Paul's January 2025 Bonus Fly of the Month

 Isonychia Wet Fly

Hook:  Fulling Mill 5085 Nymph Hook, Size #12.

Thread:  UTC Brown or Wood Duck 70 denier.

Rib:  Small Gold Ultra Wire.

Tail:  6-8 Pheasant Tail Fibers.

Dorsal Stripe:  White UTC 140 Denier Thread or White Floss.

Abdomen:  Isonychia-colored Dubbing.

Thorax:  Peacock herl 3-4 strands.

Collar:  Hen Feather, mottled brown.

If you’re a fly-fisherman here in CT, you should carry a ‘life cycle’ of Iso patterns in your fly box.  Why?  Because it’s a big fly and can be found on the water from late spring to mid fall.  How big is this fly?  Usually around a size #12 to #14.  I’ve previously featured Iso flies by Preston Jennings as the ‘Fly of the Month’.  This pattern is a variation of his flies. 

To tie this fly, debarb your hook and place it in the vice.  Start your thread with securing wraps a ‘hook eye’s length’ behind the hook eye.  Cut off the butt end of your thread.  Tie in your Gold Wire Rib and make touching wraps rearward.  Wrap down to the bend of the hook.  Next, advance your thread to the original ‘tie in’ point of your thread.  Prepare a half dozen or so Pheasant Tail Fibers for your tail.  The tips should be evenly aligned.  Tie them in for your tail.  They should be approximately a hook gap in length.   Bind them down on top of the hook shank wrapping rearward.  Once secured bring your thread up to the mid-point of the hook shank. 

Tie in your White Thread Dorsal Stripe.  Wrap your rearward to secure it, making sure you keep it on top of the hook shank.  Next, dub a slim Dubbing Noodle of your Iso Dubbing.  Dub the body up the hook shank to your initial tie in point.  Next, pull your white thread over the top of the body and secure it with a few wraps.  Cut off the excess thread.  Next, make open spiral wraps up the body with your Wire Ribbing to create a segmented body.  Tie it down and ‘helicopter’ off the wire.

Next, tie in 3-4 strands of peacock herl for your thorax.  Take 3-4 turns around the hook shank.  Remember to leave room for your Collar/Hen Hackle.  Secure it with a couple wraps of thread and cut off the excess.  Next, prepare your mottled brown hen hackle for your Collar.  Ideally, the fibers on the hen feather should be approximately a hook shank in length.  Strip off the lower fibers on the feather stem.  Holding the tip of the feather in 1 hand, strip the lower fibers rearward.  Snip off the tip of the feather and then tie it in right behind the eye of the hook.  Take 2 wraps of your hackle and secure it behind the eye.  Anchor the stem behind the eye.  Snip off the excess stem.  Make a few more wraps to preen back any forward pointing fibers.  Whip finish your fly.  Apply some head cement if you desire.   

Tightlinevideo has a great instructional video below: 

 If you have any questions about this fly or would like to submit a Fly of The Month I can be reached at pdinice@frontier.com .

Paul's January 2025 Fly of the Month

 Dirty Hipster Nymph

Hook:  Ahrex FW555 or Jig hook of choice Size #14

Bead:  Mottled Brown Slotted Tungsten Bead or Bead of Choice.

Weight:  (Optional) .015 lead free wire.

Tail:  Brown Hen Feather Fibers.

Hot Spot:  Orange or Red Glow Brite Floss or Thread.  Then coated with ‘Bone Dry’ UV Resin.

Thread:  140 Denier Thread in Olive or Brown or Wood Duck.

Rib/Flash:  Small Pearlescent Tinsel or Krystal Flash.

Body:  Hare’s Ear Dubbing.

Legs: Rubber. Legs.

Collar:  Mix of Dark Antron & Hare’s Ear Dubbing.

The Dirty Hipster was originally tied by a gentleman named John Newbury.  It is really a version of a Hare’s Ear Nymph on steroids. It has a ‘Hot Spot’, Flash, and rubber legs to help induce strikes.  You can tie it with various colors of Hare’s Ear.  It’s one of my favorite subsurface ‘Attractor/Searching’ patterns. 

