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| #26 Chocolate Foam Back Emerger |
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| Pretty in Purple? |
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| #22 Hot Shot Midge |
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| #22 Red Flux Capacitor |
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Midges
I always try to stay ahead of the game. Tying hoppers and caddis in January and tying midges in July. I am not sure if that is planning ahead or just 6 months behind?
Saturday, July 6, 2013
The Mercury Pheasant Tail Nymph
The Mercury PT Nymph has been in my box for a while now. I tied some a few years ago and left them in there until one day I was looking for something a little different. I didn't want to use the traditional gold bead head version so I picked one of these. Ever since that day, I have made sure that I always give them a thought when I need a pattern with a a little flash, yet still represents the profile of the real insects. The Mercury PT Nymph has been getting a lot of use recently on my classes and guide trips as it works great and is easy to tie and replace. I had a client go through 8 of these recently and being easy to replace, I kept tying them on. Make sure to give them a try. I like to have them tied in size #18-22 in both natural and in red.
Hook: TMC 101 or Orvis Big Eye Hooks, #18-22
Bead: X-Small Diamond Glass Bead
Thread: Brown 8/0
Rib: UTC Small Wire, copper or Copper Brown
Body: Natural Pheasant Tail
Wing Case: Pearl Tinsel. I like to use Lagartun Mini-Flat Braid
Thorax: Natural Peacock Fibers
Legs: Natural Pheasant Tail Fibers from the Body
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Cimarron River, New Mexico
I only had one day at home, less than 24 hours. I threw in a rod, reel, some fly boxes and waders & boots. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to fish.
I got the chance to get away with Jamie, so we headed west towards Cimarron Canyon. The Cimarron is where I learned to fly fish. It will always hold a special place in my heart. It will always be my home water. Once there, I realized that I had forgot my lanyard which had forceps, tippet material, nippers and fly floatant. Crap!
In early June, there are always a ton of bugs out and on this day, it didn't disappoint. I hadn't see so many bugs since last year on any water. I tell people that the Cimarron is about the size of any mountain creek, with the fish population and fish size of the Arkansas River, the beauty of 11-Mile Canyon and the bug population of both of those rivers put together. It is amazing. The flow was 30 CFS, pretty much perfect for me.
I knew I wanted to throw dries, but with no floatant, that was kinda challenging. I tried it anyway. Foam caddis worked well, both for the fish and for me, being able to stay up at least a little bit. I tried a hopper/stone/dropper, but using 1x from a leader stashed away didn't work that great. I still caught fish, but it was like using rope to the dropper. I finally lost a few flies and pretty soon I was tying on fresh, caddis patterns on what was about 0X tippet and I had trouble getting the eye of the hook up far enough the leader to make knots. The tippet/leader was too fat! My next idea was to throw a streamer. I didn't have much time and as I moved around quickly, I figured a streamer didn't require floatant, so I tied one on the 0x end of the leader. One fish later, it was time to head back home for lunch. We arrived home only to find out they had eaten without us. Oh well. It was worth it!
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| Pretty little girl! |
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| Black Foam Caddis |
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| #10 Golden Stone |
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| These things freak me out! |
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| Small, brushy and loaded with fish. |
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| Jamie helping out. |
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| Last fish of the day and first one on a streamer. Time to head home! |
Friday, May 17, 2013
The many faces of the RS2
The Colorado State Fly. That's what this fly is. If you want to fish Colorado, I think they check your fly boxes at the borders to make sure you carry some variation of these flies. If not, they recommend that you get some as soon as you can. And for good reason. The original RS2 has been fooling trout in Colorado and surrounding areas for around 30 years. The name of the fly is explained below.
Soon Rim began to experiment with his own fly designs. He named his first successful fly Rim's Semblance, followed shortly thereafter by Rim's Semblance #2. He deliberately picked the word "Semblance" to indicate that this fly was not the imitation of any particular insect, which would have limited its function. Instead, the RS2 suggested a variety of insects. The RS2 proved to be an eclectic fly that has replaced all other flies (dries, emergers, nymphs, etc.) in Rim's fly box. The RS2 comes in many sizes and colors, but the shape remains unchanged as is the name.
Different variations of this fly have come and gone and their is always someone trying to add the latest and greatest bling to this fly to make it better, but I just don't think that can happen. The original is just that great of a fly. Born on the South Platte River, the RS2 is now sold and fished all over the world. This fly has stood the test of time. The many variations work well and some people prefer their patterns to the original. I prefer them all and have used the original the most and therefore have the most confidence in it. Even the original has variations. I tie 3 different variations of the original changing only the wing material. I don't know yet if one style is better than the other, but I will continue to fish and let the fishes let me know if they prefer one over the other. Tying the RS2 is fairly easy and it is truly a guide fly. Only using 3 materials a good tier can crank out a dozen in less than an hour. Listed below are a few of my variations that I carry in my box and ones I usually have tied onto the end of my line.
