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The Skittle is by far the simplest pattern in my box to tie and also one of my favorite. All materials are applied pretty much in one step, and its durability is amazing. The original pattern was tied with Chartreuse wire, but I have found that in winter and late fall a red or orange wire can at times be the difference between an amazing day and a cold fishless one. I fish the Skittle as a single fly most often, below an indicator on deeper runs. However it does double-duty for me off a dropper on a dual nymph rig. It sinks like a rock, gives a hotspot of color, and is nearly chew-proof. Oh…and fish eat it.
Skittle Hook:#16 Orvis Bead-head Thread: Black 6/0 Uni-thread Bead: Gold Tungsten Weight: Small lead or lead-substitute wire Abdomen: Chartreuse Small Uni-wire & Peacock Herl Wing:#18 Brown Dry Fly Hackle
For a step-by-step PDF, please click on the link below
C’Mon. You just can’t say it catches fish. I want to see a picture of it in a fish’s’ mouth. HA! HA! If I tie a few up tonight will they work tomorrow morning?
Bruce
Tying the skittle as shown in your step by step didn’t work too well for me. I decided to make the dubbing brush ( which was my first ever attempt at that, believe it or not ) before starting the fly, and that worked much better for me.
I might get the chance to fish them tomorrow. The only problem is that the river I expect to fish is running pretty high and I’m not sure these will get down where they need to be.
John
P.S. I have an idea what I did wrong, or at least what I might do differently that will result in a better fly following the tying sequence that you use.
I have found that if you don’t twist it evenly tight all the way to the hook it will tend to wrap unevenly. I agree, spinning a long wire dubbing brush in advance would alleviate that issue for sure. And it would allow you to knock them out pretty slick.
… with this nice fishy caught on a golden stone dry, here’s the report.
Fished the skittle for well over an hour in several places on a variety of water. Nothing.
As I suspected, the crick is still too high for this neat little fly. Even in the softer water, I was sure it was not getting down where the fishies might be.
I have no doubt the skittle will catch fishies on most, if not all, of the cricks I fish in this neck of the woods. But conditions are going to have to be a bit more favorable than they are right now.
Although candidly, it is a teensy weensy piece of water in a very, very small part of the West. Not to hotspot or anything like that, but it is Lolo Creek at about mile marker 18 which is about 14 miles up U.S. 12 after you turn west onto 12 from U.S 93. You will see a guard rail on the left after coming around a shallow bend to the right, and about 100 yards from the end of the guard rail you will see some damage from an auto accident last summer. Just at the end of the guard rail, about 30’ off the pavement, there will be a green metal gate. You can park in front of the gate. The hole in the pic is about 57 yards upstream, just where you come to the end of the trees that crowd the creek up to that point. Take the pic with you so you don’t miss the hotspot, which is just to the left of the large boulder at the lower center of the pic. :evil:
This creek has mostly nonnative fishies like rainbows and brown trout, along with some cutthroat trout. But the prize is the native …
… mountain whitefish.
The one in the pic was number two for the day. The first one was a bit …
… camera shy. Maybe partly because he was foul hooked just behind the left front fin and put up quite a tussle against the Tenkara rod I was fishing with.
Last up …
… was the smallest of the four hooked and three landed.
I’m sure the fishy that I hooked but didn’t land was a TROUT.
So there you have it - how, where, and what to fish in the West. :shock:
Tied another skittle today, trying to correct the error of my ways when I tied the first batch.
The other day, I tied the two peacock herls in by the butt ends. I used an electrician’s test clip to twist the herl / hackle / wire dubbing brush. Since I had tied the peacock herl in by the butt ends, the dubbing brush resisted twisting at the end at the hook while it twisted quite nicely at the tip end.
Today, I tied the peacock herl in by the tip end - and the dubbing brush formed up quite nicely right at the tie in point and made for a nice tie just as shown in Ralph’s step by step.
Nice little whitefish and a nice little stretch of water too. I learned while I lived out on the Left coast, never to badmouth a whitefish. Too often they can save the day.
I can’t thank you enough for getting some Skittles wet for me. It’s a long cast to your neck of the woods. Was it the green version they were taking?
On fine herl I don’t worry too much about the end, because I trim of aobut 3/4" on either end that I start with. When they are too larger and stiff though, I do the same as you and tie them in tip first.
I spent several winters fishing the South Fork of the Snake in SE Idaho. At almost 5,000’ elevation in what was occasionally the coldest place in the country in mid-winter, fishing for whitefish was THE game. The whitefish would be active and feeding and would put up a decent tussle when the trouts were so lethargic from the cold that they could / would hardly move for any reason other than being stepped on.
