Allen, do you fish this fly wet or start dry and let it get damp and sink a little.Do you give it a twitch on I’ve swing. In other words share some techniques, thanks 😊
This soft-hackled dry fly like all my soft-hackled dry flies can be customized or adapted with specific waters in mind. On small streams, especially faster waters, where I'm mostly fishing upstream I would tie it with a heavier deer hair wing for better floatability as I wouldn't be fishing it wet as much, but on larger rivers like the Madison I would tie it with a little less deer hair or reduce it onstream by cutting off a little to make a wing that would float but also could be pulled under or fished wet entirely. On the Henry's Fork and other large spring creeks where I could fish it across stream and the water is not turbulent, meaning I don't need as much of a wing to float it, I would also reduce the amount of deer hair in the wing so that I could fish it dry and wet or both in the same presentation, dry in the first part of the drift and underwater when it's down and across from me with a mend to keep it dead drifted and prevent it from swinging like you would a dead drifted nymph. The bottom line is tied different for intent of the fishing methods on the water I will be fishing on. Hope this helps.
@@mcgeeflyfishing Very tactical approach - love it. I ask because in "The Dry Fly's New Angles" by the late great Gary Lafontaine, he describes a test that he did one summer by fishing a weighted Joes Hopper as a wet fly. He consistently outperformed dedicated nymphers using standard nymphing rigs during these beta tests. To quote, "Overall the weighted Joes Hopper was still the deadliest of all grasshopper imitations. The angler wading upstream and drifting the fly naturally with the current not only caught as many or more trout than he could with any surface pattern, but he also fooled the larger ones. The biggest trout, always the most cautious, seldom rose except during a grasshopper bonanza; during the normal fishing days of summer they might ignore all surface food, but they still recognized a grasshopper well enough to accept one drifting at eye level"
Yes a wet hopper or any terrestrial for that matter is a deadly and severely under-fished method. The only fly I think that can give it a run for its money is an ant fished dry or wet. Many, many years ago I asked George Harvey what fly he caught the most fish on in his life. His response was a "deer hair ant!!". That's good enough for me. I still remember the revelation of cracking the code years ago at Bonnybrook on the LeTort with a #16 dark orange ant. That place gave me confidence to fish anywhere.
Hey Allen, the thread technique with the legs is incredible. Thanks for sharing!
Nicely done, Allen!
Fantastic fly! I tied a bunch up and put the m to the test. They float well and put up with some abuse. Love the legs and buggy appearance.
Allen, do you fish this fly wet or start dry and let it get damp and sink a little.Do you give it a twitch on I’ve swing. In other words share some techniques, thanks 😊
This soft-hackled dry fly like all my soft-hackled dry flies can be customized or adapted with specific waters in mind. On small streams, especially faster waters, where I'm mostly fishing upstream I would tie it with a heavier deer hair wing for better floatability as I wouldn't be fishing it wet as much, but on larger rivers like the Madison I would tie it with a little less deer hair or reduce it onstream by cutting off a little to make a wing that would float but also could be pulled under or fished wet entirely. On the Henry's Fork and other large spring creeks where I could fish it across stream and the water is not turbulent, meaning I don't need as much of a wing to float it, I would also reduce the amount of deer hair in the wing so that I could fish it dry and wet or both in the same presentation, dry in the first part of the drift and underwater when it's down and across from me with a mend to keep it dead drifted and prevent it from swinging like you would a dead drifted nymph. The bottom line is tied different for intent of the fishing methods on the water I will be fishing on. Hope this helps.
@@mcgeeflyfishing Very tactical approach - love it. I ask because in "The Dry Fly's New Angles" by the late great Gary Lafontaine, he describes a test that he did one summer by fishing a weighted Joes Hopper as a wet fly. He consistently outperformed dedicated nymphers using standard nymphing rigs during these beta tests. To quote, "Overall the weighted Joes Hopper was still the deadliest of all grasshopper imitations. The angler wading upstream and drifting the fly naturally with the current not only caught as many or more trout than he could with any surface pattern, but he also fooled the larger ones. The biggest trout, always the most cautious, seldom rose except during a grasshopper bonanza; during the normal fishing days of summer they might ignore all surface food, but they still recognized a grasshopper well enough to accept one drifting at eye level"
Yes a wet hopper or any terrestrial for that matter is a deadly and severely under-fished method. The only fly I think that can give it a run for its money is an ant fished dry or wet. Many, many years ago I asked George Harvey what fly he caught the most fish on in his life. His response was a "deer hair ant!!". That's good enough for me. I still remember the revelation of cracking the code years ago at Bonnybrook on the LeTort with a #16 dark orange ant. That place gave me confidence to fish anywhere.