upcoming season. In fact, I probably have enough for several future years, since I now favor other foam flies over the Chernboyl in some situations.

Size 8 from Bass Pro Shop Bin

Jake’s Gulp Beetle – 01/16/2021

Jake’s Gulp Beetle 01/16/2021 Photo Album

There are 800,000 species of beetles in the world, so it makes sense that a significant number meet their demise in a body of water. Every fly fisherman should have a supply of beetles. My go to beetle pattern is a Jake’s gulp beetle. It is constructed from foam and very easy to tie.

A Size 14 Jake’s Gulp Beetle

To learn more about Jake’s gulp beetle click on this link to my post during January a year ago.  This account provides a materials table as well as a couple links that describe my introduction to Jake’s gulp beetle, and the conditions that prompt me to pluck one from my fly box. I’ve had several days in September, when this style of beetle literally brought up a trout in nearly every hole, where I plunked it.

A New Batch of Six Size 14’s

Unfortunately this is not always the case, and during recent years refusals have also been a significant part of the beetle experience. For this reason I approached my vise to construct six additional size 14 beetles. Previously my supply consisted of mostly size 10’s and 12’s. Hopefully when I observe future rejections, I can pluck a smaller size from my box and realize success.

Hippie Stomper – 01/10/2021

Hippie Stomper 01/10/2021 Photo Album

In recent years the hippie stomper emerged as my number one dry fly. Most of my dry flies are seasonal in nature, as they imitate specific hatches such as pale morning duns, green drakes and caddis flies. The hippie stomper is a foam attractor  that does not imitate a single hatch, but instead it is a generally buggy foam creation that captures the attention of the fish year round. For a short narration on where and how I used this fly successfully, click on this link to my last post, 11/26/2019. Contained within this blog post are links to earlier writing including my introduction and a materials table.

Nice View

During 2020 the hippie stomper continued to shine throughout the season. It is particularly effective on small high mountain creeks, where I routinely begin with the stomper riding solo on my line. If I can get away with responsiveness to a sole dry fly, why mess with the inherent tangles that accompany a dry/dropper approach? However, a size 12 or 14 hippie stomper can support one or two beadhead nymphs, if the fish are seeking their meals below the surface of the creek. During this past summer season, I experimented with a double dry set up with the hippie stomper typically in the first position and a green drake, stimulator, caddis or pale morning dun dry fly on the point. The white winged hippie stomper enabled me to easily track both flies, and quite a few successful days resulted from this approach.

Climbing Over Each Other

Purple Haze Hippie Stomper

I counted my supply of hippie stompers and determined that I needed to tie nine with a peacock body to restore my beginning inventory to twenty-five. Clearly the hippie stomper occupied my line extensively, and this led to the inevitable shrinkage in supply. After I spun out the nine replacement flies, I tied a batch of five with a medium olive ice dub body, and then I added five more with a purple body. I bought purple dubbing in advance of making some purple haze parachute flies, and I was curious whether the same purple body might prove effective on the already lethal hippie stomper. I cannot wait to enter hippie stomper mode in 2021.

Five Olive Ice Dub Versions

2020 Top Ten – 12/31/2020

2020 was an eventful year. It began with a pandemic and progressed through racial tensions and political turmoil. Here in Colorado we endured drought and devastating wildfires. On a personal level I survived mitral heart valve repair surgery, atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter and an ablation procedure. The uncertainties in the early months of the pandemic impacted my ability to fish, and my recovery from surgery further reduced my stream time. The wildfires limited my choice of fishing destinations and the subpar snowpack and drought resulted in very low flows in many of the drainages that I frequent in the latter part of the season. In spite of all these hurdles to the pursuit of my favorite outdoor activity, I managed to land 900 trout over the course of the year in spite of reduced fishing hours during the pre runoff time frame. 2020 was a year defined by green drake hatches, dry fly fishing, and the discovery of high mountain cutthroat trout strongholds. Although my fish count trailed previous years, I am convinced that 2020 was one of my best years in terms of optimizing stream time and overcoming adversity. Here are my top ten outings ranked in reverse order.

