What Are You Tying Today?

[nfrechet]

Boilermaker

Andrew Grillos

Hook - Single salmon
Thread - Black
Tip - Oval silver tinsel
Tail - Golden pheasant tippets
Butt - Chartreuse yarn
Back - Black foam strip
Ribbing - Oval silver tinsel
Body - Black yarn or dubbing (body = 1/2 shank length)
Wing case - Black foam strip
Hackle - Black or brown
Thorax - Black wool or dubbing
Head - Black foam from the wing case
Sighter - White foam strip

The Green Butt Skunk is arguably the most common and recognizable steelhead fly ever created. The Boilermaker is basically a foam Green Butt Skunk waking fly for steelhead. This fly is named The Boilermaker because when you’re skating flies for steelhead, you’re hoping for a fish to boil on your fly. This guy is easy to cast and pushes a nice little V wake.

 

[lars]

so not truly a fly per se, but it is spun deer hair and bucktail tied on a partridge hook...

a birthday present for a lady i know to hang from her rear view mirror in her vehicle.

here comes the Sun...

 

[Mwo10mwo]

Working on some dry fly caddis sized 16. For whatever reason this fly is my kryptonite!

 

[tomgamber]

like nearly all of us when we start out you are crowding the eye. back it off some and you'll find it much easier. Not sure why, but I still struggle with that at times.

 

[dudemanspecial]

Working on some dry fly caddis sized 16. For whatever reason this fly is my kryptonite!
View attachment 1641239778

If I may give you a piece of advice, you are using too much hair for your wing. You probably only need 1/3 of what you have on there. Also as tomgamber said make it a point to give some space for the hook eye.

 

[MJMFlyfisher]

Working on some dry fly caddis sized 16. For whatever reason this fly is my kryptonite!
View attachment 1641239778

What the other guys said....push that spacing back a bit, a little less hair and also your choice in thread can help your progression and overall tying. When tying hair patterns you need a thread with the strength to be able to bite into that bundle and compress the hair to create a solid hold without breaking or causing unnecessary bulk.
A standard 8/0 uni is a tough thread to learn to tie hair patterns with....at least it was for me because I'm as heavy handed as a gorilla. 6/0 is strong enough but is going to bulk up quickly.
A strong yet thin thread like Semperfli 12/0 nano silk makes both concerns a breeze. Strong enough that you'd probably cut your finger before you broke it and thin enough that you can build those wings and heads without bulk.

 

[Mwo10mwo]

What the other guys said....push that spacing back a bit, a little less hair and also your choice in thread can help your progression and overall tying. When tying hair patterns you need a thread with the strength to be able to bite into that bundle and compress the hair to create a solid hold without breaking or causing unnecessary bulk.
A standard 8/0 uni is a tough thread to learn to tie hair patterns with....at least it was for me because I'm as heavy handed as a gorilla. 6/0 is strong enough but is going to bulk up quickly.
A strong yet thin thread like Semperfli 12/0 nano silk makes both concerns a breeze. Strong enough that you'd probably cut your finger before you broke it and thin enough that you can build those wings and heads without bulk.

Sounds good. I have never tied with semperfli. I have only tied with UTC, Lagartun, and Danville. I will have to try out some semperfli!

 

[FollowTheBlueLines]

Tied up a Half-Pint streamer last night and learned that mallard flank from the fly shop is more than 50% junk/fluff!! The majority of the tying time was spent sorting through feathers.

 

[dc410]

Sounds good. I have never tied with semperfli. I have only tied with UTC, Lagartun, and Danville. I will have to try out some semperfli!

Semperfli Nanosilk is a great product. Very thin but extremely strong. It is a GSP thread. I highly recommend cutting it with a razor blade to get a clean cut off. It is extremely hard on scissors. I’ve been tying with it for several years now and I really like it.

 

[nfrechet]

Nicholas' Green Butt Moose

Hook - Single salmon
Thread - Black
Tail - Moose body hair
Body - Chartreuse mini braid or substitute
Thorax - Black ice dubbing
Wing - Moose body hair
Hackle - Grizzly

Nicholas' Green Butt Moose Steelhead Wet Fly - Uncut Version

 

[MJMFlyfisher]

March Brown / Gray Fox - Nymph

This is a my basic go to nymph for the March Browns. I should probably have waited until I knock out about a dozen before I take a picture LOL....The first couple are a little rough as I get back into the proportions and bigger materials vs the little Baetis nymphs I've been tying. But you'll get the jist.
This is essentially a Dave Rothrock style nymph pattern. And is pretty darn deadly.
In the fly below, I'm just using a different dubbing than he uses. (Dave uses a custom Hareline mix of his own creation)

Hook - Size #10 or #12 2XL nymph (ala Daiichi 1710)
#10s for March Browns, #12 for Gray Fox. I tie more #12 than #10 because it seems to be a good crossover.
Thread - 8/0 Dark Brown Uni
Abdomen and Thorax - Fred Reese's AP Possum Blend - #4 "AP Gray Fox/ March Brown Nymph"
You can see the color is pretty spot on.
Abdomen rib - I use dark brown antron yarn that I spin into a small bundle to make a little rope but this could really be anything to create that dark brown contast.
Legs -Speckled Ginger Hen back feather.
Tails - Pheasant tail, 3 fibers, tied in individually to create that split
Wing case - Wild Turkey tail Flat - I generally like to use a section with a little more brown mottling than what I used here but I already had it tied in and it will fish just fine.
Un-weighted

-These are very brick shaped nymphs from the wing case tie in spot forward, and pretty triangular from there back.
The wing case should also be anchored right at midway on the hook shank. You want a big full wing case or they look a little goofy....especially if you tie in a wing case that is too skinny.
-Make sure the slip of turkey feather that you use for the wing case is a touch wider than what you anticipate the finished thorax to be so it gives you just a touch of wrap down to the legs.
-The legs are tied in in using separate clipped feather slips tied in one just ahead of the other.I like 2 sets on the #12s and 3 on the #10s(I think Dave actually uses 3 on both)
-Tails should be roughly the length of the finished body.
- Pick some gills out between the wraps of ribbing to the wing case tie in spot. Keep the top and bottom trimmed flat and finish with a light brushing out to the sides. Trim any whacky hairs or heavy spots.

