Showing posts with label Tightline Productions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tightline Productions. Show all posts

Monday, July 23, 2018

Tips on Tying the Missing Link Caddis

I posted a couple of  photos recently on Instagram of Mercer's Missing Link Caddis and afterwards I got a bunch of emails and messages from folks that are having trouble tying it - specifically getting the hackle wrapped cleanly.  Here's how I do it and it works quite well - pardon my photography skills.

The trick here is to leave the wings - both the spent and the elk hair wing materials long until the hackle is completely wound and tied off.

Spent wings - wrap tight to a ball of dubbing to flare them.  


Elk Hair - Tie in on top of a nice even platform formed when tying in the spent wings.


Hackle - Tie in in front of the elk hair butts and wrap counter-clockwise looking from above for a right handed tyer, and tie off behind the hook eye.  The longer wing materials will allow you to wrap the hackle over the spent wings and around the base of the elk hair wing and butts without catching it. Make the spent wings about 2X the hook shank length, and cut the elk hair right at the skin so you have plenty of length.    


The finished fly from angle above.


Side view.


And here's the video we did with Tim Flagler on tying it from start to finish. 


Hope that helps!

We're headed to Montana in a couple of days, so we hope to have some posts from Big Sky country when we return since the computer is staying home.  We'll try to post stuff from the trip daily to Instagram though - @mattgrobert 

Sharpen your hooks.

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Tying the Bluegill Belly Bean

With our local trout streams at their usual summer levels and warm temperatures, we turn our attention to warm water species - bass, bluegills and, sunnies.  Here's a great video with Tim Flagler tying our friend Paul Beel's Bluegill Belly Bean pattern.   We recently featured another of Paul's patterns here - his FrankenFrog. This is a fairly simple pattern to tie and by all accounts it's a fish getter.  Tie some up!
       

Sharpen your hooks!

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Ed Engle Ties His Bubble Wing BWO Emerger

For those of you that live in a cave don't know who Ed Engle is, he is a well known fly fishing author and guide from Colorado.   I've gotten to know him and his dry sense of humor from doing the Fly Fishing Shows over the last couple of decades, and seem to learn something new from him every time we talk.  In this great video from Tightline Productions, Ed talks about his inspiration for the Bubble Wing BWO Emerger, how he fishes it, and or course shows us how he ties this very effective pattern.  
      

Sharpen your hooks!

Sunday, February 4, 2018

Tying the Major Woody

Here's a very buggy wet fly/emerger trout pattern tied by Tim Flagler using woodduck and woodduck colored materials.
  

Sharpen your hooks.

 

Monday, January 29, 2018

Tying the BWO Improved Sparkle Dun

I finally had time recently to tie Craig Mathew's great mayfly pattern in front of Tim Flagler's camera.  I've written about this pattern many times over the last few years for good reason; it works very well when trout are feeding on olives.  It's fairly easy to tie with only three materials that are readily available.  
  

RECIPE
Hook: Dai Riki #125 size 18 -24
Thread: 6/0 Olive Danville
Wing: Dun dyed deer hair - fine
Shuck and Wing: Light dun Zelon or substitute such as EP Trigger Fibers or Antron
Abdomen: Thread
Thorax: Dark olive dubbing - I like Australian opossum  or beaver

Sharpen your hook.

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Tying the WD-40 Plus

The WD-40 is a midge imitation that has stood the test of time.  The pattern has been around for decades and produces well anywhere that trout are found.  In this video, Tim takes the pattern one step further by adding a short wing bud of CDC protruding through the wing case.  It's an easy fly to tie and you can change the color simply by changing the thread you use and matching the dubbing to it.  


Tie some up and sharpen your hooks!

Monday, January 15, 2018

The Rivers Await

We spent another weekend doing lots of fly fishing related stuff but no fly fishing.  Our rivers were first frozen solid and then Friday it warmed into the 60's and rained like hell.  It took a full day for the rains to move the ice out, but by Saturday morning the rush of water cleared out the inches thick ice and filled the rivers bank to bank and then some.  So Saturday I went over to Tim Flagler's and tied for a video whose subject pattern has been long in coming.  While there we also covered lots of ground ranging from fly tying to fly fishing to equipment to the Denver Fly Fishing Show. 

After tying for the video and hanging out with Tim, I headed down to check out the South Branch.  It was a far cry from where it was the last couple of weekends.  Below is a photo I took about two weeks ago, and below that is one I took Saturday from the same exact location (sort of - I couldn't stand where I had the time before as it was under 2 feet of water).  To see how much the river had come up, check out the two snow covered big boulders in front of the trees in the first photo on the left side of the river a little more than half way up.   In the second photo you'll note that they are water bound.  Its all good; winter spates are nature's way of cleaning house on the rivers.  




