STREAMERS
Plain Jane
HOOK: 10-14; TMC 5263 3X long streamer hook
TAIL: marabou (clipped in a short stub)
BODY: eggshell white yarn (wrapped)
WING: marabou fibers (extending to the end of the tail)
HEAD: natural gray deer hair (spun and clipped rough)
The marabou can be white for rainbows, pale
green for cutthroats, yellow for brown trout,
or red for brook trout. This fly is subtle
enough that it doesn't make fish hesitate
on the strike. It isn't big enough or flashy
enough to be a threat. The Plain Jane is my
favorite streamer when trout are in that
pre-spawn, aggressive mood.
Bristle Leech
HOOK: 4-6; TMC 5263 3X long streamer hook
WEIGHT: strip of lead wire (tied along the top
of the hook shank so that the fly rides upside down)
SPINES: two short pieces of stiff, heavy monofilament
tied in about one-third of the shank back from
the eye at a 75-degree angle above the shank
BODY: gray rabbit fur (still on the skin; wrapped)
WING: two whole, gray marabou feathers (tied on the
bottom of the hook shank so that the fly rides
upside down)
This fly can be fished like any regular
leech, with a swimming retrieve that makes
the marabou fibers and soft fur flow sinuously.
It is also the best pattern for the Multiple
Roll technique. But it is designed specifically
for sand- or mud-bottomed lakes and a unique
method of presentation. Like most of my flies
the Bristle Leech has a trigger
characteristic unlike all my other flies the
"trigger" has nothing to do with how the fly
itself looks or acts.
The trigger for the Bristle Leech is
what it does when it's pulled off a
soft lake bottom. Let the upside-down
fly settle to the sand or mud. The stiff,
monofilament spines will press into the
bottom. When you jerk the fly, the spines
kick up a puff of silt. This is exactly
what the natural leech does when it comes
out of the mud and starts swimming. The
little spout of dirt, whether it's caused
by a real leech or a Bristle Leech, is an
attention getter.
EGG FLY
Marabou Single Egg
HOOK: 16; TMC 3769 2X heavy wet-fly hook
WEIGHT: a piece of lead wire (lashed to the underside of
the hook shank)
EGG PUFF: marabou (red, salmon, yellow,
or pink) tied in at the bend of the hook
and looped to the eye, where it is tied
in just behind the hackles
BODY: pink sparkle yarn (wrapped)
HACKLE: scarlet rooster
Sometimes the only thing that will work
is an egg pattern. It's fine even to cast
to wild fish in an overpopulated lake;
there's nothing wrong with casting to trout
in a stocked lake where there is no successful
natural reproduction. The Marabou Single Egg
catches those fish that are too preoccupied
with fighting or nest building to take any
regular fly.
THESE ARE ALL my patterns. They are not
the only flies that will work on stillwaters;
and they are not the only flies in my box.
Other favorites include Randall Kaufmann's
Timberline Emerger and Ralph Cutter's Martis
Midge. These are not general flies, either.
They are designed for stillwaters. It doesn't
matter whether you carry three patterns or
three hundred patterns the key to success
will always be knowing both when and how to
use each fly in the box. The key for mountain
lakes is carrying flies designed for stillwaters,
not a random assortment of running water patterns.
Even if you understand the reason behind
a pattern's design, you may still be unable
to put together the puzzle of when and how
to use that fly. There's a third dimension
in fly fishing where you fish controls the
when and how. The methods that work on
infertile lakes are different from the methods
that work on rich lakes for a reason.
I categorize stillwaters by the food base.
In my classification it's not just the
diversity of food types in any given body
of water that separates one lake from another.
It's the amount of food overall, paucity versus
abundance, that ends up being much more
important to my fly fishing strategy. In
an infertile lake the trout are like wandering
trash-pickers for most of the day, sorting
through all the waste in search of something
good. In a rich lake, prey items are so
abundant that when one of them hits a vulnerable
stage in the life cycle, the trout move to
specific areas and slop heavily on available
individuals. ~ GL
To be continued, next time: More on the lakes
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