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Molas Lake, Colorado

Well this was an amazing trip! I did not put all the fish I caught in the video, because the video would have been way too long. I caught probably 30+ fish, and almost all of them on my 4wt Redington Butterstick. A few fish on the dry fly, and a few on nymphs. Some hard fighters as well, especially on my 4wt. I had quite a few of them run line hard, and most of them were very acrobatic and jumped quite a few times. Just one of the most productive times Ive had in a long time. Molas lake is a high mountain lake run by the town of Silverton Colorado and is located in between Silverton and Durango. From what I gathered its a Fishery that Silverton uses to hold hatched fish until they grow bigger, then use the lake to stock many of the creeks, streams and rivers in the surrounding area. So its good fishing, and there are a few really good sized fish in there. Make sure and stop in the Molas Lake Campground Park Office, to get the current regulations and fish report. Also there is a small fee for camping, and I paid it to fish as well.

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.

Adams Dry Fly

The Adams dry fly is one of the most popular dry flies ever created for good reason. It mimics a mayfly perfectly and has proven itself throughout many years of fishing. It is widely effective on many rivers and creeks, and will continue to be for many years to come, if not forever! One of the catskill style flies, this will float high when heavily hackled, has a nice profile, and can be tied in a wide range of sizes. I regularly tie 16-20 with these, but I know of some people tying all the way down to a size 26 and up to a size 10. If you get a Cree hackle, then you can use just one feather rather than two. However cree tends to be much more expensive, so I tie with the double feather method to achieve the brown and grizzly look. As always I am listing the materials I used on this fly. Hook I used: Firehole sticks #419 in size 16 Thread: Brown Veevus 16/0 Tail: Grizzly and Brown Rooster Neck Wings: Grizzly Hen neck Body: Adams Gray, UV2 Fine and Dry dubbing Hackle: Brown and Grizzly Rooster Neck Head cement: Hard as Hull

Very tiny creek. Tons of fish!

One of the best days I have ever had fishing! It was unique fishing, and definitely something I want to go do again. Who knew this small creek would have fish in it, but there they were. And tons of them as well! The water was crystal clear, so I was also able to get more underwater footage, and quality underwater footage than I have ever been able to in the past. It seemed like every fish got to swim away on camera. So the moral of the story is, if you see a trickle of a creek, and think to yourself that its not worth exploring because it could not hold fish in it, maybe give it a 2nd thought. It might be one of the more unique experiences you have ever had fishing! So as always, with these small secretive creeks, I will not be able to tell you the actual location or creek name, however I can say that it is located somewhere in the south west tip of Colorado, located in the San Juan Forest which is in the lower stretch of the Rocky Mountains. Its beautiful here, and densely forested. Its also very remote and you will rarely see anyone while out exploring. But this means you should be careful! Always go with someone else, and bring a small first aid kit incase something does happen.

Stimulator

In my opinion, the Stimulator is one of the best flies for using as an indicator. It floats high, is super buoyant, and mimics a large range of bug species. I could be wrong, but I believe it was originally created to be a stonefly imitator, however it can easily mimic hoppers, and even large caddis if tied to the correct sizes. Being very buoyant means that you can drop a bead head nymph behind it, or another small dry fly. This thing will hold up a large variety of other flies. Also, being such a large size, fish tend to hammer this fly hard! Some of my best strikes, where the fish literally came out of the water, have been with a stimulator. Using different colors of hackle, and dubbing can give you different effects. For my local streams in Colorado, this orange/brown body, with tan/grizzly head works great! But your local streams and rivers might vary. The hook commonly used for this fly is one with long shank, but with a curve to it. The hook I used is from Firehole sticks, but common hooks you can find at most fly shops will be Daiichi 1270 or TMC200. Of course you can use whatever you want, get creative! However a different shaped hook will give it a different look, and won't have that traditional Stimulator body curve to it.

