CLOWN SHOE CADDIS
JAY ZIMMERMAN Translated by CARL WUEBBEN
Forget your Stimulator flies just tie up a bunch of clown shoe caddis flies the D-rib abdomen is indestructible. The bright Mcfly foam post makes it noticeable from space, but not too crazy from the fish-eye-view. The way the hook drops off away from the butt of the elk hair/middle of the fly makes it a workhorse dry fly that can suspend heavy droppers. Because of Jay’s purposeful design, the Clown Shoe Caddis lends itself well to broken water and dry-dropper rigs as well as fishing from a drift boat or raft. The heavy hackle and colorful post make the fly both buoyant and visible in the roughest water, and that D-rib body is pretty darn buggy looking also.
PATTERN
HOOK – TIEMCO (TMC) #2487 in #12 - #18
THREAD – 8/0 (70 denier) Olive dun UNI-THREAD
BODY – Small clear D-rib
WING – Yearling elk, natural or dyed dun
HACKLE – Grizzly saddle
INDICATOR – Mcfly foam in your choice of bright colors
THORAX - Black Superfine dubbing
HOW TO TIE
TIE UP A DOZEN OR TWO – AND GO FISHING*** But remember to practice C.P.R. (CATCH – PICTURE – RELEASE).
The Western Coachman
BUZ BUSZEK Translated by CARL WUEBBEN
The Western Coachman is without a question a very productive fly pattern it has produced bream and black bass; five species of trout; black crappie; and even golden shiners; chain pickerel and bowfins. The Western Coachman was designed by fly shop owner BUZ BUSZEK (The gentleman the IFFF award was named for) of Visalia, California in either 1939 or 1940, originally as a local pattern for taking Sierra rainbow and brown trout in the Kings River. He patterned the Western Coachman after the wet version of the Orvis Company’s royal coachman, which was designed in 1878. The various Coachman designs, including the Royal Wulff, Royal Stimulator and others, are all ancestors of the earlier original Coachman that was designed in the 1830’s by the driver or coachman for the royal family of England.
PATTERN
HOOK – Mustad 3906, Tiemco 3769, Daiichi 1550 size #10 - #16.
THREAD – Black Danville’s 6/0 or Gudebrod 8/0
TAIL – Golden pheasant tippet
RIB– fine gold wire
BODY – Peacock herl with the fine gold wire rib
WING – White deer hair
HACKLE – Coachman brown rooster neck or hen saddle feather
HEAD – Black thread
HOW TO TIE
TIE UP A DOZEN OR TWO – AND GO FISHING*** But remember to practice C.P.R. (CATCH - PICTURE - RELEASE).
Pregnant Scud
Translated by CARL WUEBBEN
According to ANDREW PULS who earned his master’s degree as a fisheries biologist, there are sound reasons for tying the pregnant scud. Scientific research has demonstrated that orange segmented scuds suffer increased predation from trout, probably due to the crustacean’s increased visibility in the water. The orange bead in the middle of the body of the pregnant scud mimics a scud that is either full of eggs or has become infected by a parasite. The pregnant scud works especially well when you need a pattern containing a dash of flash or when fishing heavily pressured water. The fly has a unique, realistic look that most other anglers overlook.
PATTERN
HOOK – Mustad C49S, Tiemco 2457 – 2487 – 2488 or any bent shank scud hook sizes #14 - #12
THREAD – Olive 8/0 (70denier)
BEAD – Orange glass bead (10/0 seed beads work from JO-ANNS)
BODY – Light – olive sow-scud dubbing
SHELLBACK – A strip clipped from a plastic freezer bag.
RIB – 5X clear monofilament
HOW TO TIE
By hand = Pull a small length of thread out from the bobbin (about 3 inches) and put some dubbing wax on it, then twist on your dubbing with your fingers in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction between your thumb and index finger just pick one or the other direction and stick with it.
With dubbing loop tool = bring about three inches of thread downward and put your dubbing tool on the thread then keep a hold on the tool with your left hand (for right handers) and bring your thread back up to the hook shank where your thread was started and put a few wraps back over the back part of what now is your dubbing loop. Put some dubbing in the entire loop and twist it till it’s tight. Bring your thread to the center of the hook shank. Now with either method wrap you dubbing forward to just before the halfway mark and tie and clip the end of the loop off then bring your bead up against your rear dubbed body and bring your thread over the top of the bead to the front of it and make a small dam in front of it to keep it in place better or you can whip finish the rear body –clip the thread- then push your bead up against the rear body and restart your thread then a thread dam in front of the bead.
TIE UP A DOZEN OR TWO – AND GO FISHING*** But remember to practice C.P.R. (CATCH – PICTURE – RELEASE).