To tie this fly, debarb your hook, place your bead on it, and put the fly in the vice.  Next, take a length of lead-free wire and make 10-12 touching wraps around the hook shank.  Push it up against your bead.  Start your thread behind the wire wraps to lock it in place.  Cover your wraps with thread leaving your thread down near the bend.  Tie in 3-4” of Floss.  I like to put my hot spot just below the hook shank under where my tail will be placed.  Once you create your hotspot, cut off the butt end of the floss and coat the ‘Hot Spot’ with UV Resin.  I like to use ‘Bone Dry’ for this.  Next, take 8-10 Brown Hen Fibers and tie it in for your tail.  It should be approximately a hook gap in length.  Next, tie in your Pearlescent Tinsel or Krystal Flash.

Now, create a thin Dubbing Noodle of Hare’s Ear, color of choice.  Dub a thin body leaving a small space behind the bead for your Legs & Collar.  Tie off your Dubbing Noodle and prepare 2 pieces of Rubber Legs for your nymph.  They should be at least 2” in length.  They will be trimmed when the fly is finished.  Tie them in at the mid-point, behind the bead, on each side of the nymph.  Adjust them so that they form a symmetrical X on the fly.  Next, dub a small noodle of Dark Antron & Hare’s Ear Dubbing.  With your noodle, take a wrap behind the legs, in the middle of the legs, and in front of the legs to form a dark collar.  Whip-finish your fly behind the bead.  Now trim your legs to form a symmetrical X.  I trim the rear legs so that they are in line with the length of the tail.  The front legs should be trimmed so that they are slightly shorter.  Your fly is finished.

Below is a video from The Fly Smith/ties flies on how to tie the Dirty Hipster:

If you have any questions about this fly or would like to submit a Fly of The Month I can be reached at pdinice@frontier.com .

Paul's December 2024 Bonus Fly of the Month

 Polecat Panfish Fly

Hook:  Mustad 3906b or Nymph Hook of preference Size #6 - #12.

Thread:  Black 6/0.

Weight:  (optional) .015 Lead Wire, 15 to 20 wraps.

Tail:  Black Marabou.

Legs:  Round Rubber Legs.

Under Body:  Wrapped Medium Yellow Chenille.

Fly Back:  Large Black Chenille.

I love fishing for ‘pan’ fish.  Its a lot of action and fun, and you can really hone in on your casting and ‘setting’ skills.  When you don’t have much time or want to travel far, head to your local pond and get away from it all.

To tie this fly, crush down the barb and place your hook in the vice.  If you want to weight your fly, take 15-20 wraps of wire around the hook shank, centering the wraps in the center of the hook shank.  Now start your thread behind the eye, take some securing wraps and then wrap down & over the lead wraps to the bend of the hook.  Wrap back and forth over the lead wraps.  End your thread back down at the bend.  Prepare a tuft of Black Marabou for your tail.  Preen and stroke the Marabou fibers back and tie it in at the bend.  Use spiral wraps up the hook shank to secure the fibers to the hook shank.  End behind the eye and cut off the butt end of the Marabou. 

Bring your thread back down to the bend to tie in your body.  Tie in a strand of Black Chenille.  Over that tie in a strand of Yellow Chenille.  When tying in these strands I strip off some of the material from the center core.  Next, bring your thread to the half-way point of the hook shank.  You are going to tie in your Rubber legs.  There will be a pair of legs on each side of the fly.  Take 2 strands of Rubber legs approximately 1 ½” long and secure them to the top of the hook shank with 2-3 wraps.  Now adjust the legs so that you have a pair on each side of the hook shank forming a ‘V’ on each side.  Now wrap your Yellow Chenille up the hook shank, wrapping it behind, in the middle, and in front of the legs all the way to the hook eye.  Tie off your Yellow Chenille and cut off the butt end.  Bring your Black Chenille over the top of the hook shank to create your ‘fly back’.  Tie it off at the eye of the hook and cut off the butt end.  Create a small head, whip finish, and apply a drop of head cement. 

 Dressed Irons has a great video on how to tie this fly below: 

If you have any questions about this fly or would like to submit a Fly of The Month I can be reached at pdinice@frontier.com .

Paul's December 2024 Fly of the Month

 Hen & Copper

Hook:  Wet Fly/Sprout Hook Size #14 to Size #18.

Thread:  140 Denier Thread in Olive or Brown or Wood Duck.

Body:  Copper Ultra Wire Brassie.

Thorax:  Peacock Herl 3-4 strands.

Collar:  Pheasant Feather or Hen Feather, mottled brown.

