Fishing & Hunting News

Guide Flies
February 27, 2003
by Tony Lolli

East Coast or West, the same problem arises: what to do when the fish aren’t cooperating? Here are two flies guides use to save the day.

Trout HORS D”OEUVRE
Dave McCoy of Emerald Water Anglers (ewa.wpengine.com) in Seattle says this is a “does it all” fly.

Tying Instructions
1. Slide a pearl colored glass bead on the hook.
2. Wrap a thread base, ending halfway down the bend of the hook.
3. Tie in red wire halfway down the bend of the hook and wrap a body ending at about the midpoint of the shank.
4. Whip finish, cut off the thread and cement the end of the wire wraps.
5. Position the bead against the wore.
6. Tie in the thread ahead of the bead.
7. Tie on four or five strands of peacock herl.
8. Twist the herl using hackly pliers.
9. Wrap a herl collar the same diameter as the glass bead.
10. Tie on a single partridge hackle ahead of the herl and take two turns. The partridge fibers should extend just beyond the bend of the hook.
11. Whip finish and cement.

Dave reports that this fly is the product of guiding where caddis is king for the majority of the fishing season: Colorado, Idaho, eastern Oregon and eastern Washington. It is basically a blend of the best attributes of several different flies that already exist. Quite often this aproach is a successful one and I’m surprised more tyers don’t try it more often when inventing new patterns.

Dave says this fly is meant to be fished in nearly every different condition you can think of for trout in a river. That’s quite a claim, but since his clients keep returning, he must be onto something important.

In deep, slow-moving water he fishes it either on a dead drift deep or as a dropper behind a larger stonefly nymph. In the same water he’ll also fish it with a steady or erratic stripping movement as the fly swings through the prime holding spots in the pool. It also works well behind a hopper or salmonfly, fished up against the banks during the summer or simply on the swing.