A day on the Middle Fork of the South Platte River

Middle Fork, S. Platte River

The only Hopper Juan-ish type I had in my box.  I wonder where the rest went?   

RS2

Tungsten F.B. Pheasant Tail Nymph #16

I suppose this could pass as a midge with the dark head...or a small caddis larva.......or....

I love the soft wings on the RS2s.  

A worthy trio

#20

Black foam Caddis worked well also.  

New patterns available from MFC, Spring 2011

Montana Fly Company (MFC) is adding 5 of my patterns to their 2011 catalog and I'd like to share those with you.   I am honored to have fly patterns picked two years straight with them.  I believe that they are one of the hottest companies moving up in the fly fishing industry, if not the hottest.  Just take a look at their website here and see what products they have out.  From fly boxes to tying materials, they are adding innovative and useful products to it each year.  So the flies you ask, well here they are:

 Juan's Midge Ice Emerger 

This is a great fly to use during the winter or even during the trico hatches.  We all know that midges are in the water year round and the fish know that too.

 Juan's Chocolate Floss Back Emerger

This is a great fly to use during the BWO and PMD hatches.  I love to put this behind a parachute when the fish are eating emergers and will not take a dry or a deep running nymph.  By doing this, you can sight fish and watch the fish eat the fly.  

 Juan's Grey Floss Back Emerger 

Again, just as with the chocolate version, this one can be fished high to fish eating emergers, or it can be fished deep in a double nymph rig.  These are very versatile flies.  

Juan's Ice Emerger, PMD

The second in the Ice Emerger series, this one sports a yellowish wing bud of Ice Dubbing to represent the emerging body or the wings.  Fish may take this as a cripple or as an emerger.  It's up to them.  You can also fish it deep or behind a dry fly.  That's up to you.  

The Hopper Juan

Thanks to those fly shops that demanded that MFC carry this pattern so they could offer it to customers, it will soon be available to you.  I couldn't keep up with the demand and I only have one or two in my box.  I hope that this becomes one of your favorite flies.  I love to throw this thing all summer long and put a heavy nymph behind it like my Glossy Back and fish those areas where the nymph fishers just can't hit.  Oh, it also works well as a stonefly and a hopper.  It's just buggy and big and fish like it.  

These flies will be available this coming spring at your local fly shop if they carry MFC flies.  If not, just look up someone that does and order from them.  

Tying the Mercury RS2, PMD

Here is a short video on tying the Mercury RS2.  This is the PMD version, but you can change colors easily to match any insect you want to .  I only tie these in PMD and Adams Gray color.  Maybe black as a third color.  Do me a favor and tie your tails a bit shorter than I did.  I didn't notice that they were a bit long until I looked at the fished fly in my hands.   I was in a hurry to get this done.  See what happens when you rush things?


Tying the PMD Mercury RS2 from Juan Ramirez on Vimeo.
A quick and easy tie, this is a true guide fly.  Easy to change colors and to get a different look, this thing is effective in PMD, gray and black to name a few.  I would keep the tails a bit shorter than what I did here.

Got Stats?

Blogger has recently made some upgrades available to us that allow bloggers to keep track of what people are looking for and what they are looking at. This is a great tool to have as I can look to see what is the most requested post or the most interesting post. As suspected, the Hopper Juan step by step post is the most popular, followed by some of the most recent posts. Over the following month, the top five viewed posts are:

Dang Bubba!!!!!!!! Must read!!!!
Jul 23, 2010, 5 comments
194 Pageviews
The Hopper Juan Tying Steps
May 15, 2009, 17 comments
157 Pageviews
Yes, there is still a pulse here.
May 27, 2010, 10 comments
117 Pageviews
Caddis pattern revisited
Jul 11, 2010, 2 comments
45 Pageviews
Tungsten Glossy Back Baetis Tutorial
Oct 11, 2009, 3 comments
31 Pageviews

Over the last year the fly patterns are the most viewed. The tutorials for the Hopper Juan, the Glossy Back Baetis and the Ice Emerger are the top three viewed.
I hope to go back and add some additional comments to the original posts for these patterns as I have made some changes to the originals and would like to share those changes with you. Look for those in the future.
For those of you using Blogger, take a look at the new "stats" option and you can find out what your most requested posts are and where they are coming from. I've noticed a lot of folks come over from this fine blog. Go and take a look, it's one of the best out there. http://midgeman-midgemansflybox.blogspot.com/

Dang Bubba!!!!!!!! Must read!!!!

