Kelly Galloup’s BWO Nymph adds to the patterns of September and October as flies which are not spinner imitations but which have a “spinner-like wing” of synthetic fibers as a key part of their construction.

Kelly ran a fly shop in Traverse City, Michigan for many years. He now owns and manages the Slide Inn, a combined Fly Shop and cabin complex located on the Madison River in Montana. While in Michigan he explored and documented, via books and DVDs, many new streamer patterns and approaches to streamer fishing. He probably is best known for his large streamer patterns. In Montana he has added exploring and documenting new patterns for and new approaches to nymph fishing. Being right on the river, he thoroughly tests everything. So, when Kelly speaks we all should listen. Kelly has a few quirks. He ties all his nymphs on dry fly hooks and uses no on-hook weighting. He puts weight on the tippet.. Thus his nymphs are free to move in the water column. I’m mostly with him on this point. Further, he only uses Danville 6/0 wine colored thread. This practice started when he first became a commercial tier and he wanted his flies to have an identifiable signature. I’m not with him on this but use different color threads on my nymphs, though I do use Danville 6/0 olive thread more than any other.

Most of his BWO pattern is pretty conventional and you should be able to tie the pattern from the materials and instruction listings. The one distinction is the addition of an X-wrapped bunch of UV Pearl Ice Dub fibers at the back of the thorax. Matt Grobert stayed at the Slide Inn this past season and discussed this pattern with Kelly. Matt reports that Kelly’s adamant that only 12 fibers be used. These fibers fold back when the nymph is fished and Kelly claims represent gills. I’m not sure that the trout see them this way. Look like emerging wings to me. But I can’t argue with the success of the pattern. It’s the best-selling mayfly nymph pattern in his Shop. Since many Chapter tiers will be demonstrating at the meeting this month, there will be no special pre-meeting tying demo for this fly. However, if you’d like to see the fly being tied you can watch Kelly himself tie it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5NcVSeI6-s

Just be patient if you watch. He eventually does tie the fly.

Pattern Recipe:

Hook: Standard Dry Fly Hook, #16-20 (e.g. TMC 100, Umpqua U002, Lightning Strike DF1, etc.) Flies in photo are on a TMC 100 #18
Thread: Danville 6/0 Olive
Tail: Hungarian Partridge, 3 to 5 well marked fibers
Body: Blue Wing Olive Turkey Wing Biot
Wing Case: Natural Pheasant Tail, about a dozen fibers. Olive dyed Pheasant Tail is an alternative if you want an olive overall tone to this nymph. I generally do.
Gills/Flash: UV Pearl Ice Dub, about 12 fibers
Thorax: 2 Peacock Herls. Alternative is Peacock Ice Dub.

Instructions:

1. Mash barb on hook and mount in vise.
2. Attach thread to hook at 1/3rd point behind eye.
3. Tie in Partridge fibers as a tail, wrapping back to start of hook bend. Tips should extend about 2/3 shank length.
4. Tie in biot by tip, tag end back, fuzzy side away. Bring thread back to attachment point. Trim Partridge fiber butts.
5. Spiral wrap biot forward in slightly overlapping turns to thread, tie off and trim. Bring thread to just behind hook eye.
6. Pull off a ¼ inch section (about a dozen fibers) from the Pheasant Tail. Trim about 3/4” off tips. Align cut tips end just behind hook eye .Tie on top of hook shank, butts back, wrapping back to attachment point.
7. Pull about 12 fibers from the Ice Dub and tie them in with an “X” wrap. Fibers are centered side to side.
8. Trim tips of peacock herl. Tie in peacock herls, butts back, tips just behind hook eye, wrapping thread backward to Ice Dub fibers.
9. Wind peacock herls behind thread forward to form thorax. Tie down behind eye. Cut off butts.
10. Pull PT fibers forward and tie down behind eye. Trim excess.
11. Form nice thread head, whip finish and cement.
12. Pull Ice Dub fibers back and trim at back of body.

If you want a darker wing case, mark wing case with a black Sharpie and, once dry, coat with head cement. I generally do this although flies in photo are not marked.