This is a great ‘attractor’ fly.  For myself, and some of my friends, it has been one of the hot flies on the upper Housatonic this Fall (2024).  Most fly shops don’t sell wet flies, and on the rare occasions when they do, you won’t find a fly like this.  The copper wire gives it a flash in the water and helps keep your fly a little lower in the water column.  When I tie it to smaller sizes, I don’t even put a Thorax on it.  I also prefer to use Hen feathers for those smaller wets.  I also don’t rib it.  You might also want to tie it on a variety of different hooks.  Pictured here are a couple variations of this fly.

To tie this fly de-barb the hook and place it in your vice.  Start your thread behind the eye and take a half dozen securing wraps.  Cut off the butt end.  Next, tie in 2 strands of copper wire.  Tie them in about an ‘eye’ length behind the eye.  Once secured, start wrapping down the bend making ‘side by side’ wraps.  Wrap down to the bend in the hook.  Now palmer your wires forward with spiral wraps to create a rib.  When you reach your wire tie in point, tie it off, and ‘helicopter’ off the butt ends.

Next, tie in 2 strands of Peacock Herl.  Take 4-5 wraps to create a ‘balled’ thorax.  Tie off the peacock and cut off the butt ends.  Next, prepare your hen feather for your collar.  Strip off the fuzzy end of the feather.  Now pull 1 side of your feather fibers off the stem.  Doing this resolves the problem of putting too much hackle on your fly.  Stroke the remaining fibers back except for the very tip of the feather.  Tie the feather by the tip with securing wraps.  Cut off the butt end (tip) of the feather.  Take 3-4 wraps of the feather to create your collar.  Tie the feather off.  Cut off the butt end.  Create a finished head with your thread.  Whip finish, cut off the butt end, and apply a drop of head cement if you so desire.  

Holsinger's Fly Shop has an excellent video on how to tie this fly below:

If you have any questions about this fly, or would like to submit a fly of the month, I can be contacted at pdinice@frontier.com .

Paul's November 2024 Bonus Fly of the Month

 Crab Pot Fly

Hook:  Gamaktsu SL12S Size 1/0.

Thread:  Mono or Olive  6/0.

Mouth: Olive Craft Fur.

Claws:  Barred Olive Hackle.

Body:  Olive SF Blend or EP Fibers or Congo Hair

Eyes:  Burnt Mono.

Weight:  Medium Dumbbell eyes.

Legs:  Olive Sili Legs.

This is an essential fly here in New England. Crabs are a substantial part of the stripers diet, yet many don’t fish crab flies.  Part of the problem is not knowing where & when to fish them.  I fish a few different crab flies, but this is the most productive of all of them.  The color can also be modified to match the bottom environment.  The size can also be varied depending on the size of crabs the bass are feeding on.  When fishing a crab fly, keep it in the ‘zone’ a lot longer than you would a bait fish.  Make sure it gets down.  If you strip it, short intermittent strips with pauses can induce strikes.  When tying this fly I usually add some head cement or UV Resin on my wraps to enhance its durability.

To tie this fly begin by placing your fly in the vice.  Start your thread at the bend of hook and secure it with 9-10 wraps.  Cut off the butt end.  Prepare a ½ ‘pencil’ sized clump of craft fur for the mouth of the fly.  Tie it in at the bend of the hook.  It should extend approximately a hook shank length beyond the bend.  Next, tie in your mono eyes.  You can either purchase them or make them by burning the ends of heavy mono line.  When you tie them in, make sure they splay outward.   They should extend halfway down the Craft Fur Mouth at the bend of the hook.  When tying them in remember that this fly will fish with the hook up.  The eye should be pointed up slightly.  Once they are secured, cut off the excess.

Next, with a few strands of your EP Fibers or Congo Hair, create a short dubbing noodle on your thread.  Dub a small ‘ball’ around the hook shank at the tie in point at the bend.  Select and prepare 2 feathers for the claws of the crab.  Keep in mind that for a ‘green’ crab, 1 claw is larger than the other.  Both claws should splay outward and slightly ‘upward’, approximately a ½ hook shank length beyond the Craft Fur mouth.  Cut off the butt ends and cover your securing wraps with another dubbing noodle on your thread. 

