Nautilus Feather Weight Reels, a short review.

Not only do I think that these are the slickest looking reels out there, but they also perform on the water. I have had a FW 5 for about two years now and have put it through a lot of use. I can honestly say that these reels are one of the finest reels made and have one of the smoothest drags out there. Did I mention how good they look?

I have decided to replace all my current reels with Nautilus FW reels. I have the FW3, FW3+ and FW 5 and FW5+. The + system is a unique way to match one reel with various rods and lines. With a FW3 and a FW3+ spool, you can use a 2 or 3wt line on one spool and use the 3+ to hold a 5 wt line with ample backing utilizing the same housing/cage. Instead of having different size reels to match different rods, you can now match them up more precisely. As their name implies, they are lightweight, matching nicely with today's lighter rods. I prefer the Tianium color over the Black as it matches nicely with my Scott S4 rods.

More info from the Nautilus web page. http://www.nautilusreels.com/reels/fwplus

Compact Lightweight Reels

Pairing the Nautilus FW 3Plus reel with a WF5 line will give you a more compact 5 weight setup, yielding increased backing capacity and reduced weight. These reels are ideal for the fly fisher who is looking for a more compact package, whether driven by need for added versatility or just personal preference.

The Nautilus FW Plus reels were designed to offer an increased range for either backing or line weight allowing you to pair more rods or fishing conditions to your Nautilus FW series of reels. FW Plus spools can be interchanged with regular FW spools for added versatility, allowing you to convert your existing FW 3, 5 or 7 to a FW Plus series.

Bullethead Hopper Juan

Here is a new twist on my Hopper Juan that I have been playing around with. I added a deer hair bullethead to this fly to give it a bit different look. I have fished with a couple of these and they work just fine. The body is still that of the original and can still be changed according to what color you want it to be. You can add knotted hopper legs if you like or just keep the barred legs tied in X-style as the original. Tie some up and let me know what you think.

The Club Sandwich/Triple Decker Fly

Club Sandwich #12

Hook: #6-12 3xl hook

Body: 3 pieces of 2mm foam glued together and stamped out with a cutter

Thread: 6/0 or UTC 140 Denier

Legs: Tan Rubber Legs barred with marker

Hair: Elk or Deer

Use the thread to form segmentation on this fly. Slit the foam with a razor blade to recess on the hook shank and use super glue applied to thread before doing so to help hold onto the shank. Make sure the segments are even spaced. I start the thread about the 50% point on the hook and work back to the tail of the fly and then back up the shank of the hook making the segments as I go. Form the legs by using three strands at a time and place a knot in two rubber pieces. Tie them in at two separate points or segments. Separate the three strands on both the rear and front legs. Clip out two strands on the rear portion. Pick the best angled leg and remove the other two. On the front legs, I clip both top and bottom strands. Use a bodkin or needle to pierce through the middle portion of the body. Then insert a threader and double over a piece of rubber leg and pull through. Trim to length.

I prefer tying these flies with a hair wing or something on top to make them land hook down.



Here is the video tutorial:


Tying the Club Sandwich in HD from Juan Ramirez on Vimeo.

Salmonflies

They are here and I have been busy tying away, trying to fill the fly boxes. Too bad they are not for my boxes. I have a buddy that is going to do a 3 day float down the Gunnison and the trip is next week. I tied up a dozen Foam Stones as well as a new pattern that I came up with based on the Hopper Juan. I guess you could call it the Salmon Juan, but that's pretty lame. Maybe the Gunnison Gorgess. Heck I don't know what to call it. I guess I have to wait to hear how it did before I officially name it. I also tied some nice drown or sunken stones, but I don't have a photo of them. I think that those may get the most attention on the trip. We shall see.


Rouge Foam Stone # 6

I should be orange, not dirty orange. Dang Sharpie!

The Gunnison Gorgess?
#6

A mess of stones.

Dirty Stone.

I've seen this before. What's that other hopper that poses this way called?

Leggy and plump. Just the way I like them.

Who writes this crap?

