With cooler air temperatures and shorter days setting in, our waters are cooling quickly. Large trout and bass are on the prowl for big meals to build up reserves for the coming Winter. It’s time to get out the streamer rod and box of streamer flies and take them to the river or pond of your choice.

My streamer box has many of the newer patterns crafted from often-flashy synthetic materials. Additionally, it has many older well-known traditional patterns using only natural materials (buggers, rabbit and squirrel zonkers, marabou streamers). But it also has one old time pattern that is not well known, the Big Hole Demon. I tie and carry it for two reasons. First, of course, is that catches well. But more important is that it’s the most beautiful fly in all my fly boxes. When I fish it I just feel good.

The pattern was created around 1965 by Pete Narancich, a rancher from Sheridan, MT. He wanted a fly that he could fish as both a stonefly nymph and a baitfish streamer on the Big Hole River, hence the name. When you look at the above photo you can see this design influence. The densely palmered Badger hackle over the chenille thorax suggests insect legs when drifted while also serving to push water when retrieved as a streamer. The silver tinsel body adds attraction when drifted and flash as a streamer.

I first became aware of the pattern through reading Joseph Bates’ 1979 book “Streamers and Bucktails, the big fish flies”. And I tie the pattern as Bates describes it with the substitution of feathers for the tail from a badger Brahma Hen neck or badger Rooster neck instead of body feathers from a Jungle Cock neck. I fish it as Bates instructs to fish any streamer. Cast and mend to dead drift the fly until drag sets in. Then let the fly swing with sporadic twitches. Then let the fly hang for a while before picking up for the next cast.

Dan Bailey featured the pattern in his fly shop early on and is sometimes mistakenly given credit for its origin. But he was given the pattern by Bates who got it directly from Nanancich. Bailey did introduce a popular color variation in which he uses furnace brown feathers for the tail and hackle instead of the original cream/white badger. He matched this with a gold body and rib. I show this variation (flies on right) along with the original dressing (flies on left) in the photo. Most effective sizes for me have been 6s and 8s. The right-most flies in the pairs in the photo are 6s and left-most ones are 8s.

If you search youtube, you’ll find many tying videos for the fly. As a warm up before starting the pattern you might want to checks out several. In the instructions below I describe one technique that I didn’t see in any of the videos for aligning the tail feathers so that they remain in a vertical plane. The technique is also useful for a number of other patterns with feather tails. So be sure to check it out.

Finally, after you’ve let the head cement dry, soak the fly for half a minute in water and insert it into a short section of a drinking straw. Remove from the straw once dry. This sets the hackle fibers in a swept back orientation that fish and I adore. I did this for the flies in the photo.

You can send comments, questions and suggestions to Bill at fotm@cjtu.org

Material List:

Hook: 3XL Nymph/Streamer Hook, 6 or 8 (I used a Saber 7246, which is barbless with a nice black nickel finish, for the flies in the photo.)

Thread: UNI 8/0 Black or equivalent

Rib: Silver Oval Tinsel, small

Tail: Brahma Hen Neck Feathers, cream badger

Body: Flat Silver Tinsel, medium

Thorax: Medium Chenille, Black

Hackle: Neck Hackle, cream badger

Tying Instructions:

1. Debarb hook if barbed and mount in vice.


2. Start thread behind hook eye, wind to start of bend and back to eye.


3. Tie in oval tinsel rib, tag back, starting about 2mm back from hook eye and overwrap back to start of bend. As you wrap back stretch tinsel to keep it exactly on top of hook shank. Trim tag at hook bend. Leave thread at bend.


4. Select matching tail feathers. Hold up to hook shank to gauge length desired. Trim butts to length and side fibers about 2mm back from butt on each tail feather. Now locate one feather in vertical plane on far side of hook so tip flares out and the butt section is in the groove between the hook shank and the short tinsel piece previously tied in. The trimmed fibers will lie on the hook shank and tinsel holding the feather in the vertical plane. Hold in place and tie down well.


5. Locate the second tail feather on the near side of the hook with the tip flared out, again with the butt in the groove between the hook shank and the tinsel piece and the trimmed fibers on the hook shank and tinsel piece holding the feather in the vertical plane. Hold in place and tie down well. Take thread to 2mm behind hook eye.


6. Place flat tinsel piece, tag back, on top of hook shank and tie down back to bend, cupping tinsel in an inverted “U” shape as you tie it down. Take thread back to 2mm behind hook eye.


7. Tie in oval tinsel, tag back, on near side of hook wrapping back to bend. Take thread to 1/3rd point.


8. Wrap flat tinsel in touching turns to thread, tie off and trim excess.


9. Counter wrap oval tinsel in spaced turns to thread, tie off and trim excess.


10. Strip about 2mm of fibers off core of chenille piece and tie in chenille by core fibers, tag back.


11. Fold fibers back about 4mm from tip of hackle and tie in shiny side up at the created groove, overwrapping tip forward to just behind the hook eye.


12. Wind chenille one wrap behind hackle then in closely spaced turns to thread. Tie off and trim excess.


13. Fold fibers of hackle back and closely palmer forward to thread, about five or six wraps. Tie off and trim excess.


14. Tidy up the head, whip finish and apply head cement.

Last Spring you probably fished some small egg patterns to represent the spawn of baitfish inhabiting our running and still waters. During the summer, those eggs that escaped predation hatched and the resultant baitfish have grown into tasty morsels. In September 2022 I presented a lightly weighted pattern, the Silver Minkie, to use at this time of year in medium to deep water to represent these baitfish. When using this pattern I noticed that not all baitfish were in such water. Some were cruising just under the surface sipping food morsels from the film. So I searched for variants that would mimic the behavior of these cruisers. I found many on Youtube which I tied and tried. This month’s pattern, the Booby Minkie, has come to be my favorite.

