The top fly was tied by Talleur many years ago. The bottom fly shows my variations in hook and head finishing

Our abnormally warm November weather has kept local water temperatures up. Trout have remained quite active, looking to pack in more calories before the normal winter temperature plunge. So you want to now be fishing something that looks and acts like a large taste treat. This month’s pattern, the creation of noted tier and author Dick Talleur, is just such a pattern.

During his lifetime, Talleur was a regular demo tier at the International Fly Tying Symposium. I first saw him tie this pattern and heard him describe its history at the 2003 Symposium. Prior to that date he had published an article describing and extolling the properties of Whiting Farms Dry Fly Hackle. This article endeared him to Tom Whiting to the point that Whiting regularly sent samples of new products to Talleur for use evaluation. The samples that launched this month’s pattern were Whiting Farms Coq de Leon Hen Capes in natural and dyed colors. Talleur had received the samples earlier that year and took them with him on a spring fishing trip with his friend Sim Savage. Savage looked at the capes and suggested using the feathers in a seducer style streamer. This Talleur tied and they both used the streamer very successfully on that trip and afterward, Talleur named the pattern in honor of his friend.

The pattern is simple. Use a brass cone for weight, two feathers for a tail and additional feathers prepared in soft hackle collar style and wound up the hook shank. The number of additional feathers depends on the hook size. You can use a tungsten cone for really deep water. But then consider hard hats for all around.

Initially, I bought just one cape in the speckled brown color since I wanted to tie and try the pattern before investing in more colors. Also, Initially, I tied and fished the pattern in sizes 4, 6 and 8. Over the years I’ve narrowed my selection to just a size 6. The speckled brown color has worked just fine in the waters I fish. So I haven’t felt the need to purchase other colors. But the capes come in several colors so you can experiment with both sizes and colors if you want.

The instructions for tying this pattern are pretty much as described by Talleur at the mentioned Symposium and in his last two books. I’ve changed the hook from a ring eye to a down eye so the fly rides hook point up. With this hook selection the fly tends to snag less when you are banging the banks when either wading or casting from a drift boat. And I’ve made one variation in how the head is finished so that there is no gap and thread band behind the cone. The fibers come out in line with the angle of the cone. This variation doesn’t make the pattern fish any better but the flies look gorgeous in your streamer box if you ever show them off.

The pattern is fished as a typical streamer with staccato strips, a dead drift, a swing, or a combination. Experiment. The trout will tell you what they want that day. Finally, use at least 3X tippet. I use 2X. Yanks are usually hard.

Tying Instructions:

1. Debarb hook if needed, insert hook point through small hole in cone pushing cone to hook eye and mount hook in vise.


2. Push the cone back to hook bend. Start thread just behind hook eye and build up a cylinder of thread extending back about 1/8 inch from back of hook eye. Diameter is that of small hole in cone. Whip finish and clip thread tag. Push cone to back of hook eye. Reattach thread behind cone and wrap back to start of hook bend. Trim thread tag.


3. Trim tail feathers to length of hook plus 1/8 inch. Trim fibers at base of tail feathers back 1/8 inch from base leaving a short stubble. Tie tail feathers over this stubble on sides of hook with cupped sides facing.


4. Prepare a feather soft hackle style and tie in by the tip with cupped side down just before the start of the hook bend leaving thread at start of bend. Carefully wind feather on edge BEHIND the thread. This technique carries the thread forward with each wrap and packs the feather wraps with each new wrap tight to the previous one. When you’ve used up the feather, tie off and trim butt of feather. Your thread will be right where it should be to tie off.


5. Repeat step 4 with three additional feathers. As you reach the back of the cone with the last feather keep wrapping behind the thread for three more wraps. This carries the thread and wrapped hackle into the conical void in the back of the cone. Do a whip finish and trim thread and butt of last feather. Pace a drop of head cement at back edge of cone. Hackles will look a little wild at this point.


6. Let cement dry thoroughly. Then soak entire fly in water and stroke hackles back so fly looks like fly in bottom of photo. Hackles will emerge from back of cone at the angle of the back void. Stick hook in a foam block and let everything dry undisturbed. Once dry, stick fly in your streamer box ready to fish.

A few Baetis should be popping this month giving us a chance for a little dry fly action before the trout descend into the deep runs and pools. Over the years I’ve successfully used a number of well-known Baetis dry patterns to tempt them. This month I add another. When you look at the above photograph, you’re probably saying “Isn’t that just a Compara Dun?” Well almost. Instead of a deer hair wing it has a wing of a wound and then carefully shaped hackle. And instead of a tail of split micro fibetts, it incorporates a tail of spread hackle fibers. This tail is less tedious to tie and supports better than a micro fibett one.

I first saw this wing style combined with a spread hackle fiber tail in a fly tied by Mike Romanowski at the 2019 International Fly Tying Symposium. His article, “The Delaware Dozen”, had just been published in the autumn issue of Fly Tyer and he was demonstrating patterns from this article. It was late on the second day of the Symposium when I stopped by his table and I suspect he was getting tired of tying the same patterns over and over again. So when I asked him if he had something he really liked that wasn’t in his article, he readily obliged by tying this pattern for me. I had not seen the shaped hackle wing before so I took notes and have tied and used it ever since.

