by Al Ritt

THE CHOCOLATE LAB JERKED TO THE RIGHT, her glossy coat glowing in the sun and contrasting with the flat golden hue of the native grasses. Her nose pulled her along until the multicolored pheasant exploded skyward like a land mine. Scenes like this have occurred ever since humans discovered how delicious and nutritious game birds are, but fly tiers enjoy an additional bonus from autumn’s bounty.

Before we had plastic flash fibers, synthetic yarns and hairs, and silicone rubber legs, tiers worked with only natural hair, feathers, and fur. If you hunt, autumn is the time to replenish your supply of these attractive and useful natural materials. If you’re not a hunter, this is a great time to touch base with your friends who are, or maybe meet some new friends. Soft-hackle collars are a popular and widely recognized use of game bird feathers, but there are many other uses for wild bird plumage. Let’s look at some of the birds we are likely to encounter and what feathers we might use.

Ring-necked Pheasant for Flies

Ring-necked pheasants are one of the most popular North American game birds. Originally from Asia, they were imported to the United States and released in Oregon in the early 1880s. The PheasantTail Nymph may be the pattern most frequently identified with any game bird, and while this pattern is still very popular, it uses only rooster tail feather fibers. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had someone say that pheasants have many beautiful feathers suitable for making other flies; I completely agree, and I think tiers are missing the boat if they don’t use these feathers on more patterns.

Use pheasant tail feathers for making wing cases, legs, and tails on both nymphs and dry flies. Slips clipped from wing quill feathers, which have more patterning than duck or goose quills, work as wing cases and upright dry fly wings.

Body feathers make colorful soft-hackles, legs, nymph tails, wing cases, and streamer cheeks. Rump feathers, also known as “church window” feathers, have beautiful patterning, and the fibers are long enough for making Spey hackles and long hackle collars. And I frequently use pheasant flank feathers in place of golden pheasant for tying the General Practitioner.

Don’t forget hen pheasant feathers. There are certain situations where hunting hens is legal, and you can use hen feathers much like rooster feathers. Although they are slightly smaller, hen pheasant feathers have a nice buff color to go with the olive/ bronze tones of the roosters.

Grouse Galore and More

There are several species of grouse: ruffed, sharptailed, sage, blue (blue grouse is a broad category encompassing dusky, sooty, and spruce grouse), prairie chicken, and ptarmigan. Grouse are less brilliantly colored than rooster ring-necked pheasants, but they come in a wide range of earth tones, grays, and even white. (Ptarmigan are white in the winter.) Most have barred or speckled feathers that vary from subtle to distinctive shading. In general, grouse feathers are slightly smaller than pheasant feathers, but they are often used in the same manner. Having a selection of different grouse and pheasant skins will allow you to tie flies in many hook sizes using feathers containing a wide spectrum of colors and shades.

Two species of partridge live in the United States: chukar and Hungarian. Ruffed grouse are sometimes called partridge in the Northeast and Midwest, but they are in fact a species of grouse. Partridge are slightly smaller than grouse, making them candidates for tying smaller flies. The colors are primarily brown or gray, and breast feathers are heavily speckled. Wings and tails are relatively small and may be useful for making wing cases but not so much for quill-slip wings. If you don’t hunt or know someone who does, Hungarian partridge are some of the easiest pelts to find in fly shops; they even come in a range of dyed colors.

Quail are typically our smallest upland game birds and include Gambel’s, scaled, mountain, California, and bobwhite. Quail feathers may be gray, blue gray, brown, tan, or white. Many have speckled or barred patterning. Quail feathers are primarily used for making soft-hackle collars on wet flies, and legs and wing cases on nymphs. Due to their diminutive size, however, quail feathers are usually limited to tying very small flies.

“Gobble, Gobble”

If you tie trout flies, you will want to have a supply of turkey feathers on hand. Eastern, Rio Grande, Merriam’s, and Osceola are all North American wild turkeys. Gould’s turkey is a fifth species, but populations of those birds are very low, with limited opportunities for hunting, so those feathers are generally unavailable to fly tiers.