RS2 Antron Wing. This fly is a bit quicker to tie and is the one I use for guiding as it can be replaced quickly. A single strand of bright white antron is used for the wing. It can be tied in and measured and cut to length and it is ready for the next fly.
My version of Rim's original RS2 using natural beaver and the fluff from the base of a dun saddle hackle. Rim ties his using a really tight body and gets great segmentaion from the dubbing. I have not figured out how to get my dubbing that tight.
CDC Wing RS2. This RS2 uses CDC for the wing and works well as a surface emerger due to the CDC being able to float they fly in the film. This can be deadly when the fish are extremely picky and are eating emergers right in the film. This is my favorite version of the RS2.
Sparkle Wing RS2. The feather wing is replaced with a flat braid looped to add just the right amount of flash. This is a good fly to use when nymphing deep and the sun is out. The flash get the fishes attention and the profile is right. How can they resist?
Mercury RS2. Just slap a silver glass bead on the fly and you have another variation of the fly. This fly works as well as the original and can be just what you need on that slow day. I have fished this fly the least and don't quite have the confidence that I do with the others.
All flies are tied with either Iron gray or gray 8/0 thread. I use a TMC 101 hook for all variations of this fly. I also use either gray beaver or adams gray superfine dubbing. The antron wing RS2 is the easiest of the variations to tie. By using antron and superfine dubbing, it makes tying this fly faster and somewhat more durable. When guiding, I can burn through a dozen or more of these a day. If I have a trip the next day, the last thing I want to do is come home and tie a couple dozen complicated flies after a long day on the water. I carry sizes 18-24 in my boxes and mostly in a gray color, but I do have a few black and chocolate RS2s stashed away for those times when I need a different color. Some people swear by an olive RS2. I have yet to have fish turn down the gray or chocolate colors and do not carry any olive RS2s.
___________________________________________________
**Edit**Here are a couple videos for your reference.
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.
RS2 Sparkle Wing from Juan Ramirez on Vimeo.
RS2 Sparkle Wing tied during the favorite South Platte patterns class on 01/29/10. This pattern is a varation on the famous RS2. Tie some up and give them a try. They work great for baetis and I fish them year round.
Soon Rim began to experiment with his own fly designs. He named his first successful fly Rim's Semblance, followed shortly thereafter by Rim's Semblance #2. He deliberately picked the word "Semblance" to indicate that this fly was not the imitation of any particular insect, which would have limited its function. Instead, the RS2 suggested a variety of insects. The RS2 proved to be an eclectic fly that has replaced all other flies (dries, emergers, nymphs, etc.) in Rim's fly box. The RS2 comes in many sizes and colors, but the shape remains unchanged as is the name.
Different variations of this fly have come and gone and their is always someone trying to add the latest and greatest bling to this fly to make it better, but I just don't think that can happen. The original is just that great of a fly. Born on the South Platte River, the RS2 is now sold and fished all over the world. This fly has stood the test of time. The many variations work well and some people prefer their patterns to the original. I prefer them all and have used the original the most and therefore have the most confidence in it. Even the original has variations. I tie 3 different variations of the original changing only the wing material. I don't know yet if one style is better than the other, but I will continue to fish and let the fishes let me know if they prefer one over the other. Tying the RS2 is fairly easy and it is truly a guide fly. Only using 3 materials a good tier can crank out a dozen in less than an hour. Listed below are a few of my variations that I carry in my box and ones I usually have tied onto the end of my line.
RS2 Antron Wing. This fly is a bit quicker to tie and is the one I use for guiding as it can be replaced quickly. A single strand of bright white antron is used for the wing. It can be tied in and measured and cut to length and it is ready for the next fly. 
My version of Rim's original RS2 using natural beaver and the fluff from the base of a dun saddle hackle. Rim ties his using a really tight body and gets great segmentaion from the dubbing. I have not figured out how to get my dubbing that tight.
CDC Wing RS2. This RS2 uses CDC for the wing and works well as a surface emerger due to the CDC being able to float they fly in the film. This can be deadly when the fish are extremely picky and are eating emergers right in the film. This is my favorite version of the RS2.
Sparkle Wing RS2. The feather wing is replaced with a flat braid looped to add just the right amount of flash. This is a good fly to use when nymphing deep and the sun is out. The flash get the fishes attention and the profile is right. How can they resist?
Mercury RS2. Just slap a silver glass bead on the fly and you have another variation of the fly. This fly works as well as the original and can be just what you need on that slow day. I have fished this fly the least and don't quite have the confidence that I do with the others.All flies are tied with either Iron gray or gray 8/0 thread. I use a TMC 101 hook for all variations of this fly. I also use either gray beaver or adams gray superfine dubbing. The antron wing RS2 is the easiest of the variations to tie. By using antron and superfine dubbing, it makes tying this fly faster and somewhat more durable. When guiding, I can burn through a dozen or more of these a day. If I have a trip the next day, the last thing I want to do is come home and tie a couple dozen complicated flies after a long day on the water. I carry sizes 18-24 in my boxes and mostly in a gray color, but I do have a few black and chocolate RS2s stashed away for those times when I need a different color. Some people swear by an olive RS2. I have yet to have fish turn down the gray or chocolate colors and do not carry any olive RS2s.
