"A trout is a moment of beauty known only to those who seek it.'
Ok, I admit that I'm tired of the old trustworthy wooley bugger. No matter what you think of it we all know that it catches fish but I want to see if I can borrow (steal) elements of this fly and make a generic (always the best) pattern that could equal the catch rate of the old WB. Hence the Millers Bug!!
The Millers is a tough, brooding river filled with all kinds of creatures that have actually scared some anglers. It's not a gentleman's river like the Farmington or the Swift. Hellgrammites, crayfish and eels top the top the list which includes that weird water bug that actually bite me. I wanted something that imitated those creatures.
This fly has a clipped marabou tail and is weighted at the front end with lead free wire. The secret sauce for this fly is the body of laser dub which I am falling in love with. I used brown for this fly but olive or black should should work well. (I haven't used chenille for bugger types in years and have replaced it with peacock or dubbing). Wind on a hackle and you are all set.
The Gorge Pool
This pool is too beautiful to be true. Actually its two pools back to back and it may be safe to say that this pool may be the deepest natural pool on the river. It's a real swimming hole that swimmers haven't discovered yet. It just smells of brown trout!! I've had some very good summer dry fly evenings in this spot. This is also the place where something BIG snapped my 4x with one head shake!
Where is this place? It's up in the Bears Den section of the Millers. Just find Gulf Road, drive down to the river, suit up and start walking downstream for a 1/4 mile or so. You can't miss this spot. Be careful wading in this spot!
As I write I'm listening to another bad news weather report. Up to 5 inches snow for my neck of the woods. I know, tie more flies!!
Ken
6 comments:
Hi fished it a few years back and there were 2" yellow stone fly's all over the bushes on the steam bank. would send you a photo of one but i do not see a way to send an attachment.
Hi Ken,
I will definitely be tying some of those during the storm tomorrow. First foray into the woods today--blue-lining, and I never left my town limits. Not much going on, probably because of water temperature, but the 7-inch willd brookie on my half-weight was a whale.
Charles
Love that fly, Ken. I bet it will really come alive when wet. Gartside Sparrows also look great when wet.
Sam
Jack,
I've seen those big stones on high bank side grasses one June morning. The Millers is loaded with them. If you have a photo you can email it to my email address: ken.elmer9@gmail.com
Charles- Good work with that early season brookie.
Sam- Thank you!
Ken
Ken,
I enjoy your site and the interesting posts. Keep up the good work.
JJ
Ken, I do really like that miller's bug. looks buggy and fishy at the same time.
I too love and use laser dubbing. But I found hareline bruiser Jr. blend which I seem to be using it more often. I guess the bruiser dub started as a fly fish food product, and it grew from there. I buy mine locally if you can call 50 miles away, local. Some of the colors have weird names, but the reason I like it, is the total makeup of the dubbing itself. The dubbing in my opinion is just the right combination of perfect color choices and is made with the perfect cut and length with an added hint of flash. Man, it just seems to work! (For me anyway)
The regular bruiser is a larger dubbing/flash/cut makeup which for my use is too large, but the Jr. is at least for me perfect for trout sized flies and nymphs etc.
Anyway, with those weather predictions for today, I too plan on doing some tying as well...Phil
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