Extended-body Deer Hair Mayfly (Paradrake)

This was a special request from my fishing buddy JBP. The extended body is tied separately on a bodkin, finished, then pulled off and tied onto the hook.

Hook: #12 Dry

Thread: black

Tail: black bear hair

Abdomen: deer hair

Thorax: black dubbin

Wing Post: black bear hair

Hackle: grizzly tied parachute style

West Branch Report

With last night's rain, the water levels were up a bit (~450 cfs at Walton) and the water was a bit more cloudy than its been for a few days. According to the pros, the higher water and cooler temps should be good for fishing so here's hoping. While out on the West Branch near Hamden I did see some decent bug activity, though the surface feeding was sporadic for most of the evening.

Best guest at what I was seeing is that we had Hendricksons, Blue Quills (dark bodied, dark winged mayflies), and the occasional bright green apple caddis. I fished a few different patterns throughout the evening, starting with a basic March Brown wet fly, and then progressing to a Hendrickson parachute, a blue quill, a BWO with CDC wings, and a rusty spinner. Dark flies definitely seemed to be the most effective tonight. I had trouble seeing the small #18 blue quill though I think it was probably the best choice based on color and size of the naturals. I tied on the #14 BWO since it was a little bigger and floated a lot better making it far easier to spot. It caught a beautiful 16" brown that casually slurped it from the foam. I admit, I knew he was there, but I thought he was a much smaller fish when I casted to him.

West Branch Report

Thanks to the men and women of our Armed Forces who fought and died for us, I was priveledged to be able to go fishing with my buddy on Memorial Day. I think war is a terrible option to have to take, and I hope we never have another, but I have nothing but respect for all those who have gone to battle to defend our freedom throughout history.

Back home in central New York, Memorial Day was beautiful, sunny and warm. The Upper West Branch near Hamden was running a bit high (USGS says 650 CFS at Walton and it seems best at 300-400), but it's starting to clear up and should be perfect in a day or two if the thunderstorms don't muck it up again.

I hit the water a little after 5PM and the insect activity was moderate. I noticed quite a few small caddisflies dipping and diving to deposit their eggs (dark dun Chimarras) and there were Hendricksons out and about. A few fish were feeding at the surface in select spots, but I had to cover a lot of river to find them.

On the evening, a Biot Parachute Hendrickson pattern in size 12 seemed to draw the most interest.  I landed a nice 15" brown, an 8" chub, and had a few takes that I wasn't quick enough to connect with on that fly. I also had a strong take on a CDC & Elk caddis pattern. I was swinging it as a wet fly when the strike occurred, but my tippet gave way. It didn't raise any fish as a dry, which led to the switch to the Hendrickson Pattern.

As night fell, there were a few vicious outbursts where browns jumped clear out of the water after a meal. My guess is that they were hitting caddisflies based on the violence of the takes, so I switched again to a CDC Biot Caddis Emerger. It did draw a strike, but I lost the fly and the fish when I set the hook - something I clearly need to work on.

West Branch Report

I spent a couple of hours on the waters between Walton and Delhi tonight and while there were definitely bugs out and about, there wasn't nearly the surface activity I expected. I netted a few Red Quill (male hendrickson) spinners and saw quite a lot of small dark dun caddis (Chimarra, I believe) and slightly larger greed caddis (apple?) out and about, but the fish seemed to be feeding elsewhere. Perhaps I arrived too late for the main feast. Even so, I did manage to hook up with a few small browns. I'm guessing the stocking truck came through recently because the fish I caught were in the 6-8" range and were pretty pale.

Once again, the dark dun CDC emerger was a killer, as was the Madison Guide Cripple in red quill coloring. While the CDC Emerger is deadly, it's tough to fish in that it's hard to see and a little fish slime pretty much trashes it. I fish it mostly as a dropper off of a larger, more visible fly (a Hendrickson or klinkhamer for example) unless the water is fairly calm. Last night it was my go-to for sight-casting to a rising trout. I stuck with the MGC for prospecting in the faster water since the parachute made it easier to track and it's far more durable.

Elk Hammer

I'm a bit infatuated with the klinkhamer, I admit. This is another modification I'd like to try out this May. Elk body hair for the tail and abdomen to give it hopefully a Hendrickson look. I haven't seen elk hair used for body wraps much so maybe it's a mistake, but added wire counter wraps should make it more durable and I love the look. 

Hook: Klinkhamer 14-16

Thread: brown

Tail: elk body hair

Abdomen: elk (same as tail)

Rib: Wapsi wire (used silver and wine so far)

Thorax: March brown or Hendrickson pink dubbin

Wing Post: poly yarn or calf tail

Hackle: natural dun

Biot Parachute Hendrickson

Hook: Dry 12-16

Thread: Tan

Tail: Natural Dun Fibers

Abdomen: Turkey Biot dyed Hendrickson

Thorax: Dubbed March Brown or Hendrickson 

Wing Post: Poly yarn

Hackle: Natural Dun and Grizzly

note: whip finish on post under hackle for cleaner fly. 

Parachute Hendrickson

Hook: 12 or 14 Dry

Thread: Cream

Wing Post: Poly Yarn

Tail: Natural Dun Fibers

Body: subbed Hareline "March Brown" for usual Hareline Super Fine "Hendrickson Pink"

Hackle: Parachute-style Natural Dun and Grizzly

Notes:

- Whip finish under hackle

- use small thread ball under base of tail to lift and splay tail fibers. 

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.