Tuesday Tie

Hook: Daiichi Size 8 No. 2220 hook
Thread: White Orvis G
Materials: 4" barred rabbit strip, ice dubbing, 6" piece Crystal Trilobal Hackle, Red Bead, 4" piece of 7x tippet.
Tools: bobbin, scissors, whip finish tool


This is a sick fall trout streamer or steelhead fly. It is like a traditional zonker, but it has more underbody movement and flash from the crystal hackle, and a bead that looks like an egg. This fly can be dead drifted trough a run below spawning fish, swinging across the river, or stripping it in. This is a newer pattern that I had developed but it will be one of the most used streamer patterns in my box. The colors that I have fished and that worked well are pink/purple/white, Black/purple, and orange/green/pink.

Step 1: loop piece of tippet through the hole in the bead and tie the ends of the tippet down to the hook shank. Do a base coat with the thread. (make sure to leave the bead head far enough away from the eye of the hook so that you can easily move it out of the way so you can easily tie a knot when you want to fish it)

Step 2: at the back of the hook shank, tie in the strip of rabbit fur. Tie it in so there is a  tag end going towards the eye of the hook (this tag end will be pulled over the top later)

Step 3: tie in the strip of crystal hackle underneath the rabbit strip. 

Step 4: twist dubbing onto the thread and wrap the dubbing up the hook shank towards the eye to give the fly some body/thickness.

Step 5: wrap the crystal hackle up overtop the dubbing towards the eye of the hook and tie off when at the front of the fly. Take the tag end of the rabbit strip that is going toward the eye of the hook and pull it overtop the crystal hackle and tie the end of it down in the same place you tied the hackle off at. 

Step 6: create a small, tight head behind the bead. Whip finish and apply head cement.

Intese Rain and High Water Flows

USGS real time water data has been great. The database is always very accurite and changes a couple times a day. For some time I have been waiting for the Deerfield River to have reasonable flows to fish, but with a few days of rain, fishable flows are no longer possible and even after the flows are down for a short period of time, the water is muddy and the whole river is blown out. The reports say that there will be rain for at least a day and possibly more. Bad news for us troutbums out east, great news to the boys back home. The steelies should use this rain in the next couple of days to push farther up the tribs. Good luck to all in the Midwest chasing chrome, wish I could be there.

The deerfield river at close to 4,000 cubic feet per second

Reports say rain for at least a day

With the torrential down pours of rain in the past weeks, putting the water flow at 4,000 cubic feet per second at its highest, fishing hasn't been in the cards. But today with the water finally at a semi-fisahble level, I took advantage of the situation and made an early morning trip to the river. Although the water level was what I wanted, the water clarity was poor and the leaves in the water made it even worse. There was so much debris in the water from it being blown out that it was hard to not come up with a glob of junk on the end of your line every drift. All in all it was a slow day, but the sights of pocumtuck valley made the early morning venture well worth it. I ended the day with only one small brown but with better weather the river should clear up next time I go out. Tight lines, and good luck to everyone going fishing wherever that may be.

Was caught by dead drifting a prince nymph behind a woolley bugger

Super Stone

Hook: Daiichi size 10 style 1550 wet/nymph hooks
Thread: Black ultra thread
Materials: 4 black goose biots, 3" piece of medium copper wire, black centipede legs, tungsten bead head, swish straw, head cement, and black dubbing.
Tools: bobbin, scissors, and whip finish tool

This stone fly pattern works well for many species of fish. Where ever there are stoneflies this pattern works well. I use this pattern in size 10 and 12 for steelhead during the fall, winter, and spring. It can be tied in any size and any color combination. It can be tied without a bead head, but I like the bead head because it will get the fly down to the bottom where it needs to be faster and doesn't require the use of split shot. Stonefly patterns are a must for everyones fly box and this is my favorite and most effective stonefly pattern in my box.

Step 1:  Secure bead head to the front of the hook

Step 2:  Wrap thread to the back of the fly and tie in a 3" piece of copper wire

Step 3:  Tie in 2 black goose biots so they form a "V" off of the back of the fly.

Step 4:  Tie in a piece of black swiss straw just in front of the goose biots and wire

Step 5:  Wrap the tread to just in  front of the mid point of the hook shank and tie in centipede legs to each side

Step 6:  Wrap the thread back to the rear of the fly and spin dubbing around the thread.

Step 7:  Wrap the thread with the dubbing on it all the way up to the front of the fly. Make sure the middle of the fly (in between the legs) is the fattest part of the fly.

Step 8:  Wrap the copper wire around the body of the fly making sure to leave space in between raps so the black dubbing will show through. Tie off the copper wire wen it reaches the front of the fly and clip any extra wire.

Step 9:  Pull the swiss straw from the rear of the fly to the front and tie down just behind the bead head. The swish straw will create a back to the fly.

Step 10:  Tie 2 black goose biots in behind the beadhead. they should form a "V" wen tied in.  Once secured, clip the tag ends.