So the story goes that this is little Trevor Manhart's first fish he's ever caught.   Now considering that he is 5, he probably hasn't had as much time on the water as some of us.  Now image this.  Father's Day 2010, in Montrose, Colorado, a co-worker of mine is visiting his father and at sometime during the day, they walk down to the local pond/lake that is part of the community.  I image this water doesn't get fished much, but looking at it, it looks like great water.  Trevor was exciting about fishing, using an old Fenwick Ultra lite spinning rod with 4# test.  That day they tied on a Panther Martin with 2 hooks clipped off and the barb pinched down on the remaining hook.  While Trevor was reeling in, the fish hit.  Being 5, he fought the fish but he tired quickly and handed the rod over to his dad, Steve.    After a battle, the fish was landed by a firm grip of the tail, and just then the hook fell out!   It measured somewhere around 27" and I wouldn't argue with that,  maybe add a couple of inches just for the hell of it.  Many of us dream of landing a fish this size and few of us us have actually been able to hold them in our hands.  I would bet that none of us have ever had a first fish like this!    The look on Trevor's face is priceless once he figures out that thing is about half as big as him or more.  The big brown's mouth could have easily swallowed a smaller child and I think Trevor realized that as he looks to be bolting back to Grandpa's house.  Enjoy, because you might never see another 1st fish this big by a little guy.

Comments welcome--his dad is proud.  

Caddis pattern revisited

 A while back, I posted these flies and said I would have to try them out.  I tied a large one in size 10 and stared at that thing and imagined where I would throw it and how big a dropper I could put on it.  Well, I did get the chance to test the size 10 out earlier this year and was disappointed.  It would probably work just OK by itself, but holding a dropper up was not a good idea.  The weight of the hook alone was a detriment to the fly itself.  The percentage if body below the surface was to great to keep the rest of the fly from sinking.  This was more evident when a dropper was added.  So, after reviewing, I feel the large sizes were a failure. Perhaps a size 12 on a light wire hook would be a better size to test. I have thrown the smaller #14s and 16s, but not enough to have a good feel for how they will work.  They do float better than the larger sizes though.  More testing to come!

Are you fishing hoppers yet?

You should be!  The fishing right now is pretty good.  I was out today and fished a hopper/dropper set up for about an hour.  It was fun.  I was basically running and gunning, not having much time and only wanted to hit choice areas.  I moved about 12 fish, with about 50% of them on the hopper and 50% on the dropper.  The hopper pattern I used is the same fly I used at Rainbow Falls.

It was still rigged up and I just re-tied a dropper on to it.  The dropper was my Tungsten Glossy Back Baetis Nymph.

The fish pounded the hopper near the banks and that is what I love most about this type of fishing.
The biggest fish of the day was a 19" rainbow that was almost as think as it was long, she took the TGBB and proceeded to take me up and down the stream until I finally netted her.  Of course, there are no photos of said fish.
The hopper in the photo above no longer resembles the actual pattern as it is now chewed up and missing about 65% of the hair.  It can still be fished and probably still has another trip it could be used for, but I think I'll just retire it now.  It has done what it was tied to do.  To hold up a dropper at the right depth and to catch a few fish.  That's good enough for me!

If you want to throw some hoppers, do so NOW!  I don't wait until some report says it's time.  Fish are looking up for adults and when they are eating Doritos, and a hamburger steak is offered, it's usually not turned down.  Just remember to throw close to the banks and enjoy the excitement when a nice brown rolls on it and takes you for a ride.

Desert wind, Brookies and Browns

While I figured I would never use it, I packed the 3 wt. anyways.  You just never know.

A family reunion in Arizona  took us down through New Mexico past the Cimarron River turn off where golden stoneflies were being eaten by browns, past the Pecos River where caddis were fluttering, past Bluewater Lake where Tiger Muskies and Rainbows swim, into Arizona where the desert rules.  But I had the 3wt. just in case.  

Needless to say, there were no good trout streams around.  

While the wind blew and the dust flew, a plan was hatched.  Rather than return the same way, maybe a trip north, through Colorado could be made.  

Heading north around Chinle, AZ

So beautiful!  

A different landscape than before.  Wolf Creek Pass, CO

Elevation 10,863' Temp: 66 degrees

The fishing wasn't bad for pull off, take a break from driving fishing.  Remember that 3 wt. that was mentioned earlier?

Big Ben with his first fish of the day.  

Kids being kids.  

It was a quick trip, but so much fun.  We all really enjoyed it and plan to stay home for a while before going anywhere else.  On the way back into the Springs on the interstate, we were able to watch fireworks all over town and surrounding communities.  It was great.  

Happy 4th!  

