Work horse flies

Here are a few flies that have really been getting it done lately. My favorite setup this winter has been a caddis pattern with an egg pattern as a dropper. I am not really picky about which caddis patterns I use because I have seen all different sizes (14-20) in the water, and they all seem to work. I tend to fish the larger (14-16) patterns, simply because they are easier to tie to my tippet in a hurry.

The egg bite has been slowing down compared to the fall when the Kings were in the water, but has still be a producer. I tend to catch more fish on the swing with my egg patterns. I have no idea why, but I do not mind, catching fish on the swing is always a thrill.

I have had success with the dry fly pictured as well. It is a simple biot body, parachute fly I tied up a few years ago. This patten has proven to be very durable, as I have caught and landed many fish with the fly pictured. Caddis patterns in size 16-20 are also bringing fish to the surface.

Now that the switch rod is out for a few weeks, I will not really be using streamers and swinging flies as much, but I pictured a few go to flies for when it gets replaced. The big red thing is an intruder pattern and the bullet weights coupled with 12.5 ' of T8 and I can get it down to any depth I need. Using bullet weights is a good way to weight a fly, while not limiting yourself to what you tie on the head. You can fish the same fly accross the surface on a floating line, then throw a 1/4 ounce bullet weight and fish it through a fast run. It is a trick I saw on Skagit Master II with Scott Howell.

The big Caddis flies I am yet to try. I planned on skating those in afternoon but snapped the switch rod so I never go around to it. I am excited to bring a big trout to the surface on one of those.

Anyways, I will be back on the water Wednesday. I will post a report and of course I will be posting some pictures of the specimens we bring to the net.

Have a good week - Tyler

February 22nd 2012

    The report for today February 22nd 2012 is great! We got into really nice fish all day long. I started out the day swinging flies while the other two people in my group worked nymphs. I eventually switched to nymphing techniques after I broke my brand new 5119-4 TCX. Bummer!! At least Sage rods have a lifetime warranty, especially since this was only my second day using this rod.
    So,  back to the report. The water was coming over La Grange dam at around 340 cfs which is nice for wading safely. The weather was great all day, not too hot not too cold. Fishing with egg patterns under an indicator seemed to be our best producer, followed by Copper Johns and caddis larva patterns.
    I landed the biggest fish of the day which was around 21" and heavy. The rest of the fish were all beautiful specimens around 15-18 inches.  Other than a busted switch rod, today was a great day. The dry fly fishing should continue to improve as the weather continues to warm up, providing anglers the opportunity to catch trout basically anyway they desire, either with nymphs, dries or streamers.
  I posted a few pictures from the day.

Some Intruders

I tied some intruders a few weeks ago. They are big and have TONS of movement when in the water. These flies take a long time to tie (~45min), so I hope they work. Many of you may know that these flies are designed for steelhead. I am currentlytying more smaller versions of this fly for larger trout. These things are really fun to cast on my  SAGE 5119-4 TCX Switch Rod lined up with a 375 Grain Skagit short and 12' of T8.

 

Intro

I started a blog. I will post reports on the local waters as well as pictures of flies I have been tying and using. I am new to the Blog game so be patient.