• Crossfield

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Crossfield, a strip-winged Atlantic Salmon fly. The Crossfield is the second Atlantic Salmon fly I’ve tied from Poul Jorgensen’s book entitled Salmon Flies – Their Character, Style, and Dressing (1978). The first fly I tied from his book is the Blue Charm. Some quick research finds the…

  • Royal Coachman Dry Fly

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the classic Royal Coachman dry fly. This attractor fly pattern is one that many older fly fishers recognize. It truly is a classic! It was one of many flies I found in a friend’s old fly box. There are many variations to the first Royal Coachman, which was…

  • Blue Charm

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is an old Atlantic Salmon fly, the Blue Charm. It’s a very old fly from the mid-1800s and one of the most famous Simple Strip Winged salmon flies. The fly is attributed to M. Brown. I’ve only tied one other Salmon Fly – the Golden Butterfly. I decided to…

  • Stock Up on Trout Flies

    I’m headed back to the vise this week to stock up on trout flies. I finished my last “plate” fly for the season. It was an Atlantic Salmon fly called the Blue Charm, a “Simple Strip Wing”, my contribution for a Central Oregon Fly Tying Guild fly plate. This plate will be at the NW…

  • Lempke’s Extended Body Green Drake – TBT

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Lempke’s Extended Body Green Drake – TBT. Photo: Courtesy of Sandy Pittendrigh (www.fliesfliesflies.com) Cyril ‘Bing’ Lempke (1917 – 1991) was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota, but moved to Idaho as a youngster. He fished the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River and the Teton River during his teens. It was there…

  • Braided Butt Damsel

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Braided Butt Damsel. I first found this fly in Randall Kaufmann’s book Tying Dry Flies (1991) in the early 1990s. I tied the fly using the instructions from the book and took it to Antone Ranch in Eastern Oregon when it was a pay-to-play lake. I can still remember…

  • Another Wonderful Year

    Once again, RiverKeeper Flies has had another wonderful year! I always use the last week of the year to reflect upon the previous 12 months. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading all the posts as much as I have creating them! Thanks to all who continue to utilize the fly fishing and fly tying resource I’ve created….