Small Creek Fishing

Well this was absolutely one of my favorite times out on the water. With my new favorite small stream rod, the new Redington Butterstick. After I got used to the rod, it became deadly accurate, and it was rather light, which is a combo rarely seen with fiberglass rods. Even though we didn't catch much the first night, it was rather peaceful being out there, knowing we had a good day ahead of us. Well I take that back, we didn't really know because the weather was calling for some thunder and lightning storms. I don't mind fishing the rain, but last thing I want to do is be out in a lightning storm, waving around a rod. But we got lucky, and the next day was not too bad. We got some really nice fish and went on an adventure though a back country creek, which honestly I thought was too skinny to hold fish. But sure enough they were there! However this afternoon was not bad fishing to say the least, and we saw some great sites. I have passed by this creek many times, and always wondered how the fishing was. So thank you Jeff for showing me this little secret. It really is a natural wonder just like all of the Colorado small creeks through this amazing range of the Rocky Mountains!

All Synthetic Foam Beetle

Foam beetles have been around for ages, and there really isn't anything new here. In fact I am sure many people have used ice dubbing before instead of peacock hurl. However I have tied them this way for a long time and really like them like this. So I thought I would show you the way I do them. As stated in the video, I really like using the ice dubbing because it will give the fly a more buggy look, almost looking like little legs under it, and it gives more flash, and is generally in my experience more durable. Its a win win on all fronts. Also I find dubbing this on to be quicker than wrapping peacock hurl up the hook evenly. These flies can be tied in a number of sizes, and I have tied them down to even size 16, and all the way up to size 6. Generally with a size 6 or larger, I like to go with a thicker foam, like a size 6mm vs the 2mm I am using here. Or double up the 2mm, which is nice because you have the ability to go 2 tone with the doubled up version. But no mater what size you tie these in, they tend to be very deadly, especially in the late summer when there are lots of terrestrials out. But any time you see beetles flying around, this is a good fly to have tied on your line. As always I am including a list of the materials I used on this fly. Hook: #14 Daiichi 1280 Thread: Black Veevus 6/0 Dubbing: Peacock Ice Dub Wing and hotspot: black and white 2mm fly foam Cement: Brush on Zap a Gap

Matts Midge

The Matts Midge is really effective for tailwater trout who are very picky with size and look of flies. These things really do look like little midges flying around. I even once had one fall out of my box and landed on my waders without my knowledge, I looked down later and instantly grabbed for my dry flies thinking the midges were hatching. LOL. They are excellent little flies that perfectly mimic a tiny midge. I regularly tie these from size 20-26. I have been known to tie down to 28, but thats as far as I go. I do know a couple brave souls with better eyes than I have, that tie them down to a size 30. So they can be tied small, and this is important when fishing picky tailwater trout. For instance at the San Juan river. This river has trout that are willing to come up and nip at your waders, however will refuse a fly sized 22 if they are targeting size 24. They have learned that they cannot get away from humans on this river, but they can pick and choose what size (and look) of fly they bite. These little matts midges fool them quite often, more often than other dry flies I have seen on that river. And best thing of all, they are one of the easiest dry flies to tie. As always I am including all the materials I used on this fly. You can change up the materials to what suits you, just this is specifically what I used. Hook: Daiichi 1110 size 24 Thread: Black Veevus 16/0 Wing: White CDC Oiler Puff Hackle: Black Whiting or Metz rooster cape Head Cement: Hard as Hull

Dry Fly on the San Juan River

I have said many times that the San Juan River is not a dry fly river. And for the most part this is true. I mean you can catch fish on the dry, but usually you have better luck nymphing. However there are times that this is reversed like this time. Usually its when the sky is overcast, and occasionally with light rain, you will get some epic hatches. I mean, there is always midges out and about, but not too many larger fish are going to spend the effort to move to a single tiny midge. However when small BWO hatches happen, or the midge hatch is so thick there are clusters of them on the surface, the fish will start coming to the surface. When you see this, you might have one of the best times of your life fishing! Throw on a small dry fly and have at it. A better combo than I had on this trip would have been a Griffiths knat dropped to the small matts midge. The matts midge is a great imitator of a single midge, and the Griffiths imitates clusters off midges. It would be nearly impossible to see the single matts midge though with a cast further than a couple feet, so the Griffiths or some other indicator type fly is needed.

