Fall flies

[Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah]

Yup, that's exactly the spot this guy was telling me where it produced back in the day. Fishing by the rock wall /gazebo. In years past the Fly guys would pick up gravel, toss it in, then cast the fly and the trout would take it. Don't know how true that is. But that what i was told this week. It just makes me laugh that people would do that kind of thing to catch stocked trout.

 

[JohnnyUtah]

why is the coffee bean fly frowned upon so much?? No thread involved?? Would it make people feel better if the bean was tied onto the hook instead of glued?????

I have witnessed the gravel trick. I have also witnessed people purchasing the trout pellets and soaking them and smearing the paste all over there flies. Sad to have to resort to that considering how easy those fish are to catch.....fish in a barrel....

 

[JohnnyUtah]

dryflyguy wrote-
Glad to hear they caught a few for you. In low clear streams, smaller sizes seem to work better. I tie them down to #20

#20 crowes are killer, nice to see someone else who goes micro on the crowe!

 

[dryflyguy]

JohnnyUtah wrote:

dryflyguy wrote-
Glad to hear they caught a few for you. In low clear streams, smaller sizes seem to work better. I tie them down to #20

#20 crowes are killer, nice to see someone else who goes micro on the crowe!

I remember reading an article in MAFF years ago, by Mike OBrien I believe
He talked about fishing to small bugs that he called willow beetles at fishermans paradise. They were a size 20, and I guess they lived in the numerous willow trees along the streams there.
So, I tied some up crowe style.
And they have caught quite a few fish for me, that have refused everything else

 

[JohnnyUtah]

Fishing the willow beetle is equivalent to fishing a carpenter ant when swamp maples and sycamores line the banks. Hatch matching terrestrials can get you some really nice selective resident trout.

Have you ever given a small jassid a shot?? They are highly effective as well.

 

[gaeronf]

Could someone post up some pics of these willow beetles and crowes? I tried google, but it did not yield fruitful.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Your Google is broken. ;-)

Try this.

I see people using dubbing on the underbody, but I've always just used the lashed down deer hair for that.....

 

[dryflyguy]

I originally tied my crowe beetles with just the black deer hair - as I was shown in my fly tying class.
Then I ran into a fellow astream who tied his with peacock herl underbody - as shown in HA's link.
I liked the look of that better, and started tying mine that way too.

Never tried a jassid.

 

[JohnnyUtah]

Try a jassid, you will be quite happy with it, I'm sure.

 

[RowJimmy]

I tie my Crowe beetles with black poly instead of deer because the poly seems to allow the fly to sit lower in film. Seems to work pretty well.

 

[JohnnyUtah]

RowJimmy wrote

I tie my Crowe beetles with black poly instead of deer because the poly seems to allow the fly to sit lower in film. Seems to work pretty well.

Will have to give this a go. Although i dont think we can say Crowe beetle here. I think we should maybe call this tie the Row Jimmy beetle. or perhaps the row beetle, maybe jimmy beetle.

Do you splay the yarn out for the shell??? How thick is the poly yarn shell????

 

[dryflyguy]

I've tied poly beetles.
And while they're certainly more durable than crowe beetles, there's just something about the look of deer hair that I still like better. And that nice little plop when they land in the water

 

[PaulG]

I agree that the crowe beetle doesn't hold up as well as others but it's still my go to pattern. For me it just works better, and like Bill, I like that plop. Although I didn't get to fish much this year, my Beetle fishing was slow. I didn't do well on Spring creek with beetles, which is differnt form other years.

PaulG

 

[Maurice]

tying them with Poly is nothing new. I learned that fly 25 years ago. If you do tie some, try putting a strip of Yellow up the back for visibility.

But it doesn't compare to the Deer Hair Crow...or better yet Bear hair.

The brittleness of the hair makes awesome legs when scrunched. Not duplicated with the poly. And I tie mine with a peacock underbody too.

 

[dryflyguy]

Never tied with bear hair - in fact, I can't remember ever seeing it in any fly shops.
But I'll have to keep my eyes open for it.
Always looking for a way to make crowe beetles more durable