Purple Haze

[JerryCoviello]

Here is a fly recommended by Dandy Reiner of Hatch Finders Fly Shop in Livingston MT for fishing on the Yellowstone River.

http://www.flytyingtips.com/video/Purple_Haze.html

 

[afishinado]

There are other flies with the same name, but the "Purple Haze" outwest is basically a purple bodied adams. I shook my head and laughed until went out there and fished the Yellowstone and Madison....it was the only fly that caught risers consistently for me.

When in Rome (or when in Livingston in this case) do as the Livingstonians do...give it a try.

Thanks Jerry.

(I've moved this thread to the Fly Tying Forum)

 

[JerryCoviello]

Funny you should mention about other flies with the same name.

You do a search and the western part of the US has the Purple Haze as a Purple Parachute Dry Fly.

Orvis has it in the fly section as an emerger pattern BUT here is what gets me. They have the video from Tightlines on their website as the Purple Parachute Dry Fly which was publish on their site long before the sale of the emerger pattern.

http://howtoflyfish.orvis.com/fly-tying-videos/dry-flies/712-purple-haze

And I do agree the Purple Haze is a modified purple Parachute Adams.

Franken Fly has a small writeup of the history
http://www.frankenfly.com/purple-haze/

Meanwhile I hear it has to do with the body being purple which is closer to the Ultra Violet spectrum.

I'll give it a try since I tied a few dozen for my trip in August on the Yellowstone River

 

[chromid]

This fly has been a staple for my last three trips to the Yellowstone and the Madison.

I tie them in 14's and 16's as dries, but have also had really good results tying a parachute emerger variation substituting zelon for the moose hair.

My last trip this was my number 1 fly on the Madison.

I am heading out again this year in August as well and my boxes will have significant numbers of these flies!

 

[JerryCoviello]

chromid

I will be out in Livingston the first week of August for the International Fly Fishing Fair.

 

[chromid]

I will be out there the last 2 weeks of August....

 

[JeffK]

A purple fly with roots to PA is a parachute purple Patriot. Tie a Patriot with purple thread, purple flash, and dun hackle and tail. Works well in sizes 16 and 14 for darker mayflies, especially olives.

Story is a PA angler fishing the Ausable in Michigan had great luck with the Patriot. Unfortunately, he ran out and went to Gates Lodge to get more tied up - and the Patriot was introduced to Michigan. Later a purple version was tied for the olive hatch and it became a staple out there. I have used it from Montana to Maine with good results.

 

[JerryCoviello]

If my memory is correct, Charlie Meck wrote about the Patriot.

 

[JeffK]

Yup, Patriot is a Charlie Meck fly with PA roots. It's a pretty good attractor and has a fan base as the dry in dry dropper rigs. Don't see it as much now as 20 years ago. The purple version is a good variant to have.