For The Fish, or For The Angler

Who do you tie for?

Listen to this episode of  This American Life about some Ocean's Eleven level heist of  fly tying feathers!

Slow Week In Milwaukee

I've went out fishing three times this past week on the Menomonee and haven't caught a single fish.  I did, however, catch this adorable turtle by hand.

Yesterday, I tied some flies from some clearance bin craft store yarn hoping they'll be good for rough fish.  I call the flies "hooker eyelashes," it's funny on a couple different levels

The fishing was no different yesterday than it has been.  I probably covered a mile of stream and only saw three fish.  I think the rain and cold has slowed the sucker run, but I don't really know what temperature suckers spawn at.  I took the opportunity to explore the restoration progress since the fishing was slow.  The improvements are looking nice!

Tiny Flies

I took some time Monday (my birthday) to tie up some size 20 Elk Hair Caddis flies.  These are the smallest flies I've tied.

I tied ten, that should last me a while.

Simple And Versatile Wet Fly

A video for a quick and effective wet fly.  Aside from the black and brown version in the video, I tie a lot of purple and starling wet flies.  Just use purple thread and a feather from the breast of a starling skin.  Of course there is the classic partrigde and orange wet fly that follows the same pattern.



This little driftless brook trout took a black and brown.

Trailer

I threw this together for my youtube channel.

Leaving For Michigan

I get out of work at 6:30 AM tomorrow, and we're leaving right after.  There may be a stop at the Bass Pro Shops in Gurnee Mills to look at some waders and other gear because I got a gift card for my birthday.  I can't wait to fish in West Michigan again, I hope the weather cooperates.

Here is a video for tying the Black Barber that I threw together yesterday.  Now that I've fished this pattern and caught my first brook trout on it, I think I can call it a good pattern.

Variations on a Pattern

The Partridge and orange wet fly is a classic pattern.  Orange thread and partridge hackle, that's it.  So simple, so overlooked.  I've never used one, but I took the idea of such a simple pattern and improvised some flies with my low stock of available materials and tied some of these for my family's upcoming trip to Michigan.

The top one is as simple as it gets.  Black thread for the body, copper wire for the rib, a big gold bead for a head, and a red neck hackle feather on a size 14 dry hook.  I used the dry hooks because that's all I have in that size.  How much of a difference can it make?  For the one pictured on the bottom, I found three strands of pheasant tail fibers laying in my lap.  I used them for the tail, and wrapped around the hook for the thorax.  Slightly more complicated than the original Partridge and Orange of the 1800s, but still pretty simple.

I don't tie enough wet flies, in fact, I don't think I've ever really fished with a wet pattern before.

For more information and interesting history on the Partridge and Orange click here.

The Long Cast/Getting Skunked

I have some hand tied flies all packaged up, ready to ship to a friend in Oregon.  Congratulations to Ken, a new fly fisher, For guessing the number in the Early trout season giveaway!  I'm so happy to think about some of my flies going and catching fish out on the west coast.

Quote of the day: "Really, fishing is just larping isn't it?  Out there trying to catch pokemon."

I said that to my wife when I got home from getting skunked today.

The Black Barber

Hook: size 10 Wooly bugger
Thread: black
Tail: black marabou
Body: black chenille
Rib: red holo tinsel
Wing: black marabou
Eyes: two links of dog tag chain

I wanted to call it something related to my profession, as is the case with the Coachman, which evolved into the Royal Coachman.

Phlebotomy's roots lay in bloodletting, which was performed by barbers, and the white and red striped barber's pole has all kinds of symbolic meaning related to blood and surgery.

I was torn between calling it the Bloodletter, or the Black Barber.  I asked my wife which she liked better, she said she'd call it Fluffybuns.  I already let her name the Flashy Pants, I don't think we need a Fluffybuns.  Black barber wins because of its resemblance to a barber's pole.

Sorry for the history lesson, I'm a nerd.

