Category Archive | 24 Articles
Smallmouth
Boundary Waters, MN
When I started tying flies in the 70s, I thought I could save money. I was wrong. Over the next 60 years, I have spent thousands of dollars on materials to tie flies. It would have been much cheaper to have purchased every fly I use in that period. Of course, I would have missed all the fun of tying the flies. I learned a lot, and I do think my flies last longer than the store-bought flies.
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In my last post, I described the Veiled Caddis as an alternative to the Sparkle Pupa. When tying the Sparkle Pupa, the Antron fibers were either too thin or ballooned out too much. However, searching the internet, I found an easy way to get perfect results.
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Veiled Caddis
In 1981 Gary Lafontaine published a seminal work entitled Caddisflies. This book is based upon observations made while scuba diving. In it, he describes the life cycle of the caddisflies and how they behave in the water. LaFontaine goes on to develop various patterns and discusses how to fish them.
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Gurgle Pop
The Gurgle Pop is a variation on the Gartside Gurgler. It is easy to tie, and I have caught many bream and bass on this fly.
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BWO Failed Emerger
Blue Winged Olives, BWO, are mayflies that hatch all over the world and provide some of the most prolific hatches in flyfishing. Baetis, BWO, will hatch year-round giving BWO dry flies a place in your box anytime you’re on the water.
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Scud
The coldest I ever got in July occurred several years ago. We were floating the Little Red River when a thunderstorm came up. We got wet, and the temperature fell.
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Stonefly Exoskeleton After Hatching
Do you have to know the scientific names of aquatic insects to be a successful fly fisherman or fly tier? The answer is definitely no!
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The Haystack is an easy to tie dry fly that is very effective. Designed by Fran Betters in 1948 and described in his book Fly Fishing — Fly Tying and Pattern Guide published in 1986. The Author describes the Haystack as “an all purpose dry fly that imitates a majority of the insects that trout feed on.”
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CDC and Elk Caddis
The CDC and Elk is a caddis imitation that is easy to tie and very effective. This down wing imitation can be used for caddis as well as mayfly and stonefly hatches. In fact, it is a great attractor pattern when there is no obvious hatch.
21What fly is tied using only two materials (not counting the hook) and tying thread is not one of them?
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