Turkey tail feathers have distinct barring and speckling. Colors range from rich chocolate brown to light tan or buff. Wing feathers are also strikingly barred. Use both types of feathers for making nymph wing cases, grasshopper wings, wings on Muddler Minnows, and other streamer wings. Turkey feathers are also used for making wings on some fancy Atlantic salmon flies. You can even wrap the bodies of flies using long slips clipped from large turkey wing and tail feathers.

Turkey body feathers are iridescent with shades of copper, green, gold, and purple; they make striking wing cases and streamer cheeks. Fibers from body feathers are an attractive choice as nymph tails, legs, shell cases, and beetle shellbacks. Marabou, which once came from the marabou stork, is now obtained from domesticated turkeys, but wild turkeys have these same feathers. Although they are smaller than marabou from domestic birds, you’ll find these brown or gray plumes on the thighs of wild turkeys.

The post Feathered Friends appeared first on Fly Tyer.

by Dennis Potter

I always enjoyed fishing the Au Sable River in northern Michigan with John Barton. John was a gentleman with a great sense of humor, and he was an accomplished angler. If he was fishing a dry fly, more often than not it was a small Parachute Adams.

We fished the upper Mason Tract on the Au Sable South Branch on several occasions. I was likely to fish with a hatch-matching fly, while John tied on his beloved Parachute Adams, usually size 18 or smaller. On one occasion, when the little summer slate-wing olives were in the air, he annihilated me with his large catch of trout. John was below me, and I watched him bring fish after fish to hand while I struggled in his wake.

The Parachute Adams is one of the few patterns that has stood the test of time and sits atop the fly anglers’ pedestal with a select group of dry flies. It catches fish in nearly all dry fly situations. Long ago, I gave up using hair of any kind on parachutes, including the Adams. I use The Adams is one of the quintessential American dry flies. And like most famous patterns, it has spawned many variations. Dennis Potter shows how to make his favorite versions of the timeless Adams. Tie the Perfect Adams one of the modern stiff, crinkled synthetics for parachute wings; no more cutting, cleaning, stacking, and struggling to get a wing on the hook. Synthetic materials are a good value, waterproof, available in every color you will need, and create a wonderful wing outline. Join me in using synthetic materials for wings on your parachute dry flies.

Let’s use the Adams family of patterns as examples of how to tie wings on dry flies. In addition to tying synthetic wings, we’ll learn how to make wings using hen hackles. Once you’ve mastered these techniques, apply them to almost any other type of dry fly you wish to tie. Good tying and, more important, good fishing!

How to Make Adams Wings

Let’s start at the beginning and see how to tie wings on an Adams. Once we have this technique in hand, we will look at how to tie the different members of the Adams Family.

Tying on the Wings

The post Tie the Perfect Adams appeared first on Fly Tyer.

I’m not sure the fly tying or fly fishing world really needs another October caddis pupa imitation, but I’m particularly fond of this one, and it’s been working quite well for me this fall, especially since waters have cooled down a bit.

Recipe:
Hook: 3X-heavy nymph hook (here, a Fulling Mill 5115), size 10.
Thread: Dark brown, 8/0 or 70 Denier.
Rib: Copper brown Ultra Wire, small.
Back: Brown Antron yarn.
Abdomen: Amber Sow & Scud dubbing.
Wingcase: Brown Antron yarn.
Thorax: Pheasant Tail Ice Dub.
Beard: Burnt-orange Brahma Hen chickabou feather.

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We here in the Eastern United States are fortunate in that we have really good Isonychia hatches. It’s a shame many regions of North America do not. Iso’s, as they’re known for short, are also called Slate Drakes, Mahogany Duns or Leadwing Coachmen.

Rarely do Iso’s produce blanket hatches. They, instead, prefer to dribble off in less than significant numbers during the evening and well into dark. The great thing though is this takes place over many months. Here in New Jersey, we’ll start seeing Iso’s as early as late May and sometimes they’re still around well into November. Because of this, trout seem to get accustomed to them being available and readily take them in all stages of development, throughout much of this period.

