What’s your go to, bushy attractor dry fly?

I’ve never had an a strong affinity for stimulators. They will catch fish but not minimally picky ones. They mimic nothing well and are too large and gaudy in general..at least commercially tied versions. I’ve only found them to be useful if some type of stonefly hatch is coming off or has been on less pressured pieces of water. Don’t get me wrong, I carry them but IMO, there are a lot of better dry fly search patterns. Various sizes of EHC and comparaduns will raise any fish looking up. Spring creeks, freestones, tailwaters (still figuring out lakes :)). You dial it in from there. IMO, if you are using a stimulator as a search pattern, you’ll miss out on a lot of fish willing to play on the surface. Ants and beetles are really good search patterns in the summer too.
 
FinLuver said:
EVERYONE knows where they are…!!!

In the WATER. 😳
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Exactly! Not in the bushes, trees, rocks, etc. Not sure why people cast there...

If your fly ain't in/on the water, you ain't got a chance to catch fish...
 
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To get back on point here, two from the LaFontaine catalog:
Double Wing: This one was so go-to at one point, I gave up using them to give the fish a chance. Tyed in any size and with endless color profiles, can be modified to imitate almost anything. And floats like a cork. Kind of like a stimulator on steroids.
Airhead: An interesting choice if nothing else is working. Not always a fish-getter but it always gets their attention and therefore is a good attractor for a dropper.

P.S. The fish are where the pussies won't go to find them. Back to your discussion...😎
 
I had never fished a Goddard Caddis until I found one in a tree. I fished the shit out of it and it was good to me but I had never tied one.

Ive been wanting to get better at spinning hair so figured I should try some. Been super inspired by this guy @2dryfly on Instagram. They’re not perfect, I’m getting better, but it’ll catch some fish for sure.

When you don’t “need” flies, it’s nice to fiddle with a fly longer than normal.


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mcswny said:
If you were fishing a freestone in midsummer with nothing rising, what would be your go-to size 12-14 bushy attractor pattern that you would throw on and prospect with?

I’m looking for some more flies to tie for an upcoming backpack and I’m tired of tying the same ole thing. I have a lot of foam attractors and want to tie some buggy attractors for not to selective fish.
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Try tying up a few royal wulffs.

Simple/straight forward pattern to tie and effective in freestone streams.
 
Long_Rod_Silvers said:
Try tying up a few royal wulffs.

Simple/straight forward pattern to tie and effective in freestone streams.
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Got any pointers for making the split wing simple? I struggle with that feature, so I just make them parachute patterns.
 
Matt B said:
Got any pointers for making the split wing simple? I struggle with that feature, so I just make them parachute patterns.
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I used Congo hair, tie it on, and then cross cross your thread like an x as if you’re tying a spinner. Tug them up, put a little zap a gap at the base, a couple whips into the glue and bobs your uncle. Well maybe my uncle? Regardless, it was good for me
 
mcswny said:
I had never fished a Goddard Caddis until I found one in a tree. I fished the shit out of it and it was good to me but I had never tied one.

Ive been wanting to get better at spinning hair so figured I should try some. Been super inspired by this guy @2dryfly on Instagram. They’re not perfect, I’m getting better, but it’ll catch some fish for sure.

When you don’t “need” flies, it’s nice to fiddle with a fly longer than normal.


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well that didnt last long. I dropped it in the creek when I was tying it on this morning. I was able to chase it down for 15 feet or so until it hit the riffle. All I could do was laugh.
 
mcswny said:
I had never fished a Goddard Caddis until I found one in a tree. I fished the shit out of it and it was good to me but I had never tied one.

Ive been wanting to get better at spinning hair so figured I should try some. Been super inspired by this guy @2dryfly on Instagram. They’re not perfect, I’m getting better, but it’ll catch some fish for sure.

When you don’t “need” flies, it’s nice to fiddle with a fly longer than normal.


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The Goddard smoked all other flies fished last week. I fished it with a multitude of other dries as a tandem last week. I caught all but 2 fish on the Goddard that day and it was a day where I lost count of fish by noon.
 
Coach Potter said:
The Goddard smoked all other flies fished last week. I fished it with a multitude of other dries as a tandem last week. I caught all but 2 fish on the Goddard that day and it was a day where I lost count of fish by noon.
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Considering your most recent reports, this says a lot!
 
mcswny said:
I used Congo hair, tie it on, and then cross cross your thread like an x as if you’re tying a spinner. Tug them up, put a little zap a gap at the base, a couple whips into the glue and bobs your uncle. Well maybe my uncle? Regardless, it was good for me
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This what I do too. Easiest way to get equal sized wings, great instructions👍
 
mcswny said:
I had never fished a Goddard Caddis until I found one in a tree. I fished the shit out of it and it was good to me but I had never tied one.

Ive been wanting to get better at spinning hair so figured I should try some. Been super inspired by this guy @2dryfly on Instagram. They’re not perfect, I’m getting better, but it’ll catch some fish for sure.

When you don’t “need” flies, it’s nice to fiddle with a fly longer than normal.


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Reminds me of a Christmas tree with a bad hair day…
 
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