It blows

Somedays are just not meant to fish. Today was one. But fish we would. Someone had this crazy idea that since his wife was out of town, there would be some fishing that gets done. If nothing else got done, the fishing would.
I invited a friend to go with me and he did. He also drove and insisted to pay the fee up Pike's Peak Highway. He even offered to pay for lunch afterwards. I need to fish with him more often! I let him out fish me, letting him build the confidence needed to get through the summer until fall rolls around and then I will unleash my will on the fish eating baetis.
We fished North Catamount Reservoir today and when we got there, there was already whitecaps on the water, but fish we did. Coves can bring protection from the wind, and usually waders bring protection from the water, but today that didn't quite happen, but fish we did. That was until the wind and water got the best of both of us. Both of us suffered from leaky waders, one more so than the other, and we called it a day..or a morning since it was almost noon. What better to do to warm up a bit than head down in elevation and the local Mexican Cantina for lunch?
Tomorrow, I have plans to fish again, with a local fly shop owner on another lake and fish we will, because remember if nothing gets done when the wife is away, fishing will get done. Wish us calm weather and tight lines.

Juan

Lonely, Lonely Spinney Mountain Ranch (Dream Stream).

So, today I took the day off to fish. I have wanted to do so for a while, but it is hard to get away and I always tell myself next time I will do it. So, today, I did. I headed to Antero Resevior for a few hours. I arrived to a nice morning with no wind and lots of fish eating. The fly of the morning was a #14 BH chironomid with silver. It worked well. I only fished a few hours before the hail chased me to shore. I then headed to the Dream Stream for a few more hours of fishing. Once I got there I got my stuff together and pulled my fly rod out of my car. When I raised it up in the air, there was a lot of buzzing going on. Oh, crap I thought, no fishing yet. I wanted to get out so I took a few steps and raised the tip again and now it was even more evident that I should stay put for a while. I retreated to the car just as it started raining. I leaned the seat back and I fell asleep for a few minutes listing to the rain on the roof of the car. I woke up and the rain had passed. I got my gear and headed out. Once again, as at Deckers, it was very quite. I was the only car in the middle parking lot, with only one car in the upper lot and two cars in the lower lot. I guess I should start fishing more during the middle of the week. After fishing a while, I managed to land a nice solid 20" rainbow on a caddis larva. It was the only fish of the day on the D.S. With more rain headed my way and even more wind, I packed it up and headed home.

#14 Cream Caddis Larva

Olive Green Caddis Larva

Lonely Deckers, 05/30/09

Fished Deckers stretch of the S. Platte this evening. There is not a lot to write about. A few fish were caught and some lightning struck and rain fell. Caddis were out but I didn't see any fish rise. The water is up to around 535CFS, up from 100 CFS last week. The most interesting thing about this evening was the fact that there was no one on the water when I got there. I mean no one. Usually, you have to wait for a spot to fish. I got there and waited the lightning out and finally went down to fish. Two other hardware flinger showed up after the rain stopped and one of them hauled in a pig of a fish. Well over 20" and he kept it. Oh well, I guess. Other than them, there was nobody there!!!! From the big hill to the fence line it was all mine! Of course with the higher water, there was less area to fish but it was still good to be out. Fish were on caddis pupa. I fished a Graphic Caddis tonight and did ok.



Tan Graphic Caddis #16

Barr Emerger using Flouro Fibre

Here is a simple modification to a great fly that will increase tying efficiency and will not change the fly's effectiveness. Plus, with this one change, it is still a Barr Emerger.

Barr Emerger
Hook: Dia-Riki 125 #18-24
Thread: Uni 8/0, Iron Gray
Tail: Brown hackle fibers. (use only about 6-8 fibers)
Body: Olive Brown Superfine Dubbing
Thorax: Adams Gray Superfine
Wingcase: Spirit River Gray Floure Fiber

