Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica
The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.
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This wild-looking little thing completely puzzled me. At first I was thinking beetle or month larva, until I got a look at the pictures on the computer screen. I made a couple of incorrect guesses before entomologist Greg Courtney pointed me in the right direction with Psychodidae. He suggested a possible genus of Thornburghiella, but could not rule out some other members of the tribe Pericomini.
Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and
fly tyers unabashedly embrace the entomological side of the sport. Learn more about Troutnut or
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Tctrout
Posts: 28
Posts: 28
Tctrout on Feb 13, 2015February 13th, 2015, 2:23 am EST
Now that it seems everyone is tying and show season is going strong, I wanted to make a video in which I give recommendations for buying dry fly materials. I go over essential items (hackle, dubbing, hooks, etc.) and also discuss optional ones. This video is intended for the beginner to intermediate tyer, and is by no means the "absolute list" for dry fly materials.
If there are additional ones that you think should be added, definitely add on to help others know which materials they will benefit from the most.
TC
If there are additional ones that you think should be added, definitely add on to help others know which materials they will benefit from the most.
TC
Wbranch on Feb 13, 2015February 13th, 2015, 7:55 am EST
I think this is a wonderful video for all beginner and intermediate fly tiers. His list of recommendations of essential material is spot on and I wouldn't imagine a new tier would need anything else to be able to tie virtually any dry fly style out there. Of course there are body material colors that might be needed for some flies they can be purchased on an as needed basis.
Great presentation, great photography, and no advertising. I will recommend it to all of my friends who are new to fly tying.
Great presentation, great photography, and no advertising. I will recommend it to all of my friends who are new to fly tying.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Martinlf on Feb 13, 2015February 13th, 2015, 8:13 am EST
Nice work, Tim.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"
--Fred Chappell
--Fred Chappell
PaulRoberts on Feb 14, 2015February 14th, 2015, 3:09 pm EST
Yes, that is an excellent video. Nicely done.
Tctrout
Posts: 28
Posts: 28
Tctrout on Feb 15, 2015February 15th, 2015, 3:24 pm EST
Thanks everyone; I really appreciate the kind words.
Tim
Tim
Lastchance on Feb 16, 2015February 16th, 2015, 7:40 am EST
Hi Tom. That's an excellent video. Thanks
Flyflinger on Feb 16, 2015February 16th, 2015, 7:28 pm EST
Well-balanced. Would adhesives be appropriate? Frankly, I've gotten away from most adhesives and usually tie off with a four or five-turn whip finish. For silk thread I rely on a cobbler's wax or white wax and a four-turn whip finish. The wax seats and grips well enough and I don't get an unwanted change in color. Do I still use adhesives? Yes, but infrequently. Back in the day, I made my own flexible cement based on a George Harvey formula. But one of the ingredients was toluene, which is a nasty carcinogenic. I switched to Fly-Tite, which uses denatured ethyl alcohol, after Chris Helm advised me. Works fine.
PaulRoberts on Feb 18, 2015February 18th, 2015, 3:03 pm EST
There's buying materials from a supplier, then there's rummaging, foraging, and dumpster-diving. Another thread perhaps.
Martinlf on Feb 18, 2015February 18th, 2015, 5:49 pm EST
OK, I've gotten some weird looks picking up dead animals on the side of the road, and I remember my wife doing a double take when she saw me pull a pair of pantyhose out of the trash once, but actual dumpster diving?? There's gotta be a good story here. Let's have it. :)
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"
--Fred Chappell
--Fred Chappell
Wbranch on Feb 18, 2015February 18th, 2015, 6:44 pm EST
Louis,
Seriously have you really at one time or another picked up a dead fur bearing animal from the road to use for fly tying?
Seriously have you really at one time or another picked up a dead fur bearing animal from the road to use for fly tying?
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Feathers5
Posts: 287
Posts: 287
Feathers5 on Feb 19, 2015February 19th, 2015, 4:21 am EST
I used to carry zip lock bags and rubber gloves with me all of the time. I've gotten turkey tail, fox and gray squirrel skins, grouse feathers, porcupine quills, etc. One time some red squirrels got in-between the walls and ceilings of my apartment. My landlord trapped them for me and left 5 skins in a bag hanging on my door. It is now illegal to pick up road kills in PA.
Wbranch on Feb 19, 2015February 19th, 2015, 5:49 am EST
It is now illegal to pick up road kills in PA.
Sounds like a great law to me considering stopping your car on a highway could get you, or somebody else, in an accident or killed. Not to mention that most dead animals get fly eggs laid in them in a very short time. In a day or two your lovely dead rabbit is now flowing over with lovely squirming maggots.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Tctrout
Posts: 28
Posts: 28
Tctrout on Feb 19, 2015February 19th, 2015, 7:48 am EST
Great points all over, and I may or may not have once stopped to clip some hair off a bear that was just hit by Clearfield.