10. Taylor River – 07/21/2020 – My day on the Taylor represented my best outing on the central Colorado tailwater in quite a few years. I met a decent green drake hatch and used my arsenal of western green drake imitations along with a yellow stimulator to fool twenty-five robust wild trout. I love the setting of the Taylor River, and achieving success only added to my enjoyment.

Yowzer

9. Eagle River – 07/02/2020 – Although thirteen fish is not an eye-catching quantity of fish, the size and quality more than compensated. The flows declined to the 600 CFS range by 07/02/2020, and this enabled very manageable wading, and I took advantage to move up the river at a steady pace with my dry/dropper approach. Hatches of yellow sallies and pale morning duns were brief, but my iron sally and salvation nymph got the job done. Movement and persistence were the keys to success on this fine day in early July.

8. Clear Creek – 08/27/2020 – Clear Creek is not a destination that typically occupies space on this top ten list. I explored a section of Clear Creek that was new to me, and I was quite pleased to discover a pleasant tumbling creek with a surprising quantity of cutthroat trout and cutbow trout. I revere cutthroats, and I was able to land twenty-three vibrant beauties during my time on this small sliver of paradise. A secondary highlight was discovering success with a sunken ant used in a dry/dropper configuration. I will remember this as I visit streams in 2021.

I Need More

7. North Fork of the White River – 09/16/2020 – How could a forty-seven fish day only rank seventh on the 2020 top ten list? This is a testament to the quality of fishing that I experienced during the past year. Yes, forty-seven is a lot of fish, but this was achieved over 6.5 hours of fishing, and quite a few of the catch were small brook trout. But enough of removing the luster from this fine day in the middle of September. I was thrilled with the fast paced action, as I tossed primarily a hippie stomper to all the likely locations and enjoyed tremendous action which included many wild cutbows in the twelve to fourteen inch range.

6. North Fork of the Elk River – 08/04/2020 – The discovery of a new and productive high country destination counts for a lot in my book, and 08/04/2020 was one of those days. Making the introduction even more exciting was encountering an abundant quantity of wild cutthroat trout. I landed twenty-three trout during this spectacular day, and the dominant species was the light green colored cutthroats with vivid black speckles and crimson heads and slashes.

Maybe My Favorite Color Scheme

5. North Fork of the White River – 09/18/2020 – A large, buoyant and easily visible pool toy hopper attracted cutbows of above average size on this day in September. I caught fewer fish than 09/16/2020, but I fished for half the time in order to get an early start to return back to Denver, and the cutbows were brilliantly colored and fought valiantly in the small stream.

4. South Boulder Creek – 08/11/2020 – 08/11/2020 on South Boulder Creek was a dream come true for this avid fly fisherman. My blog posts document my love affair with the western green drake, and my array of green drake imitations served me well. I landed forty-one  trout, and all of them savored a dry fly. The peacock hippie stomper was popular in the morning, but I cycled through my stash of green drake imitations in the afternoon and notched fish at a torrid pace.

Harrop Hair-wing

3. North Fork of the White River – 09/29/2020 – I was admittedly influenced by the gorgeous autumn weather and the golden leaves of fall, as I ranked this day number three in my top ten list. Jane and I returned to the Flattops at the end of September, and I was allotted one day of fly fishing sandwiched between a couple days of hiking. This valuable stream time provided twenty-four trout, and most were spunky cutbows in the twelve to fourteen inch range. I had a blast, and late season returns to the Flattops may become a tradition.

