For me, one of the most important flies as spring starts rolling around is the stonefly nymph. As the snow melts, my local rivers typically have a higher flow, which makes it difficult to get flies down in the water column. Stonefly nymphs are present in most rivers year-round, and are an excellent vehicle for adding weight to your nymphing rig. I’ll often add wraps of heavy wire to the hook shank of my stonefly nymphs to help them drop…
One fly I’ve been tying up a pile of is caddis larva. I’ve had good success with these patterns this winter, as mentioned here. These insects are fairly common in most rivers and are an easy pattern to tie. I like to tie mine with a #16 or #18 hook, and usually use them as my anchor fly with a trailing midge. My favorite two variations of this nymph are one with cdc, and one with soft hackle. I find…
I’ve always enjoyed tying flies. I like scouring through entomology books, and trying to come up with patterns that might work. It’s a creative outlet for me, as I tend to spend most of my time working on new ideas, toying with a few classic patterns, and testing them all on my local streams. It’s tough to beat the feeling when you have a good idea, and it turns out better than you imagined. As everything in fly fishing, costs…
I’ve been out of commission for the last week and tying a ton of flies. I managed to escape to a river one afternoon last week before being stuck indoors,and landed a couple of browns. I was after the big one that got away, but wasn’t able to connect with it. My goal now is to tie up a second full winter/spring box of flies to make it through the cooler weather and into the summer. Lately, I’m finding that…
I had a fun day on Super Bowl Sunday tight lining on a small stream. The takes were extremely subtle, but once I had figured out a solid pattern, I had four fish on in about 30 minutes. I brought two to the net, and the one that got away will haunt me until I’m able to get back to this river. First brown on this cold February day. When I tight line, I allow the flies to sink/drift and…
One of my favorite dry flies to fish is the Griffith’s Gnat. They’re very easy to tie, and seem to always catch fish. Last Week, I was nymphing and the interest was few and far between. I saw a few rises and midges coming off the water, and decided to tie on a #24 Griffith’s. Surprisingly, I caught a nice size brook trout off the surface. I think the Griffith’s Gnat is so successful because it imitates a cluster of…