On Sunday morning we taught the free fly tying class at Shannon's Fly and Tackle Shop and had a good turnout despite the frigid cold that made its way back in after the rains - it was 13 degrees F.  We tied a simple scud, Galloup's Improved Baetis nymph, Improved BWO Sparkle Dun, and a Pumpkinhead Midge.  It was a great time with some of the usual folks, and a few new tyers to the class that really turned out well tied flies.  This Sunday our friend John Collins will be teaching the class and I believe demonstrating how to tie his sculpin patterns

Today was back to work - you don't want to hear about that so I'll sign off.

Sharpen your hooks!

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Tying JC's Electric Caddis Larva

Here's another great video by Tightline Productions - Tim Flagler - of our friend John Collins tying his Electric Caddis larva. In this case, John is tying a Rockworm larva - genus Rhyacophila, which are present throughout the year in Eastern rivers and streams.  By just changing the wire and tubing color, you can imitate any caddis larva you wish.  I can say from experience, these flies work.


Sharpen your hooks!

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Tying A Micro Egg

We all know trout love the eggs of trout, salmon and other fish, and it seems they have a particular fondness for them in winter.  Most of the time anglers fish salmon egg size patterns, of which there are dozens of patterns.  Here Tim shows how to tie a micro egg pattern for times when the larger imitations just don't do the trick.  Once you get the hang of it, tying these should be fairly easy; after that, the biggest challenge for many of us will be seeing what we are doing.  As usual, Tim's instructions and camera work leave little to chance for those that want to tackle the micro egg.


It occurred to me while watching this video that there may be another use for a yellow or orange micro egg.  I always wondered if the trout feed on the bright yellow egg sacs that Hendrickson spinners drop on the water.  If you have ever seen a Hendrickson hatch, you know the females have bright yellow egg sacs on the end of their abdomens that fall off and sink to the bottom of the stream.  Do you think trout feed on them?  It would seem that its an easy meal.  I may have to tie a few of these up and try them next spring during a spinner fall.....you never know unless you try.

Sharpen your hooks!     

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Holiday Weekend Rainbows

I managed to get out on the South Branch this afternoon for a few hours and ended the weekend on a high note.   It was around 2:00 pm when I waded along the banks of the low, chilly water that was so clear one could make out every leaf moving along in the water column, and even some of the trout holding on the bottom among the rocks and stones. The skies were mostly clear with a decent breeze that made the 45 degree F air feel like it was much colder.  There wasn't another angler in site and only the faint sound of bicyclists and their chatting from the old railroad bed turned walking/cycling path that follows the river a short distance away.


I started out with a #15 ( TMC102Y) tan Iris Caddis off the end of 2 feet of 6x tippet with a small split shot about 6-8 inches above the fly.  I typically would use 5x tippet, but the water was quite low, clear and moving at a snails pace compared to what it usually is.  I moved up the left bank of the river making straight upstream presentations into seams and deeper pockets; after giving the fly a second to sink, the line is stripped back at roughly the same speed as the current.  In a very short while my line stopped, I lifted the rod, and was into a nice rainbow that jumped a couple of times before I netted it.  

After working my way up the stream a bit without another take, I switched flies to a #20 pumpkin head midge and took off the split shot.  I continued to fish upstream, covering the water from the near bank to the far bank before taking a couple of steps up and repeating the process.   I hooked and landed a few, and lost one as I brought it to net.  The fish were all rainbows that were 12-15 inches or so long.

As the sun dipped to the Southwestern horizon I came to a favorite pool that always holds a few fish and despite my hands and fingers being pretty much frozen stiff, I changed back to the Iris Caddis since the midge had stopped producing.  About a dozen casts into top of the tail out my line jumped and I set the hook on the rainbow you see in the photo above.  After releasing the fish I snipped off the fly, reeled in and took my rod apart, and made my way back down stream in the draining light to my car.

To see how the two flies mentioned above are tied click on:
Iris Caddis
Pumpkin Head Midge

Sharpen your hooks.              

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Tying the Peacock Caddis

Here's a great pattern that I used for years, as have many of my friends, as tied here by Tim Flagler.  The peacock caddis has many of the elements of other effective multi-purpose dry flies - peacock herl body, a deer body hair down wing and grizzly hackle.   It works during caddis hatches, as a searching pattern, and in smaller sizes it is an effective flying ant imitation.  Another variation of the pattern is the use of two hackles - a grizzly and a brown.  Either way, the pattern works well anywhere caddis are found.
 

Sharpen your hooks!

Sunday, August 20, 2017

Monday, July 10, 2017

The Yellow Sally - The Summertime Stonefly

Last week I posted a photo of a yellow sally stonefly imitation on Instagram, and an observant viewer sent me an email noting that in the tying video I made with Tim Flagler, I did not tie in a tail like the one in the photo.  They wanted to know why.  


