This may be a stupid question, I’m not necessarily looking for the tying patterns but what the patterns are specifically designed to imitate. Thanks.
Thomas Ames’ book Hatch Guide for New England Streams might be able to help you
Dave - VERY generally speaking, if it doesn’t say so in the name, it is probably an attractor pattern, and not a specific immitation.
Got the vise out?
Not a stupid question but a complicated one. The answer is not as simple as providing a pattern dictionary.
For example, the Klinkhammer was invented to imitate emerging caddis, but because it is a suspender pattern, it imitates emerging mayflies; and if could be tied in micro patterns, it would be a good midge emerger pattern as well. A Stimulator is an attractor but really, depending on size and color, it makes a stone fly, hopper or even a caddis adult imitative pattern. Same thing with a Madam X.
Normally one can tell by looking at the pattern what it will imitate so I doubt there would be much value in such a guide. In real life situations, reading that a such and such pattern is caddis imitation and having it work better than an X-caddis or EHC in the right color and sizes is another thing.
There are many patterns that, in the correct size and color perform triple duty; and I believe noting this on a pattern guide for someone that doesn’t ALREADY grasp this is sowing pearls before swine.
Basically, I believe that it wouldn’t help if you don’t already have the ability to apply that knowledge to pick the appropriate colors and sizes in that pattern. If you do, then you already have the information in your head.
If you are looking for something that cross-references a scientific name to the name of an artificial fly:
Like, Epeorus pleuralis to Quill Gordon, try “Matching the Hatch” by Ernie Schwiebert. It’s one of many but a good one.
You can also try the search options on sites like FAOL and others by typing in the common name or the scientific name your after. There are lots of answers on the interenet if you don’t want to buy a book.
I find it easier to reverse engineer the problem and develop a good understanding of the bugs (i.e., size, shape and color) on the waters I fish. Then all I have to do is find/create a pattern that fits the general description of the critter I want to copy.
If it’s a particular water you are interested in, check out one of the many “Streamside guides” that are available. They can be extremely helpful, small & waterproof for carrying in your vest. And gerneally speaking, it will apply to most all of the regional streams as well.
I know it’s sacriliage…but I avoid the latin involved. Lean toward the common hatch names and the patterns that apply. I sorta enjoy seeing folks develope a twitch when you refer to a hatch as the “Light Cahill” or “hendrickson” hatches:^)
If understand the question correctly, wizard is looking for a book that has two parts.
The first part is an alphabetical listing of fly pattern names followed by what trout food that pattern imitates. The first part can be further subdivided in to sections such as nymphs, emergers, dries, minnows, terrestrials, wet flies, etc
The second part is a listing of trout foods, followed by a listing of patterns that can be used to imitate that food. The second part can be broken down into subdivisions as well such a mayflies, caddis, stoneflies, midges, terrestrials, attractors, etc.
It is a cross reference book of fly patterns to what they imitate.
I was in a hurry so my post was not clear, I apologize. I was specifically looking for an internet reference, and in regards to the examples given, I am aware of what most flies represent. However there are patterns that are regional in nature that you find when traveling around the country, and that are preferred by local anglers that others may never have heard of or seen. One example I can think of is a “Beaverkill”. Most people I asked had never heard of this pattern, and in fact Heritage Angler did find a reference for it somewhere, I forgot where, but it’s a caddis pattern. Just wondered if there was somewhere you could go and maybe plug in “Hendrickson” and get all the patterns used to represent that hatch, i.e. Light H., Dark H., Red Quill, etc. Some people who have never seen a Green Drake Hatch may have no idea what a “Coffin Fly” is, etc. I hope this makes it clearer. Also this info would be valuable to someone who purchases most of their flies, whereas a tyer would probably not think of it.
I use this site when tring to figure out what I have seen on the water and what fly I need, maybe this will help
http://www.troutnut.com/
Actually I was wrong and so was Heritage. A “Beaverkill” is a Hendrickson Imitation. And yes Troutnut.com pretty nearly is the answer to what I am looking for. Thanks guys.
Dave
Guess again, grasshopper.
http://www.fish4flies.com/Dry/Winged/Beaverkill
http://flyanglersonline.com/features/oldflies/part104.php
http://www.troutnut.com/common-name/39/Beaverkills
Troutnut even says the name “Beaverkill” is very rarely used to describe a Hendrickson.
A sedge is a caddis.:roll:
Ed,
The Beaverkill fly I have looks nothing like the “sedge” version you showed me. Troutnut does show it listed as a pattern under “Ephemerella subvaria” or the Hendrickson family. Even though it says the name is “rarely used”, and I believe why not many know what it is, it also says it is only related to Ephemerella subvaria. See why I was looking for a “Dictionary”? The version I have I would say is a dark Hendrickson in the egg laying phase as it has a little yellow egg at the rear of the thorax. I read somewhere else earlier today that this version is held dear to a lot of “Old Timers” as a particularly deadly tie. Also the reason you didn’t know of it, you’re too young!! I have a dozen of these in size 14 and will bring along to show you.
