tctrout

That's a good question, and I prefer to use contrasting colors (i.e. black and fluorescent chartreuse) during off-color situations. The purple color sounds appealing, depending on what effect you're going for. TC

In this video, I tie the Mega Prince, which bares little resemblance to its predecessor. This is both a great trout and steelhead pattern, plus you can be creative and modify the Mega Prince with your favorite colors. This is a fun fly to both tie and fish, thus as I say in the video, have fun with this one! TC

Wow, lots there and I like it! Great stuff... TC

Bruce, no apologies needed; that's the point of a forum. Thanks for sharing, and I really like your take on the "three" styled of emergers. I never thought of them in that sense, which means I need more space in my fly boxes! ;-) Seriously, though, you brought up some great points, and I appreciate you sharing the knowledge and thoughts. Tim My apologies to Tim for diverting his thread. I was excited to read Piker's J shape pattern, and Tim did ask for other's emerger patterns. I like your J shape design and will tie some up. I hope the hackle will provide more robust floatation than my current vertical emergers. J is good name for an important style of emerger. I've called them "vertical" emergers because the body of the fly hangs vertically. J shape or J emerger appeals to me as a better name. My first vertical was a Quigly Cripple years ago, and I've been trying variations ever since. I see three emerger styles - vertical, horizontal and Klinkhammer. Vertical hangs straight down from the film. Horizontal emergers have the hook shaft and body lying in or just below the film and often include a shuck. Klinks are in between with abdomen in film and thorax below. By emerger, I mean a fly that rides partially above the surface and partially below as Leeson and Schollmayer define the term in Tying Emergers. I know that there are emerger patterns that are fished well below the surface, but I'm ignoring them here. I use a Klinkhammer (C shape?) style for most caddis and large mayfly. I also use Klinks down to 22 for midges, but I've found that sometimes horizontal patterns like Stuck in Shuck or Transitional Midge work much better. Stuck in the Shuck Because long midge hatches are so common where I fish, and the fish transition between many different types of rise forms, I use many types of emergers (surely way too many.) Some of my patterns hang completely under the surface except for a bit of wing/post. I usually lead with Charlie Craven's Mole Fly, a very simple CDC fly which works some of the time, but gets quickly slimed after a fish or two and needs replacing. Mole Fly For really picky fish, I replace the CDC with translucent packing foam and the dubbing with a thread body. This entire hook and body of this fly hang vertically a few millimeters below the surface with only the very top of the wing right at the surface. This is a really simple but fussy pattern. A little too much foam, and the fly lies horizontal. Too little and the fly sinks. After a fish or two, the foam collapses.

Great comments, Piker, and I like the notion of a "J-shape" when tying the emerger to sit in the film. It sounds like your pattern is a keeper, too, and I'll have to try some this season. Thanks for the comment and suggestions! TC

In my newest fly tying tutorial, I feature a fly created by Tom Rosenbauer of Orvis, the Rabbit's Foot Emerger. This is a fly that can be modified to match natural insects, especially over difficult trout. Being an emerger, I prefer to fish this in the surface film, typically seeing only the snowshoe rabbit wing when it's most effective. I'd love to hear how others fish emergers, especially if different than the style I typically use. TC

Does anyone know if cormorant feathers are legal in the US? If so, any dealers that someone can recommend? Thanks! TC

Thanks for the kind words!

Easily one of my "go to" flies, especially when the fish are flashing and taking emergers, the Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail is an easy pattern that I recommend. I'm curious to hear what other feathers you use on soft hackles, aside from Hungarian Partridge, thus please let me know. Enjoy! TC

This is definitely a great pattern, and one I recommend. Your inclusion of the black stonefly shows the versatility of the fly, and there are many effective color combinations out there. You do not have to tie it on a jig hook, though I have been tying many subsurface patterns on them in the last couple years, and have been pleased with the results (especially when fishing the pattern deep). As for the thread, I have been using that color on so many patterns, and it has just the right amount of brown or olive in it, depending on which color I need. It has become my "go-to" thread for nearly all nymphs, with the exception of those that are mainly black. TC

I haven't seen that one yet, but interested and may try a few w/ a trailing hook. Thanks for the vid... TC