The answer is simple; I tie my Western version with the tail so it floats well in the big, fast waters that are found in Montana.  Here in the East I tie them without a tail as our waters not as big and fast as those out West, and a sparser fly tends to work better.  I will also carry some without a tail when out West for the spring creeks and fussy fish.  


The trout mostly see the egg-laying adults, thus the egg sac on the fly.

Here's the video: Tying the Yellow Sally Stimulator 

Sharpen your hooks.    

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Tying the SBR Sulphur Nymph

It's one of the best times of the trout fishing season right now with the weather and many hatches being at their peak on most streams here in the East.  One of those hatches is the sulphur, and over the last couple of months Tim has been telling me he has seen lots of sulphur nymphs in his stream samples, as have I.  It's a great hatch, starts with nymphing throughout the day, until the evening when the little, pale blue-winged, yellow bodied mayflies begin to hatch making it time to switch to a dry.  The nymphs are very active in the water column before the hatch, making them very vulnerable to the trout.  Here's is Tim's version of the nymph, which he based on the naturals he sees in his home waters, the South Branch of the Raritan River.  I suspect it will work anywhere in the East sulphurs are found.    


I would suggest tying some of these without the bead, too, for the late day, pre-hatch times when the naturals are ascending to the surface to hatch.

Sharpen your hooks!

Friday, April 21, 2017

The Red Quill - Tied by Joe Fox

Here's a great video by Tim Flagler/Tightline Productions, of Joe Fox tying a Catskill Red Quill dry fly using techniques he learned from Catskill legends Walt, Winnie and Mary Dette, his great grandparents and grandmother. The Dette's are one of my primary tying influences, and I spent many hours in their fly shop in my younger years watching them tie and asking questions, and learning not only about tying flies, but also how to fish them.  Joe now runs that same fly shop in the front room of that white house on a quiet street in Roscoe, NY where he welcomes anglers from all over the world with the same friendly, warm regard his family did for so many years. 
          

Here's a link to the Dette Fly Shop: Dette Trout Flies - Since 1928

Sharpen your hooks.

Friday, March 24, 2017

Tying the Top Secret Midge...On a Size #26 Hook!

In his latest tying video, Tim Flagler ties Pat Dorsey's Top Secret Midge pattern, which is a hard enough task for most tyers without having to get it right in front of a camera.  If there's an upside to tying this pattern, it is that it's fairly easy to tie and works well in sizes #20 on down to #26. It was designed for fishing tailwaters, which are midge factories, but it works well anywhere there are trout (midges can be found in just about any river or lake in the world). 
  

To give you an idea of the size, here's a comparison with a size #20 above it on a quarter. 


Sharpen your hooks!

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Tying the Kinder, Gentler Mop Fly

I watched Tim tie these at the Lancaster Fly Fishing Show this past weekend, and the result is a streamlined, wiggly fly that in the right colors imitates a cranefly larva well.  In the video Tim adds some underwater footage of the natural that confirms this.  As usual, the production is second to none.


Sharpen your hooks!

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Tying Ken's Crystal Worm

In this video Tim ties another Ken Walrath pattern that is about as simple as it can get.  The end result is a durable, worm imitation that can be tied in any combination of colors, to match whatever the predominant color of aquatic worms are in your favorite streams.


The other pattern of Ken's that Tim produced is Ken's Crazy Ant.  Click here to view it: Ken's Crazy Ant

Sharpen your hooks!

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Tying the Rusty Rat

In this video I tie an Atlantic salmon fly known as the Rusty Rat.  The Rusty Rat is a classic hairwing salmon fly that was developed by Joseph Pulitzer II and Restigouche County, New Brunswick fly tyer Clovis Arseneault.  The original pattern actually had a black thread head, but sometime later the red thread head became the standard.  The pattern also become popular when tied using other colors of floss, thus in addition to the Rusty Rat, we now have Green Rats and Blue Rats. As usual, Tim did an awesome job producing the video.
        

Here's a Green Rat, which is also a popular color for Atlantic salmon.  I actually tie more of this color for clients than the Rusty Rat, as I am told it produces better overall for them.


Sharpen your hooks!

Monday, December 26, 2016

Shannon's Christmas Stocking 2016

A few days ago Shannon's Fly Shop stocked the Califon, NJ section of the South Branch of the Raritan River with a load of browns, rainbows and few tiger trout.  Many of the fish are bruisers, and two of them they refer to as Bubba brown and Bubba rainbow, have jaw tags. 


Catch the Bubba with a jaw tag, release the fish and bring the tag to Shannon's, and you'll win a GLoomis Pro 4X fly rod!  Tim put together this quick video that's sure to get folks out on the water this winter.

Sharpen your hooks!