Is it better than CDC? No contest! Does it beat deer hair? Yup!
Hackle? Forgetaboutit!!!
It's one drawback is that it is tricky for the novice to work with. One has to know that much of your standard snowshoe foot is unusable and has the feel of calf tail which truly sucks. The best fur is found between the "toes" and on the bottom of the foot.
How to tie - Size 12 through 24 (you can go smaller) emerger or scud hook
Thread body (or floss) from hook bend to thorax
A small clump of shoeshoe tied in at the thorax with the tips slightly forward.
Anchor the wing with your choice of dubbing. You can force the wing back in a mayfly dun position if you like.
No paste floatants please. They gum things up. Powder works fine.
The Weekend
The Millers and the Swift are very fishable right now so go hit them. I'd like to see a rogue T'Storm hit the EB. It could use it.
Ken
14 comments:
I have had a lot of success with snow shoe flies. When I was out west I was introduced to the bunny dun...its essentially a sparkle dun with snow shoe hair instead of deer hair. The trick is in prepping the snowshoe. I cut a good amount of snow shoe from the foot,put it in a blender and create a dubbing. Yup sounds weird...but it works. I then take a little clump and "card it" with my fingers(pull apart and restack) until most of the wirey fibers are going in a consistent direction, this helps you tie it in. Tie in like a poly spinner wing at first : perpendicularto the shank with crisscross wraps. Then pull both sides to post it a little like a parachute post but only put enough wraps at the base to stand it so the wings are at about 45 degrees to either side of the shank. go about your business from there dubbing tail etc) until you get back to the point where you are dubbing around the wing. Use dubbing to help prop the wing it doesn't take much. By blending the snowshoe hair you combine the underfur with the wirey fibers which gives the wing some body and allows more dessicant to hold in the wing when you dust it; it also has more grip when you attach the wing. You can also throw in a touch of black or brown or whatever color ice dub to give a mottled effect to the wings-optional but looks cool....this style tie is super easy and definitely a fish catcher.
BobT,
All good points!
Ken
On the Swift Yesterday below route 9,lots of fish observed from the banks, lots of fly anglers in the tree pool. I caught 6 brookies and 1 bow, all fooled with a #14 partridge & green,fun morning. Oh rabbit foot fur, great material, but hi float fibre from FTD is a super material floats like a cork.
Big fan of the Snow Shoe emerger. Recently tied up a few Snow Shoe Hoppers ala Kelly Gallup. Size 12 4xl streamer hook, in both orange and olive dubbed bodies. Great pattern, a little smaller than most hoppers I use. Orange was the hot color on the Swift the other afternoon. Hooked numerous brookies on both the hopper and an #18 P&O dropper. One thing I noticed was while the takes on hoppers are usually hard, when the dropper was taken first, the attacks on the submerged hopper were vicious. Always fun when you get the double up.
Mikey Boots,
"Size 12 4xl streamer hook, in both orange and olive dubbed bodies. Great pattern, a little smaller that most hoppers I use". That's a big New England Hopper!!!
Ken
You got me tying snowshoe hare flies a couple of years ago, Ken. Easy and work great. You're right about using dessicant rather paste.
On another topic, while he was hunting crayfish and dace, my 6-year-old grandson netted a 3-inch baby brown trout in the Little River. (The LR flows south along 112 in Worthington, joining the EB about 2 miles above the Knightville Dam.) So, are brown trout reproducing naturally in the EB? Does this square with your knowledge and experience? I caught an adult brown in this part of the Little River several years ago during normal higher flows.
John,
A stream sample was taken of the Little River years ago and I don't believe browns were found BUT they could be in there now. Things happen.
Ken
Ken,
Maybe the browns from the EB just enter the Little River to spawn. Lots of nice gravel.
Cheers,
John
Explored and fished from cady lane parking lot down to boat ramp today. Landed 3 brookies, 2 bows, and one brown all on dries, beetles, ants and hoppers. None large, biggest was maybe 10". Lost several others, some larger. No other Fisher people. Nice water, and there are fish to be stalked. Used my bamboo rod, which fishes really nice on this size stream. Only nuisance was constant parade of kayakers.
Chico,
I have used a bamboo rod down there (Cady Lane) exclusively for the past two months and have fished mostly dries also. It's a good getaway.
Ken
Hit the Millers last night. Needed a change from the Swift and wanted to CAST. Caught about 15 bass and 2 sunfish in 2 hours, all on dries. NO TROUT! Fished right until the storm came. River was very low so hopefully that rain helps. Fished in Erving down towards flats. --Mike
p.s. Last week pulled an entire bike out or river from behind the rock above the Trestle!
Ken,
I fished a long stretch of shallow riffles in Bondsville Friday and Saturday. I always walk past this area on my way to better fish holding zones, but decided to give the riffles a try. Once in there you realize that a lot of the water is indeed void, but other zones are interesting with deeper trenches and pockets. Connected with a few small brookies alongside wood piles.
In one particularly shallow zone on Friday the fly was suspended below me when I got a hit that nearly pulled the rod out of my hand. I pulled up and felt like I was tight to the bottom or a log. Strange, how could I be hung up when I just got a hit? Well, I wasn't hung up. All of a sudden the fish goes sideways, takes a high jump broadside to me, hits the water and makes a run toward the bank. My line went limp and I'm thinking I got broken off. What happened was the hook was partially straightened just enough where the barbless would not hold. No idea what kind of trout it was as the lighting was such that it was a dark shape against the bright background when it jumped. All I know is that it was an exceptional fish that one does not connect with on a regular basis. What it was doing in that below knee deep water is beyond me, but sure enough it was.
I fished the same zone again yesterday, but nothing doing except for one small brookie. I did see a couple of dead suckers that weren't there the day before. I checked them out and saw no visible signs of damage to them so I have no idea what killed them.
Regards, Sam
Sam,
That is a good story about a place that is seldom fished. You are the BOSS OF BONDSVILLE!!!
Ken
I love the solitude, Ken, same as you and others that frequent this board. Any fish caught is a bonus. Taking a little snooze in my chair this afternoon I woke myself up thinking I was hooked to that one on Friday that got off.
Regards, Sam
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