• Darling

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Darling…another fly pattern from Ray Bergman’s book Trout. I looked out the window this morning while tying the Darling and saw this flock of turkeys! Coincidence? The wing is TURKEY! Darling Body: Black dubbing Tip: Orange floss Tail: Golden pheasant crest Hackle: Furnace brown Wing: Brown Turkey Tied…

  • Bostwick

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Bostwick, one of the wet flies Ray Bergman cataloged in his book entitled Trout, first published in 1938. The Bostwick is from Plate No. 1 and one of only a few flies where the hackle was palmered through the body. Bostwick on Wood Duck How did I choose…

  • Janssens Damsel Nymph

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Janssens Damsel Nymph. I selected the fly because it incorporated a small piece of turkey in the wingcase…very appropriate for a Thanksgiving Day post! This is the creation of Hal Janssen, another talented California fly fisher. He is a noted writer, artist, lecturer, and video personality. I’ve read that…

  • Green Ant

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Green Ant. I was doing a little research to determine which flies to tie for a fly plate the Central Oregon Fly Tyer’s Guild is making for the 2016 NW Fly Tyer & Fly Fishing Expo. The plate’s theme is flies for the major steelhead rivers in Oregon….

  • Olive Thorax

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Olive Thorax mayfly, tied here in size 18. This fly pattern is one of several I found in Randall Kaufmann’s Tying Dry Flies book that I tied and fished in the 1990’s. The Olive Thorax mayfly imitates a Baetis or Blue Wing Olive. Dry Flies helped introduce me to aquatic…

  • Dennys Stillwater Nymph

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Dennys Stillwater Nymph. As I thought about which fly to choose for a TBT Fly, this one came to mind. It seems appropriate as I’ve recently posted pictures on my RiverKeeper Flies Facebook page and the fly was front and center in this week’s Fly Fishing at Diamond Lake…

  • WD-40

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the WD-40. The WD-40 was developed by Mark Engler for the Frying Pan River in Colorado back in 1982. The WD is for Wood Duck, which is used in the tail and wingcase, although I’ve seen the fly tied with Mallard Flank as well. The fly can be used…

  • Brassie

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Brassie.  Here is an old Brassie fly I tied several year’s ago. I tried to tie a size 20 on a size 18 hook. This technique is used when wanting a larger gape for more hooking power, especially in the smaller hook sizes. The fly was attributed to Ken…

  • Orange Comet

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Orange Comet, a steelhead and salmon fly. I’m heading out salmon fishing and decided to tie up a few Comets and found reports that the Chartreuse Comet is a great tide water fly pattern. I’ve read where the Orange Comet works well in clear water and the…

  • LaFontaine Diving Caddis

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the LaFontaine Diving Caddis. If you’re a frequent visitor to RiverKeeper Flies, you might recognize a theme of several LaFontaine Caddisflies, including the LaFontaine Deep Sparkle Pupa and the LaFontaine Emergent Pupa. Brown & Green Diving Caddis In the past week or so, we’ve been fishing later and…