Just a quick question on tactics.
As the board this saturday looks more like a casting clinic than a fly FISHING forum, … we’ll try to get a FISHING question in here 
River levels are down a bit here, … tempuratures (water) is still nice 'n comfy, … What’s your favorite wet fly and how do you like to fish it on your home waters ??
(just in case some pour newcomer wanders into the site and thinks that we only talk about casting 
)
Christopher Chin, Jonquiere Quebec
Chris,
First, hopefully we’ll keep this to what is generally accepted as ‘wet flies’. No nymphs, bead heads, etc. Having said that, my favorite is a Light Cahill.
Recently I read a book by G.E.M. Skues and he wrote about a wet fly pattern, the Orange Quill. I’ve been trying to figure out its recipe and would like to try it on some streams to see if it is all that he describes, although I fully realize that his streams and insects are much different than those here. Just curious. Who knows, it may become my favorite.
Allan
yellow-bodied grizzly or teal hackle in a #16. It floats for awhile then I fish it wet. GOt a nice 13" wild rainbow two days ago with my 1 wt…
[This message has been edited by Gardenfish (edited 09 July 2005).]
Allan,
I could have said “and first tied before 1980’s”
Maybe 'cause I have so much trouble doing wings right, … Mine are the “spiders”, … Patridge 'n yellow (or green).
I like dead drifting them or pumped along on a swing on slow to moderate runs and riffles.
Like this, 
[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/101402fotw.html:8f8ac]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/101402fotw.html[/url:8f8ac]
Christopher Chin, Jonquiere Quebec
[This message has been edited by fcch (edited 09 July 2005).]
[This message has been edited by fcch (edited 09 July 2005).]
Chris, that is exactly the fly I have been using. Hey, how neat is that?
Okay, here are two recipies for Orange Quill:
1.
wing - light gray
hackle - furnace
body - orange peacock quill
tail - furnace hackle
wing - light gray
hackle - orange
body - peacock quill
tail - orange hackle
this pattern is suggested as prefered for Western fishing.
Both recipies from FLIES by J. Edson Leonard,
1950
Allan, Leonard’s book is available here >> [url=http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=j.+edson+leonard&y=14&tn=FLIES&x=18:a48b2]http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=j.+edson+leonard&y=14&tn=FLIES&x=18[/url:a48b2]
I recommend it. My house is not big enough to hold all of the flies in his dictionary.
GardenFish,
I was just about to post a note asking YOU to post the recipe for the fly you described!!
I love these little fellows. I also tye 'em on #4 streamers, with all OVERsized hackles for Atlantics (Oooops, … giving away trade secrets )
p.s. … Isn’t this site a wealth of information …
p.p.s, … on smaller flies (under 16’s say), … I don’t even put on the dubbing.
ppps, … Guess what this little puppy took in low water conditions in late Sept 2001?
Christopher Chin, Jonquiere Quebec
[This message has been edited by fcch (edited 09 July 2005).]
Okay, now this is getting weird. I too have been tying it in larger sizes, #8 to be precise, some in green, some in red, but yellow seems to be the best. I like a couple windings of peacock herl behind the hackle on the bigger size. The bass like it and in my river there is something in a hole adjacent to a riffle I fish that keeps chomping my little #16 (teasing me), so I am gonna get out my 5 wt. and toss the #8 to it.
Garden,
I test lots of flies in the swimming pool
This way, you get to see how they look and react in the water.
The BIG models in the same pattern pump and flow as the hackles are so soft. Got the idea when I noticed some really BIG sea run brookies were following wooly buggers, but shying away as they got to shallow water (as it was swinging OUT of the run).
I started to get takes when I chopped off the tail and trimmed down the body.
I tye my woolies weird and make a collar and busshy “head”. I rooted around in the fly box and pulled out the biggest P 'n Y I had and BANG, … they were fighting over the fly.
That day I’d butchered a wooly like this:
Imagine the same fly minus the tail and with the body shaved down right up to the “collar” of hackle. That’s how I got the idea.
Christopher Chin, Jonquiere Quebec
[This message has been edited by fcch (edited 09 July 2005).]
