Videos by McFly Angler

Simple Crayfish

Crayfish, or also called crawdads are a common food source for many freshwater fish, especially bass. But in rivers and lakes where trout get predatory, they will also eat crayfish as well. Therefor a crayfish pattern should be in your box when going out fishing areas where you know crayfish are present. Crayfish offer a large protein meal for fish, and therefor they love eating them. And they are a food source that is year round, instead of some nymph, and dry fly patterns for bass and trout. This crayfish pattern is one that has probably been done many times before. However I could not find a specific name for it. Its simple, and relatively easy to tie. It also sinks quickly to the bottom and rides hook point up. You could even make this more barbless by putting a mono weed guard on the front. However I find that the fly is quite weedless already with the tag of zonker strip covering the hook point, so I usually don't tie a mono weed guard on. What I like about this fly though is how the claws will splay out after it hits the bottom of the lake or river, and the fly itself angles upward, like a crawdad will do when in defensive mode. Warry bass and trout will sit and watch a crawdad for a few seconds on the bottom, and this subtle movement of the rubber legs and claws will initiate a strike from even the most skittish fish. Another thing about this fly is that it is relatively inexpensive to tie. It uses a smalll amount of materials, and one bag of rabbit strips will tie 20+ of these flies. Add a body of chenille, which is also inexpensive, a hook, some rubber legs and the dumbbell eyes, and this is a fly that can be tied for under a dollar each. Making it not only effective, quick to tie, but also easy on the wallet.

So many Fish!

This was one of the most fun trips I've had in a long time. Such a wide range of fish species to catch! From Salmon running up stream, to brown and rainbow trout. I got to fish a lake, and also the Dolores river. I also was able to stay in a really nice campground which was very reasonably priced for the accommodations. The cabin was rustic, but nice. Much better than in a tent, and the river was very close (walking distance). Before we got to check into the Dolores river campground http://doloresrivercampground.com we decided to go back to those little lakes where I caught a 27" brown. While we didnt get any really large fish, we did have some great luck fishing for rainbow's. Jeff caught a few on a streamer, I caught a few on a dry fly. So they were ready and willing to take anything we threw at them. After we got back to the campground and grabbed a bite to eat, we decided to hit up the Dolores River. This is the free flowing section of the river that dumps into the McPhee Dam. Its not the tailwater. This stretch of river holds massive amounts of rainbow and brown trout, and I have seen some good sizes pulled out of there. However, during this time of year, the Kokanee salmon start making their way up the river to spawn, and we were in them so thick we could not catch any trout. But they were fun to catch! However we wanted some trout so we decided to make our way up river to find areas without salmon, and hopefully catch some trout. I did get a nice brown the first day. But stay tuned and our 2nd day fishing I was able to pull in some really nice rainbow and brown trout, same with Jeff. We really caught more than our fair share of fish!

Articulated Brahma Bugger

A few months ago I tied up a fly called the Brahma Bugger, which I did not invent but loved fishing and tying the fly very much! The fly was originally tied by the tightlines youtube channel, and I re-named the fly "soft hackle bugger" because I did not use a brahma pelt, but instead used a soft hackle pelt from whiting. That video did really well, and that fly has been an amazing fish catcher for me. So I set out to improve on the fly, and make it better for a wider range of fish species. I wanted to articulate the fly, and give it even more movement in the water. So I present you with the articulated brahma bugger, which catches more fish than I could imagine. In fact, it far out fished any other fly I had with me on my last trip. I could not keep the fish off of it. And it seemed to attract some really large trout as well! This articulated fly is really my favorite streamer now, and I don't think I will be fishing anywhere without at least a few in my box. As always I am listing all the materials I used on this fly, along with a discount code to the Fly Artist, which is an online fly shop that I have been working with lately. When checking out at the fly artist, just type in the code "McFly10" at checkout and you will get your 10% off. On top of the best deals you can find online, you will also get great customer service from them, and free shipping for as little as $35 spent. Discount Code! McFly10 Hook I used: Firehole sticks #811 in size 6 Alternative hook: Gamakatsu B10S - https://www.flyartist.com/products/gamakatsu-b10s-stinger-hook Shank I used: Small sized Fish Joint - http://www.flytyersdungeon.com/Materials/Chart_Miscellaneous.htm Alternative Shank: OPST Intruder Shank - https://www.flyartist.com/products/opst-intruder-shanks Thread: Veevus 6/0 in Olive - https://www.flyartist.com/products/veevus-6-0-thread Feathers I used: Whiting Coq de Leon soft hackle with chickabou pelt died Chartreuse Alternative feathers: Mets Mini Marabou - https://www.flyartist.com/products/hareline-mini-marabou-chickabou-feathers And soft hackle - https://www.flyartist.com/products/metz-soft-hackle-feathers Wire: Small Intruder wire in black - https://www.flyartist.com/products/senyos-intruder-trailer-hook-wire Cement: Brush on Zap a Gap - https://www.flyartist.com/collections/fly-tying-head-cements-glues-uv-resins/products/zap-a-gap-brush-on?variant=7742701895739 Head cement: Solarez "Bone Dry" UV resin - https://www.flyartist.com/collections/fly-tying-head-cements-glues-uv-resins/products/solarez-bone-dry-ultra-thin-uv-resin?variant=12978728697915

