Ten years ago, seeing someone using euro nymphing techniques and accompanying flies on the stream was unusual. Now it is quite common. This evolution has been driven by results from International Angling Competitions. Most fishing time in these Competitions is spent nymphing due to time of occurrence of the events and accompanying river conditions. Members of the Spanish Team wanted nymphs that quickly reached and stayed on the bottom layer of a stream after being cast. Trout hold there under the usual event conditions so more time spent where the trout are meant more chances of an “eat” and more caught fish per unit time, the competition goal. To achieve the fast sinking and deep holding, they created Perdi nymphs. These have oversized tungsten beads up front on small hooks and little else to impede fast sinking. Perdi is Spanish for pellet.
To me the many Perdi nymphs now described in articles and videos use many material and color variations but look pretty much the same in silhouette. Once in a while a new design stands out as significantly different and this month’s pattern is one of these. The original concept come from ”Cheece” Clark, co-owner with Curtis Fry of two brick and mortar fly shops, an extensive on-line shop, a blog, and a youtube channel. He wanted to merge the effectiveness of worm flies with the Perdi concept. He did this by using a large slotted tungsten bead up front on a size 12, 90 degree jig hook with a bunch of Flexifloss fibers as a tail, the fibers representing a cluster of worms. You can find his original presentation in his blog entry at https://www.flyfishfood.com/blogs/euro-nymph-tutorials/the-perdiworm which also contains a link to his original video. The long shank hook he used required a thread body and rib to complete the pattern.
I tied and fished his original design. And it caught fish. But I didn’t like the way the flexifloss fibers clung together. So I tried different tying techiques to get the fibers to radiate out separately with even spacing. The solution to my quest finally came when I switched to medium rubber leg fibers that come in strips with the fibers attached. I separated out a three leg strip, cut off two short sections, and tied one of these sections on each side of the hook with really tight turns on both once they were attached. Only then did I further separate the legs. Voila! I had the evenly spaced separated wavy legs I wanted, just like the petals on a daisy.
I then went for further simplifications. Short shank 60 degree jig hooks are now available. And a large slotted bead leaves little tying length along the shank of such a hook. The tie in of the legs is very short so by using only a size 14 hook I needed only a little taper of thread behind the bead to complete the fly. No need for long thread body and rib that “Cheece” used. Besides the hook, bead and thread, it now became a one material fly. Recently I found silicone legs in attached strips on a Chinese web site. I bought some and now prefer them to the rubber legs since they are more translucent. They come in solid colors and also with markings.(Yeah, we should be supporting our local shops but they don’t yet carry these legs). But if you are foreign source offended, rubber legs work just fine. Silli legs come in strips too so I suspect you can also use these although I haven’t yet tried. I recommend fishing this Perdiworm as a single or as the tail fly with another Perdi nymph as the dropper. Bass and bluegills like this pattern too.
Rubber, sili and silicone legs, threads and beads all come in a wide variety of colors so you have many coloring options. I’m partial to fluorescent threads and metallic finished beads that match the legs color. But that’s not a rule. I’ve done best with red, pink, and purple tone flies and the photo shows red ones with both the solid and marked silicone legs. So tie up a few combinations of your own choosing and stash them in your fly box. When you open the box the sight of all the waving legs will provoke a smile and make you eager to pick one of the flies to fish.
Material List:
Hook: Fulling Mills 5125, a short shank BL 60 degree jig hook, size 14 or equivalent.
Bead: 5/32” dia.slotted tungsten, tyer’s choice of color and finish.
Thread: Semperfli 6/0, tyer’s choice of color.
Legs: Silicone, rubber, or sili legs in attached fibers form, tyer’s choice of color.
Tying Instructions:
Insert hook in bead, move bead to hook eye, and mount hook in vice.
Attach thread right behind bead and wrap tight to bead to hold it tight to hook eye and then wrap thread back about 1/8 inch covering hook shank evenly with thread. This is the thread base over which you attach legs and build body.
Separate 3 attached strands from the full length of the fiber bundle. Cut two 1-1/2 inch sections from this.
With thread wraps attach one section, tag back, on each side of hook shank. The two attached sections should cup the shank and not overlap. Over wrap firmly to back of bead then build thread taper from bead to back of thread base.
Whip finish behind bead, trim thread and cement thread body.
Carefully separate the leg sections into the 3 composing fibers and tug fibers slightly if needed to get even radial spacing. Trim fibers to desired length.
November 2023
Thomas’s Double Bubble Emerger
Tied by Bill Ninke
We can best see a small object at a distance when it contrasts with the background. If we are fishing a pond and are working our way around the edge, reflections from the sun cause whitish- silver glare when we are at parts of the periphery but lack of sun reflections allows a clear background at other parts. When we are fishing a stream we also experience changing conditions. Overhanging trees can shade the stream edge causing a dark background while whitish-silver glare can be present in central stream runs. How can you tie a fly that always has some contrast to the background under such continually changing background conditions? This month’s pattern answers this question.
The pattern is called the Double Bubble and is the creation a Nick Thomas, a Scottish tier now living in Wales. I first became aware of Thomas in reading an article of his which was published in the December 2020 issue of Fly Fishing & Fly Tying (FF&FT), a prominent UK magazine. It was his first contribution to that magazine. He described how to create effective patterns from silicon beads used as stoppers for post earrings. He further provided an address link to his web site at the end of his article. Making flies from unusual materials has always intrigued me so I visited his web site and was literally overwhelmed by the descriptions of innovative patterns and long list of links to other articles he had written. I spent several weeks going through his publications and patterns which resulted in several questions which I sent to him via his contact form. He responded and launched what have now become frequent email interchanges on patterns, materials, and both tying and fishing techniques. Via his published articles and our emails I’ve formed the opinion that today he is one the most innovative tiers in the world. I cherish our continuing interactions. Since that first article, he has had a new article included in FF&FT almost every month. So, lots of new ideas to explore. In coming months, I’ll be featuring more of his ideas.