Isonychia nymphs generally emerge by first migrating to the shore, then crawling out onto rocks, where the winged adult emerges from its nymphal shuck. These nymphs are remarkable swimmers and use a kind of butterfly kick to propel themselves through the water. At times, they even resemble small minnows. This is why swung soft hackles and wets can be so effective. Dead-drift nymphing works well, fishing dun and spinner imitations is always fun and visual, but swung or stripped flies like soft hackles are a great way to change things up.

Weightless soft hackle flies like this one, swung downstream and across, can produce truly aggressive takes. Of course weighted or bead head versions will also work, but I greatly prefer the weightless variety. If I need to get the fly down a little deeper, I’ll hang it off an intermediate, 3” per second or 5” per second poly leader. To me, the weightless versions of the fly present more naturally as they’re almost neutrally buoyant, just like the naturals.

This particular pattern, although definitely more suggestive than imitative, checks a lot of boxes. Pheasant tail fibers give it a short, feathery tail similar to the three tails found on the natural nymphs. A kind of rusty maroon-colored abdomen, segmented by a gold wire rib, adds a touch of attractive shimmer and realism. While perhaps not essential, a white stripe down the center of the fly’s back looks like the one found on many naturals. Peacock herl is used for the thorax because, in my estimation, it gives the illusion of movement and life with its iridescence. I prefer a soft hackle collar that’s well-marked, and with more fibers than on most soft hackle flies. I want the trout to view it as a meal, not just a light snack.

Wet flies and soft hackles seem to be making a comeback after decades of relegation to dusty, back row fly bins. Under certain conditions, they can be incredibly effective but, almost more importantly, they’re exceptionally relaxing and satisfying to fish. In addition, they possess a grace and elegance that’s lacking in many modern fly patterns. Of course, that’s just my opinion, yours may differ.

Recipe
Hook: Nymph hook, here, Fulling Mill 5085, size 12.
Thread: UTC 70 Denier, brown.
Rib: Small gold Ultra wire.
Tail: 6-8 pheasant tail fibers, dyed chocolate brown.
Dorsal stripe: UTC 140 Denier, white or white floss.
Abdomen: Fine & Dry Isonychia-colored dubbing.
Thorax: Peacock herl, 3-4 strands.
Collar: Hen feather, mottled brown.

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The Ozark Mountains remain one of fly fishing’s best-kept secrets. It is also home to an assortment of can’t-miss flies.

I’ve fished the Ozarks for many years. In my younger days, after my mother and father retired and moved south to Arkansas, I considered this to be my adopted fly fishing home. Over time I fished many of the region’s spring-fed creeks and rivers, tailwater rivers, lakes, warmwater mountain streams, and freestone rivers.

The Ozark Mountains cover three states, comprising Missouri, Arkansas, and Eastern Oklahoma. The Ozarks, which are close to major populations centers such as Memphis, Saint Louis, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa, may be one of the most unique areas to fish in the world. It is possible, within the same day, to fish for tailwater trout, cast to coolwater smallmouth bass, and finish the evening by casting popping bugs to trophy largemouth bass in some of our country’s biggest lakes. Few regions offer this kind of diversity and unique fishing opportunities.

Because of the Ozark’s rich fly fishing heritage, a large number of fly tiers, guides, and fly shops have created effective patterns to catch the local fish. Most other tiers overlook these flies because many of the patterns are regional. And because some of the trophy tailwaters weren’t developed until the 1940s, fly fishing in the Ozarks, except for perhaps the White River, has not gotten the same national exposure that other regions have enjoyed. The Ozarks offer a wealth of fine fly fishing, and these local patterns have worked almost everywhere I have tried them.

Rather than tell you the stories of the flies here, I’ll save that for the pattern descriptions. Tie these flies and try them on your local waters; I am sure you will be pleased with the results. And the next time you travel through the Ozarks, pack your fly rod and a selection of these patterns; I can guarantee you will catch fish!

NearNuff Crayfish

Dave Whitlock developed the NearNuff Crayfish as a sculpin-crawdad pattern. Sculpins and small crawdads are found in the rich tailwaters of Arkansas’s White and Norfork Rivers. This fly accounted for many of the largest smallmouth bass and trout I have caught.