It is basically the previous pattern with bulging white foam eyes added just behind the hook eye. Pre-formed eyes in size medium from Rainy’s are readily available from fly shops and, if you are tying just a few flies, are most convenient to use. If you want a lot of copies of this fly, 5 mm diameter foam cylinders (Booby Cord) can be can be purchased and used to create the eyes. These cylinders are 1 inch long so cut a cylinder in half and round the ends of one half with a scissors. A light flaming with a lighter will finish your shaping effort. As an alternative, you might want to try a new way to convert the cord to eyes.

When fished with a floating line the pattern hangs with the eyes in the film and the body hanging downward. When twitched it represents a feeding baitfish that has temporarily lost caution. Takes can be vicious. When fished with a sinking or sink tip line, it floats up from the bottom of a stream or weed beds of a pond, rising and falling in an erratic manner like a slightly wounded baitfish as it is twitched along. Again strikes can be vicious.

Mink zonker strips come in many colors. My description of the pattern uses a grey mink zonker for the back and a pearl sparkle chenille for the belly. A white mink zonker with the belly as described for the Silver Minkie is another nice combo. The natural brown color combined with a light yellow body material gives a fly that matches a small Brown trout or many minnows. Finally, an olive mink zonker can be used for a bass or Rainbow match. This is a quick, easy and fun pattern to tie and even more fun to fish. Give it a try.

Material List:

Hook: 3XL Nymph/Streamer Hook, #6 (I used a Saber 7246, which is barbless with a nice black nickel finish, for the fly in the photo.)

Thread: UTC 140, White or equivalent

Eyes: Rainy’s Boobie Round Eyes, Med. or 5mm diameter Booby Cord, White or color of choice

Wing: Wapsi Mink Zonker Strip, Grey

Body: Pearl Sparkle Chenille (Any brand with fibers ~1/4inch long)

Tying Instructions:

1. Debarb hook if barbed and mount in vice.



2. Start thread just behind eye, wrap back to start of bend and return to about ¼ inch behind eye.


3. Tie in eyes on top of hook shank with numerous tight X wraps and a few more wraps around the X wraps under the eyes. A drop of superglue on the wraps helps stabilize the eyes on top. Optionally use a maker to form the eye pupil. Done now ink will be dry for final varnishing.


4. Take thread to just around start of bend. Measure slightly more than one shank length along mink strip with natural angle of fur toward rear. Separate fur at this point and tie down strip on TOP of shank with several wraps. Take two wraps close behind tie in and then two more close in front of tie in. The strip rear of the tie in will be trimmed when fly is finished.


5. Fold back front part of mink strip and hold back with small hair clamp. Strip about 1/8 inch off core of chenille and tie in core securely. Take thread to behind eyes. Wrap chenille forward, pruning fibers backward with each wrap. Tie off and trim chenille waste.


6. Take thread to front of eyes. Remove clip and pull mink strip firmly forward. Tie down with firm wraps, trim fur waste. Form nice thread head. Whip finish. Trim thread. Optionally mark a small red throat.


7. Carefully cut only the hide of the mink tail at one shank length behind rear tie in.


8. Varnish head, eyes, and rear mink tie in.

I’m an admirer of the Danish fly tyer Morten Hansen who regularly posts videos of both classic and new-wave patterns on his youtube channel, Coastfly. He recently featured the King Frost streamer (pictured above) which he uses during the Winter months to fish for sea trout in his shallow coastal waters. It’s really just a Woolly Bugger but the tail of fluorescent yellow rabbit fur seems to stir the sea trout which can be lethargic during these cold water periods. The rabbit fur is much tougher than the marabou traditionally used for a tail on a bugger and matches better the tough salt environment. In the comments section of his video Hansen states he learned of the pattern from a book privately published in Danish and German in the 1990s that he acquired back then but still in his possession. He doesn’t reveal who first tied this pattern so I can’t name the actual originator as I usually strive to do.

Hansen ties the pattern on an Ahrex NS115, a heavy wire streamer hook, which causes the pattern to track a few feet below the surface when stripped as a regular pace. The bead chain eyes also add a little weight to get the pattern down and a slight Clouser Minnow bobbing as retrieved.

After viewing Hansen’s video, the idea came to me that although the pattern originated for use for sea trout in cold weather it could also be used for both smallmouth and largemouth bass in local waters at any time of the year including now. I opined that since the fly doesn’t sink too deep, the tail should be quite visible during a normal retrieve. So when the tail disappears from view it would be a strike and I should strip set. I took this fly out to a local farm pond last weekend and several nice largemouths agreed with my opinion. I’ve yet to try the pattern on river smallmouths but I’m betting it will be quite a hoot to use to fish for them. And don’t you get the feeling that both stillwater and river trout might like it too? Further trials await.

I’ve not included detailed tying instructions at the end of this writeup as I usually do. After all, I’m sure that if you are reading this feature you’ve tied many a Woolly Bugger and can easily tie the pattern from just the materials list.and photo. But, before tying your copies I do, however, recommend you first view Hansen’s video. He presents some nice insights on proportions and shows a way to quickly attach bead chain eyes that I’ve never seen before. In the materials list below I’ve changed the ordering of the application of the materials from that of Hansen. I tie in the chenille before the hackle which allows one wrap of chenille to easily be made behind the hackle tie in point. Then if you are careful in wrapping the hackle between the wraps of body chenille the hackle stem sinks down to the hook shank and is well protected from not too toothy fish by the surrounding chenille. So there is no need for an additional wire rib for hackle protection.