Click here for a video!

How To Tie An Elk Hair Caddis

I had recently checked out Essential Trout Flies by David Hughes from the Milwaukee Public Library.  There are many nice flies in the book, but I was mostly interested in the Elk Hair Caddis patterns.  The book gives great instructions as well as advice on how to present the patterns.  I learned that if you plan on fishing calmer waters with the caddis, as opposed to heavy riffles and rapids, you can omit the hackle in a size 16 or smaller fly.  Omitting the hackle makes tying a caddis much easier, at least for me.  I can tie about ten an hour this way, which is about the same rate I can lose them in streamside vegetation in my backcast!  And seriously, you're going to use floatant anyway, right?

What you'll need

• Dry fly hooks, size 16 or smaller
• Tan thread
• Dubbing
• Elk hair

I like to use dubbing plus, well, because it's what I have-- and it can be teased out a little to look more like insect legs.  Working with elk hair is a little tricky when you're first learning. The trick is learning the "soft loop."  What you'll do is hold the tips of the hair tightly in your left hand directly on top of the hook, then wrap one wrap loosely over the bunch and back down under the hook shank.  then as you come back over, pull the thread tight and watch as the clipped ends of hair stand out at crazy angles.  

I don't have a hair stacker, so I just try to pinch a bunch of hair on the hide and keep the ends fairly even.  It's just one more step I can skip to make fly tying that much simpler.  And hey, the trees trout probably won't notice anyway.

here is a video of me tying a size 16 elk hair caddis in under five minutes.

A couple pictures of finished flies.

Size 16

Size 16 close up

Size 18

If you're new to tying, click on the "Fly Tying" label on the right, I have some previous posts for fly tying beginners.  I'm kind of a n00b myself, I just got the hang of working with the elk hair. It just takes a lot of practice.

Tie one of these with its inventor, Al Troth in mind.  Al passed this past August after reaching level 82.  You've reached Legendary status in the fly fishing world Al, you will be missed.

Tying the Flashypants Nymph

As seen here.  

How To Tie a Woolly Bugger

If you are only going to learn to tie one fly, it should probably be the Woolly Bugger.  I know that I can approach any body of water that holds fish anywhere in the world, tie on a size 10 Woolly Bugger and have a pretty good chance at catching a fish.  They are pretty simple to tie, and easy to modify with various materials.  Once you learn how to tie a Woolly Bugger, you can easily tie an Egg Sucking Leech, which is a productive fly for steelhead and other anadromous species in the Great Lakes.

Below is an 8 minute video on how to tie a size 10 black bead head Woolly Bugger.

If you're new to fly tying, I have a post about commonly used tools and materials, and another post demonstrating basic fly tying techniques.

I usually tie a size 10 Woolly Bugger for stream trout and panfish.  If I'm  going for smallmouth,  I usually start with a size 8, if I have a lot of short strikes, I'll go to a 10.  I usually tie size 6 Woolly Buggers for largemouth bass and for salmon migrating up the streams.

Sometimes I'll tie black Woolly Buggers with grizzly hackle instead of black.  I almost always tie olive Woolly Buggers with grizzly hackle.  The olive dye from the marabou will leach into the lighter grizzly hackle and make for an interesting fly.  A few strands of Flashabou in the tail of your buggers may increase their attraction.

Here are some Woolly Buggers and variations I've tied this year.

Size 6 conehead 

Size 6 beadhead with Flashabou

Size 10 Egg Sucking Leech

Size 10 Force Choking Leech, a fly of
my own design.

Here are some fish I've caught on Woolly Buggers.

Summer 2012, Minnesota's Otter Tail River 

fall 2007, Otter Tail.  Biggest smallmouth I've
ever caught

Grizzly hackle bugger, Milwaukee

Milwaukee River smallmouth

Olive and grizzly bugger, Milwaukee

That's a nice Milwaukee River Smallmouth
caught within city limits

Nice rock bass, Milwaukee River

Chinook salmon from the Menomonee

See the Bugger in her mouth?

