• Schroeder’s Parachute Caddis

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Ed Schroeder’s Parachute Caddis. I found this fly while searching for a fly for this week’s post. I pulled out Randall Kaufmann’s Tying Dry Flies (1991). I probably tried tying it in the mid-1990’s, but that’s so long ago, I don’t remember. I read somewhere that Schroeder tied…

  • Checking My Fly Box

    I finally got around to checking my fly box to see if I need to tie a few March Brown mayfly imitations. I hope to fish them later this week on a favorite river. I know, it’s not March, but April is when they hatch on this water. I checked the Fly Imitations for Spring…

  • Royal Stimulator TBT

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Royal Stimulator TBT. The Royal Stimulator is a fly I tied recently for a customer and thought is would be a good candidate for a TBT post. I checked Randall Kaufmann’s Tying Dry Flies (1991) to see if the fly was listed. The fly pattern at the…

  • Jumbo Flies

    I’ve been tying flies for customer orders and thought I’d share a few flies I’ve been working on. A recent customer asked if I could tie some jumbo flies for his grayling fishing. I was intrigued. The image above includes a “normal” size 14 soft hackle for comparison. I’ve used two feathers on each of…

  • Overton Wax

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday post is about Overton wax. If you aren’t a fly tyer, you might be wondering why I chose this item. I attended a Zoom fly tying class last week taught by my friends Gretchen and Al Beatty. Many of the flies they demonstrate utilize touch-dubbing, which they learned from Gary…

  • Practice Tying Your Knots

    Did you practice tying your knots this winter? No, I didn’t either. I’ve been fishing a little and tying knots as usual when I change flies. But I did have to stop and think the first time I hit the water this year. Lucky for me, my muscle memory took over and I tied a…

  • Green Drake Hatchmaster

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is a Green Drake Hatchmaster. This fly pattern was developed in the 1930s. I’m fairly sure the first one didn’t imitate a Green Drake like the fly I tied above. I’ve been working on another RiverKeeper Flies instructional video for my YouTube channel and thought I’d highlight the Hatchmaster…

  • Tying Pheasant Tail Perdigons

    This week’s post is about tying Pheasant Tail Perdigons. In addition, I’ll offer some detailed information about hooks as well as a heads up about fly shop inventories. Let me begin with fly shop inventories. I stopped by my local fly shop yesterday, The Fly Fisher’s Place here in Sister, OR and talked with Jeff…

  • Clark’s Stonefly

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Lee Clark’s Stonefly. Lee Clark developed this wing-style body dressing, which “refers to flies in which the yarn is combed and tied atop the hook shank in a downwing fashion but actually serves as the body.” Fly tying with Poly Yarn – (2000) Lee was a high school…

  • Very Small Flies

    I finished a few small flies for two different customers recently. I’m always amazed how the stars seem to align. Turns out, both orders included some very small flies. I remember several years ago stating “if I need any flies size 20 or smaller, I’ll buy them!” Well, I’m having to eat those words right…