[CENTER]The Golden Retriever pattern has a following that is hard to be denied. It’s a time proven pattern that fishes well on almost every water I’ve fished. I can’t say that about many flies. But why? What makes this pattern so effective? Is it the Gold/Peach Estaz? Or the trigger point of the red thread body? Is it the marabou tail? Or the gold bead? I have fished the pattern in root beer, white, pink and black color variations…but hands down, the original golden is king.
Ralph, that’s yet another good-looking fly. Do you ever try it on smaller sizes, e.g. 14 or 16? I wonder if the smaller sizes would work well on panfish and trout in clear, skinny water.
The Golden Retriever is a Jim Finn pattern, originally out of Mossy Creek Outfitters in VA. Yes, it can be tied smaller and I have in the past. But even for skinny water, I find the standard #10 to remain the most productive pattern. And oddly enough, fished under an indicator is the most effective method for me.
You may be surprised just how many types of conditions this little pattern does well.
Jim finn, I think, used to own Mossy creek fly shop before the Trow boys took over, and they are doing a fantastic job BTW. Anyways, here is the original site for Jim and the Golden retriever. http://www.mossycreek.com/
The Trow boys have a tutorial on their site http://mossycreekflyfishing.com/category/fly-tying-videos/ they do it a little different, as they use red thread instead of red floss, speeds up the process a little. Of course, ralph has an excellent tutorial on his site.