In honor of Ozzie’s talk this month on fishing the Missouri River I present a nymph pattern that you must carry if you fish there in the early or late season. I first learned of this pattern when I visited the Headhunters Fly Shop in Craig Montana in early October about five years ago. On any trip I always drop in to the local shop to get the latest fishing report and fly recommendations. That day a staff member there told me of combination midge, Baetis, and Psuedo activity and took me over to the fly bins to show me their top rated nymph that serves to match all of these – Vince Wilcox’s Little green Machine(LGM). As the staff member pulled one from the bin I commented “This fly doesn’t look green to me but more brown and somewhat like a BH Pheasant Tail.” She laughed and said “The rumor (*) is that Wilcox first tied the pattern on the banks of the Green River below Flaming Gorge in Utah during a Baetis hatch. He really cleaned up when he fished it so he named it the Little Green Machine. The pattern is a descendant of the Pheasant Tail nymph hence the brown tone. We like it in sizes 16 through 20.” She further pointed out that “Although the brown one came first, there is now a chartreuse one in sizes 18 and 20 which matches the small Pseudos here on the Mo better than the original brown.” She finished by saying “Buy all the color and size versions, fish them as droppers or on a deep nymph rig, and you’ll catch lots of trout.” So, I did, I did, and I did. As a result this pattern is a fixture in my tail water nymph box.

Vince Wilcox runs a shop, Wiley’s Flies, in Ray Brook, New York. He has designed a number of patterns that are commercially tied and distributed. But the LGM is his best-selling pattern. It was first published on the Fly Fisherman web site in 2004. The version here is a copy of what I bought at Headhunters. Wilcox details more elaborate versions in his 2012 book and in two recent YouTube videos. But I’ve stuck with the version here and have only used it only in tail waters and spring creeks where small nymphs prevail. But Wilcox claims it works everywhere and I believe him.

The pattern starts with a 1XL nymph hook. A copper bead, one size smaller than traditionally used for the hook size, is at the head. True to its PT nymph influence, the tail is of PT fibers. The dominant feature of this pattern, however, is a wrapped micro tubing body. This creates a slim body with translucence. The thorax cover.is Mirage tinsel. Gill like appendages are white antron fibers. The sparkly thorax is UV Ice Dub. It’s a pattern you can crank out in a few minutes. I tie the brown version in sizes 16, 18 and 20 and the chartreuse version in sizes 18 and 20. You should too.

Although I’ve used the listed Tiemco hook in my early ties of this pattern (and the flies in the photo are on this hook), I’ve recently been experimenting with the Model 21 Competition Nymph Hook sold through the Wholesale Fly Company website. This hook is barbless in a black nickel finish and has a regular shank length, not 1XL. So the Brown is tied on14, 16, and 18s and the Chartreuse on 16 and 18s. This yields a larger hook gap for the same size fly body. Seems perfect to me to hook and hold the biggies on the Mo. I’ll have to tie up a bunch of LGMs on this hook for Ozzie to try on his next trip there to test if my feeling is right.

*I recently phoned Wilcox and he confirmed the origin rumor is true.

Pattern Recipe:

Hook: TMC 3761 or equivalent 1XL nymph hook (sizes 16 and 18 used in flies in photo)
Bead: Copper Brass or Tungsten (2.4mm 16 hook, 2.0mm 18 or 20 hook)
Thread: UNI 8/0 (Camel for Brown version, Dun for Chartreuse version)
Tail: 3 Pheasant Tail Fibers
Body: Hareline MicroTubing (Pheasant Tail for Brown version, Chartreuse for Chartreuse version) Alternately Wapsi Stretch Tubing (Micro) in red and chartreuse can be used. The Wapsi tubing is just slightly larger than the Hareline but actual colors are the same.
Thorax Cover: Mirage Tinsel (Medium for 16 hook, Small for 18 and 20 hook)
Gills: White Antron Yarn (1/2 strand for 16 hook. 1/3rd strand for 18 or 20 hook)
Thorax: Ice Dub, UV Brown

Tying Instructions:

1. Mass barb on hook. Mount bead on hook and hook in vice.
2. Attach thread to hook at 1/3rd point behind eye.
3. Tie in PT fibers as a tail wrapping back to start of bend. Tips should extend about ½ shank length.
4. Bring thread back to attachment point. Break off butts of PT fibers.
5. Tie in tubing, tag end back, and stretch as you over wrap back to start of bend keeping tubing on far side of hook shank as you reach the bend. Bring thread back to attachment point.
6. Spiral wrap tubing forward in touching turns to thread, tie off and trim. Wrap thread to just behind bead.
7. Tie in Tinsel on top of hook shank, wrapping back to attachment point.
8. Tie in short piece (1+ inch) of the Antron yarn at the middle of space between attachment point and back of bead with “X” wrap. Yarn is centered side to side.
9. Dub thorax in “X” wraps around yarn leaving thread at back of bead.
10. Pull tinsel forward and tie off behind bead. Trim tinsel.
11. Whip finish and cement.
12. Trim yarn on both sides to length of bead and thorax region.

