Back in 1996 or 1997, Don Bastian invited Charles Meck to go fishing with him in Ontario at the Grand River. This was about the time Don created the Green Patriot. Don explains the design of the fly like this.
“More or less going along with the infamous Green Weenie fly, that Charlie popularized with a looped-tail, I took the inspiration of Charlie’s Patriot and the known fact that fish love chartreuse and created the Green Patriot. Sort of like the Lime Trude, but more on the order of a Wulff. The Green Patriot is dressed just like the Patriot, except that it uses fluorescent green thread instead of red, and pearlescent Krystal-flash instead of the light blue of Charlie’s pattern.”
When Don told Charlie the fly was a cross between the Patriot and Green Weenie, he laughed. They both started calling the fly the “Patriot Weenie.” Don said they caught fish on the Green Patriot at the Grand River. He noted they were not big fish, but he was happy the fly was working on a hard-fished river. Charles later went out west and wrote back to Don, “Those Patriot Weenies really caught a lot of trout!”
Don expresses the Green Patriot is a great attractor pattern on small streams or anywhere in pocket and broken water when there’s no hatch.
Green Patriot
Hook: Standard dry fly hook size #10 – #16
Wings: White calf body hair; white thread is used to set, divide, and post the wings
Thread: Danville 6/0 Flymaster #504 Fluorescent Green
Tail: Brown hackle fibers
Body: Fluorescent green tying thread; the rear and front-third of the body is formed with pearlescent Krystal-flash wrapped over the thread
Hackle: Brown
Charles and Don would meet again when Charles was working on the second edition of Pennsylvania Trout Streams and Their Hatches. Charles actually went to Don’s house and they fished Larry’s Creek in Pennsylvania. He mentioned Don’s tying of Comparaduns in the book.
If you want to read a few more details about the fly, head over to Don Bastians website.