Articulated Rainbow Streamer

A while back, a subscriber and customer of mine requested that I make a large articulated streamer for him. He wanted something for large browns pushing 30" that are primarily predatory in a lake he fishes. He has witnessed the browns attacking rainbow trout up to 10 inches, and says they just wont eat anything else. So, I started on this pattern. I spent a few weeks getting the tying down on this fly, and blew through quite a few hooks. I started off with a lead dumbbell eye for weight and to keep it swimming upright, and then settled on keeling the fly with some lead wraps. He wanted to keep this from sinking too fast though, as he was going to fish it on a sink tip line. So I found the minimum wraps of lead was 5 on a .025 lead wire to keep it swimming upright. Also, after I filmed this video, I realized that you have to fish it for a minute or two, getting it to sink underwater to soak up water in the rabbit strip in order for it to relax while swimming. The hide holds air bubbles, and wants to rise to the surface. Which makes for a funny looking back on the fly. However I don't think that will effect its fishability as it could be perceived to a fish as a dorsal fin. However after a few minutes of fishing (or me soaking it in a bowl of water) I did find that it swam more evenly, and that tail kicked out to the side more, rather than wanting to lift up. So I myself have not been able to fully test this fly on fish. I just don't have anywhere I can fish for large browns or pike, or bass that are praying on 6" rainbows. However I will keep you guys updated on whether or not this works out for him, and if he allows, maybe post up a picture of his very large brown trout he catches with it. However after working on getting this fly to swim just right for a few months, I am confident fish will like it based on its action. Ok as promised here is a list of the materials I used on this fly. Tail Hook: Gamakatsu B10S in size 2 Front Hook: Ahrex PR320 in size 4/0 Thread: Veevus 140 Power thread in Olive Tail Feathers: Olive and White Blood Quill Marabou Tail Flash: Pearl Krystal Flash Top Wing: Black Barred Olive Rabbit Strip Belly: Custom Dubbing Brush Pink Accent: Pink Version of the Custom Dubbing Brush Wire: Thin Black Intruder Wire Bead: I got it at walmart... Just find a random plastic bead with holes large enough for the wire to fit through twice. Dubbing: White and Olive Senyos Laser Dub Eye: 7mm "Ice" Living Eyes Eye Adhesive: Gell Super Glue Head Cement: Solarez "ultra thin" UV Resin

Dubbing Brushes

Dubbing brushes are very effective ways of creating dynamic bodies on large streamers. Up until OPST made the "composite dubbing loop" popular, there was really no way of making a multi layered hackle from many types of materials other than with a dubbing brush. At least thats where I think the Composit Loop came from. Tell me if im wrong! So back to the dubbing brush. You can put just about any material in the brush to make different effects. Use a more stiff fiber like EP fiber, or something that flows more like the craft fur I am using in this brush. You can even make dubbing brushes with only dubbing. Use Ice Dub for a flashy hackle, or laser dub for a more dull hackle. Anything you use basically creates a hackle, that you can then wrap onto your hook and create some almost impossible to create otherwise bodies. I even know of some people that use a very fine wire and use short fiber to create dry fly hackle this way. Or very buggy looks with hackle on nymphs. Thats the beauty of making your own dubbing brush, you can make it exactly how you want, and therefor have unique flies that no one else has made before. With that being said here is a list of the materials I used to make this brush. Gold UTC Ultra Wire "Brassie" size White Craft Fur Holographic Silver Starburst Dubbing Kingfisher Blue Ice Dubbing

Brahma Bugger

What is commonly called the "brahma" bugger is an improvement on the original wooly bugger due to its incredible look, and movement when under the water. This fly pulsates due to the chickabou and soft hackle makeup. Now I call this the "soft hackle bugger" because I dont tie it with a brahma pelt. I find any soft hackle pelt with chickabout, or even the mini marabou packages paired up with the soft hackle packages will give the exact same effect for less money. You can also get longer or shorter fibered soft hackles this way, and a wider range of colors as well than just using the whiting brahma pelts. Basically any type of hen soft hackle with chickabou (or mini marabou) will work for this fly. I also added a bit of flash in the tail like I do with original wooly buggers, which from my knowledge wasn't originally done with the first version of this brahma bugger. You can also make this two tone, or even stripped by changing out colors of the hackle as well. For instance, alternating a darker and lighter hackle will give a neat effect. If you can stick around to the end of this video, I put some underwater footage of this fly, showing just how well this flows in the water. This fly really moves well, and every fiber seems to vibrate. The fly also pushes a fair amount of water as well, so its a great fly for many situations. I love swinging this fly in riffles for trout, but also it makes a great fly for a sink tip in a deep pool, or even in lakes for bass. Just like the original wooly bugger, I suspect this will work for just about any species out there including some salt water ones as well. As always im listing all the materials I used on this fly. Hook: Daiichi 1740 in size 8 Thread: Veevus 6/0 Tail: Chickabou/mini marabou Flash: Holographic Flashabou Body: Soft Hackle Head Cement: Solarez "ultra thin" UV Resin