Last month I presented a pattern, the Copper Cripple, which was intended as a mayfly emerger but has proved quite effective as a caddis emerger also. This month I present a pattern that was designed to be a spent caddis but has also proven to be effective as a mayfly emerger. This pattern is the Missing Link, the creation of Mike Mercer, who works at The Fly Shop in Redding, CA. Mercer gained early fame as a fly designer for his Poxyback nymphs. But he has many other designs tied commercially by Umpqua and has published a book, “Creative Fly Tying”.

His testing ground for this pattern was the Lower Sacramento River which flows a short distance from his work location. This section of the river is famous for its evening caddis hatches and Mercer wanted something that would work during the short evening grab. He chose a sparkly body and spent wings which hang under the film, a parachute hackle which hang in the film, and a hair wing as a sighter. The pattern was initially called the Missing Link Caddis but the Caddis was dropped from the name when it was discovered the pattern had all the elements and triggers of a mayfly emerger. In fact, I’ve caught more trout using this pattern during mayfly hatches than during caddis falls.

Mercer likes the TMC 102Y which is a short shank wide gape hook with a sproat bend. The body of wrapped thread is carried slightly around the bend giving the body a nice slightly downward curve. A flashabou rib gives the body a slight sparkle. Most people don’t carry midge size flashabou so use regular flashabou and stretch it before wrapping. You want the segments of the body that show through equal to the rib width. Mercer ties two slightly different color variations using olive or camel 8/0 UNI thread. I use a compromise, 6/0 Danville olive, which is halfway between the two UNI colors. Works great for me. I do tie versions with regular and bleached hair. Depending on lighting conditions, either the regular or bleached hair is easier to see on the water. Grease only the sighter wing and parachute hackle when fishing. You want the body and spent wings just under the surface. Fish dead drift.

From the following material list and above photo, the experienced tier should have no trouble tying this pattern. But I’m including detailed tying instructions for the less experienced tier

Material List:

Hook: Tiemco 102Y, size 15 used in fly in photo and instructions. Can tie on sizes 11 to 17 also or use a standard dry fly hook like a Tiemco 100
Thread: Danville 6/0, Olive
Body: Danville 6/0, Olive
Rib: Single strand midge Pearl Flashabou or regular Pearl Flashabou stretched for small sizes. Regular flashabou unstretched works for larger sizes. Coating: Head cement (Softex, thinned Liquid Fusion , or thin UV resin can also be used)
Hackle: Medium Dun Dry Fly neck or saddle sized to hook, Parachute style
Thorax: Ice Dub, UV Brown
Wings: Dun Antron or Zelon Yarn, ½ strand for size 15. Change proportion for other size hooks.
Up Wing: Regular or Bleached Elk or Deer Hair

Tying Instructions:

1. Attach thread to hook at 1/3rd point behind eye.
2. Attach Flashabou, tag end back, and overwrap with thread in touching turns slighlly around bend.
3. Flatten thread and wrap back to attachment point.
4. Stretch Flashabou and wrap in open spiral to thread, tie off and trim.
5. Prepare the hackle by cutting butt at the appropriate point and stripping 1/8 inch of fibers off butt and additional 1/8 inch off leading edge. Leading edge will be on left when color side is up and tip is up.
6. Attach hackle on near top of hook (flat, good side up, tip forward) with narrow band of thread wrapping slightly backward.
7. Dub thorax forward over thread band and leave thread at attachment point.
8. Tie in ½ strand of the Antron with “X” wrap. Sweep Antron back and slightly down on sides and hold in place with thread wraps. Thread is left just in front of attachment point.
9. Stack about a ¼ pencil diameter of elk or deer
10. Tie down with tips backward, hair tips the length of hook shank. Hair is now in a “V” shape with butts toward eye, Bring thread to just before wing.
11. Wind hackle counter clockwise under “V” about 4 or 5 turns and tie off using “Hackle Under” technique.
12. Form a nice thread head and whip finish.
13. Trim Antron to length. Trim hackle tip and butts of hair fibers.
14. Cement head

At fly tying demonstrations and at tying classes I’m often asked “What is your most productive pattern?”. My answer is that I can’t narrow it down to just one but the top two patterns on which I’ve caught the most trout are the Parachute Adams and the Carlson’s Copper Cripple. Responses typically are “Whoa! I recognize the Parachute Adams but what the heck is a Carlson’s Copper Cripple?”. The short answer is that it’s a color variation of the Mayfly Cripple pattern of Bob Quigley, the famous but recently deceased tier from California and Oregon. Its creator is the legendary guide of the Bitterroot River and great personal friend Andy Carlson. Andy is probably most famous for his Purple Haze parachute pattern but he also has originated many other very productive patterns, his Cripple being just one example. I had a personal role in his creation of the Cripple pattern as I explain below.

