Twisting up some dry flies

[Equinox]

Ive been tying my own spey,wet,and other steelhead flies for a few years and am going to start tying some dries to fish for resident fish.Anyone doing the same...looking to confirm patterns sizes etc.
Steve

 

[Jordan S.]

Ive been tying my own spey,wet,and other steelhead flies for a few years and am going to start tying some dries to fish for resident fish.Anyone doing the same...looking to confirm patterns sizes etc.
Steve

I've had good success with my tied dark and ligh hendricksons, light cahills , BWO, Adams, and grey fox. Those are just some, I'd also try some stimulaters and hoppers. Dry fly hackle isn't very cheap though.

 

[Jordan S.]

I've had good success with my tied dark and ligh hendricksons, light cahills , BWO, Adams, and grey fox. Those are just some, I'd also try some stimulaters and hoppers. Dry fly hackle isn't very cheap though.

Oh sorry I forgot to include sizes...For most flys it would range from 12-18 but depends the situation and river. For example the trout form the ground are often caught on 18-20 sized flys and even nymphs 22 while less pressured tribs you can generally go bigger

 

[Equinox]

Thanks Jordan
Those are on my list,however the size I am taking notes on.Some references I sourced called for much larger sizes??! and I was doubting this.A friend also recommended smaller...your advice confirms it .Not sure where to get smaller quantities of hackle as Wilsons fly shop on provides large amount ,full capes.Have you found a source for smaller quantities.I would be interested in sharing the cost of full capes with anyone who is interested.I will pick up supplies as I frequent Wilson's as they are close to where I live.

 

[Graham Bristow]

Thanks Jordan
Those are on my list,however the size I am taking notes on.Some references I sourced called for much larger sizes??! and I was doubting this.A friend also recommended smaller...your advice confirms it .Not sure where to get smaller quantities of hackle as Wilsons fly shop on provides large amount ,full capes.Have you found a source for smaller quantities.I would be interested in sharing the cost of full capes with anyone who is interested.I will pick up supplies as I frequent Wilson's as they are close to where I live.

There's a good reference book called fly fishing the grand river by Ian D. Martin. It's a good book for tiers as it gives you sizes for grand river bugs but in my opinion almost all Souther Ontario flies are within his suggested sizes and he gives you the sizes in mm not hook sizes which can be different from one hook company to the next. Fly colors should be very similar from one river to the next... On some rivers like the Saugeen, beaver, notty you may find flies that dont exist on the grand or other rivers but the basics flies are there in this book..

Also, dont just rely on the smaller flies. Flies like the hendrickson in size 14, Grey fox - size 10 and 12, isonychia size 10 and 12 and some hex and drake patterns from size 6 to 10 can catch a lot of big fish and can be very important hatches and flies to have in your box. Not to mention size 6 - 12 stoneflies, crickets, grasshoppers, and other terrestrial patterns.. Big flies catch big fish..sometimes.....

You can also find some decent hatch charts for specific rivers if you research it.

Here's a tip.. if you cant afford to buy hackle, there are some alternative materials and patterns that work equally as well as hackle and are much more cost effective and sold in smaller sizes. Deer and elk hair comparaduns are an example. I've been using a lot of dry fly patterns with CDC and with no hackle and they work great for me and my customers and are also easy to tie. Last year I was guiding a guy and he pulled out a CDC comparadun pattern that took multiple fish, actually 12 good browns in about an hour.. the only thing with CDC is you may want a few of each because once it gets water logged you'll need to put on a newer dry pattern. Usually they dont water log unless they're being munched on by fish which for me is a fair trade off.

If i have the time i'll try to post a picture or two of my CDC dries.. Right now i'm guiding a lot and tying like crazy but it's mostly nymphs i'm tying.. I think i've tied about a 100 czech style nymphs in the last 3 days because we've been hammering steelhead on them and losing way to many flies lately...

check this out for some examples of some CDC dry flies..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk_rlUKX0Qs

and http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/20675?page=stalcups-cdc-comparadun

Have fun,

 

[Equinox]

There's a good reference book called fly fishing the grand river by Ian D. Martin. It's a good book for tiers as it gives you sizes for grand river bugs but in my opinion almost all Souther Ontario flies are within his suggested sizes and he gives you the sizes in mm not hook sizes which can be different from one hook company to the next. Fly colors should be very similar from one river to the next... On some rivers like the Saugeen, beaver, notty you may find flies that dont exist on the grand or other rivers but the basics flies are there in this book..

Also, dont just rely on the smaller flies. Flies like the hendrickson in size 14, Grey fox - size 10 and 12, isonychia size 10 and 12 and some hex and drake patterns from size 6 to 10 can catch a lot of big fish and can be very important hatches and flies to have in your box. Not to mention size 6 - 12 stoneflies, crickets, grasshoppers, and other terrestrial patterns.. Big flies catch big fish..sometimes.....

You can also find some decent hatch charts for specific rivers if you research it.

Here's a tip.. if you cant afford to buy hackle, there are some alternative materials and patterns that work equally as well as hackle and are much more cost effective and sold in smaller sizes. Deer and elk hair comparaduns are an example. I've been using a lot of dry fly patterns with CDC and with no hackle and they work great for me and my customers and are also easy to tie. Last year I was guiding a guy and he pulled out a CDC comparadun pattern that took multiple fish, actually 12 good browns in about an hour.. the only thing with CDC is you may want a few of each because once it gets water logged you'll need to put on a newer dry pattern. Usually they dont water log unless they're being munched on by fish which for me is a fair trade off.

If i have the time i'll try to post a picture or two of my CDC dries.. Right now i'm guiding a lot and tying like crazy but it's mostly nymphs i'm tying.. I think i've tied about a 100 czech style nymphs in the last 3 days because we've been hammering steelhead on them and losing way to many flies lately...

check this out for some examples of some CDC dry flies..



and http://www.llbean.co...-cdc-comparadun

Have fun,

Graham.
Thanks for the reply and good tips.I have read a few of Ians books and enjoy his attitudes.I am of modest means ,however I will consider you as a guide if an associate and me need one.Nice fish the other day in your post to the Crappie master...might be some more even to come.Not many as pretty as that one though.