Little Bugs

I was finally able to get out today and headed to Cheesman Canyon.  The fish were there and some of them were even eating!  Fishing the Canyon isn't always easy, especially in the winter when the bugs are super small.  It always amazes how watching fish and fishing to them in unconventional ways can result in a few hook-ups.  I won't get into it here, just that it worked better than nymphing!  Bugs of the day were #24 midges of various colors, nothing in particular.

Bugs of choice today

#28 or so

#24 Top Secret Midge

#24 Top Secret Midge

Furimsky's Fluttering Caddis Tying Video

As requested, here is the video for the Fluttering Foam Caddis.  You can change out the color of the pattern by changing out the color of the foam.  I spent around 3 years trying to figure out how to tie this in this style.  Give it a try and see what you think.  I think you will like it.

The KF Emerger

Krystal Flash Emerger
This is the second posting of this video.  I feel that this is such a good pattern, why not share it again.
My buddy Greg Faught ties this pattern and showed it to me several years ago.  It has it's roots on the San Juan River, but has been productive everywhere I have fished it.  Give it a try, as it is effective and easy to tie.

36th Annual Fly Tying Clinic, Denver, CO

West Denver Chapter of Trout Unlimited

36th Annual Fly Tying Clinic

                           

Saturday, February 11, 2012

9:00am to 3:00pm

Jefferson County Fairgrounds

http://www.westdenvertu.org/Fly-Tying-Clinic.html

This is a must-see fly tying event for all fly tiers.  There will be around 60 of the areas best tiers there and you can sit down and visit and ask questions while they crank out some of the best flies for the surrounding area.  Make sure to stop by and say hi to me.  I will have some Hopper Juan material kits available for sale as well as some hoppers if you choose not to tie them.  I will also have some Montana Fly Company thread to hand out as free samples.  

Make sure to attend this event.  See you there!  

Hardy Fly Rods

Recently, I was able to pick up a new Hardy Zenith fly rod.  This is the same rod that was hailed as the best 5 weight in the every once in a while "5 weight shootout" done by George Anderson.  While I have only fished it once, I cannot say with a definite answer that it is better than any of my beloved Scott fly rods or any of the other rods that are out there right now.  Give me a few more times with it and I can give a better opinion as far as the fishing goes.  As far as the casting goes, it is a great rod, no doubt about that.  Again, I cannot say it is better than any of the other high end rods I have now or have cast in the past.  What I can say is that it certainly feels good.  While it is a 4-piece, which is pretty much the industry standard, Hardy has now come out with new models of this rod.  While at the recent Fly Fishing Show, I was able to check them out.  They are 1 piece rods and they only come in 1 length, that I know of.  The length is 8' 10".  An 8'10" 1 piece rod is probably not going to be a popular rod, especially with the traveling fisherman.  But once I took the 4wt. to the casting pond, I was blown away!  On the water, whether you have a 7 piece or 1 piece rod, it is assembled and fished to be a 1 piece so if you can get over the idea of having to transport it, then all things will be equal.   This rod felt like no other rod I have cast before.  It was light and had some touch to it.  It felt great in my hand and I was able to hit all the spots I wanted to hit.  I wasn't trying to cast all 90' of line, but just any where from 15' to 40', as I would while fishing.  If I could, I would love to have one of these rods.  I would get the 4 wt. as that seems to be my favorite dry fly rod.  I know this rod could lay down a dry fly perfectly, I just don't know how it would do slinging lead.  I would assume that it would have no problem since it has a very powerful butt section.  The issue of having a 1 piece rod would limit your travel, but for me, I only fish around here so it's not a problem for me.  A 9' rod fits well in my car or if you happen to have a rod rack on the top of your fishing mobile, that wouldn't be a problem.  To me, a 1 piece rod makes sense.  It's only when you have to store or transport the thing when it becomes an issue.  But on the river, we all have a 1 piece rod!  I just might have to trade this 4 piece rod for a 1 piece rod.     

All tied up.

Here are a few of the patterns I have been tying over the winter.  Why tie flies for winter fishing when spring and summer are right around the corner?  Yep, that's what I thought too.   

Sample Foam X-Caddis 

Tan X-Caddis, one of my favorite to tie.   

Furmisky's Fluttering Caddis-Yellow Sally

Furmisky's Fluttering Caddis-Black

Puterbaugh's Foam Caddis

Furmisky's Fluttering Caddis-Tan

Dark Tan Elk Hair Caddis

Foam Caddis #14

Royal Gorgeous #16

Yellow Stimulator, tied with deer hair

Chartreuse Stimulator tied with Antron body and elk hair.  

All flies will be available at Ghillies Fly Shop

Nice!

Fishpond and Hardy.  Not a bad combo.  I will have to report back to you on the Hardy.  I have had it out once and it seems like a fine stick.  All I did with it was nymph and it really did cast a nymph rig smoothly.  I really need to put this rod through a good workout.  I just need the time!

