Just thought I’d share a cool photo I snapped on my phone this evening. This dragon fly was buzzing around the yard, but sat still long enough for me to get a picture. The post processing was done in the app TiltShiftGen. Check it out.

The Kreelex is a successful pattern for trout. I have fished it on the Snake and Green Rivers, both with success. The audio on this isn’t so great.

From This is Fly Daily

via LOADED.

Today we floated the Madison River from Palisades down to some other place I can’t remember the name of.  On our way to the river from West Yellowstone we stopped at an old favorite fishing spot, but my new mecca, the fly shop at Slide Inn.  The streamer selection there was unbelievable.  You have to love a shop that has more streamers than any other flies.  We picked up some crazy articulated flies and started out the day with high hopes.  Fishing was very slow going. It took us a while to get into some fish.  I ended up catching two nice rainbows on a black conehead sculpin.  Otherwise we hooked only a few more fish for the entire 11 miles of floating.  We worked hard and landed a brown trout, a big whitefish, and a bunch of small rainbows.  In all the day was nice, but the fish were few and far between.  Now, where to fish tomorrow?!

7th Annual OOF Day 1

A rainbow of Fish Sculls (TM)

Have you seen Fish Sculls before? These are the evolutionary next step in fly tying beads.  The Flymen Fishing Co. has created these formed and colored heads for flies that look really compelling.  They are specifically weighted to provide a keel to your streamers and the cool thing is that you don’t put them on as the first step for tying a fly, like a traditional bead.  These slip on at the end of the tie and as a result allow some interesting interaction with your materials such as hackles, rabbit strips, or long dubbing.

Scull Fracture Rainbow

Utah on the Fly contributing user RnF posted a cool tutorial for a pattern he calls the Scull Fracture.  Along with the tutorial you can find the full material listing and some other variations of the pattern.  Looks like a great fly.  I would love to fish the rainbow trout version on the Green River in the summer time after they stock the river.  I have seen several large browns eat little stock trout right off the hook when anglers were reeling them in.  Click here for the full post.  Video below:

Frito's Bungie Buzzer

I have previously expressed my admiration for the Idaho Statesman newspaper for promoting fly fishing and fly tying by publishing a fly pattern weekly.  I can now show some love to my own local newspaper, The Salt Lake Tribune, for following suit.  Pretty cool.

So this week’s fly is called Frito’s Bungie Buzzer.  Quite a name.  It is a riff on the zebra midge and looks like plenty of fish will find it to their liking.

Fly tying demo area

I took my kids to the Wasatch Fly Tying and Fly Fishing Expo over the weekend and we had a great time.  I had a good time wandering and watching the guys doing fly tying demos and checking out a few of the booths.  The kids really enjoyed catching bugs from the Stonefly Society entomology trays.  They had some massive stoneflies that came from a local creek.  It is cool to see them as they aren’t common around these parts.  We also had fun at the kids fly tying desk.  The kids both tied some mean looking wooly buggers and as a result were entered into a kids only drawing for a Cabela’s fly fishing outfit.  Unfortunately, we didn’t win that one, but I did manage to pick up a killer wet/dry bag for my waders in the silent ticket auction, so I was happy about that.  The best part of it all was connecting with old friends from my days hanging out in the fly shop, some of whom I haven’t seen for probably 25 years.  It was a great time.  Looking forward to next year already.

The Green River in Utah

I have an opportunity next week to go float the Green River with some friends and I couldn’t be more stoked.  These recent posts about the Green have had me thinking and then out of the blue some old friends emailed to invite me to fish with them.  I have started tying bugs including some foamergers and compar-a-mergers and am hoping to get a few chubby muffins in the box.  I should be set to go there. Should be a great trip!

Wasatch Fly Tying and Fly Fishing Expo

If you need something to do this weekend and you are in Salt Lake City, be sure to stop by the Wasatch Fly Tying and Fly Fishing Expo (March 27) at the Karen Gail Miller Conference Center at Salt Lake Community College in Sandy.

There will be plenty of demonstrations and exhibits to see.  You can pick up tips from local fly tiers and fly fishermen.  Be sure to check it out.  For more information, click here.

Here is my entry for the week. I realized just after kicking off the drawing that my kids had misplaced my white pencil so I had to improvise. I was able to quickly find a white out correction pen, which I used for the highlights on the hook and head, and part of the wing tip, but then it ran out of fluid.  I was forced to raid the crayon box and finished it with a white crayola.  So this is a colored pencil (and some other stuff) on matte board drawing.  Also unfortunate is the fact that my scanner made the image look streaky, so ignore that part.

Week 10 McGinty - colored pencil on matte board

Kate decided to give this week’s fly a go and again another cute bug from her.

Week 10: McGinty Crayon on craft paper

Here are Jeff’s and Jason’s drawings for this week.  Stellar as always!

I have been inspired by this beautiful spring time weather of the past few days to share one of my most successful spring time patterns.  I don’t really know what it is called, but I know it catches fish.  I first learned this pattern from a guy in the fly shop I used to frequent when I was a kid.  I have come to call it the compar-a-merger.  I guess because it is a little like a compar-a-dun but the wing is tied back and the body is a little fatter.  I have had trips on the San Juan River in NM, as well as the Green and Provo Rivers in Utah where this little fly caught fish after fish.  I tend to fish it, like most emerger patterns near the surface, but have also had success fishing it deeper, particularly when the only fish that are up are the little guys.  Getting it down 18-24″ under the surface can really get you to the bigger fish.

Compar-a-merger baetis

The compar-a-merger, like most of my flies, is a fairly simple pattern.  I start with a basic nymph style hook in sizes 16-20.  The recipe is as follows:

• Thread: Olive or brown
• Tail: dun colored microfibetts, 3-5 pieces tied flat, together
• Body: olive dubbing remove guard hairs (I prefer olive died squirrel)
• Ribbing: fine gold, brass, or copper wire
• Wing: deer hair length shouldn’t exceed the hook bend
• Thorax: olive dubbing with guard hairs, tied slightly fat

Brown trout enjoying the taste of the compar-a-merger

The dubbing, thread, tail colors and hook size can all be adjusted for various mayfly species … Continue Reading