Klod Hopper

PAUL STIMPSON Translated by CARL WUEBBEN

 Its hopper season again and grasshoppers and crickets often fall or are blown into the water by summer winds and are taken with enough regularity that trout become eager for their imitations. On hot days, a hopper or cricket dressing fished on a meadow stream or near the shoreline of a big river can cause an instant detonation, even when just a few naturals are around. Hoppers and crickets have approximately the same body build. A dressing style that works for one can be tied in a different color to match the other. The KLOD HOPPER is tied in a tan color not your traditional yellow or olive. The red grizzly legs seem to be the key to this fly’s success. So try this one for yourself on selective fish, I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

PATTERN

HOOK – Dry fly, 2x long, size #12 - #6
THREAD – Brown 6/0, Flat waxed nylon
BODY – Tan, closed-cell foam (1/8 inch – 3mm)
OVERBODY – Brown dubbing (I used super fine)
WING – Elk hair or fine white tail deer hair  
HACKLE – Brown dry fly saddle
THORAX – Tan, closed –cell foam (1/8 inch -3mm)
LEGS – Red, grizzly legs

HOW TO TIE

1. Debarb hook – mount in vise – start your thread in at the rear of the hook (just before the bend of the hook) – cut a piece of 1/8 inch (3mm) tan closed – cell foam into a strip about 2 inches long and as wide as the gape of the hook. Trim one end to a point. Lay down a thread base to the front. Tie in the strip of foam just behind the eye on top of the hook (this is the front of your thorax) and the pointed end coming off the bend of the hook and hanging just a little bit longer than a hook gape from the bend of the hook. Leave a ½ inch or more extending over the eye. Pull the foam forward and bring your thread behind the foam and wrap a few wraps rearward (about 5or6 eyelets from the eye) then bring the foam back down onto the top of the hook shank and secure the foam again (this is the back of your thorax). Now with evenly spaced spiral wraps, move the thread over the foam to the back of the hook (loosely). Now go forward to the spot you started the spiral wrapping again evenly spaced and not too tight. Even though we are going to cover this part of the fly with dubbing in a following step, do not wrap the foam down with any more turns of thread, we want the foam to retain as much of its shape to help the fly float. Now cross over the entire bottom of the fly to the rear of the hook shank where you started your thread.  Put a little ZAP-A-GAP on the bottom thread wraps and let it seep some onto the foam, this will keep things from moving but let it dry before the next step.      
2. Prepare and measure a rooster hackle with the barbs length the same as the width of the gape of the hook. Tie in at the rear of the hook (where your thread is now). Dub the body by placing a small piece of dubbing (I used super fine) up against the thread ( you can use dubbing wax if you want) and twisting it between your thumb and index finger in a clockwise direction, then wrap it onto the body and add more and wrap as needed and end it behind the thorax.  
3. Palmer (spiral wrap) the hackle forward and tie off behind the thorax. Clip your tag end off (extra hackle stem).
4. Clean a stack of elk hair with a hair brush about the thickness of a large wooden match stick then put them in a hair stacker (tips first) and tap the stacker bottom on the table 2 or 3 times to even up the tips and then remove them by the tips. Now tie them in on top of the hook shank by the butts right behind the thorax with the length just a little bit smaller than the rear body (don’t go past the rear pointed foam end). Make a thick thread wrap right behind the thorax to secure the wing and give it a spot to secure the legs.  Clip off the tag ends of the elk hair (The butts).   
5. Secure one leg on each side by the rear of the thorax and make a couple wraps to hold them in place and spread your front leg forward and your rear leg backward. The rear legs should be longer.     
6. Pull the front foam back over the front part of the fly to form a bulky, hopper head then clip off the extra foam. Now whip finish it and trim the legs to size and you’re done.     

*** But remember to practice    C.P.R.   (CATCH – PICTURE – RELEASE).

THE BLUEGILL IT’S –A-BUG

GARY R. YADEN Translated by CARL WUEBBEN

When you tie this pattern expect to catch a few fish with it - even bass like this fly. There are some unique traits to the Bluegill its –a- bug, starting with the foam eyes on the sides of the fly. The second is that the pattern sits on the water with the butt of the fly sinking under the surface; when retrieved with a slight twitch, the entire body rocks on the surface. But best of all, the bluegill it’s-a-bug is easy to tie and is very durable.

PATTERN

HOOK – Mustad 3906b, sizes 10 to 6 for bluegills, larger for bass.
THREAD – Danville’s size A waxed fly master, black or color to match the body.
OVERBODY – Black 1/8 – inch Closed cell foam.
UNDERBODY – Black small to medium chenille, or color to match the overbody.
LEGS – Four 2- inch strips of black square rubber legs.
HEAD – Yellow 1/8 inch closed cell foam.

