Take my line, go fishing for a Thursday

Well got out today for some flying. I met up with Fredy on one of my favorite
freestoner. We nymphed a good section of stream and managed a few. Fishing was tough do to the low water but we still managed.
I parted was with "of Spain" and headed up stream. I stopped at a great run and got myself a real nice wild brown on the high test hares ear. I then moved further up and hit a another great Run. I nymphed it a bit and then I heard it. That familiar sound. I though maybe something fell from the tree. But then I saw it! I trout rising!!!
I didn't have any "dry flies" on me but I did have a box with wet flies. I quickly combed through the box to find one tied on a light wire hook. I fish softies and wets in the film often for risers, you be surprised how well they work. I tied on my rusty blues and sent it a drift. The fly was quickly sucked down by a little wild brown and I was grinning from ear to ear.
I was a bit worried that I wouldn't get my trout on the dry for november. But I did! So only next month to go and 2012 goes in the books with trout caught on the dry every month.
There were two others rising, so I swapped the now wet blues for a snipe and purple. This fly fooled the other two. The hatch was fall baetis and it was short lived. I worked my back to my vehicle fishing the snipe and purple I managed a little fingerling to close the day. Always nice to see these guys. So with "more than 4" I headed on home.

Little brownie to end my day.

A fly pattern thats well over a 100 years old and still deadly, well it would be, but i catch and release.

Great fight, This beauty took the high test hairs ear.

My November trout for the dry fly.

The biot rock worm video

 Here is the video for the biot rock worm I tie and use. It is a rather simple tie, and quick, so don't be fooled by the time of video. I used this pattern this past black Friday and it is the fly that the large male brown trout took. It is a pattern I use often on freestone streams that have a lot of caddis.
   When tying these. You should tie ones with a black or dark brown biot on top also. The rock will color up when it gets close to time for metamorphosis. In the winter I use all green and the spring and summer, I use ones with the dark front upper.
   I like to fish these flies, dragging on the bottom. Sure I lose them, but I have found its the best way to fish a rock worm pattern.  Well enjoy the video and tight ties! p.s. The light shade green sharpie is key, so dont forget to pick one up.

Materials

Hook- Daiichi 1270 #12-14

Thread- Montana fly co, 8/0 Light brown

Tail- Tan colored marabou

Under body- Dubbing, Your choice

Rear body- Turkey biot, dyed caddis green

Rib- Green ice thread

Legs- Dark partridge 

Front body- Chartreuse dubbing

Front shell- Turkey biot dyed caddis green

 

 

The Dubbing loop egg video

  Here is Charlie Cravens dubbing loop egg. The first part of the video I show how i make ultra dubbing loop eggs. The second fly is Charlies fly. Im sure somebody makes all sorts of colors mixed on these eggs.
  The dubbing loop egg is the easiest way I know to make a small trout egg fly. It easy to go as small at a 20. Glo-bug yarn is the best for this egg, and the egg color from them is deadly. As well as steelhead orange.  To vary on the original tie, just simply change the color of your thread and or the yarn. The color combinations are endless.

 

Materials

Hook- Daiichi 1150 14-16

Thread- 8/0 Uni fire orange, Montana fly co florescent orange

Glo-bug yarn- Egg color

Tabou caddis Fly tying video

The tabou caddis was developed by Steve Schweitzer, and is a really deadly caddis emerger pattern. The original calls for stretch magic for the ribbing but I tie mine with midge diamond braid. I think it makes it a wee more effective as it adds flash to the fly. 

Fish this fly on the bottom and allow it to swing up. Try and target the likely area of the trout for the swing. Leisenring lifts with this pattern are deadly.  Just put a the right amount of shot above the fly and get ready for the slam!

 Hook- Daiichi 1275 #12-16

Thread-Uni light olive 8/0

Body- chick-a-bou dyed light/pale yellow

Rib- Yellow Midge diamond braid

Hackle- Remaining top portion from chick-a-bou

Wing- Pale yellow saddle tip from Brahma hen

Head- marabou dubbin from the base of Brahma hen feather(pale yellow)

Black Friday Session, wild mountain browns!