___________________________________________________
**Edit**Here are a couple videos for your reference.
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.
RS2 Sparkle Wing from Juan Ramirez on Vimeo.
RS2 Sparkle Wing tied during the favorite South Platte patterns class on 01/29/10. This pattern is a varation on the famous RS2. Tie some up and give them a try. They work great for baetis and I fish them year round.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Pintrest and fly tying
It's not only for chicks. My wife tried to kick me off of it today, saying it's only for chicks. If you dig around a bit, you can find some really good stuff on there. Take a look at my page, as I have trolled the interwebs and other Pintrest pages for some killer fly patterns and have posted them here. I am picky, so it will grow as I troll.
http://pinterest.com/hopperjuan/
http://pinterest.com/hopperjuan/
Thursday, April 25, 2013
The Caddis are coming!
The caddis are coming, the caddis are coming!!
Like a big storm formed in the Pacific headed east, we all can see it coming. There is no doubt that the big hatch on the Arkansas is going to happen. Starting today, the weather and conditions will make sure it happens. There were some caddis out last week when the water temperatures were just right, for a little bit. With the cooler weather, the water temps dropped back into the 40s. As the air temps hit 60 and above, it will certainly warm the water enough for the caddis to pop. This weekend is forecasted to be in the 70s and this will mean the hatch will certainly move up river quickly.
What bugs to throw?
Larva: Pretty much any larva, but some of my favorites include Shea's Caddis Roller found at Royal Gorge Anglers (RGA), The Copper John in Chartreuse, Carl Pennington's Lucent Larva and Caddis larva, Larry Kingrey's Metallic Larva also found at RGA.
Pupa: My Royal Gorgeous Caddis is awesome this time of the year as is any of Larry's patterns and most commercial patterns. Also, the Colorado Caddis is great. The Royal Gorgeous can be purchased at RGA and Anglers Covey in Colo. Springs.
Dry: Furmisky's Fluttering Caddis in black is great. Mercer's Missing Link, X-Caddis, Bloom's Caddis , Peacock Caddis, Black Foam Caddis and many others.
For more info, go to Royal Gorge Angler's website or give them a call or stop by. They are top notch and will have all the answers. Bill Edrington has forgotten more about that river then most of us will ever know and Taylor is right behind him in knowledge.
Don't forget about the BWOs and Streamers!!!
Like a big storm formed in the Pacific headed east, we all can see it coming. There is no doubt that the big hatch on the Arkansas is going to happen. Starting today, the weather and conditions will make sure it happens. There were some caddis out last week when the water temperatures were just right, for a little bit. With the cooler weather, the water temps dropped back into the 40s. As the air temps hit 60 and above, it will certainly warm the water enough for the caddis to pop. This weekend is forecasted to be in the 70s and this will mean the hatch will certainly move up river quickly.
What bugs to throw?
Larva: Pretty much any larva, but some of my favorites include Shea's Caddis Roller found at Royal Gorge Anglers (RGA), The Copper John in Chartreuse, Carl Pennington's Lucent Larva and Caddis larva, Larry Kingrey's Metallic Larva also found at RGA.
Pupa: My Royal Gorgeous Caddis is awesome this time of the year as is any of Larry's patterns and most commercial patterns. Also, the Colorado Caddis is great. The Royal Gorgeous can be purchased at RGA and Anglers Covey in Colo. Springs.
Dry: Furmisky's Fluttering Caddis in black is great. Mercer's Missing Link, X-Caddis, Bloom's Caddis , Peacock Caddis, Black Foam Caddis and many others.
For more info, go to Royal Gorge Angler's website or give them a call or stop by. They are top notch and will have all the answers. Bill Edrington has forgotten more about that river then most of us will ever know and Taylor is right behind him in knowledge.
Don't forget about the BWOs and Streamers!!!
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| Peacock Caddis |
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| Caddis Pupa |
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| Caddis Pupa |
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| Colorado Caddis |
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| Carl's D-Rib Stone in Black |
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| Don't forget your streamers!!! |
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| X-Caddis |
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| Furminsky's Fluttering Caddis |
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| Black Foam Caddis |
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| The Royal Gorgeous Caddis |
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| Hot Wire Prince |
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| Hot Wired Caddis |
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| More Royal Gorgeous |
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| Simple Caddis Larva |
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| Colorado Caddis |
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| Don't forget about the stones! |
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| Chartreuse Copper John |
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| Juan/Carl's D-Rib Golden Stone |
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