There is one early season Mayfly that emerges from the bottom with its wings dragging behind it and that's the lovely Quill Gordon. Traditional wets that represent this fly have wings that are way too long and too pronounced. These wings are gossamer like and not densely made. You should keep this in mind when and if you tie a QC.
Theodore Gordon used stripped peacock herl for the body and for a good reason (at least for him). This stripped herl has a nice light colored band that runs along the center of the herl and gives a good segmented look to this fly. Finding a good peacock herl that has a good center band can be a problem. Here's a way around it.
Tail - Two to four blue dun hackle fibers
Body - Two or three layers of 140 denier rusty brown thread
Rib - 12/0 WHITE thread to get the segmented look. (this is the important thing)
Hackle - two turns of soft, wet fly hackle ( I use cheap India or Chinese rooster hackle)
Wing Stub - I like a short group of mallard feathers that don't extend back to the tail but to the middle part of the body AND I'll take the mallard and mark it up with a grey sharpie to get that blue dun look. (this is for BobT)
The fly to the right is tied without the rib but it still works and looks good. Either one of these flies will represent the Quill Gordon AND the next fly that will grace the Spring time stage - The Hendrickson.
The traditional way wet flies are fished is to cast long and across the current and then to retrieve the fly back in short strips. Try not to do it. Fish wets the way that Gordon fished them - cast up and across and let the fly drift down and below you. As it straightens out below you through in the "Leisenring Lift" to finish the presentation. Most of the time hits will occur during the drift if you're doing it right. If you strip the small wet fly back against the flow of the current it will appear to have the strength and agility of an otter which an insect doesn't. You may fool some recently stocked fish but not for long.
Current Conditions
We've been lucky. One big snowstorm in December and then minor nuisance snow since then. Keep fishing the Swift but spread it out. I went to two long, seldom fished sections and caught trout within the last two weeks. Also remember that the mornings have been cold and will stay way for the next few weeks. Hitting the river at 7am is not as wise as hitting it in late morning as air and water temperatures rise. Water temperature rules everything as far as trout are concerned. Air temperature is for YOU!!!
Ken
6 comments:
I like your tie and can see why it would work for Gordons and Hendricksons. Always wondered why Hendrickson wets were tied with gray dubbed bodies. Keep em coming!
Anonymous 1:54,
I don't know why they would recommend gray. There's a lot of brown in that living fly.
Ken
Hi Ken,
I really like your Q-G wet fly design. I'm gonna tie up some today. BTW, you're right - I stand corrected on Sulphurs emerging underwater like Q-G's. Reading up on it - as you noted - they definitely emerge on the surface like most other mayflies. But, once on the surface they get out of their shucks and into the air really fast. Maybe they're easier for trout to catch on their rise to the surface, rather than when they're drifting along as duns?
Cheers,
John
John,
I found the second fly that splits its skin below the surface and emerges as a fully formed fly and it's a critter named the Leucrocuta dun. I found it in Thomas Ames Jr's book and I can't say I've ever seen one so I will promptly forget about it!
I think trout prefer the emerger over the dun stage most of the time.
Ken
I like your skinny flies Ken!! I have been going down the route all winter. What I have come to figure out that is helpful is to keep all bodies even stone fly nymphs skinny. Skinnier than might look good to us fisherment. I was going out last summer with a guide out of Troutstalkers in Ennis...we were pitching stonefly nymphs(about a week before the Salmon flies got going in the upper river-badish timing by me), tried mine first and was doing fairly decent but he thought we should do better given the conditions.. he looked at my fly then my box and said while they are beautiful...they are just too fat...he pulled his guide box out and had tied up a bunch Charlie Brooks style...thin yarn body(1 layer almost no taper) split tail and no more than three wraps of hackle for legs...no wingcases no other BS...I'd say we hooked up about 25-30% better on those plane jane nymphs. So I am applying the theory to everything new I am tying this year. I have two empty boxes ready to accept my skinny flies. I like the wing stub idea too...I will probably do something similar with a quarter strand of zelon maybe or something like you have done. I have done some adams parachutes this week with an embroidery thread body...I have not perfected it yet still a little messy around the post but looks promising. Most of my sub 18 flies have been thread bodied for 20 years why not just extend the idea.
BobT,
I agree on skinny bodies. My big stoneflies are #8 soft hackles. They work great. My buggers have peacock herl instead of chenille. Much, much skinnier. Now you've got me going on embroidery thread. I've worked with it before but it may be the key for stoneflies.
Ken
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