Thanks for the reply, C., and I always am curious as to differences between our styles of fishing in our countries and types of waterways. In my video, I am referring to moving water in medium-sized rivers, with adjustments made accordingly. Regarding the point fly, for nymph fishing moving waters, the first pattern tied to the leader (typically the heaviest) is the point. At times, it may be the "bottom" fly you elude to, but anything additionally tied on the leader qualifies as a dropper, regardless of in front of or behind the point. The distances you mention definitely seem excessive, but alas for a different style of fishing. In the case of river fishing with trout on the bottom, the first fly through captures attention (ESPECIALLY in fast moving currents), and the fish then has moments to take on the second or third (hence why fishing a larger point with smaller imitative droppers can be effective). This is very similar to the Czech-style technique, though many fish with the lighter trailing a heavier. I wonder if the tangles are due to the excessive weight, of which I don't use that many beads on a fly! Though I find it very interesting...and may tie some up for future use. ;-) Finally, regarding the dropper loops, they are a pain! Ha ha. I believe I said that in the video, but also mentioned that I have a leader exclusively dedicated to nymphing, with various points established. Because of that, tippet can be added easily to those points, and the spacing is already complete. I will normally have three locations for dropper loops above the point (and normally use these for emergers, soft, hackles, and other flies when fish are higher in the water column). Like you said, there is a lot to droppers! When I first made Part 1, the video was nearly an hour long! I then went back to the drawing board, decided to simply share my general setups above and below the point, and then created the two-part series. Like you, I could undoubtedly discuss this for hours on end, as it is an extremely rewarding style of fly fishing with many intricacies. Thanks for sharing your own insight, as the loch-style seems very unique in itself, too. TC

Like many other tyers, I enjoy modifying effective patterns to meet my needs on local waters. The Guide's Choice Hare's Ear is one I love to modify, being that it is already such an incredible pattern. If you change it too, I'd love to hear some of your ideas... TC

Absolutely, Gary; I use different types of indicators, including floating and in-line. I also like the leader material that is high-vis (and sometimes two colors), which makes it nice to see in shallow-water situations. Do you use indicators much? TC

Continuing this series, in Part 2 I share an easy method to attach dropper flies above the point fly, plus give some sample situations in which this is encouraged. Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas, especially those that enjoy fishing droppers off of the leader. TC

Ha ha, you're right! It was actually over 20 minutes, so I need to start charging more! ;-) Tim 2 cents!?!? Dude, that was 20 minutes long... more like $9.95 Good info blokes... appreciate everyone weighing in.

Here's my two cents on head cement; enjoy! TC

Glad we're on the same page, Bruce, and that everything made sense. Thanks for taking a moment to reinforce some of the sections in the video, and definitely get some streamers on the rig! Tim

I have made a brief, two-part series, involving dropper flies above and below the point. This is a general overview (in Part 1, I discuss flies lower in the water column, hence below the point), but I'd love to hear others' thoughts regarding ways to attach flies below a point fly, differing from those discussed in the video. Thanks, TC

Thanks for all of the kind words, and recommendations so far! Dave, for starters, yes I do drink coffee out of that mug! I just posted a new video, and I actually take a sip at the beginning! ;-) Additionally, great recommendations, and lots of information in your post. I really appreciate everything, and hope you and your family have a great Christmas season! Tim

A common question those newer to fly tying ask frequently is, "What's the difference between saddle hackle and capes?" In the following video, I tried to break down the two into basic parts, and even briefly discussed grading systems. Finally, I give specific recommendations towards each, including colors. Feel free to jump in and let me know which you prefer for dry flies, and colors you suggest beginners purchasing first. Thanks, and Merry Christmas, TC

Thanks, Retrocarp, and I'm still really liking that vise. I have been primarily using the standard head in it, even for some streamers, though I plan on tying a few more tube flies over the next couple weeks. TC

For those of you that enjoy fly fishing for carp and trout, here's a great (and fast!) pattern. This is one by Landon Mayer meant to imitate smaller leeches, which can be overlooked in shallower sections of water. TC

Mayer's Mini Leech; I posted the tying procedures in the "Videos" section of this site. TC

What's great about fly tying and fishing is that in the end, we each get to make our own decisions. The old saying of "presentation, size, color..." is absolutely applicable in this discussion, though I prefer to look at it that color is on the list versus being last. Thinking about my own fishing and experiences with trout, I immediately apply that saying to a native trout in a rarely-fished stream versus a pressured one on a spring creek. In my opinion, the color shade does matter in the latter, hence why I prefer to get the closest shade possible when tying. Knowing that there are slight to major color/shade variations within a specific hatch has taught me to think that way. For example, during our sulphur hatch, the duns and spinners can vary in color from a pale yellow to strong orange depending on their size (and other factors), plus there are additional colors seen in their bodies (which is one reason why I also do still tie with Spectrumized Dubbing). http://thedelawareriverclub.com/tips-and-techniques/spectrumized-dubbing/ Does this mean that I fish ultra-realistic patterns? No, I tend to go more of the "suggestive" route, but don't critique those who prefer to match as closely as possible. As the notion of eyesight related to fish enters this conversation, I have yet to find what I would call the definitive source for information. I have read a little on the subject (enough to make me dangerous!), basically between Vincent Marinaro's thoughts to "What Fish See..." by Colin Kageyama, and like many of you, have applied pieces of each into my own fishing and tying. If anyone has any additional information related to this, I'd love to hear more about it. As I mentioned in my previous post, this is a fun conversation, and something for us to discuss a bit online and have some fun with it. Again, the great thing about tying and fly fishing is that in the end, we have the ability to choose what matters to each of us, be that the size of the eyes you place on your ultra-realistic PMD emerger to the shade of the BWO spinner you're fishing. ;-) TC