In the early 90s my friend Bruce and I were first fishing Hat Creek below Power House 2 in Northern California in PMD time. Hat Creek there, if you’ve never fished it, is a tail water below a dam release with long stretches of weedy flats. It is like a giant Spring Creek. It suffered significant siltation after the 90s but trout were plentiful and rising freely when we were there. Yet we weren’t doing well so we stopped at the Fall River Hat Creek Fly Shop just outside Burney for some advice. The shop was owned and staffed solely by Bob Quigley, recognized locally as a Spring Creek guru but not yet having the national and international recognition he would later enjoy. We asked Bob for some advice. He recommended his PMD Cripple pattern on 6X tippet presented with a reach cast downstream to get drag fee drifts. He advised you couldn’t expect long drifts because of the weeds but they had to be drag free with the fly landing only a few feet above a rise. Bruce and I were not great at accurate reach casting at that time but we bought some of Quigley’s PMD flies and said we’d give his advice a try. In checking out we noted that Bob had a number of color variations of his Cripple pattern targeted at other hatches. So we bought some of those too. As we were about to leave I mentioned to Bob that I was a beginning fly tier and wondered how to tie his pattern. He then set me down at his vise in the back room and taught me his Cripple. (Wow, a private tying lesson from Quigley. I cherish it to this day.) I’d like to say that we returned to Hat Creek and zinged the trout. We didn’t. But we did better. Wish our reach casting then was as good as it is now. I’m sure we would indeed have zinged them.

The story now turns to early October of that same year. Bruce and I floated the Bitterroot with Andy Carlson. I told Andy about the interactions with Quigley and gave him a selection of Quigley’s Cripples. The Cripple is a simple pattern with a wrapped marabou abdomen, a dubbed thorax, a deer or elk hair wing and a wrapped hackle. (See the above photo). In Quigley’s versions for different hatches, the colors of the marabou, the dubbing, and the hackle are varied as is the hook size. Andy liked the look of the pattern, experimented with it over the next year, and came up with a unifying simplification for the variety of Quigley’s variations. He used just one color scheme. The marabou is a coppery brown, like most nymph shucks. The dubbing is Hare’s Ear, like the legs of most emerging nymphs. The hackle is grizzly to give a mottling like most emerging wings. Now Andy had only to tie and carry the pattern in different sizes. This is true “guide think”. Andy showed me his reduction the next Spring when we fished it . quite successfully for mayflies. I’ve continued to fish it everywhere since, East and West.

I tie it mostly in sizes 14 and 16, but with an occasional 12 or 18. The color scheme has the “imitates everything” attribute of the Parachute Adams. It works extremely well locally for Hendricksons. It also has worked well for caddis on the Missouri. In fishing, grease only the hackle and wing and pre-wet the marabou. It then floats in the film at the angle of the top fly in the photo. Trout see it as the blob of some insect struggling in the film waiting to be eaten. Follow Quigley’s guidelines on presentation.

From the following material list and above photo of three views of this pattern, the experienced tier should have no trouble tying this pattern. But I’m including detailed tying instructions for the less experienced tier

Material List:

Hook: Dai Riki 305 or similar 1XS dry fly hook (a Saber 7210 #12 in the photo)
Thread: Black or Brown Danville 6/0
Body: Strands from a Coppery Brown Marabou plume
Thorax: Hare’s Ear Dubbing
Wing :Deer or Elk Hair
Hackle:Grizzly, one size smaller than hook

Tying Instructions:

1. Attach thread to hook slightly behind the eye and wrap back to just around the bend.t
2. Tear off strands from a marabou blood plume, about a 3/16” wide swath for a size 12, fewer for smaller hooks
3. Tie in tips with base of strands pointing rearward. Overwrap with thread back to the 1/3rd point.
4. Wrap strands forward to 1/3 point. Tie off and trim strands.
5. Dub a thorax with Hare’s Ear stopping at 1/6 point.
6. Clip and stack small bunch of deer or elk hair
7. Tie in with tips forward, forward length equal to shank length. Hold on to butts, lift and trim to about ¼ shank length. Hold hair firmly when tightening thread. You don’t want hair to spin. It’s just like tying in a Comparadun wing.
8. Tie in, wrap and tie off hackle over the wing tie in point. 3 or 4 wraps should do.
9. Bring thread to head, pull back hair tips and build thread dam to stand them up. Again, just like you do for a standard Comparadun.
10. Whip finish, trim thread, apply head cement if desired. I do.

You’re on the South Branch in late Spring with the sun almost down. You’ve had good fishing to the larger Sulfur mayflies earlier in the evening. But it’s now time for the smaller sulfur, the Dorothea. Do you go to a size 16 dry or emerger? Not quite yet.