Going out with the kids

This is something that I should do more of.  All of us get caught up in our busy lives and often take time for ourselves.  I often go out alone to relax and to get away from it all.  At the same time, I miss out on the opportunity of taking my kids out with me.  On this trip, my wife and 2 of 3 kids went with me.  My eldest son was traveling the U.S. with his grandmother and will be able to do a trip with me, just me and him.  A late start and a short journey up the hills put us on a beautiful small lake I visited a few weeks ago.  While we were there, we caught two fish, the only action I noticed.  both fish were taken on the Hopper Juan of course!  We left soon after we arrived as the weather turned and the rain was fast approaching.  The littlest one was cold and tired and wanted to go home.  I could have stayed all day, but this was not about me.  What it was about was building memories.  

Jackson checking out the 1st fish.  

Jamie checking it out.

Did you bring a jacket?

Look at that roll cast!

Strip, strip, strip!

It's not always about catching fish.

Jackson working the kinks out. 

Not sure on this one!

The Red Headed Damsel Nymph

Red Headed Damsel Nymph

With summer here and the summer stillwater bugs getting going in many places, I thought I would share with you a pattern that is a local favorite.  The Red Headed Damsel nymph is one of the best sellers at Ghillies Fly Shop.  While I don't know who should receive credit for the original pattern, I now lay claim for this variation of the pattern.  I guess I claimed it since I tie it for everyone else to use and have never seen it in anyone else's fly box or heard claim of them coming up with the pattern.  These are available at Ghillies and if you want, they can be orderes and mailed to you.  That is of course, there are any left!  Once the word is out that the callibaetis and damsels are out on the South Park lakes, all those patterns suddenly disappear from the bins.  

This is a really easy pattern to tie and that makes it a good fly to have on the water.  Below, is a little write up I did for the local T.U. newsletter a few years back on how to fish and tie the pattern.  

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How many times have you opened up your fly box to look for that one fly that is just a bit different and might give you the edge during a hatch?  Many times, I have stared into my box at the usual flies that every fly shop carries and almost every angler on the water has in their boxes.  One day as I was fishing damsels, I was facing the same dilemma.  I needed just one fly that might be a bit different from all the others.  The Red Headed Damsel was just the fly.  It had the damsel nymph characteristics; the long marabou tail, segmentation and a thicker thorax.  What made it different was the bright red glass bead on the head.   It made a difference that day, as well as many other days.   

I often fish this fly on a floating leader, making short twitches, always retrieving towards the shore.  Natural damsels migrate towards the shore, looking for anything that might be used as a hatching platform.  Often times, they end up on your waders if you are float tubing.  Others who make the journey towards shore are intercepted by cruising trout.  Those damsels who make it to shore, climb up rocks or other dry land to emerge into the adult tenerals, often tan or olive colored, before turning into the brilliant blue we often see as they fly around.  
One other popular method to fish these is to hang them under an indicator and slowly retrieve them towards you.  A damsel nymph followed by a callibaetis nymph offers the fish a choice of their meal of the day.   

The Red Headed Damsel is a very easy fly to tie and only takes a few minutes to tie up a few.  So grab some materials and get tying and fishing.

Hook:  Dia Riki 270 #10.

Bead:  Medium Silver Lined Red Glass Bead.

Thread:  UTC 70 Denier, Olive.

Body:  Marabou, olive or brown.

Rib:  Small Red wire.

Wing:  Leftover Marabou from body.

1. Begin by placing a bead on the hook.  Tie in a 6” piece of red wire.
2. Wrap wire to opposite of tip of hook point.  Using two wraps of thread, tie in marabou.   Make sure it is not too thick of a feather.  Lift up marabou and wrap thread to behind bead.  
3. Lay marabou down and make three wraps of thread over marabou.  Your thread should be behind the bead.  The marabou should be tied down at the rear of the fly, and now behind the bead.  
4. Make a wrap of wire over exposed thread wraps at the rear of fly.  Continue making wraps forward to behind bead.  When wrapping the wire, your marabou should “cup” over the hook shank, forming the body.   
5. Tie off marabou, making sure you leave a bit of space right behind the bead.  Don’t crowd this area.
6. Cut marabou close and cover butts.  You should have a little space behind the bead for the next step, placing the wing. 
7. Lay the marabou wing on the hook shank.  I use the remaining piece from the body.   Make sure the feather is tied in the same direction as you did to tie in the tail.
8. Make several wrap directly behind the bead to secure the wing.  Cut the wing length about 50% of the fly.    
9. Grab 2-3 individual marabou fibers to use as a dubbing to cover up the thread and make a finished tie off.