You can send comments, questions and suggestions to Bill at fotm@cjtu.org

Material List:

Hook: Ahrex NS 115, size 6

Thread: White (Hansen uses 30D Veevus gel spun but any fine thread will work. I’ve used UNI 8/0 for the demo fly.)

Tail: Rabbit Fur cut from a Flo Yellow Zonker Strip

Eyes: Silver Bead Chain, Medium

Body: Black Sparkle Chenille, Medium. Plain chenille will work just fine.

Hackle: Saddle Hackle, Brown with central black stripe

Rich’s original worm surround by many downsized versions

Rich McElligott lives 80 miles west of Chicago surrounded only by warm water rivers (Fox, Kishwaukee and Kankakee) which hold smallmouths and private ponds stocked with largemouths.. What does he fish for? These bass, of course. And when many of his friends are doing well using spinning gear and Texas-rigged plastic worms but he likes fly fishing, what does he do? He invents a fly built on a EWG worm hook using only yarn and an innovative wrapping technique that he can throw with a fly rod and that catches bass as well as a plastic worm. Fittingly, he names the fly Rich’s Ultimate Worm and submits it to Rainy’s Flies who accept his design and now tie it commercially for sale in Fly Shops around the country.

I first learned of Rich and his yarn wrapping technique in a blog post by Joe Cornwall on the Fly Fish Ohio web site back in 2011. The featured pattern was another of Rich’s, the Shannon’s Streamer. But other patterns were mentioned so I contacted Rich to learn more about them. This resulted in his describing to me his “Worm” pattern. I immediately tied it and tried it with good results. In the Spring of 2012, I even taught the pattern in one of the Workshop Tying Sessions we used to hold at CJTU. Some of the attendees are still around and may remember the lesson. Bart Lombardo even documented the session. (https://thejerseyangler.blogspot.com/2012/04/perfect-bass-fly_29.html)

Over the subsequent years I’ve fished the “Worm” with good results in local farm and park ponds. But it’s tied on a 1/0 hook and consists of a foot of bulky chenille yarn which absorbs a lot of water. So it requires an 8 wgt rod to fish it comfortably. In the last few years I’ve become enamored of using a Tenkara rod for my warm water fishing. And, while Rich’s Worm can be “launched” using a Tenkara setup rather than cast, it’s unpleasant fishing. So I set out to downsize the pattern. And, in doing so, I’ve created a version that pleasant to fish with my Tenkara setup, catches bass and panfish well, and also is a weed defying version of a Squirmy Wormy that fishes well for trout on a regular fly rod setup.

The downsizing started with the hook. I used the smallest EWG worm hook I could find, the Gamakatsu 5841 in size 4. I then examined many small fuzzy yarns that when wrapped would create a nice worm shape. Eventually I settled on Premier Pixie Dust Brights. This yarn is available in many colors at Joann’s and many online stores. My small worm is then just the hook, thread and two lengths of the yarn. A 5-1/2 inch length is furled and attached just behind the hook eye. A 10 inch length is then also attached just behind the hook eye and wrapped back and forth around the furled piece and tied off at the hook eye. The result is impaled with the hook point just as you would Texas rig a plastic worm. More detailed instructions are included below.

If you want to tie the original larger worm, you can access the following video of Rich tying it. https://www.courier-journal.com/videos/news/local/2014/01/26/4914275/ The Paton’s Bohemian yarn he favors is manufacture discontinued but you can use Bernat Blanket Yarn instead. I use a slightly different wrapping technique for my small worm than Rich does just due to the differences in the diameters of the yarns used.

In the photo I show an original version and many colors of my small version. As you look at them ask yourself do any of them look like a leech, or an earthworm, or a minnow? Or maybe a caterpillar, a salamander, a large San Juan Worm, a Greenie Weenie, or a Squirmy Wormie? Yes, they look like a lot of food items. I have fished mostly the pinkish versions so far based on the experience that a pink Squirmy works well for all fish species. But all colors work. Bass have shown particular favor to the black with red hook version probably thinking it to be a leech.

Material List:

Hook: Gamakatsu 58414 (Black Nickel) or 58314 (Red)

Thread: Danville 3/0 Monocord, generally black or color to match yarn

Tail: 5-1/2 inch section of Premiere Pixie Dust Brights yarn, color of choice

Body: 10 inch section of Premiere Pixie Dust Brights yarn, color of choice

Tying Instructions:

1. Debarb hook thoroughly and insert hook in vise with gap up.


2. Attach thread on short hook section behind eye, trim thread tag.
3. Tie down one end of tail yarn, tag back, just behind eye.


4. Attach an EZ clip on last 1/8 inch of other end of the yarn.


5. Twist yarn at least 60 turns then remove from clip and tie down just behind eye. Yarn will furl. Tug and straighten body to distribute the furled turns evenly.


6. Tie down one end of body yarn just behind hook eye and wrap back on tail about 20 turns leaving body yarn about 1 inch from end of tail.


7. Wrap body yarn back to attachment point with two turns on the straight section behind eye. Tie off body yarn and trim excess. Careful flaming will remove unwanted fuzz around head.


8. Form a nice thread head, whip finish thread, trim tag and apply head cement.


9. Trim section of body between last wrap and hook for desired taper.


10. Identify point on body that is at back of hook bend. Inset hook point through the solid furled core at that point. This may take a little practice to get right. Because you’ve thoroughly debarbed the hook, you can pull any “mistake” off hook and do it over until you get it right. This is just like threading on a plastic worm in a Texas rig.