The Wonder Pupa

Building on the previously posted pattern of the Wonder Larva, this pattern steps it up a bit and covers your bases when the caddis start emerging and you need a pupa pattern.  The body is still the same as the larva, utilizing the MFC Wonder Wrap or similar.  The major addition is the wing buds and the antenna to suggest the pupal stage of the caddis.  I add the Medallion Sheeting wings by cutting a strip of 1/4" wing material and twisting them to form a tie down point and tying them in behind the bead.  I then add some antenna using either wood duck, pheasant tail material or even some Floure Fibre or Organza material.  Do you need the antenna?  No, but it sure helps to make this pattern look good and fancy.  Add some legs with some hen back fibers, which helps get the pupal look.  The dubbing covers the tie in of the wings and antenna and legs and then shape the wing buds using your scissors.  
When the fish start looking for the pupa, this is a good pattern to have.  This is a great companion to the Wonder Larva and having a few in the box is always a good idea.    

Hook:  Scud hook 12-18

Thread:  Color to match body.  

Bead:  Black on Chartreuse and gold on Amber

Body:  Chartreuse or Amber/Tan Wonder wrap or similar

Antenna:  Wood Duck, Phesant Tail, or Sparkle Organza

Wings:  Brown Medallion Sheeting

Legs:  Hen Hackle

Thorax:  Brown or black rabbit dubbing or similar buggy dubbing

The Wonder Larva

Chartreuse Wonder Larva

Amber Wonder Larva

I came up with this little caddis pattern a few years ago for fishing the Arkansas River in Colorado.  The Ark is one of my favorite places to fish.  The fish are not generally big, but they are plentiful and pretty much eat anything you throw at them.  The Ark has tons of caddis and the fish have access to them year around.  This is a simple pattern only using a couple of materials.  Simple fish usually don't require complex patterns, but I am a fly tier and tend to think so.  This pattern utilizes a material called Wonder Wrap.  Wonder Wrap is a Montana Fly Co. material and is very similar to span flex, sexy floss or any of the other stretchy materials out there.   You can simply substitute to get what you need. All I do is slap a bead on a scud hook, wrap the Wonder Wrap down to the bend and build a thick-ish body and tie off near the bead.  I then finish it with some black or dark  dubbing behind the bead.  I tie these in two colors.  Chartreuse and a tan or cream color.  If you want to spice it up a bit, hit the back of the fly with a marker to form a darker back strip.   They are a great option to go to when the caddis are around, which is every day!

The results of a simple pattern.

Hook:  Scud hook 12-18

Thread:  Color to match body.  

Bead:  Black on Chartreuse and gold on Amber

Body:  Chartreuse or Amber/Tan Wonder wrap or similar

Thorax:  Brown and black rabbit dubbing or similar

2012 Fly Fishing Show

As the 2012 Fly Fishing show came to a close, all eyes were on the Denver Broncos.  While fly fishing had been the talk of the town the previous 2 days, it was time for Touchdown Timmy to try to lead the Broncos to Victory.  

It is always a great time at these shows and this year was no different.  There is always time to meet new people, catch up with old friends and to answer tons of questions.  I spent this year digging through piles of materials looking for only a few items to tie.  Ask anyone, and they will tell you that I brought way too much stuff.  But, who did they come to when they needed something?  Yup, it was me.  I even traded 64 hooks for 100 hooks to Shea.  The price goes up when you are on the water....or the bench.  I messed around with a new hopper pattern, one that most of you may have seen already.  It is one I would like to share with you guys to see what you think.  I'll get around to that later.  One of my favorite things this year was being able to meet Mark Petijean.  I stood there and watched him work magic with his magic tool and place all that high quality material on a hook.  I was humbled, knowing that when I grow up, I want to be as good as a fly tier as he is.  Not to mention his tools that he has created.  As the show came to an end, I had tied a lot of flies.  I had made some new friends and made some new contacts and scored a few new things.  It was great as usual and as the crowd thinned on Sunday, it was time to hope the Broncos could somehow, just somehow beat the Steelers.  It was a great weekend.  

The beginning of something good.  

A view from my seat.  

Jake Ruthven

Shea Gunkel twisting up something on a 2499 SPBL

One of Shea's boxes and his Splatte Guide Stickas

It's the land of............

Representing!  Howard from the Windknots & Tangled Lines Blog.  

They were buying like it was candy.  

Mark Petijean's booth.......

had some materials......

and flies......

and some great CDC...........

to twist up some patterns like a CDC Caddis

His Magic Tool is simply amazing.  

My favorite. 

#16

You got 'em?  

Foam ant.

Perfect for this summer.

I don't remember who tied this pattern, but I like it.  

Hey, thanks for stopping by and saying hi!  Till next year.