And again credit to Jason Neuswanger for his great natural photographs just sitting on google for guys like me to borrow!

 

[nfrechet]

Hopeful Hare

Wooly Worm Variant

Hook - Single salmon
Thread - Orange
Tag - Strand of orange floss
Ribbing - Oval gold tinsel
Body - Dubbed with hare's mask fur
Hackle - Grizzly saddle tied palmer-style

Herman Hellekson originated this pattern in 1952.

Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art - Terry Hellekson

 

[mt_flyfisher]

I had a couple of these flies and fished them through a short run in the river that had a hundred or more large trout stacked up, practically one on top of the other. I caught a couple of them. I could probably have caught some of those trout on just about any fly, but I tied more of those flies in case they actually catch fish. Anyone actually catch fish with this pattern?

I went back to fish that same place a day or two later, and there was a fisherman standing RIGHT ON TOP of where all those fish had been earlier. That fisherman had waded 3/4 of the way across the river, was standing in water almost to the top of their waders, and was casting toward the shore.

I watched that fisherman for nearly an hour, wading across some of the fastest, deepest runs in the river, places that almost no one in their right mind would dare wade across, and with no wading staff either! That was some of the most fearless and skillful wading I’ve ever seen, but the poor fellow never caught a single fish.

After the fellow had had enough, and came back to where I was sitting on the bank, we talked for a minute. I was shocked!😮. That fisherman was a woman!

 

[BruceC2C]

CHILI PEPPER
Credit: Tony Spezio...Tim Cammisa... Marty's Bench

 

[wbranch]

Generic spring nymph

 

[wbranch]

Lively Legz Hendrickson nymph.

 

[hooker-of-men]

Hornberg streamer

 

[bigjohn358]

March Brown / Gray Fox - Nymph

This is a my basic go to nymph for the March Browns. I should probably have waited until I knock out about a dozen before I take a picture LOL....The first couple are a little rough as I get back into the proportions and bigger materials vs the little Baetis nymphs I've been tying. But you'll get the jist.
This is essentially a Dave Rothrock style nymph pattern. And is pretty darn deadly.
In the fly below, I'm just using a different dubbing than he uses. (Dave uses a custom Hareline mix of his own creation)

Hook - Size #10 or #12 2XL nymph (ala Daiichi 1710)
#10s for March Browns, #12 for Gray Fox. I tie more #12 than #10 because it seems to be a good crossover.
Thread - 8/0 Dark Brown Uni
Abdomen and Thorax - Fred Reese's AP Possum Blend - #4 "AP Gray Fox/ March Brown Nymph"
You can see the color is pretty spot on.
Abdomen rib - I use dark brown antron yarn that I spin into a small bundle to make a little rope but this could really be anything to create that dark brown contast.
Legs -Speckled Ginger Hen back feather.
Tails - Pheasant tail, 3 fibers, tied in individually to create that split
Wing case - Wild Turkey tail Flat - I generally like to use a section with a little more brown mottling than what I used here but I already had it tied in and it will fish just fine.
Un-weighted

-These are very brick shaped nymphs from the wing case tie in spot forward, and pretty triangular from there back.
The wing case should also be anchored right at midway on the hook shank. You want a big full wing case or they look a little goofy....especially if you tie in a wing case that is too skinny.
-Make sure the slip of turkey feather that you use for the wing case is a touch wider than what you anticipate the finished thorax to be so it gives you just a touch of wrap down to the legs.
-The legs are tied in in using separate clipped feather slips tied in one just ahead of the other.I like 2 sets on the #12s and 3 on the #10s(I think Dave actually uses 3 on both)
-Tails should be roughly the length of the finished body.
- Pick some gills out between the wraps of ribbing to the wing case tie in spot. Keep the top and bottom trimmed flat and finish with a light brushing out to the sides. Trim any whacky hairs or heavy spots.

And again credit to Jason Neuswanger for his great natural photographs just sitting on google for guys like me to borrow!

View attachment 1641239812
View attachment 1641239811

Thats a beautiful fly! My issue with it is I'd go to tie it on and bust off a tail or two in the process before it even got wet. Thats why I stopped tying tails like that. Look wise though thats perfect!

 

[MJMFlyfisher]

Thats a beautiful fly! My issue with it is I'd go to tie it on and bust off a tail or two in the process before it even got wet. Thats why I stopped tying tails like that. Look wise though thats perfect!

Thanks John! As long as you don't get crazy with the hemostats unhooking fish they stay put pretty good! 😁 Appreciate the kind words.

 

[dudemanspecial]

Thats a beautiful fly! My issue with it is I'd go to tie it on and bust off a tail or two in the process before it even got wet. Thats why I stopped tying tails like that. Look wise though thats perfect!

I agree with you on the tails. The only time I tie tails like that is on spinners and comparaduns. Otherwise its clump style.