11. Flame tail to taper if desired.

Grouse and Peacock Soft Hackle

This month’s fly is my version of a pattern gifted to me on the banks of the Yellowstone River in early May back in 1992. My introduction to and continued use of the pattern is a several decades long story. The story begins in 1984 when Bruce, who was my fishing partner in New Jersey, took a new job in California. Instead of traipsing up to the Catskills for weekends fishing together each Spring, we decided we could meet together in Montana for a few several day trips each year. For the May mentioned above we had booked five fishing days on the famous Spring Creeks just south of Livingston.

We both booked flights into Bozeman but mine arrived around 10 am and his wasn’t scheduled in until 8 pm. Rather than sit around the airport for 10 hours I checked out our rental car and drove to Livingston. There I checked into our motel, moved my fishing gear to the car, and drove south along the road bordering the Yellowstone. I crossed the Carter Bridge, parked the car in the small lot there and walked out on the bridge to check conditions. The water was high and cloudy but seemed fishable. In fact I could see a man fishing from shore several hundred yards upstream. So I donned my waders, grabbed my rod and vest and walked up to talk to the viewed man.

When I arrived I found two elderly gentlemen (EGs) whom I will call EG1 and EG2. EG1 was fishing a slack water section sheltered by a rocky protrusion from the shore. EG2 was sitting on a big rock watching and immediately said hello. I returned his greeting and explained I was new to the Yellowstone and asked if he would explain what his friend was doing. He said a caddis hatch was happening which is locally called the Mother’s Day Caddis. It had been going for two days and this would be the last fishable day since a surge of snow melt was coming down river from the Yellowstone Park area. He said his friend was fishing a soft hackle imitating the emerging caddis. In fact his friend hooked and landed a small Brown while we talked. EG2 then asked if I could reach cast. I said yes. He then took out his box, pulled out a fly, and asked if I had anything like it. I said no. So he handed me the fly and said there’s a similar rocky point about a quarter mile upstream. Go up there and fish this fly as my friend is doing. Do a reach cast to put the fly in the seam coming off the point and keep mending your line upstream to keep the fly drifting as drag free as possible down the seam. Then let it swing and hang as the water slows. You’ll get most of your takes as the fly starts to swing. I thanked him for the fly and fishing advice and headed to the upstream location.

Once there I fished the fly as he described and caught two small Browns. Then I hooked up with what must have been a much larger fish because it immediately dashed out into the high flows and broke me off. I continued to try other patterns but had no further action. By then it was getting time to pick up Bruce so I walked back to the car hoping to talk more to EG2 about his fly. But the two gentlemen were gone. When Bruce and I crossed Carter Bridge the next morning on our way to Nelson’s Spring Creek, the river was completely blown. EG2 was right in his prediction.

Upon returning to NJ I sought to duplicate the lost fly. I remembered it was a size 14 with a peacock herl body with a goldish rib and a brownish mottled feather wound at the head. The closest feather match I had was one from a packet of grouse feathers from an old tying kit someone had given me. So I tied a bunch of flies with a peacock herl body reinforced with a gold wire rib and one of those feathers wound at the head. I took them on a trip to the Beaverkill a month later. There I fished them in Horse Brook Run as EG2 had instructed. I had the best fishing I’d ever had there. I’ve carried the fly and fished it often in many places ever since.

Now jump ahead to the following January and my attendance at the annual Fly Fishing Show. I was browsing in the Angling Book Store booth and noticed a book entitled “Soft Hackle Fly Imitations” by Sylvester Nemes. When I turned it over the author’s image on the back dust cover jumped out at me. EG2 was none other than Nemes himself. I, of course, bought the book. In it he describes his Mother’s Day Caddis which I suspect is the fly he gave me. He uses a peacock herl body, yellow silk rib, brownish Partridge hackle collar, and dark gray fur head. I had not remembered the dubbed head. Another point that I hadn’t remembered is that he pulls all of the hackle fibers to the top in finishing the fly. You can tie it with the materials and technique as he recommends in this book. It certainly works well. Or you can tie my simpler version as described in the instructions. I think it works just as well. In remembrance of my initial struggles and fishing experiences I only carry my version. And, since the pattern is quick and easy to tie, I carry lots with me. That way, in honor of the kindness Nemes showed me long ago, I’ll always be ready to gift a fly to someone I meet on the stream who needs a working pattern.

Material List:

Hook: Any size 14 wet fly hook. (The flies in the photo are tied on a Saber 7224, a barbless, wide gap, black nickel hook)

Thread: Danville 6/0 Olive

Rib: UTC Gold Wire, small. A 6 inch section will do for several flies.

Body: Peacock Herl, 3 strands

Hackle: Grouse, sized so that wound fibers extend slightly behind the hook bend. If you are working from a full skin and not a packet, the feathers on the top leading edge of the wings are nicely marked and the right size.

Tying Instructions:

1. Debarb hook if barbed and mount in vise.


2. Attach thread right behind hook eye and wrap back in touching turns to start of hook bend. Bring thread quickly to 3/16 inch behind eye. Trim thread tag.


3. Attach wire on top of hook shank, tag back, wrapping back firmly to hook bend. Bring thread quickly to 3/16 inch behind eye.


4. Cut 1 to 2 inches off the tips of the peacock herls. Attach these on top of hook shank, bases of herls back, and over wrap herls back to start of bend. Leave thread hanging there.


