Lochsa Special SBS

[ScottP]

Waiting for my plane at the Bozeman airport a few years ago, I picked up a copy of Flyfishing and Tying Journal and came across an excellent article written by Al and Gretchen Beatty about the Lochsa River. In the article was a picture of this fly - sorta kinda H&L Variant/Wulff (also very similar to Charlie Craven's GTH Variant) which looked like a fun one to tie. Although I didn't get to the Lochsa the following summer, I did use this fly on a number of streams on the East side of those mountains and the fish seemed interested. Not a hard fly to tie, really just a matter of watching proportions and maintaining thread control.


hook - Dai Riki 320 #12
thread - UTC 70 chartreuse
tail - moose body hair
abdomen - Uni Stretch chartreuse
thorax - peacock herl
wing - calf body hair
hackle - brown



Part 1




mash barb and attach thread at 75% mark





clean, stack and measure a clump of calf body hair (shank length)





tie in with 2 firm wraps





and continue back with firm wraps





trim butts at an angle (I was a bit steep here)





brush with a little Sally and move thread back to point above barb





clean, stack and measure a clump of moose body hair (shank length)





tie down and wrap forward (firmly) to wing butts





trim tail butts and smooth over with tying thread

[ScottP]

Part 2


tie in Uni Stretch





wrap forward to 50% mark; tie off





move thread in front of wing and create thread dam





crease with thumbnail to force fibers up and back





divide wing with 3 wraps from front to back





repeat with 3 wraps from back to front





post near wing; 5 wraps up post and 1 behind wings to lock in place





repeat for far wing; brush wing base with a little Sally

[ScottP]

Part 3


return thread to 40% mark





tie in a couple peacock herls and twist with tying thread to create chenille





wrap forward to 50% mark and tie off





prepare a hackle and tie in between wings





wrap hackle, 4 turns behind, 7 in front (thanks Mr. Whiting); half hitch x2, trim and SHHAN











I've also tied it in orange (always been a good color for cutts for me) and with foam back for additional floatation, but I've tied this one as close to the Beatty's recipe as possible.




Regards,
Scott