Montana Moments

[Sasha]

Man oh man you sure get out on the water a lot. Great report!!!

[KeatonsDad]

I do like the looks of that pattern John and hope it comes up soon on the FOTW.

[JohnScott]

I must not have asked it correctly.... The tail/abdomen section of the fly (brown, orange, behind the foam body) looks like a piece of twisted rope. How do you accomplish that?

.... and in the case of the Salmonfly, it is two strands of PMD Shuck and one strand of burnt orange.

For the basics, follow the link to my FEB Hopper. The revisited versions of the JC's Salmonfly and the LF Golden Stone patterns will be the Hopper plus antennae, in appropriate sizes and color combinations. There is a current link on the Fly Tying Forum ( as of yesterday ) on the rationale for and effects of using a slim foam strip for the underside of the fly.

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flyt...tw20090810.php

John

P.S. Benji - note that all you really need is in the link to the hopper and the current thread on the Fly Tying Forum.

[Joel D. Popham]

John,

Thanks. Twisting antron strands is something I can do... Best Regards...

[MontanaMoose]

I like that pattern because it appears to be tied 'down wing' or 'folded wing'. That could come in handy during times i've noticed big trout would only take 'down wing' stones, letting my fan/flared/fluttering wing stones go right on by, including the naturals. Thanks John !

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

[JohnScott]

... you might be onto something, George !!

As mentioned before, this and the other flies tied with this basic pattern, are very low riding. I think maybe they give a "drowned" stone or hopper look to the fishies, and a "down wing" would add to that look, compared to a fluttering or flared wing which would be more of a "live" look, especially on a higher riding pattern. Easier prey.

John

[JohnScott]

... came off the tying vice late morning with a new look. Can't hardly wait to try a new / revised pattern, so early afternoon I headed on out to the creek. Pretty much like yesterday, weatherwise, except the showers started a bit earlier. Wasn't long before I was wet. Wasn't long before the Golden Stone was wet, and getting beat up while she was at it.



I started off much better today than yesterday. Not necessarily faster, but the first fish I saw was downright determined to eat the fly. He came at it with a purpose and it was just up to me to not spoil it. I didn't.



Fishing the same place I saw some fish yesterday but couldn't get them to eat the Salmonfly.



The second fish also came at the fly with a purpose, chasing it downstream til he caught it. Nice little bow.



The large rock midstream creates the pocket where these two guys were holding. From a bit closer.



It's a lot of fun fishing the center and the edges of that pocket. Lots of mending, keeping line off the water, measuring the drift constantly. Don't always get it right, but there is a pay off when you do. With another brown that never flinched on his way to the fly.



This guy really gulped the Golden Stone. Fortunately, it wasn't all that deep and he wasn't bleeding. Took a bit of doing, but the hook came out clean and he still wasn't bleeding. A bit of revival time and he took off like a shot.

After the third fish, they kept looking but either refused the fly, missed it, or I screwed up and pulled up too quickly. Think there were another five trout that I saw between this spot and another just upstream around the bend.

I headed upstream looking for another place to fish and found some more great looking water. But whatever was in there, and I have no doubt there were trouts holding there, wouldn't come to the surface for a dry. Not even the larger Salmonfly which I eventually put on. But it was good to find access to some more promising water. When it warms up enough to wet wade I know a couple great places to cool off.

On the broader scene, there are reports of large number of salmonflies in the bushes in the lower reaches of Rock Creek. The cool weather has pretty much kept them from flying, so the birds are feasting more than the fish. But a couple warm days over there and it could be lights out fishing with salmonfly dries. Great chances of hooking another wading angler or a drift boat !!

John

[MontanaMoose]

Nice downwing golden stone John...looks like it will do double duty as a hopper once they are.

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

[JohnScott]

....looks like it will do double duty as a hopper....

.... this is an FEB Hopper with a foam underside and antennae.

If I were going to pick a single fly to fish from June 1 through October 1 around this part of the country, it would be the FEB Hopper, which does double duty as a Golden Stone.

John

[Tyro]

Beautiful fish and fly! Looks like you had a bit of Orygun sunshine to brighten your day.