Winter time fly tying

[cpierce]

I went out to a stream in the area that is about 200 ft higher in elevation than where I live. I was thinking that the snow should have melted and the roads would be open. The roads were open and the snow had melted, but unfortunately it must have had some really good cold nights in that area, because most of the stream was frozen too! There was 5 or 6 ft of shelf ice and even some ice dams starting. Fishing was slow and I hung up on ice on just about every cast. I did manage to catch one fish, but it ran straight under the ice and my tippet immediately snapped. Oh well I have had a great fly fishing season this year. I am just to see the weather change, and have to hang up my waders.

So unless I want to travel a ways to a larger river or the few ponds that are still floatable, I think I am done for the winter unless I take up ice fishing. I have considered ice fishing with a fly a time or two, but I think I am spoiled. It just wouldn't be the same as fishing a nice creek, river, or lake in the sun.

So back to the other old hobbies and some soon to be new hobbies. Besides playing guitar and messing around with a zillion other interests. I want to spend more time this winter learning to tie flies better.

I do tie some flies and the fish do take them. They just are embarrassingly messy if other people see them. What I would like are some suggestions on some easy to semi-easy fly patterns that all of you like to use.

So what are you all tying????
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[thebug]

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[thebug]

then a bunch of hairs ears, copper johns, pheasant tails, shop vacs, prince nymphs. rolal wulffs and coachmen, joes hoppers (becasue there easy), wolley buggers, zonkers,
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[macfly55]

those are some great looking flies... care to share some recipes especially ones with pictures... :-)

MacFly
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[cpierce]

Those are cool! Thanks! What are you using for your damsel wings?
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[thebug]

ok for the draggon flyyour goign to need 5 ingredients
foam 2mm closed cell green, blue red what ever coler your trying to match-i get mine at wallmart or the craft stores
dubbing to match foam color
crystal wing matterial-rodger in poky has it but ive also used the stuff from easter baskets it works too
thread to march foam/dubbing
then for the draggon flys i use size 12 dry fly hooks, if its a damsel its 18/20ish

to make the body for the draggon fly your going to need an 8 or 10 2x streamer hook and cut off the eye

so first the body. cut your body peice to the desierd leingth



next put the eyeless hook in the vice and start your thread at the bend of the hook using as little thread as you can.

Place one peice of foam on the top and one on the bottom of the hook shank and tie in

pull the foam back and advance the thread forward to the next desired body segment. using as few thread wraps as possible.


then repead till you reach the desired body length


wipfinnish on the foam not the hook shank. then grasp the body and slide it off the shank


once its off the hook i supper glue my wraps because trout and bass destroy these bodys if there not glued.

next i stab the lowwer tag end with the hook im going to use and tie it in


then i cut two wings
and tie them in forming an x accross the body. dub mne a nice body wip finnish and head cement. i sometimes use a little supperglue at the foam attachment place. Then ill dub
finnished guy should look simmilar to this.

have fun with it and experiment.
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[macfly55]

Great step by step...keep em coming ....
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[cpierce]

That is really great. I like your set up to tie the body on an eyeless hook.

I love damsel and dragon patterns. They can be a blast to fish. The best fish I ever caught at Silver Creek was on a floating damsel. It would float over snooty fish after snooty fish until one would just slam it. Practically gave me a heart attack!
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[thebug]

wow i can't spell or type. im going to blame it on 3amish on my fourth 12 in a row
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[thebug]

A thought. Yesterday (the 11/19/11) Frank Meek spoke at Jimmys in IF and he was talkign about an adult damsel pattern that instead of tieing the wings out like mine he cocks them back in the reposed position becasue they fly better through the air without pinwheelign in theair and casusing tangles and frustrations. he also says the trout don't seem to mind, infact he thinks they fish better that way too.
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[thebug]

hook size 12 1x (shown) smaller works bigger does not work as well for me. There is somthign about this size that does wonders
weight-led wraps/lead substitute to desired wt to make contact with bottom. i mostimes fish unweighted and it does very well
Tail-golder pheasant neck fibers
rib-gold tinsel,
body-black dubbing-i have tried hairs ear, olive, brown with limited results. but then again i have not tried it as often. its something i plan to experiment with a bit more this next year.
wing-pheasant tail
hackle-black tied in wet fly style
head-peacock hearl/dubbing its a preferance thing

I love this fly as the top nymph in a two or three fly set up. It willl oftimes outfish the other droppers. I have tried it with a bead head without anybetter results in fact it may have been a bit worse.

Do you guys want the step by step with pics? i have them but this is a faily simple fly
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[cpierce]

Thanks! That is a cool looking nymph. I am wondering if in the water it looks like a stonefly with lots of legs? It should be fairly simple to tie and is different than any I fish now, so that is great to add a "new to me" good one to try. Does it have a name?
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[thebug]

i call it the black canyon special because the first time i fished it was in black canyon near grace and had one of the best days of my life there with a few fish going over 20in. its based loosely on a pattern i saw online once along time ago but i haven't been able to find it since
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[cpierce]

Well I appreciate your sharing it. I will have to test it out on the Black Canyon too this spring. It looks a bit like a steelhead fly. As long as the fish like it, that's what it is all about!
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[X2FSH]

Come on Cpierce...don't hang up those waders just yet...throw on some thermals under those waders...and you can be fishing the Snake all winter long!!
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[flygoddess]

Just keep an eye upstream. I have almost been mowed down by ice chunks.
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[thebug]

in the last 3 weeks i hit the pourtneuf, malad (near twin), Henry's fork and s fork, get some of those shank and heat things and some good thermals under the wadders i also wear surgical gloves size 7.5 to keep my hands dry. (but then again any old latex gloves work). Ive also worked 12 of the last 14 days too so not as much fishing has taken place recently
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[thebug]

so that last pattern is a spin off of the "flash king" according to charlies flybox
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[cpierce]

The Flash King looks like I good variation too. I like to try some things that are a bit different, especially during winter time when the dry fly fishing is limited.

I like the flash rib on your variation. Sometimes even on a hare's ear a little more rib flash can make all the difference.
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