Fly Tying (Pinch Loop Technique….Stop Materials Rollover)

This is a nice looking little midge emerger I tied. Size 18. But, do you see the flaw? No, not the thread body that is bumpy from too large a thread (8/0)…the tail. Do you see how it is rolled over on the far side of the hook rather than on top of the shank? When you pinch the material between your thumb and forefinger tips and place it over the shank, at the bend, the material is sometimes attached by wrapping the thread over the top of the material, then away to the far side of the shank and then underneath. The torque or pull of the thread is often away from you and this causes the material you were holding to roll away from you to the far side of the shank/bend…hence…the above tail over on the far side. The fly probably would track ok under water..but on a larger scale the fly would lay to the left. So, a technique (the pinch loop) that I usually do out of habit failed me above and I should have noticed and reapplied the tail.

So, before I show you the pinch loop technique…let me mention this…whatever you wrap…feel free to unwrap the previous wraps to correct mistakes. This a habit that will stand you in good stead down the road when tying flies. Now, the fly above was small and my eyesight betrayed me in seeing the mistakes. The camera lens revealed the flaws…but, in larger sizes you will often see your mistakes and I encourage you to undo-redo. Now the pinch loop technique.

I couldn’t really find adequate pictures, so I took some of my own…and, I did no better. So, let me try to explain. Secure the material you wish to tie in. In this case it is some tan feather fibers. The material is pinched between the thumb and forefinger. The material is set atop the hook shank/bend with the material as close to touching the top of the shank as possible.

The thread is brought up between the thumb and forefinger on your side then the thread is brought across the top loose (normally a big no no…no slack usually) and again worked up between the thumb and forefinger. Now pull the thread straight down, which causes the pinched loop, between your thumb and forefinger, to be drawn tight downward against the material setting atop the shank. Do it again. Take your fingers, that were holding the materials, away. The material should be setting on top of the shank. If it is, then wind a few more tight thread wraps…if not, unwrap and try again. Start the fly correctly and it will look nicer.

Tying the Carey Special (Stillwater Dragon or Caddis Imitation)

This a great stillwater pattern popular in the Pacific NW and B.C. and for all I know beyond. I have never fished it for stream born insects but imagine it could serve well as an October Caddis. The dubbed body can be replaced by a wound body of yarn, chenille or the classic…peacock herl. The hardest part of the fly is winding/wrapping a balanced wing with the ringneck pheasant rump feather. Do not over hackle the pattern…more is not better. In the spirit of not leaving well enough alone…the fly could have a small filoplume tail and be tied on a straight shank hook. Here I tied it on the TMC 200R hook with a straight eye. Many do not like this hook because of lost fish. I have not had the problems with this hook.

“Originally called the “Monkey-faced Louise”, until receiving the name Carey Special. It was aptly named the Carey Special from its originator, Colonel Carey. Doctor Lloyd Day of Kelowna found a groundhog on his fishing trip and asked Colonel Carey to tie a fly from the hairs. Today, it has many colors, and is usually tied with pheasant rump rather than groundhog.

A Carey Special can simulate many insects, including dragonfly nymphs, caddis nymphs, mayfly nymphs, and leeches. The Carey is by far one of the most popular lake fishing patterns in British Columbia. Look in any local angler’s fly box, and it will probably contain a Carey Special. It is an exceptional trolling fly, and a great searching pattern.

The most common way to fish the Carey Special in British Columbia’s lakes, is to troll the fly on or near the bottom with a full sink line. At other times, success can be found while trolling the fly at intermediate depths, or near the surface. Often variations in the retrieve will elicit strikes. Short tugs of about 2 to 3 inches, or long slow pulls of about 8 to 12 inches, followed by a pause should be tried.”  (Sport Fishing BC)

TYING INSTRUCTIONS FOR CAREY SPECIAL

Also, query here for Lake Bait Stillwater Nymph Pattern (8-3-08) for a worthy variation of the Carey Special (this one has the little tuft of marabou/filoplume tail). The Carey Special is suggestive of dragons and damsels and stillwater caddis. It is a productive stillwater pattern and a good basic pattern to practice beginning fly tying skills: ribbing, wrapping a body of yarn, peacock herl or chenille and tying in a feather by the tip and wrapping a wing the length of the body. If you want to take the fly in a different direction then consider a body of red, orange, yellow, chartreuse, purple. Something to note…look at the heads below…chunky. Look at the one above…more streamlined. I found the peacock made for a thicker tie off and I used heavier thread below. By the time I had tied in and wound the wing, I had a pretty thick thread head. I would recommend 8/0 and minimize the thread wraps to lessen buildup. The goal is to secure the materials for a durable fly, but aesthetically the fly can look clunky if a little care is not taken. There are two important points in fly tying: the bend and the eye. The fly can look too thick at the rear or front when care is not taken to securely tie in materials with minimal thread wraps while using a thinner thread (14/0 or 8/0 instead of 6/0 or 3/0.