Dry Fly in High Mountain Creek

If you like high mountain creek fishing, and dry fly fishing, this is the video to watch! Incredible action on the fly rod. Every fish was hooked on a dry fly, and it seemed like for a while I couldn't keep them off my line. The best producer of the day was an Elk Hair Caddis, which you can see how to tie that here... https://youtu.be/rF4yLJKqNPo So one of the brook trout was so dar, it was almost black at parts, and had a deep black mouth. Amazingly beautiful! In fact, almost all of the fish caught were very colorful! The most colorful brookies ive seen to date! Just amazing! Also Jeff had some luck further down stream and got a few rio grand cutthroat! Amazing day for all of us. So this small 6pc pack rod is amazing! I love it! Its the Redington Classic Trout, and its a 3wt. Its nice to have such a compact rod for hiking back country. It fits great in a small backpack, and has some great action for these small creeks. If your interested in checking this out, here is a link to my review on this rod. https://youtu.be/0cgyGcBfbvM

Chernobyl Ant

So the chernobyl ant doesn't really look like an ant. I guess its closer to maybe a hopper imitation? Even that is very suggestive. However this fly seems to produce very well, especially when trout are actively feeding on large terrestrials in the mid to late summer. Not only is this a good trout fly, but it is a great bluegill, panfish fly and bass fly as well. It floats amazingly, and is one of the best indicator type flies out there. By indicator fly, I mean a fly that is large, and able to be seen, that you can use to float a nymph, or see when a small dry fly is taken. So they seem difficult to tie, and for the first dozen or so, you will think its tough. It will take a while to tie your first few, but once you get into a rhythm of tying these, you can crank them out quite quickly. And, the color combination is pretty much endless, with many different colors of foam and rubber legs. Also this fly does well tied in a wide range of sizes as well. So as usual I am listing all the materials used on this fly below, with links to the fly artist where I have partnered with to provide you with a discount. Type in McFlySubs at checkout for your discount. Hook: Daiichi 1280 in size 14 Dubbing: Antron dubbing in orange gold Foam: 2mm foam in gold, olive, and orange Legs: grizzly barred rubber legs Cement: Hard as Hull

Bully Bluegill

The bully bluegill fly seems too simple to catch fish. However that is far from the case. This fly catches fish, and catches them well. In fact, it could be considered one of the best panfish flies out there. It is effective on other fish as well. I have caught bass, catfish and panfish on it. I can imagine you could catch trout and even some saltwater fish as well with the fly. Just the way it sinks is super enticing to panfish, and other species as well. I went out to fish the Guadelupe River just north of San Antonio Texas a short time ago. And this fly was the clear winner of the trip. I caught a 15-16" catfish on it, a bass and quite a few bluegill. The best thing was, I could tie 30-40 of them in an hour, so filling a box was easy. For the hook, I am actually using a dry fly hook because the wire is finer and it gives much easier penetration. But a regular 2x long nymph hook would work as well. Especially if you worry about the hook bending. Hook: Daiichi 1280 in size 14 Weight: .010 Lead wire Thread: White Veevus 6/0 Body: Chartreuse Micro Ultra Chenille Legs: Fine Round Rubber Legs UV Resin: Solarez Ultra Thin

Guadelupe River Fly Fishing

I took a trip to San Antonio, TX and brought my travel 3wt rod with me because I just can't go anywhere without a fly rod in hand. The river I was fishing was the Guadelupe river, just north of San Antonio. It was a great trip, and I was able to bring in quite a few fish. One being a catfish! I know, catfish on the fly! But it was a 3 species trip, and I was able to catch bass and bluegill as well. So the reason I took this trip to San Antonio, was that my wife's sister got married! Congrats to Claudia and Ryan! Anyway, the wedding was one day, and we were there a total of 6, so I had a few days to go try my hand at the river. I tried many spots, and probably could have done better if I knew the river more. Also, the fly rod was a 3wt, so it was tough to get the larger bass streamers out with casts. But it still was a fun time!