If I were only going to carry one fly, it would be a black Woolly Bugger, they are just so effective for so many species of fish!  They are kind of like the fly fishing version of the Mister Twister curly tail grub.

feel free to ask any questions, have fun!

Everything's coming up Millhouse!

Today is my last day of work for my seasonal Big Box position.  That's okay, because yesterday I accepted a full time phlebotomy position.

I feel like somewhat of a success now.

On another note, it took me three attempts to make a video I was happy with for this blog post, and I'm still not all that happy with it.  Below is one of the funnier takes that started bad right away.

Tying Your Own Amphipoda; or, I Remember When Scuds Were Soviet Produced Missiles Fired From Iraq Into Israel

Scuds always remind me of GWAR and the first Gulf War.  I didn't know that there were tiny shrimp-like creatures called scuds until I started fly fishing.  If you click here, you'll see that there are many meanings for the word scud.  Anyway, I filmed an instructional video on how to tie a simple, highly effective scud that will work for trout, bass, and panfish.

You can visit an earlier post for a little more instruction if you're new to fly tying.  Sorry if it's a little shaky, this is what I'm working with.

In the video, I tied a tan scud.  Scuds tend to take on the color of their environment though, so if you're fishing in a silty stream, grey may be a better representation of what the fish are eating.  If you're fishing along a weedline, cast an olive colored scud.  Those are the three colors I tie, but I've seen pink scuds for sale in shops.

The scud from the video, smaller than
the words "atomic field-circuits."

When fishing in streams with a scud, I let it dead drift through pools, riffles or along cover, sometimes I give little twitches.

I was fishing in Lake Michigan along the rocks near Discovery World early one late spring morning and I caught so many little trout I couldn't believe it!  They must have been hatchery trout that were just stocked, but it sure was fun!  I would cast almost parallel to the rocks, and strip the scud back.

I fish the same way in the urban ponds that are stocked, cast and strip back. 

Here are a few fish I've caught on scuds,  they're nothing too exciting though.

Although they are very abundant, widespread and diverse,^[2] amphipods do not feature strongly in the public imagination. Thomas Roscoe Rede Stebbing wrote in 1899:^[3]

No panegyrist of the Amphipoda has yet been able to evoke anything like popular enthusiasm in their favour. To the generality of observers they are only not repelled because the glance which falls upon them is unarrested, ignores them, is unconscious of their presence. (Source:Wikipedia)

I think Tom needs to hang out with some anglers.

Well Hello Mr Flashy Pants

I tied some of these nymphs and showed them to my wife, she called them flashy pants nymphs.

Flashy Pants Nymphs

Hook: Size 12 Daiichi 1120 curved scud hook

Thread: Red

Body: Peacock herl

Tail: Pearl Flashabou

Rib: Copper wire

Head: Red thread or optional bead head

Super easy, I can't wait to try them out!  Click for video.

"...they have planned a snare for the fish"

Many credit the first recorded use of an artificial fly to the Roman Claudius Aelianus near the end of the 2nd century. He described the practice of Macedonian anglers on the Astraeus River:

...they have planned a snare for the fish, and get the better of them by their fisherman's craft. . . . They fasten red wool. . . round a hook, and fit on to the wool two feathers which grow under a cock's wattles, and which in color are like wax. Their rod is six feet long, and their line is the same length. Then they throw their snare, and the fish, attracted and maddened by the color, comes straight at it, thinking from the pretty sight to gain a dainty mouthful; when, however, it opens its jaws, it is caught by the hook, and enjoys a bitter repast, a captive.

In his book Fishing from the Earliest Times, however, William Radcliff (1921) gave the credit to Martial (Marcus Valerius Martialis), born some two hundred years before Aelianus, who wrote:

...Who has not seen the scarus rise, decoyed and killed by fraudful flies...