Adhesives were mentioned earlier, and I'm unsure if you were suggesting a video on them, or their application in dry flies. For the majority of dry flies I tie, I don't use any adhesives, except in the case of certain hoppers.
TC
Adhesives were mentioned earlier, and I'm unsure if you were suggesting a video on them, or their application in dry flies. For the majority of dry flies I tie, I don't use any adhesives, except in the case of certain hoppers.
TC
Oldredbarn on Feb 19, 2015February 19th, 2015, 8:34 am EST
I used to carry zip lock bags and rubber gloves with me all of the time. I've gotten turkey tail, fox and gray squirrel skins, grouse feathers, porcupine quills, etc. One time some red squirrels got in-between the walls and ceilings of my apartment. My landlord trapped them for me and left 5 skins in a bag hanging on my door. It is now illegal to pick up road kills in PA.
Just an FYI...Need to be cautious about incorporating "wild" stuff in with your other materials. Can bring in bugs with them that will cause some problems.
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
Martinlf on Feb 19, 2015February 19th, 2015, 9:27 am EST
Yeah, using common sense avoided most problems. I.E. Park in a safe spot well off the road, only take materials from fresh kills (if you travel the road to work and the animal shows up as you head home, it's fresh), dry skins with borax (and/or salt) then freeze the materials or put them in mothballs for a while, and store them in their own ziplock bags. It's been years since I harvested any materials from the asphalt, but I have squirrel tails, squirrel and rabbit skins, a full muskrat skin, a groundhog skin (I'd never try to skin another one of them; what a pain), several groundhog tails, and some beautiful grouse feathers (including the tails and wings), all of which I've used from time to time. Having grown up hunting, harvesting these materials was second nature at the time. Now I'm too lazy (and, apparently, law abiding) to do such. But dumpster diving . . . that I haven't tried--yet. Maybe I just need a little incentive. Paul?
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"
--Fred Chappell
--Fred Chappell
Wbranch on Feb 19, 2015February 19th, 2015, 10:26 am EST
TcTrout,
I like to carry a little tube of Krazy Glue with me so when I catch a live mayfly I can put a dab of glue on my #20 hook to affix the fly to the hook. Great to dap them on the surface of the river with my 16' telescoping graphite rod.
I don't use any adhesives, except in the case of certain hoppers.
I like to carry a little tube of Krazy Glue with me so when I catch a live mayfly I can put a dab of glue on my #20 hook to affix the fly to the hook. Great to dap them on the surface of the river with my 16' telescoping graphite rod.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Tctrout
Posts: 28
Posts: 28
Tctrout on Feb 20, 2015February 20th, 2015, 3:30 am EST
Ah, Wbranch, I didn't realize you were a Tenkara fly fisherman!
;-)
;-)
Feathers5
Posts: 287
Posts: 287
Feathers5 on Feb 20, 2015February 20th, 2015, 5:22 am EST
I used to carry zip lock bags and rubber gloves with me all of the time. I've gotten turkey tail, fox and gray squirrel skins, grouse feathers, porcupine quills, etc. One time some red squirrels got in-between the walls and ceilings of my apartment. My landlord trapped them for me and left 5 skins in a bag hanging on my door. It is now illegal to pick up road kills in PA.
Just an FYI...Need to be cautious about incorporating "wild" stuff in with your other materials. Can bring in bugs with them that will cause some problems.
Spence
Yep, keep your road kills separated from your good stuff, that's a no-brainer.
Wbranch on Feb 20, 2015February 20th, 2015, 6:22 am EST
I didn't realize you were a Tenkara fly fisherman!
Seriously has anyone on the forum, or any of your friends, gone out and bought, and fished, a Tenkara outfit? I am curious about it and would like to see someone apply it on local SE PA streams.
I understand the long 11' - 14' rods are to assist you in high sticking the fly through various runs and riffles but I can't see the advantage to the system other than the portability of the unextended rod through brush and streamside vegetation.
Can't some guys who are now using 10' & 11' #3 rods with reels perform the same functions that are being performed with the Tenkara?
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
PaulRoberts on Feb 20, 2015February 20th, 2015, 4:12 pm EST
Sorry to disappoint, Louis. I have no good genuine dumpster-diving stories, beyond pulling some foam sheets out of actual dumpsters. The rest of my scavenging has been done mostly from trash bins, garage sales, fabric/hobby stores, hardware stores, hunting, and roadkills. Probably not too much different than what most tyers do. I like creating my own so maybe what's different in my boxes is that almost all the flies I fish I invented, and a large proportion of them were constructed from "found" materials. Such sources make my tying more satisfying, to me, but certainly not better or cheaper in the long run.
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