A Year Long Project

[SonOfMartin]

So here it is 2 weeks before Christmas 2008. Shortly thereafter comes New Years then a LONG wait for water to get soft to chase trout. So I have been putting off starting this years tying / box arranging exercise and I couldn't quite figure out why.

Then it hit me. I'm laying in yet another hotel bed at 4:00 am wondering why all hotel ceilings look alike when my eureka moment arrived: A One Year Fly Fishing Challenge.

So here it is: I am going to tie up just enough patterns to fit in either 1 C&F fly box or three altoids tins. That's it. That's my limit.

So how is this a learning experience: You're going to tell me what patterns to carry in that small space. Here are the criteria:

I live and fish in South Central Pennsylvania. Patterns perferrably tried-and-tested in those waters.

I want to limit my patterns to wet, streamer, terrestrial, and a very very few dries. I've already proven to myself that I can catch fish on dries but wets (soft hackle, fuzzy nymphs, flymphs) are another story.

I'd like you to suggest exact patterns and sizes to put in this small space and I will only tie and carry those patterns. If you can include your most sucesful method to fish that pattern, it would be tested on 'my waters'.

Next Christmas, I'll review my logs and see how my learning experience went.

I'm tired of carrying around a small fly shop when I go out and I just know that you all can teach me something about pattern selection and can offer some great ideas for this project.

I'm especially interested in 'guide flies' of the wet and streamer variety. Most of the streams are small, but some are larger, some are stocked, some are wild water, so the patterns will need to be diverse (or so I assume).

Let's have some fun with this and start me off on my one year project to fish with only a small number of 'sucessful' wet patterns.

Thanks. This should be fun.

[MontanaMoose]

Hope I'm the first responder SOM, add black AP's to your flybox in 12, 14 and 16.

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

[JohnScott]

SOM -

Interesting challenge you have dreamed up for yourself. Are you sure you were awake in that hotel room at 4:00 a.m. ??

I haven't fished in your neck of the woods ( streams ), but I do have a "down and dirty" wet fly / nymph that I wouldn't leave home without. Similar flies have been shown or mentioned in other threads by folks from around the country, so it is fair to assume that it will work on your waters also.

Simply put - a soft hackled pheasant tail.

Simply tied - tie in copper wire for the ribbing; tie in 3-4 pheasant tail fibers with a suitable length hanging off the bend for the tail; using an electrician's clip or hackle plier, twist the fibers to be used for the body to strengthen the bunch and enhance segmentation of the abdomen; wrap the p.t. fibers forward to about the 1/3 point on the shank and tie off; counter wrap the copper wire to rib the abdomen and tie off; tie in a couple pieces of peacock herl, wrap it a two or three times to form the thorax, and tie off; tie in an appropriately sized hen hackle by the tip, wrap as many times as necessary to get the hackle effect you want, and tie off.

Tie these in the size you need for your local blue wing olives and other mayflies and caddis if they are in the system you are fishing.

You can fish them as a nymph or on a down and across presentation as a wet fly. At the end of the swing, let them hang for several seconds before picking up.

Looking forward to what others will contribute to your fly box.

John

[Eight Thumbs]

SOM.

I know you said just a few dries. I would suggest a light colored parachute dry fly and a dark colored parachute. I would also include a couple of EHCs. 8T

[farleycat]

This past year I have been rather partial to Zebra nymphs, Black with silver ribbing in six 16 and 18. Works great over here at Boiling Springs on the Yellow Breeches and the "run". Same for the color red but black was numba one.
Bernie

[CaseyP]

in size 14 and 16. great for cold water, like April and November. drop it beneath an indicator or as the last of two or three nymphs. works in Cove Creek and the Little J.

i confess i'm going to keep an eye on this, since we're fishing the same waters.

[SonOfMartin]

Thanks for the info and ideas so far. Please keep the ideas coming. I have 3 altoids boxes to fill!

This is going to be great fun. Early flight tomorrow back home.....

[redietz]

SOM -



Simply put - a soft hackled pheasant tail.

Simply tied - tie in copper wire for the ribbing; tie in 3-4 pheasant tail fibers with a suitable length hanging off the bend for the tail; using an electrician's clip or hackle plier, twist the fibers to be used for the body to strengthen the bunch and enhance segmentation of the abdomen; wrap the p.t. fibers forward to about the 1/3 point on the shank and tie off; counter wrap the copper wire to rib the abdomen and tie off; tie in a couple pieces of peacock herl, wrap it a two or three times to form the thorax, and tie off; tie in an appropriately sized hen hackle by the tip, wrap as many times as necessary to get the hackle effect you want, and tie off.

John

I was about to suggest something very similar, but try substituting yellow yarn for the herl, and use partridge for the hackle. Tie it on size 14 hook. It's a very effective sulfur emerger. (John's suggestion is excellent, too, btw.)

While you've partridge out, tie a few partridge and oranges, again size 14. They work pretty much year round; but one time you'll definitely want to try them is whenever you might have used a rusty spinner in the past (i.e. Hendrickson spinners, sulfur spinners, etc.)

Both flies can be fished either dead-drift, or on the swing. You want them near the surface.


It sounds like an interesting project. (Although I may point out that it's now 2008.)

Bob

[SonOfMartin]

2008, 2007. It was 4am...thanks.

[DruLeeParsec]

For us newbie's that are following along, could you folks let us know what AP's and EHC's are? Thanks.

This is a cool idea SOM (Son Of Martin ). I'll be starting my 3rd season of fly fishing next year and I think I could easily lose an entire fly box of flies in one season to the trees, the bushes, the rocks and sticks under the water, etc.

Actually, I haven't lost a fly to a tree in a while. But now that I'm learning how to nymph fish I get them stuck between rocks on the bottom all the time. So are you allowing yourself to re-tie lost flies or is this a one time tie and that's it for the year thing?