HOW TO TIE

1. Debarb hook – mount in vise – start your thread at just in front of the hook bend – cut a strip of black foam ¼ inch by 1 inch, then cut a pointed tip on one end and tie this end in at the rear of the hook – tie in the chenille on top of the foam and wrap your thread forward to about mid shank.
2. Tie in the rubber legs by taking one of the 2 inch legs and double it over the thread in a “v” shape and it facing away from you - then using only the leg material and the thread hanging downward pull the legs up and over the hook shank and onto the side close to you – that’s one pair now advance the thread two or three wraps and tie in another pair – then rotate your vise so you can do the same thing on the other side and you should end up with four legs on each side.
3. Cut a strip of yellow foam ¼ inch wide by ¾ inch long for the head – cut a “v” point on one end and tie this end on at the front of the hook with the other end facing toward the eyelet – keep it on the top and don’t crowd the head.
4. Wrap the chenille underbody forward making sure to get one wrap between the legs going forward and backward – you can adjust the position of the legs later. Wrap all the way forward and tie off behind the eyelet (don’t crowd the head) clip off the tag end of the chenille.
5. Pull the black foam up and over the chenille to form the overbody and tie off where you ended your chenille (by the eyelet). Keep the strip tight and secure it with three or four snug wraps - too tight and it my cut or bend the foam the wrong way. Trim the excess but leave about 1/8 inch.
6. Pull the front (yellow) strip back over the 1/8 inch black foam and secure with about three or four good wraps like before – this is the eye – whip finish – clip the thread – trim the excess yellow foam leaving a 1/8 inch long case. Adjust the rubber legs on each side of the body – you should have two sets of legs on each side with one set “V” shaped toward the back and the other “V” shaped toward the front Tie up a bunch - then take a photo of your best one and e-mail it to me and I can critique it for you if you want.

*** But remember to practice C.P.R. (CATCH – PICTURE – RELEASE). 

Yellow Stimulator

RANDALL KAUFMANN  Translated by CARL WUEBBEN

The two largest stonefly species, the salmon fly and golden stone are the most important hatches in the order. Both are predominantly western. Many other groups, including little brown stones, yellow sallies, and olive sallies, are important in the east, the west, and everywhere in between. All stoneflies live only in moving water. It’s important to fish the correct imitation whenever a stonefly species is on the water in good numbers. Trout key in on them and refuse everything else. It’s also important to know that some stonefly dressings, such as Randal Kaufmann’s stimulator, when tied in smaller sizes will also take trout during caddis and grasshopper activity. They make excellent searching dressings.

PATTERN

HOOK – 3x or 4x long, sizes 4-6-8-10-12.
THREAD – 6/0 hot orange.
TAIL – Light elk hair.
RIB – Fine gold wire, counter wound over the body hackle.    
BODY HACKLE– Brown, undersize.
BODY – Yellow fur or synthetic dubbing.
WING - Light elk hair.
HACKLE – Grizzly wound over thorax.
THORAX – Amber fur or synthetic dubbing.

HOW TO TIE

1. Debarb hook – mount in vise – start your thread two eyelets space from the eye of the hook and lay a thread base toward the bend of the hook shank and end just before the bend. Clip off a hunk of elk hair about the two to three times the thickness of the hook shank depending on the size of the hook, clean the fuzz out and then align the tips in a hair stacker then tie in at the rear of the hook shank, (This is your tail) the tail should be about half the length of the shank, then wrap the butt end down on top of the shank and end it about four of five eyelet’s from the eye and clip off the tag ends at a 45 degree angle, then go back to the rear of the shank with tight wraps, to hold the hair down.  
2. Tie in three to four inches of gold ribbing wire at the base of the tail. (This will protect your body hackle), with the longer piece toward the bend of the hook (We will counter wrap this later). Put this in your material clip.
3. Select a long brown hackle, either neck or saddle, with fibers just one hook gap long, strip the fluffy stuff off the lower part of the stem, and tie it in by the butt section of the feather at the base of the tail, with the concave side toward you so the fibers lean a bit forward when wound. Twist some yellow dubbing onto the thread for your body (abdomen), and wind a stout, untapered body over the rear two thirds of the hook shank.
4. Wind the brown body hackle forward in evenly spaced wraps to the end of the body (Where dubbing ended). Tie off and clip off your tag end. Make sure to leave plenty of room for the wing and final hackle. Counter wind the ribbing wire through the body hackle. Wobble the wire back and forth as you wind it to prevent knocking down too many hackle fibers, though you’ll always catch a few.
5. Select a patch of elk hair about twice the thickness of the tail, clip it from the hide, clean the fuzz from the butts, and align the tips in your hair stacker. Hold the wing in a firm pinch in your tying hand (Right handed person it’s your right hand), and measure it to the end of the tail. When tied in, you want the end of the wing to stand either even with or just short of the end of the tail.  The tail, when the fly is on the water, represents the back end of the wing, not the actual tails of the insect, which are insignificant to an imitation.
6. Transfer the wing pinch to your other hand and hold the wing tie-in point firmly in place at the end of the body (Front of abdomen dubbing- So it won’t spin). Tie in the wing with several loose thread wraps forward over the flared hair butts. Gather the butts and clip them on a 45 degree angle (So they don’t leave a step- that makes it hard to make the head).With firm wraps, Cover them with thread all the way up to the eye.
7. Select a single grizzly feather or two neck hackles with fibers one and a half to two hook gaps long, strip the fluff from the bottom of the feather. It you’re using one saddle, tie it in with the concave side toward you so the fibers tilt forward when wound. If you use two neck hackles, pair them back-to-back so the fibers are well spread when wound. Tie in at front of wing.
8. Dub a small noodle of amber fur for the thorax and wind it on to just behind the eyelet, and with a slight taper toward the front. Spiral the grizzly hackle forward and tie off just behind the eye and clip your tag end off. Build a small thread head and whip finish.      
9.   Tie up a bunch - then take a photo of your best one and e-mail it to me and I can critique it for you if you want.  

