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Western Green Drake Patterns?

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I'm going to have an opportunity to fish the Provo river near Salt Lake City next month - likely the third week of June. My understanding is that there is a decent chance of encountering a hatch of the Western Green Drake. A quick web search yielded a few suggestions, but I thought I'd ask here...

 

Does anyone with knowledge of this hatch and/or the middle Provo river have particular patterns they like for fishing the river during middle June? Any patterns in particular to tie up for a possible green drake hatch?

 

I've fished the green drake / coffin fly hatch out here in the East, but my understanding is that we're talking a different bug.

 

Thanks!

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Maybe check out the flyfishfood website. They're located in the approximate area

 

Thanks - good tip. Hadn't made the connection that they were out there. They have a good looking Nymph pattern I'll tie up. Still looking for emerger / dun patterns... default plan will be big comparaduns in olive but looking for something more specific if anyone has one that works well!

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I don't know anything about the Provo, but here is a pattern I like when Western Green Drakes are hatching. It's a version of the GT Green Drake.

 

jNy7Rbh.jpg

 

For a Dun I tend to use a modified version of Bob Jacklin's Green Drake or a Paradrake. A big juicy nymph is good to have also.

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I like that pattern Jaydub. Thanks. Looks like a moose hair tail tied off the thorax? Olive grizzly hackle, parapost wing post, olive dry fly dubbing and an olive biot body? Any guess on size for this pattern? I was guessing a 10 or 12?

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I have fished the Provo for years, and find the Green Drakes to be a bit lighter than on the Henrys Fork. I have fished both rivers during Green Drake hatches, and use slightly different patterns for each hatch. For the Provo, the nymphs I find are almost black, or just a bit of olive and they are a size 10. I use a size 10 2 or 3xl hook. The duns are close to the one pictured above, but the bodies are more thick. Wings and tails are an olive green with black markings. I fish a Klinkhammer style parachute pattern, or my own emerger pattern most of the time. Most of my flies are out in Utah, so I don't have pictures right now.

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I like that pattern Jaydub. Thanks. Looks like a moose hair tail tied off the thorax? Olive grizzly hackle, parapost wing post, olive dry fly dubbing and an olive biot body? Any guess on size for this pattern? I was guessing a 10 or 12?

 

You got it. The post looks white in the picture, but it's actually gray. I doubt it matters much. I'm not 100% sure of the size with that style hook. I'd have to look when I get home. I tie regular duns on size 10 2xl.

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I don't have biots that color nor those hooks. Might try to modify to use olive dubbing with a yellow thread rib and tie on a #10 2xl dry fly hook. Will post a pic when I get it done.

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ive had success with a paradrake style fly on the frying pan river in colorado

 

brown_drake_paradrake_450x229.jpg

 

and a parachute green drake

 

Parachute-Green-Drake-600.jpg

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Ducktail Mayfly........as a Green Drake


#16 scud hook

Extended abdomen: one olive dyed duck flank with tip stroked together to a point with a small quantity of fabric cement. The fabric cement is applied to the tip of the abdomen only.

wings: Gray Senyo Laser Dub pulled up on either side of the shank and parachute wrapped twice, with thread.

thorax: Olive Senyo Laser Dub

hackle: A Zelon or carpet scraps Right Hackle basted loooosely to the bottom of the thorax with one figure eight wrap, from the eye of the hook to the base of the extended abdomen and back again. And then splayed out end to end on the bottom and groomed a tooth brush and then glued in place. Any glue will work: head cement, CA glue or fabric cement.


This fly uses a #16 hook but ends up more like a size ten or twelve fly. It is, in other words, a big fly tied on a small short shank hook. So it floats like a sob. Easy to dry off too. No CDC means you can wash it off after catching a fish, snap cast it once or twice and then let if fall again, ready to start the next drift. With CDC-based flies you'd still be fussing with silica powders, rubber bands and other voodoo-based drying techniques.




up-2019-05-24-15.24.01ZSDMap.jpg


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