The last word, somewhat indistinct in the original, is either "mosco" (moss) or "musca" (fly) but catching fish with fraudulent moss seems unlikely.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_fishing#History

Basic Fly Tying Techniques and Tying The San Juan Worm

When you first get started fly tying, there are two techniques that are the same for just about every fly, how you start the fly, and how you finish it.  Once you know how to do those two things, techniques can be learned on a case by case basis; mostly, it's just wrapping thread around stuff.

Getting the thread started on a hook is way simpler than you could ever imagine.  There is no tying involved, just wrapping thread.  To try to explain it would make it sound way more complicated than it ever is, so I demonstrate the technique in the following video.  Excuse the shaky cam,  I literally just set my Nikon L24 on a stack of books on a T.V. tray.

Finishing up the fly is more complicated.  The handbook that came with my kit teaches a knot that just does not hold unless cemented with head cement, and a lot of videos on Youtube showed guys tying a knot with a "Whip Finishing Tool."  I didn't have this tool, so I found instructions on how to whip finish by hand, but the videos were all done so fast that I couldn't clearly see what was being done.  My whip finish kept coming undone until I finally figured out where I was going wrong.  Now I whip finish by hand, and my knot holds just fine with no cement. In my opinion, the tool seems to overly complicate things.  To try to give written instructions on how to whip finish by hand would be hard to do, and even harder to follow--I know by experience--so here is a demonstrational video.

Ok, now with just those two techniques, some scud hooks, some thread, some chenille and a lighter, you are ready to tie the San Juan Worm.  I tried to do some research to find out a little background for this simple-yet-effective fly.  I wouldn't call it a streamer, it's not a wet fly, definitely not a dry-- It's more of a nymph than anything else, but it's not even really a nymph.  This link gives some interesting background information on the San Juan Worm.  I usually tie them with a size 12 or 14 scud hook with a downturned eye.  Scud hooks have a curved shank, rather than being straight.  Below is a three minute video demonstrating how to tie the San Juan Worm.

When fishing in a stream with a San Juan Worm, I cast to the head of a pool and let it dead drift through the pool.  They work well after the rain when worms get washed into the stream, I don't use them a lot, but when I do, I catch smallmouth bass.  I've never tried fishing for trout with them, but I don't really get to go trout fishing as often as I'd like to.  If you have any questions about tying flies, leave a message, I'll try to answer what I can.

Tying Flies When You're Having Fun

Makeshift mancave

Catching fish on your own flies is a lot more rewarding than catching them on flies you bought.  Fly tying can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it.  I started with a Gander Mountain fly tying starter kit that included a tying vise and other tools, hooks, some materials, and a handbook; it cost about $50.00.  I still use all of the same equipment, although I hope to upgrade someday.  In this post, I'm going to talk about the essential tools and materials for tying a few flies that I have found to be particularly successful.

The tools I use for almost every fly are listed below.

• Tying vise
• Bobbin
• Scissors
• Hackle pliers
• Bodkin

The vise, bobbin and scissors are the most essential.  Hackle pliers are really helpful for holding tiny hackle feathers for dry flies, or even just holding larger feathers out of the way while working other materials in.  In a pinch, you could probably get by with forceps or a clothespin.  The bodkin is used for many things, but you could probably improvise with a safety pin or a sewing needle.  Of course you'll need a mug of coffee, and some music too.  I find myself listening to a lot of Primus when tying flies, but really, anything southern or kind of twangy or nautical themed makes for good fly tying music.  Mastodon's Leviathan album is a good one if you like a little heavier music; it's a concept album based on the novel Moby Dick.

Of course you are going to need some hooks, and some materials for tying.  The following is a list of the materials I use most.

