What Are You Tying Today?

A pattern called the Pick Pocket shared many years ago by Mike O’Brien in the April 1995 issue of the Mid Atlantic Fly Fishing Guide. It’s a version of the Picket Pin that I have tied and fished for decades and have just flat out caught a lot of fish on it. It’s tough to argue against the effectiveness of the combination of peacock herl and grizzly hackle but this fly also has a unique flair of its own. This one is tied on a size 10 hook. I love fishing and swinging this fly in traditional wet fly fashion and it has become one of my “go to” flies for native brookies tied on a size 12 hook.

The Mid Atlantic Fly Fishing Guide was a great publication back in the day and I’m glad I still have my collection of back issues of the magazine. I enjoy looking back through them occasionally and rereading articles by some of the great contributing writers over the years as well as the great artwork provided by the contributing artists including an era by our own Dave W.


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dc410 said:
A pattern called the Pick Pocket shared many years ago by Mike O’Brien in the April 1995 issue of the Mid Atlantic Fly Fishing Guide. It’s a version of the Picket Pin that I have tied and fished for decades and have just flat out caught a lot of fish on it. It’s tough to argue against the effectiveness of the combination of peacock herl and grizzly hackle but this fly also has a unique flair of its own. This one is tied on a size 10 hook. I love fishing and swinging this fly in traditional wet fly fashion and it has become one of my “go to” flies for native brookies tied on a size 12 hook.

The Mid Atlantic Fly Fishing Guide was a great publication back in the day and I’m glad I still have my collection of back issues of the magazine. I enjoy looking back through them occasionally and rereading articles by some of the great contributing writers over the years as well as the great artwork provided by the contributing artists including an era by our own Dave W.


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Very nicely tied fly, John. Like you, I’ve been tying a variation of the Picket Pin for years, and they flat out work.

I remember taking my grandson, Alex, to fish the Gallatin River one evening a number of years ago. He was probably about 10 years old at the time. We were just below a bridge near Big Sky, MT, and I had put a Picket Pin on his line, and there was another fisherman just across the river from us. After Alex caught several nice trout, one right after the other, he looked at me and asked “Why am I catching all those trout, Grandpa, and that other guy isn’t catching any?” “It’s because you must be a better fisherman, Alex,” I replied. 😉
 
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The Enticer

Hook - 6xl streamer
Thread - Black
Tag - Gold tinsel
Ribbing - Gold tinsel
Body - Red wool yarn
Throat - Brown hackle fibers
Wing - Black over white bucktail

Designed by Ed Muzeroll

Tying Classic Freshwater Streamers - David Klausmeier
 
JimNovo said:
Reproducing a technique I just saw in a Tim Flagler video….but with a biot abdomen.

EP wing and tail.

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Looks great. I was using a similar pattern last Spring with a couple wraps of hackle (trimmed top and bottom) as legs. Very effective.
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Barnes Special

Hook - Gaelic Supreme Mike Martinek Rangeley Streamer hook 8x, size 2 or equivalent
Thread - Red
Tail - 2 short jungle **** body feathers
Body - Silver flat tinsel
Rib - Silver oval tinsel
Underwing - A small bunch of red bucktail over which is a very small bunch of white bucktail
Wing - 2 yellow hackles flanked by grizzly hackle
Collar - Several turns of white hackle (tied on after wing)

Originated by Dr. C. Lowell Barnes

The Barnes Special is an adaptation from a streamer called the Hurricane (aka the Wonder) created by Fred Fowler. The Barnes Special includes a yellow hackle in the wing, a change from a peacock sword throat to a wrapped white hackle and a change of head color from the Hurricane, from black to red. Mr. Barnes was a guide in the Sebago Lake area and was known to examine the stomach contents of his catches. The Barnes Special is one of the most popular Eastern streamers and is credited with the capture of thousands of salmon. It is said to be particularly effective when trolled in the spring.

Streamers 365 Vol 2 - Darren MacEachern
 
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Canary

Hook - Partridge CS15 #2
Thread - White flat waxed nylon
Tag - Silver flat tinsel
Tail - Black hackle fibers
Body - Silver flat tinsel
Belly - Yellow bucktail
Throat - Yellow hackle fibers
Wing - 4 yellow hackles
Eye - Jungle **** nail
Head - Black (with orange band)

The Canary is another example of a simple Carrie Stevens streamer pattern. There also exists a Canary Custom pattern which loses the tail and substitutes the all silver body with an orange floss body ribbed with silver tinsel. This is a simple streamer to tie as these things go, and the only thing to keep an eye on is the tail. Tying the tail can cause a bit of a bump in the body, but by adding a bit extra material along the top of the hook shank, this will keep the underbody uniform along the length of the shank.

Streamers 365 Vol 2 - Darren MacEachern
 
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Artula

Hook - Partridge CS15
Thread - White under floss body
Tag - Silver tinsel
Body - Orange floss
Rib - Silver tinsel, reverse wrap
Belly - White bucktail
Throat - Brown hackle fibers
Wing - 4 green hackles flanked on each side by 1 black hackle
Cheek - Jungle **** nail
Head - Black with orange band

Originated by Carrie Stevens

Carrie G Stevens - Hilyard
 
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Mershon

Hook - Wet fly
Thread - Black
Tail - Black hackle
Body - Black floss
Hackle - Black
Wing - Dark blue, white tip

Trout - Ray Bergman
 
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