Fishing in the Jemez Mountains

On this trip I met up with RXflyfishing from Instagram. He has a great instagram channel, and I was excited to fish the creeks and streams I see him fish all the time on his account. The Jemez mountains are beautiful, and filled with small creeks that hold wild trout. This trip we were catching wild brown trout, and wild cutthroat. The cutthroat were of the Rio Grand subspecies and were very beautiful. All of the fish were caught on dry flies, and with a light action fly rod, so it was fun even though they were small. Also, the technical side of fishing such a small creek is expensive. You really have to pin point your cast, and while the trout were readily coming up for our dries, it was because we were using the right fly. There was a whole 2 hour period that trout were just watching my fly go past them, because I wasn't using the right one. They were picky, and also skittish as well. So you had to have the right flies tied on, and approach the creek with ease. Also, the creek was tiny, and lined with bushes/grasses. So making a cast was near impossible at some spots, and you had to be deadly accurate! Now that above might seem like a recipe for a frustrating time on the water. However it was not, it was very enjoyable! It was very good fishing if you were using the right flies, accurate with your casts, and subtle with your approach to the creek. The fish were very happy to eat if you do it the right way. And I also was fishing with a fun dude, so we had a great time!

Hares Ear

The hares ear is a fly that has been around for ages, however its still as effective today as it was over a century ago. The simplicity is really what makes this fly so popular. Its very easy to tie with a very small amount of materials, yet still comes out looking amazing! No one really knows where this fly comes from or who originated it. Some will say Izaak Walton in the late 1800's, but we really don't know exactly. What we do know is that this fly works, and works wonderfully! More frequently you see these tied with a tail made of rabbit fur. They would clip a small clump, tie that in at the tail, then dub the body, then tie in a section of turkey wing or pheasant tail fibers for the wing case. I find using the Pheasant tail to start with at the tail negates an extra step, so its much easier and quicker to tie. Also I think it looks better as well, and for me fishes a bit better. So its a win win. Not only is this fly easy to tie, but it also looks really good. Its really cool that you are using the same dubbing throughout to create the abdomen and the thorax, but dubbed in different degree's of tightness to create a different look. The abdomen when dubbed tightly really does have the perfect "bugginess" look to it. And the thorax when dubbed loose will be perfect for looking like legs of nymph. This is really one of my favorite nymphs to fill a box with because its not only effective, looks great, and can be tied to mimic a wide variety of bug species, its very easy and quick to tie, and I can fill a box in a matter of a few hours. It also looks equally as nice with a bead head, and as different sizes as well. Heck, for really small ones try tying with a finer dubbing. Speaking of a wide variety of bug species, these are more than likely made to mimic baetis or mayflies, however I know they can mimic caddis as well. Some people even tie these with slight alterations to look like stoneflies. They are very versatile. As always I am providing a list of materials used on this fly, and also links to the fly artist with a discount code as a thank you for being my subscriber. Please use that as it will save you money on Your Discount: McFlySubs Hook I used: Firehole Sticks #633 - https://fireholeoutdoors.com/product/firehole-sticks-633-50-pack/ Alternative Hook Recommendation: Daiichi 1560 - https://www.flyartist.com/collections/daiichi-hooks/products/daiichi-1560-traditional-nymph-hook Thread: Veevus 6/0 - https://www.flyartist.com/products/veevus-6-0-thread Tail/Wing case: Natural Pheasant Tail - https://amzn.to/2RvVPMw Ribbing: I used Gold flat tinsel, but round or oval tinsel will work better (or even gold wire) - https://www.flyartist.com/products/uni-french-oval-tinsel. Dubbing: Natural Hares Ear Plus: https://www.flyartist.com/products/hareline-hares-ear-plus-dubbing Resin: Solarez "Thin Hard" UV Resin: https://www.flyartist.com/products/solarez-thin-uv-resin

New Redington Butterstick Review!

The Redington butterstick has been one of the leading glass rods out on the market. It always had decent sales compared to other brands rods, and it always was pretty good. However they changed it this year, and I believe they hit it out of the park! Absolutely one of my favorite rods for fishing small creeks and streams. So, generally with glass rods you loose accuracy, distance, and generally get a heavier rod. Not so with this new butterstick. This is hands down the most accurate rod at shorter distances I have ever used. Now being glass you still arent going to get a rod that will cast 100 feet with ease, but you are getting a rod that can cast further than most glass rods out on the market. And surprisingly this is very light weight, with a super light swing weight. I mean, there isn't a rod out there that I think would do better within 30 feet, casting small dry flies and nymphs than this rod. For small creek fishing around my area, I would rather have this rod than a $900 sage x, Scott Radian, or Orvis Helios 3. And that is saying a lot since they are all very excellent rods! And this is only $250 which is a whole lot cheaper. So what this rod can do is cast accurately, with a light swing weight at shorter distances. All for a pretty good price at just $250. It is great for dry fly fishing and smaller nymph rigs. Their lineup while somewhat limited, does have in my opinion perfect lengths for each weight they offer. It is also very durable, and very unlikely to break on you. What this rod doesn't do is cast large streamers or poppers, any fly with weight, or long distance casting of any sort. This is not a rod that is going to bomb a stimulator 100 feet across a large river to a rising trout. For that, stick with a rod like the Sage X.

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