Although the Double Bubble was only published in the July 2023 issue of FF&FT, Thomas had emailed me some draft material previously so I’ve had many months to experiment with tying and fishing the pattern. As you can see from the photograph, the Double Bubble has two interleaved loops or bubbles of winging fibers on the top front of the pattern. These are of contrasting colors so the pattern stands out from varying backgrounds. The remainder of the pattern is tied so that the total assemblage is an emerging mayfly. I first tied and tried the pattern this Spring and selected the back end materials and overall coloration to represent an emerging Hendrickson. These choices are detailed in the materials list and photo. I used black and white fibers for the loops for high contrast. Thomas calls this his Skunk variation. Other combinations can be used. Also you can use the winging idea with many different materials to represent the nymph body portion.
Many hook styles can be used from standard dry fly hooks to various emerger and Czech nymph ones. Thomas illustrated his pattern using size 14 hooks. Initially I have also used size 14s but I’m sure the pattern can be tied both up or down one size, maybe two. A wide variety of winging fibers can be used for the loops. I’m partial to EP Trigger Point fibers because I have them in many colors. But various other polypropylene yarns can be used. I’m tempted to try the new Ultimate Dry Fly fibers from Fulling Mills and may do so in the future, not only for this but other surface patterns.
The tying instructions portion of my writeup this month is unusual. It is not my typical detailed set of instructions but is just a link to the sequence of tying step photos Thomas published in his FF&FT article and has now included in his site. In his sequence he used another wing color combo, dun and olive, which seems appropriate for a fly fished in the summer. I think you’ll find his instructions easy to follow.
Finally, why feature a pattern related to a Hendrickson hatch now? Well, you know you usually wait to the last minute in April to start filling the holes in your box. If you start now you’ll be have a box filled with precisely tied very effective patterns when they start to pop. Hopefully you can see this point.
Material List:
Hook: Brite Beads C-315BL, a barbless black nickel Czech nymph hook (I like the shape and wide gap of this hook)
Stillwaters in the Rockies, all the way from British Columbia down to New Mexico, have dense populations of damsel flies. Most fishing for trout in these waters is with a nymph. But the Rockies can have high winds and, on the occasions when these are up, blow line fishing with dries is popular. Gary Borger, in his book “Presentation”, was one of the first to write about this and created a now well-known pattern to be used for such fishing, the Braided-Butt Damsel. He describes this pattern in his book “Fly Design” and on the internet ( https://www.garyborger.com/flies-and-fly-tying/braided-butt-damsel ). The pattern had a large parachute hackle wing which catches the wind when blow lined but can severely twist your tippet when cast.
Even though we have local reservoirs with both trout and damsels (Round Valley and Spruce Run), we don’t have the winds of the Rockies so no blow line opportunities here. While Borger’s pattern can be cast on a heavy tippet to reduce twisting, I’ve found this month’s pattern, the “Laid-Back Damsel”, to be more effective for casting locally.
The pattern is the creation Larry Gallegos, a retired lawyer from Denver. Like many retirees he has the time to think about fishing problems and design and test fly patterns to solve them. I first discovered the background for the creation of his pattern in his entry in the AvidMax Fly Shop Blog for the past May 30th. Since reading this entry (https://blog.avidmax.com/2023/05/30/laid-back-damsel) I’ve tied his pattern and a number of variations. Being boat-less, I’ve been testing these on the park and farm ponds of our area and on the warmwater sections of the South Branch of the Raritan river. The sections near Stanton Station and Blackpoint Roads have many damsels and eager smallmouth bass.
In his pattern, Gallegos has retained the body from Borger’s pattern which is made from Cortland 50 lb braided nylon backing line colored damsel blue with a marker. Borger gives detailed instructions for making them. If you don’t have this material, you can buy pre-colored Adult Damsel Material from Hareline. Just cut into 1-3/4 inch sections and flame fuse one end. The other end is teased apart slightly before tying on the hook.
The distinguishing feature for Gallegos’s pattern compared to the plethora of other dry damsel patterns, however, is the wing. Tiers have recognized over the years that wings oriented perpendicular to the body not only don’t mimic the way a natural damsel holds its wings but are also really just propeller blades. Patterns tied with such wings are great tippet twisters. So tiers have usually used hackle tips tilted back in a V shape for wings. But I have found that you have to be very careful in selecting and tying in such wings. Too wide or slightly twisted hackles still can also act as propeller blades. Gallegos has solved this problem by using saltwater pearl flashabou tied in a narrow backward facing V for the wings. This gives natural looking translucent wings that minimized twisting.
The tying instructions provided below are mostly as Gallegos presented them in his blog entry. The only real change I’ve made is in preforming the wings before tying them in which seems quicker to do than tying in the wings separately as he does. A nonconsequential change is the use of black metallic embroidery floss (DMC310) in place of black Krystal Flash for the legs. The floss separates into 6 strands and three are used for legs. I like the floss since it is more flexible than the flash and gives a bit more movement to the pattern. But the flash works fine.
As for fishing instructions, I’ve found that letting the pattern just sit for a short time after it hits the surface and then quivering it slight is extremely effective. Since twisting is not a big problem you’ll be able to use a small tippet(4-5x). So set carefully. Bet you don’t the first time. Oh well, it’s a quick tie once you have all the materials assembled.
Material List:
Hook: Size 10 Dry Fly Hook like TMC 100 (I’ve used a Saber 7216, a wide gap barbless black nickel hook, for the flies in the photo. I like the strong keeling it gives)
Thread: Semperfli 6/0 in cornflower or Danville 6/0 in damsel blue
Eyes: Black Hareline Mono Eyes, Medium or make your own by flaming monofilament and coloring with a black Sharpie.