RS2

The RS2 is one of the more simple, yet effective flies out there. Especially for tailwater rivers that require small presentations. This fly looks great all the way down to size 26, and is relatively easy to tie in that size. But you can also fish them up to size 16 or possibly even larger if you so choose. The fly has a limited amount of materials, and once you get the hang of tying these, you can nock them out pretty quickly. They can mimic a midge emerger, or even a baetis emerger deepening on the color and size you tie it. Common colors are black, brown, gray, and olive. Also they can be tied in two tone as well. Build your body with one color dubbing, then add the wing, then make the head with another color dubbing. Gives an interesting look. Try gray/black, olive/brown, and white/black. Or get creative and make your own combo. So I am using a dry fly hook for this, as I like the CDC to actually keep this up off the bottom. How I fish this is behind another fly which is weighted, to keep it down on the bottom, then this fly rides up higher to look like a bug emerging. However if you want this closer to the bottom, you can tie it with a heavier wire nymph hook, and even add some weight with some lead wire if you so choose. But be careful about adding too much lead as it will bulk up your fly. Hook: Daiichi 1110 size 20 Thread: Black Veevus 16/0 Tail: Clear Microfibetts or Mayfly Tails Dubbing: Black UV2 Fine and Dry Wing: White CDC Oiler Puff Glue: Hard as Hull Head Cement

Elk Hair Caddis

The elk hair caddis should be a staple in all dry fly fishermans boxes, if they aren't in there already. This fly is probably one of the most effective and versatile dry flies ever created, and is right along side flies like the adams. This is relatively easy to tie, and once you get the hang of it, you can tie quite a few of them in an hour. Fill your box in short time, and have a fly that will fish well at most rivers and streams throughout America, and the rest of the world. The target species is obviously trout, but Ive caught bluegill, bass, and even some saltwater species on this fly before as well. So on my last trip, to Colorado Springs, this fly was the same pattern that Colin ended up landing 6 fish with! It was the most productive fly of the two day trip. So its not only very effective, but relatively easy and cheap to tie. The only expensive part of this fly is the hackle. But once you get a neck, you should be able to tie 100's or even thousands of these flies, in varying sizes. The most common color for hackle is brown, but you can tie it in with other colors as well. Just try to match caddis coloration for your specific area. So as always I am listing the materials used on this fly. Hook: Firehole sticks # 419 in size 16 Thread: Brown Veevus 16/0 Hackle: Brown Rooster Cape Dubbing: Yellow UV2 Fine & Dry Wing: Bleached Elk Hair Head Cement: Hard as hull

Eleven Mile Canyon and Dream Stream!

Im back after a much needed vacation. Of course I didn't stop fishing, just stopped editing. And I was able to go to some really great places during my time off. So I took a trip out to the Colorado Springs area, and met up with a fellow YouTube channel called "Fresh-Salt Fishing"! We fished eleven mile canyon, and the dream stream. While the fishing wasn't as epic as I thought it would be, it still was awesome! Colin was able to net quite a few fish at eleven mile, and I got a really nice one at the dream stream!

WD40

Easy, Quick and Effective! The WD40 was originally designed by Mark Engler. Word on the street says that he designed this while working in a fly shop in the west. He made a pattern that was relatively easy to tie, and worked well in small sizes, which was what was needed on these small fly streams. This fly became so popular at his local fly shop, that he could not keep up with the demand of tying it. So the shop quickly turned to others to tie this fly, and instantly the fly became a world wide success, stocked in all fly shops in the United States, and later the world. So this fly originally uses Wood Duck (the W.D. part of the name). However, wood duck is very expensive for a small amount of it. Also I find that the pattern on it is finer, and softer than Mallard Flank. So I use the less expensive and easier to find mallard flank for this fly. Not only is it more readily available and less expensive than wood duck, it also comes in a wider range of colors. For this specific fly I used the one died to look like wood duck, however you can find this in gray, brown, olive, yellow, exc. The list goes on and on. These range of colors allow you to tie this fly in many colors to mimic your local bug species. So as always I am listing the materials I used on this fly. Hook: Daiichi 1130 in size 18 Thread: Veevus 10/0 in brown Tail/wingcase: Wood Duck Gold Mallard Flank Ribbing: Small/Gold Ultra Wire Dubbing: Brown Hareline Rabbit Dubbing Head Cement: Hard as hull