I’ve forgotten whether Mike claimed he originated this idea or he learned it from someone else. But to prepare for this writeup, I tried to contact Mike to get his take on the origin. Unfortunately, I found Mike lost a battle to cancer in 2020. So, unless someone can point me to another reference, I will continue to attribute this wing style to him. A good friend of Mike seems also to think that the idea is Mikes’ and has done a tribute video illustrating it. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FchhK9QRfo

The pattern is easy and fun to tie once you do a little practicing with the heat shaping as described in the tying instructions and above video. So give it a try. The wing technique is not limited to a Baetis pattern but can be used on patterns for many small mayflies. I use it on Sulphurs and Paraleps. When the trout are finicky, showing them something just a little different from what they have seen before can often get you a take.

Tying Instructions:

1. Debarb hook if needed and mount hook in vise.


2. Start thread just behind hook eye and wind back half way. Clip tag. Continue winding back to start of bend and then wind forward to midpoint on shank.


3. Pull off aligned fibers from a large grizzly hackle. Number depends on hook size. I used about 8 for a size 18. Tie in with a few wraps with fiber tips rearward. Adjust length so tail is the length of hook by tugging fibers forward or back as needed. Continue winding back until fiber tips dip slightly. Now wind forward 3 wraps.


4. Create fan shaped tail by bringing thread under tails and then back to where you started, tug thread forward to create desired spread and then take a few wraps. Tail is now in stable shape.


5. Spin bobbin to flatten thread and wrap to form a slightly taper body between base of tails and 1/3rd point on shank.


6. Trim a few fibers off each side of the hackle. Mount hackle with tip rearward, good side up, using butting wraps of thread forward to just behind eye.


7. Wind hackle forward in butting turns to awaiting thread, I used 6 turns for the size 18. Secure hackle with three firm turns and trim hackle. Take two thread turns on your half hitch tool and use tool to push front of hackle collar vertical. While holding tool steady, tighten loops and slide them off back of tool. This forms a thread dam right in front of the hackle collar and keeps the front of the collar vertical. Form a nice thread head, whip finish and trim thread.


8. You now have a nice hackle collar that is vertical at both the back and front edges. You want to shape this collar into a semi-circular wing with no fibers protruding below the hook shank. To do this use a bodkin to separate the fibers below the hook shank and use your fingers to pull the fibers upward pinching them firmly once you’ve pulled them totally up. Release your pinch and you’ll notice the fibers relax downward. So repeatedly pull upward and pinch hard until the fibers form a semi-circular wing. Stabilize this wing by heating your bodkin tip with a lighter for about three seconds and running the hot tip over the base of the wing fibers and then doing a final pull and pinch upward. Watch the mentioned video if this word description is confusing.


9. As a final step, add a sparse coat of well thinned head cement to the thread body, to the under wing , and to the thread head to assure good durability

Air and water temperatures are dropping. Large mayflies and caddis are sparse. Baetis and midges haven’t yet started. So what do you fish. Terrestrials, of course. Heavy frost hasn’t yet hit so there are still plenty of them around. You can throw hopper, a beetle or, my favorite for this time of year, an ant. This month’s pattern, which has been very productive for me over the last two years, is an amalgam of many patterns described on internet blogs and videos. I like it because it does double duty. You can fish it as a dry on shallow runs under trees close to shore. Leaves, which are just starting to drop, can carry an ant with them as they descend. And trout can be quick to pounce on a new arrival. Or you can fish it wet in more midstream currents. Ants that don’t get picked off when first arriving get drowned by the turbulence as they are carried to these currents.

The pattern is very simple. Besides the hook and thread, it requires only peacock herl, a hackle, and CDC feathers. Herl forms the gaster and head. The hackle is wound to form the thorax. And the CDC forms the wing. Once you get these materials laid out on your bench, you should be able to tie a fly in under five minutes. Sizes 14 and 16 have worked best for me. So crank out some to use now and also a few extras to save for late Summer or early September next year when we experience flying ant falls. It works great during these. If you are fortunate enough to be on a stream when one occurs you won’t believe the many trout rising all around you.

As with other CDC flies when fished dry, this pattern floats well until slimed by a caught fish. Then you need swish it in the water to remove the slime, blow it as dry as possible, and dip in a powdered floatant before casting it again. Remember your reach cast. Real ants float at the speed of the current and trout know this. They are more tolerant of movement when fly is fished wet.

Material List:

Hook: Standard Dry Fly, #14 or 16 (I used the Saber 7210 #14,which is a Black Nickel Barbless hook, in the fly in the photo)

Thread: UNI 8/0 Black or equivalent

Gaster: Peacoch Herl, 3 strands

Hackle: Brown, sized to hook

Head: Peacock Herl, 3 strands

Wing: 2 Dun CDC Feathers for 14. Depending on quality , 1 or 2 for 16.