Excellent Specimen

2. Yampa River – 06/17/2020 – This day on the Yampa River coincided with a heavy pale morning dun hatch, yet the trout seemed to ignore the adults on the surface. This circumstance did not stop me from having a stellar outing, as run off subsided in the middle of June. Early success was attributed to the 20 incher and super nova PMD, and the early afternoon featured a seldom used juju emerger pattern, that I tied several years ago. Of the seventeen fish landed at least six fell in the fourteen to sixteen inch range, and they were muscular bruisers. Edge fishing as run off subsides continues to be one of my favorite times of year.

Big Shoulders

1.Colorado River – 07/07/2020 – May I list a guided float trip as my number one outing of 2020? Even though I had the assistance of a guide, I still had to catch the fish. This was my first float trip through the middle section of the Colorado River between Pumphouse and State Bridge, and what a trip it was! The setting was spectacular, and the fishing matched the grandeur of the big river. I landed twenty trout, and quite a few stretched the tape to the eighteen inch mark. We launched early and notched the best day of the year before the afternoon winds forced us off the river.

A Highlight

There you have it, one through ten for 2020. Quite a few additional candidates failed to make the cut, but the exercise is quite subjective on my part. That is always the prerogative of the author and the angler who enjoyed the trips.

 

Sunk Ant – 12/21/2020

Sunk Ant 12/21/2020 Photo Album 

For years I read magazine articles about the effectiveness of sunken terrestrials, and the insect at the top of the subsurface list was generally the ever present ant. Think about it. Ants are everywhere, and they travel in armies, and inevitably they fall or get blown into the water. Once in the water they are highly vulnerable, and assuredly many give up the fight and drown. Because they are small and narrow, they are not buoyant, so dunkings are probably frequent happenstance among the ant colonies. Unlike large terrestrials such as grasshoppers and crickets, ants are tiny and difficult to observe, even when they remain struggling on the surface. Consider the number of ants that float past an angler on every fishing trip that go undetected.

Other Side

On rare occasions I experimented with a sunken ant during my many forays to western rivers, but I never enjoyed quick success. On 08/27/2020, however, the game changed. I knotted a hard bodied ant to my line a foot or so below a visible surface fly, and during an hour of fishing at the end of the day, the ant accounted for seven gorgeous cutthroat trout. Eventually I broke off the ant, and I was certain that it was the only remaining fly of that type in my storage boxes. Eventually I uncovered another one in my back up plastic bin, but I yearned for a larger supply for the upcoming season.

ComponentMaterial
HookSize 14 or 16 dry fly hook
Thread6/0 Black
Rear BumpLead wire or Black Bead
LegsMottled pheasant feather
Front BumpThread and black bead

Just before Christmas I sat down at my vise to remedy the absence of sunken ants in my fly inventory. I initiated a search online for sunken ants and stumbled across a tying video on YouTube by Kelly Galloup of streamer creation fame. I viewed the video, and I liked the simplicity of it, so settled on the sunk ant as my subsurface ant fly of choice. Kelly repeatedly stressed that simply tying an ant by forming two lacquered bumps with thread with a couple twists of black hackle was a killer pattern, but he offered his with slight modifications as an alternative. For my first size 16 ants I mostly followed his instructions, but I utilized a nickel bead behind the eye rather than a black bead, since I did not possess black in the necessary size. Before I started my thread, I wrapped three twists of lead wire to form a base for the rear bump. Otherwise it was the same pattern, as the one demonstrated by Kelly. I covered the lead wire with a massive quantity of wraps of black thread, and then I moved to the front of the hook. I attached the pheasant feather by the tip and built a smaller front bump behind the nickel bead and then folded the feather forward to create legs and a narrow shell on top of the front bump.

Two Black Beads Used

For the size 14 ant I slid two black beads on the hook. I began my thread at the bend of the hook behind the rear bead and built a dam that tapered to the top of the bead. I completed a whip finish and then reattached the thread and built up a tapered front section in front of the rear bead. The remainder of the fly was the same as a size 16, except that I had a black bead for the front that fit the larger hook. When I was done I applied lacquer to the front bump, but I utilized UV resin to coat the larger rear bump. Kelly does not favor the look of UV resin on his ant bumps and is perfectly happy with thread wraps soaked in head cement, but I liked the epoxy look for my rear bump.