Hook: Tiemco TMC8089 or Mustad 3366, sizes 6 to 2.
Thread: Black 6/0 (140 denier).
Eyes: Medium dumbbell.
Claws: Olive, hot orange, or gold Matuka feathers such as Chickabou.
Body: Wapsi Crawdad Dub or Whitlock SLF dubbing—hot orange, olive, or gold.
Hackle: Strung variant saddle hackle—olive, hot orange, or golden Cree.
Antennae: Hot-dipped Sili Legs mixed with Krystal Flash—peacock, hot orange and pumpkin, or copper.

Mike’s Peacock-Backed Woolly Bugger

I became obsessed with Woolly Buggers and began searching for the perfect pattern. I tried nearly every color I could think of and eventually settled on this combination. I have a photo in my office of a trophy rainbow trout I caught in a hole called Nellie’s Apron near the junction of the White and Buffalo Rivers. The hole is called Nellie’s Apron for a woman who disappeared and was presumed drowned; they found only her apron. Well, I saw a large fish swimming near a drop-off along the edge, and cast this fly down and across the hole. That fish remains one of the largest trout I have ever caught.

Hook: Mustad 9672 or Daiichi 1720, sizes 12 to 6.
Head: Gold bead.
Thread: Black 6/0 (140 denier).
Tail: Bronze Flashabou and olive marabou.
Body: Olive and black variegated chenille.
Rib: Medium oval tinsel.
Hackle: Olive variegated saddle hackle.
Back: Six to 10 pieces of peacock herl.

Mike’s Spuddler

This pattern earned me my first trophy-release pin. This pattern was originally made by Dan Bailey’s, of Montana, but I changed it slightly and use it as a sculpin imitation.

Hook: Mustad 9674 or Daiichi 1750, sizes 8 to 4.
Thread: White or beige 6/0 (140 denier).
Tail: Yellow Antron folded over and combed out.
Body: Tan chenille.
Rib: Medium oval gold tinsel.
Underwing: Red fox squirrel tail.
Wing: Hen pheasant back feather.
Head: Gold antelope.

56er

Tom Nixon developed the 56er. Tom was a native of Louisiana and wrote Tying Flies for Bass and Panfish. Tom lived near Rim Shoals, on the White River, for many years. He once said the reason he called this fly the 56er was because all Eastern fly fishers are 99.99 percent–pure fly fishers, but his pattern is only 56 percent–pure fly fishing. I’ve also heard it said that this fly worked only 56 percent of the time. In any case, this is a highly effective local favorite and is used as a small crawdad pattern.

Hook: Mustad 9671 or Daiichi 1710, sizes 10 to 6.
Thread: Black or gray 6/0 (140 denier).
Tail: Mallard flank fibers dyed wood duck yellow.
Belly: Yellow floss.
Body: Gray wool yarn.
Hackle: Grizzly.

Red Fox Squirrel Nymph Bead-Head/Soft-Hackle

This may be the most famous fly from the region. Dave Whitlock created this pattern using only one material—red fox squirrel fur. I add a bead and soft hen hackle, which improves its performance. Dave ties this pattern in many sizes and on several styles of hooks, and over time he added beads and soft-hackles. This single fly may have caught more fish for me than any other pattern.

Hook: Mustad 3906B or Daiichi 1710, sizes 16 to 12.
Thread: Black 6/0 (140 denier).
Bead: Gold bead.
Tail: Woodchuck or red fox squirrel guard hairs.
Body: Red fox squirrel belly fur or burnt orange Antron dubbing.
Collar: Red fox squirrel body fur spun as a collar.
Hackle: Mottled hen back or red grouse.

Zebra Midge

Ted Welling, of Lees Ferry, Arizona, is credited with developing the Zebra Midge, but it has since become one of the Ozark’s most popular tailwater patterns. In fact, it has become so popular that Wapsi Fly, of Mountain Home, Arkansas, now sells thousands of glass beads and numerous kits used for making this fly. It is usually tied on a size 18 hook with a clear bead, black body, and silver rib, but you can use other color combinations.

Hooks: Mustad C49S or Daiichi 1130, sizes 22 to 16.
Bead: Small or midge Killer Caddis Glass Bead—red, orange, clear, or rainbow.
Thread: Size 6/0 (140 denier) or 8/0 (70 denier)—red, black, olive, orange, or purple.
Body: Tying thread.
Rib: Fine Wapsi Ultra Wire—blue, red, orange, silver, or gold.