Tying Instructions:

1. Debarb hook if needed and mount hook in vise.


2. Start thread right behind hook eye, wind back to slightly.around hook bend.


3. Align tips of 3 peacock herls, trim tips slightly and tie in with butts back leaving thread just around hook bend.


4. Wind herls forward and back several times to make nicely shaped gaster. Tie off herls at head of gaster. Leave thread at tie off point. Trim waste herls.


5. To form the thorax, prepare hackle and tie in tip aft. Wind forward 4 adjacent turns behind thread. .Tie off and trim hackle.


6. Align tips of 3 peacock herls, trim tips slightly and tie in with butts back leaving thread just behind hook eye.


7. Wind herls forward and back several times to make nicely shaped head. Tie off with thread just behind hook eye. Trim waste herls.


8. Select and stack 2 CDC feathers. TIe in directly on top of hook with 2 wraps with CDC feather tips aft and slightly behind hook bend.


9. Pull CDC feathers forward so tips are at rear of hook bend. Take several tight securing wraps. Trim butts of feathers at back of hook eye.


10. Form thread head, whip finish and trim thread. Cement.

We all like to catch big fish. And we know that big fish eat little fish. So we fish streamer flies that imitate little fish. But there has been a trend in recent years to fish ever bigger streamers to catch ever bigger fish. This trend has been driven by the large streamers of Kelly Galloup for trout in our brawling western rivers, by the Game Changer of Blane Chocklett for trout, bass, pike and muskies everywhere, and the Beast of Bob Popovic for salt water species on the Atlantic Coast. But there is still a place for small streamers and this month’s pattern is one of the more productive ones.

The pattern is the Silver Minkie. It most likely originated in the UK. A lot of public accessible fishing is the UK is in the large reservoirs of the Midlands. In the Spring, many species of baitfish spawn and by this time of year the fry that have hatched are now about two inches long and patrol the shallows and shore in large schools. So throwing a small streamer near these schools has proved to be an effective strategy.

The Minkie is really just a small version of a Zonker pattern which has been fished in the US for many years. A narrow strip from a tanned mink hide is used as a wing instead of a strip from a tanned rabbit skin. Mink has shorter fur fibers than rabbit so smaller patterns can be tied. Wapsi supplies mink zonkers to fly shops in many colors so they are easily obtainable

If you search on the Minkie pattern, you’ll find a number of different approaches to coloring, eyes and weighting. I like the choices made by Midlands guide Steve Cullen. The grayish tone from the white mink zonker and grizzly hackle matches many of our local baitfish. The bead chain eyes cause the fly to ride just sub-surface where an attack by predators from below is natural. The pearl Ice Dub provides the belly sparkle of many baitfish. And the red wire rib gives a hint of color from gills or injury.

While this pattern originated from reservoir fishing in the UK, it also works very well in rivers and ponds here and there. It’s just a nice generic baitfish. But we do have a large reservoir in our area, Spruce Run. So if you have a boat, take this pattern along on a trip there. Pound the shores or disturbances from baitfish schools. You’ll have a good chance at a hybrid striped bass, largemouth, smallmouth or pike that will reveal the color of you backing.

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: Danville 3/0 White Monocord or equivalent

Eyes: Silver Bead Chain, Medium

Body Hackle: Grizzly Neck about 3 inches long with fibers at base two hook gaps in length. Fibers stripped from hackle for 1/8 inch at base.

Ribbing: Red Ultra Wire, Brassie

Wing: Wapsi Mink Zonker Strip, silver/white color

Body Dubbing: Hareline Ice Dub, Pearl

Tying Instructions:

1. Debarb hook if barbed and mount in vice.


2. Start thread just behind hook eye, wrap back in close turns to the start of the bend then return wrap to 2 eye lengths back from hook eye.


3. Attach bead chain eyes below shank with several X wraps and end with thread just behind these eyes.


4. Attach hackle by the short stripped section, good side down, tip to right, so point where fibers start is just behind bead chain eyes.


5. Attach a 3 to 4 inch piece of the wire, lead end right behind eyes, tag end back and overwrap with thread back to start of hook bend.


6. Dub a small pad with the Ice Dub at this point. This pad provides a nice base for attaching the Mink strip.


7. Cut a 2 inch section of the mink strip measuring along the leather. With the fibers sweeping back on the strip, separate the fibers a hook shank length forward of the rear of the leather part of the strip. Positon this gap where the thread is hanging and take two wraps straight across strip while making sure strip is centered on top of shank. Then lift front of strip and take 2 more wraps of thread. Temporarily fold front of strip back.


8. Dub forward to just behind bead chain eyes leaving thread at that point.


9. Spiral wrap hackle back to just before where mink strip is attached. Catch with wrap of wire and spiral wrap wire to thread. Tie off and trim waste. Trim hackle tip.


10. Push hackle fibers down so fibers only come out sides and bottom.


11. Pull mink strip forward and separate the fibers where thread is hanging. Then wrap through that gap 2 turns while gently pulling the strip to the right. Lift tip of strip and take 2 wraps around shank.


