Baetis Nymph (or Blue Wing Olive)

15 May

The Baetis Nymph, more commonly known as the Blue Wing Olive, appears in rivers throughout North America but the hatches are exceptional in the western United States. Hatches can start as early in the year as January, but usually begin to peak around March or April. If you’re lucky enough to catch a cool, overcast day during these months be ready! Probably good enough to rationalize a sick day, cough cough.

This particular Baetis pattern is one of the easiest I tie. My only critique of this fly is that it isn’t the most durable, mostly due to the fact that it is tied with a plastic bead which can break easily. I carry a stockpile of these flies, both light and dark in color, because it’s easy to go through a bunch of them in a day…which, if I’m on the water, I don’t mind at all!

Copper John fly

15 Apr

I’d have to think that if you look in any trout fisherman’s fly box there’s a pretty good chance your going to see a handful of Copper John’s in a variety of colors and sizes. There’s a reason why that is…and it’s actually quite an easy fly to tie. I find that the trickiest part to tie is the tail, at least to make it look good. I have started using a thread bump at the bend of the hook so when the biots are tied in the thread bump naturally splits the tail. I also try to build up a tapered thread body so when the wire is wrapped it naturally has a tapered look. Once you get into the groove of tying these guys you can whip out a bunch in a short period of time. Play around with colors, sizes, and weights.

The Chromie fly

30 Mar

Few seasons excite me as much as spring. It’s at this time of the year that I come to the realization that I’ve survived another brutal, rainy winter. The days are getting longer, the temperature is heating up, and most importantly the fish are hungry! Every winter I have the intention of stockpiling flies, especially the Chromie fly, for the spring and summer seasons but it never seems to fail that I go into a mad rush around the middle of march and boost up my fly box.

There are a number of flies that I tie every spring, regardless. The Chromie fly is one of them. It’s easy to tie and it works….really well. Find me those two characteristics in any fly and I’m going to have a bunch of them. Like my buddy always said, “Don’t try to spice it up dirt!”

Floating line, long leader, and bobber. When fishing Chironomid pupa and larvae patterns, try to present the fly near the bottom of the water column. An extremely patient retrieve (hand twist or slow short pulls) will imitate the movement of these slow moving bugs. The takes will be subtle as the fish are often inhaling, not striking the fly. Keep a close eye on your bobber and hold on, there are some big boys near the bottom!

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The Royal Wulff fly

23 Mar

Ahhh, the Royal Wulff fly. It has a nice ring to it. This is one of the first dry flies I ever learned to tie, mainly because I could (somewhat) tie the fly, but also because I could see it on the water. And did I mention that it works?

The fly doesn’t really resemble any specific aquatic insect or terrestrial but it looks buggy and has some fine qualities of an attractor pattern. It is typically tied with deer or elk hair wings (great fly to learn how to tie hair wings); add that to a gracious number of hackle wraps and the fly rides very well on the water.The red floss makes for a great attractor and peacock herl is just good stuff.

This isn’t the first fly that I tie on, but for some reason when other attractor patterns aren’t working the fish seem to get excited about the Royal Wulff pattern. The fly rides high on the water and is easy to see, making it a great fly for fast, rough water. Try to cast just off the center of the whitewater. There is a fast moving seam that always seems to hold fish. Good luck!

Parachute Madame X (PMX) fly

23 Mar

It’s always nice when you find a really good fly that’s also really easy to tie. Too bad that’s not the case with the Parachute Madame X (PMX) fly pattern. I absolutely love this fly but it’s a pain in the a** to tie. You’ll feel a sense of accomplishment when you’re finished, and when it looks good. Take your time, be patient, and pay attention to the details.

When tied with yellow floss it’s an awesome golden stonefly pattern. I’ve also had a lot of luck with the red floss body. The first fish I caught on this fly was a 20″ brown. Needless to say I was sold, and I think you will be too.

Rubber Leg Wooly Bugger

23 Mar

Tied similar to a JJ Special (different color combination) but know to me as “The Sebade”. When I first really started fishing streamers my buddy and I were given a few of these flies by an older friend, whose last name happened to be Sebade. We knew the guy could fish, although like most fisherman he was pretty tight-lipped when it came to where he fished and what he used. I think at some point he realized that we were just as crazy about fly fishing as he was and he kindly donated a few of his personally tied ‘special’ flies. This was one of the flies in the collection he gave us…

Parachute Blue Wing Olive

23 Mar

If you put enough time in on the water you’ve probably witnessed, and fished, some beautiful hatches. One of my favorites is the blue wing olive, or baetis mayfly hatch. What an awesome experience to be in the middle of. Bugs are flying everywhere and you know the fish are going crazy. You must pay close attention to what stage of the hatch the fish are keying in on – emerging flies or fully hatched adults? If I was a fish I’d much rather eat a fly that’s still in the water and is awkwardly navigating around trying to get out of its casing. If you can determine that the fish are in fact feeding on emergers, try this fly.

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