St Joe Special TBT

This week’s Throw Back Thursday fly is the St Joe Special TBT.

St Joe Special showing wings | www.johnkreft.com

I first found this fly at the Idaho Fly Fishing Company in Avery, ID during our fly fishing trip to the St. Joe River in Idaho. I always enjoy going into local fly shops to see the flies which work for their waters.

Fast forward to today and this fly has come back to me. I received a fly order for some flies I thought might work for the St. Joe River. This fly popped back from my memory and I decided to tie up a dozen for my customer.

I think it’s a cool looking fly and I enjoyed tying them.

I remembered seeing the St. Joe Special in an older Northwest Fly Fishing magazine and it included the fly pattern. I’ve since added the fly pattern sheet and hope to have a new Attractor Fly Pattern page in the near future.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the history of this fly. If you know something, please provide a Comment below.

Enjoy…go fish!

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One Comment

  1. Hi John,
    That pattern is a real “killer” on those north Idaho rivers. It was a “go-to” fly when I lived in that part of the world. Another great choice is the Lochsa Special. It has the same tail, lime green body, brown hackle, calf or hackle point wings. It is named for the Lochsa River that is just over the mountain from the Saint Joe River. Another great river in that part of the world is the Coeur’d Alene River. Take care & …
    Tight Lines – (Gretchen &) Al Beatty

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