The swirls you are seeing are the trout taking drifting nymphs. It’s time for fishing a nymph which rides slightly under the surface. A regular Pheasant Tail will work. But the special Pheasant Tail described here works even better. The Dorothea nymph is mottled in shades of gold and brown so a nymph made with the fibers from the tail of a Golden Pheasant gives an exact color match, much better than the rusty brown fibers from the tail of a Ringneck Pheasant. The legs of the Dorothea nymph are speckled so darkish fibers from a Partridge match exactly. Again better than the tips of Ringneck tail fibers. The hook chosen is a heavy wire 4XS model in size 12 which has a shank length equal to that of a normal size 16 hook. The increased hook gape helps in hooking and holding larger trout.

The nymph is fished with a small foam indicator (half a white Palsa) attached about a foot up from the nymph. The hook weight combines with the indicator to cause the nymph to drift about 6 inches below the surface. So tie this nymph and fish with the described system and you’ll have swirls of delight.

From the following material list and above photo of this pattern, the experienced tier should have little trouble tying this pattern. But I’m also including detailed tying instructions for the less experienced tier. These instructions detail the method of wrapping and reinforcing the body and the construction of the thorax/leg combination which has both dubbing and feather fibers.

Hook: Gamakatsu 1640, #12
Thread: Camel or Brown, UNI 8/0
Tail: 6 or 7 Golden Pheasant Tail Fibers
Rib: Gold Ultra Wire, extra small
Body: Same fibers as tail
Wing Case:Butts of body fibers, retied in.
Thorax:Hare’s Mask Dubbing
Legs:Dark Partridge

Tying Instructions:

1. Attach thread to hook 1/32 inch behind the eye and wrap back to 1/3rd point
2. Tie in gold wire for ribbing and wrap back to bend of hook keeping wire on far side of shank
3. Tie in Golden Pheasant tail fibers for a tail and overwrap them forward to 1/3rd point. Tail length is half the hook shank.
4. Wrap fibers back to hook bend and tie off with one wrap of gold wire
5. Wrap the wire forward in open spiral to thread, tie off and trim
6. Trim the butts of the PT fibers. Trim out tail fibers leaving 4.
7. Tie in the trimmed butts, original base of fibers pointing back.
8. Dub the thorax lightly leaving the thread about 1/16th inch behind eye
9. Prep a dark Partridge feather by cutting out tip and stripping base fibers to leave 3 or 4 fibers on each side of stem.
10. Tie in stem right at junction of fibers with one loose wrap. Pull wing case forward and tie in with one loose wrap.
11. Pull stem to bring fibers to desired leg length. Tie off with several hard wraps. If done right you should now be able to break off thorax fibers cleanly one at a time with hook eye unobstructed. Trim stem.
12. Create a thread head and finish the fly with a whip finish
13. Darken the wing case with a brown Sharpie if desired. I do.
14. Apply head cement if desired. I do.

History is replete with recounts of tying and successfully fishing soft hackle fly patterns. What experienced fly fisher hasn’t heard of and fished classics such as the Partridge and Orange, Partridge and Yellow, Partridge and Green, or Snipe and Purple. These simple patterns are constructed of a silk floss body and a wound collar of a soft game bird feather. The silk, when wet, gives a soft translucence to the body and the feather fibers undulate around the body when the fly is retrieved or swung or even dead drifted. A small dubbed thorax is often included to flare out the feather fibers and give the fly a slightly more complicated silhouette and action.

Since these patterns have been around for a long time and have proven effective why fuss with any changes. I give two reasons. First, the silk flosses have become very difficult to obtain and, second, many new synthetic materials have recently come into existence that have interesting properties that might make the patterns even more effective.

I took the first step toward this month’s pattern a year ago when I did a search for soft hackle flies and came up with a listing by Orvis for a Sparkle Soft Hackle. Their pattern still has the floss body but used Ice Dub for the thorax instead of the more traditional Hare’s Ear. Then I reasoned that if a company as steeped in tradition as Orvis was willing to change a classic maybe I should give their changed pattern a try. So I tied and tried their pattern and it worked very well not only for trout but also for warmwater species.

Finally I reasoned that if substituting one synthetic material for a natural one worked well why not substitute another synthetic material for the silk floss. I wanted the same translucent properties as the floss but also wanted to introduce segmentation and taper. For this I chose Powercord, a round stretchy synthetic cord used in bead crafts. This cord comes in various diameters but for size 12 patterns the 0.8mm diameter version proved optimal. There are other stretchy beading cords, most notably Stretch Magic, but I like the color intensity of Powercord best. Simply winding the cord produces segmentation and varying the tension as you wrap gives some taper but not as much as I wanted. So I found a way to heat and stretch a short section of the cord to give considerable taper. The cord when wrapped over a similarly colored thread produces a really sparkly body. So the sparkle of the body combines with the sparkle of the Ice Dub thorax to yield the Double Sparkle name. The collar hackle of partridge or hen saddle remains since nothing synthetic is quite the same.