12. Trim strip just ahead of securing point and overwrap to form a nice head.


13. Apply head cement. Brush body with section of Velcro to tease out dubbing fibers.

The Pat’s Rubber Legs nymph has been receiving a lot of recent publicity. In the last five years a plethora of YouTube videos have been posted on tying the original pattern and numerous variations. This month I present my favorite variation that is specially designed to be used as the point fly in Euro Nymphing but works well with other methods of nymphing as well.

I first learned of the original pattern in 2010. The occasion was the browsing of the fly bins at the Snake River Anglers Fly Shop in Jackson, WY. I had just read the recently published book “Snake River Fly Fishing” by Boots Allen, head guide there. I was impressed by his thinking so called him and booked floats on the Snake the last two days in September. On the morning of the first day Boots was advising me on flies to buy to use on our trips. I remember his emphasizing to get a number of those flies with the wiggly legs, both with the black and the brown bodies. They didn’t seem particularly impressive to me, just like pipe cleaners with spanflex legs. But I certainly wasn’t going to argue with him so I bought a half dozen of each color. As it turned out they were the most productive flies on our floats. In discussions during these floats Boots told me they were called Pat’s Rubber Legs and that the Shop got them from Solitude Flies which had recently begun tying them commercially. They represent stonefly nymphs that are prevalent in freestone streams everywhere.

As a side note, if you go to the Snake, make a special effort to book Boots as your guide. He’s special - very hard working, educational, an absolute delight to be with in the boat.

Upon returning home I took apart the only fly I hadn’t lost in snags or broken off to see how it was tied. No surprises, just a size 8 4XL streamer hook, lead under body, olive spanflex legs, tails and antennae, and a medium chenille body. I tied many copies with black and brown and various variegated bodies and subsequently fished them locally and through the Rockies. When barred spanflex became available I started using it to give my flies a little pizzaz.

Lately I did some searching and found that the originator is Pat Bennet, a guide on the streams along the Idaho Montana border. Ironically, he never tied it with actual round rubber legs using Super Floss, a stranded spanflex material, right from the start. So why is it called Pat’s Rubber legs? Good question.

Five years ago I ran across a video of Lance Egan tying a variation that he uses for his fishing. Lance is a noted fly designer and member of the US Fly Fishing Team. He’s done well in international competitions where Euro Nymphing is used extensively. I tried his variation which is a little smaller and thinner than the original and features a bead and bent hook to cause the fly to ride hook point up. I have been very successful with it so it now joins the original version in my fly box. From the fly photo and my terse instructions, the experienced tier should have no problems with this pattern. If you haven’t much experience, you can find total detail on Lance’s video.

Material List:

Hook: Daiichi 1730 Bent Shank hook, #10 (I used the equivalent hook, Dai Riki 700B, now discontinued, for the flies in the photo. If you have neither hook you can just bend any regular 4XL streamer hook)
Bead: 5/32 inch Black Tungsten
Thread: UTC 140 Brown or equivalent
Antennae: Barred Medium Sexi Floss, Yellow
Weight: 0.015 inch lead or non-lead wire
Tails: Barred Medium Sexi Floss, Yellow
Body: Small Danville Variegated Chenille, Coffee/Black (this is sold as stonefly chenille). Other useful colors are Seal Brown/Coffee, Seal Brown/Ginger, and Black/Purple. Match the color of the Sexi Floss to the chenille
Legs: Barred Medium Sexi Floss, Yellow

Tying Instructions:

1. Debarb hook, install bead and mount hook in vise. Slide bead to junction of hook and vise jaws.


2. Start thread right behind hook eye, wind back about 1/8”, trim tag.


3. Loop a strand of the floss over thread and pull tight to hook shank with two wraps. Pull tag ends of strand forward and tie down so they “V” out in from hook eye. Whip finish and trim thread.


4. Push bead forward over roots of antennae strands.


5. Wrap 20 turns of the wire starting at mid shank and ending right behind bead. Push into back opening of bead.


6. Start thread at back edge of wire, build taper from shank to wire, cover wire with thread wraps, then wrap back to start of hook bend.


7. Wrap forward 1/8’ then loop a strand of floss over thread and pull tight to hook shank with two wraps. Pull tag ends of strand rearward and tie down wrapping backward so they “V” out in back.


8. Tie in chenille, tag back. Move thread to bend point of hook. Wrap chenille forward to thread, tie in.


9. Loop two strands of floss over thread and pull tight to shank with two wraps. Move thread to back of bead. Pull floss strands to sides. They will “V’” out as legs. (yeah, real stonefly nymphs have three legs per side but two work just fine)


10. Wrap chenille to push rear legs backward and front legs forward finishing with a wrap or two of chenille right behind bead. Tie off chenille, trim tag. Whip finish thread, trim tag. Cement.


11. Trim antennae, tails, and legs to length

Our Spring weather has been unusually cool this year. So stream temperatures are below normal. This means the hatch of the Hendrickson mayfly hasn’t really gotten started. But it’s coming and you’ll want to be prepared with this month’s feature pattern, my version of the female. It’s been my number one producer for over twenty five years. It’s a pretty standard parachte but with a slightly different body that I stumbled into. Let me tell you the story from back in the 1990s.

