usual

[DAVIDM 0]

A new addition to the fly pattern database has been submitted by BATTOUSAID:

 

usual

 

[willowhead 0]

Yo Dave.....i c u live in New York.....well so do i.....some of the time anyway.....PLEASE make EVERY effort you can to come to a great fly tying show here in Roscoe, N.Y. on June 6th and 7th and i'll show you a WHOLE bunch of Usuall tricks. The Usual is my FAVORITE All-Time trout fishin' fly, panfishin' fly, and just about anything else that'll hit a fly on top and will take somethin' that small. I tye 'em all kinna different way, but ALWAYS use Orange thread NO MATTER WHAT.....out of respect for the inventor, Fran Betters. I'm currently tyin' Usualls for the cancer drive for the guys at ReelRecovery. My wife and i were very fortunate to spend 9 days with Fran on the Ausable River (N.Y.), once in '93 when we went to the FFF Northeast Council Conclave. We stayed at his place, The Bunkhouse.....whew...what a Rat Trap. :hyst: Perfect joint for a bunch of fishin' pals, (guys).....don't EVER take your wife there. Fran was a Super Sweetheart the whole time we were with him. He gave us his orientation tour of the river and showed us a TON of places to access which we would never have found on our own. Gave my wife a casting lesson or two and some tyin' lessons. And we bought out half his fly shop. HEY, i'm a fisherman..... :whistle: He's still alive and i would advise you to get over and meet the legend before he passes away..........he is "Something Else." He's givin' a LOT to the sport. Pick up his book as well.....it's VERY good. He's wheelchair bound now, but his mind is sharp as a tack. You'll be very glad you met him. One of the giants of fresh water trout fishin', and in spirit. mark.....

[Crotalus 0]

Nice fly. I really need to add the usual to my "to tie" list.

[SnagmasterQueedo 0]

Nice job tying that fly,and I agree.. orange or red thread is the only way to go and it has to show through the dubbing. I love that fly,Fran Betters sent me some along with some Ausable Wulffs years ago and i've still got them. I had heard of the Ausable but until then I had never heard of the usual. I tried fishing it and wow! It catches anything that has an appetite for that size bug warm water and cold water both.

The hardest thing is to find snowshoe feet and nothing else works like it does.

[Old Hat 0]

A great fly, one of my favorites. Nice tie. I think its the mimicry of an emerger or cripple that the ticket.

[willowhead 0]

Your guys are right on ALL counts. It is a good idea to let the orange thread show thru just a tad.....in other words you don't need to over dub the body.....get some on there but don't completely obscure the thread base. And it WAS originally designed to be an emerger. Thass why it fishes so well ever after it gets water logged. Two (MAX) false cast and your back in business. VERY easy to keep this fly in/on the water. And it does work just as fine in warm and or still water. An ALL-TIME GREAT, KILLER fly. mark..... OH! one of the other variations i make, besides the one with the CDC body, is one with a Peacock Herl body. Try that, in the eve. when all a fish sees is the silouette of a fly against whatever light is left in the sky.....you wanna dark body.

[DAVIDM 0]

thank you all and. i will come to the fly show it will be nice to meet you and learn some new tricks on tying it.and ill start useing orange thread just one more thing what would be the best dubbing color?

[willowhead 0]

You just match the dubbing to the rest of the fly. BEST thing to do, is buy your rabbitt feet in natural and dyed colors, or all natural and dye them yourself. Orange and Yellow for Sulphers and Pale Morning Duns, Brown and Pink, for March Browns and Hendricksons, light Blue and light Green for Pale Eve. Duns and Olives and Calbeatis. Etc., etc.........i spose you could mix and match the colors as well. Why not? Just tye 'em up to match the bugs (Aquatic insects ) in your streams. Another GREAT thing about the tye is it works when matching a Mayfly or Caddis hatch. You can leave the tail off of it and tye the wing in Trude style for a caddis imitation. If you do that, make the body a bit fatter at the rear end, (reverse taper) like the real bug. mark.....

[slayer4mayor 0]

i just learned how to tie the usual and i cant wait to use it in the spring. there is nothing like catching a fish on a fly that you just learned. April 1 is not coming fast enough. hope all you fly fishers have a good year.

JOSH

[willowhead 0]

Soon as i read April 1st as your opening day i "KNEW" you were in N.Y. State. The REEL New York State of Mind. I wish you all the luck in the Spring with the Usual.....but lemme pull your coat. Depending on where you plan to fish, don't use it until bout May 1st. Maybe the last week in April if you have it tyed small enough. Your going to need one tyed to imitate the Quill Gordon. Not an easy task unless you know how to do Quill bodies using Peacock eye quills. And you'll need one to imitate Paraleptoplebia, Blue Quills. And they are even smaller. I'd wait to use a Usuall until mid may when the Hendricksons are out and about, then again when the March Browns get active......and on down the line.....Sulphers, with Olives all mixed in throughout. Try tyin' one to imitate a Cornuta. That'd be cool. And while your at it and since you live in N.Y. Don't miss this event..... http://www.ClearwaterJunction.com .....you'll be able to pick up a ton of information on fly tying and help the resource by donating to a GREAT Conservation cause. Tell everybody, and PLEASE try and make it. Thank you. mark.....

[slayer4mayor 0]

willowhead, thanks for the great tips about the usual and i will keep them in mind. and i will put that event in my phone so i can maybe go. thanks

josh