Adventure from the Man Cave

Episode 35 from the guys at Rise Form Studios TV. They have put together something a little different than the usual fly pattern. This episode has them travel to PA to meet up with episode regular Eric Stroup to discuss the harvest storage and selection of feather from pheasants. Apparently if you have some thread, hooks, and a male and female pheasant you can tie more useful fly patterns than I could have imagined. Wing shooting for your own materials is super manly and rugged style. I was sent a few tails years ago in exchange for a few flies. I tied up about 7 different patterns for the shooter and he was hyped about the selection. I was pretty hyped about the free tails.

Butch Caddis – Kelly Galloup

While Kelly is well know for the streamers he ties, I was really impressed with his Butch Caddis. There is a wealth of information contained in this video as Kelly explains a few tips on selecting deer hair and his insights into the pattern. It just makes sense to use the “butt” ends of the hair for flotation. While it is not as pretty looking, it will float much better as the butts are hollow and the tips solid. The name Butch comes from the cut of the deer hair, but when I was growing up, we called this a Brush Cut. Can’t wait to try this one.

Click here to view the video courtesy of The Weekly Fly.

Kelly Galloup - Butch Caddis

Shark’s Caddis Larva

I started tying these a couple years ago and was impressed by just how realistic this pattern looks when it get’s dunked. The image from GFF shows just how close the pattern looks. I tried this out last summer and had some great results while hunting sunfish perch. Click here to visit the GFF Tutorial

Shark's Caddis Naturals and Imitation

We also have a great youtube clip of this pattern to share. It is a great pattern, easy to tie and is a definite fish catcher.

Articulated Muddler

I’ve been seeing a huge increase in the amount of jointed or articulated flies over the past months. Kelly Galluop has an impressive collection including the Sex Dungeon and other titillatingly named hooks. This video is produced by Richard Strolis who you may remember from the Dirt Dart. This fly takes a while to tie, but the result is a chunky, meaty fly ready for big browns, bull trout, pike and bass.

An articulated version of the classic pattern which takes two hooks, a wire articulation point and create an even more movement producing pattern that turns trout inside out. Using the concept of a jointed bait pattern known oh so well by the bait casting community, this fly has it all. Alter the colors and hook sizes to make a slew of fish catching flies that will entice some of the bigger aggressive trout in your waters.

The video is a bit long, but is well worth the time to watch. Get out there and start creating your own articulated creations.

Wrap It Up. Durex Pike Streamer

I was contacted this morning by Mr. Simon Graham who runs the Pike Fly Fishing blog (http://www.pikeflyfishingarticles.blogspot.com/) with an unusual looking concoction from his vise.

” if local fisherman in Papua New Guinea could catch tuna with condoms then how hard could it be to fool a pike into taking one..”

You’ll need to take a look at the step by step tutorial on how to tie this one. Before you run out to grab a box of this material, you may want to wait to hear back on the effectiveness as the fly has yet to be tested.

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Step 1 of the Durex condom Pike streamer

This does bring to mind a tying seminar I took a few years ago hosted by Jack Dennis. We were discussing the ins and outs (intended) of Czech nymphing and how one angler had developed a killer fly using pink condoms wrapped over tungsten. I’ll be watching to see how the Durex preforms on the Nordic Pike, and if it works well, the eruption of new patterns to follow.