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Flies from threads
Hi,
I posted a report of my recent fishing trip in the ?reports? section, but wanted to post a slightly different report here. Basically, I?ve been involved in a number of threads and discussions about various wet flies, and I just wanted to list the patterns that I found effective on this last trip. These results represent only those fish brought to hand by myself, my Dad, and my wife and doesn?t count the numerous hook ups and strikes that we all had as well.
My best fish came on a fairly standard size 12 beaded pheasant tail nymph. This was a 52 cm, 1.8 kg (approx 20.5?, 4 lbs) rainbow. This came from a deep pool at the mouth of the Waiteti river as it enters into Lake Rotorua. This is no where near an exceptional fish for this fishery (where 10+ lbs fish are caught, if not regularly, certainly not infrequently either).
In the same spot I also hooked up (but busted off) on a ?bluenose squirrel tail?, which is one of the first patterns I designed. (thread black, red tail, olive body, copper rib, grey squirrel tail wing, blue and olive hackle collar ? two feathers one of each colour).
Now, after that, we fished in a few smaller rivers, and this is where the action was. The fish are smaller, but more plentiful, in both the Waihou and Waimakiriri streams. Typical fish size is about 20 cm (7-8 inches). The rivers are faster flowing and, personally, more to my taste.
Anyway, we did well with the following list of spiders:
2 on Bettly Blues (which I call because I was introduced to them by our own Betty Hiner)
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... tyBlue.jpg
2 on a Water Cricket flymph (adapted from Pritt?s Water Cricket spider)
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... mphjpg.jpg
2 on a Stewart?s Black Spider:
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... r_dark.jpg
2 on an Orange Water Cricket (the link shows a yellow one Pritt lists both yellow and orange body colours):
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... ricket.jpg
and also
1 on a Winter Brown:
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... rBrown.jpg
And, from the discussions on Flymphs (closely related to spiders of course)
1 on a blue flymph:
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... Flymph.jpg
and 1 on a gray and French flymph, which I don?t have a photo for
I?ve become interested in flies with two colours for the body. I tried a few, and had some luck with these:
1 on a Harlequin:
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... laquin.jpg
and
1 on a Jock:
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... m/Jock.jpg
And, being one to fish some well known classic wet fly patterns (well, ones I think of as classics anyway) these all brought fish to hand as well:
1 on a Royal Coachman:
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... achman.jpg
1 on a Peter Ross:
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... erRoss.jpg
2 on a March Brown:
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... hBrown.jpg
2 on a Parmachene Belle:
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... _Belle.jpg
Finally, awhile back I posted some New Zealand patterns, and I tied one of them on and shortly there after brought a decent sized (for the river) fish to hand on this purple Fuzzy Wuzzy.
1 on a Purple Fuzzy Wuzzy:
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... y_sz10.jpg
I intended, but forgot, to try out some of the pukeko flies and some Tummel-style patterns. So, those experiments await until a future date. Hopefully, not too long from now, but who knows?.
Fun stuff!
- Jeff
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Re: Flies from threads
Jeff,
Great report and very useful as well. Nice to know what flies worked well for you. Thanks also for the photos to remind us of what the pattern looked like.
REE
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Re: Flies from threads
Hey Jeff-
Nice patterns and report. Do you have a picture of the bluenose squirrel tail?? Thanks.
-RC
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Re: Flies from threads
Jeff,
Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing that blue nose squirrel tail either. Pic and recipe please?
REE
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Re: Flies from threads
Hi,
I'll get a photo of the bluenose Squirrel tail up as soon as I can. It's fairly simple, I usually tie it on a size 10 hook, but sometimes I'll use a size 10 2x length, which would be size 8 with a small gap I suppose.
Anyway, it's a streamer pattern.
Thread: black
Tail: Short tuft of red fibres or pinch of red maraboo (fluff from the base of the feather)
Body: Olive/Green
Rib : copper wire (medium, or towards a bit large and weighty for the hook size rather than towards fine and delicate)
Wing: Grey Squirrel Tail
Hackle: two feathers, one light blue and one olive, with olive wrapped in front of the blue (to tone down the blue)
I originally tied this without the wing (so, just a bluenose), but one day I added the squirrel tail and it just looked right. I had to tie up a new one after the first was lost. Since I knew that fish liked that pattern I wanted to catch it again to get my fly back! ha! Anyway, no luck in that department.
Anyway, I meant to include that the fish caught in the river were mostly taken in runs, or near the edges at the tail end of pools. A few were taken in deeper pools though by casting up stream, following the line down with the rod tip and taking in line to prevent downstream slack. This gives the flies time to sink. Once the tip of the line goes past, keep following the flies iwth your rod tip, start letting line out on the water again to maintain the drift and to prevent the flies from lifting or swinging until you want them too, whne you just hold the line and let the current straighten and lift it for you. If you can keep you line off the water, or at least much of it, when the flies hit the slower water of the pool, they can get pulled even deeper if they've sunk down into some of the subsurface currents. This can get your wee wets down into some pools normally though the property of the heavy weighted nymphers. Doesn't work every time, or on every pool, but it sure is satisifying when it does!
Also, weather conditions and time of day were right for wee wets. Basically, bright, sunny, middle of the day, with a few insects about but not enough to call a full blown hatch or anything.
- Jeff
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Re: Flies from threads
Hi,
Ok, found the time to get the flies out of baby's room so I've taken a couple photo's of the Bluenose Squirrel Tail, and of one my original Bluenose flymph type pattern.
Sorry for the poor quality of the winged version but this was tied in a hurry to get fished, and it's been in the water. But, it gives the idea well enough.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... eltail.jpg
Here's the original "non-winged version", which I think I should try again. The blue feathers I had at the time were a bit lighter than the darker ones I used above. Also, I had used a darker olive floss than I now have. The version I hooked up with was more like the one below in colours, but with the wing from above. That being said, I don't the differences are enough to make any real difference in performance.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... ueNose.jpg
Both of these are tied on size 10 2x shank hooks.
- Jeff
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Re: Flies from threads
Thats a great looking fly Jeff, thanks for sharing. I'll definately tie some up in the winged version this winter. Color wise between the two flies I don't know, but I do prefer the longer and more swept back look of the hackle on the wingless version. Thanks.
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Re: Flies from threads
Great, Now I've got to try to get Jeff to write a nicely illustrated book on fly tying as well as Donald. I'm am going to have to go shopping for an extra large coffee table for y'all's books. :D
(And both of you, don't forget to include a few photos of scenery as well. We might as well go all the way with this.)
Ed
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Re: Flies from threads
Jeff,
Nice report and some very fine looking wets. I like that Water Cricket Flymph and your winged wets a lot! They look very buggy and I'm sure worked well.
I hope you know how nice you have it over there!!
Thanks for the post. Good looking flies, especially with such an interesting report, are inspirational.
Jeremy.
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Re: Flies from threads
Awesome post and really nice flies! Thanks for the post Jeff!!
I am thinking that THIS CALLS FOR A FLY OF THE WEEK!!!
C'mon Jeff, take some pics of the steps adn submit them to publisher@flyanglersonline.com so we can not only see your steps but have it in the archive for the future!
It would be really neat to have them both in there. . . . .
Thanks again for sharing the info!