The female Hendrickson, commonly called just the Hendrickson, has a pinkish tan body that back then was immitated by a dubbed body of a natural fur blend. The male Hendrickson, commonly called the Red Quill, was immitated with a body of stripped quills from a Rhode Island Red rooster. The stripping was slowly done by hand. It occurred to me that I could use the Clorox process common then for stripping peacock quills to strip many quills at once. But not wanting to waste feathers from the only Rhode Island Red neck that I had if the technique didn’t work, I decided to test the Clorox process on feathers from a cheap brown Indian neck that I had. Well, the process not only removed the fibers but bleached the brown quills to a nice tan, very close to the Hendrickson dubbing I had. I also noted that the quills were short and had a significant taper from tip to base. So I tied the body of a parchute with one of these quills and was extremely pleased with the tapered segmented body that resulted.

During the next Hendrickson hatch that I encountered I caught a natural and compared its body to that of my fly. It was an almost perfect match except for a more pinkish cast to the body segments and stronger olivish inter segment markings in the natural. So I then switched from the tan thread I had been using to olive thread. I then added a thin layer of the the Hendrickson dubbing normally used for the thorax to the body before wraping the bleached quill. The dubbing and thread showed through between the wrapped quill providing strong segmentation markings and gave the whole body a pinkish tan tone. This unique body construction is the reverse of the normal one where dubbing provides the base color and an overwrapped rib gives segmentation. My next comparison with a natural was spot on and I’ve tied my Hendrickson parachutes with this combined body ever since. Only update is that Superfine dubbing in Hendrickson Pink has replaced the fur blend. I’ve not seen this body elsewhere and the trout have heartily approved.

You can now buy bundles of bleached brown Indian neck feather from some of the bulk feather merchants. You’ll get enough in a bundle for ten lifetimes.. But bleaching yourself is not hard. If you don’t have an old brown Indian neck stored away somwhere, they are still used and sold. As a wrap up, I eventually did use the Clorax process on a few of my Rhode Island Red neck feathers but felt the color was lightened too much. So, for a while, I laboriously hand stripped them for my Red Quill parachutes. But recently I found an Indian neck with reddish brown quills. Although I still have to hand strip these. I use them instead of Rhode Island Red quills because they produce the nice well segmented tapered body like that on my Hendrickson Parachute.

Material List:

Hook: 1 XL or regular Dry Fly Hook, sizes 12 or 14. (Saber 7211, a 1XL barbless hook, size 12 used for fly in photo)
Thread: Danville 6/0, Olive
Tail: Medium Dun Hackle Fibers
Body: Stripped Brown Indian Neck Hackle
Under Body: Superfine Dubbing, Hendrickson Pink
Wing Post: Polypropylene Yarn, Dun
Hackle: Two Medium Dun Neck Hackles, sized to hook. If you have a Whiting Dun Saddle Hackle, one will do.
Thorax: Superfine Dubbing, Hendrickson Pink

Tying Instructions:

1. Debarb hook and mount firmly in vise. Attach thread at ¼ point and wrap backward in touching turns to the bend. Use thread to make a small bump just behind the start of the hook bend. Trim thread tag. Take thread to attachment point.


2. Remove a small bunch of fibers from a large feather at the base of a medium dun hackle neck. Tie in as a tail with tail length of one hook shank length. Wrap over fibers back to thread bump. This should spread the fibers slightly. Take thread back to attachment point.


3. Tie in bleached hackle quill butt end pointing back. Overwrap back to bend.


4. Apply a thin layer of Superfine dubbing to thread and wrap forward to attachment point.


5. Wrap hackle quill forward in touching turns to thread. Tie off hackle and trim waste.


6. X wrap a 2 inch strand of the poly yarn, pull ends vertical and wrap a base of thread up then down to form a cylindrical post at base of wing. Thread at front of wing post.


7. Prepare and tie in the dun hackles, fibers horizontal, tips forward, bare butts of hackles on tier side of post, then bring thread behind post and finish tying in butts.


8. Apply superfine dubbing to thread, form rear of thorax behind wing post and the front of thorax in front of wing post and under hackles ending with thread tight to front of wing post.


9. Co-wrap hackles (CCW looking down) up post about 3-4 turns then down (another 3-4 turns) to base of post. Tie off using thread under technique. (see the video if not familiar with this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5b8tQA4qzI ). Dub very little Superfine on thread and wrap over hackle tie down to eye and whip finish just behind eye. Trim thread, hackle tips, and wing to length. Cement head.

The Comparadun pattern was revealed by Caucci and Nastase in 1975 in their classic book Hatches. It has a split tail, dubbed body and deer hair wing. It has been extremely productive over the years.

The pattern is typically tied with the tips of the deer hair pointed forward over the hook eye. The tie in for the hair is one third of the hook shank back from the hook eye. The hair is then pulled back, flared and stabilized in a vertical fan shape with dubbing on both sides of the hair tie in point. A problem with the pattern is that it difficult to tie in small sizes. This problem has been eased by material suppliers picking patches of deer hair with very short tips (marketed as Comparadun hair) that flares easily in short lengths. But it’s still tough to tie in sizes 18 and smaller.