Mike Hogue, who lives in Upstate New York, is a regular contributor to this magazine. Mike is also the proprietor of Badger Creek Fly Tying. For more information about materials, patterns, and much more, go to his website, www.eflytyer.com.

The post The Ozarks: Good Fishing, Good Flies appeared first on Fly Tyer.

The Fat Albert really needs no introduction in the fly tying world as it’s been a mainstream pattern for many many years. Developed by Brent Taylor in Missouri, it’s designed to imitate almost any terrestrial bug that has a fat profile and a lot of legs. 

Materials

Hook: TMC 2302 Caddis and Terrestrials – 8
Thread: UTC Ultrathread 140 Denier – Dark Brown
Body: Fly Tying Foam – 2mm – Brown
Body: Fly Tying Foam – 2mm – Tan
Wing: EP Trigger Point Int’l Fibers – White
Indicator: EP Trigger Point Int’l Fibers – UV Green
Legs: Life-Flex Spandex Material – Tan

The post Fat Albert appeared first on Fly Tyer.

These past couple of years, here in the Mid-Atlantic, the light cahills have been one of the premier hatches. For me anyway, they are the last major hatch before waters warm up so much to the point where I can no longer conscientiously catch and release trout. Prior to the hatch, trout readily feed on light cahill nymphs trying to make it to the water’s surface and on emergers struggling in the surface film. Of course, they’re extremely fond of the winged adults riding on top of the water. When egg-laden Spinners return to the water to deposit those eggs is when the fun really starts. After the eggs are deposited, the Spinners at the very end of their life cycle fall spent on the water’s surface, and the trout go absolutely nuts for such an easy meal. I use this parachute-style light cahill pattern to imitate nearly all of the insect’s life cycle, save for the nymphal stage.

Recipe:
Hook: Dry fly hook (here a Lightning Strike DF1), size 14.
Thread: White Semperfli Classic Waxed, 12/0.
Wingpost: White polypropylene floating yarn.
Tail: Woodduck flank feather.
Body: Light Cahill-colored Superfine dubbing.
Hackle: Cream-colored cape hackle.

The post Light Cahill Parachute appeared first on Fly Tyer.

During the summer, I rise early, make coffee, and then head out for some early-morning bass fishing. After several hours of throwing flies to the numerous largemouth bass inhabiting the lake, I begin to feel caffeine deprived and head back to our cottage. Sometimes I return for more fishing, but often I just refill my cup, grab the garden hose, and water our flower and vegetable gardens.

In addition to being a fly tier and fisherman, I am also a gardener. I acquired the love of gardening from my wife, Susan; she is the real genius when it comes to growing things. It’s a rare plant she can’t identify, and she’s the mastermind behind planning all our gardens. I stick in a plant here and there, but she’s the one who makes it all come together.

One of the aspects that most fascinates me when watering is watching the bees. They work the flowers with almost mathematical precision. While numerous species of bees are normally present, one of the most interesting to watch is the common eastern bumblebee. This yellow-and-black insect is the largest I see, and it is usually undisturbed by my presence.

Bees have coevolved with flowers and are descendants of ancient wasps. Like caddisflies, bees go through a complete metamorphosis, transitioning from eggs to larvae to pupae, and finally into adults. Unlike honeybees, bumblebee colonies die off in the winter with just the queen overwintering. It will emerge in the spring to begin a new colony.

Early-season bumblebees are smaller; the larger bumblebees arrive later in the summer. More than 20,000 species of bees worldwide pollinate over 90 percent of the world’s wild plants, including aquatic plants. Bees commonly end up on the water around these plants, providing the fish with an easy meal.

Designing a Better Bee

John is a friend and fellow tier from Grand Junction, Colorado. He was interested in tying a bumblebee imitation. John had tried using numerous materials like chenille, but they made the fly too heavy. He suggested that I create a bumblebee using spun deer hair. At about the same time, Rick Takahashi and Jerry Hubka asked me to contribute a fly to their book Modern Terrestrials. I wanted to submit a spun-deer-hair bumblebee.

