flyDology

I have clients headed to Señor falcatus's neighborhood and need some crabs to bring as offerings.

Just working on some classic western dry flies from the Adams Family

One of those killer fly patterns that I always turn to. I have fished this pattern on the Madison, Deschutes and now the Roaring Fork Rivers with much success and acclaim. Something about this fly makes me think that is has some that super secret awesome sauce drizzled all over it. More details

A guide fly is one of those patterns that can imitate a whole lot of anything, is easy to tie and inexpensive. When thinking about flies that I want in my fly box, I want a fly that will simply catch fish wherever I cast it and not drive mebonkers at the vice. If you think about it, Randall Kauffman's Simulator is just one of those golden patterns. It can imitate a Golden Stone…Check! Cased Caddis…check! Hellgrammite…check! you name it, it looks like something that trout and steelhead would eat. I use it all year long in waters that harbor salmon flies and stoneflies. be sure to tie them in a range of sizes, even small version are highly effective. More info here....http://www.facebook.com/JPNewburyAnglingArts

Having recently relocated back to my childhood home, I have had to stash away my half a dozen boxes filled with classic steelhead wets and spey's into the bottom drawer of the tying bench for another time and place - perhaps when I am long gone, they will end up in a curators collection. I pulled out a dozen of my trout boxes and started to re-organize them for the hatches and conditions that I would encounter on my new home waters. I get to fish almost everyday on a gold medal trout stream so I have a chance to start a new fishing log book and discover different hatch timing or particular flavors that the trout prefer. Here are some of the most effective patterns that I have used in the past thirty days. More info here...

I have been tying up some 5" 3/0 flies for Bolivian bound anglers targeting Golden Dorado. This is a Cichla ocellaris, a predatory cichlid AKA Peacock Bass.

Been playing more with small baitfish on tubes.

A couple tube fly's I tied at a recent fly tying show.

I have dyed many polar bear colors. Its amazing at how easy it is to dye and the hair takes color well. I use Fly Dye brand dye in an acid bath just cool of boiling. I mix my dye and acid to manufactures suggestions and immerse the hair swatches for about 15 minutes. The hide will shrink a bit after you dye it but the hair will be perfectly intact and if you did it right, you will still have the original sheen. Just buy high quality industrial textile acid dyes like Fly Dye or Veniards. DO NOT USE RIT, it will dye to a dull flat sheen.

I like to use hen pheasant, partridge or chicken hen saddles.

Squid Vicious on a Pro Tube with Pro Sportfishers new Cool Eyes and Softhead.

Last one for the month. My all time favirite summer steelhead pattern - the Summer Crush

A little something for a bright day tied with Pro Tube flexi-tube, sonic cone and triple dyed rabbit.

I created this out of my imagination but the color scheme was from Bill McMillan's Winters Hope and Paint Brush patterns and its been hybridized a billion times by a billion fly tyers out there, so technically, no I did not invent it. I'm sure somebody somewhere has done it before just like this.

Thanks! it is American Possum and Arctic Fox.

McMillan's Heretic

Ohh I like that scud planettrout.

I use pure silk floss instead of rayon. Does not fray as easily and forms smoother bodies. Burnish with a wood burnishing tool to make body even smoother. Keep fingers soft with lotion prior to tying. and all of the above.

SILKHDH, you are right on all accounts. It is a stinger hook with a bead to act as a joint. The mono loop is both to hold the bead AND act as a dropper loop. More info and SBS here

Using the new Pro Sportfishers stonefly kit and adapting it to my Stinger Stone. And its companion the Pro Rogue Foam Stone - Golden.

I tied commercially, in that time I tied hundreds of dozens of deer hair fly's. I discovered that a t-edger from the beauty supply store AKA beard trimmer was an asset at bulk trimming of the deer hair flies before I took the razor and sheers to them. You cannot get super clean results but you can quickly get a desired shape before further refinements are made.

I will be posting an SBS video fo the prawn very soon on Vimeo. I have a few more tweaks I need to make before I do so.

We like our prawns dipped in some cocktail sauce when served for a Pacific Northwest steelhead dinner. Predator Prawn UV III tied on Pro Tube system.

I can see some practical application with this, but I will also stick to commercial grade acid dyes.

A little something for the steelhead. Predator III Prawn