Hex Mayflies
Hexagenia limbata
The famous nocturnal Hex hatch of the Midwest (and a few other lucky locations) stirs to the surface mythically large brown trout that only touch streamers for the rest of the year.
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With a bit of help from the microscope, this specimen keys clearly and unsurprisingly to Hydropsyche.
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DUBBN on Sep 29, 2012September 29th, 2012, 5:16 pm EDT
A few of the patterns I like this time of year:
A few nymphs and maybe an egg pattern, and I am set. I love Autumn fly fishing.
A few nymphs and maybe an egg pattern, and I am set. I love Autumn fly fishing.
It's OK to disagree with me. I can not force you to be right.
Entoman on Sep 29, 2012September 29th, 2012, 7:14 pm EDT
Very nice, Dubbn!
"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman
Oldredbarn on Sep 29, 2012September 29th, 2012, 7:35 pm EDT
After spending a few days staring at 24/26's those large eyes on those flies look as big as the Grand Canyon to me! :) I don't even need my cheaters.
Nice flies.
Spence
Nice flies.
Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
PaulRoberts on Sep 30, 2012September 30th, 2012, 5:47 am EDT
Very nice! I started with soft hackles years ago, and they are still my favorite flies to look at. They get my heart going quicker than any other.
DUBBN on Sep 30, 2012September 30th, 2012, 11:04 am EDT
After spending a few days staring at 24/26's those large eyes on those flies look as big as the Grand Canyon to me! :) I don't even need my cheaters.
Nice flies.
Spence
I have been using the small stuff all Summer long. I am looking forward to the Soft Hackles.
Fridays outing had me still resorting to size 22-20's
Thanks for the positive comments everyone.
It's OK to disagree with me. I can not force you to be right.
Softhackle on Oct 2, 2012October 2nd, 2012, 7:31 am EDT
What's not to like about soft-hackles? Nice flies!
Mark
Mark
"I have the highest respect for the skilled wet-fly fisherman, as he has mastered an art of very great difficulty." Edward R. Hewitt
Flymphs, Soft-hackles and Spiders: http://www.troutnut.com/libstudio/FS&S/index.html
Flymphs, Soft-hackles and Spiders: http://www.troutnut.com/libstudio/FS&S/index.html
Oldredbarn on Oct 2, 2012October 2nd, 2012, 4:36 pm EDT
Nice looking nymph there! Emerger's & floating nymphs are a big part of my boxes. I found this nice dark dun packing foam that makes a wonderful wingcase pulled over the thorax and helps to keep the fly right in the film.
It's kind of hard for me to see, but are your abdomens tying thread or wrapped hackle stems?
Good stuff.
Spence
You knew you'd get Mark to chime in with those nice "softies" up there! :)
It's kind of hard for me to see, but are your abdomens tying thread or wrapped hackle stems?
Good stuff.
Spence
You knew you'd get Mark to chime in with those nice "softies" up there! :)
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Kschaefer3 on Oct 3, 2012October 3rd, 2012, 10:54 am EDT
This thread has me intrigued, very intrigued. I've never fished soft hackles, but I think that will change soon. Anyone have a favorite book on the subject? I am thinking Sylvester Nemes' "The Soft-Hackled Fly and Tiny Soft Hackles: A Trout Fisherman's Guide". Tiny soft hackles could be deadly for my winter trout season here in Minnesota. I have three months to study it until that opens.
Entoman on Oct 3, 2012October 3rd, 2012, 11:01 pm EDT
KSchaefer -
Both good books. Also look into Wet Flies by Dave Hughes.
Both good books. Also look into Wet Flies by Dave Hughes.
"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman
Sayfu
Posts: 560
Posts: 560
Sayfu on Oct 4, 2012October 4th, 2012, 10:00 am EDT
Kschaefer3. The longest feather in my cap. When you talk about small softhackles, I approached Sylvestor at our big flytying Expo, and he said to me, "wish I could tie softhackles in small sizes. The smallest I can tie one is a #14 based on the feathers on a Hun skin." I told him, "I can tie small ones if you do it this way." He proceeded to create drawings as to my technique, and had me sit down and tie him one using my technique. He included the information in his latest book on soft hackle flies
Kschaefer3 on Oct 4, 2012October 4th, 2012, 11:45 am EDT
Sayfu - That's impressive. How small can you tie them? Also, I'm not good at tying flies. Obviously with time and practice I will get better, but are soft hackles easy to tie?
DUBBN on Oct 4, 2012October 4th, 2012, 5:03 pm EDT
Redbarn, they are tyed with thread abdomens. I'm lazy and the fish don't mind.
It's OK to disagree with me. I can not force you to be right.