Step 11:  Spin a small amount of dubbing around the thread and wrap dubbing from the base of the goose biots to the bead head to hide the thread wrapping that shows from tying in the goose biots and swish straw. After the dubbing is wrapped around the fly, whip finish and apply head cement.

Hopper Pattern

Hook: Daiichi Size 8 No. 2220 hook
Thread: Black ultra thread
Materials: 3 two inch pieces of craft foam (2 brown, 1 Black), 4 centipede legs, natural deer hair, natural pheasant tail, glue on eyes, hard as hull head cement
Tools: Bobbin, scissors, whip finish tool

This is a great hopper pattern that can be fished for all species that consume grass hoppers. I would recommend that liquid and powder floatant. First apply the liquid floatant to the deer hair and then dust the powder floatant onto the deer hair. This pattern can be fished alone, with a nymph dropper, or another dry fly trailer fly. I would recommend fishing this pattern with a dead drift to get the best results. This pattern can be tied in other colors that best imitate the coloration of the grass hoppers in the area being fished. Hopper patterns can be very affective in late summer and early fall, and I always make sure there are at least a few in my box.

Step 1:  Glue strips of craft foam together. After they are glued together use scissors to trim to the shape of the body.

Step 2:  Wrap a base of thread on the hook shank. Tie the body down by making 3 wraps around the body and hook shank.

Step 3:  Tie an overhand knot into 4 centipede legs. After the knot is tied cut all but one tag end.

Step 4:  Tie in the centipede legs in the same place that the body is secured. (tie the legs in so that the part with 4 legs is closest to the body). After legs are tied in clip the 4 tag ends leaving the section that has the overhand knot is remaining. Do the same on the other side of the body.

Step 5:  wrap the thread around the hook shank until the thread is about 1/8 " from where the legs were tied in and secure the body there with 3 wraps

Step 6:  Where the body is secured for the second time tie in a pinch of deer hair.  (the deer hair will imitate wings).

Step 7:  Wrap the thread up the hook shank again until it is 1/8" from where the deer hair was tied in and secure the body by wrapping the thread around the foam and hook shank 3 times.

Step 8:  Take 2 pinches of pheasant tail and tie them in in the same place where the body was secured. (the two pinches of pheasant tail should form a "V" when tied in). The pheasant tail will imitate the wing casing.

Step 9:  In the same place where the pheasant tail is tied in, tie in centipede legs so that they form a "V".  Tie in legs to both sides.

Step 10:  Wrap the thread around the hook shank to the front of the fly just behind the eye and whip finish.

Step 11:  Glue on eyes on the front section of the fly and apply head cement on the entire bottom of the fly body.

Utah

While in Utah for a long weekend, I was able to fish the provo river. The provo river is an amazing fishery because of the abundance of bug-life which allows trout to become very healthy and strong. There are two sections to the provo river, the middle and lower provo. After fishing both, I am able to say that they fish completely different. While both being tail waters, the middle and lower provo are very different in that the middle fishes better in lower water, while the lower fishes just fine at higher and faster water levels. It is amazing how many big fish are in one stretch of river. With the right drift, rigging, and flies, it is possible to    hook 10 fish in a single pool even at this time of year. Put simply, the provo river is an insane fishery that I recommend everyone that has the chance to fish do so. If anyone is looking for a guide service I would recommend Wasatch Guide Service (http://www.wasatchguideservice.com/) . They know the river like the back of their hands and are able to help anyone interested in hooking up with big, wild brown and rainbow trout.

Here are some pictures.

Jig Head Streamer

Hook: 1/32 oz. jig head

Thread: Chartreuse ultra thread

Materials: 5" piece of hackle flash, chartreuse ice dubbing, chartreuse marabou

Tools: bobbin, scissors, whip finish tool

This fly is a very affective fly is faster moving current because it is heavy enough that it will get to the bottom where the fish are faster that other patterns. It is also a great pattern to use in situations where the may be weeds or cover because it will swim hook tip up. I have found that fishing this pattern along the bottom bouncing it along rocks works the best, but a quick stripping action also works well. The best color combinations I have found are: white/black, green/white, chartreuse/black, and brown/white.

Step 1:  wrap a base of thread and tie in the end of a piece of marabou. Cut the extra marabou off and secure the tail.

Step 2:  tie in a 5" piece of hackle flash in the rear of the fly and wrap dubbing from the rear of the fly to the jig head

Step 3:  wrap the hackle flash around the dubbing body towards the front of the fly.  Tie off the end of the hackle flash and cut the tag end off.

Step 4:  Pull a pinch of ice dubbing and put 1 wrap in the middle of the pinch righ behind the jig head. repeat this until there are pinches of dubbing around the whole fly.

Step 5:  wrap the thread so it is in front of the dubbing and fold the ends  of the dubbing over  so that there is a dubbing skirt going towards the rear of the fly.

Step 6:  whip finish and apply head cement.