JC,
As we “speak”, … I was looking over the archives and couldn’t spell universal, universselle, universale, universsell…
If my life had depended on it !!.
Christopher Chin, Jonquiere Quebec
JC,
Actually, … sometimes (salmon and trout) I’ll string up my rods the night before at camp and tye on one of these:
I’ve since started building them with a soft hackle collar too to add a bit more options.
(not a wet fly [always], … but JC brought up the U Fly )
Christopher Chin, Jonquiere Quebec
Try fcch’s pattern but with a purple body.
I have no idea why, but sometimes in the west, that will generate a strike when nothing else will.
kph,
If I remember correctly, the first time I saw such a fly, … (or a distant cousin), … it was for Jackson Hole and it was darker in color.
Christopher Chin, Jonquiere Quebec
fcch, RW here,
Light Cahill wet as tied by me. Next favorite is the Dark Cahill followed by the Darker Cahill. You can see my article I wrote for FAOL awhile back on the history of the Cahill (with pics) in the index under “Old Flies and Stuff”
Later, RW
“We fish for pleasure; I for mine, you for yours.” -James Leisenring on fishing the wet fly-
my favirite wet fly is a simple one. lt. to med. dun hackle fibers for tail, olive floss body, gray mallard wing segments for wings, lt. to med. dun soft hackle.
i typically fish it in the #12-20 range on a swing. will usually take fish during almost any mayfly hatch. sometimes i change it up with lemon woodduck beard and tail, instead of soft hackle, and i sometimes clip off the wings streamside.
RW,
Saw the article, … Loved it.
Christopher Chin, Jonquiere Quebec
For a universal fly but mostly as a wet soft hackle fly I use Al Campbell’s SHWAPF.
Some pheasant tail fibers in natural color and hare’s ear dubbing also in natural. Sizes vary a lot but the fly works for me (the “wet” version, that is not dressing it) almost every time.
I fish it in so many ways it will take too long to describe.
But when it fails I use an invention of my own that I one night saw on a dream:
I think it will be better called a wet attractor, you let me know
-Pheasant tail or similar fibers for a tail just as long as the shank (JC: have clipped it some times when it’s not working too well)
-Red silk yarn for the body just a little bit tappered.
-gold thread ribbing
-a few fibers from the tips of peacock breast feathers (the ones that are really fluffy, like marabou almost 3/4 of the feather and have a blue/green iridiscent half circular tip) just before and under the hackle as some sort of “wings”.
-3 turns with a white hackle tied soft hackle style
-tan or white thread
For me it works best in sizes 12-14, wet hook, eye looking down.
Mostly let it dead drift with some twiching at the end of the drift, but will try anything until I find what will trigger strikes. If it doesn’t work I’ll go back to the SHWAPF, when it comes to wets of course.
Dave
[This message has been edited by dphotoco (edited 09 July 2005).]
JC:
I read the article. I tied some in grizzly and light brown. all other hackle colors seem not to work well arround here, except for white on the fly I described above.
Have yet to try them on the water. I’ll let you know if they work down here in the tropic. If they don’t I’ll just go with:
“Unless of course you should happen to not catch anything on it. Then it is all your fault.”
and won’t of course say a word.
but for now I have to say that on any unknown water or when everything else fails (well… OK sometimes it is the first fly I try) I’ve used the shwapf and I have to say it IS a universal fly.
I remember reading some article by Al himself about trying to convince you of this. Can’t recall if he said that ever happened.
Dave
The recipes you guys offered for the ‘Orange Quill’ are not quite what was Skues describes. Unfortunately his description leaves something to be desired because it is somewhat incomplete. One thing he does say is that the body of his Orange Quill is definitely not peacock.
As for Leonard’s book, his recipes may be what were considered Orange Quills at the time of his writing, but that’s not what I’m looking for.
Funny, and what I find interesting is that, Skues found the most success with this pattern during the BWO hatch.
Allan
Bill Blades book, “Fishing Flies and Fly Tying”, has the following pattern for the Orange Quill:
Tail: Orange hackle fibres
Body: Stripped Condor quill, dyed orange
Wings: Starling secondary, or Mallard quill sections
Hackle: orange
I fly fish the salt because the voices in my head tell me to…