No it definitely isn’t a “grasshopper”! (just kidding)
Actually to correct my earlier post, Heritage was not wrong, it’s just not the pattern I have. To quote further from troutnut which perfectly describes what I have and backs up my last post, (under Ephemerella subvaria, ie Hendrickson) it says this, “sometimes the females drop their eggs from high up, but more often then not they fall to the water not yet spent and release their eggs there. Trout may be selective to spinners with upright or half spent wings. Some flyshops sell patterns with bright butts to imitate these egg laden females.” Perfectly matches the pattern I have, and thanks for all the replies guys. I have been to trounut many times and didn’t realize that feature was available.(For matching patterns).
One of the quirks of fly tying. Many tyers come up with a pattern and give it a name. Sometimes that name has been used in the past to describe a pattern, but the “original” was never given any credit in print. When a pattern is given credit in print, it carries proof of it’s existence and claim to the name.
The Beaverkill fly pattern has such a claim to the name, and is well documented as a sedge. The person(s) that called a Hendrickson egg laying immitation with upright wings a Beaverkill simply didn’t know of the “original”, or chose to ignore it’s existence. There may be no penalty in doing that, but it may be unethical.
Look at the bright side - they could have called it a Green Weenie, and been gender challenged.
All of this is just another reason why you need to start tying. Even well defined patterns can vary by size and color depending on the stream. The only way to get the best match is to do it yourself. Your friends are waiting patiently to help you get started, and this site is a great place for beginners to start. There is a staggering amount of tying info right here on FAOL. Local variations are easily found by looking for advice from fly shops in that area, or local tyers. If you get to a stream and find a variation you don’t have, you can easily duplicate it if you tie. Knowing the Latin name is nice, but not necessary to create an effective immitation.
Ed,
Actually this “Beaverkill” pattern is endorsed by Orvis and has it’s roots back when the Hendrickson pattern was first christened on the Beaverkill. I have now found reference to it in many places, always as a “Hendrickson” variation so way more than one person or local tyer refers to it as such. That is not to say that since the roots of the fly you referenced go back to England that it is not the original Beaverkill, hence my original question about having access to a resource that shows all the related versions of the named fly or hatch.
I know what you mean about tying though, the main problem a “buyer” encounters is the lack of consistency between sources. A BWO dun from Flyshop A is not the same as a BWO dun from Flyshop B, even though both are effective and both have a very similar appearance from the Trout’s viewpoint but not the Anglers.
I will get into tying it’s just that it seems more daunting than actually getting into flyfishing was. And actually searching out good flies is rewarding in itself, and challenging as well.
Wizard,
Here is a site I found that is indispensable. Not only does it allow you to search but fly type, but also imitation, or fly name. It also allows you to discriminate between traditional/standard flies, or all flies.
Go to www.west-fly-fishing.com and click near the top “Fly Patterns”. Or, this link should take you there - http://www.west-fly-fishing.com/fly-pattern-recipe/fly-pattern-recipe.shtml .
The other cool part is, if you want to search for all of the flies that imitate a certain bug, you can do that. Then it will tell you a list of all the flies in a chart, along with recommended size/color, recommended presentation, and where to use it. You can click on any of those to get an explanation or or on the fly name to go to the recipe for that fly. Oh, also gives you the insects’ (or baitfish’s) scientific name.
I hope it’s useful to everyone! It’s my favorite site just for learning about flies and how they work their magic.
Here’s a screenshot.
While keeping in mind the previous discussion and these are not internet sites, I can recommend two books: Hatches II, A Complete Guide to the Hatches of North American Trout Streams by Al Caucci and Bob Nastasi. This one is entomology gone wild. Fish Flies, The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier’s Art by Terrk Hellekson. The latter book may contain the regional patterns if they are more than a personal or family pattern. There are four enties for “Beaverkill” in the index; “Beaverkill, Female (mayfly), Beaverkill, Female (wet fly), Beaverkill, Bastard See Rat-Faced McDougall, Beaverkill, Red Fox (mayfly)”. (Actually six but, two are duplicates.) There is another issue when trying to figure out regional patterns. The name of a fly may be different from one region to the next. The fly is not regional, just the name.
(Both of these books were available from a “famous” discount book store in our area.)
i typed “hendrickson fly pattern” into the GOOGLE search box and the clicked on images and received the following results
http://www.google.com/images?q=hendrickson%20fly%20pattern&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi
from there its just a matter of picking out what fly you want