To see the collection of previous articles go to the Fly of the Month Archives



Fly of the Month 2008


December 2008

Caddis Emerger

Submitted by Ron Ruskai

This month's submission is actually four flies! A simple caddis emerger pattern works well in winter or spring. A very versatile pattern, simply change the body and hook size and you end up with four deadly caddis flies.


Caddis version 1

Recipe:

Hook - caddis/scud size 12-18
Thread - 8/0 black
Body - Root Beer Ice Yarn
Wing - soft hackle - brown
Head - Peacock herl



Variant #2

Caddis version 2

Recipe:

Hook - caddis/scud size 12-18
Thread - 8/0 black
Body - cinnamon caddis dub
Wing - soft hackle - brown
Head - 1-2 pc. Peacock herl


Variant #3

Caddis version 3

Recipe:

Hook - caddis/scud size 12-18
Thread - 8/0 black or match body color
Body - Stretch or Vinyl Rib -small, color to match hatch
Wing - soft hackle - brown
Head - Peacock herl


Variant #4

Caddis version 4

Recipe:

Hook - caddis/scud size 12-18
Thread - 8/0 black
Body - Stretch floss or floss
Wing - soft hackle - brown
Head - Peacock herl






November 2008

Queen of the Waters

Tied by Bart Lombardo


Hook: Mustad 3399 10-14
Thread: Black Uni 6/0
Dubbing: Orange seal fur (seal may be hard to find so feel free to substitute any natural or synthetic orange dubbing) or orange silk depending on whether you want a buggy or trim looking fly. The pictured fly has a dubbed body.
Hackle: Brown dry fly hackle tied palmer.
Wing: Natural teal flank feather (or substitute mallard)

Tying Instructions:

  • Tie in thread near eye of hook and wrap to the rear stopping at a point directly over the barb of the hook.
  • Tie in your brown hackle by the tip.
  • Apply dubbing to thread and wrap forward forming a trim body (do not apply too much dubbing)
  • Palmer brown hackle forward, stroking back the fibers as you wrap forward and tie off.
  • Tie in a bunch of teal flank fibers over the top of the fly. The length of the wing should be even with the end of the hook.
  • Build up a neat thread head, whip finish and apply head cement.
  • On this particular fly several layers of cement were applied starting with thin penetration cement and finishing with a black lacquer cement to give the fly glossy black head. This step is optional and is for aesthetics only (I doubt it matters to the fish).

Tying Tips:

I tie this fly is sizes 10 -14. I have also seen the pattern tied with a tail of brown hackle fibers, the addition of a separate brown hackle collar and even gold wire ribbing. You may wish to add one or all of these options.

Note: the original Ray Bergman pattern called for a silk body and brown hackle tied palmer (no tail, dubbing, collar or ribbing).

Fishing Tips:

Fish this fly with any of the standard wet fly presentations. I have found it particularly effective any time there are caddis on the water.

Queen of the Waters in action!






October 2008

Hare’s Ear Caddis Emerger

Tied by Bart Lombardo

Hook: Tiemco 200R size 12-18
Thread: Black Uni 6/0 (8/0 for 16's & 18's)
Ribbing: Flat gold tinsel or gold wire
Dubbing: Hare's mask or packaged hare's ear dubbing
(I like Hareline Plus #1 Natural Hare's Ear which is a fur/antron blend)
Hackle: Hungarian partridge body feather
Collar: Black ostrich herl

Tying Instructions:


  • Tie in thread near eye of hook and wrap to the rear stopping at a point directly over the barb of the hook.
  • Tie in you tinsel or wire
  • Sparsely dub the tying thread with hare's ear dubbing and wrap forward, leaving space at the front of the hook for the hackle and collar.
  • Counter wrap the tinsel or wire forward and tie off. At this time I like to throw in a half hitch or whip finish and brush out the dubbing. You don't want to do it after finishing the fly because you may damage the hackle and collar.
  • Tie in a single partridge feather by the tip and make one or two turns at the most (again think sparse, you imitating legs so you don't need many fibers). Stroke the fibers back as you wrap so they sweep back over the body.
  • Tie in the ostrich herl. You will need two or three feathers for the larger sizes one will do nicely of the smaller ones. Twist it with your tying thread, wrap forward and tie off.
  • Build up a neat thread head tie off, apply head cement if you wish and your done.

Tying Tips:

This fly can be tied un-weighted as shown here or with several wraps of .010 lead wire if you want a deeper presentation. The dubbing should be laid on rather sparse with plenty of guard hairs poking out. You can't be too aggressive with a dubbing teaser on this one, the shaggier looking the better. You can use either flat tinsel or gold wire depending on how much flash you want. Remember this is an imitation of an emerging insect, which often has a gas bubble attached to it so flash is sometimes a good thing.

Fishing Tips:

Fish this fly any time caddis are on the water. I typically tie the fly un-weighted and tie it on my leader with a loop knot to give the fly plenty of action. Some times I fish it in the film by itself or behind a dry fly. But more often I fish it as my top fly in a two or three fly nymph rig. Don't be afraid to impart a little movement into the fly. Swinging or lifting at the end of a drift often brings very aggressive strikes. I have never varied the basic colors of this fly but I will do my best to match the size of the hatching insect.






June 2008

Walt’s Worm

Tied by Bart Lombardo


For those that are interested the Walt’s Worm Pattern here is a little tutorial on this tying this fly.

Step 1: Mount hook in vise (standard 2x long nymph hook size 10-16, this one is a size 10)

Step 1



Step 2: Wrap some .015 lead wire on the hook shank, to help the fly fish deep

Step 2



Step 3: Cover the lead wraps with 6/0 tan thread

Step 3



Step 4: Roll some tan rabbit fur onto the thread (Hareline Plus #1)

Step 4



Step 5: Wrap that dubbing forward creating a carrot shaped body

Step 5



Step 6: Tie off and you’re done!

Step 6



It doesn’t get any easier than that!






May 2008

Flys for Summer

Tied By Ron Ruskai

pikerel Fly

Pikerel Fly




Saltwater Fly

Both patterns use the following:

Thread - 3/0 Uni Chartruse
Hook - Mustad 34007, Size 1

Pickerel Fly #1
Body - Mylar Tubing
Wing - White Fiber
over Chart. Fiber over
Chart Krystal Fiber
Eyes- 1/8

Salt water #1
Wing - Ultrahair, Olive
Over, Olive Krystal
Flash, Over Ultrahair
Polar Bear
Eyes - 1/8

Some very easy saltwater (Bluefish) flies that trout fishermen can tie. As our summers become hotter and longer, we trout fishermen must leave the streams and chase other fish. Try saltwater with an 8 wt.






March 2008

CDC Little Black Stone

Lou DiGena

CDC Stone

Thread - 8/0 UNI Black
Hook - Dry Fly Hook Size 14-18
Body - Black Poly Dubbing
Under Wing - Dun CDC Feathers
Over Wing - Stalcup’s Medallion Sheeting Brown
Hackle - Black

A good winter pattern. Try this one on warm mid-days in February and March.