I tied small deer-hair bass bugs with a bumblebee color scheme for many years, but I wanted this new fly to look more realistic. I was certainly not the first to think of making such a pattern. In his book This Wonderful World of Trout, which was published in 1963, Charles K. Fox mentions using a black-and-white hornet imitation to win an annual fishing contest. While there is not a recipe for that fly in his book, I always imagined it was made using clipped deer hair.

Over the years, numerous authors have included deer-hair bumblebee patterns in their books. Tying and Fishing Terrestrials by Gerald Almy, Ed Shenk’s Fly Rod Trouting, and Terrestrials by Harrison R. Steeves III, are just a few of the volumes containing recipes for making deer-hair bumblebees. Rusty Gates, of Gates Au Sable Lodge, in Michigan, also had a deer-hair bumblebee used by anglers in that region.

Most North American bumblebees are yellow and black, but a few have white butt ends. I like the look of the three colors, so when tying a pattern for Modern Terrestrials, I made a fly in this color scheme. The pattern I submitted for that book was just a variation of the many bumblebee imitations that came before mine, but keeping with the modern theme of the book, I used a synthetic foam material for the wing.

Making the Bee Even Better

Bluegills, as well as trout under the right circumstances, really loved my new fly. After fishing it for a summer, however, I was not entirely satisfied with its appearance.

I changed the wing material to gray cul de canard, but I have also used Whiting Farms Winger Cape feathers. I think both these feathers improve the look of the fly, and it fishes as well as or better than the foam-wing version. Additionally, I was spinning three single bunches of white, yellow, and black hair, but now I use a stacking technique. This allows for more color separation between the top and bottom of the abdomen, and creates bars of color on the back that approximate the color of a real bumblebee.

When fishing a lake, look for cover that attracts bass and panfish; any flowering water plant is a prime target. Cast the fly to the edge of the cover, drop the rod tip close to the surface, and tighten up to the fly. Rather than retrieving the bee across the surface, simply twitch it to simulate a struggling insect. If fish are present, it normally doesn’t take long for one to eat the fly.

Bees are fascinating and colorful insects that deserve our attention. They are great subjects for our fly tying endeavors.

Tim Jacobs comes to us from the Roaring Fork Valley of Colorado. He has published numerous articles and authored the great book Tying and Fishing Deer Hair Flies. Tim appears at numerous fly fishing shows and shops as a demonstration fly tier.

The post Tie a Better Bee appeared first on Fly Tyer.

by Tim Flagler

 Super Simple Cicada
          Hook: Bomber hook (here an Ahrex HR418), size 4.
          Thread: Black, 6/0 or 140-denier or heavier.
          Underbody: Black rabbit-fur dubbing.
          Adhesive #1: Superglue (here, Fly Tyers Z-Ment).
          Body: Black and orange 2mm foam.
          Legs: Orange black-barred round-rubber legs, medium.
          Underwing: Pearl Krystal Flash.
          Adhesive #2: Superglue (here, Fly Tyers Z-Ment).
          Wing: Tan deer-body hair, cleaned and stacked.
          Hot spot: Orange 2mm foam.
          Thread cover: Black rabbit-fur dubbing.
          Adhesive: Head cement (here, Sally Hansen Hard-As-Nails).
          Tools: Foam-body cutter, spray adhesive, whip-finish tool, bodkin.

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Cased caddis larvae are abundant in many rivers and  streams and are an excellent food source for trout of all persuasions. For an insect in its larval state that lives underwater and is attached to rocks on the stream bottom, they’re remarkable engineers, as they’re able to create protective houses using nothing more than fine adhesive filaments spit from their mouths, and leaves, sticks, and sediment collected from the stream bed. And yes, trout do eat them, case and all. The fly you see here, as simple as it is, does an incredible job of imitating a cased caddis larva.

Recipe:  
Hook: 3X-strong, black nickel barbless hook (here, a Fulling Mill FM5105), size 16. Thread/Head: Fluorescent chartreuse, 8/0 or 140-denier.
Case/Body: Pheasant-tail fibers.

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