Tail: Hareline Damsel Body cut 1-3/4” long or make your own from woven nylon backing colored with marker.
Wings: 3” section of Pearl Saltwater Flashabou
Overbody: 2 mm Damsel Blue Craft foam strip, 7/32” wide . A 6” strip will make several flies.
Legs: 3 strands of black metallic floss, about 2” long
Thorax: Superfine Dubbing, Damsel Blue
Tying Instructions:
Debarb hook, if barbed, and mount in vice.
Attach thread right behind hook eye, wrap back in touching turns to start of bend and then back to 1/8th inch behind eye. Trim thread tag.
Attach eyes on top of shank via X wraps finishing with several thread wraps under the eyes leaving thread just behind eyes.
Make segment marks on the tail with a black Sharpie. Fray out the non-fused end of the tail material and tie in starting right behind hook eye and ending at start of hook bend. Take one wrap under tail to elevate slightly.
Fold flashabou into a narrow V, sides of V of equal length. Tie with sides rearward slightly cupping the flashabou as you tie it in. This should leave you with nice symmetrical wings with the flats angled slightly down. Bring thread to behind eyes.
Tie in foam strip, tag back, and wrap back to start of hook bend. Flatten thread. Then make a uniform thread coating over the foam leaving thread at mid-point of tied down foam.
X in the floss legs. Add a very thin dubbing noodle to thread and cover body and separate legs slightly. Leave thread behind eyes.
Pull foam forward and tie down firmly. Advance thread to front of eyes and tie down foam firmly again. Whip finish behind eye. Trim thread. Cut foam slightly in front of last tie down.
Trim wings slightly shorter than the tail. Trim legs length to taste.
Cement the whip finish.
September 2023
Double Disc’O Beetle Variant
Tied by Bill Ninke
As did most other beginning fly fishers in the early 80s, I focused on mayfly and caddis patterns. But I eventually learned that beetles are effective in many situations, surprisingly even during mayfly and caddis hatches. I tied and fished the most common beetle of the day, the Crowe beetle. It’s a simple pattern, just peacock herl and deer hair. It did and still does produce well. But trout teeth quickly scuff it up. So I was on the lookout for a more durable alternative.
Fast forward now to November 2003 when I attended the International Fly Tying Symposium. There I spent a long time at the demo bench of Harrison Steeves III. Harry was tying many of the terrestrial patterns that had just been published in his book, “Tying Flies with Foam, Fur, and Feathers”. One pattern that really impressed me was his Double Disc’O Beetle which is made from two discs of Loco Foam with added body and wing material. I thought it would be the durable beetle I was seeking. So I bought some Loco Foam, Kreinik micro ice chenille, Kreinik tyers ribbon, and a set of hollow punches from Harry and went home to duplicate his pattern. The hollow punches are used to create the foam discs. If you are going to tie this month’s fly and some future patterns I’ll be presenting, you’ll need a set yourself. I don’t recall what I paid back then but the requisite set of six is currently available from Harbor Freight for $10. If you are not familiar with Loco Foam, it is a 2 mm thick foam sheet with a colored metallic coating on one side. The metallic coating gives terrestrial patterns created from it a “shiny glint” characteristic of real insects.
Once home I tied a batch of beetles as best I remembered Harry’s demo and, over the following season, gave them a try. They worked great and indeed were very durable. They became a staple in my fly box. Over the next dozen years I continually replaced those lost to trees, snags and an occasional break off. This used up my initial supply of Loco Foam and Tyers Ribbon. When I sought more foam I found it had gone out of production. So I searched for and found an alternative, an inexpensive craft store product called Glitter Foam. This is a 2 mm thick foam sheet with shiny particles embedded in one surface. It comes in many colors, and is available in both plain back and adhesive backed versions. The pattern I am about to detail uses the adhesive backed version since the “in place” adhesive eliminates the need for super glue as required in the original Steeves version. Loco Foam has recently come back on the market but I’m sticking with the glitter foam. When I had run out of the Tyers Ribbon, I eliminated the wings made of the ribbon and added silicone strand legs. This variant seemed just as effective and is faster and easier to tie. You can also use small round rubber legs.
I have experimented with different sizes and styles of hooks on which to tie this beetle but have settled on a wide gap dry fly hook. This style hook gives good keeling so the beetle quickly turns upright once it hits the water and hold large fish well. I tie mostly and give instructions for a size 14 beetle. Other sizes can of course be tied. My specified foam disc diameters will have to be adjusted if you so choose. Once you’ve punched out the foam discs, tying is simple and fast as you’ll see from the sparse instructions.
The photo shows options for color combinations that I most frequently use. The all black is very effective but hard to see so I usually fish it as the point fly in a two fly rig with one of the “bright top” combinations as the dropper. When fishing this beetle, splat it down hard on the water. This gives the sonic signature of a fallen real beetle. Fish often come from afar to check what just hit the surface.
Material List:
Hook: Size 14 Wide Gap Dry Fly Hook (I’ve used a Saber 7216, a barbless black nickel hook, for the flies in the photo) A Dai Riki 305, a discontinued hook, also works well if you still have any.
Thread: Black Danville 3/0 Monocord or equivalent
Under Body: Kreinik Micro Ice Chenille, Mallard
Body: 3/8 inch diameter Disc punched from adhesive backed Glitter Foam, Color is tyer’s choice.
Head: 5/16 inch diameter Disc punched from adhesive backed Glitter Foam. Color is tyer’s choice.
Legs: Black Sili-Legs. You can use packaged strands or clip strands from a jig skirt. Tyer’s choice for other colors
Tying Instructions:
Punch out the two glitter foam discs leaving the adhesive backing attached. Set aside.