*** But remember to practice    C.P.R.   (CATCH – PICTURE – RELEASE).

ELK-HAIR CADDIS EMERGER

SHANE STALCUP Translated by CARL WUEBBEN

Caddis are the meat and potatoes of most trout diets. This important group of insects is found in just about every river, stream, and pond in which you might cast flies for trout. Caddis have several life stages, all of which can be imitated by artificial flies but we will concentrate on the emerger stage with this one. Emerging caddis larvae leave the Lake Bottom or streambed to swim to the surface, where they become winged adults. The swimming caddis pupae are weak and vulnerable, and they drive trout nuts. It’s best to keep floatant off of the bodies of this fly; for a realistic presentation, you want the body to hang down in the surface. This fly is just the ticket for catching tough – highly pressured trout.

PATTERN

HOOK – Daiichi 1130 or a similar bent – shank nymph hook, sizes #10 - #16
THREAD – 8/0, color to match the body
ABDOMEN – D-rib, color to match the body or clear to allow the color of the thread to show thru.
THORAX – Ice dubbing, color to match the body.
UNDERWING – Ice dubbing, color to match the body.
LEGS – Partridge hackle fiber.
WING – Elk or deer hair.

HOW TO TIE

1. Debarb hook – mount in vise – start your thread in at about three eyelets from the eye and wrap a nice thread base going a little bit into the hook bend, then take your D-rib and cut it at a slight angle at the tip – tie it in at the bend of the hook and bring your thread forward to the tie in point, then wrap the D-rib forward also with nice close wraps and end it where your thread is and tie it off (this is your abdomen) now clip off the tag end of the D-rib.
2. Tie in a pinch of dubbing by the tips In front of the abdomen – leave it hanging toward the rear as this will be doubled over later for the underwing – put some dubbing wax on the thread then add a small pinch of dubbing to the thread and with your fingers twist the dubbing onto the thread to make a rope like thread and dub a thorax (a small one) by wrapping the thread rope around the hook just a couple times. Leave room for the elk hair.
3. Using your bodkin , fold the dubbing underwing over it and tie it in front of the thorax – clip off any tag ends of dubbing and any stray pieces in the underwing loop (The loop creates a little air pocket).
4. Take a partridge feather and strip off the fuzz so you have just the good fibers on the shank. Gently pull the fibers on one side straight out but don’t strip them off – now tie in a small section of the fibers on the bottom of the thorax and in front of it (The thorax) for the legs – fibers should extend no farther than the hook point.
5. Clip out a clump of elk hair from the hide (About the thickness of a pencil – you can remove what you don’t need later) then comb out the fuzz and put it in a hair stacker then tap it on the table a few times to even the tips of the hair - pull the hair out by the tips and size up the thickness according to the hook size. Tie in with the tips facing toward the bend of the hook (The hair should extend to just a bit before the hook bend). Take your hair in your left hand and with the bobbin in your right hand wrap the thread around the hair where you will be tying it in and take one full turn then bring it all down to the hook shank and tie it on in front of the thorax with soft wraps (2or3) to help control the hair on top then with a little more tension and wrapping forward about 3 or 4 wraps to corral the hair a little then as you go back to where you stated tying in the hair pull tighter and the butts of the hair will really flair out – try to keep them on top by pulling them back up with your fingers.
6. Clip the hair butts at an angle just like an elk hair caddis but don’t cut it too short – you can always clip more but you can’t add any more on to it. Now just a few more thread wraps then a whip-finish and you’re done. Clip the thread off. Tie up a bunch - then take a photo of your best one and e-mail it to me and I can critique it for you if you want.

*** But remember to practice C.P.R. (CATCH – PICTURE – RELEASE).