The Hopper Juan Tying Steps

At last, the blueprint for my Hopper Juan. The Hopper Juan was created in a desire to have a highly visible hopper pattern that covered a few criteria of mine: First, I wanted a pattern that I could call my own; I didn’t want to copy something already out there. Second, it had to look nice. I wanted to create a pattern that was simple and attractive, a reflection of my tying style. Third, it had to float well and be able to hold up a nice chunk of iron and tungsten. Fourth, it had to be high-viz for my clients that have trouble seeing a small duck on the water, and lastly, it had to catch fish and be durable enough to catch a bunch of them. I often fish a hopper dropper most of the year on a variety of different water. The Hopper Juan can be tied in orange, to reflect the bigger salmon flies or used in tan/brown for golden stones.
I have been fishing the HJ, for a few years now and it has been going through the modification process during that time. Many changes have been made, but the final product is what you see here. I make sure to treat each fly with Watershed, even though it is foam. It definitely makes a difference throughout the day as it soaks up less water. I usually follow the HJ with a heavy beadhead of some sort to make sure I offer the fish a second option. I will also follow that nymph with a third fly, usually a smaller, more imitative fly. Depending on seasonal hatches, it could be a BWO, midge or PMD nymph or emerger. John Barr calls this the "bait and switch". Bring them in with the attractor and they take the smaller fly. I like his thinking.
Tie up some HJs and go and fish them this summer. They are really not that complicated to tie and I am very proud of that. Let me know how you like them or let me know some suggestions for the fly. I plan to list some of my other patterns that I tie to drop from the Hopper Juan later down the road. So here it is, the Hopper Juan

Original Hopper Juan

Hook: 2XL such as TMC 5262 or MFC 7026 size 6-10
Thread: UTC 140 denier to match foam
Foam: 2mm foam, cut to shape with chernobyl taper cutter.
Glue: Krazy glue with brush
Underwing: MFC wing material, brown, cut with wing cutter.
Wing: Nature's Spirit early season cow elk
Flash: Krystal flash, pearl or U.V. pearl
Legs: Med. rubber legs, color to match body
High-Vis: MFC Gator Hair

Layout of materials. I use a Medium* chernobyl cutter for this size fly, a # 8*
*=EDIT

Foam colors you can use. Mix and match.

Start by making a layer of thread on the hook. Measure the hook gap and pierce through the bottom piece of foam. This is the tapered side.

Position bottom piece of foam and make three wraps to secure. Place a small dab of crazy glue on to hold to hook shank.

Lay top piece of foam in position. Make three wraps to secure. The glue will help hold it together. Make sure the tapered ends of the two foam tips match up.

Make thread wraps to next segment point and tie down bottom piece of foam. Place a small amount of glue to hook shank and foam. Make sure you estimate where you want the segments to be. If you don't, your 3rd and 4th segment will be squished together and look funny.

Continue to make segments using just a dab of glue on each segment. At this segment will be all your hair and additional wraps to finish the fly so don’t overdue it here. Only make enough wraps to secure the foam. The glue will help hold it together.

Make last segment and leave a little room to make a cut and to be able to cover foam with thread.

It is very important that you have micro tip scissors to make a clean, close cut. You will end up with some little “nubs” that you will have to trim and then cover with thread warps to make a clean head.

See the "nubs"? This is why we use the UTC thread. It lays flat if needed and here, we need it to lay flat to cover the nubs.

At this point, I have covered the “nubs” under thread wraps. Notice my frayed thread? This is the only disadvantage of using UTC thread. It important to use UTC 140 though.

At this point, make one wrap over the top of the foam to the first segment.

Montana Fly Co. wing material cut to shape using a wing cutter. This step is optional.

Tie in wing material so it extends just past the back of the foam. Tie in some flash material. I usually use midge pearl krystal flash. On this fly, I used U.V. pearl. Tie in some good cow elk hair that is somewhat stiff. I love good elk hair!

Tie in some legs. I used Hareline’s barred rubber legs here but you can use what ever you want.

Place some glue on the top of the foam where you made a single wrap of thread.

Pull the foam down over the glue and thread wrap. Tie down using only two wraps to secure. The glue will hold it down.

Tie in some hi-vis material. This helps the older generation to pick up this fly on the water easier. It is optional, but I tie it on all my flies and I am still in the younger generation. Leave some of the material sticking out the front as in the photo. This helps lock it in there and is harder for it to fall out.

Trim to finish up and make sure all your legs are even and your body is straight and tight.

View from the back and top. Nice wing.

View from the front.

Fish's view.

Make sure to check out the HD tying video!

http://vimeo.com/8552463

HOPPER JUAN MATERIALS KIT
e-mail me for more info.  juan@anglerscovey.com