5. Wrap the herls forward behind the thread to point 3/16 inch behind eye. Tie off and trim herls. Wrapping behind the thread packs the herls nicely.


6. Counter wrap wire in an open spiral to thread, about 5 or 6 turns. Tie off and trim wire.


7. Remove the fluff from the base of a feather. Grab tip and stroke back fibers leaving a gap ¼ inch from tip. Tie in at gap good side up. Bend tip back, overwrap back two turns and trim tip.


8. Grab base stem of feather with hackle pliers and lift feather vertical. Moisten fingers and pull all fibers back. Wind feather 3 turns with each new wrap just in front of previous one. Tie off feather stem and trim.


9. Form nice thread head, whip finish, trim thread and apply head cement.

Bottom: Chain Worm    Top: ?Chain Maggot?

A myriad of fly patterns have been tied, i.e. a set of materials have been applied to a hook in a specific sequence and the resultant pattern given a name. A subset of these patterns has been designed, i.e. a specific fishing problem is recognized and materials selected and applied to a hook to create a pattern that solves the problem. Flies in my box are mostly from this subset and this month’s fly is a good example. Its designer is Nick Thomas. You may recall another of his designs, the Double Bubble, and background material on him which was presented in the November 2023 Fly of the Month.

The problem is that in runoff with the resultant high and dirty flows, such that we are now facing in our local streams, the trout are driven down to the stream bottom. There the friction with the bottom slows the flow so trout can hold expending minimal energy. But they still need to eat and are looking for natural food items. A big chunk of protein in one gulp will certainly hit the spot. Enter the worm, either aquatic or earth. The high flows dislodge them from the stream bottom or bank. So how do you design a heavy but natural looking worm that trout recognize but which rides hook point up so that it seldom snags while bouncing along the stream bottom.

Thomas’s solution is to attach a section of 2 mm bead chain to the top of a hook and cover everything with a translucent wrap. The wrap could be Virtual Nymph’ Nymph Skin in the Natural color which has been around for quite a while but is now hard to find in our country. A better alternative is the new Fulling Mills Nymph-Rap in the Translucent Natural color, which can be found at many Shops in the US. What is particularly striking to me in Thomas’s design is that the chain not only provides weight to turn the fly hook point up when fished but also creates a visible natural internal structure from the glow from the individual beads of the chain through the translucent wrap.

The color of the chain and the thread used are chosen so that the result resembles a natural worm. Pre-colored bead chain, which can be found in the jewelry section of craft stores, can be used but commonly available silver stainless steel chain can be colored with a Sharpie. Thomas has published his pattern using Fluorescent Pink Ultra thread with silver bead chain colored with a red Sharpie which results in a worm with an orange under tone . See his photos and tying instruction in his recent article on the Global Fly Fisher site (https://globalflyfisher.com/patterns/chain-worm).

With regard to tying instructions, I tie his pattern as Thomas outlines in the GFF article with three exceptions. First, I use UTC 140 Ultra thread instead of UTC 70. It builds the inter bead chain structure and end tapers faster. Second, I use pre colored chain. This saves some tying time and keeps the inter-bead thread unsullied from a careless pen swipe. Third, and most important, I use the 4 mm Nymph-Rap, not the 3mm. It matches perfectly the periodicity of the 2mm chain. As I bring each wrap over the top, I center the Nymph-Rap strip on the bead. Result is a totally periodic structure with the beads shining through the wrap. You can compare the photo above of my ties with those in the GFF article to see the difference from Thomas. I'm sure the trout don't care but I like the effect from my tying technique.

Thomas specifies a Dohiku HDR hook in size 8 which is hard to find in the US. The shank length matches the 10 bead section of chain that he’s chosen. In my ties of his design I’ve used a size 6 Model 370 Competition Stonefly hook from Blue wing Olive Fly Fishing, a US Shop, which matches the Dohiku hook perfectly. But any 3 or 4XL streamer hook will work. Just match the shank length with the length of chain you’ve chosen. Since both chain and thread come in many colors, you can select colors you feel represent a food item. Does the fly with green chain and Fluorescent Chartreuse thread represent a maggot? I’ll be testing it soon to see.

So tie up some chain worms and bounce them along slots in the bottom during high flows. A trout’s normal reaction to a good looking meal coming right at its nose gives you a great chance for a tight line.

Material List:

Hook: BWO 370 Hook, size 6

Thread: UTC 140, Fl. Pink

Weight: 10 bead section of 2mm red bead chain

Wrap: Fulling Mills Nymph-Rap, Translucent Natural in medium (4 mm)

Tying Instructions:

1. Attach thread right behind hook eye and wrap back in touching turns to slightly around hook bend. Bring thread quickly to 3/16 inch behind eye. Trim thread tag.


2. Position bead chain section on top of hook shank with first bead just ahead of thread. Secure chain with 5 wraps. Continue moving back and wrapping 5 wraps in each of the remaining gaps between beads ending with thread behind last bead. Pinch bead chain so that it remains directly on top of the hook shank as you do the thread wraps.


3. Trim the end of a piece of the Nymph-Rap at an angle and tie in at the back of the section of bead chain. Build a rear taper of thread then bring thread to head with a few thread wraps in each gap of the bead chain.


4. Stretch the Nymph-Rap and make one wrap behind the end bead. Then wrap the Nymph-Rap forward still keeping it lightly stretched. Control the overlap by centering the Nymph-Rap on a bead. After overwrapping the lead bead make one wrap around the hook shank.