With the introduction of soft flexible CDC as a tying material, creative tiers soon learned that small versions of the pattern can be made with a CDC wing. The tying of the CDC versions parallels the tying of the deer hair version in that two or more CDC feathers are tied in tips forward with dubbing then holding them in a vertical fan. These are easier to tie in small sizes and perform as well as deer hair patterns if not better. As an added bonus, CDC comes in fluorescent colors so a bright feather can be mixed with two or more natural colored feathers to make the fly easy to see with old eyes. And they float without added paste. Once you have caught a fish with this pattern, be sure to swish it in the water to remove any fish mucous, blot it dry with a Kleenex, and blow on it. It’s then good to go again.

For small patterns, both deer hair and CDC winged, wrapped biots are now generally used instead of dubbing to give a thin segmented body. I find the larger turkey wing biots are easier for me to manipulate but goose biots will work.

Patterns, even though effective, evolve. In my April 2019 writeup (“Right Way" Hendrickson Comparadun) , I described an evolution of the original Comparadun pattern where the hair is tied in tips rearward resulting in a more natural silhouette. Further the angle of the wing doesn’t drift forward with use. This month I describe an evolution of the CDC version to get a better thorax and wing silhouette and also keep the wing angle from drifting forward with use. It’s basically the folding technique described in last month writeup. I first saw this technique in a 2015 blog post by a Scottish tier, Jim Lees. I’ve continued to use the prefix Bump Nose since I find it quite descriptive.

The specific tying instructions are for a PMD imitation. But, by varying the color of the biot and CDC feathers, patterns for other small mayflies like Sulfurs and Paraleps are easily made.

As a retiree with few outside imposed tasks, I spent many hours a few years ago reading blogs and watching videos of flies with CDC wings. If you have the time and desire, you can do the same thing. You’ll learn a lot. But if you have other things to do, just tie and fish various sizes and color variations of this pattern. It works! And change the tail to sparkly yarn if you want a Sparkle Dun variant.

If you don’t like CDC, use EP Trigger Point fibers with the same tying steps. These fibers come in several fluorescent colors too.

Material List:

Hook: Standard Dry Fly hook like TMC 100 or equivalent in sizes 16, 18 and 20. (Saber 7211, which is barbless, in size 16 used for fly in photo)
Thread: Montana Fly Co. 8/0, Light Olive
Tails: Microfibetts, Pale Dun (4 for 16, 2 for 18 and 20)
Body: Turkey Biot, Pale Olive
Wing: CDC feathers, Cream (2 or 3 depending on quality and pattern size)
Thorax Dubbing: Superfine, PMD

Tying Instructions:

1. Debarb hook if barbed and mount in vise. Attach thread behind eye and wrap back four turns. Trim thread tag.


2. Attach Microfibetts, tip to rear extending behind straight part of shank 1-1/2 shank length. Overwrap rearward to start of hook bend, take one wrap under Microfibetts to elevate them slightly, then x wrap to split.


3. Tie in biot, tip forward, so that when wrapped the smooth side is to rear.


4. Wrap thread forward to ¼ point. Align and tie in CDC feathers tips forward with 3 or 4 tight turns directly over each other. Length in front of tie in a little over a hook shank length. Make sure CDC is on top of hook. Trim CDC butts tight to thread wraps. Smooth with 2 thread wraps rearward.


5. Wrap biot forward and tie down tight.


6. Spin ½ inch of dubbing barely covering the thread. Dub ball forward extending barely over CDC tie in point


7. Fold wing back and take thread wraps directly in front of wing tie in to stand wing near vertical. Spin ½ inch of dubbing on thread barely covering thread. Dub in front of wing pushing back on wing finishing at eye. This will leave wing angled back slightly. Do a three turn whip finish. Trim thread.

You’re probably tired of having had to fish “down and dirty” for the last few months. But, sometime this month, the first Baetis mayflies of the season will start to pop. Depending on the wind and the water and air temperatures they may linger in the surface film a bit before fully pumping up their wings and flying off. When this is happening you’ll want to have some of this month’s fly in your box. The pattern is an amalgam of the “Almost There” by Bucky McCormick and my own ideas on fly silhouettes, tying technique and on-stream preparations. Bucky McCormick is one of the younger staff members at the Blue Ribbon Fly Shop in West Yellowstone, Montana. He continues the tradition set by the original owner of Blue Ribbon, Craig Mathews, of designing flies that use few materials, are easy and quick to tie, and are highly effective.