• Thread
• Chenille
• Hackle feathers
• Marabou feathers
• Dubbing
• Copper wire
• Beads
• Flashabou

I probably don't need to tell you that you will use thread on every fly you tie--but I will.  I use black the most, but I make sure to always have red, olive, and tan on hand.  Some people have a bobbin for each spool of thread, but I just use one.  Copper wire is used to add a segmented look to the bodies of some flies, or just to add flash and color.

Fly tying thread and wire

Chenille is a soft yarn used to make bodies of flies.  I use it a lot, because I tie a lot of Woolly Buggers.  I always have black, olive and red in my ITEM list.  Woolly Buggers are great flies for trout, bass, and many other kinds of fish.  If you only ever learn to tie one fly, it should be the Woolly Bugger.

Assorted fly tying chenille

Different grades of hackle are used for different flies.  Neck hackle is used mostly in tying dry flies; the short, stiff bristles make the fly float on the surface and mimic insect legs in the water.  Saddle hackle is usually not considered high enough quality for tying dry flies, so it is usually used in streamers to make the fly appear to be swimming or pulsating in the water.  Soft hackle is used in a lot of wet flies.  I use saddle hackle mostly, because it is used in Woolly Buggers.  I haven't tied a lot of dry flies.

A neck of red hackle in the center,
Black and grizzly saddle hackle on either side

Marabou feathers are very soft feathers that absorb water rather quickly.  They add a lot of very natural appearing movement in the current.  They are used in the tails of Woolly Buggers and some other streamers.  I make sure to have black and olive marabou in my collection for tying Woolly Buggers in those colors.

Marabou is very soft

Dubbing is used in a lot of flies.  there are going to be nymphs, dries, streamers, and wet flies that all call for dubbing.  Dubbing is fur from soft furred animals that is wound around the tying thread and used to build up the body of the fly.  In early fly tying, most salmon flies called for seal fur-- good luck finding that!  Dubbing today is made from the fur of animals like opossums, beavers and rabbits-- I've been tempted to try using hair from my cat, but haven't yet.  I use dubbing most often in tying scuds.  Scuds are tiny freshwater shrimp that fish regularly feed on.  Scuds are fairly simple to tie, require only a few materials, and very effective for trout and bass when dead drifted.

Olive, grey, and tan dubbing

Beads are used as the heads of nymphs and streamers.  They add a little bit of weight to sink the fly faster, and add flash and color.  I'm not sure, but I think the idea of using beads is a fairly new innovation to fly tying.  In earlier times, (and even still) some streamers called for lead wire to be wrapped around the hook shank.  My fly tying kit even came with some lead wire for use in Woolly Buggers.  But with the added flash and color of bead heads, there is no need for anglers to be further polluting our streams by adding lead to the ecosystem.  Not only are beads safer for the environment, they also seem to improve the effectiveness of most flies when used in appropriate sizes.  I keep several shapes, sizes and colors.  Use heavier beads on big Woolly Buggers in swift currents and deep pools, smaller beads can be used on tiny nymphs and scuds dead drifted in slower water.

Assorted bead heads and flashabou

Flashabou is a synthetic material that has a prismatic or iridescent pearly reflective quality. A few strands of flashabou in the tail of a Woolly Bugger may help attract fish to your fly.  It doesn't take a lot, I've had the package pictured above for about three years and I've hardly used any!  A package of flashabou is a good investment.