Debarb hook, if barbed, and mount in vice.
Attach thread behind hook eye and wrap back in touching turns to start of bend. Trim thread tag.
Pull short section of fibers off one end of a 4 inch length of the chenille. Attach the exposed core to the hook, tag end of the chenille back, leaving thread at start of hook bend.
Wind chenille behind the thread to hook eye. This packs the chenille wraps tightly together. Tie off and trim excess chenille. Take thread back to 1/3rd point.
Pick up the larger foam disc and remove the paper backing exposing the adhesive. Place disc on top of chenille body with back edge just behind the back of the hook. Press disc down tight against chenille. To keep from touching the adhesive, I poke the disc with a dubbing needle before removing the backing and position the disc using the needle.
Catch the front edge of the disc with a few thread wraps. About 10% of the disc diameter will be in front of the thread.
Now pick up the smaller disc, remove the paper backing and position with leading edge just behind hook eye. (Same needle handling technique with second disc). Press second disc down hard against the first disc and front of the chenille body. Catch the front third of this disc with a few thread wraps. The wraps catching both discs are at the same position along the hook shank.
Attach two 2 inch lengths of leg material, one length on each side, firmly securing everything with a few hard wraps before whip finishing at the tie in point. Adjust the legs so they are tied in at the junction of the two discs
Finish shaping the fly by firmly repressing the discs down so they cup the body as much as possible. Legs can be left long for trimming on the stream or trimmed now.
Coat all the foam surfaces and edges with clear Sally Hansen Xtreme Nail Polish, including any exposed adhesive under the discs. Let polish dry well before putting beetle in your box or taking the beetle fishing.
June 2023
Soft Hackle Squirrel Nymph/Emerger
Tied by Bill Ninke
It’s “bug soup” time on our local rivers. Many different aquatic creatures are appearing or about to appear. So what fly should you be fishing in the river? In our local park and farm ponds bass and panfish are on their nests ready to consume any tasty morsel that appears near them. So what fly should you be fishing in these ponds?
The answer to both these questions is this month’s fly. It’s a pattern of Arshad Khan, a British tier, with a soft hackle collar added. I first saw his pattern a few months ago on a video on his youtube channel which he maintains under the name makflies. Two things struck me initially about his pattern that made me want to tie and try it. First was its combination of profile, translucency and sparkle that just cried out “food, come eat me”. Second was the use of a makeup brush as a source of nice soft tail fibers. I had not seen this idea before so on my next trip to my local Walmart I browsed the ladies cosmetics section and found a brush like Khan used. The brush, pictured with the flies above, has many fine natural fibers bound together at the base with the pointed tips aligned. So to create a tail you just bend out a desired number of the fibers, hold them aligned while you clip them off and then tie them in. If the initial bundle is too large, just release a few until you get the exact amount you want before clipping. The released fibers are still attached to the brush so no waste. If the initial bundle is too small, just add a few more adjacent fibers before the clip. Clever, heh! Before tying my variant you might want to view Khan’s video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYZ6sbY4zlU&t=47s to see all this in action.
Khan ties in the tail and holographic mylar rib, then splits the thread, inserts a light toned sparkly squirrel dubbing, closes the split and spins the bobbin to form a dubbing brush. He wraps this forward to about the one quarter point followed by the rib. I do the same. He then forms another split thread brush with a darker tone dubbing, winds to the eye and finishes the fly with a thread head. Final fly is well brushed out with a Velcro patch. I think this second split thread brush is more complicated and time consuming than needed and just spin dubbing on the thread for the darker tone front. I’ve experimented with splitting various threads for tying this and other patterns and have settled on Semperfli 6/0. If you have another favorite by all means use it. Khan custom mixes his dubbing but I’ve found that the Dave Whitlock SLF Dubbings work just fine.
After fishing Khan’s pattern and seeing it in the water I thought it could use a small soft hackle at the head for a stronger head profile and added movement. I first considered partridge but then remembered the CDL Hen Cape I used in tying Talleur’s streamer in the December 2022 feature. The streamer uses the large feathers at the base. But the cape has many small well marked feathers at the top which make a wonderful soft hackle collar for this and other patterns. So that’s what I now use.
Khan designed his pattern for trout and has reported good results. I’ve only been able to do warmwater fishing lately so I first fished the pattern in ponds as a dropper with a heavy “dragon fly like” nymph on the point. Almost all hookups were on this pattern. Then I put a bead head version of this pattern on the point. Bluegills and bass went crazy for this duo with singles on both versions and many doubles.
Finally, as I was completing this writeup, it occurred to me that adding an orange “hot spot” might make this pattern even more effective. So I tied regular and bead head versions and included them in the photo. I haven’t tested them yet. So join me if you also are driven to experiment.
Material List:
Hook: Size 10, Std. Length, Std. Wire, Wet Fly/Nymph Hook (I’ve used a Saber 7224, a barbless black nickel hook, for the flies in the photo)
Bead: Gold brass, 3/32” (optional)
Thread: Semperfli 6/0, Brown or Tan. (Hot orange for the hot spot version) Tail: Fibers from a Makeup Brush
Rib: Wapsi Holographic Silver Tinsel, Medium
Body: Dave Whilock SLF Squirrel Dubbing, Natural Fox
Thorax: Dave Whilock SLF Squirrel Dubbing, Natural Gray
Collar: Neck feather from a Whiting CDL Hen Cape, Speckled Brown
Tying Instructions:
Debarb hook, if barbed, and mount in vice.
Attach thread two eye lengths behind hook eye and wrap back in touching turns to start of bend. Trim thread tag. Return thread to starting point.
Remove a bundle of fibers from the Makeup Brush, attach as tail, tips to rear, so tail is a little less than a shank length long and overwrap back to start of bend. Return thread to starting point. Trim front excess of fibers.