I feel trout certainly like my updated patterns as well as if not better than the classic originals and, further, that bass and panfish certainly like them better. The added sparkle is a big plus for warmwater species. So give these variations a try and I think you’ll concur.

In the following tying description the techniques for dubbing the thorax and attaching and winding the collar hackle are pretty standard. The method of preparing the body material and creating the body is new. So if you don’t understand the following instructions come out to the pre-meeting demo and I’ll show them in detail

Hook: 1XL nymph hook, #12 (Here a Saber 7230BL)
Thread: Danville 3/0, color to match body cord
Body: 0.8mm diameter Powercord or 0.7mm diameter Stretch Magic
Thorax: UV Ice Dub, color to complement body color
Hackle: Partridge or Hen Saddle

Tying Instructions:

1. Attach thread securely to hook about 1/8th inch behind the hook eye and leave there.
2. Cut about a 3 inch section of cord. Pass a lighter flame under cord in one swift motion about ½ inch from end of cord. Let cord cool briefly then stretch cord. This will yield a short doubly tapered internal section. You’ll need a bit of practice to get this right.
3. Place tapered section under thread with longer section of cord pointing back, adjust position, tighten thread and wrap back in touching turns to hook bend while holding the cord stretched. Trim front part of cord.
4. Flatten thread and wrap in touching turns back to attachment point. Leave thread there.
5. Grab cord and wrap in touching turns to thread and tie off very securely. In wrapping, cord is stretched hard at first and then tension gradually reduced to produce a tapered segmented body.
6. Dub a thorax of Ice Dub. Use a Velcro patch to tease some fibers back along body.
7. Prepare a Partridge or hen feather in the standard way, tie in and wrap 2 turns. Tie off.
8. Form a nice thread head and cement. If you’d like a darker head than the thread color, touch head with brown or black Sharpie before cementing.

The Comparadun pattern was introduced by Caucci and Natase in their classic book, Hatches. It is based on the Haystack pattern of the famous Adirondack tier Fran Betters. I've caught hundreds of trout on this pattern with the tying as described by Caucci. But something always bothered me. The wing is formed from hair with the tips forward and is stood up straight in the initial tying. But the wing always seemed to slowly angle forward as the fly was fished. This seemed un-mayfly like to me. There are many tying tricks to keep the wing straight but my wings still seemed to drift forward. The trout didn't care but I did. So a few years ago I started mounting the wing with the hair tips back. The wing was stood up straight in the tying but drifted back slightly in the fishing creating a wing angle more like a real mayfly. I found this tying process was easier mechanically than the original and proportions were easier to control. The trout liked this tying just as well so I present it to you here. (Actually I think they like it slightly better but it's probably just my wishful imagination).

Hook: Tiemco 100, #12 or other equivalent standard dry fly hook
Thread: Olive Danville, 6/0
Tail: 4 Dun Microfibetts or equivalent tailing fibers
Rib: Single or doubled tying thread
Body: Wapsi Superfine Dubbing, Hendrickson Pink, rope dubbed
Wing:Dun Comparadun Deer Hair
Thorax: Wapsi Superfine Dubbing, Hendrickson Pink, regular dubbing

Tying Instructions:

1. Attach thread to hook behind the hook eye and wrap back to start of bend.
2. Dub very small ball just back from start of bend.
3. Tie in 4 tailing fibers and overwrap them forward to 1/3rd point, trim excess.
4. Wrap fibers back to hook bend tight to dubbing ball, spreading them into two groups of two.
5. Form a thread loop (like a dubbing loop), tie off and angle back. This will be the rib after body is dubbed.
6. Rope dub body up to 1/3rd point, rib with single or double strand. Tie off and trim rib.
7. Cut and stack small clump of the hair. Measure and cut to shank length.
8. Tie hair in tips to rear using a contact thumb nail slide. Two turns of thread and pull down tight. Wrap hair butts smooth.
9. Lift wing slightly and create thread ball behind wing using an angled thumb nail slide.
10. Apply dubbing (normal way) and wrap behind wing first and then ahead of wing finishing at eye. This forms a thorax slightly larger than the body.
11. Whip finish and cement.

There is a sister pattern to the Comparadun called a Sparkle Dun which Craig Mathews created. A tail of antron or zelon yarn replaces the Microfibetts but the rest of the tying sequence is the same. I tie most of my small flies as Sparkle Duns and larger ones as Comparaduns.

