Fly patterns

Spring time on the Bitterroot is always an exciting time of the year. We start
with the long awaited Skwala activity after winter and then are treated to Baetis, March Browns and Gray Drakes as spring sets in. We're fortunate in the Bitterroot to have such a diverse bug population and even more privileged to have such terrific hatches to fill the gap between Skwalas and the summer bugs.

This unique pattern has worked well for me over the years and effectively
imitates any mayfly adult by simply changing color and size. It's tied in the style of Rich Christian's GT Dun series that replicates both adult and emergent stages. This is made possible with the Gamakatsu C12U curved shank hook and unique tail placement. When fishing this bug keep floatant off of the abdomen and shuck - this is important to insure the emergent stage is replicated properly. Good tying and good fishing!

Hook: Gamakatsu C12U caddis hook,
Size 10 - 14
Thread: 6/0 Tan Unithread
Shuck: Brown Zelon
Abdomen: Tan goose or turkey biot
Tails: Tan Microfibetts, split
Wing: White polypropylene yarn, parachute style
Thorax: Tan superfine dubbing
Hackle: Brown
Head: Tying thread

By now fishing is going full steam and the cold, snowy winter quietly fades from memory. The early spring Skwala hatch was a wonderful way to break the ice, so to speak, into our 2010 season and. with a mild runoff. we’re already seeing some early summer bugs as are the trout. The large bugs this time of year are a pleasure to fish and tie and the size 22, 6x fall season can take its sweet time getting here.

Among these early summer hatches we’re fortunate to have a good Green Drake population in the Bitterroot. There’s no doubt that imitating the adult, high floating dun is most popular but don’t forget the emergent stage. The bugs are very vulnerable during this moment of hesitation prior to full emergence and, no surprise, the trout know this as well. So, here’s a pattern that’s worked well for me over the years that’s simple to tie and effective. I fish it on its own (hard to see) and as a dropper using a dun or other high floating bug as an indicator (easy to see). Give it a try and I’m sure it’ll become part of your late spring arsenal. Good tying and good fishing.

Hook: #12 dry fly

Thread: 6/0 Olive

Trailing shuck: Zelon, brown

Ribbing: 3/0 yellow thread

Abdomen: Superfine, light olive

Wing Pad: Black foam, doubled back
to form pad

Legs: 3 turns of grizzly hackle dyed bright yellow, trimmed flat on the bottom.

Here in Montana most fly-fishing attention focuses on our world-class rivers. Often overlooked are the outstanding stillwaters within a two-hour or so drive of the Bitterroot Valley such as Georgetown Lake, Browns Lake or Clark Canyon Reservoir. Somewhat further are the outstanding lakes on the Blackfooot Reservation near Browing and those near Yellowstone such as Hebgen, Quake, Cliff and Wade lakes. In all of these stillwaters, leeches are an important trout food especially early in the spring and in the fall.

The Monroe leech was developed by Mike Monroe, a northern California fly fishing guide and falls into the category of micro leeches now popular in the famous lakes of British Columbia. These are small leeches tied on a size 10 hook or smaller as opposed to the 2-4 inch long leeches often used for steelhead. The tapered marabou body and tail of the Monroe leech provides lots of movement simulating the undulating movement and profile of a leech. The classic way of fishing them is near the bottom or just above the weeds with an intermediate sinking line. Use a hand-twist retrieve that moves the fly 4-6 inches with a pause in between. However, they can also be fished right off the bottom under an indicator with a chronomid pattern as a dropper fly. After allowing the flies to sink for a minute or two, retrieve with a very slow hand twist with frequent pauses. A little wave action is helpful. I have not tried this technique myself but it is reported to be a very effective in British Columbia.

Hook: Tiemco 200R, size 12.
Thread: Black
Tail: 10-15 marabou barbs pinched off to 1/2-5/8 inch length. Optionally, add one strand of crystal flash or similar narrow flash of contrasting color to each side.
Body: 8-10 marabou barbs tied in at back
and wound forward to form a body tapering
from tail to head. It takes some practice to
avoid trapping too many of the barbules and
to have enough to wrap all the way to the
head space. High quality marabou with long
barbs is important.
Ribbing: wire of a similar color to the flash,
or just plain copper.
Head: thread, small and tapered.

The most effective colors are black, dark brown (like above) and maroon.

