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.

Fall fishing, wet flies and streamers.

I can't tell you how thankful I am fall is upon us!  It's been an incredibly rough summer and my fly fishing pride has taken a beating.  The local streams were too warm, or at least, that's what I'm telling myself, and I just didn't have the skills to have much success on the lower East and West Branches of the Delaware.  I guess I'll chalk the summer up to a nice learning experience and a great time out on beautiful water.

Now that the evenings are cool and the water levels are back near ideal, I spent a couple of hours on the upper West Branch near Hamden, NY.  Talk about a beautiful fall day.  I had no idea what the fishing would be like, but it didn't matter.  Being outside on a day like this in central NY is why I moved here.  As an added bonus, I had one of my most successful days yet fly fishing and actually managed to get some of the techniques I've read about to work on the water.  It's nice to get some positive feedback after a dismal couple of months!

I arrived and the stream just before noon with blue skies and full sun.  I didn't notice any surface activity at all so, figuring dry flies were out, I went straight to an olive wooly bugger. I found a fishy looking spot where a fast riffle entered a deep run with large rocks on the far bank for cover.  The run continually deepened until it emptied into a large pool beneath a bridge.  Earlier in my career, I would have fished the calm waters beneath the bridge, but I keep reading how aggressively feeding trout will be in moving water since it's generally colder, more oxygenated, and that's where the food supply tends to be.

With that in mind, I fished my wooly bugger starting at the beginning of the run and working the length of it.  I basically used the wet-fly swing technique casting it straight across or slightly downstream and letting it swing in the strong current.  I varied it up by switching the rod tip or sometimes stripping in some line.  I tried to work it so that the fly would be in the seam between the fast run and the slower water on the side of the stream when it finished its swing.  Within 5 casts, I hooked my first and nicest brown of the day.  Delighted with myself, I fished the wooly bugger for another hour without any more success.  Looking back, I don't think I was getting it deep enough.  Even as a weighted fly, it was riding high in the fast current and the run was extremely deep towards the tail end.  I just don't think I had it where the fish were feeding.

At any rate, I decided to switch to a wet fly.  I had been reading scouting reports saying that leadwing coachmen could be deadly in riffles and runs, but to date I'd had no success.  At this point, I should mention that I noticed some mayfly activity.  What to me seemed like small blue-wing olives were appearing on the water, but I still didn't see a single rise.  Based on all that winter reading, I guessed there must be nymphs emerging and that the trout must be keying in on those subsurface.  Hence, wet fly time.  And this time, I added some split shot to get my fly down in the water current.

Swinging a wet fly is about the easiest thing you can do.  Just cast it across or slightly downstream and let it swing.  Again, I held my rod so that the swing ended in the seem.  The strikes came like I've never seen.  Most of the trout were little guys (8-10"), but after the summer doldrums, I didn't mind in the least.  I did notice that I seemed to catch a lot of fish after the fly had swung downstream and I had left it in the water while moving my position.  That made me realize that it pays to let your fly drift in the downstream position for longer than I would've thought useful.  Reading a bit, it seems that allows the fly to rise up towards the surface making it really look like an emerger.  Whatever the case, it caught a lot of fish.  Over the course of 4 hours I caught close to a dozen fish, which, for a beginner like me, made me feel pretty damn good about myself.

West Canada Creek

A Saturday presented itself with no kids so I decided to try my luck at new location. Off to Herkimer I went to the famed West Canada Creek and was on the water by 8 AM. 

I chose to stop a few miles north of Herkimer off of route 28 at one of several pull offs along that stretch. The DEC worked overtime to secure miles of PFRs in the area so there's a lot to explore. The areas I checked looked extremely fishy to my untrained eye, though the depth and volume of water made wadig near impossible. Finding room to cast on the shore between the trees wasn't easy either. Given all that, I chose to spin cast for the first par of the day. I went through a range of lures (phoebes, spoons, cast masters) but didn't have much luck aside from the occasional rice chub. I admit, I was getting discouraged. 

Somewhere around 3pm the clouds rolled in and I saw my first rise. I switched to a fly rod and threw the kitchen sink at it. Caddis dries, hopper-dropper, wooly bugger, black ghost, etc. but without any takers. Now really discouraged, I saw a small brown leap clear out of the water not too far from me. 

Knowing his exact location gave me the chance I needed. I worked the spot over with a small bluewing olive (#18) and finally got the drift right to draw the strike. My first trout in at least a month!

I tried a few different spots along 28 and netted one more small brown before packing it in for the day at around 6pm. To me, it seems like the hardest par of trout fishing is finding the trout!  I'm fairly successful at catching them once I know where they are (except on the East Branch)!  Fishing blind is like playing the lottery. When I know there's a fish I need everything exactly right to draw a strike. Fishing blind chances seem incredibly slim. It's been a frustrating summer with few very hatches while I've been out, but one day with a modicum of success keeps me coming back.