This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the LaFontaine Sparkle Pupa, developed by Gary LaFontaine. Caddisflies was first published in 1981. It was a classic as soon as it was written. Before his book came out, most the talk in fly fishing was about Mayflies. Caddisflies changed everything. Gary spent many years researching caddis. In fact, it took…
Have you ever heard the term “foam is home”? Here is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. The main current is flowing towards us in the top of the picture and this eddy is capturing bubbles created by the river. And with insects in the drift, this is a natural conveyor belt of…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Birds Nest, another one of Cal Bird’s inventions. The history for the Birds Nest is a little mixed up for me. I found three versions: It was created in the early 1980’s and was first fished on the Owens River in California. The fly was created in 1959…
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…
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…
