Adams Wet Fly

Hook: Mustad R90 nymph size 12

Thread: gray

Tail: grizzly and brown hackle fibers

Body: Natural Wool (gray) tied in dubbin loop here

Rib: silver Wapsi wire

Hackle: grizzly and dun hen hackle

Opt: weight with 6-7 turns lead-free wire

CDC Blue Wing Olive

Pattern: 

Hook: Dry Fly (14 or 16)
Thread: Olive
Tail: Dark Dun Ultra Fibbets
Body: Olive Super Fine Dubbin
Wing: Dark Dun CDC  

Instructions:

1. Begin thread at eye and wind back to tail tie in.  Do not trim tag end of thread!
2. Measure fibbets (slightly longer than body) and tie in with two pinch wraps.
3. Bring tag end up and through fibbets and pull forward along shank to split tail.
4. Tie in tag end with fibbets and trim.
5. Advance thread to wing position.
6. Tie in two CDC feathers, first on far side, second on near side.
7. Trim butts and tie down, bring thread to tail.
8. Create tapered dubbin noodle and wrap body.
9. Using dubbin noodle, wrap in front of wings to lift them to vertical, then use dubbin to split wings with x-wraps.  
10. Neaten up head with thread wraps.
11. Whip finish & cement.

For an excellent demonstration, check out Jim Misiura's video.  The fly is billed as a dun, but the profile looks rather spinner-like to me so I'll be fishing both ways.

CDC BWOs from different angles:

CDC & Elk

This is a very simple fly created by Hans Weilenmann in the 1990s.  The CDC & Elk is a variation on the Elk-hair Caddis that is both easy to tie and versatile.  Using only two materials, you can churn out a few of these in relatively short order. 

Pattern:

Hook: Dry Fly (12 or 14)
Thread: Brown
Body: Dark Dun CDC
Wing: Elk Hair (Deer hair subbed above)

Instructions:

1. Starting your thread a little behind the hook eye, wrap back to the barb and trim your tag end.
2. Holding your CDC feather in your left hand, stroke the fibers forward with your right-hand and tie in the first 1/4-1/2" of the tip per Hans' technique: two pinch wraps on top, one wrap in front around shank only, then another wrap on top.
3. Advance thread forward to an eye space or two from the eye.
4. Using a hackle pliers, wrap the CDC forward to your thread.  The rear end of the fly will be nicely dubbed as the CDC fibers are all trapped.  As you advance, more and more fiber ends will be freed up and create a leggy/buggy look.  Be sure to stroke these fibers rearward as you wind.
5. Tie off CDC behind eye and trim.
6. Select a small clump of hair (I like to hold mine to the hook shank before cutting to help gauge size), remove fuzzy under-fur and use a stacker to line up the ends.
7. Size the wing such that the deer hair ends even with the bend of the hook.
8. Per Hans, pinch the butts at the hook eye and trim the hair square at the hook eye.
9. Maintaining your pinch grip, tie in the hair with two pinch wraps and tighten down forming your nicely balled head.  A third wrap should go at 45 degrees through the head ball and a final wrap around the hook shank only, under the head and behind the eye.
10. Whip finish and cement.  (This is a great pattern to practice whip finishing by hand.  The control you get by hand allows you to get the whip finish under the head much more easily than you would with a tool.)

And since my summary could never equal learning from the creator himself: 

Fishing the CDC & Elk:
As an elk-hair caddis variation, this fly is ostensibly a dry caddis imitation.  However, per Hans, it's useful for prospecting, can be successful as a mayfly imitation, makes a decent emerger when a bit damp, and can be swung as a wet fly as well.  I'm looking forward to trying the CDC & Elk this season.  A quick and easy tie that covers several different scenarios?  How can you go wrong?

For more on CDC patterns: Tying with CDC

Light Hendrickson Dry

My attempt at a classic from Art Flick's Streamside Guide:

Pattern:

Hook: Dry Fly (12 or 14)

Thread: Brown

Wing: Wood Duck Flank (Mallard subbed above)

Tail: Natural Dun Hackle Fibers
Body: Hendrickson Pink Super Fine Dubbing
Hackle: Natural Dun

Instructions:

• Start thread behind eye leaving 2-3 eye lengths bare per Catskill style, wrap back halfway, then forward half-way.
• Size wing to be one shank length and tie in using 2 pinch wraps, then 2-3 tight wraps in front of wing around hook.(Helps me prevent spinning of wing).
• Trim wing butts at an angle to help taper body.
• Using cross-wraps split wing evenly and position wings. (Use flat of fingernail along hook shank to fan out wing and help divide evenly.)  I leave near side wing a little flatter at this point since tying in the hackle always causes it to push upward later.
• Wrap thread back and tie in tail using thread to form nice even taper.
• Form tight dubbing noodle and dub thorax (less is more!) stopping with a little space behind wing.
• Tie in hackle on near side and be careful about it skewing your wing.
• Wrap hackle 3x tight behind wing, then 2x tight in front.
• Tie off hackle and trim.  Can use a half hitch to push back any hackle fibers at this point.
• Whip finish and cement. (Watch that you leave space behind the eye and don't make your head too long!)

