Loon Outdoors has started creating new fly tying videos and this is one of the first. Knowing Loon, I’m looking forward to more high quality videos like this one. In this video, a jig nymph with a hot spot and the perfect amount of flash is demonstrated. It has a cool name as well, Jigawockie!
The Holy Grail is a great little caddis emerger pattern. The Holy Grail is one of those “go to” patterns used by many western trout guides. The Holy Grail is just plain buggy and a very forgiving pattern to fish. The Holy Grail can be dead drifted, swung at the end of a drift or even stripped behind a streamer. The Holy Grail can be tied in three main colors: Natural, Olive and Black. All are equally effective and great to have in any caddis box!
Rich Strolis shows us how to tie his Bush Meat Streamer in this video. In case you have been living under a rock, Rich has a new book out. The cover is below. Click on it for more info. Check out Rich’s website to keep up with what he is doing.
Gold UV Polar Minnow
Materials:
• Thread: UTC Tan 210
• Hook: Gamakatsu B10S #6
• Eyes: Spirit River Real Eyes 3/16” Nickel/Pearl
• Tail: UV Polar Chenille twisted and furled
• Body: UV Polar Chenille Gold
• Head: Tan/Claret Ice Dub in split thread or dubbing loop
Polar Chenille is one of my favorite synthetic materials. I use it on many streamer patterns and salmon/steelhead flies. It makes a great body for flashy buggers and sculpin. A couple turns can add the perfect accent to Intruders and tube flies.
The Polar Minnow is a simple pattern I worked out several years’ back that relies on UV Polar Chenille for the body and the tail. It is easily customizable and I’ve tried numerous color schemes. On our original video, I used UV Pearl and permanent markers to color it up. While that pattern is still in play, I’ve gotten more positive feedback from customers using the Gold UV Chenille version that is available from Yellowstone Fly Goods. A couple local tiers have been building their own Gold UV Polar Minnows and fishing them with great success on the Missouri River.
The power of Gold UV Polar Chenille is hard to beat. Some days, trout can’t leave it alone. Here is an updated Polar Minnow in the Gold format. The head is finished off with Claret and Tan Ice Dub. The addition of some Claret behind the Tan adds a little attraction and bling. Give this one a try and let me know if it works for you.
Note: Don’t be afraid to do a little trimming of the Polar fibers if you want a sparser body.
