What's Catching You Fish?

Tom Butler

Grandpa, Small Stream Fanatic
Forum Supporter
Fished a couple flies I tied over the weekend. There were some small caddis flitting about as usual, but no sign of anything else. The diving caddis is about as sure a thing this time of year as the partridge and orange is early.
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Hadn't been here in a while, quite a full bag. Think I'll wash up the balaclava.
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Tom Butler

Grandpa, Small Stream Fanatic
Forum Supporter
So I was practicing the Lady Caroline tying skills on some size 8 wet fly hooks. Ran my scissors along a partridge hackle to sub for heron. Olive and brown hares ear body. Not the easiest stuff, you spey tyers got skills.
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Guess I should of asked how to fish it. I swung it just under the surface on a dry line. First taker chased it all the way across and hit just as it came tight below me. Weeeeee.
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My stimulator didn't spin at all, no top dropper tangles.
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RRSmith

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
There are 5,342 different variations of the classic comet fly. The pattern has been around since the 1940's and was thought to have been developed in Northern California for steelhead. It became popular during the heyday of the California chinook salmon fishery. The late Russ Chatham modified the pattern to his own tastes and fished it all over the world. It's one of the fishiest flies around... This one worked for me two weeks ago on this Oregon Coast tidewater chinook.

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SKYKO

Tail End Boomer
Forum Supporter
There are 5,342 different variations of the classic comet fly. The pattern has been around since the 1940's and was thought to have been developed in Northern California for steelhead. It became popular during heyday of the California chinook salmon fishery. The late Russ Chatham modified the pattern to his own tastes and fished it all over the world. It's one of the fishiest flies around... This one worked for me two weeks ago on this Oregon Coast tidewater chinook.

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Great pattern, well done.
 

kmudgn

Steelhead
The Usual, tied by @Zak , and dressed with frog's fanny flotant, was really good for a while yesterday.
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The fly as shown is more like the "Haystack" than a Usual. Both work well, and are part of the late, great Fran Betters' contributions. The usual is normally tied with Snowshoe Rabbit and requires little to no flotant. I tie my Usuals with underthread in Orange, Green, or Black. Depending on the day and the preference of the fish they can be great LL Salmon dries, or work well for Trout as a Vitreous or similar color type Mayflies.
 

Tom Butler

Grandpa, Small Stream Fanatic
Forum Supporter
The fly as shown is more like the "Haystack" than a Usual. Both work well, and are part of the late, great Fran Betters' contributions. The usual is normally tied with Snowshoe Rabbit and requires little to no flotant. I tie my Usuals with underthread in Orange, Green, or Black. Depending on the day and the preference of the fish they can be great LL Salmon dries, or work well for Trout as a Vitreous or similar color type Mayflies.
That one is snowshoe and orange thread. The clouds came over, I saw a nose, tied that on, and it was super. The clouds got thick and darker and it stopped. No clue what they were actually rising to, but I saw several light colored moths flying around.
 
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Zak

Legend
The fly as shown is more like the "Haystack" than a Usual. Both work well, and are part of the late, great Fran Betters' contributions. The usual is normally tied with Snowshoe Rabbit and requires little to no flotant. I tie my Usuals with underthread in Orange, Green, or Black. Depending on the day and the preference of the fish they can be great LL Salmon dries, or work well for Trout as a Vitreous or similar color type Mayflies.

Fran tied the Usual "exactly the same way and in the same style as the haystacks."

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