PINE SQUIRREL CHEATER
John Scott Rigby brings us another great fly.
"Simple, easy to tie, durable and effective; The Pine Squirrel Cheater."
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PINE SQUIRREL CHEATER
John Scott Rigby brings us another great fly.
"Simple, easy to tie, durable and effective; The Pine Squirrel Cheater."
Hi John,
I really like this pattern. I have a few tied up and ready for when I hit some spots back in New Zealand. I know some places with fiesty browns that would just love these.
- Jeff
Hi
This is a great fly for big Browns. I have had great sucess with it on the Salmon River in New York. I believe this fly would work on Browns any where.
Very nice job with the story and with the tying instructions.
Flap Jack
Flap Jack -
Greetings and welcome to the Bulletin Board from Eastern Idaho / Western Montana.
Sounds like you have come up with the same fly, or found a source for it ??
Another BB member, NightAngler1 from Ridgedale MO ties a very similar fly, adding flash, and a couple other guys that I know here in SE Idaho also tie their own version of a pine squirrel zonker streamer.
Some people compare the P.S.C. to John Barr's Slumpbuster, but that fly is way more complicated. Guess it would be hard to sell a strip of zonker for $2.00 a pop ??
Also, this is a great trout fly, not just for browns. And I think some of our friends in the midwest have fished it successfully for bass. If it eats sculpins and / or baitfish, it will eat this fly if presented properly.
John
P.S. Hate to say it, but the last time I looked at Wapsi zonked pine squirrel skins, just a couple weeks ago, the quality was very poor. Out of seven or eight skins I inspected, there was only one really good one, and a couple that were almost passable. Take a good look at the number and length of zonked strips and the thickness and length of the hair before you buy. Wapsi's small packs of zonkers tend to be pretty good quality, but are kind of pricey if you plan to tie many flies.
Could you please tell us the type and size of hook you use for this fly?
Thanks for sharing this with us! I look forward to trying it out.
John, I'm glad the PSC made it to the FOTW.
Since you sent me that first little package of pine squirrel zonker strips and I tyed a few of those following your recipe, I have caught numerous trouts in the Sierras and even a few in the desert waters on it.
I have since found a decent source for squirrel zonkers and have a box of a couple dozen PSCs. Thanks for helping me along.
Terry -Quote:
Originally Posted by TerryB
I use a size 6 Dai-Riki 280 2XL hopper hook for this fly. But any streamer hook will do just fine. Using the micro pine squirrel zonker strips, I've tied small streamers on size 12 2XL nymph hooks and had some success with them in a couple smaller streams.
The Wapsi product comes in natural and a number of colors. I prefer the sculpin olive, but have done well with black, and more recently, with brown. I'm guessing the natural might prove really good for some baitfish imitations, but haven't tried it yet.
John
I have used this fly with great success up here in SWAB..
It is a great pattern and will always have a place in my fly box..
Ray -Quote:
Originally Posted by flyfishfairwx
Passport. Passport. Passport.
Maybe if I keep saying it, I'll remember to get one for next summer.
John
Great fly I use a very similar fly but instead of wrapping the strip I tie in the tail and then using a dubbing loop I mix the squirrel hair from the strip with some crystal flash to create the body
Awesome! I think I had tied up something similar that may have been a FOTW a year or so ago? Don't recall if I ever fished it, though.
This still looks like something warmwater fish will certainly eat, too...so I tied up 4 tonight...one each in black, rust, olive, and natural. Super-easy to tie...I love it already!!
Thanks for submitting this for FOTW, John!
I tied the ones tonight on a #8 streamer hook, straight eye. Looks about perfect!
I was catching bluegills and bass earlier this summer on a small black fly..I forget now exactly what it was..but it looked like the baby bullheads that were swimming around in schools at the time in one particular pond. This should be a good imitator of those too!
John,
I've used this fly since you turned me onto it last year. Still a great fly. Thanks for sharing.
Rex
Rex -Quote:
Originally Posted by Rex S
Hard to believe that it is a year since we ran into each other on the Lower Henry's Fork. I recall that you had a great time with the P.S.C. that day, and fishing behind you just about left me high and dry in the catching department.
Glad to hear that it continues to produce for you.
John
I am in the same boat.. I must get mine soon.. Ann is going to Jamaica and leaving me to hunt and fish the hills..Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnScott
Damn it just hit me now that the PSC made FOTW - EVERYBODY will be in on the secret.. DAMN...:wink::lol:
Here's the ones I tied the other night... ;)
Thanks again John!
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...lCheater_B.jpg
(These were on #8 streamer hooks.)
Looking good, Dave. Let us know how they do for you.
John
I used the PSC a lot here in Ohio in the spring. Caught some nice smallmouth the first time I fished it. It also caught a lot of crappie, a couple green sunfish and rockbass, and a handful of white bass. Its got to be one of the easiest and most durable flies I have tied, not to mention it looks just like a small sculpin or bullhead swimming around along the bottom and also looks a whole lot like a big tadpole that bass seem to love.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...terrootBow.jpg
Today the PSC accounted for the biggest fish I have landed so far on the Bitterroot.
Thought a reminder was in order.
John
Been fishing that PSC for about 15 years, and you're right, it's a fish getter.
Bruce
... his first time using the PSC ( from a Visitor Message last month ):
"I have to tell you about my day. I used my usual flies and the fish showed no interest. So I had a couple PSC in "sculpin olive". The first one I tried, insisted on floating (I know you use a sink tip line), so I had one I had tied on a small jig head. I was shocked when my indicator did not go down, it went sideways by 6" before I could set the hook. Nice rainbow that jumped twice then broke off by 4x and disapeared with my fly. So I tied on the unweighted with a split shot and caught 1 more nice bow with the indicator and then switching to fishing it as a streamer hooked 2 more, one I got to hand. I went to the next hole and had 3 more vicious strikes, one trout was huge, came to the top and shook his massive head, the fly popped out. The hook had partially straightened! I wanted to let you know how successful your fly was for me, and to ask if anyone had mentioned using a weighted version. Thanks- Jeff"
Regarding Jeff's question about a weighted version, I have seen an almost identical fly using a cone head called the Pine Cone. It has been around for a number of years.
Jeff used the fly with several different presentations - he made it his own and made it work for him. That's what it is all about.
John
Thanks for bringing this up again. I tied up a slightly more 'compact', more colorful, flashier version of this over the winter, can't wait to get them some use!
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_6...0/DSC_1688.JPG
John,
I saw this thread and thought Hey, been here, done this.
I hope by now you have your passport and get to travel a little out of the country.
I got mine this winter because they won't let me in New Zealand without one. A little tip. It takes 4-6 weeks from the time you apply until you get it. In my case it took 8 weeks because of my raggedy old birth certificate. Hey, It's 66 years old and I got it from my dad's stuff when he passed in '89.
If you are making international trip plans in the near future and do not have a passport or yours is expired, order it early. You can't book an international flight or even a cruise without it.
About the PSC, I plan to take some with me to NZ and try them out.
John Scott,
That PSC pattern looks deadly, and you can't ask for a simpler tie. I like the Pine Cone also! I like wooly buggers, but could easily get into the PSCs.
Cold - What size hook (Mustad - Salmon hook?) did you use, and what is your intended target? - steelhead?
Lots of good lookin flies guys! Thanks.
Best regards, Dave S.
Those pictured are Mustad 36890, size 10. Intended for trout and great lakes steel. :)Quote:
Cold - What size hook (Mustad - Salmon hook?) did you use, and what is your intended target? - steelhead?