Attach a 3 inch length of the ribbing material, tag aft, and wrap back to start of bend.
Prepare a flattened rectangular bundle of the body dubbing about 1/4 inch wide and 2 inches long. Split thread and insert bundle.centered in thread. Close thread and spin bobbin CW. Poke at dubbing with bodkin as bobbin spins so nice dubbing brush is formed.
Wrap brush to starting point followed by 5 turns of ribbing. Tie off ribbing and trim excess. Brush body with Velcro patch.
Dub the thorax to a diameter twice the body.
Prepare and attach a small feather from the CDL Hen Cape and wrap about three or four turns. Tie off trim feather excess. Form a nice thread head, whip finish and trim thread.
Brush with Velcro patch again to blend everything together.
May 2023
King’s Wedge Wing Isonychia
Tied by Bill Ninke
Jonny King is an attorney, a jazz musician and a very creative fly tier - real Renaissance man. If you tie salt water flies, you probably are familiar with his Kinky Muddler and his Hoo fly, both fished extensively on the Atlantic Coast. If you tie trout flies you may have run into his “Splittsville” patterns, created for suspicious Delaware trout. All the above have been widely documented in articles and videos.
I first ran into Jonny at the Fly Fishing Show in 2011. He was doing a “Featured Tier” session with pre-session publicity stating he would be covering his new Kinky Muddler. Since I was about to go on a trip to the Yucatan for baby tarpon, I made sure to attend to learn that pattern so I could tie and fish it for my trip. I was immediately struck by Jonny’s very clear description of the tying steps and the reasoning behind them. Now, when the program for the International Fly Tying Symposium or the Fly Fishing Show comes out, I check if Jonny is scheduled for a ”Featured Session” and strive to attend. I strongly recommend you do so too.
Jonny demoed this month’s pattern in one session two years ago. It features an in-line deer hair wing that very closely approximates the silhouette of the wing of a natural mayfly. Rene Harrop has a similar pattern that was derived from an elk hair caddis. What distinguishes Jonny’s pattern is the winding of the hackle through the wing instead of behind the wing. The hackle is thus distributed along the thorax of the fly causing it to float naturally in the surface film. The deer hair is tied in tip first and trimmed after it is incrementally stood up. Two variants are possible. A hackle fiber tail gives a straight dry imitation. A Zelon tail gives a surface emerger. Details for the dry are in the tying instructions. As you will note in the fly photograph, the wing is trimmed slightly longer than that of the natural. This is by design since the tip of the wing is the first to enter the “window” of a surface feeding trout. The longer wing extends the warning of the coming body.
While Jonny uses deer hair for this Isonychia imitation, synthetics like EP Trigger Point Fibers or strands from Macrame Cord can also be used, particularly for smaller mayfly patterns. To get the pattern to sit right in the surface film, Jonny trims a V-shaped notch in the hackle underneath the body. By varying the body material you can use his technique to create imitations of mayflies other than an Isonychia. A March Brown with a biot body looks particularly attractive tied in Jonny’s style.
The tying of this pattern is straightforward but does require a lot of things to be done concurrently. So a bit of practicing will be needed to produce beautiful flies. But, the flies are worth the effort since they definitely produce. Before you begin, you might want to watch the last fifteen minutes of the following video of Jonny tying this pattern with Hendrickson coloring. It is the surface emerger variation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxmY_yIaWI4
Material List:
Hook: Size 10 2XL Dry Fly Hook such as a TMC 5212 or Daiichi 1280. (I used the TMC hook for the flies in the photo)
Thread: Danville 6/0, Olive or Brown
Tail: Brown Hackle Fibers, spread in V shape
Abdomen: Mahogany Brown Beaver Dubbing, well corded
Hackle: Brown, size 10, neck or saddle
Thorax: Mahogany Brown Beaver Dubbing
Wing: Deer Hair Dyed Gray
Head: Mahogany Brown Beaver Dubbing
Tying Instructions:
Debarb hook, if barbed, and mount in vice.
Attach thread behind hook eye and wrap back in touching turns to start of bend. Trim thread tag. Make a small thread ball and then wrap thread forward to about one third point on the shank.
Attach a clump of hackle fibers tips rearward so tips extend a shank length behind thread bump. Wrap back securing fibers on top of shank. Wrap tightly against the thread bump forcing fibers into a V-shaped tail.
Apply a tight dubbing noodle on thread and wrap forward to one third point.
Prepare hackle and attach tip back shiny side up overwrapping stripped butt to just behind eye. Return thread to one third point.
Dub thorax to a diameter twice that of body ending two eye lengths behind eye.
Clip and clean a chunk of deer hair about the diameter of a wooden match. Stack. Remove from stacker and clip 1/8 inch off tips. Position the hair with blunted tips just behind hook eye, butts rearward. Overwrap firmly over 1/8 inch of the blunted tips keeping hair on top of shank.
Wrap 2 turns of hackle at the rear of the thorax.
Pull down ¼ of hair wing fibers and wrap one turn of hackle slightly forward over them keeping fibers on top of shank.
Pull down another ¼ of hair wing fibers and wrap one turn of hackle slightly forward over them keeping fibers on top of shank.
Pull down another¼ of hair wing fibers and wrap one turn of hackle slightly forward over them keeping fibers on top of shank.
Pull back final ¼ of wing fibers keeping them on top of shank and wrap two turns of hackle in front of them. Tie off hackle and trim waste
Dub a small head over what was the section of the hair fibers that was originally tied down ending just behind eye.
Form a nice thread head, whip finish and trim thread.
Prune wing fibers into a vertical vane rearward. Trim to shape with curved scissors leaving wing shape a bit long.
Brush hackle fibers to release any that might have been trapped when overwrapping wing hair. This should leave a nice cylinder of hackle fibers. Trim hackle fibers under body into a V-shape.