I have some other materials that are used in particular flies that I don't tie so often, but it's nice to have them if you need them.  Pheasant tail feathers are used in tying Pheasant Tail Nymphs and Copper Johns.  Pheasant Tail Nymphs are highly effective, but they are not easy to tie, at least for me.  They're tiny, and they test my patience-- but a Pheasant Tail was the first fly I tied that I caught a trout on!  Peacock Herl is used in a lot of flies, and fish love it.  Anything with peacock herl in it  is going to be an effective fly.  You can tie peacock herl on a hook by itself and it will catch fish.  Common flies that call for peacock herl are the Royal Coachman, Pheasant Tail Nymphs, and Prince Nymphs.  I have some goose biots because Prince Nymphs call for two white goose biots.  However, the goose biots I have are from Canada geese.  I found them in the park, so I'll improvise.  Finally, I have some elk hair.  Elk hair is used in a legendary dry fly, the Elk Hair Caddis.  When you want to catch fish on a dry fly, the Elk Hair Caddis is probably what you would tie on first if there isn't any kind of hatch to match.  The Elk Hair Caddis is quite tricky to tie.  I haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet.  The hair is very stiff and it's hard to get used to working with it.  There are other flies that use elk hair as well, like the Muddler Minnow.  I tried tying a Muddler Minnow.  It didn't turn out great, and I never caught a fish with it.

From left to right: Pheasant tail, goose biot,
peacock herl, and elk hair

It's also helpful to have some sort of a book to explain how to tie flies.  The Milwaukee Public Library has a pretty good selection of fly fishing and fly tying books at the central location.  I recently checked out a book titled Salmon Flies: Their Character, Style and Dressing by Poul Jorgensen.  The book is beautiful with some of the most intricate flies I have ever seen, but it requires complicated techniques and materials from exotic animals.  There is a chapter called "Simple Strip-Wing Flies" that explains how to tie the Blue Charm in 43 steps, using 11 materials!  I think there was a fly in the book that called for moogle dubbing, Cockatrice pinion, Chocobo hackle and Phoenix Down!  The book is so complicated that to a fly tyer of my skill level, it reads like a work of fiction.  Most flies are far simpler.  My kit came with a handbook that gave instructions on how to tie flies that will catch fish using just two or three materials.

The extremes of fly tying

If you're looking to get into tying, the materials that you will probably get the most use out of are chenille, some hackle, dubbing and marabou.  With just those few materials, you can tie a few very successful flies.  You can get them at any Gander Mountain or Cabela's.  If you live in the Milwaukee area, you can get great materials, good advice, and even take a tying class at The Fly Fishers.  In my next post, I'll demonstrate some basic fly tying techniques, and give instructions on how to tie an effective fly using only two materials.

Never Underestimate The Power of The Dark Side

Egg sucking leeches are great flies.  They are just a variation on a Woolly Bugger, which is arguably the most effective streamer of all time.  There is, however, one variation that drives me crazy, and that is the bead head egg sucking leech.  Whether it happens or not, I can picture a leech creeping up through the river bed and latching onto a salmon egg; and I can picture how enticing this two course combo meal would be to a steelhead.  Like getting orange chicken and beef and broccoli at Panda Express!  But then if you throw a bead in there, I can't wrap my imagination around that.

I'm sure it works, but...

Enter my contribution to the fly tying world:  The Force Choking Leech!  I found some black cone head beads and got the idea to tie the egg onto the hook first with red thread, then whip finish it.  Then add a bead, but I put the bead on backwards.  

Next, I tie on black thread, tie in black marabou for the tail , black chenille and a black hackle feather for the body.

Wrap the chenille and the hackle forward towards the bead as you would a Woolly Bugger, and tie them off.  I wrap a lot of thread to build up a smooth taper onto the head, but I do that before tying in the extra stuff.

Whip finish the black thread just behind the bead and you're done.  Welcome to the Dark Side, now go choke some fish!

I came up with the name in that haze between sleep and consciousness, before the alarm goes off, but you know it's going to go off soon--  The black bead reminded me of Darth Vader's helmet.  From there, the "egg" is red, like Vader's lightsaber, and, the body is black, like the Sith Lord himself.

I haven't really tied a lot of these.  I'm going to experiment with some other bead colors, but I like the look of the all black and red.  Maybe olive with a gold bead and a black egg, who knows?

If you've never tied flies before, I'll discuss what is absolutely needed and what you can do without in a later post.  I also have a few flies that I will try to teach you to tie.  some are so easy, you probably won't even believe they catch fish.