Fly Tying Demo on Saturday October 31st, Larry Jurgens

Come check out the first of many visits from some exceptional fly tiers form around the area. All flies will be projected on a HDTV in High Definition.

Ghillies Fly Shop
3314 Austin Bluffs Pkwy Colorado Springs, CO 80918
719-531-5413
Demo starts at 10:00AM
Larry Jurgens is with Front Range Anglers of Boulder Colorado and will be here to dazel you with his magic. Larry has been tying flies since the early 60's and has probably forgotten more tricks than we will ever know.

Here is a short bio:
I started tying flies in the early 1960’s. I take pleasure in tying and fishing standard patterns! But, I really enjoy tying patterns substituting different materials and techniques to outwit the wily prey. When I do come up with a new and/or changed trout pattern I do my initial testing on the various species of Sunfish. Then depending on the pattern, it is on to the more challenging waters containing Trout.
Per my experience it is harder to catch a large Sunfish when it is NOT on a spawning bed than it is to catch a trout in a swift-moving stream. Large Sunfish will scrutinize a fly with a jaundiced eye before they will partake in the meal! But, remember this is only my opinion.


Larry will tie several of his great patterns such as:

Flex Baetis Nymph V1

Flex Baetis Emerger V2

Iron Bridge Baetis V1

Brown & Blue Chironomid V1

Brown 30° Caddis Emerger V1

Brown 30° Caddis V2

Black Iron Bridge Midge V2

Antero Special V1 (Callibaetis Emerger Cripple)

Larry has a great blog located here:  http://lojsflytyingbugstuff.blogspot.com/

Fluoro Nymph Tying Video

Fluoro Nymph from Juan Ramirez on Vimeo.

Ok, so I am playing around with a few things with video. I cann't upload some of these bigger videos on blogger so I am trying Vimeo. I don't know why it has the lines on the screen. Maybe I have to pay to get the good stuff! Take a look and see if it is better than the blogger video. More to learn and more to come! Thanks for checking in.

RS2 tying video

This is my first attemp at posting a video. I have some things to work on, but let me know what you think. I just got a new video camera and need to learn how to use it. I am going to use it for all the fly tying demos at Ghillies this winter as well as for all of my fly tying classes.

Understanding Fly Tying Class 10/17/09

Ghillies Hackle & Tackle Fly Shop
3314 Austin Bluffs Pkwy
Colorado Springs, CO 80918
719-531-5413
10:00AM-12:00PM

This FREE class will focus on the beginning fly tier who would like to sit down and ask questions and watch me explain what, how and why. We will also be able to tie a few beginner flies as well. Materials will be explained as well as tools and equipment.

All materials and tools will be provided.

The student will be able to watch step by step in High Definition video.

Tungsten Glossy Back Baetis Tutorial

Tungsten Glossy Back Baetis

Hook: TMC 2488H or TMC 2499-SPBL #14-20
Bead: Tungsten bead 2mm-2.7mm #14=7/64" (2.7mm) #16=3/32" (2.3mm) #18=5/64" (2mm)
#20=1/16" (1.5mm)
Thread: UTC 70 denier, color to match.
Tail and legs: Hareline India Hen Back, well mottled.
Rib: X-small black UTC ultra wire.
Wingcase: Opal Mirage Tinsel or Lagarten Mini Flat Braid.
Thorax: Dubbing to match or peacock on Red G.B.B.
Epoxy: 5 minute Z-Poxy

Place Bead on hook and tie in tail material. The #16 TMC 2499-SPBL hook is used here. It gives this fly a sweet look, but also increases the cost per each fly.

Make sure your thread is flat and tie in wire rib and wrap back to the bend of the hook and return to behind the bead. The body should be smooth.

Wrap wire rib in even wraps to behind the bead. Tie down and break off wire. Tie in some flash material. I recently switched over to Lagartin Flat Braid for the wingcase. It is a bit wider than the mirage opal tinsel. The opal tinsel still has a rally good look to it and I will probably switch back and forth between the two.

Dub a thorax making sure you leave a bit of space right behind the bead for the legs. Prepare the legs as shown or simply peel off fibers from the stem. You can place them in one by one or by the method as shown in the photo.