April 2023
LaFontaine’s Deep Sparkle Pupa
Tied by Bill Ninke
Gary LaFontaine was extremely curious and took extraordinary steps to satisfy his curiosity. As a youngster he dove with a face mask in the riffles at the head of Hendrickson’s Pool on the Beaverkill to try to understand how the trout were reacting to sunken spinners. As an adult, he donned scuba gear to try to understand how trout reacted to emerging caddis. In his groundbreaking book, Caddisflies, he describes a pattern that imitates what he saw and the reactions of trout to it. That pattern is this month’s fly, his Deep Sparkle Pupa. A distinctive feature of this pattern is a bubble of fibers enclosing the abdomen..
I had the good fortune to talk with Gary at the Fly Fishing show in the early 90s about this pattern and complained to him that the tying steps for getting the fibers distributed around the hook shank and making a nice uniform bubble were difficult for me. He confessed that they were difficult for him too and that his daughter Heather tied all his flies in this pattern for him. Thus was born my desire to tie this pattern easily and uniformly.
This desire lay dormant until I read an article by Gretchen Beatty in the Autumn 2010 issue of Fly Tyer on how she ties the pattern. This was a step forward in forming a nice bubble but getting the bubble fibers distributed uniformly was still missing. Again my desire to tie this pattern quickly and well lay dormant until I solved the problem of getting a uniform bubble of surrounding fibers for the Pettis Unreal Egg as described in the December 2020 Fly of the Month. The key is the “right from the start” technique I described there. You might want to go back in the archives and reread my initial description of that technique.
You start by creating a flat ribbon of the bubble fibers and poking the hook eye through the ribbon right in the middle with the tag ends horizontal. This leaves half the fibers above the hook shank and half below. It also leaves half the fibers on each side of the hook shank. In other words the fibers uniformly surround the hook shank. X wrap the fibers to the shank at the start of the hook bend and then pull the fibers back and secure with two wraps just behind the X-ing point. The pattern continues with the dubbing of the body and the forming of the bubble per Gretchen’s technique as I describe in the tying instructions. Three problems remain: selecting the right fiber, the right amount of that fiber and the dubbing of the abdomen.
LaFontaine used the generic term sparkle yarn in his book. In later videos he revealed that he used a commercial knitting yarn Dazzle-aire which contained antron – the magic material which attracts and retains air bubbles that trail off as the pattern moves in the water. This yarn is no longer made although many older tiers still have skeins. Aunt Lydia’s Rug yarn has many similar attributes to Dazzle-aire and LaFontaine acknowledged that it is a perfectly acceptable substitute. This yarn is currently available from Wapsi as Aunt Lydia’s Sparkle Yarn and is what I now use.
For my patterns I use the full 3 stands combed out for a size 12, slightly less for a 14 and still slightly less for a 16. I used to make my own body dubbing by combining chopped up Aunt Lydia’s and natural fur but many modern dubbing blends, e.g. Wapsi Life Cycle Dubbings, are combinations of fur and anton so I now just use one of these.
My attaching technique for the bubble fibers leaves the hook shank clear. This is unique. All other published techniques start with two strands of the bubble material tied with the tags rearward in the abdomen area. LaFontaine used touch dubbing in the abdomen area which necessitates using dubbing wax. I’m not a fan of dubbing wax and seldom use it. With the bare shank a regular dubbing technique can be used and the results brushed out before pulling the bubble fibers forward. The result is almost identical to touch dubbing, is simpler, and is quicker. As for colors, I use mostly Brown/Yellow (Abdomen/Bubble) and Bright Green/Olive. To get the pattern down to where it should be fished, you can add lead on the hook shank or add a bead at the head. I prefer to add weight on my tippet. Your choice.
With the technique I describe the tying is fast, the results look beautiful, and the trout heartily approve. What’s not to like? As a variant, add a deer hair wing and you have the Emergent Sparkle Pupa which is also shown in the photo.
A number of Jack Dennis’s vintage videos of Gary explaining when, where, and how to fish his caddis patterns have recently been posted on you tube. Check them out. Just search on Gary LaFontaine.
Material List:
Hook: Dry or Wet fly hook in sizes 12, 14, or 16. (I used a Saber 7216 which is a black barbless wide gap dry fly hook in the flies in the photo)
Thread: Danville 6/0 in color to match body
Bubble: Aunt Lydia’s Yarn
Abdomen: Wapsi Life Cycle Dubbing
Throat: Mottled Feather Fibers, e.g. Brahma Hen Saddle
Head: Wapsi Life Cycle Dubbing
Tying Instructions:
Debarb hook if barbed and mount in vice.
Attach thread at back of straight part of hook shank. Trim thread tag
Comb out bubble yarn and form into flat ribbon.
Slip ribbon over hook eye as described above, X wrap in place, then force fiber tags back with several wraps just behind attachment point.
Dub abdomen over rear 2/3 of hook shank leaving thread at 1/3 point. Brush out dubbing so it approximates touch dubbing.
Make two open thread wraps forward so thread is just at back of hook eye. Pull bubble fibers forward tight against abdomen and secure with 2 thread wraps. Push this tie down point back to front of abdomen forming a nice uniform bubble around abdomen. Secure fibers with several hard wraps and trim forward facing fibers. (This is Gretchen Beatty’s technique)
Tie in throat fibers.
Dub head, whip finish.and trim thread. Brush the head back lightly.
March 2023
Ramirez’s Kryptonite Caddis
Tied by Bill Ninke
The nail/barrel/surgeons knot is deeply embedded in our fly tying and fly fishing. If the knot is formed over another material such as in attaching backing to a fly line, it is called a nail knot. If it is without a core such as a multi-turn overhand knot as used to attach tippet to leader, it is called a barrel or surgeons knot. No matter which way the knot is formed, the outside is a nice cylinder if done correctly. A whip finish knot at the head of a fly is a nail knot. You do make your whip finishes by wrapping always forward from the back of the head to the hook eye don’t you. If so you have a smooth outside cylinder. Otherwise you have crosses of thread that can be easily cut by a trout’s teeth.
