Where do you tie flies? If you are like me, you might have had a variety of fly tying stations over the years. I thought I’d share my journey and give you a peak at the latest iteration of my fly tying room. The image above is several years old and shows the portable fly…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Ray Bergman’s Winters wet fly. It’s been a while since I featured a classic Ray Bergman fly. Bergman’s Winters is a very simple wet fly that is listed on Plate No.9, page 254 of Bergman’s Trout (1940 – fourth printing). As I’ve mentioned many times, I enjoy highlighting a Bergman…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Denny Rickards Stillwater Bug. If you are a stillwater fly fisher and live in Oregon, you know who Denny Rickards is. If not, you should! I picked up this fly from Denny’s booth at a NW Fly Tyer and Fly Fishing Expo a few years ago in Albany,…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Dave Whitlock’s Red Fox Squirrel-Hair Nymph. Dave Whitlock (1934-2022) passed away in November 2022. I decided to feature one of his flies as a way to honor his memory. I thought about this fly, but didn’t have the right dubbing to tie it. A good friend sent me…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday fly is Taylor’s Fat Albert. The fly was created by Brent Taylor in 2001. Brent guides in the Dillon, MT area and Chile, which is where the fly was initially used to imitate Cantaria beetle. I recall being introduced to a black/red version on a trip to Chile in 2005….
This week’s Throw Back Thursday fly is Charlie Card’s Cicada. I recently tied a few of these flies for a customer, which is why I’m posting this fly today. I wanted to know who was behind Card’s Cicada. Charlie Card is a well-known guide on Utah’s Green River, which is where this Cicada fly pattern…
I finished a fly order recently for a customer which included a couple of fly patterns utilizing foam and it made me think about tying and fishing foam flies. Most of the foam patterns I tie are used to imitate terrestrials or stoneflies. A new-to-me fly is this Card’s Cicada. It’s a variant as I…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Denny Rickards Shiner Minnow. Denny offers these flies in different colors, including Golden, Silver, Olive, Blue Back, Rainbow, and Yellow. I purchased this fly a few years ago at his booth during the NW Fly Tyer and Fly Fishing Expo in Albany, OR. Here’s what Denny writes about…
I’ve been prospecting with my dry flies recently and don’t have much to show for my time on the water. I fished last week and noticed small mayflies, probably size 20 – 22 Blue Wing Olives, floating downstream. A couple of fish rose sporadically. But drifting a fly over them didn’t produce even a look….
Have you ever heard the term “variant”? It’s used a lot in fly tying and has multiple meanings. Originally, a variant used to be a fly style, similar to traditional dry flies, but the fly was supported by longer hackles and tails. Another definition is a significant variation of another fly pattern. I think in…