Thread, Pheasant Feather and UV Resin

I made five size 16 and five size 14 sunk ants, and hopefully this will be an adequate supply for the 2021 season. If not, it means that I have discovered a new killer fly for my fly fishing future.

Pat’s Rubber Legs – 12/19/2020

Pat’s Rubber Legs 12/19/2020

Who was Pat? I always wonder about this, when I approach my vise to produce some of the weighted wiggly stonefly imitations. I tied several batches of these in a yellow-brown chenille to imitate molting golden stoneflies in the early 2000’s, but then I drifted away from this popular fly. I reprised the Pat’s rubber legs last winter after glowing reports from my friend, Dave G. Check out my post of 01/10/2020 to familiarize yourself with my history with this fly as well as a materials table.

Wild Legs

My reintroduction of Pat’s rubber legs got off to a roaring start, when I landed two rainbows on it during my first outing of 2020. Check out my post of 01/26/2020 to read more about this rare winter outing. I tied the rubber legs to my line on several subsequent spring outings, but unfortunately, as the season developed, I strayed from my Pat’s rubber legs revival campaign. When I showed Dave G. the flies that I produced, he said they were not quite the same color as the ones that produced outstanding results for him on the Eagle River and Colorado River. I based my choice of variegated chenille on the fact that his guide called it a pickle fly. For my winter tying session in December 2020 I purchased some coffee and black chenille at Charlie’s Fly Box, and I manufactured five of these weighted stonefly imitations. Hopefully  I give the green and coffee rubber legs a trial in 2021, and if I do, perhaps I will enjoy success similar to Dave G.

Pat’s Rubber Legs Coffee-Black

Olive Midge Larva – 12/18/2020

Olive Midge Larva 12/18/2020 Photo Album

For some reason I seem to have an aversion to fishing midges. On the occasions when I knot one to my line I experience reasonable success, but season after season I default to my larger and more popular nymphs, thus allowing limited opportunities for the tiny but ever present midges to shine. My post of 12/10/2015 describes a few details from my interaction with the zebra midge, a close cousin of the olive midge larva.

Keep It Simple

I counted all my midges and determined that I had eight of the olive variety in my combined storage compartments. I decided to increase the stock to ten and whipped out two additional midge larva. The basic midge larva is probably my fastest tie. It takes longer to feed the tiny bead on to the hook than to spin out the larva, since one fly only requires thread and a rib. Perhaps I will deploy the olive midge more often in 2021.

Ready for Action

Scuds – 12/18/2020

Scuds 12/18/2020 Photo Album

Scuds, scuds and scuds. According to most knowledgeable sources (fly fishing magazines), scuds are an important food source to trout around the world particularly during the winter months. While aquatic insects lie dormant in their nymph form, scuds continue to cling to aquatic vegetation and consequently get dislodged on a fairly frequent basis. Hungry winter trout do not miss the opportunity to grab these nourishing bits as they float by. We all love shrimp cocktail!

Fresh Water Shrimp

My post of 12/20/2019 described my hiatus from fishing scuds and also outlined some of my successes during the 90’s, when an orange scud in April and May was a ticket to a full net. The piece from December 2019 also highlights a few of my deviations from the standard scud tying procedure. Rather than waiting another twenty years to replenish my supply of scuds, I counted my current stock in my various storage containers, and I determined that I needed three additional gray and one olive. I fished scuds a few more times than normal in 2020, and that perhaps accounted for the shrinkage in inventory.

Nice Lighting

I am determined to give scuds a fair trial in 2021. They worked in the 90’s, and the experts swear by them, so I am convinced that a vote of confidence from this angler will yield results.

A Batch of Four with the Needed Materials