When to fish:

Late April to first 3/4 of May.

Blue-wing Olive Parachute Emerger

Pattern:

Hook: Emerger or Dry Fly

Thread: Olive

Tail: Dun Hackle Fibers
Abdomen: Stripped Peacock Herl

Thorax: Olive  Super Fine Dubbing

Wing Post: Poly Yarn (or calf-tail or similar)

Hackle: Dun, tied parachute style

Instructions:

• Strip fibers off of peacock herl leaving only stem and save (I use a pencil eraser though traditional is to soak the hurl in a bleach solution)Start thread behind eye, wrap back halfway, then forward half-way back to eye.
• Tie in Poly Yarn
• Tie in Dun Hackle behind eye
• Create post with Poly yarn and hackle (leave hackle dangling out of top of post for now)
• Wrap thread back and tie in tail.
• Tie in stripped peacock herl at tail and advance thread forward to thorax
• Wrap peacock herl forward to thorax, tie down and trim.
• Coat peacock lightly with head cement to strengthen and add luster.
• Form tight dubbing noodle and dub thorax.
• Wrap hackle parachute style 3-4 wraps, then tie in with two thread wraps around post.
• Wrap thread behind eye, whip finish and cement.
• Trim poly yarn to proper height (~ body length of fly)

For a great demo on creating parachute flies, check out this excellent instructional video from Tightline Productions.

Pheasant Tail Patterns

Pheasant Tail Nymph:

Pattern:

Hook: Nymph

Thread: Olive or Brown

Tail: 3-4 Ring-neck Pheasant tail fibers
Ribbing: Copper Wire

Body: 10 pheasant tail fibers

Wing Casing: Pheasant tail fibers (same as body)

Thorax: Peacock Herl (traditional) or dubbed (IE hare's ear)

Legs: Pheasant tail fibers (same as body)

Instructions:

• If desired, wind lead-free wire around hook to weight fly.
• Bind down wire/wrap hook with thread to tail tie in.
• Tie in tail.
• Tie in ribbing wire on near side of hook (this way, counter wrap doesn't disturb tail).
• Tie in pheasant tail for body and advance thread to thorax.
• Wrap PT to thorox.  Tie off but DON'T TRIM PT.  Wrap twice in front of PT.
• Counter wrap copper wire using palmer wraps. Tie in with PT and trim wire only.
• Tie in Peacock Herl for thorax in front of PT.
• Wrap herl forward leaving space behind hook eye, tie off, trim close. 
• Fold PT fibers over top of peacock herl to form casing, tie off behind eye, DO NOT TRIM PT yet.
• Using thumbnail, push PT butts pack. This should force them to fan out.  
• Evenly divide PT to either side of the hook, hold with left hand, and bind in place with thread wraps.
• Whip Finish and trim thread.
• Trim PT legs such that they extend back about the length of the thorax.
• Cement head and wing casing.

Parachute Pheasant Tail Emerger:

Pattern:

Hook: Emerger or Dry Fly

Thread: Olive or Brown

Tail: 10 pheasant tail fibers
Ribbing: Copper Wire

Body: 10 pheasant tail fibers (from tail)

Wing Post: Poly Yarn (or calf-tail or similar)

Hackle: Brown, tied parachute style

Instructions:

• Start thread behind eye, wrap back halfway, then forward half-way back to eye.
• Tie in Poly Yarn
• Tie in Brown Hackle behind eye
• Create post with Poly yarn and hackle (leave hackle dangling out of top of post for now)
• Wrap thread back and tie in tail with 2-3 wraps but DO NOT TRIM PT.
• Bend PT up and wrap twice in front.
• Tie in ribbing on near side of hook.
• Wrap PT forward to just behind hook eye, tie down and trim, leaving space for head.
• Counter-wrap wire palmer-style and tie in with PT.
• Wrap hackle parachute style 3-4 wraps, then tie in with two thread wraps around post.
• Wrap thread behind eye, whip finish and cement.
• Trim poly yarn to proper height (~ body length of fly)

For a great demo on creating parachute flies, check out this excellent instructional video from Tightline Productions.