Sunday was a beautiful day for a Central Oregon Project Healing Waters Crooked River outing. My wife and I were mentors again to help a few Vets hook up on some fish. We tied a few knots, suggested a fly or two, tweaked the casting stroke for nymph fishing, and offered pointers on how to read…
The Metallic Caddis is this week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly. I found this fly pattern in the mid-90’s from Randall Kaufmann’s Tying Nymphs book. I don’t think I had tied a lot of bead-head nymphs as beads only came to America in the late 1980’s or early 1990’s. Tying Nymphs stated Dennis Black of Umpqua Feather Merchants signed…
When you’re out fishing and are lucky enough to hook a fish, do you reel or strip the line as you play the fish? I reel. There’s no right our wrong answer. Someone may give you a strong opinion, but stick to your guns and pick a strategy which works for you. That’s the beauty of…
The Humpy fly pattern is this week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly. It’s a fast water attractor pattern, which floats well and can be seen a mile away. Some quick Internet research finds the fly was originated by Jack Horner, a Northern Sierra California fly tyer in the 1940’s. The original fly was called the Horner…
Here are a half dozen new fly patterns I learned to tie the last few months during the Winter Fly Tying Classes that look pretty good to me. I’ll give you a caveat…I haven’t fished these, but they sure look fishy and I can’t wait to try them out. Here are a trio of flies Peter Bowers…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly pattern is the Madam X, an attractor dry fly. The original fly used a body of deer hair from the butt ends of the tail with thread spiraled through it. Many variations have been created over the years, including the one above using yellow floss. Fish it to imitate…
Well, I just finished 13 consecutive weeks of managing and coordinating our local fly club’s Winter Fly Tying Classes. While the club was doing this for several years before I joined, I’ve taken over the reigns for the last four years. The rules are pretty simple…be a club member, know the basics of fly tying…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Schroeders Parachute Hopper. Developed in the 1970s by Ed Schroeder of Fresno, California, it was one of the first fly patterns to add the parachute post to increase visibility for the fly fisher. The body stays flush on the surface while the parachute hackle helps with flotation. Most…
I’ve been thinking…how many fly patterns do I really need to successfully fish rivers? Kind of a crazy question coming from a fly tyer, isn’t it? I didn’t say flies…fly patterns. The style of dry flies found in your fly box. Is there a difference? Absolutely! You can never have enough flies!!! But think about…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday fly is the Western Coachman. It can be fished wet or dry. I got the idea for this fly after reading my most recent copy of Northwest Fly Fishing. There was a very nice article called Masters at the Bench by David Johnson, featuring Buz Buszek. Looking through the list…