Oldredbarn on Oct 4, 2012October 4th, 2012, 5:38 pm EDT
Redbarn, they are tyed with thread abdomens. I'm lazy and the fish don't mind.
I'm fond of a tyer from Ireland named Alice Conba and she ties several variations of Greewell's Glory using sewing thread. Her background was craft/sewing and she just brought some of that along with her I guess when she started tying.
When my mother-in-law passed away in 2011 I found a drawer of hers in her sewing room filled with different types of thread...Some of the colors are wonderful and I've tied some flies with them along the lines of some of Alice's flies.
Some of the threads are on odd spools (Euro threads) and I have even got them to work in my bobbins. Pretty cool flies...
Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Lastchance on Oct 5, 2012October 5th, 2012, 3:17 am EDT
A few of the patterns I like this time of year:
A few nymphs and maybe an egg pattern, and I am set. I love Autumn fly fishing.
Can you tell us why you prefer those ties for Fall? Just a short explanation, like the gray one is for olives or the green wired one is for, etc. I would appreciate it.
DUBBN on Oct 5, 2012October 5th, 2012, 1:37 pm EDT
Can you tell us why you prefer those ties for Fall? Just a short explanation, like the gray one is for olives or the green wired one is for, etc. I would appreciate it.
All the Orange ones are in anticipation of the arrival of the October Caddis. I have only seen a couple of those bugs so far this year. Still, I have managed quite a few fish on these patterns in the past few weeks. A down and across swing has produced best for me using these.
The Grizzly Hackle with the Green wire rib and the Tups variation (the yellow one) are relatively new for me. I have only been using them for a few months now. The Tups did best for me when there were PMD's present. The Green wire pattern is just a generic soft hackle. I had the green ribbing and decided to try it. I cant say it has set the water on fire, but it has it's place. The most success I had with it was fishing shallow riffles with a quartering upstream cast. The strikes were aggresive and easy to detect.
In the last picture there are two Gray patterns. One tyed with Brown hen hackle, the other with partridge, and wine colored thread. The pattern that is tyed with Partridge came along last week. A friend of mine stopped by on his way from Utah to New Mexico. He and I fished the Gunnison River a week ago yesterday
He handed me one of those partridge dressed patterns and it ended up being the best fly of the day. So, I duplicated it and tyed a half dozen up.
The Gray fly that is tyed with Brown hen hackle is my all time favorite pattern. I have fished it for over 30 years. All it is, is hen hackle for the tail (Brown), Muskrat body, and Brown hen hackle for a collar. In sizes 20-16 it does a good job imitating baetis. In larger sizes it does a great job when the caddis are about. I also believe it does a good job imitating scuds.
I fish Soft Hackles and Flymphs year round. I fish them with weight and under an indicator (bobber). I fish them as emergers from the bottom all the way to the surface (with and without weight). I toss them upstream dead drift or down stream on the swing.
To me, they are the perfect patterns .
These are only my opinions. I have absolutely no proof that I am right, but I like to think I am.
It's OK to disagree with me. I can not force you to be right.
DUBBN on Oct 5, 2012October 5th, 2012, 1:40 pm EDT
Redbarn, they are tyed with thread abdomens. I'm lazy and the fish don't mind.
I'm fond of a tyer from Ireland named Alice Conba and she ties several variations of Greewell's Glory using sewing thread. Her background was craft/sewing and she just brought some of that along with her I guess when she started tying.
When my mother-in-law passed away in 2011 I found a drawer of hers in her sewing room filled with different types of thread...Some of the colors are wonderful and I've tied some flies with them along the lines of some of Alice's flies.
Some of the threads are on odd spools (Euro threads) and I have even got them to work in my bobbins. Pretty cool flies...
Spence
Spence, the abdomens on these two are tyed with Coats And Clark sewing thread aswell.
It's OK to disagree with me. I can not force you to be right.
Lastchance on Oct 6, 2012October 6th, 2012, 5:05 am EDT
Thanks, Dubbin. I have tied plenty of wet flies and flymphs, but have not learned how and when to fish them. They're still kind of a mystery to me.
The Best,
Bruce
The Best,
Bruce
Oldredbarn on Oct 6, 2012October 6th, 2012, 11:47 am EDT
Spence, the abdomens on these two are tyed with Coats And Clark sewing thread aswell.
Dubbin,
As an old school dry fly match-the-hatcher I would put color somewhere down the list in importance, but when you are creating at the bench and the color seems right to the tyer it is pretty cool. We do tie for ourselves too and not just old von Behr Brown Trout...;)
The segmentation looks great with that thread as well...I like the look too, that some of the Euro tyers are using, where they wrap the body in flatened thread and then spin it tight and segment the body with the tighter thread...Mark has shown me how some of that is done.
So many options and so little time! :)
Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
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Dec 21, 2009
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