Tag Archives: fly tying

Tying at NE Spey Clave III, Saturday May 17

I will be doing a tying demo, Wet Flies for the Farmington, at this year’s NE Spey Clave III. If you plan on going, swing by my little picnic table and say hello. By popular demand, I will have a small selection of wets for sale. If you’ve never been, here are some details from Spey Casting NE:

New England Spey Clave III – May 17, 2014

Mathies Grove on the Farmington River

Sponsored by FRAA

Many manuf. Reps will have rods and lines to test cast

Demonstrations on the Farmington River

Andrew Moy – Topher Brown – Rich Murphy – Mark Sedotti – Fred Wilson

Free lunch by: The Complete Angler, Darien, CT

Raffle for Spey Rods and Lines – Proceeds for FRAA

Image

Thank you, CFFA

“How many flies did you actually tie?” It was Ben Bilello, salmon fly tyer extraordinaire, who was doing the asking. “Two-and-a-half,” I said. “I only did one,” countered Ben. That’s kind of how these things (Fly Tyers’ Roundtable) go: lots of talking, very little tying. But, as the Al Franken-voiced Stuart Smalley might say, that’s OK.

Many thanks for the CFFA for inviting me to tie. Just as many thanks for everyone who stopped by my table to talk fishing, tying, and especially those who indulged me with tales of fishing glory.

I switched it up last night and tied some striper flies. These are Crazy Menhaden flatwing/soft-hackle hybrids.

Image

 

 

How to tie the Dark Hendrickson Winged Wet

The Dark Hendrickson Winged Wet is a fairly easy tie that uses readily available materials. Best of all, it is a real fish catcher. I couldn’t possibly tell you how many trout I’ve taken on the Dark Hendrickson over the past few years. Match the size to the naturals on the river, pick out a rising trout, drift or swing the fly over its position, and hold on.

The Hackled March Brown Spider

“March Brown” is a name you see attached to a lot of different wet fly patterns. Some of them are caddis; others, mayflies. This spider is intended to represent the latter. I discovered it on page 116 of Sylvester Nemes’ Two Centuries of Soft-Hackled Flies. It was originally published in 1936 in an English book, Trout Fishing From All Angles.

The Farmington River is not known for its March Browns; while we do experience that hatch, it’s not on the level of, say, Hendricksons or Sulphurs. But we do have a good showing of Isonychia, and I have taken to fishing the Hackled March Brown spider in the late summer to represent those substantial mayflies.

Last August, I was fishing a snotty run that was studded with boulders and pockets. There wasn’t much going on hatch-wise, and I had the Hackled March Brown spider as the point fly on my team of three wets. The hit was one of unrestrained violence and brutality, such that it ripped the line from my hands. The trout went immediately on the reel; I never saw it until I was able to coax it into the shallows. Over twenty inches long, it was my biggest trout of 2013.

Image

Hook: Wet fly, size 12
Silk: Orange Pearsall’s Gossamer
Tail: Grey partridge fibers
Body: Hareline Dubbin Rust (HD23)
Hackle: Brown partidge

 Tying notes: A straightforward, simple fly to tie. The original calls for a body of “hare’s ear dyed red ant colour.” I have settled on “rust,” and the trout seem OK with it. You could make the body a little buggier than I have here, but I like this fly with a thin profile. There are a multitude of brown feathers on a standard partridge skin; they’re located along the back of the bird.

The Hackled March Brown Rogues’ Gallery:

Image

Tying the Greensleeves North-Country Spider

Most North-Country spiders are very simple ties. T.E. Pritt’s Greensleeves is no exception. You wrap some tying silk around the hook shank, wind on a soft woodcock shoulder feather, then whip finish. Greensleeves is a highly effective green caddis pattern; I usually tie it in a 14 or 16.

Dispatches from the writing front (and other destinations).

My keyboard has been getting a workout this winter. Lots of articles in the pipeline right now that will be appearing in 2014. Among them:

Matching the Hatch with Wet Flies (American Angler)

Downstream Wets in Small Brooks, Building a Wet Fly Team, Salmon fishing for Stripers (Mid Atlantic Fly Fishing guide)

Bugs Department and Farmington River Survivor Strain (The Drake)

A story/essay on a year-long striper adventure (FlyFish Journal)

Not to mention the regular, wonderful (it doesn’t suck, does it?) content featured here on Currentseams.

Anyone else bloody tired of winter? Stand by. Spring is coming.

Image

Speaking of soon-to-be regular (I hope) content, I just completed my first successful tying test video last night. I’m hoping to do a bunch of these this year. Stay tuned for the first one, coming soon.

The Dark Hendrickson Winged Wet

We had spent the morning nymphing, but as the hour hand worked its way toward eleven, the bite slowed. One o’clock would be the visible start of the Hendrickson hatch — you can set your watch by it on the Farmington — but I figured right now was about time for creatures to be stirring a foot below the surface.

