Green Drake – 12/18/2012

One of the highlights of each fishing season is encountering a western green drake hatch. I can almost guarantee a green drake emergence if I visit the Frying Pan River between July and October. Hitting green drakes on other Colorado streams is more haphazard, but I’ve encountered them on St. Vrain Creek, the Roaring River, Clear Creek, the Fraser River, the Conejos River, and the Eagle River. If I only spot a few of these large mayflies by western standards, I immediately tie a green drake imitation to my line. Trout seem to have a long memory for green drakes, and because of their large size they are a treat to use as a prospecting fly.

For the most part fish are not extremely selective to green drake flies; however, over time I have tied numerous varieties. My first attempts were intended to mimic some green drake cripples that I purchased in Basalt on an early trip. They were called green drake cripples and were tied with a marabou tail and abdomen, then a deer hair collar and then hackle. They were difficult to tie and I gradually used them up and moved on to comparadun style green drakes. I made these with many shades of olive dubbing and had varying results.

This summer I traveled to the Conejos River in southcentral Colorado in late July and based upon the recommendation of the gentleman at the Conejos River Angler, I purchased a couple green drake flies. These flies produced quite well on my second day on the river in spite of a relatively sparse emergence. Subsequently the same flies produced fish on Clear Creek, but I lost all but one. Before I lost the remaining fly, I decided to use it as a model and produce some new ones for a September trip to the Frying Pan River.

Purchased Green Drake Took Ten Fish

I used the purchased fly to determine that the proper hook size was 12 3XL. I also was able to find some dubbing labeled light olive that matched the abdomen quite well, and found some maroon sewing thread in Jane’s sewing box that was perfect for the ribbing. Dark coastal deer hair was the final ingredient for the wing. The fly I purchased was much bushier than my version, but I wasn’t sure how to attach the extra materials, so I stayed with the sparse comparadun pattern.

Top View of Green Drake

I stream tested these newly tied flies in September on the Frying Pan River and they performed like a charm. I landed four trout in a fifteen minute time period at the tail end of the green drake hatch, and Dan landed one as well. I was convinced that this was the model I would stick to for future years of green drake fly tying.

Nice Side View of Green Drake Comparadun

I sat down at my vice over the weekend and whipped out ten size 12 3XL green drakes. I’m quite anxious to test them again during the summer of 2012.

Nine Green Drakes and Materials Used

Charlie Boy Hopper – 12/15/2011

The only quality of my yellow Letort hoppers I’d like to improve upon is buoyancy. Last winter I tied some Charlie Boy Hoppers made from foam in an effort to discover a buoyant attractor fly that would suspend beadhead nymphs, be highly visible, and remain on top of the water without vigorous false casting. I made some tan and yellow Charlie Boys and gave them a try.

I had my best success on the Conejos River using the tan versions; however, the deer wing disintegrated after catching two fish. This was actually the best performance as the yellow ones that I used on the Arkansas River early in the season came apart simply from repeated casting. In short these flies were poorly tied, and I reverted to the reliable yellow Letort hopper.

Improved Charlie Boy Hopper

Jane bought me the fly tying book by Charlie Craven, the creator of the Charlie Boy Hopper, for my birthday so I decided to review the instructions. The materials list suggests using 3/0 thread instead of the standard 6/0. 3/0 is a stronger heavier thread that enables more pressure to be applied when tying down materials. Another change was the addition of hopper legs made out of rubber strands tied in a knot to simulate the bend in the large legs of a grasshopper.

Fish Eye View from Underneath

I decided to give the Charlie Boy Hopper another try. I tied 20 using yellow foam bodies and four using tan foam. I have quite a few carry over tan versions, and I discovered I was able to refurbish four bodies with missing wing material by attaching my thread near the head and tying in a new wing. I covered the top of the foam at the wing tie in point with clear nail polish and then cinched the thread down hard so that it was embedded into the foam. This flared the deer hair wing nicely and provides a very solid bond between the hair and the foam. I’m optimistic that these improvements will make the Charlie Boy Hopper a solid producer during 2012. The rubber hopper legs also add realism and movement, so that should enhance the productivity as well.

Top View

Yellow Letort Hopper – 12/9/11

This is probably my most productive dry fly year in and year out. It’s easy to tie, floats reasonably well, and suspends beadhead nymphs. The only thing I could ask for is better flotation as the yellow dubbing tends to saturate and sink after five to ten casts.