Leg length and tie in.

Pull the wingcase over and tie off.

Finished fly.

Top view of the fly. When you are finished, cover the wingcase with epoxy to get a 3-D look to the fly.

Chocolate Glossy Back with MFC coffee color bead. The TMC 2488 hook is used here.

Red Glossy Back with gold bead.

Black glossy Back with silver bead and rib.

Olive Glossy Back with black bead.

Gray Glossy Back with black nickle bead.

Rusty Brown Glossy Back with Copper bead.

Cream Glossy Back with Coffee bead and micro barred rubber legs.

The tail and back are the same fibers. The fibers cover the cream colored body underneath.

Cream Glossy Back with small barred rubber legs. Back is medallion sheeting over cream thread.

Top view.

Rojo Midge and UV Pearl Jam Midge

These are on their way to the shop for you guys to purchase and catch fish on. I haven't been to motivated to crank out many flies lately, but I needed to get moving since it's that time of the year to throw lots of BWOs and midges. I also tied sparkle wing RS2s and Ice Emergers for the shop. Stop by and pick up a few the next time you go out.

One of my light bulbs went out so I am lacking light for good photos. I need to pick one up today.

Rusty Quill Body Parachute and a SLF Rainbow

Parachute Red Quill (#14 in picture)

Hook: TMC 14-20

Thread: UTC 70, Rusty Brown

Tail: Brown Spade Hackles

Body: Quill Body

Post: Turkey Flats, White

Thorax: Rusty Superfine Dubbing
Hackle: Whiting 100s, brown or Whiting neck hackle

SLF Rainbow

Hook: TMC 5263 #10

Thread: UTC 70 White

Underbody: Red Holographic Tinsel

Gills: Orange Poly on each side

Body: White SLF Hanks and Midge Krystal Flash

Olive SLF Hanks and Peacock Krystal Flash

Eyes: Hareline Adhisve Holographic eyes 1/8" Silver coated with Flexament.

Montana Fly Co. to carry the Ice Emerger

So imagine my surprise, when at the FFR last week, opening up the Montana Fly Company catalog and scanning over the new flies for 2010 and seeing the Ice Emerger! What the spank!!

I wish I would have known about this. Well, I guess that's not a totally bad thing, I just wish I would have been given some notice about it. My first reaction was, "they picked it up". "What about the Hopper?" The Hopper Juan was not in there and was not picked for production. Kinda like the overwhelming gold metal favorite sports star that never makes it past the Olympic trials. I thought for sure it would have a chance. My second thought was, "what a sh@&$ picture of the fly. Now honestly, it does look horrible and I wouldn't want to order this fly if I were a shop owner looking to order some new flies for the upcoming year based on this photo in the catalog and web site.

The finished product looked better and I was pleased with what was on display at the show. I made a few comments about this and that and we shall see if they make those adjustments. The variation that I sent in was the Ice Emerger Baetis-with a chocolate body and Callibaetis Ice Dub wing as opposed to the thread body shown above. So look for it in your local shop and make sure you try some out next spring on the BWOs.

Slacking!

I know that I have been slacking a bit and I hope to have some new stuff up soon. I will be at the 2009 Retailers Show in Denver this weekend and hope to have some new info for you guys out there to report. Until then, you will have to take a look at these photos of a trip to 11-mile Canyon with my friend John Gordon. We fished a heavy trico hatch and had a blast. Once we figured it out, it was good. Actually, I don't know if we did figure it out, but we did catch fish and had fun so that counts right?

The rod I want

I have finally found the rod that I have been looking for. I have been searching for an 8' 4wt. dry fly rod. I turned down the opportunity to buy a Scott G 8' 4wt a few yeas ago and now regret doing so. I have been searching for that model with no luck. I stumbled upon this site and my dream rod was right there. A Scott G2 8' 4wt. There is only one problem. It is made in Colorado, but only sold in Japan, part of Scott's exclusive partnership with Japanese dealers. I contacted my Scott rep and asked if one could be obtained, but no, they are not available in the US. The cost for these are 94,500 yen and that is roughly a little over 1,000 US dollars. A bit high for my tastes. So the search continues.