Frank Sawyer, who worked as the Riverkeeper on the Wiltshire Avon, a Chalk Stream in England, first designed the Pheasant Tail Nymph (PTN) to imitate several species of very small nymphs common to his stream. He used just two materials, fibers from the tail of a cock pheasant and fine reddish copper wire. The wire served as the “tying thread”, the body ribbing, and thorax weighting. Nymphs in many U.S. Rivers are generally larger than in Sawyer’s stream which led Al Troth, dean of the Beaverhead River before his passing, to create the American Pheasant Tail Nymph. He still used pheasant tail fibers but incorporated wire only as a body rib. He further added lead wire and peacock herl for the thorax and assembled the entire pattern using conventional thread tying techniques. This month’s pattern by Lee Kinsey, a Livingston Montana guide, continues the evolution of the PTN. Kinsey mostly follows the Troth pattern but wraps black wire to form the thorax with no lead or peacock herl. This is more akin to the original Sawyer tie. I’ve added a variation in tying in, wrapping, and reinforcing the body which I learned from local NJ tier, Matt Grobert. Finally, I’ve changed the way the wing case is tied in and tied off to give a fuller and darker wing case.

Kinsey’s pattern is designed to be fished upstream to non-elevated trout in the famous Spring Creeks of the Paradise Valley, just south of Livingston MT. Much holding water in these creeks is three feet deep or under. So a small foam micro indicator is attached at most 2 to 3 feet above the nymph. The weighted thorax brings the nymph quickly to near the bottom. Complete strategies for fishing this pattern and less-weighted variants are detailed in John Mingo’s book, “Rainbows of Paradise “. You’ll find these strategies revolutionary and useful in small PA limestone creeks, like the Little Bushkill and Monocracy, and in larger tail water in both the East and West. I’ve used them with great success in fishing the Missouri below Craig, MT

From the following material list and above photo of this pattern, the experienced tier should have little trouble tying this pattern. But I’m also including detailed tying instructions for the less experienced tier. These instruction detail the unconventional body and thorax tie ins. I continue on a kick to tie beautiful, durable flies faster and have carefully chosen the tying steps and their sequencing to illustrate the concept of minimal passes of thread and materials. No wasted back and forth of the thread with nothing really accomplished. So, even if you are experienced you may pick up some tips by trying my instructions..

Hook: Gamakatsu 1640, #18. This is a heavy wire 4XS hook and is equivalent in shank length to a normal size 20 hook. The increased hook gape and weight help in hooking and holding larger trout. Also tied on #18.
Thread: Black, UNI 8/0
Tail: 3 Pheasant Tail Fibers, dyed olive
Rib: Gold Ultra Wire, extra small
Body: Same fibers as tail
Thorax:Black Ultra Wire, extra small
Wing Case:Butts of body fibers, folded after trimming and retied in doubled.

Tying Instructions:

1. Attach thread to hook 1/16 of an inch behind the eye and wrap back to 1/3rd point
2. Tie in gold wire for ribbing and wrap back to bend of hook keeping wire on far side of shank
3. Tie in 3 pheasant tail fibers for a tail and overwrap them forward to 1/3rd point
4. Wrap fibers back to hook bend and tie off with one wrap of gold wire
5. Wrap the wire forward in open spiral to thread, tie off and trim
6. Trim the butts of the PT fibers
7. Tie in the trimmed butts at their center, fold front facing fibers back and wrap now-doubled bunch back slightly.
8. Tie in and wrap the black wire to form a thorax. Tie off black wire one eye length behind hook eye.
9. Pull the butt fibers over wire thorax, tie off and trim.
10. Create a thread head and finish the fly with a whip finish
11. Apply head cement if desired

Crossover is a popular term in the auto industry, referring to styling and features from one market segment being used in another. Are there crossover flies? Of course, and this month’s pattern is an example.

The Michigan Wiggler originated in its namesake state as an imitation of the nymph of the Hexagenia Limbata (Hex) mayfly for use in trout streams. It crossed over when anglers discovered that steelhead running up from Great Lakes tributaries also were fond of it. We don’t have Hex mayflies in New Jersey, at least I’ve never run across any, but trout here like it too. I think it is taken for a small baitfish or crayfish or maybe a dragon fly nymph or other “food”. This last season I discovered that bass and panfish in both moving and still waters also like it. Thus, it has further crossed over to the warmwater domain. Smallmouths in the South Branch of the Raritan down Neshanic way relish it. I had a big carp follow it nearly to my feet before turning away. Guess it viewed my 3 wgt and decided I was an unworthy opponent..