During 2010 I thought that perhaps the Chernobyl ant had become my top large attractor fly, but during 2011 the yellow Letort reinforced its position on the throne.

In an effort to obtain better flotation I tied a bunch of yellow and tan Charlie Boy Hoppers entering the 2011 season, but I soon discovered that I didn’t properly tie the flies and the deer hair wing came loose fairly quickly. I found myself returning to the old reliable Letort hopper, and it didn’t disappoint. Consequently I tied 20 brand new size 10 yellow Letort hoppers in preparation for 2012 to avoid getting caught short.

Twenty Yellow Letort Hoppers

I have noticed the effectiveness of the yellow Letort hopper peaks in July in the early part of the season in Colorado. Perhaps this means the large yellow fly is also imitating golden stonefly adults. Hopper bodies of light gray and tan seem to take over in the late season.

My Best Topwater Producer

Sunken Trico – 12/5/2011

During September 2011 I made my first ever fishing trip to the North Platte River at Northgate Canyon. On my way I stopped at the North Park Fly Shop to obtain information about access and fishing conditions. The young man in the fly shop told me that tricos were hitting the water between 11AM and 1PM and BWO’s were emerging in the afternoon. Since I didn’t have more than one or two trico spinners I attempted to purchase some at the shop. Unfortunately North Park was out of them, but the young man I spoke with recommended buying sunken tricos.

I purchased four or five sunken tricos and sure enough I noticed swarms of tricos above the riffles in the late morning. At around noon the tiny tricos hit the water and trout began to rise and sip them in. Since I didn’t have trico  spinners, I added a sunken trico as a dropper to my large attractor top fly, and I was amazed to discover that the fish loved subsurface tricos as much as the ones floating on the surface. The sunken tricos I purchased had black bodies with wings made out of a material that almost looked like the clear plastic used to make baggies.

I promised myself that I would make sunken tricos, but never got around to it last winter. Once again in September of 2011 I made a trip to the North Platte River and stopped at the North Park Angler. The same salesperson was present and once again recommended sunken tricos. I asked about the ones with the plastic style wings, and he no longer had those so I purchased some with black bodies and white poly wings. The wings were swept back over the body caddis style. I didn’t have any success on the North Platte with these flies, but on a later trip to the Arkansas River I managed to hook and land one or two fish on this version of a sunken trico.

As I prepare for the 2012 season, I finally got around to tying sunken tricos. I searched online and found a pattern where the abdomen was constructed with fine black wire. I wasn’t convinced that a body made from fine wire would be narrow enough, so when I visited Charlie’s Fly Box to purchase materials I asked the clerk how he would make a sunken trico. He suggested tying them with a tiny black tungsten bead behind the eye of the hook so I bought some very small black tungsten beads.

Size 24 Sunken Trico

Early during this past week I sat down and tied six sunken tricos. I threaded the tiny beads on to the Tiemco 101 size 24 hooks and then tied tricos in the same manner that I have tied them since I began fly fishing and fly tying. I stripped some stiff barbules from a large hackle feather and tied them in for tails. I wrapped black thread forward to create the abdomen and then I took a sparse clump of white poly yarn and tied it in behind the bead and used figure eight wraps to secure the spent wing.

Black Tungsten Bead for Sinking

I like the look of this fly, and I’m anxiously anticipating encountering a trico hatch this summer to see how they perform.

Wiggle Damsel – 12/4/2011

Quite a few years ago I tied five to ten damsel nymphs made with light olive marabou on a size 12 long shank hook. I didn’t fish these frequently, but I liked having them available in my fleece wallet particularly for occasions when I visited a lake.

In June while waiting for the snowmelt to subside in Colorado I made a trip to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal warm water lakes. The first fly I tied to my leader was a damsel fly nymph as it was June and I observed a lot of aquatic vegetation. These were perfect conditions for damsel nymph migrations and hatching. I managed to land a small bass and decent crappie bass before losing my fly. At this point I discovered that only one damsel nymph remained in my fly wallet so I resolved to tie more during the coming winter.

Well that time was upon me, so I prepared to tie damsel nymphs. First I searched through my fly tying books and found a pattern in Charlie Craven’s book called the wiggle nymph, and another pattern called the twisted damsel in a book by Larry Tullis. Neither of these matched the ones I made previously, so I searched the internet and found one similar in style to the ones I tied before.

