Monthly Archives: January 2016

January 29, 2016 · 8:46 am

Why Use Tubes In Your Fly Tying – With Jerry Darkes

Famed Steelhead Alley Angler Jerry Darkes makes a guest appearance at Chagrin River Outfitters to do some fly tying and demonstrate the usage, rigging and versatility of tube flies.

Jerry Darkes is a fly tackle sales rep, instructor/guide, and writer based in northern OH. He has over 4 decades of fly fishing experience in both fresh and saltwater and is recognized as an expert on Great Lakes steelhead and warmwater fly fishing. He is also a member of the Scott Fly Rod Pro Staff.

Jerry is also the Author of “Fly Fishing the Inland Oceans – an angler’s guide to finding and catching fish in the Great Lakes.” This is a must read for any Great Lakes angler and a great tool for all fly fishing anglers looking for great fly tying patterns and techniques. No matter the query, smallmouth, trout, steelhead, pike, musky, drum, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth, this book has you covered!

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January 28, 2016 · 9:05 am

Duffing’s Night Caddis

I wanted to post a fly from my old buddy, Tom Deschaine’s website MichiganDryFlies.net. Tom passed away about a year ago, but he did a lot of work trying to track down information and recipes from old Michigan dry fly patterns. He is one of the major sources I’ve used when tying some of the Michigan Classics I tie.

This particular fly is Duffing’s Night Caddis designed by Harry (Henry) Duffing of Baldwin, Michigan back in the 50s. It always struck me as a very beautiful pattern and could stand up with the rest of the patterns available in the 1950s. Tom recommended to Flexament the wings to make them more durable. The wings may also be tied upright and divided. The egg sack in the back could be tied in either gray or yellow.

All Tom found out about Mr. Duffing is that he owned a barber shop in Baldwin, Michigan and was an amateur tier who specialized in heavily hackled flies. I would say for an amateur tier, he sure designed a beauty here!

This fly was created to be fished at night for the Hexagenia hatch. It is recommended to use dry fly powder floatant or liquid floatant to keep old flies like this afloat.

Recipe is as follows:

Hook: Mustad #79580 Size: 6-8 4XL
Thread: Black or Brown, 6/0
Tail: Two Pheasant Tail Fibers, tied in a “vee”.
Body: Gray Wool Yarn
Rib: Gold Tinsel and Palmered Brown Hackle.
Wing: Gray Mallard Wing Segments, tied upright & divided.
Hackle: Brown

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Filed under Classic, Michigan

January 27, 2016 · 9:03 am

Iron Lotus

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The BWO variation is also deadly and fairly simple to tie as well.
PMD Recipe:
Hook: Dai- Riki 135 (sizes 14-18)
Bead: Gold Tungsten to match hook size
Tail: Coq de Leon Medium or Dark Pardo
Abdomen: UTC Rusty-brown 140 denier
Rib: UNI Thread 6/0 Yellow
Glue for abdomen: Sally Hansen’s Hard as Nails (Clear) or Loon’s Hard Head Clear (2 coats)
Wingcase: Black Thinskin
Thorax: Mercer’s Crystal Buggy Nymph PMD Dubbing

BWO Recipe:
Hook: Dai- Riki 135 (sizes 14-18)
Bead: Gold Tungsten to match hook size
Tail: Coq de Leon Medium or Dark Pardo
Abdomen: UTC Brown Olive 140 denier
Rib: UNI Thread 6/0 White
Glue for abdomen: Sally Hansen’s Hard as Nails (Clear) or Loon’s Hard Head Clear (2 coats)
Wingcase: Black Thinskin
Thorax: Jan Siman Peacock Black (or any other dark flashy dubbing that you like)
Collar: UTC Red 70 Denier

Read more here: http://flytying123.com/iron-lotus-pmd-fly-tying-video/01/25/2016/

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Filed under nymphs

January 26, 2016 · 9:26 am

Black Sally – Philip Rowley

Here is another fine video by Philip Rowley. He knows his stuff, so check it out!

Phil said, “If you had to choose one color chironomid pupa to fish or to start exploring new water I would recommend black and red, a black body complimented with a red rib. The Black Sally fits this color selection philosophy to a tee.”