Hook-Up Crayfish
GREG HEFFNER Translated by CARL WUEBBEN
Numerous studies have shown that in many waters, crayfish are the number one prey of smallmouth bass, and in some waters they are a predominant prey of trout. Not only are there many species (more than 300 In North America), but they all live and grow for several years. That means there are probably crayfish of various sizes almost anywhere we fish. Like all animals with exoskeletons, crayfish must periodically molt their shell and wait until new ones form. That “soft - shell “stage of development inevitably raises the question: Do fish like soft – shell crayfish more than one with a hard shell? If given a choice, they will eat soft – shell crayfish before their hard – shell cousins but during the molt, crayfish retreat into hiding places until their new shells harden. This makes it harder for fish to get at them. So even though the fish may prefer the soft-shells, the hard-shell crayfish, which are out and about on the river or lake bed, are easier to catch and eat. The HOOK-UP CRAYFISH is a hard-shell imitation and it is very effective. Make the claws fairly thin and equal to no more than half the length of the body. The larger fly in the photo was made on a 2/0 hook and I used tan craft fur and UV glue to make the claws and a saddle hackle for the legs plus I used orange chenille for the body all the rest is the same.
PATTERN
HOOK – Tiemco. TMC 200R, Dai-Riki 270, or a similar 3x – long curved shank hook, size #6 or #4
THREAD – Brown 3/0 monocord
ANTENNAE – Two pheasant tail fibers
WEIGHT– .035 – inch lead free wire
CARAPACE – Natural oak mottled thin skin
THORAX – Dubbing, color to match the local crayfish
CLAWS – Brown rabbit fur
LEGS – Grizzly hackle dyed brown
ABDOMEN – Same dubbing as the thorax
RIB – Brown monocord thread or brown medium ultra-wire. (Wire best)
HOW TO TIE
But remember to practice C.P.R. (CATCH – PICTURE – RELEASE).
HALEY’S COMET
AARON JASPER Translated by CARL WUEBBEN
This is a simple but a little tricky to tie up – but very effective for catching fish feeding on other fish’s eggs when they are spawning. I call this a cheating fly because it seems like I’m bait fishing but it works so give it a try and see how you feel about it. Fish it on the bottom of your favorite stream. Try tying it in other colors like pink – red – orange – white and try it with a small dot on the side also and you can use the same tail or change the color on that also. Try tying on a piece of non-lead wire for weight on top of the hook shank it helps to sink the fly a little faster or leave it out and wait for it to soak up some water then sink (A split shot will work also). Just tie it in before you put the Mcfly foam on.
PATTERN
HOOK – Tiemco. TMC #2499 SPBL, or similar sizes #14 to #8 (I used Mustad # 3366 for the photos ) or try Mustad #C49 or Tiemco TMC #2488 hooks.
THREAD – 3/0 but can use 6/0 if you are careful, color to match the egg.
TAIL – White marabou
EGG – Mcfly foam in color of your choice
OTHER THINGS – Regular soda straw or milkshake straw that’s thicker (but the thinner the straw the less dense and smaller the egg). A thin piece of stout wire to make a tool.
HOW TO TIE
TIE UP A DOZEN OR TWO – AND GO FISHING*** But remember to practice C.P.R. (CATCH – PICTURE – RELEASE).
Wee Willy Wiggler
CRAIG RIENDEAU Translated by CARL WUEBBEN
Simple to make – simple to use as you will see, the Wee Willy Wiggler is one of the simplest flies you will ever make. Tie the fly on a jig hook weighted with a small bead head or a jig hook with the weight attached to it already, either way it makes it fall and hang horizontally in the water column much like something alive. The only thing that has changed from the original is it started with saddle hackle, switched to Cul De Canard during the hackle shortage a couple of years ago, and finally settled on Antron Trilobal hackle. The Wee Willy Wiggler is also easy to repair, just keep some superglue handy and you can fix a loose tail or even glue an entire new one. Cast and strip it like a streamer, or dead drift it like a nymph, use a indicator to keep the fly in the strike zone as long as possible without getting hung up or leaving the strike zone. Fish the fly very slowly, twitch it slightly once in a while if you don’t get a strike and vary your depth. Fish rarely spit out this soft- rubber pattern. The Wee Willy Wiggler works on almost every warm water species that get in its way. Bass, Bluegills, Crappies, Carp.
PATTERN
HOOK – Sohumi 103 or your favorite 90-degree jig hook, size 8. (I used Bass Pro Shop jig head ball style 1 /64th #JHNO64 #8 with the weight already on it)
THREAD – 8/0 (70 denier) color to match the body or just white will do.
WEIGHT – 1/8 – inch brass or copper bead (exclude if your hook has it built into it)
UNDERBODY– Krystal flash. (Color to match the body).
BODY – A spine clipped from a giant puffer ball or googly ball from a toy or craft store.
HACKLE – Trilobal Hackle with ¾- Inch fibers (color to match body or white) (I used UV Polar Chenille or palmer chenille or minnow body wrap (bass pro shop) and clipped it some after I was done with the fly).
OTHER - *Lighter (to heat up the bodkin).
*Cup of cool water (To cool the body off).
*Zap-A-Gap or superglue
HOW TO TIE
*** But remember to practice C.P.R. (CATCH – PICTURE – RELEASE).