Two Experiments for Midges (The Macro Shows the Flaws)

These are kind of like a Palomino Midge pattern. I used a size 18 hook and 14/0 thread (black and gray). The extended body is the micro dubbing brush, the wing is packing bubble wrap pieces and the wing case is pink antron on the left and cream on the right. I am not certain the bubble wrap material would float the pattern. I tied a half dozen to experiment with later. Below, I experimented with a midge pattern where you tie it in reverse. I have fascinated with these reverse ties (wing, thorax at the bend rather than up at the eye of the hook). I tied the below pattern on a size 18 hook. Once again, it is a bit daunting to see how sloppy a pattern looks when the macro lens captures every errant thread wrap or wayward hackle fiber. The hackle was much too big for the below pattern. Guess that is ok… Makes the work of the master photographers all the more impressive.

Feathers (Many Types & Many Colors)

FEATHERS

CONTACT INFO FOR SWALEF & SON

Excellent Tutorial Site for Beginning Fly Tying (UK Fly Dressing)

UKFlyDressing.com (Check Out All the Step by Steps)

Fly Tying the Simple Dubbed Pupa for beginners

Caddis, Chironomid, Mayfly, Scud…the simple pupa pattern is simple in silhouette and design. The basic fly then lends itself to the bead and/or the wing. Keep it sparse and the pattern can be tied in different colors, although I have a proven comfort with green.

The pattern can be tied on hooks ranging from size 10 to size 18. Today I tied size 16′s and 14′s for the bead heads. I used the curved pupa hook, but you could use a straight shank hook.

Limerick Bend

Depending upon the size bead you use, you may have to crimp the barb down, which you would anyway if practicing C&R. For straight shank hooks be certain the bend of the hook is a sproat bend, a more circular bend, which allows the hook to slide up around the bend and up the shank to the eye. A more confined bend (Limerick) will thwart the application of the bead.

I used 8/0 black thread. The dubbing was a synthetic blend of sparkle dubbing with no spikiness. Insect green (Caddis Green) depending upon the manufacturer and black were used. I dubbed to the thread as opposed to a dubbing loop and was careful to dub sparsely. A copper wire rib was used.

How To For Basic Non-Beaded Pupa:

Put hook in vise…attach thread..wrap to rear at bend…tie in copper ribbing…dub abdomen with green dubbing…wrap copper wire ribbing up abdomen spacing wraps to give segmented appearance. If wraps dig into dubbing and disappear then counter wrap over dubbing so that wire lays over top of dubbing wraps or grooves…tie off wire and cut (not with tips of scissors, further down on blades)…dub black thorax same thickness as abdomen…tie off the head.

If you were going to add the bead head then it is the first thing to do…slide the bead on and then apply thread and tie as described above. If a wet fly is desired then the starling or partridge wing is wrapped just ahead of the thorax (allow enough room for this and don’t crowd the eye). If you want a bead head-wet then the wing goes on as a last step right behind the bead. The rest of the fly is the same…built upon the basic dubbed pupa. Excellent Dubbing Information.

Fished alone or as a dropper in smaller sizes, the simplicity does not detract from the fly’s effectiveness. More is not better, except in our obsession to over tweak every pattern. There is a reality of the simple fly, well presented and attended to does catch fish. Most adornments beyond that are for our appreciation and artistic bent.

Fly Tying and the IDK Pattern(s)

Where do yours’ go? I have plastic bins of IDK patterns.  I Don’t Know what they were suppose to be. Often I tied with improvisation, trying to not so much match anything as create something interesting, and to me enticing to the trout. Not a good process. Better to match something then improvise and then keep it in the ballpark of reality. Yet, hundreds of flies fill plastic bins. Flies that rarely saw water, immediately rejected at the vise or removed from a box after dozens of mental rejections on the water. Sometimes, I find a few like these that actually seem OK rather than IDK……….

Hell, I Don’t Know…..

Midge Mania

Some would say cursed (my kids) by the afflictions of always on time (actually early) and Semper Paratus…I am often arriving early to meetings and killing time sitting in the rig or as I have come to do…wandering a bookstore. Recently, I was killing time in Medford, Oregon at a Barnes & Noble and came across a book that begged the question ‘how many variations of a chironomid/midge can there possibly be to warrant a sizeable book?’ Apparently many. Sorry for the cell phone blur…but you get the idea…

The book has a nice layout and covers every conceivable variation of chironomid, midge, buzzer, gnat…. you are bound to find something new to experiment with…I did. I did not spring, but given the detail and thoroughness of the book, it is worth the price (I won’t quote, given the various resources out there to acquire books in the store or online).

Jay Moor + Exclamatory Words and Phrases

There are many notable photographers that seem to combine the camera and the environs of the rod. An always noteworthy one is Jay Moor. As you peruse his images you will indeed utter your ingrained selection of words that show awe, respect and appreciation. I think we all agree this is the medium…the visual…that transports the work bound, house bound, duty bound to places they have never been or not been to in too long a time.

JAY MOOR PHOTOGRAPHY