The Bow Tie Buzzer is one of my favorite and most effective stillwater chironomid patterns , originally conceived by Rick Takahashi (MODERN MIDGES, 2009, Stackpole Books). His pattern imitates a stillwater midge pupa. It’s simple to tie and is effective because it is thin and sinks quickly.

I tie it in black, olive, red and brown.
Black is by far the most effective color
and I typically start with a size 14 or 16
and then change size and color based
on stomach samples from the first few fish.
The finished fly should be coated with two
coats of Loon Knot Sense or Sally
Hansen’s Hard as Nails. The gills are an
important component of the fly and the strand
of Oral B Ultra Floss should be tied in perpendicular
to the hook eye and then trimmed to size.

I find the fly most effective when fished with a floating line and strike indicator. Using a dead slow inch-at-a-time retrieve begin one foot off the bottom in the am and move the fly higher in the water column as the hatch progresses towards the surface. Try pairing the Bow Tie Buzzer with a bloodworm in the spring or a damsel or callibaetis nymph in the summer/fall.

Hook –Tiemco3761 or 2488
Thread-Black 70 or 140 denier UTC
Abdomen-Tying thread
Rib-Silver Flashabou Holographic tinsel
Wing buds-Brown biot
Wing case-Mirage tinsel
Gills-Oral B Ultra Floss

There is a funny story behind this Fly and here is how it goes. One day this last summer Rich Morrisey and I were floating from High Banks to Darby. We stopped to do some wade fishing at one of our favorite spots. There was a nice fish working in a little pocket across river. The problem was it was a long cast with heavy current in front of the pocket. I could only get a half second drag free drift before the current caught my line. Try as I might, I could not get the fish to take.

There was a call above the entrance to the hole requesting permission to come through. It was Eddie Olwell with some clients . I told Eddie to have his client place his fly in the little packet and he would take a nice fish. The client did as he was instructed and hooked up with a pretty 16 inch Cut. Eddie was so happy after landing the fish he
pulled into shore, got out and came over and
gave me a high five. He also gave me this fly.
The thing that is different about this fly is the
Wonder Wrap Ribbing. Try it, I think you will like it.

Hook: Dai Riki # 730 size 12
Thread: Uni-thread # 8/0 Rust Brown
Tail: Light Deer Hair
Post: White Calf Hair ( must be straight )
Abdomen: Brindle Dubbing
Ribbing: Wonder Wrap Copper
Wing: Brindle Hackle ( tied in parachute style )

While visiting Yellowstone National Park last September, Jean and I decided to have a picnic lunch on the Firehole near Biscuit Basin, a spot providing a fabulous view and access to geothermal activity and yes, decent fly-fishing. After a nice stroll along bubbling paint pots and steaming vents I noticed a very senior fly fisher obviously tuned into a good hatch verified by his busy landing net. From a distance I admired the beautiful loops generated by his graceful casting stoke and of course the nice trout that came up to his fly.

I was dying to know his secret and anticipated a discussion on his use of a finicky pattern replicating a bug’s precise lifecycle since the Firehole is known for its "PHD" fish. Perhaps a size 17 Nectophysche with exactly 4 legs, two antennae perfectly placed and a shimmering trailing shuck? Nope, he was using a #14 Royal Trude! So much for the famed PHD mystique. I’m sure this fellow’s superior presentation techniques with his beautiful cane rod and silk line had something to do with his success, but a Royal Trude – are you kidding me? A quick check of my fly box turned up a scraggly #8 Royal Wulff but no Trude. I promptly tied up a half dozen in the camper giving 3 to my new friend. We exchanged email addresses and parted company with a promise to stay in touch.

His spot was getting crowded so an upstream move yielded some nice water to try my freshly tied Trudes. 3 casts later I netted a nice 14 inch brown followed with several rainbows and a 16" cutthroat over the next hour. All of this happened in the midst of a good mahogany hatch – these fish preferred this colorful attractor over the naturals! A Royal Trude now has a permanent place in my fly box.

There aren’t too many tricks to tying up this bug except that, as always, proper proportions are paramount to its success. If you can’t find golden pheasant tippet for the tailing you can use calf tail or brown hackle barbs instead. All the remaining materials and techniques are pretty straight forward.

Good luck and have fun tying!

Menu:
Hook - #12 – 16 standard dry fly hook
Thread - 6/0 Unithread, black
Tail - Golden Pheasant tippet fibers
Abdomen - Peacock herl
Waist banding - Red floss
Wing - White calf body hair or calf tail
Hackle - Coachman brown