When mature, caddis larvae seal themselves in a pupal chamber and metamorphose into the pupa. The mature pupa is rightly called the “Pharate Adult.” It is the adult inside the pupal husk. There has been much discussion of the appearance of the Pharate Adult as it rises to the surface to hatch out. Some say […]
I will be at the Denver Fly Fishing Show at the Merchandise Mart this weekend offering programs each day and a fly casting class on Saturday morning. It’s a great show, and a fun time for everyone. For more information, see Denver Show. On Friday, I will give a fly tying demo at 11:30 am. […]
Many anglers don’t realize that water absorbs light wavelengths differentially. That is to say, red light is absorbed differently that blue or green or yellow or orange. On top of that, different waters will absorb light differently. Here’s a chart from my book, “Presentation,” showing this differential absorption of different waters. What this means is […]
Fly fishers have spent an inordinate amount of time studying the visual acuity of trout. That’s good because it has given us some remarkable data that have helped shape not only our flies but also our angling tactics and the clothing we wear. But, in the process, we have neglected the acoustic acuity of fish. […]
The big brown that I took on my last outing to the Sheboygan gobbled a Purple Hot Head Leech. This has been a great fly for me for kings, cohos, browns, and steelhead. It’s a Collared Leech (see 10/28/09 post on tying the Collared Leech) tied with dark purple FoxxFurr and a fiery, 505 Orange […]
Yesterday the flies were a black collared leech with green flash in the collar and a big black stonefly nymph. I had one of each left so last night I tied four more of each, using the dome light and a flashlight jammed up under the sun-screen for my light sources. A bit dull, but […]
I know there are those that want to see the collared leech, so here are the tying instructions. One thing that I love about this fly is that it has nearly endless variations. One can vary the material–fur, hair, marabou, synthetics like FoxxFurr, and on and on–mix and match if you want. Make ’em big, […]
As many of you know, the fall salmon season here in the Lake States is followed by a run of browns and some steelhead. In years past, I’ve fished then in a variety of times–from now into the middle of December. When I’ve been fortunate to hit the run dead center, I’ve had some great […]
The Kings have found their way into Lake Michigan tribs. Duane Stremlau and I fished together on October 8, 9 on Wisconsin’s Sheboygan River. I was using small flies—size 6—mostly black Collared Leeches with a little blue or purple flash built into the Collar. I’m the one that is smiling, the fish just look like […]