"Its a game we play out here in Montana where we try to spot the out-of-state fisherman. Big brim hat with no drawstring; no buff when its 90+ degrees and blowing in the meadows; neoprene chest waders in the summer instead of shorts and wading socks; 10 boxes of flies on them at all times; every gadget ever made hanging off their vest; huge net catching on every bush; and applying silica using a brush. You nailed it. I always thought the brush concept made no sense." Kozman - Former Ma Angler and now 8 year resident of Montana
Genetic Hackle
Back in the days of BG (Before Graphite) the most common way of floating a dry fly was with the best of the available rooster neck hackles which either came from India or China and compared to the genetic hackles of today it can be said that that old stuff truly sucked. I can remember the local fly tying legend Rodney Flagg telling me how he and a few other professional tyers would be the first to open up a shipment of hackle from India and then cherry pick the best capes from the lot.
Genetic hackles, feathers raised for the expressed purpose of fly tying, changed all of that. Starting in the 1970's we had an explosion of great hackles all the way down to size 28 and 30.
Was I satisfied with these hackles? Not really. First, Grade A capes ran about 50 bucks back in the 1970's and that was a little steep for me back then. Also, rooster hackles would float because of their stiffness after being wound on the hook and not because of any natural buoyancy. And I didn't want a dry fly resting on it's hackle points anyway. (unnatural).
Caucci and Nastasi present the COMPARADON
It was the mid 1970's when the dry fly changed forever. Say goodbye to hackles, say hello to deer hair (from the mask and the neck) which improved the floating qualities of a dry fly.
The Compardun
I have tied more of the standard deer hair Comparaduns than all other dries combined. They are perfect for sizes 12 through 18. If I want a smaller fly I will will opt for very fine, sparse poly wing material. Poly cleans up and stands up to all kind of abuse. If I will be fishing some rough and tumble pocket water I will opt for the "greatest floater" and that is Snowshoe rabbit. Many don't like to use Snowshoe because it can be difficult to work with. My advice: practice!!!!! I've seen a size 30 dry tied using snowshoe. That's extreme but it can be done.
CDC - I use it but not that much. It's too flimsy. I've taken a liken to "CDC Puffs" because of the profile it presents.
Stay Warm
Ken
7 comments:
Comparaduns and Usuals make up the bulk of my dry flies. I do carry a few Catskill drys for old times sake and sometimes the trout prefer them. Also don't forget Ed Story's Dry Woolies which can be deadly during a Caddis hatch when the fish want a little movement as the strike trigger.
I've got some Grade A capes that I hardly ever use. They're nice to look at.
Ken
Thanks for helping me get through a cold January with your posts, Ken. I haven't fished since the first of the year. Maybe I will get out for a bit late this week with a warming trend predicted.
I like tying the old Catskill hackled patterns and will fish them once in a while. More casts and the wetter they get, the better they fish in my experience. Most likely they start to look more like an emerger pattern sitting in the film or slightly below.
Hackled patterns I really like though are the Wulff style ones with white wings which show up real well in fading light. The white version is what I use for a dry dropper set up with a small nymph tied to the hook bend.
Not a big trout, but a memorable one was rising underneath an overhanging branch last fall, just sipping slightly underneath the surface. The white wulff and #16 hare's ear dropper were casted just upstream of the branch and current took the flies just far enough under the branch to get close to the zone. The white fly on top hesitated just enough for me to know I either hooked an underwater twig or a fish. I pulled up and sure enough it was a nice brown. A nice outing to think about during a cold January.
Best, Sam
Sam,
Good to hear from you! It's been a nasty cold winter so far. Maybe the Groundhog will have mercy on us!!
My favorite dry fly is the comparadun in a size 14 and 16. That deer hair wing floats like a cork and is very visible especially if you use white deer hair.
Ken
Have to agree - comparadun style flies are awesome!
I never would have thought to use snowshoe. I abandoned CDC years ago in favor for poly or Zelon. Less fuss with keeping it from getting waterlogged. Now I'm going to have to tie me up some snowshoe dries in my go-to patterns and see how they do this spring. Hope your winter is short and the rivers run cold my friend.
PS. Nice quote...sounds familiar to me for some reason :)
Kozman,
Snowshoe works great! The best fur comes from the bottom of the foot and between the toes. I'd like to know if regular old rabbit would work because snowshoe seems to be getting scarce around here.
Ken
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