There are many Baetis Emerger patterns out there but there are four features that distinguish my version. The first is the way I tie in the emerging wing. Instead of tying in the wing fiber bundle right behind the hook eye with retained part of the bundle facing backward and then clipping off the excess at the eye (which is what McCormick does), I tie the retained part forward and clip the excess behind the tie in wraps. Then after dubbing a small ball-shaped thorax, I fold the wing fibers back and tie them in right in the middle of the thorax leaving a little bump of wing fibers right behind the hook eye. This leaves the hook eye clear for threading a small tippet through the small hook eye. The careful trimming of the clipped excess to keep the eye clear as needed in McCormick’s version is not required. Second, the small bump at the head more accurately matches the thorax profile of an actual Baetis in the process of emerging. Third, the fold back makes the wing tie in very strong and positions the wing slightly above the body to complete the natural silhouette. And finally, the bump is isolated up front so applying some float paste on just it is easy without getting the paste where it should not be. Paste on just the bump makes the fly ride right in the film as it should when fished.

From the above photo, the materials listing, and my discourse on the wing tie in, you should be able to tie this pattern quickly without having to look at detailed tying instructions. But they are there if you need them. You can also tie this pattern in cream or light olive tones to match small PMDs that are found on many western waters.

I’ve invented the descriptor, Bump Nose, to always remind me, and hopefully you, of the one distinctive tying step for this pattern. Stay tuned for next month’s pattern where you will bump into the idea again.

Material List:

Hook: Ring eye emerger hook( e.g.Tiemco 2488 or Saber 7259) in sizes 20 and 22 (Saber hook, which is barbless, used for flies in photo)
Thread: UNI 8/0 Olive Dun
Shuck: Lemon Wood Duck or Mallard Dyed Wood Duck
Body: Tying Thread
Wing: EP Trigger Point Fibers, Blue Wing Olive
Thorax Dubbing: Superfine, Gray/Olive

Tying Instructions:

1. Debarb hook if barbed and mount in vise. Attach thread behind eye and wrap back three turns.


2. Tear off about a 3/16 inch wide bunch of fibers from the Wood Duck feather keeping the tips aligned. Attach with tips back so tips extend a shank length back from hook bend and overwrap with thread back to slightly around hook bend. This forms the shuck.


3. Flatten thread and form a tapered body with wraps ending with largest diameter at point where you first tied in shuck fibers. Trim forward facing excess fibers close.


4. Clip EP fibers from the packaging cable tie. When flattened with fingers the bundle should be about 3/16 inch wide. Experience with a fly or two will help you get just the right amount.


5. Tie in bundle at eye and wrap back three turns. Extent of bundle in front to hook eye should be about 1-1/2 shank lengths. Trim bundle extending back close to thread wraps. Reserve trimmed bundle for future use.


6. Dub small ball shaped thorax leaving thread at center of ball.


7. Fold wing fibers back and tie in with two overlapping wraps at center of ball. Do a three turn whip finish directly over the securing wraps. Trim thread.


8. Trim wing fibers at back edge of hook.

Local waters remain cold. So early this month you can still fish the midge larva pattern presented as the January FOTM. But near the end of February you should see some sparse surface activity as the larva slowly pupate and come to the surface to hatch into adults. Then you’ll want to be ready with the emerger pattern described here. Eventually, in March when hatching accelerates, you’ll want to fish the midge cluster pattern described in March 2020. But this emerger will keep you and the trout entertained in the interim.

This pattern is the creation of Geoff Johnston, a full time fishing guide on rivers and lakes in the UK. I discovered it while browsing the Internet two or three years ago and it has performed well for me ever since. It is indeed a “guide fly”, which means it uses few materials, is quick and easy to tie, and catches well. What more can you ask of a pattern?

I believe that the Krystal Flash wing that lies right in the surface film is a key feature of this pattern. As you’ll learn from the detailed instructions, Johnson has created a special tying technique to assure this. Another interesting technique from Johnston that you’ll learn from the instructions is how to easily align the tips of two or more CDC feathers to form an attractive wing. This technique can be used on other patterns incorporating wings of multiple CDC feathers. If your eyes are not that great, you might use a white feather as the top one on this pattern.

The body is just corded tying thread. If you want to introduce some more obvious segmentation, a rib of extra small silver wire can be added. Johnston didn’t but I generally do. I’m further experimenting with making the body from a strand of black metallic embroidery thread to give the pattern a little glitter. But this is recent and I have no on stream feedback as yet.

Material List:

Hook: Tiemco 2487 or 2488 or Saber 7259 in sizes 18 - 22 (Saber hook, which is barbless, in size18 used for flies in photo)
Thread: UNI 8/0, Black
Thorax Dubbing: Hare or Zelon, Black
Wing: CDC Feathers, Dark Gray or Black (maybe a white one on top)
Secondary Wing: Krystal Flash, Pearl

Tying Instructions:

1. Debarb hook if barbed and mount in vise


2. Attach thread just behind the hook eye and wind back in touching turns over the elevated tag to slightly around the bend. Trim tag, then spin bobbin CW looking down on it to tightly cord thread and wind thread forward in touching turns to one-third point.


3. Prepare a CDC feather by stripping off the base fibers. With tip facing forward, take one turn of thread over feather. Then pull feather backward keeping tension on thread until the wing is about a shank length long. Secure with one tight turn. Trim back of feather.


