The RS2-Revisited

My posts on the RS2 have been getting a lot of looks ever since they were posted.  It seems like there is a lot of interest in tis fly especially the further East one goes.  I wanted to share another tip that I use to tie one style of the RS2.  By using Whiting Farms Chick-A-Bou, this makes a great wing for the fly.  I tie this fly many different ways but have settled on using this style for the flies I tie for my box and for others.  I am not posting a complete step by step here, but just a few photos of what I do to get the wing sized and tied in. Please excuse the blurred photos.  I was in a hurry to get this completed with the time I had to get it done.  :)

The product.

This is a natural color as far as I can tell.

A single feather from the skin. Strip the short fibers at the base of the feather and use the longer fibers for the wing.

Pull a few fiber from the stem.

Gather the fibers and pinch off the tips.

To get them to look like this.  

Tied in bundle.

Make sure you do not leave a big space behind the eye.  Otherwise, you will have a long front portion to your flies.  I like a short, nice taper in front of the wing.  

I use a half of a double sided razor blade for a very close cut.  Make sure you break the razor in half because it's very easy to get cut as I found out.  

This makes a very close cut that scissors cannot make.  

See, what did I tell you?  A clean, close shave.  

Not the same fly, but the finished fly.  Lots of movement in the wing for below the surface use.  

Make the Best of It.

When I thought about fishing the Ark today, I imaged a dark, cloudy day, occasionally spitting snow and about 1:00 or so the BWOs would come off and the fish would rise to them in the clear, low water.  Well  today was not quite what I had imaged.  After a few days of warm weather, some of the lower elevation snow was melting and made it's way to the river.  While it was slowly dropping and clearing, it definitely  was not how I had hoped it would be.  The day started clear and cold.  The wind was blowing as it always does this time of year.  The water was higher and off color and the fishing was a bit harder than usual.   After about an hour of fishing I had a terrible thought.  Could a skunk be coming?  I haven't been skunked since leaving the Rio Grande in New Mexico where on any given day it could happen, but on the Arkansas?  Really? I realized this is possible but not for me.  I have invested way too much time in this passion and since this was not the Rio Grande, I didn't have to worry.  The fish would come.  Soon the first fish and second fish were found in a usual spot and on a usual fly, the cream caddis larva.  With the weather hot and cold, snow and bright sunshine, the fishing was still slow.   I kept telling myself to throw on a woolly bugger, as I love to fish them in this type of water and in these conditions.  When I did, it was pretty intense.  Follows right to the rod tip and then they were gone.  I knew I would see lots of fish this way and also assumed I could hook up with 1 out of 4 or 5 follows and I did.  The rest of the day was spent this way all the while I was waiting for the BWOs to start emerging.  I saw about a handful and that was it.  The sun would come out after a few minutes and the bugs would disappear along with the clouds.  I didn't see a single rise all day long and after a good day on the water and some testing of new patterns, I called it a day and headed home.  Some days, no matter how bad, are just plain better than sitting in front of a computer at work.    

Love the old cars in the canyon.  Do they ever move them?

First fish on the bugger.

Lots of these in the water.  

Pretty little things.  

Although I see these the most, I still throw a cream colored one and they eat it.  Hmm, I wonder if they would eat an olive one????

About a size 14

There were only a few of these out today.  I didn't see a single rise today.  

Caddis are out, but not many.

Testing out a new hopper pattern.  It floated well but it needs to be tweaked a bit before summer.

This is a cool pattern that I want to use more on this river.  It's a Jeremy's Arizona Prince.

I eventually hooked up with a few of these.

 Currently my favorite fly on the Ark. My cream caddis larva.

Upcoming Fly tying Class, March 26, 2010

Randy's Baetis Nymph, #20

Randy's Baetis

Start by tying in wood duck /mallard tails and dub body.

Tie in some legs by using same material as tail.  Cut to length about even with the hook point.

Tie in the wingcase.  Use black colored Tyvek material.  This is about 2mm wide.

Cut to length.  Again, about even with hook point.

Dub over the tie in point to make head.

Finish off with whip finish.

Tie a dozen of these and wait for a cloudy day to take to nearest stream and try them out.  

Tying the RS2 HD video

I don't remember if I shared this with you or not, but I re-did this video and reposted it.  If you haven't noticed, you can find both video and photo tutorials on the right side bar just below the class listings.  Also on the bottom of this page is another link to my Vimeo page with all my videos on it.


Tying the RS2 from Juan Ramirez on Vimeo.
A new updated version of this popular fly. I have deleted the previous video of this fly.

Pretty Little Things

Let's just spend a minute thinking about a few things.  In southern Colorado, we are about two weeks away from some of the first Blue Winged Olive hatches on the Arkansas River. They generally start around St. Patrick's Day--maybe a week after--depending on the weather and water.  On some of our local tailwaters like Deckers and Cheeseman sections, the BWOs are not far off either.  Fish are rising to midges pretty good right now and that will continue with the BWOs.  On the Arkansas, BWOs will continue to hatch when the caddis show up around April 15th or so in the Canon City Area.  When the water comes down the hill around May 15th, we can hit the area reservoirs for some chironomid eating fatties.  Before we know it, we will be well into the early summer fishing and the best is yet to come.  So hang in there just a bit longer and those bugs will start popping and we will once again be standing in our favorite water, casting our favorite rod and hoping the day doesn't end too quickly.

Flys and some more flys

Hopper Juan

Green Drake

Go 2 Prince

Bullet Head Foam Stoned Hopper

Juan's Holo. Baetis

Orange Stimulator

RS2

Furmisky Caddis

Juan's Baetis Nymph

Mini Hopper Juans. ( Juanitos)

Belly shot

Hopper Juan belly shot.

BWO Emerger

BWO Barr Emerger using floure fibre wings.

BWO parachute

My Beatis Nymph