Blonde Goddess | www.riverkeeperflies.com

Mike Jacobs’ Blonde Goddess

This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Mike Jacobs’ Blonde Goddess. I learned about this fly from a customer asking if I could tie the fly for him. He planned to fish for rainbow trout in the 14 to 24 inch range on a local river and thought this fly might work. Jacobs originally tied…

Zelon Midge | www.johnkreft.com

Craig Mathew’s Zelon Midge

This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Craig Mathew’s Zelon Midge. I found this fly first listed in John Juracek and Craig Mathews Fishing Yellowstone Hatches (1992). I’m quite certain it’s much older than that. The fly imitates an emerging midge caught in its shuck. Craig swears by this fly! The image below are some…

Galloup's Compara Spinner in Fly Box | www.johnkreft.com

My Top Twelve Dry Flies

I’m in a period of transition from fishing a lot to the fly tying vise. It’s a few days earlier than most years. I say someone throws the weather switch on November 1 and dry fly fishing changes dramatically. This year, the weather changed in two days and daytime highs of mid-70’s have been replaced…

Sheweys Spawning Purple | www.johnkreft.com

John Shewey’s Spawning Purple Steelhead Fly

This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is John Shewey’s Spawning Purple Steelhead fly. I recently finished tying an order of a half dozen Shewey’s Spawning Purple steelhead flies. Shewey created this fly in the mid-1980’s and tells the story of creating this variant of Dave McNeese’s Spawning Purple. McNeese’s version utilized a tail of orange-dyed…

Thorax Dun | www.riverkeeperflies.com

Thorax Dun

This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Thorax Dun. I found this fly while paging through Vince Marinaro’s book In the Ring of the Rise (1976). Vincent Marinaro (1911-1986) was born in Reynoldsville, PA. He started fly fishing during his high school years in the area’s local waters. In later years, he lived in…

Silver Admiral Pin Fly | www.riverkeeperflies.com

Silver Admiral Steelhead Fly

This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Silver Admiral steelhead fly. I tied this pin recently for my wife as she left to lead a Casting for Recovery retreat. I thought it appropriate to highlight this Polly Rosborough fly as the first TBT fly in October to bring recognition to breast cancer awareness month….

Green-Butt Black | www.riverkeeperflies.com

Lingren’s Green-Butt Black Steelhead Fly

This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Art Lingren’s Green-Butt Black steelhead fly. Here is another steelhead fly pattern I found in John Shewey’s Classic Steelhead Flies on page 90. Lingren developed this fly around 1983. He is well-known in the steelhead community and knowledgeable about British Columbia fly fishing, which is his home. The link…

Van Sant Steelhead Fly | www.riverkeeperflies.com

Van Sant Steelhead Fly

This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Van Sant Steelhead Fly. The fly pattern is found in John Shewey’s Classic Steelhead Flies, page 178. Shewey attributes this steelhead fly to Josh Van Sant, Jr. (1861-1950) of Eureka, CA. The fly is remeniscent of popular trout wet flies of the early to mid-1900s, namely those…

Whiting Hackle | www.riverkeeperflies.com

Feathers, Feathers, Feathers

Yes, I have a problem…feathers, feathers, feathers! I’ve been known to say you can never have enough feathers, but even I must admit my collection has grown substantially over the years. And I might have added to it this summer during our time on the Madison River, MT. No, I didn’t buy all these a…