Material list:

Hook: Daiichi 1120 #10-#16
Thread: MFC 8/0, Black
Butt: Holographic Flashabou, Red #6996
Rib: Holographic Flashabou, Red #6996
Body: Flashabou, Black #6912
Thorax: Peacock Herl
Bead: Black Nickel

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January 25, 2016 · 12:02 am

Dirty Dancer – Matt Huckeba

Welcome to the first Season of the Tasty Bug Tying Series, brought to you by Fly Shop of the Bighorns located in Sheridan, WY. This season is all about streamers, the bigger the better. In Episode 1, Matt Huckeba ties his own pattern, the “Dirty Dancer”. Tune in next week for a new streamer!

Featuring Matt Huckeba in Caesar’s Chair
Matt would like to acknowledge and thank John McClure and Mike Schmidt, as their flies the “Kill Whitey” and the “Viking Midge”, respectively, were the inspiration for his own fly, the “Dirty Dancer”.

Filmed and edited by Zach Andres
Music by Ryan Little, songs in order of appearance: Falling Down, Sand Castles, Star Writings, Conscious… find more at freemusicarchive.org/music/Ryan_Little/

Dirty Dancer Recipe:
Front hook: Partridge Universal Predator X #1/0
Trailing hook: Partridge Attitude Streamer #2

Thread:
-Danville’s 140 Denier Waxed Flymaster Plus
-Danville’s 210 Denier Waxed Flymaster Plus

Trailing hook:
-Tail: Whiting American Saddle
-Body: Polar Chenille
-Body hair: Arctic Fox Fur

Front hook:
-Head: Sculpin Wool & Ice Dub Blend
-Body: Polar Chenille
-Body hair: Arctic Fox Fur

Joint Connection:
-Maxima 40lb Ultragreen Monofilament
-Red plastic bead

Vise:
-Peak Rotary Vise

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Filed under Streamers

January 22, 2016 · 12:01 am

Silverside – Jari Koski

Jari Koski shows you the steps in tying a nice Silverside baitfish fly for saltwater. Of course, you could also use this in freshwater.

materials list:
2/0 SC15, 8/0 veevus thread
pearl gray BT
holo silver angel hair
polar bear
gray olive craft fur
magnum flash silver
5mm eyes.

A sparse clump of pearl gray bucktail.

Add some silver flash.

Put some super glue on the shank and dub some silver flash on it. Brush it.

Pearl gray bucktail 360 degrees.

Hollow tie some craft fur/wonder fur in front of the bt. The Helsinki Spey Clave wonder fur in polar bear color is perfect for the bottom side as its totally transparent. Gray olive on top is spot on for silversides on the Hook in Cape Lookout.

Use tool, something hollow, to reverse fibers back.

Do a small cone of thread in front of the craft fur and add some super glue to it.

Add a wide tinsel flash on both sides for the lateral line.

Use some gel super glue to add the eyes. If your using the fly in shallow water or a flat you might want to leave it like that. Gel super glue used on soft stuff like CF will stick on very well. If your out chasing albies etc, do a bullet head with your favorite UV resin or epoxy. If you want it to be totally foul proof you can make it a Surf candy…

Front view.

Head shot.

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Filed under Saltwater

January 21, 2016 · 12:41 pm

Griffith’s Gnat Emerger

George Griffith, one of the founding fathers of Trout Unlimited, made the Griffith’s Gnat famous. It can be used to mimic any small insects. This fly gives you a Gnat, emerger style.

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January 20, 2016 · 12:23 am

Steelhead Bugger

From Fly Fish the Mitt: “This fly can be used for steelhead, trout…whatever you want. It’s basically a wooly bugger I call a steelhead bugger because that’s what I use it for. It can imitate a stonefly, a leech or in the right color combos a crayfish. Change colors and sizes for different looks.

It’s a super easy quick tie you won’t mind when you lose a few. I fish this fly on a indy rig for steelhead in the fall and winter. It’s an effective pattern searching for steelhead in high water or on tough days.”

The breakdown:

Hook: TMC3761 2X Heavy 1X Long
Thread: 6\0 in color of marabou you’re using
Tail: Hareline Bugger Black Marabou (your choice of color)
Body: Peacock Ice Dub (your choice of color)
Hackle: Grizzly Hackle

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