I rigged up a team of three wets, with a Dark Hendrickson on point, and began walking down a long, three-foot deep run. When I got to the tailout, I encountered an angler reclining on rock, enjoying the warmth of the late April sun. I hailed him and asked how his fishing had been. He told me he hadn’t yet wet his line. “Waiting for the Hendrickson hatch to start,” he explained.

Oh, it’s already started, I told him. “I don’t see anything coming off,” he said. I shook my head. You can’t see it yet. It’s going on below, and it’s going to be a good one. See my friends up there? I’ve been catching them all the way down the run, just swinging wets. They’ve been keyed on this fly here.

The Dark Hendrickson Winged Wet is a legacy American pattern that has been fooling trout for over a century. I’ve been fishing it only a fraction of that time, yet I couldn’t possibly tell you how many trout I’ve taken on it. This fly would easily make my Top Ten Wets list. Match the size of the naturals (about a 12 on the Farmington), then drift, swing, or dangle it over rising fish, and hold on.

The Dark Hendrickson Winged Wet

Image

Hook: 2x strong wet fly
Thread: Grey
Tail: Dark blue dun hackle fibers
Body: Muskrat fur
Hackle: Dark blue dun hen
Wing: Lemon wood duck

~

Tying notes: I like to use darker muskrat fur, particularly the soft grey underfur. Pick out and discard the black, stiffer guard hairs when you snip off a patch. A little fur goes a long way, and if you happen to have an entire skin, you’ve got enough fur to keep your great-great grandchildren in Hendricksons. Keep the body thin; the hero of this fly is wing. Be sure to leave plenty of room for the head and the wing; you can see on this fly that I just about made it. (Although the trout won’t care a lick.) To form the wing, I usually fold a small section of wood duck over itself with the dull side facing in, but I don’t get too crazy about trying to make every fly perfect. Make the wing about as long as the bend. If you don’t tie this fly, please start. You’re going to be happy you did.

Looks like the Hendrickson hatch has started.

Image

~

The Dark Hendrickson Rogues’ Gallery

Image

“Wet Flies 101” at the Mianus Chapter of TU March 11

We are busy, busy, busy here at currentseams. (Busy is good.) My next presentation is Tuesday, March 11, at the Mianus Chapter of TU, Waveny Mansion, in New Canaan, CT. Doors open 7pm. Hope to see you there.

North-country spiders, part of my “Wet Flies 101” presentation

Image

Thanks to the Compleat Angler for hosting “Small Stream Flies”

No shaky hands. (Last year there were so many people at my wet fly demo — I had never tied before such a crowd — that my hands were shaking for the first couple hours. I am pleased to report that we’re past that.) But plenty of hand shaking. Thanks to everyone who came out to watch, ask questions, and chat. And thanks the Compleat Angler for hosting me. If you’re anywhere near Fairfield County, the Compleat Angler is a terrific fly shop. Lots of good stuff.

Two of the flies I tied, the bead head Grey Hackle Peacock and the Improved Sofa Pillow.

ImageC

The Crazy Menhaden Big Eelie Variant

It happens, if you’re lucky, once a season. It does not define you as angler. It makes no promise of future success. Like all glory, it is fleeting. But oh, does it make you feel like the king of the world. It is the moment after a wildly successful session when someone breathlessly approaches you with the words, “Excuse me, I’ve got to ask. What fly were you using?”

The first time I fished the Crazy Menhaden Big Eelie was a humid, overcast June night on Block Island. A substantial school of bass in the ten-to-fifteen pound range was feeding on sand eels near the surface. They had the bait pinned in a three-foot deep trough between the beach and a sand bar that dropped off into deeper water. For the better part of three hours, I took bass after well-fed, rotund bass. They relished the fly, even after it was reduced to two saddles and some frayed bucktail. As I began the walk to my Jeep, the angler to my right hurriedly reeled in his line and chased me down the beach, eager to pop the question.

Image

As its name suggests, this fly takes the color scheme of Ken Abrames’ Crazy Menhaden and applies it to the template of the Big Eelie. Together, they create an insanely potent brew of form and function.

Hook: Eagle Claw 253 3/0
Thread: Tan
Platform: Orange and yellow bucktail, 30 total hairs, mixed
Tail: (All saddles pencil thin) Pink saddle, under two strands each of red and copper flash, under yellow saddle, under chartreuse saddle, under blue saddle
Body: Gold braid
Collar: 2-3 turns ginger marabou, tied in by the tip

Tying notes: As with all Big Eelies, make the saddles thin. Tie them in flat. I like this fly about four and one-half inches long. Treat the marabou as a veil, not an opaque blob.

Crazy Menhaden Big Eelie Rogues’ Gallery:

(Please forgive the fish-unfriendly photo. This was the only striper I beached to shoot. I lipped the rest).

SatBIBass