Soft Hackle Emerging Caddis

Soft hackle fly patterns have been around since pretty much when fly fishing started. That does not mean they aren't effective now. In fact, they are still very effective, and in some circumstances more so. They are relatively easy to fish, and fish tend to bite hard on them and will almost rip the rod out of your hand! They are really good at fishing the hard to fish riffles. Cast about 30 degrees down stream, and let the line take the fly. This style of fishing is called swinging. You can either just keep your rod tip still, or shake the rod for a little more action. When you reach the end of your drift, make a few little bumps on the tip of the rod, and leave it for an additional 10 seconds or so. Then take a step or two down stream and repeat. You cover a lot of water, and always seem to entice those super active fish! We all know that is a recipe for a fun fight! This fly is tied in an olive body with porterage hackle. The body is tied a bit fatter than most soft hackles, and it mimics the body of a caddis. The hackle mimics the legs and head of the caddis. Caddis tend to emerge quickly up to the surface, and trout know this. So swinging this fly quickly through fast water is a great way to get bites. These are quite easy to tie once you get the hang of tying in the soft hackle. I can usually tie out 10-20 of them an hour, so I can fill a box quite quickly! Also the materials on this are rather inexpensive, and you really dont use that many. Just a hook, thread, wire, poly yarn, and a porterage feather. Very simple, yet effective! As always I listed the materials I used on this fly. Hook: TMC 3761 in size 14 Thread: Veevus 6/0 in olive Tail: Antron Yarn Wire: Small Gold UTC Ultra Wire Dubbing: Olive/Brown Hares Ear Dubbing Hackle: Hungarian Partridge Cement: Hard as Hull

CDC Hatchmaster

So the original hatchmaster I believe was tied with a mallard flank feather. However that is just too large, and would create a fly in the 10-14 size range. Great for larger mayflies, however when tying smaller patterns like this BWO, the CDC feather works great! Also the added benefit of CDC floating without floatant really makes me love this pattern! I can tie it on and start fishing right away! As with any fly that uses CDC to float, you should not add any floatant as you do not need it because CDC uses natural oils in the feather to float. This fly really does float well, and floats very flat. Every time I put it in the water it sits perfectly. After a few casts I do have to make a few false casts to expel some water, but it will go right back to floating perfectly each time. The tail also looks amazing! And the fly really has that "match the hatch" type of look to it. You can tie this in numerous color combos to mimic other types of bugs. PMD, BWO, and even trico. You can tie these in range from 16 to about 22, however when tying for a larger pattern, like a drake, I would advise using another feather like the original mallard. Overall this is a beautiful and just absolutely cool looking pattern. One that is actually very effective and also really surprisingly easy to tie. If you have mastered parachute posts, and tying with CDC, this fly is very easy. Its also relatively easy to tie. Hook: Size 18 Daiichi 1110 Thread: Olive Veevus 10/0 Tail/Dubbing: BWO CDC feather Hot Spot: White CDC Puff Wing: Dark Dun CDC feather Head Cement: Original Hard as Hull Music: www.bensound.com Song: creativeminds

Evil Olive

This WD40 variation is one of my favorites. I like heavy flies for lead flies, and tying it with a Tungsten bead really helps it get down deep. Also the flashiness of the Evil Olive fly helps to attract fish a bit more, when flash might be needed. Slightly stained water or when the fish just aren't as picky. Dropping a small midge, traditional WD40 or even an emerger on the back end of this fly helps get the fish that are a little less anxious to bite. So as always I am listing what materials I used on this fly below. Also keep in mind that the list of materials here are just suggestions, and ones I used on this specific fly. That does not mean you have to use these exact colors or products. Experiment, and come up with your own version of this pattern if you want. Or use a different hook, or different thread. These are the materials I find work best, but get creative, or just use what you have. Hook: Firehole Sticks #316 in size 14 Hook: Daiichi 1120 Bead: 2.8mm/Gold Tungsten Bead Thread: Veevus 10/0 in Olive Wire: UTC Ultrawire Small/Gold Tail/Wingcase: Mallard Flank Dubbing: Peacock Ice Dub Legs: Pearl Krystal Flash Resin: Solarez "Thin Hard"

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