John Beth has sent along a few more Trico photos from his trip to Montana’s Bighorn a couple of weeks ago. For those that have never fished big waters, the Trico hatch o the ‘Horn can seem unreal. But the big western rivers like the Missouri, the Henry’s Fork, Canada’s Bow, and others all have Trico hatches that are off the chart, and which can go one for over a month. The total number of insect is truly astronomical.

Arriving at the boat ramp in early morning one is created with untold numbers of Tricos.

The spiders get fat on the multitude of Tricos that hang up in their webs.

So many that one can actually breathe them in.

A mating ball illuminated by the sun. This is going on for miles up and down the river.

My friend and long time fishing companion, John Beth, just returned from the Bighorn. He and his friends fished Trico duns and spinners, and plied the waters with nymphs and streamers in the off-hatch times. As always the ‘Horn was welcoming, and they did very well. John’s best in the Trico hatch and spinner fall was a 20/20 brown—good work old friend. There were bigger fish, but it’s always fun to take a nice fish (20”) on a tiny fly (size 20).

Early morning on the ‘Horn can be stunning.

Especially stunning when the hatch is this heavy!

John’s 20/20 brown–a very healthy fish!

A heavy-bodied brown that fell to Joh’s streamer–held up by Bighorn Angler guide Bryen Venema.

Bluesman Keith Scott searched BCs Bulkley for 12 hours with his two hand rod for steelhead, but found none. Rigging his 7-weight one-hander with a Popsicle he made a few casts and secured a nice coho. Will there be a Coho Blues coming soon??

Is this the makings of Coho Blues?

Human trafficking is a sickening reality in this day and age. And the trafficking of children is especially so. The Fly Fishing Collaborative was instituted to rescue children from human trafficking through the efforts of the fly fishing community. It is a very unique program. The Collaborative builds self-contained, closed-loop aquaponic farms in which a community can raise both fish and vegetables, giving them a self-sustaining life-style that does not require them to sell their children for sustenance.. For more, see here. It has been a very effective tool in eliminating child trafficking where it has been instituted.

They need our help. One of the ways the Collaborative raises funds is through the sale of specially handmade, leather fly wallets filled with flies. I have examined the wallets, and they are made of rich, full-grain leather lined with wool. They have a strong magnetic clasp and are designed to hold 24 salmon or steelhead flies. There are two ways we can assist: (1) contribute flies or cash to the project, (2) purchase the fly wallets and/or other items from them. See them at products. The money goes directly to the building of aquaponic farms.

To contribute flies or money, go to Give and contact Bucky Buchstaber.

Thank you so much for your consideration of this most worthy cause.

The Fly Wallet is made if full grain leather, strongly stitched with magnetic closures.

The wallet holds 24 salmon or steelhead flies very comfortably and neatly.

The wallet is a great way to carry those special imitations for salmon and steelhead and help the children of the world.

http://flyfishingcollaborative.org/vision/

I was recently interviewed by FlyDreamers.com. It is an Argentine based blog. You can see the interview here.

A nice Argentine rainbow.

Stage three of emergence of the three groups that hatch at the film—mayflies, cadis, and midges—occurs as the adult pulls itself free from the nymphal or pupal skin. The wings have started out (Stage 2) and now comes the head, and legs. The body of the insect is sticking straight up, or nearly so, the wings are pulled down along its back, the legs are out and on the water. It looks for all the world like a Parachute Adams or Klinkhammer. The parachute “dry” flies are actual emergers. The body is below the hackle and so it snuggles into the film or actually rides below the film—just like the nymphal or pupal body of the emerger.

The Parachute Adams is a great representation of stage three. Tie the Adams Family; in addition to the gray body of the original, tie them with a black body, a pale yellow body, a tan body, and a pale olive body in sizes 12 to 20 and you can match nearly all the mayflies, caddis, and midges that are emerging. A great fly.

The Parachute Adams is an excellent imitation of stage 3 of emergence.

Normally he’s Keith Scott, bluesman, but on the Adams River in BC, Canada, he was Keith the Pikeminnow man. Yes, this member of the minnow family  takes the fly well, and in a river, they fight well, too. They can reach over 24 inches in length and 8 pounds. The current world record is 13 1/2 pounds. Go for it Keith.

I got them Walleye Blues

My friend, Marc Williamson was recently fishing on Crane Prairie Lake and East Lake in central Oregon. These lakes are known for producing good fish. This time of year it’s almost totally Chironomids—larvae fished deep on an indicator. The best places are in the old river channels and in deep water along high banks. A float tube or other water craft is essential, but there’s nothing quite like a day, half in the water in your tube on a big lake, taking nice browns and rainbows.

Marc with a nice Crane Prairie rainbow.

The browns of East Lake like Chironomid larvae, too.

Joe Kissane (Drag-Free Drift, 2001, Stackpole Books) sent along his favorite scud imitation, which like Theo Bakelaar’s scud is tied with ostrich herl. And, like Theo’s it is fast to tie. Joe weights the fly with a tungsten wire underbody, or if he wants an unweighted fly, he makes the underbody of monofilament. Thanks Joe.

Tie in a tail of lemon wood duck fibers or pheasant tail, or other fibers of the color needed, then tie in two ostrich herl filaments.

Add an underbody of tungsten wire or mono.

Wind the herl to the head, tie off, cut away excess.

Press the fibers down and around the hook and coat the top with Flex Seal, allow to dry.

Joe Kissane (Drag-Free Drift, 2001, Stackpole Books) recently sent me a great photo, shot by his brother Mike, illustrating the not so invisible nature of fluorocarbon. Mike is a professional photographer and eco-tour guide in Iceland—see here— (the land of huge brown trout, by the way).

Joe likes fluorocarbon because of its long shelf life, and the fact that it sinks. But, as he noted in his email, it is not “invisible.” All leader materials transmit light along their length, which can potentially give them a bit of a glow underwater, depending upon incident light angle, time of day, and water surface roughness.

Brooke on 6X fluorocarbon. Copyright 2016 Mike Kissane.