5. Tie in Nymph-Rap behind the eye, stretch and trim away the end. Build a nicely tapered head. Whip finish and remove the thread.


6. Coat everything with Sally Hansen Hard as Nails.

You can send comments, questions and suggestions to Bill at fotm@cjtu.org

Left, No. 18 Baetis. Right, No. 20 Midge. Flies oriented as they will ride in the water.

With the warm weather we’ve had at the end of February and the projected extension into March, small flies (Midges and Baetis) should soon be popping giving us a chance for dry fly fishing after a Winter of dredging. This month’s pattern is a simple combination of a standard dry fly hook, thread and hackle. It can be tied with black thread and grizzly hackle on a size 20 to 24 hook to represent a midge. Tied with olive thread on a 18 to 22 hook and either grizzly or dun hackle, it represents a Baetis. With these simple attributes you might think it was created by a guide. But this pattern is the design of Phil Bair, just a dedicated fly fisher from Utah. He does have the local reputation, however, of someone you should not fish behind. While I’m showing the pattern as a Midge and a Baetis, you can vary the hackle and thread colors to create versions to imitate Sulfurs, PMDs, Paraleps and other small mayflies.

From the photo above, you might recognize the wing creation technique. It’s just a collar of five turns of hackle with “X” wraps of thread underneath to bring all the fibers above the hook shank. Guess you could call it a hackle fiber Comparadun wing. This is an old technique that Datus Proper introduced in his 1982 book “What the Trout Said”. So if the key technique is from long ago and the wing resembles that of a Comparadun, also an old pattern, what justifies the new name and attribution to Bair? Look at the above photo of the pattern. What do you see, or more to the point, what do you not see? That’s right, there is no tail. As a result the wing doesn’t sit upright poking above the water as we normally expect of a wing. Instead the wing sits mired flat in the surface film and the thin thread body hangs down below the surface. This gives the trout a direct view of what’s coming long before the mired wing pops up in the “window”. Forewarned is fore eaten.

You want the pattern to float in the film. Since the pattern is held there by the mired hackle fibers, the hold is stronger with longer fibers. So for flies to be fished in flat water, use a hackle that is two sizes larger than normal for the hook. For example, use a size 16 hackle on a size 20 hook. For flies to be fished in turbulent water, use a hackle that is three sizes larger than normal for the hook. For example use a size 14 hackle on a size 20 hook. Don’t use powder floatants with this pattern. It will get on the body which you want to sink. Use a paste floatant on the wing only. Even with careful tying, treatment and casting, the pattern can sink a bit. But with the sparse natural profile trout still readily eat it.

Since, during the drift after being cast out, the tiny pattern can be mired in the film or slightly submerged, the appropriateness of the No-See-Um name is apparent. So how can you know where it is? I recommend fishing this pattern as a duo with a larger white post parachute dry fly. I often use a size 14 Parachute Adams. If you want to fish just this pattern, add a small section of a paste-on foam indicator or a New Zealand Strike Indicator a few feet about this pattern. Small size tippet (6X) helps in keeping your float drag free. You get sips not slashes with this pattern so just gently lift to set the hook and be ready for a quick initial run.

Tying instructions for how I tie the fly are given below. You can also view how two noted tiers, Clark “Cheech” Pierce and Barry Ord Clarke tie it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vImm4b4sdYE&t=5s and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnV8nsO0VOY respectively.

Send comments, questions and suggestions via email to Bill at fotm@cjtu.org

Material List:

Hook: Standard Dry Fly, e.g. TMC100, Daiichi 1109 or equivalent. (Flies in photo tied on a Saber 7210, a barbless black nickel hook)

Thread: Danville 6/0. Olive for Baetis, Black for Midge or color appropriate for pattern being tied.

Hackle: Whiting Saddle Hackle. Grizzly or Dun for Baetis, Grizzly for Midge. Other color appropriate for pattern being tied.

Marker: (Optional) Brown for Baetis. Other color appropriate for pattern being tied.

Tying Instructions:

1. Debarb hook if barbed and insert hook in vise.


2. Pull off 6 inches of thread from bobbin and run between thumbnail and finger tip to flatten the protruding section of thread. Attach thread right behind hook eye and wrap back to ¾ point over elevated tag to pack thread wraps edge to edge. Trim thread tag. Spin bobbin CCW to reflatten thread and wrap back in touching turns to hook eye. Spin bobbin CCW to reflatten thread and wrap back in touching turns to start of hook bend.


3. For the Baetis, mark about ½” of thread immediately adjacent to hook shank with brown Sharpie. No marking for midge. Spin thread CW to cord thread and wrap forward in open turns to about 1mm behind hook eye. (about 5-6 turns).


4. Strip fibers from the stem of hackle for 1mm back from base. With the good side of the hackle up, align base with back of hook eye and tie down stripped stem firmly ending with thread 1mm behind hook eye.


5. Lift and wind hackle back in three touching turns then forward in two turns ending at thread. Tie down firmly, trim hackle stem, leaving thread 1mm behind hook eye.


6. Separate hackle fibers under the hook shank with a bodkin and press with finger tip to widen separation. Then moisten finger tips and pull fibers up above the level of the hook shank. Take two sets of X wraps under the fibers to hold them mostly in position.


7. Whip finish and trim thread.


8. Add a small drop of thin head cement under hackle fibers and to thread head.


9. Wait for cement to partially set. Then pull fibers up once more. Fibers should now remain at or above level of hook shank.

If you’ve followed this feature over the last five years I’m sure you’re aware that I really like tying and fishing “guide flies”. A “guide fly” is a pattern that is highly effective yet quick and easy to tie. Further it is both originated by a professional fishing guide and used extensively by that guide during the rendering of his/her services. When “hammer-handed clients” break off a bunch during the day, the guide can restock in a short time in the evening.

Since midges are productive to fish here now, I’ve chosen both a midge larva and an emerging midge pattern that fit this category. These patterns were originated for use on Colorado waters but I’ve found them to also be very effective in our local waters. They are the creation of Juan Ramirez, a highly regarded guide for the Denver area. These two patterns are very similar as you’ll note from the photo with the emerger being the larva with a small wing addition. Ramirez has created quite a number of “guide flies” that I regularly tie and use. You may recall his Kryptonite Caddis described in March 2023. More of his patterns will be presented in the future.

These two patterns are tied on the same model hook, a TMC 2488, in sizes 18 through 24. For the three larger sizes, a 1.5 mm black bead (either brass or tungsten) is added at the head. There is not much room on the shank of the size 24 so a thread bulge at the head darkened with a marker replaces the bead. Tying thread forms the body. The only downside of these patterns is the use of two unusual materials. The first is the rib and is what Ramirez calls and sells on his web site as “Thin Rib” (3 ft for $2.50) https://hopperjuan.com/slim-rib-%2F-stickers When I started tying these patterns I bought some of the ribbing directly from him and only have a little left. So I’m due for a new order as I’ve found no substitute. He also uses it on several of his other patterns that I’ll be presenting in the future so if you get some now you’ll be ready for them too.

The other material is an embroidery thread (Madeira Glamour No.8, Color 2400, Prism White). Its use was popularized by Pat Dorsey of the Blue Quill Angler Fly Shop for his Top Secret Midge and other patterns. You can buy a 110 yard spool from sewing shops for about $7. Alternatively, as I did, you can get about 6 feet of it for $0.95 directly from Blue Quill. (https://bluequillangler.com/collections/fly-tying-synthetics/products/top-secret-midge-wing-material) I don’t think I’ll live long enough to use it up. A perfect substitute is Hareline Dubbin Midge Diamond Braid in pearl. A few strands of pearl Krystal Flash will also work.

The tying of these patterns is straightforward. My only overview advice is to use plunger style hackle pliers in handling the small hooks for debarbing, mounting the bead, and inserting in the vise jaws. Instead of the usual written instructions below, I give links to two short YouTube videos of Ramirez tying these patterns.

Send comments, questions and suggestions via email to fotm@cjtu.org

Material List:

Hook: TMC 2488, Sizes 18-24

Bead: 1.5mm, Black Brass or Tungsten

Thread: 8/0 (MFC Light brown, Semperfli Brown, or Veevus Brown)

Rib: Hopper Juan’s Thin Rib, Brown

For the emerger:

Wing: Two Strands Glamour Madiera

You can watch Ramirez tie his midge larva at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNyQhXRM2Bk and his midge emerger at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt2mGcHu0nU

Top, Brass Barbell Eyes; Middle Tungsten Bead Plus Plastic Barbell Eyes; Bottom, Plastic Barbell Eyes

Whenever I visit a crafts store I walk all the aisles looking for any new material that might be used to in tying a fly. About five years ago in the yarn section of my local Hobby Lobby I noticed a yarn I had not seen before. It seemed an endless white synthetic zonker strip close in fiber size, texture and width to a natural rabbit zonker. As I picked up and examined a skein, another customer walked up beside me and picked out a skein for herself. I took the opportunity to ask if she could tell me what it was and what she was going to do with it. She said she knew it to be a synthetic fake or faux fur and that she was going to crochet into a fur-like collar around the neck of a sweater she was making. She advised me that I should be sure to use a size 13 crochet hook if I bought it. I assured her that I wouldn’t be crocheting with the yarn but might make fishing flies from it. She said “Good luck”, gave me strange look and hurried away to check out her skein. Thus was I introduced to the name fake fur yarn and how normal people use it. Now alone in the aisle, I noticed skeins in maybe a dozen colors beside the white (officially Yarn Bee Fur the Moment, Cream) but decided to buy only the white and take it home for experiments. At 62 yards for $6 I figured I could try and afford to discard many failed experiments while having lots of yarn left for duplicating successful ones.

Once home I started by taking a good look at the construction and properties of my new yarn. The package said 100% polyester fibers. This meant the yarn would take Sharpies and RIT Dyemore dyes. The fibers were about ½ inch long emanating from a ribbon-like tape about 1/8 inch wide. Each fiber was fine, about the diameter of the hairs from a mink zonker. But, unlike those on an animal skin, they were not solid but were comprised of even smaller fibers that separated on the outer end to give a slightly fuzzy tip. Although the “faux hairs” were slightly tangled in the yarn coming from the skein, I found that running a comb through them straightened them so that when you looked at the cut end of a yarn section you have a cross section with outer periphery in the shape of the letter V. The bottom of the V is slightly truncated, this bottom being the tape into which the fibers are woven. While the fibers emanated at nearly 90 degrees to the core tape there was a slight grain from the manufacturing process but certainly not as strong as the grain on a natural fur zonker strip.

Now having some basic understanding of the yarn, I tied the end of a piece to the back end of a long shank hook , making sure the slight grain was like that of a feather to be wrapped. I then wrapped it forward the length of the shank with the edges of the central tape abutting, brushing back the fibers with my fingers with each wrap, and tied it off. With a little more combing I had a nice cylinder of fibers. If I overlapped the tape core and even more carefully brushed back the fibers on each wrap, the cylinder became denser, the amount depending on the overlap. I then tapered the cylinder with my scissors and rebrushed it. This restored the fuzzy ends to each of any cut fibers making it looked like I’d wrapped the cylinder with a yarn section of preshaped profile. Wow, I thought. Although this yarn seemed at first to be just a synthetic replacement for an animal zonker strip, it’s really is material that can be used to form bodies or extended tails that can be sculpted. Next I furled it alone and then in combination with some eyelash yarn. Impressive results. Then I tried various weaves, Again, impressive results. I even borrowed a crochet hook from my wife and did a chain stitch extended body. Buoyed by the potential for the yarn, when Hobby Lobby next had one of their periodic “30% off on all yarn” sales, I went back and bought a wide assortment of colors in Yarn Bee and Lion brands. Over the coming months I’ll be presenting flies than take advantage of the many things I learned and faux yarns I now have. But this month I’m describing the first pattern I actually tied with a few refinements added based on fishing the pattern.

This month’s pattern is a variation on Dan Byford’s Zonker, a streamer pattern originally with a wing of a rabbit zonker strip. Byford first created it in 1975 and a multitude of tiers have produced a multitude a variants since then. In the photo I’ve stuck with my white initial yarn since a white streamer seems always effective. Byford’s original used a regular hook and lead barbell eyes. I started with only substituting the faux yarn for the rabbit. But in fishing my initial version I found that it hung up easily on the weeds in local bass ponds and particularly snagged the pickerel weeds at the edges of these ponds. So I switched to a short shank wide gap jig hook which has helped considerable. This hook has also helped reduce snags from clumsy casts while banging the bank of a stream for trout. Because the fuzzy tips of the fibers are larger than the fiber next to the support tape, a free section of yarn always curves away from the tape. See the photo.

I’ve tied and tested two weighting variations. The first uses just plastic barbell eyes. This variation is easily cast and fishes well using a Tenkara rod. The eyes are located at the center of the shank so in still water the fly settles slowly in a mostly horizontal orientation with the curved tail flapping up and down. Many a bass has grabbed it quickly. The second uses brass barbell eyes again mounted at mid-shank. This is more in line with Byford’s original. It tends to dive forward with tail again flapping up and down. I’ve used a fairly long fibered crystal chenille for the body with trimming to get a wide front but back tapered shape. Eddy currents coming off the body excite the tail during a retrieve, sort of the effect Drew Chicone and Brian Wise get with their fettucine foam patterns. Many recent articles and videos extoll using jigged streamers on mono euro rigs. I’ve pictured a version with a 3/16 tungsten slotted bead at the head (middle one in photo) which I soon will test. I highly suspect it will catch well. I did not trim the “faux hair” fibers on any of the pictured flies but I often do some tapering.

Once materials are collected, a streamer every five minutes can be done. See the detailed tying instructions. To keep the tape at the tail of the fly from fraying I’ve impregnated that part of the tape with thinned Liquid Fusion. I’ve also brushed the top front of the fly with the thinned liquid fusion to hold the front in a nice shape.

Material List:

Hook: Ahrex FW551 Mini Jig Hook, size 4.

Thread: UTC 70, white

Bead: (Optional), 3/16 inch slotted tungsten, Black

Eye: 5mm Plastic Dumbbell, Crystal or 5mm Brass barbell. Black

Tail 1: Flashabou, Pearl

Tail 2: UV Ice Dub

Body: Orvis High Density Crystal Chenille. Pearl. About a 4 inch strand.

Wing: Faux Fur Yarn piece, 5 in. long, pearl

Tying Instructions:

1. (Optional) Insert hook in tungsten bead, move bead to hook eye.


2. Mount hook in vice hook point down.


3. Attach thread at front of shank ( right behind bead if used) and wrap back in touching turns to start of bend then forward to mid-point of shank. Trim tag.


4. Attach dumbbell eyes using x wraps finishing with horizontal wraps under eyes. Dab junction with shank with superglue.


5. Remove 2 strands of Flashabou from package, double over and cut to yield 4 stands. Tie in a midpoint at back of eyes. Fold all strands back and overwrap back to start of hook bend. Take thread back to just behind eyes.


6. Pull some ice dub from package and hand stack and tease to form noodle about 1-3/4 inches long tapered at ends. Tie in at midpoint, fold front back and overwrap back to start of hook bend. Comb out for fluffy tail over the flashabou.


7. Tie in chenille strand, take thread to just ahead of eyes and wrap chenille in touching turns to back of eyes. Take chenille over center of eyes around the shank, back over center of eyes then forward under center of eyes. Tie off. Half hitch thread and trim chenille strand. Turn hook point up in vise. Trim top half of wrapped chenille.


8. Cut a 6 inch length of faux yarn, impale with hook at center of yarn tape at center of yarn length with fibers up. Remove hook from vice and slide yarn down to junction with chenille. Remount hook in vise and orient yarn so slight grain is pointing back. Tug front of yarn firmly forward so that tape rests directly on top of trimmed chenille with no gap. Tie off firmly at front of eyes and trim forward waste of yarn. Form nice thread head, whip finish and trim thread. Cement head.


9. Locate where you want yarn tape in tail to end and mark. Apply thinned Liquid Fusion slightly behind mark and ¼ inch ahead. Let dry and trim tape in tail at mark. Comb out fibers of yarn and chenille. Trim chenille fibers tight to ends of eyes and taper back. Lightly brush yarn fibers with thinned Liquid Fusion to shape head of fly. Let dry. Trim flashabou strands slightly shorter than tail. You’re done.