  Well, got out today for some flying with Fredy. The morning was chilly but it warmed up as the day went on and turned out to be quite nice out.  We headed north into the mountains to hit a fabled freestone stream in the hopes of finding glory.  We started at a really kick ass run, it was just beautiful.  It was fast flowing so lots of shot was needed even with tungsten beads heads.  But chucking and ducking paid off as we were both into browns rather quickly. 

  We bounced around to a couple of locations through out the day. The last location we moved to was just an abosultely beautiful piece of river. In no time at all Fredy had a brute on the end of his line and I was making by way up to him for pics.  I then crossed over the stream to fish the other side. This way i was on the right side to fish the run coming into the pool. I was starting to think the run and pool were barren, when my drift stopped dead in tracks. I lifted the rod and thought, "damn, Im hung up" Then i gave a little tug up stream. Then my reel began to sing as the trout raced up stream to the head of the run. I put the breaks on him and he came flying back down into the pool. I yelled to Fredy who was up above, "YO! I GOT A MONSTER!!" and I waved my reel hand, motioning him to come down.  The fish faught like hell and with several line peeling runs before I was able to get him into Fredys net.
   The top flies for the day where a prince nymph, diamond scuds, high test hares ear, and a biot green rock worm.  All in all it was a great day out on the water nymphing away all day.  With more than 40" we headed back to the truck and headed on home.

The Orange squirrel wet fly tutorial

The orange squirrel is a wet fly i put together that produces pretty damn well for me. It is basically a mutant march brown looking fly but the trout approve and that is what matters most.
  I have some great days fishing this pattern as my second or my top fly on my cast of flies. Strikes can be valiant on this baby.  
 I fish this at any point of the year but it surely works best in the spring through fall.

 Materials

Hook- Daiichi 1560 #12-15

Thread- Uni 8/0 rust brown

Tail- Bronze mallard

Body- Fox squirrel

Rib- clear wrap colored orange with a sharpie

Hackle- Hen Mallard breast

Wing- Partridge secondary

Lets twist one up!

Pa fly fish Jamboree

 It is that time of year again, Once again i will be tying at the Jamboree. Come on out, it is a great time. 

2012 Paflyfish.com Eastern Pa Fly Tying Jamboree

Location:  Lehigh Gap Nature Center, Slatington PA

Date & Time: Saturday, December 15^th, 10AM to 6PM

Open to the public, free admission.

The purpose of this event is to share tying skills, fly patterns, and tying techniques with PAFF members, family, friends, and the general public.

Itinerary:

10AM – 10:30AM: Meet & Greet. Coffee, donuts, and spring water will be provided.

10:30 – 6PM: Fly Tying Demos by tyers, one pattern per tyer, 15 minutes each demo.

6:30 - ? Dinner at the Riverwalck Saloon.

Additional Features:

Special presentation and tying by Eunan Hendron – traditional salmon fly tying (all day).

Beginner Fly tying instruction provided by the Hokendauqua Chapter of Trout Unlimited (all day).

A raffle will be held at 6PM, with all proceeds being donated to the Lehigh Gap Nature Center. Prizes include a custom made fly tying bench, gift certificates from fly shops/outfitters, tying materials, the demo flies tied throughout the day, and more...

Signup:

Signups for demo tyers is being handled on paflyfish.com on the tying forum. Walk ons are welcome as well, and spectators are encouraged to attend.

If you've been thinking of taking up the “art of  fly tying”, this is a great opportunity to do so. It'll also be a unique opportunity for established tyers to learn new tips and techniques, and share their chosen patterns with other tyers.

We're looking forward to a fun and educational day, meeting new friends, and attracting newcomers to the sport of fly fishing, and the “art of fly tying”. Come join us!

