little moth…

on the backdoor window measured less than an inch wide. It cooperated while I putzed about with the macro against the glass.

glimpse of beauty…

along a bleak, parched shoreline of an Oregon lake. A single piece of lush vegetation stood out with this ‘butterfly’ spread to the sun.

Photography: UFO

Photography-UFO-Butterfly-Moth-Unidentified Species-Nature

It was pretty, still and cooperative. Not sure what it was name wise. Vibrant and crisp in the Fall air. Lepidopterology (General or Very Specific)

Woolly Worm’s Resurrection

Woolly Worm

Do you recall a time of no fly shops, or at least not many? You would walk into a hardware store, that decided to carry fishing supplies. Mostly spinning gear and trolling rigs, Pautzke’s Eggs, sinkers and snelled hooks were on the wall. An assortment of pliers, a refrigerator with worms, and gizmo’s to hook your catch onto before headed home for the fish fry. Also, there was a very small spot at the end of a counter made of  plastic or wood that had twelve small bins, with half empty. In the used portions were flies. Big Royal Coachman; a yellow body leadwing coachman, some other effort at a dry fly, and eventually you would eye the Woolly Worm…usually a yellow chenille body, a palmered grizzly or light dun hackle and the bright red tail. That bright red tail was the attractor more often than not for the fingers plucking the fly from the bin and the trout or perch grabbing the fly tethered to a gawdawful heavy line.

Over time, fly shops grew into prominence and the fly fisher did not enter the True Value store anymore unless looking for mantels for the lantern or Coleman Fuel. And, without noticing, the Woolly Worm gave way to the ubiquitous Woolly Bugger. The undulating Marabou tail out performed  the glowing red hackle fibered or yarn tail. Well, there is no doubt the Woolly Worm in all its variations is one awesome fly. However, I am intending to start an exploratory endeavor this next year with the Woolly Worm. Yes, I will have the yellow body and red tail for old time’s sake. But, I am going to use some of the newer sparkle chenilles and a few dubbed bodies. I am going to experiment with different colored tail colors, using some of the hot colored steelhead feathers. Sans marabou, it will be the same as a Woolly Bugger, but I want to pay homage to that clunky size 10 fly from the hardware store and let it push the leech pattern aside for a bit and see if it can suggest the dragon, damsel, hellgramite and cased caddis.  

  Woolly Worm Model