A one extra-long nymph hook in sizes 6-10 is best for this fly pattern. I’ve tried various colors but mostly tie, carry and fish basic olive. A burnt orange occasionally invades my fly box. I use fox squirrel tail for this variation. You can add hot spots if you want. Or add bead chain eyes or a bead or lead wire shank weighting. Or use a jig hook. Lots of options to explore.

From the following material list and above photo showing three copies of this pattern in different orientations, the experienced tier should have no trouble tying this pattern. But I’m also including detailed tying instructions for the less experienced tier. I’m on a kick to tie beautiful, durable flies faster and have carefully chosen the tying steps and their sequencing to illustrate the concept of minimal passes of thread and materials. No wasted back and forth of the thread with nothing really accomplished. So, even if you are experienced you may pick up some tips by trying my instructions..

Hook: Mustad 3906B or equivalent, #6-10 (Flies in photo are on a #8 Saber 7230, a barbless black finished hook)
Thread: Black, UTC 70 or Danville 3/0
Tail: Squirrel tail (grey)
Rib: Copper or gold wire, small
Body: Olive chenille, Hareline medium or Danville wide (they are the same)
Legs: Grizzly saddle hackle, either regular or dyed olive.(Dyed olive shown)
Back:Squirrel tail (grey)

Tying Instructions:

• Tie in thread two eye lengths behind eye and wrap back to cover shank to a position slightly around the hook bend..
• Cut a small bunch of squirrel tail, clean base and stack lightly. Don’t overdo the size of this bunch else tying in and tying off will be difficult.
• Tie in squirrel just around the bend of the hook with three tight wraps, length of the fly tail should be about a hook shank length. Bend butts of squirrel back and overwrap with three tight turns. Do not trim butts. They will eventually be pulled forward as a shellback.
• Wrap thread forward to tie in point. Attach wire with thread, long end back, overwrapping backward to just in front of bend in squirrel tail. Keep wire on far side of hook as you overwrap back.
• Tie in chenille just ahead of the squirrel tail, tag end pointing back and then wrap chenille forward behind the thread to tie in point. This packs the chenille tightly and at the same time brings the thread forward. Tie off chenille and trim.
• Prepare hackle with cleaned base two eye lengths long and tie in base with tip pointing backward, shiny side up, in the previously clean section of the hook shank. Leaving thread at the original tie in point..
• Palmer hackle backward to bend in squirrel tail, tie off with two tight turns of wire and trim hackle.
• Divide hackle fibers on top and press fibers down leaving a fiber-less groove on top.
• Bring butts of squirrel tail over body in this groove, tie in solidly at head. A half hitch is recommended here to avoid thread slipping during next step. • Palmer wire forward over squirrel shellback, hackle and chenille to the tie in point. Tie off and trim wire
• Trim squirrel butts using the hook eye as an angle guide, make a nice thread head. • Whip finish and cement head,

Other ties of this pattern that I’ve seen don’t wrap the wire over both the hackle and the squirrel back. But I’m convinced this adds to the durability of the total pattern. UV resin or thinned Liquid Fusion on the back can also help the durability of the squirrel tail.

Hook: Tiemco 2457, #14 (can also use #16)
Thread: UNI 8/0, Black
Body: Double strand Black Krystal Flash, wrapped tightly back to front
Wing: Mini Pine Squirrel Zonker strip, Black. Hide length is ¾ inch for a #14 hook.
Hackle: Starling back feather (original pattern has short collar of wrapped black ostrich herl instead of the starling)

You may not instantly recall his name but I’ll bet most of you, when seeing his photo, will say something like “I’ve seen this guy before. He always has a big smile on his face and is always holding an enormous trout.” The man I’m talking about is Landon Mayer and the photos you’ve seen come from his books and many magazine articles. In fact, he’s on the cover of the latest issue of Fly Fisherman. He’s a guide from Colorado and my kind of guy. He fishes a small set of patterns, many of which he’s designed himself, and concentrates on analyzing structure, seeing the target fish, and making a proper presentation with an appropriate fly. One of his favorite patterns is his Mini Leech. He uses it in both rivers and still waters. I’ve not fished this fly in a river but It was deadly for me this past season on bass and panfish in local farm ponds. While I still fish larger Wooly Buggers, I love this small morsel as do the fish.

It’s quick and easy to tie. From the materials list and the photo you should have no trouble. I’ve listed this pattern as slight variant since I’ve used starling at the head instead of black ostrich herl. I had no black ostrich when I first wanted to try this fly so substituted three wraps of starling instead. The fly worked so well for me that I’ve never gone back to try his original material. On ponds a slow twist retrieve is the ticket. After all how fast can a small leech swim? On rivers Mayer recommends a dead drift and even a swing. Small leeches must develop super natural swimming ability on a river. Hanging from a Hopper is also recommended.