The Softy stone tutorial

 This is a simple soft hackle pattern that I put together some time ago to fish during the winter months. It is fair imitation for stone flies, thus why i call it the softy stone.  Now I know it looks nothing like a stone fly to you and I, but the trout gobble them up and that is the important part.
   The body is dyed moose mane. I dont know where you can buy dyed moose mane, but i dyed it myself. Just need some rit dark brown for the job.  Also if you dye some black, you get some great body material as well.  The thorax area is marabou from the shaft of any black feather.   The feather i use is a mallard flank feather, they have a very light and thin marabou at the base, which is great for smaller flies.  I hackle this tie with a black hen hackle, but i also tie some up with a light furnace hackle, a greenwell shade of furnace is perfect.
  I like to tie these in #16 down to 20, Any smaller if you dare, makes a great midge fly as well. I mainly fish this fly on the bottom with a dead drift, casting up and or up and across. Drift this fly close to shore lines as trout do stage there waiting for stone fly nymphs to attempt there escape from the stream to hatch. 

Lets twist one up

Well it's done and over with

Hey, that's me!

 Well the international fly tying symposium is done and over with. It was a great two days.  I had a great time meeting some of you and having good conversations. I tied from ultra eggs to softies and a few dries. The first day (yesterday) I showed and tied using my new fusion technique, well new to be seen. I tied some soft hackles using the technique.  Today I tied the golden oldie, be sure to be at my next appearance if you wish to see the fly. I have no plans of posting it on my site. It was nice to mingle with my fellow tiers who share a great passion for the art of fly tying. I look forward to doing it again next year.

Thanks Fedy for the Photos! 

Reaching for the right size tinsel for the dark star

Tying the dark star here.  Dan to left is a great creative tier be sure to check his stuff out if  you get a chance.

The only photo i took lol, I couldn't resist, such great wet fly materials on my table!!!

Day 2 and a secret revealed.

Come on out to fly tying symposium today! I will be tying my 1 2 3 midge and drum roll....the golden oldie! See you there!

Been a while, One fly contest

  Hello everyone. It has been some time since my last post, and for that I apologize. I just have been super busy the last couple months. I am still tying and getting out whenever the chance arises.  Over the weekend I competed in the New Jersey fly fisherman of the year contest held at the Raritan inn Club water. Its is a beautiful stretch of the South Branch of the Raritan river.   For more info on the event check out Shannons fly shop  site.   There is also a video there of the stream reconstruction that was done.
  The event is a state council T.U. event with sponsors such as Regal, shannons fly shop, g loomis and many others. I represented my chapter Ridge and Valley .   I decided to fish the high test hares ear, with a chartreuse flash.  The fishing was tough for everyone, and I only manged a small wild rainbow.  Needless to say i didnt win with that fish lol. But it was still a great time on the water.   The top producing flies were, The infamous pink worm, A cray fish pattern, and a dubbing loop egg.
   The win went to Angelo Conti, who happened to win last year as well. Great job Angelo!

Dont Forget, The International Fly Tying Symposium this weekend!!!!

I will be there tying, so stop by and say hello!  

 

Myself tying on my second fly after losing my fly to poachers run.

I even took a knee in attempts to catch these fussy trout. lol  

My one fish I caught at the one fly. lol Yeah, I cant see it either lmao

 

The Jassid fly, Tutorial

  I really like this pattern. It has proven itself to me time and time again.  Vince sure put together a winner here. Although I only tie it his way when i go really small. Otherwise I like it and feel it is more effective with a peacock body. I also hackle them with hen hackle, from whiting bronze necks.  This help it sit lower in the film. I tie the heads larger than normal as well. I feel this is important for the beetle profile.

   It is a great beetle imitation that as far as i see it, has no rival. Don't fuss with a non-split nail. The fish don't care one bit about that, and to me it looks a lot more beetle like when it split apart. Kinda like a beetle drowned with its shell open and wings out.   Spent terrestrials put up a struggle to free themselves from there water grave, so it is important to carry imitations that represent this. 
     Lets twist one up.