In the December 2021 FOTM (Swisher’s Mono Caddis Pupa) I described how a whip finish of colored monofilament over the rear part of a hook forms a nail knot that represents the abdomen of the pupa. This month I describe how Juan Ramirez uses a barrel knot of colored monofilament to make a detached abdomen for his caddis pupa.
Juan is a well-known tier and guide based in Colorado. Juan got the idea for making a detached barrel knot body for his pattern from watching Tim Flagler’s video on the Forget-Me-Knot Midge. Tim used a 10 turn knot in 15 lb red Amnesia to match midges. Juan wanted a slightly longer body so uses 14 turns in 15 lb chartreuse Amnesia to match a caddis. To get this knot to tighten properly you absolutely need to run the mono over a bar of soap to create a lubricating coat before forming the knot. Juan further coats the body with UV resin to get an increased diameter.
Since the body is detached, a hook with only a short shank is needed for the rest of the fly. But the hook needs to have a wide gape for consistent hook ups. Juan has specified two Firehole hooks, the 633 and 637, with these properties. These models are readily available in the Rockies area. I have experimented with these and other hooks and have settled on using a Saber 7259 which is more economical and readily available in our area. All these hooks are barbless with a black nickel finish. This unobtrusive finish is part of Juan’s design concept for the fly.
Juan ties the pattern in two sizes since he guides on some tail waters, where a size 20 matches the naturals, and on freestones where a size 16 is a good match. For fishing our local streams I only tie and use the size 16. A black tungsten bead gives the pattern weight to get down fast and also represents the head of the pupa. A few wraps of a CDC feather provide mobile legs. A little rabbit dubbing finishes off the fly.
Under water, the combined mono and resin body literally glows making the pattern very effective. While Juan’s preference is for the green Amnesia, other colors of monofilament can be used. I’ve had good success with this pattern tied using 14 lb Gold HiViz Stren. Both the Amnesia and Stren versions are shown in the photo.
Tying instructions are provided below. Before you start the pattern, however, you really should watch Juan’s video which presents his latest refinements. As you’ll note from the video, the pattern is quite quick to tie. It really catches trout. What more can you ask?
Hook: Saber 7259, Firehole 633 or Firehole 637. Size 16
Bead: Black Tungsten, 2 mm
Thread: Danville 6/0, Olive or Black
Legs: Long fibered CDC feather
Thorax: Rabbit Dubbing
Tying Instructions:
Form barrel knot in the 14/15 lb colored monofilament as described above. A 15 inch starting length of the monofilament makes forming and tightening easy. Clip tag at one end flush with end of knot. Clip tag at other end about 3 inches long. Hold this tag while you coat knot with thick UV resin, fix with UV light, then coat with clear nail polish to remove tackiness.
Place bead on hook and hook in vise. Start thread behind bead and clip thread tag.
Hold body with tag forward so front of body is at start of hook bend. Trim tag just forward of back of bead. Insert tag into back of bead and wrap back to start of body.This fixes the body in place.
Tie in CDC feather by tip, fold fibers back, wind 3 times and tie off. Trim feather waste.
Dub forward to back of bead. Whip finish twice. Trim thread.
February 2023
Fritz’s Zebra Midge Variant
Tied by Bill Ninke
Midge fishing normally starts on local waters near the end of this month. With the recent unusual ups and downs of cold and warm weather it’s going to be hard to predict exactly when. But, it will come. So I’ve picked a productive variant of the Zebra midge and a variant of this variant and also of the original as the flies of the month.
I bet most of you have both tied and fished the Zebra Midge. It’s a simple pattern, just a hook, bead, thread and wire rib, that has been featured in many books and magazine articles. Justly so since it flat out hooks fish. I first learned of and fished the Zebra Midge in the Spring of 1997. The occasion was a trip in April on the Missouri with super guide Gary Fritz. Nothing was happening on the surface then so we were fishing nymphs under a thingamabobber in the deep shoreline runs about a half mile below Holter Dam. As Gary was rigging me up he said he wanted to try a new fly that a client he had just guided had brought from fishing near Lees Ferry on the Colorado. The client said his guide there had just created it and named it the Zebra Midge. Always willing to try something new I agreed
As a start, Gary carefully bent down the barb on the size 20 hook and slightly offset the point. He stated his belief that the offset helped hooking and the debarbing eased getting the tiny hook out of the trout’s jaw. And doing these operations now saved time in case anything broke. (if you are tying, do these operations before you start)
After tying on the Midge and adding two split shots eight feet below the indicator, Gary instructed me on how he wanted this rig fished. He noted that midge pupa do not move sideways in the water so I should continually mend my line to keep the indicator moving with the current, no sideways movement. And strikes are just sips so set the hook at any twitch of the indicator. Pupa do move up from the bottom as they are hatching so let the fly swing up at the end of the drift and you’ll often get a grab. Soon echoes off the nearby canyon wall of large trout leaping confirmed Gary’s choice in pattern and presentation. Other boats were circling with us in the area but none doing anyway near as well as I was. One fisherman in another boat yelled out “What are you fishing?” I asked Gary if I should reply. He said “Sure, they won’t know what a Zebra Midge is nor have any. And they certainly won’t be fishing it correctly”
Next year I fished with Gary at the same time of year at the same location. During rigging up he said “The Zebra Midge is no longer a secret. All the local shops sell them. So the trout see them all the time and are getting suspicious. But I’ve been tying and testing a variant that has been doing well for my clients. It has a gold bead and red wire rib with a peacock herl body. It is one size larger than the Zebra. Want to try it?” You know my answer. It worked just wonderfully. This month’s instructions cover it.