4. Prepare another CDC feather as in step 3, tie in with one thread turn and, again while keeping tension on the thread, pull feather backward until tips align exactly with those of the first feather, Secure with one tight turn. Trim back of feather.


5. (Repeat step 4, optional). This will depend on the size of the fly being tied and the quality of your CDC. All wraps over CDC are at same point. For the flies in the photo I used three CDC feathers.


6. Now wrap down trimmed butts of feathers leaving thread at back of CDC wing.


7. Dub a small ball which will be half the back part of the thorax. Thread left at front of this ball.


8. Loop about a 2 inch strand of the Krystal Flash around the wing, tag ends backward. Secure with two wraps. Then dub to complete back of thorax. This aligns the flash strands in the desired horizontal “V” position.


9. Stand up wing, bring thread in front of wing and dub to hold wing vertical and form the front half of the thorax.


10. Whip finish at hook eye and trim thread.


11. Trim Krystal flash just aft of hook. Add head cement if desired.

Local waters are cold. Trout are hovering on the bottom eating lots of midge larva. Since I learned of this month’s fly fifteen years ago, it has been my top performing larva pattern.

It is the creation of Jude Duran, formerly a top-rated guide (more on this later) on the famous tail waters of the San Juan River below Navajo Dam in New Mexico. I first leaned of this fly through Duran’s article on midges in the September 2007 issue of “Fly Fisherman” magazine. In that article he described a number of his patterns and also listed his web site. I was interested in fishing the San Juan at that time so I visited the site and read the many glowing reports from his clients. They described him as very knowledgeable, hard-working, and a great teacher. Buoyed by these recommendations I phoned Duran to talk about his flies and a possible trip. He noted in our conversation that he had quite a few other patterns in the section devoted to him on Hans Weilenmann’s Fly tiers pages with detailed tying instructions for many of them. But the Flash Thread midge is his favorite. (Duran’s section is still up.) He further mentioned that while he listed a slightly curved hook like the TMC 200R in sizes 18-22, his thread midge can be tied even smaller on size 22 and 24 scud (e.g. TMS 2487) or similarly curved hooks. And if I did come to the San Juan, I should bring some of these really small patterns since the trout there can be very sensitive to size. They are less sensitive to color and white, black, olive, dark olive, red and brown are all good. I have since discovered the Gamakatsu C12-BM hook which is barbless and has a large eye for easy tippet threading and comes in size 26-30. I’ll be using this hook if I ever go to the San Juan. I’ll use a Davy Knot with these hooks for small profile.

So after this phone call and checking on the Weilenmann site, I tied this month’s pattern as Duran described and took it to the Spring Creeks of Livingston, MT and of Eastern Pennsylvania, the Madison, the Missouri, the South Branch and the Musky. Trout have loved it. It’s simple to tie using only a hook, two sizes of thread and a strand of pearl Krystal Flash, Flashabou, or tinsel. Size A nylon rod wrapping thread in white is used for the body and UNI 8/0 in black forms the head. Sharpie markers are used to color the body as desired so I I haven’t had to invest in other colors of the heavy thread. For the really small versions I’ll use something like Danville white mono cord. Black, white and dark olive have been my best producing colors

Life happened and I didn’t get to the San Juan in in 2007 0r 2008. However, in 2009 I got reinterested in the San Juan and phoned Duran to discuss options. But his phone was disconnected. I then checked his web site but it was down. Finally searched on his name and found that he had robbed a bank in 2008, shortly after I had first talked with him. He was traced, arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to four years in prison. All this info ended my then San Juan plans.(Still on my Bucket List) Duran must be out by now but a recent search yielded nothing so I have no idea what has happened to him. He was very helpful to me and seemed like a really nice guy. Guess you can’t tell a book by its cover.

Material List:

Hook: Tiemco 200R in sizes 20 and 2 (Size 20 in photo)
Body Thread: Size A Nylon Rod Wrapping Thread, white
Head Thread: UNI 8/0 Black
Flash: Pearl Flashabou strand (Alternate Flashabou or small tinsel)
Coloring: Sharpie pens

Tying Instructions:

1. Debarb hook and mount in vise


2. Attach body thread at midshank maintaining hold on tag and wind forward in touching turns to 2 eye widths distance behind the eye. Then wind thread back in touching turns to mid shank. Trim thread tag. Then wind back in touching turns to just around bend. Let bobbin hang.


3. Spin bobbin CW looking down on it to tightly cord thread then wind forward in touching turns to 2 eye widths behind hook. Whip finish and trim body thread.


4. Attach head thread right behind hook eye and wind back 2 eye widths. You’ll be slightly covering the front of the body. Attach flash strand tag rearward. Build up a one eye width wide area with the body thread to a diameter slightly less than that of the body.


5. Wrap flash over itself as best you can, about 7 wraps, over this just formed thread collar. Tie off and clip flash.


6. Form nice head ahead of flash collar, whip finish and trim thread.


7. Color body as desired. Coat entire fly with head cement to lock in color and improve durability.

Here’s pattern in size 22 as tied by Duran

Fly: Jude Duran, Photograph: Hans Weilenmann