H.T.P. Trout Bane tutorial

 As I have said and shown in the past with the trout banes, it is a tying technique, and that means many patterns can be spawned from it.  Here is one of my favorites and best producers. I call it the H.T.P. Trout bane, which is short for high test peacock.  Yup peacock and high test, how could it not be a trout favorite or a bane.
  I like this one tied on a Daiichi 1140 for small sizes and I also tie a 16 with a 1150. I dont have a real reason other than i like the way it looks and well the trout do as well.   I also hit the top with a very light coat of bug bond light. This keeps the peacock from blowing out and when applied lightly doesnt really take away much from the peacock.

  I like to fish this one with a twitch and short stripe. It works on the dead drift as well.

  So lets twist one up. If your on my home page you will need to click see the rest to view the tutorial.

Trout Bane tutorial

I have posted about this pattern in the past but the pics were sub par. So I redid the tutorial.  The trout bane is basically a tying technique I put together several years ago. It is a quick way to tie a two-toned buggy looking nymph, that the trout love.  I use the same technique to tie other T.B.s. All you need to do is to change the feather, thread color, and dub.  
  I usually will tie and fish these guy small. I like size 16-24 for all my banes. The technique allows for a nice slim profile which is great for small flies.  The fly is on the light side so it can be fished in the film with a little help from your floatant. Tied on light wire it will stay in the film, but i like to also have some tied on 1x heavy wire as well.  Dont shy away from other hooks on this one, they look great on scud hooks and emerger hooks.
  I like to finish all my T.B.s off with a light top coating of Bug Bond Light. This will protect the fly for many fish.  Now enough blabbering, Lets twist one up!  Click see the rest

Saterday morning session

A low pa limestoner early in the am.

  Got out yesterday morning with the one of Spain.  We hit a pa limestoner, and worked our way down through a stretch, swinging wet flies.  The trics were hatching pretty well but hardly any fish cared about them. There were also caddis hatching and it sure seemed like the fish were more interested in them.  The large browns were in hiding on this morning, with the water low and gin.  So of spain and I had a good time with the dinks.   I fished a double Saucan Secret rig and of spain fished a bwo soft hackle and a Marauder.    We swung'em, hung'em, and lifted'em.  All methods were effective with some skying strikes.  We fished till around 10 when the tric were down spent.  With "more than four" we headed on back home.

I didnt take any fish pics but this one. This little wild brown was practically golden.

This male trico  fell on my arm as i was watching Fredy of Spain work a run.

Hi-vis Parachute flying ant tutorial and video

  Ants are great trout flies. Trout just love them, and if you have ever been on stream when flying ants start hitting the water. Then you know how the trout will ignore aquatic insects and go for these guys.   I was out on the heritage section of the Little Lehigh and the sacaun for some afternoons recently and this flying ant was the ticket.  Some times a little twitch to the fly did the trick.

  I like to put bright colored poly yarn for the posts on ant flies for the reason of usually i am working thin water during ant season. This calls for a long light leader, staying low, and back away from the trout. So the hi-vis post makes it easy to see the flies drift. 

Materials

Hook- Daiichi 1180 #12-18

Thread- Black Uni 8/0

Body balls- Black superfine dry fly dub

Wing- Midge crystal flash

Mid section- Black holographic tinsel

Post- Hi-vis poly yarn  chartreuse, yellow, orange and red are all pretty easy to spot

Hackle- Brown saddle hackle.

Lets twist one up!

Click see the rest for tutorials and video

The Royal Utah

  I know the name sounds boastful, but it is just my name for my version of the royal coachman dry fly. It is as simple as any coachman, I just use other materials than the norm.  I also tie it odd ball style, but with poly wings. Split poly wings have become a favorite of mine for dun style dries.  I just dont think you can beat the visibility, float, lightness, and durability.  Well anyways, enjoy the video.  Flying ant video is next.

