Category Archives: Fly Tying

Tying Tips: (not so much) The leaden mayfly

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I became fascinated with fly fishing and fly tying in 1984 at the age of 13.  I have been fishing all my life, but by chance, got to try out a fly rod for a brief second and the action of the rod had me hooked for some reason.  It was a magical, if only fleeting moment, that has influenced the rest of my life.  I ordered a Dan Bailey mail order catalog and loved going over and over the photos of gear, but most especially the flies.  I had their names memorized and dreamt of learning to tie them.  I got a fly tying kit for Christmas that year and proceeded to teach  myself how to tie flies.  The first ones were really bad and I still have most of them.  I didn’t get the notion of starting at the tail and working forward in reverse.  As you can see in the image below, they are pretty sad specimens.

I started tying before I understood really what was going on with fly fishing.  One classic pattern that I tied for a contest in Fly Fishing magazine was a mayfly.  I wanted to make it look realistic so I fashioned an extended body and even was able to get 6 legs and cut wings.  The only problem from a design standpoint was that I used lead wire for the body and legs.  It was about the size of a hex mayfly. I think I tied it on a size 6 hook, with a cream woolen yarn body and brown hackles which I had cut for wings.  I can only imagine the reaction that got when the person at Fly Fishing magazine offices opened that one up.  Hopefully someone set it aside and stuck it in a cork board or something.  I’m sure it got plenty of laughs.  The leaden mayfly is indeed a classic and would also make a fantastic name for an English pub.

UPDATE: I have drawn, to my best recollection my leaden mayfly as part of the drawing flies weekly challenge in which I am participating.  You can see that image here.

Tying Tip: Crane Fly

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My last post featured a stellar outing on the Provo River with great success deep nymphing a cranefly larva pattern. I don’t think there are many places that sell a cranefly larva, so you may have to tie it yourself or pay a buddy to do it for you. This fly can be tied in a number of different color variations. I favor patterns in the light gray, light tan, and light olive range. I like to tie on hooks with a slight bend to give the larva a bit more natural look, such as:

  • Tiemco 200R
  • Dia-Riki #270
  • Mustad C53S
I think to imitate a cranefly larva successfully, you need to make sure you have a few things in your fly, a short marabou tail, a lighter colored body about 2/3 to 3/4 the length of the hook with a good ribbing, and a darker thorax/head. For the body I like to blend my own dubbing using some synthetic and some natural fibers like angora. You want a body that can frizz out a little bit to give the impression of a semi translucent body and I like to tease out the fibers a little bit with a small hooked piece of Velcro. Additionally I like a few colored fibers such as blue, red or green to give it a rich colo. For a rib I use wire (heavy gold or copper) and ostrich herl usually just a natural gray. I also add a few wraps of lead under the body so that this fly gets down deep.
Here are a couple of color variations that I fish. The top fly is a little more tan and the lower more olive, although the difference is pretty slight. So here is the recipe:

Hook: Size 4-10, Tiemco 200R, Dia-Riki #270, Mustad C53S
Thread: Waxed monocord in colors that fit with thorax, gray, olive, brown, etc
Under body: 3-4 wraps of medium lead
Body: Blended dubbing in shades of tan, gray, or olive
Ribbing: Brass or copper wire and ostrich herl darker than the body
Thorax: Darker dubbing than body, I prefer to use died squirrel so that the guard hairs poke out

Good luck and good fishing!

Cold Day, Big Flies

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I had a great outing today on the Lower Provo River in Provo Canyon, UT.  It started off rather sketchy as the day was really snowy and I wasn’t sure if my 20 year old Honda Accord was up to the task, but I figured if I just took it easy I could get there without any issue.  My usual 40 minute drive was more like 80 minutes, but once I got there I found I had the whole stretch to myself.  I went to Vivian Park and fished up from the bridge.  Given then weather I determined I would be nymphing.  It was about 18-20 degrees Fahrenheit and a constant snow was falling.  I had in mind to fish a fly I haven’t used in a while; a big, juicy cranefly larva pattern about size 6.  I trailed it with a size 14 red fox squirrel nymph.  For weight I used a BB size split shot and an 8 ft leader with 5x tippet.  On my fifth cast of the day, I took a nice brown trout about 15 in long.  It took to the air straight away after being hooked.  Once I landed it, I could see that he had eaten the cranefly larva.  Over the next 10 minutes minutes I landed two more fish both were mountain whitefish of decent size and both foul hooked.  I think they were taking the cranefly and I was hooking them with the RFSN.  The cranefly was big enough they couldn’t fit it in their tiny mouths.  I hooked 3 or 4 more browns ranging from 11-14 inches and all on the cranefly.  The fish of day had to be the 18 inch rainbow that was a healthy slab of a fish.  Rainbows aren’t common fare on the Provo River and this one as a great fish.  It took the RFSN.  The fish was a beautiful shade of steel blues and lavenders.  I had originally thought I was snagged when I hooked it but he eventually started moving and put up a pretty good fight.

By the time I hooked him I had run out of 5x tippet (I know, stupid) but had switched to 4x and it didn’t seem to be an issue and allowed me to play him a little harder.  I took a couple more browns from the same long run and then moved up several hundred yards.  The weather was getting colder so I called it a day.  Not a bad way to spend 3 hours.

Some additional notes from the trip.  I saw several american dippers, song sparrows, and a bald eagle flew over head through the snow.  I also observed at least 2 fish feeding up on the surface but didn’t make the switch to dries.  It was a fun trip.  Enjoy the slide show.

iPhone wallpapers

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I recently got an iPhone and really enjoy the camera. I like the colors it captures. I have recently taken a few outdoor themed photos that make nice wallpapers feel free to download them if you like.


This photo is some grass from my frontyard covered with hoarfrost.

This is one side of my nymph box…


This is the other side.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone