Great fly. Ian gave me a couple many years back when I ran into him on the river. I keep them in my box but dont fish them. Ian was a class act and I feel honoured to have a few of his ties in my box.
Ian used to give away his "factory seconds" to friends from time to time and I was a beneficiary on a few occasions. Can't help thinking he'd have mixed feelings seeing one of his flies on youtube, secretive bugger that he was. Good to see his patterns living on.
Midges are especially good in during cold/winter time, they're great in low and clear water conditions. They're great as a dry-dropper rig nymph as they will rarely sink a dry fly. And if you ever see fish rising to the surface and taking flies but you can't see any flies, it usually means there are midges and gnats hatching, and that's always a good time to go with midge patterns. I'd recommend having the Zebra midge in olive, black and red with bead heads to sink them. And having either Brassie or this Ian's Brass Ass in a variety of wire colors, again olive, red and black predominantly. That will usually cover your basic and most common midges and their colors. Having some in brown is also good as they can imitate very small mayfly nymphs and midges. Finally, try to have some Griffith's Gnat, Zelon Midge, or CDC Transitional midges, all of which have a video showing how to tie them on tightlinevideo, for your dry fly midges. Another really good midge nymph I recently incorporated into my box is the Kaleidoscope midge. Again, tightlinevideos has a video showing how to tie it in 3 variations. You only need a specific thread by Vevus to make it and you can tie them in bulk extremely fast as a result. They've been especially effective this summer, when the water has been low and clear. Trout only eat what's available though, so what worked this year may not work at all next season, so that's why it's always good to keep a variety and try new patterns and new colors when things aren't working. Utility is the key to success in fly fishing, you have to be willing to change your line, depth, approach, or patterns/colors often to succeed on a regular basis. Hope this helps!
I personally tried the Bondic and it's very convenient to use. However, I have had trouble with it occasionally not being strong and coming undone or peeling off sometimes. I can't tell if I over cured or under cured the Bondic when that occurs, but usually it's fine. I've also tried Solarez and I really like it for the price. The only other resin I've used is Loon Wader resin, but I've used it to seal and protect perfection loops on my fly line, and occasionally for other purposes and have found it's strong and flexible. Like you said there are so many, but Loon seems very good and the Bondic is so easy to use and easy to apply just the right amount that I love using it.
Hi Ryan, Tim is using the Bondic. I have used a variety of UV cure resins (Bondic; Loon Thin; Loon Thick and Whales Back) which all have slightly different characteristics. The Bondic works well and is readily available as a resin and torch kit - I recommend that you try it first. Any adhesives/resins will have bonding problems if the surface is not clean enough - oil, wax or soap residues can be a problem. Natural materials may have oils and synthetic materials may have release-agents on them. A small bottle of isopropanol alcohol with a brush (a clean nail-polish bottle works well) is convenient for a quick cleaning followed by blotting with a paper towel before applying the resin. I have come to prefer the Loon Thin as being the most versatile to work with. The Loon Thick was too thick for me and I ended up reducing its viscosity by mixing in about 10% of the Thin formula - works well now. BTW, the Bondic light cures the Loon and Whales Back resins without any problem. Hope this helps. Hank
Thanks Tim, no matter what you tie, it's always a top notch tutorial and awesome looking pattern. 👍
Great fly. Ian gave me a couple many years back when I ran into him on the river. I keep them in my box but dont fish them. Ian was a class act and I feel honoured to have a few of his ties in my box.
Ian used to give away his "factory seconds" to friends from time to time and I was a beneficiary on a few occasions. Can't help thinking he'd have mixed feelings seeing one of his flies on youtube, secretive bugger that he was. Good to see his patterns living on.
Wonderful name hahah. I love the relaxed feeling I get from watching your videos
Great video. A neat feature these videos could include is when/where to use these patterns. Helpful to those new to fly fishing.
ledraps22 this is pretty much a brassie chironomid so use it pretty much anywhere
Skylar L ok thanks. are all small midges anywhere/anytime patterns?
Midges are especially good in during cold/winter time, they're great in low and clear water conditions. They're great as a dry-dropper rig nymph as they will rarely sink a dry fly. And if you ever see fish rising to the surface and taking flies but you can't see any flies, it usually means there are midges and gnats hatching, and that's always a good time to go with midge patterns. I'd recommend having the Zebra midge in olive, black and red with bead heads to sink them. And having either Brassie or this Ian's Brass Ass in a variety of wire colors, again olive, red and black predominantly. That will usually cover your basic and most common midges and their colors. Having some in brown is also good as they can imitate very small mayfly nymphs and midges. Finally, try to have some Griffith's Gnat, Zelon Midge, or CDC Transitional midges, all of which have a video showing how to tie them on tightlinevideo, for your dry fly midges.
Another really good midge nymph I recently incorporated into my box is the Kaleidoscope midge. Again, tightlinevideos has a video showing how to tie it in 3 variations. You only need a specific thread by Vevus to make it and you can tie them in bulk extremely fast as a result. They've been especially effective this summer, when the water has been low and clear. Trout only eat what's available though, so what worked this year may not work at all next season, so that's why it's always good to keep a variety and try new patterns and new colors when things aren't working. Utility is the key to success in fly fishing, you have to be willing to change your line, depth, approach, or patterns/colors often to succeed on a regular basis. Hope this helps!
Adam Grasinger definitely helps, thanks a bunch.
Cool little fly.
Biot baetis is a good fly to do next, size 16-20
i wonder which uv resin Tim has used here?There are so many on the market now and difficult to tell which is best.
I personally tried the Bondic and it's very convenient to use. However, I have had trouble with it occasionally not being strong and coming undone or peeling off sometimes. I can't tell if I over cured or under cured the Bondic when that occurs, but usually it's fine. I've also tried Solarez and I really like it for the price. The only other resin I've used is Loon Wader resin, but I've used it to seal and protect perfection loops on my fly line, and occasionally for other purposes and have found it's strong and flexible. Like you said there are so many, but Loon seems very good and the Bondic is so easy to use and easy to apply just the right amount that I love using it.
Hi Ryan, Tim is using the Bondic. I have used a variety of UV cure resins (Bondic; Loon Thin; Loon Thick and Whales Back) which all have slightly different characteristics. The Bondic works well and is readily available as a resin and torch kit - I recommend that you try it first. Any adhesives/resins will have bonding problems if the surface is not clean enough - oil, wax or soap residues can be a problem. Natural materials may have oils and synthetic materials may have release-agents on them. A small bottle of isopropanol alcohol with a brush (a clean nail-polish bottle works well) is convenient for a quick cleaning followed by blotting with a paper towel before applying the resin. I have come to prefer the Loon Thin as being the most versatile to work with. The Loon Thick was too thick for me and I ended up reducing its viscosity by mixing in about 10% of the Thin formula - works well now. BTW, the Bondic light cures the Loon and Whales Back resins without any problem. Hope this helps. Hank
Here on south africa we also have an excellent pattern called the RAB ( red assed bastard or rough and bouyant
They would make nice vids
Please tie up a few smaller flys...say 22 to 24...we need help!