Next I made a list of the materials I required and discovered that I had dark olive marabou but none of the light olive that was listed in the fly recipes. The wiggle damsel was actually an articulated fly that required two hooks. I never made an articulated fly, but used several that were quite effective in Alaska, so I decided to experiment with a new damsel nymph.

I made a short trip to Bass Pro Shop on Friday night and purchased some small black beadhead eyes and 3X tippet to connect the two hooks, but Bass Pro did not have the desired light olive marabou. On Saturday afternoon after tying beadhead prince nymphs, Jane and I trekked to Old Arvada to Charlie’s Fly Box, and I purchased the highly sought after light olive marabou.

On Sunday afternoon after watching the Broncos pull out another win over the Vikings, I sat down to manufacture wiggle damsels. I used a Mustad 9671 size 12 for the front fly and a standard size 14 dry fly hook for the rear. I tied 10 tails by tying down a clump of marabou fibers for the tail and then winding the clump forward to the eye. After whip finishing the size 14 hook I used wire cutters to cut off the bend and hook point and set these aside in a plastic cannister for subsequent use.

Next I clamped the larger hook in the vise and tied in the black mono eyes with figure eight wraps and then moved to the rear of the front hook. I clipped a one inch section of 3X mono from the spool, threaded it through the eye of the previously prepared tail section and then bound the monofilament to the front hook so that the tail now dangled from the rear. Finally I tied in a clump of marabou to the rear of the front hook just like I had done for the tail and then wound it forward, under the eyes and then back over the top of the eyes and finished off.

Wiggle Damsel

I can’t wait to fish these flies as they look like great fish attractors. The wiggle tail and undulating marabou fibers should make this fly appear to be alive all the time.

Weekend Production

Beadhead Prince Nymph – 12/3/2011

The prince nymph is another favorite fly of western fly fishers. This classic has great fish attracting features including a bead, iridescent peacock hearl, and contrasting white wings. I always want to enter a new season with an adequate supply of beadhead prince nymphs.

In addition, I’ve discovered that a prince nymph is highly effective during the caddis hatches on Colorado Rivers. I’m guessing they are a reasonable imitation of egg laying caddis that dive into the river and swim to the stream bottom to lay their eggs. I’ve had some great success with prince nymphs late in the afternoon after the adult caddis have already hatched.

A Prince Nymph

I was prepared to begin tying damsel nymphs, but discovered I didn’t have light olive marabou, so I moved on to tying beadhead prince nymphs over the weekend. The first five were weighted with wire, and the next five were unweighted. Hopefully I now have an adequate stock of this reliable producer.

Olive-Brown Deer Hair Caddis – 12/1/2011

Early in the season, particularly on the Arkansas River, a caddis with a dark body is highly effective. Deer hair caddis with a peacock body are probably a better imitation of the caddis that hatch in thick clouds on the Arkansas; however, I’ve found that a dark olive-brown body caddis also fools fish. In addition this fly produces during other early season caddis hatches on various Colorado rivers so it is more versatile.

Underside of Olive Brown Deer Hair Caddis

Since I was on a roll making 20 light gray deer hair caddis, I simply swapped out the tying thread and dubbing and continued producing size 16 deer hair caddis with a dark olive-brown body. I made 15 of these to go along with the supply that already occupied my fly box.

2011 Season

2011 was a great year from a fly fishing perspective with lots of firsts experienced. Once again I read all my log entries, and in this post I’m going to rank my top ten fishing outings of the year. Here we go:

Dave Proudly Holds His Largest Catch to Date

1. Gibralter Creek – 6/23/2011 – Not only did I catch my first 24″ rainbow trout, but I also enjoyed my best afternoon of fishing during my Alaska Rainbow Point Lodge trip.

2. Conejos River – 7/21/2011 – A bear encounter didn’t stop me from experiencing a great day of fishing on the scenic upper Conejos River.

3. Tommy Creek – 6/24/2011 – Another stream draining into Lake Illiamna brought me my second 24″ rainbow along with some other nice fish. My guide, Jordan, tied fry flies the night before, and they worked their magic.

4. Copper River – 6/22/2011 – I read articles about catching large rainbows on a mouse fly and actually accomplished the feat on the lower Copper River.

A Better View of the Fraud Mouse

5. Deschutes River – 8/24/2011 – It was a long tiring day of relentlessly casting a spey rod, and it paid off with my first and only steelhead. It was worth it.

Estimated at 26"

6. South Platte River – 10/15/2011 – Jane, Dan and I hiked into Wildcat Canyon on a beautiful fall day. I landed 23 nice fish, but more importantly Dan had a great day, and it was fun to be with my family.

Holding Up for Fans

7. Big Thompson River – 10/5/2011 – This was perhaps my best day ever on the Big Thompson as I landed numerous nice rainbows using a size 16 light gray deer hair caddis.

8. Arkansas River – 9/13/2011 – Another day of catching nice rainbows this time using the dependable yellow Letort hopper was enjoyed. Amy and her roommate Joe accompanied me on this trip, so the drive was a lot of fun both ways.

9. Frying Pan River – 9/6/2011 – I foolishly left my newly tied green drakes behind in Denver, but managed to have a great day anyway. Jane, Dan and Amy arrived at 3PM, and I was able to land four or five on the new drakes. Dan fished with me for several hours, and I enjoyed watching him succeed in landing some nice fish.

10. Arkansas River – 9/25/2011 – I read a report suggesting that small flies such as tricos and BWO’s were working on the Arkansas River. It was one of those rare occasions when the suggested flies actually worked.

There you have it, the best of 2011.

Light Gray Deer Hair Caddis – 11/28/2011

Another fly that I discovered I was in short supply of late in the season was the light gray deer hair caddis. This fly proved to be a huge winner in one of my late season outings on the Big Thompson River, and it was after this experience that I discovered my shortage and I tied eight more before visiting the South Platte in Wildcat Canyon.

Dark bodied deer hair caddis seem to be the desired fly of trout early in the season, but by August, September and October gray or light colored caddis seem to be a better imitation. The late season caddis I’ve captured seem to have a yellow hue, but the light gray poly dubbing that I use seems to work across a broader range of matching situations than yellow.

When I tallied my list of fly tying requirements, I realized that I needed to make quite a few light gray and olive brown caddis in size 16, so I purchased a $25 pack of Whiting saddle hackles rated size 16. These are extremely long saddle hackles with size sixteen along the entire length. What a pleasure it was to tie twenty light gray deer hair caddis with the long saddles as I used approximately 2.5 feathers to complete 20 flies.

Twenty Light Gray Deer Hair Caddis

I tie my size 16 caddis in a very sparse manner with a narrow body and no palmered hackle over the abdomen. I make a full wrap around the deer hair before cinching it down on top of the hook to prevent the deer hair from rolling around the hook shank. I apply some head cement to the thread wraps that serve as the base for the deer hair, and I usually make four wraps of hackle in front of the deer hair wing. I’ve been in several situations where I caught fish with my sparse caddis when others failed or had less consistent success.

Sparse Light Gray Caddis

Woolly Bugger – 11/28/2011

The woolly bugger is a classic old standby that I hadn’t tied in many years. I lived off a supply that I’d made perhaps 5-10 years ago and given my reluctance to toss streamers, this sufficed for quite awhile. My best experience with woolly buggers was during the float of the Gunnison River that Dan and I did in 2007, and I lost a few there.

This summer after returning from Alaska I occasionally tied on a woolly bugger with a black marabou tail and olive chenille body, and during these infrequent forays into the world of streamers and woolly bugger fishing, I pretty much depleted my remaining supply. It was time for woolly bugger tying. I went to my iPad YouTube application and watched several videos of tyers making woolly buggers to refresh my memory. It remains fairly simple especially if one skips wire ribbing between the hackle wraps and reflective synthetics in the tail.

A Fresh Supply of Woolly Buggers

I dug deep in my hook supplies and uncovered some size 8 streamer hooks with a limerick bend. I have quite a supply of these unfortunately as it is almost impossible to slide a bead around the bend so I’ll have to resort to crimping a split shot on the line just above the eye of the hook. Everything else was there; .02 lead wire for weighting, green chenille, black marabou and large grizzly hackles from one of the necks where the tiny dry fly hackles were depleted.

A Completed Woolly Bugger

I sat down and made five on one weeknight and completed the job with another five the next evening. Will this supply last me another five years? Hopefully not with greater dedication to streamer fishing.