The following year I was back again. In preparation for the trip, inspired by Gary’s continually seeking new patterns, I tied up some doubled versions of both the original Zebra and Gary’s variant. I reasoned that the larger gape from a bigger hook would aid in hooking and that the larger “meal” might be a great trigger. The above photo tells all of what I tied. Did my doubled flies do better than single ones. The only hard evidence I can cite is that Gary commandeered all of my remaining doubles at the end of my trip. And I tied myself up a new supply upon returning to New Jersey and still always carry some with me.
When fishing these patterns in local waters you’ll be fishing much shallower than on the Missouri using a very small foam or New Zealand Wool indicator, possibly without any added shot. But Gary’s advice to not move the midge across the current and to let it swing at the end still holds.
My interactions with and learning from Gary continued until 2016. In April of that year he suffered a massive heart attack while playing golf and died on the course. He was the strongest rower I’ve ever been with. He would often make his guide boat seem to plane water as he rushed to get me near rising trout. So it has always seemed inappropriate to me that he had his attack while pursuing the rather sedate sport of golf instead of pushing hard on the oars I sure do miss that guy.
Material List:
Hook: TMC 2488 #18 (#20 for regular Zebra)
Bead: 5/64 inch gold brass (1/16 inch silver for regular Zebra)
Thread: Danville 6/0, black
Rib: UTC wire, small red (small silver for regular Zebra)
Body: Single strand peacock herl (Tying thread for regular Zebra)
Tying Instructions:
Debarb and offset hook. Insert hook point in smaller end of bead and slide bead to hook eye. Mount hook in vise.
Start thread right behind hook eye, trim tag. Insert wire rib just into back of bead, tag back, then over wrap rib back to hook bend. Take two more thread wraps in place.
Attach herl, tag back, over wrapping forward on hook shank to back of bead.
Wrap herl to back of bead, tie down with two wraps. Then counter wrap rib to back of bead, tie off rib and trim waste. Take one more wrap of herl, tie off herl and trim waste.
Do two whip finishes right at back of bead. Trim thread. No head cement.
January 2023
Wood’s Micro Leech
Tied by Bill Ninke
Winter is finally here. Trout are down deep. How do you get at them? Use a nymph with a large tungsten bead, of course. But wouldn’t adding a second fly increase your chances? Certainly, and what should it be? It could be the Mayer’s Mini Leech I described in January 2020. But I’m strongly suggesting this month’s pattern, another leech, but smaller and quite fluttery in the bottom currents as the tungsten weighted nymph drifts stoically along.
I first saw this pattern in a video by John Wood, a professional fly tier from Billings Montana. He created it for use on the nearby Bighorn River. It uses only a hook, thread, and a 1/16 inch wide zonker strip cut from a tanned Pine Squirrel hide. Such narrow strips are hard to cut uniformly. So if you don’t want to cut a hide into such strips yourself, Wapsi offers them all cut precisely for you.
I’m particularly fond of patterns from professional fly tiers, and especially those tiers who publish their productive patterns and thus freely share them with the fly fishing community. Wood is such a tier and has numerous recent articles in Fly Tyer and American Fly Fishing. He sells his flies widely and gets performance information back from his customers both directly (letters and emails) and indirectly (order history), If he gets no repeat orders he knows a pattern probably is a dud or needs further work. Wood cites quite positive customer trials for this leech not only on the Bighorn but also on the Guadalupe, Madison, Yellowstone and Missouri.
In warmer conditions you needn’t use this leech in a duo nymph rig but can just fish it shallow on its own. River trout seem to like a dead drift with an occasional twitch. I’ve fished this pattern quite successfully for bass and panfish in ponds with slow pulls intermixed with slight twitches. No matter where or how you fish this leech, always use a loop knot connection.
The key to good performance for this pattern seems to be the short heavy wire hook which gives it good keeling and tracking. Tying couldn’t be simpler as you will note from the attached short set of instructions. Micro Pine Squirrel zonker strips come in many colors. Black and olive have worked best for me locally. But Wood also recommends brown, purple, rust and natural. He claims the natural represents the aquatic worms present in western tail waters. His first recommendation for thread color is red, always good in leech patterns. Or thread color can be chosen to match the color of the squirrel strip. The fly in the photo and instructions is tied with a black strip and red thread. Wood originally tied this pattern with an olive thread and an olive strip for use in the Big Horn which has lots of moss.
Material List:
Hook: Heavy wire nymph hook - size 14 (Saber 7221 used in fly in photo) Mustad S80, Mustad 3906 or TMC 226BL will also work well.
Thread: Wapsi 140 Ultra Thread, Red
Tail: Micro Pine Squirrel Zonker Strip, Black
Underbody: Tying thread
Body and Collar: Micro Pine Squirrel Zonker Strip, Black
Tying Instructions:
Debarb hook if needed and mount hook in vise.
Start thread right behind hook eye, trim tag, and wrap thread back in touching turns to the start of the bend. Take two more thread wraps in place.
Cut a 2 inch section of the squirrel strip (measured along the hide) and part the fur I inch from the back of the strip (also measured along the hide).
Place the part over the thread and take 2 firm securing wraps. Be careful to keep strip on top the hook shank. Lift front part of strip and wrap thread in touching turns to one eye length behind hook eye. Take one more wrap in place.
Pull strip forward and part fur on strip right above thread. Take 2 firm securing wraps over strip again being careful to keep strip on top the hook shank.
Take 2 wraps with the front of the strip behind the thread, the second wrap being directly over the first. Tie off strip with 2 firm thread wraps and trim strip waste.
Form a nice thread head, whip finish and trim thread.