So I developed a real respect for the mountain whitefish. The same kind of respect I have for the steelhead and chinook salmon that make their way from the Pacific to the headwaters of the Lochsa River system at the crest of the Bitterroot Mountains. And I do still like to fish for them.
I thought I would have a chance to catch some trouts on the skittle today. But when I headed on down to the second stretch on Lolo Creek that I planned to fish, it started raining. No big deal. But after only a couple casts, there was thunder fairly close by. I didn’t think it was wise to be waving a 13’ long piece of graphite around so I collapsed it and headed for the car at the double time.
Should be able to get back on that crick and get some pix with trouts and skittles in the next few days.
I am with you on the Whitefish. From 89-2000 I made many a trip to the Yakima in the middle of the winter for them. I enjoy them.
Lightening is the one thing I don’t enjoy on the water. Well maybe the 2nd thing. Don’t care for skeeters either, but at least you can combat them…lightening wins every time.
I enjoy the pics and trips. I’m in the middle of moving homes, so I am living through everybody elses fishing until it’s all done.
… Ralph, because the skittle has proven to be a real whitefish getter. :twisted:
Fished the “hotspot” for a while this afternoon and had several whitefish on it. Also had one fish on that I am pretty sure was a brown trout.
Also fished here …
(upstream )
( downstream )
This stretch can’t be identified since it really is a hotspot. If I gave details there would likely be whitefish fanatics from all over the NorthWest on this piece of water in a matter of hours. And by the fourth of July there would probably be people flying in from foreign countries, lurkers who never post just waiting for an extraordinary opportunity.
Anyway, had a bunch of …
… like close to a dozen in an hour or so. This guy was on the smaller side and the bigger ones were in the 10-12" bracket. Also had one fish on that I am sure was a 12" or thereabouts brown trout.
Lots of fun with a 13’ Tenkara rod fishing tandem skittles under a small thingamobber.
[i]When I tied a couple fresh skittles today, I used the longest peacock herl that I have and a long saddle feather. With an appropriate length of wire, I could tie the fly the way you do and have enough dubbing brush left over to tie a second fly. Very efficient way to do it.
[/i]The skittle has provided a nice change of pace from playing tag with big dries on my home water for cutthroat trout and the opportunity to fish the Tenkara rod. These little whitefish put quite the bend in a medium action Tenkara rod when they have an assist from fast moving water.
I’m gonna keep tying and fishing skittles until I get some decent TROUT AND SKITTLES pix to post. Shouldn’t be long. Stay tuned.
Thank you for another nice report and I’m envious on the stretch of water. Like I’ve found out in this direction, fish like Skittles. It has really become one of my favorite dropper patterns when searching water. Are you still fishing the chartreuse version?
This morning, I tied a couple in red, both the thread and the wire. I also decided to upsize a couple red ones to a size 14 2XL nymph hook. That allows for more weight and a bigger gape. Plan to use those on my home water soon.
I have had good luck with the Orvis Beadhead hooks which are a bit longer and a better gape as well. The red and orange have done better for me in the winter months also.
… in Northern Idaho. The fishy hit it on the second or third cast into the really fast water just where it turns from yellow to green at the right center of the pic.
Can’t do without the traditional “left thumb” shot …
Also fished the larger red thread / wire skittle here …
… in the really, really slow water. And hooked up with a 17" cutthroat that managed to wiggle free while I was lifting it for a photo op.
BUT that was it, on a rather slow day. Fished the red thread / wire skittle for about three hours in a total of seven places and only had the two fishies on it.
Have to say that a salmonfly dry would have done quite well today. Saw more salmonflies on the water today than I have yet this year, and a goodly number of fish were eagerly smacking them. But I did commit to the skittle and lived with the result. Now I can get back to playing tag with the big dries.
A cutt on a Skittle! That’s a nice sight and I am jealous that I am not there to do it myself.
You’re find is about right along with mine. The Chartruese is the producer in the warm months. I have found the red and orange to do much better once the weather turns. I appreciate you giving the pattern a chance Sir! I agree, nothing like big cutts slapping at large dry flies. Won’t argue there for a minute.
Thanks for the time on the water and pics. Maybe once I get moved in and can hit some water, I can return the favor.
Last Sunday morning i caught my first white fish on the Madison in Yellowstone. In act I caught 2, one was about the size in the pictures and one was quite a bit larger and I enjoyed every moment. I watched an older gentleman and his daughter catch probably 20 or 25 fish in about 45 minutes and many of them were white fish and according to him one was a monster. As for having trouble winding on peacock herl have you ever tried using super glue like Walter Wiese does on several of his tying videos. It really makes a much more durable fly and is easier to tie because even if it does break it is still stuck tight.
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