Materials list. aka recipe

Hook- Daiichi 1180 #12-18

Thread- Black uni 8/0

Tail- Brown hackle barbs

Butt- Peacock hurl

mid section- Red holographic tinel

Rib- x-small silver wire

Wings- Poly yarn split

Thorax- peacock hurl (under hackle)

Hackle- Brown saddle hackle, wound over the peacock

The Davie spider technique and beyond.

  I have been hooked lately on tying using Davie Mcphails spider technique as a base model.  It makes some really nice ties such as the jungle spider, but I have been doing it with all sorts of feathers and different bodies, tags, ribs, you name it.   You can see Jungle spider tutorial here for an understanding on how to do this. You can also check out Davie's video here.   Ok so here are some patterns I have put together and some I have fished with some good catches.

Hook- Alec Jackson soft hackle hook #9

Thread- Uni 8/0 black

Body- Sparse otter dub

Rib- montana fly co, midge body thread, rust.

Tag- Red holographic tinsel

Wing- India grizzly hen

Hackle- India grizzly hen

I gave the rusty indian a go on my local spring, I picked up a couple of browns, but the trout quickly became in tuned to a bwo spinner fall. So i swapped out for a rusty spinner. I will be fishing this fly a lot more.  If your unsure where to score india hen capes try here and get free shipping to boot.  Be sure tell Dave Johnny sent ya.

Hook- Alec Jackson soft hackle #11

Thread- Uni black 8/0

Tag- Utc sparkle braid midge, peacock

Rib- fine silver wire

Body- Sparse beaver dub

Wing- Badger 

Hackle- Badger

Hook- Alec Jackson Soft hackle- #9

Thread- Uni 8/0 black

Tag- Small lagartun gold tinsel

Rib- Small Lagartun gold tinel(same piece as tag)

Body- *india bronze* peacock  This hurl has no green to it, only copper and bronze tones. 

Wing- pale furnace(greenwells) hen

Hackle- pale furnace(greenwells) hen

I have used this fly several times on the Saucan creek in Pa. It is a limestone spring creek, with gin clear water and finicky brown trout. I will just say it got me "more than four" each time. I was gonna keep a secret but what fun is that?  I fished it in the film and got some really nice browns with it.  I have been fishing quite a bit, but just havnt been posting reports or taking many pictures.  But what is a post without fish porn. 

 Just a couple of browns taken with the saucan secret. The gelatinous one in the middle missed it on its first strike and chased it down and slammed it. That one and the others put up a great fight on my 2wt.   If you like the alec jackson hooks contact j.w.trout and you can score them for a good price.  Be sure to tell'em Johnny sent ya.

R.v. Tu tying night 8/7/12

This past Thursday was my t.u chapters fly tying night, at which I taught how to to a parachute ant and my soft beetle. Everyone did great an had a great time like we always do. Thank to everyone that came out. I hope you all can make it next month. I also encourage anyone to come. It is open to all, and all are welcome.

Duck, Duck, Badger spey fly

Here is a spey fly I put together, i am hoping to get up north this season at some point. 

Hook- Mustad 36890 #6

 Thread- Amber pearsals
Tag- Mirage tinsel
2nd Tag- Medium gold oval tinsel
Body- Very sparse dubbed muskrat
Body hackle- silver badger
Rib- Medium gold oval tinsel
Hackle- Yellow mallard flank
Throat- Gadwall flank small
Wing- Bronze mallard
Eyes- Jungle Cock

The Jungle spider tutorial

 Here is a wetfly that I put together after watching Davie Mcphail do his spider pattern.  It is simply a variation of Davie's creation.  The pattern is an easy and simple tie, but just take it slow with the wings. The Davie spider consists of starling and you can see my version the Jungle spider consists of jungle cock.  



The tutorial can be vied by clicking the see the rest link to the right