You are now going to tie in a tuft of EP/Congo Fibers under the hook shank, over the claws and eyes.  It should be approximately a pencil in thickness and extend ‘upward’ and beyond the bend to the eyes.  Once secured and the butt end is trimmed, prepare another tuft of Fibers to begin to form your crab body.  The length should measure at least 1 ½ inch on each side of the crab (to be trimmed later).  Secure the Fibers, laying 1 side along the hook shank, take securing wraps, and sweep rearward.  Now take the other side of the Fibers and place them over the hook shank, sweeping them rearward on the other side of the hook.  Secure the Fibers with some wraps.  Repeat this process up the hook shank.  It may take 4-5 tufts of Fibers to complete the body.  Remember to leave room behind your hook eye for your Dumbbell Eyes.  Once your Fiber body is completed, tie in your Dumbbell Eyes behind the eye of the hook (Reverse your hook in the vice and mount them on what is normally the top of the hook shank).  Use figure 8 wraps to make sure they are secure.

Next, behind the Dumbbell Eyes, tie in 4 Silly Legs (again, on what is normally the top of the hook shank).  Once secure, bring your Silly legs over the Dumbbell Eyes to the other side of the hook shank.  At the same tie in point on the opposite side of the hook shank, secure them with thread wraps.  They should extend approximately to the Claw tips on what will be the bottom of your fly.  Finally, behind the Dumbbell Eyes and Leg tie in point, add 1 more tuft of EP/Congo Fibers on each side of the hook shank.  Whip finish your fly and add some cement to your wraps.

Now it’s time to trim your crab.  Begin by preening out your EP/Congo Fibers.  With your scissors round out the edges of your crab to create a semi-circle on each side of the hook.  Advice in trimming your Crab Fly—Take your time.  It’s better to trim off a little at a time than too much at once.  Please be careful so that you don’t trim off any of your legs or claws.

 Maine Fly Guys have an excellent video on how to tie this fly below:

If you have any questions about this fly or would like to submit a Fly of The Month I can be reached at pdinice@frontier.com .

Paul's November 2024 Fly of the Month

 Bivisible

Hook:  Daiih1310 Dry Fly Hook Size #14.

Thread:  Uni 8/0 Tan, Brown, or Wood Duck.

Tail:  Brown Hackle Fibers.

Hackle:  Brown & White Dry Fly Hackle. 

This is a great attractor dry fly pattern.  It originated from the NY Catskill area.  It floats like a cork and is easy to see on the water.  It’s also a very easy tie.  Some tie this fly without a tail.  Others use a hackle tip for the tail.   I prefer to use Hackle Fibers for the tail, similar to what you find on a traditional dry fly. 

Begin by placing your hook in the vice.  Start your thread behind the eye and make touching wraps down the hook shank to the bend.  Cut off the butt end of the thread.  Next, prepare your tail fibers.  Take 8-10 fibers for your tail and tie them in at the bend.  They should extend beyond the bend approximately 1 hook shank in length.  To keep the body smooth, I wrap the fibers up the hook shank and stop behind the eye, then cut off the butt ends.   Bring your thread back down to the bend.

Prepare your Size 14 Brown Hackle for the rear 2/3rds of the fly.  Tie it in with the dull side facing forward (towards the eye).  Wrap you hackle 2/3rds up the hook shank (leaving the last 1/3^rd for your White Hackle).  Tie it off and clip off the excess. Prepare your White Hackle.  When you tie it in do so with the shiny side facing towards the eye.  Once secured wrap if forward stroking the fibers back as you go.  Tie it off behind the eye, clip off the excess hackle, and whip finish your fly.  You're done.

East Rosebud Fly & Tackle as a great video on how to tie this fly below:

 

If you have any questions about this fly or would like to submit a Fly of The Month, I can be reached at pdinice@frontier.com .

Paul's October 2024 Bonus Fly of the Month

 Bitch Creek Nymph

Hook:  Size #6 4X long steamer hook. 

Tying thread:   Black, 6/0 or 140 Denier Thread.

Bead:  Optional, color of choice.

Weight:  .025 Lead or lead free wire.

Tail:  Round White, Brown, Black or Orange Rubber Hackle.        

Antenna: Round White, Brown, Black or Orange Rubber Hackle.

Abdomen:  Woven Black & Yellow Chenille. 

Throrax:  Black Chenille.

Hackle:  Grizzly, Brown or Black saddle hackle.

This nymph is a big piece of meat that represents Stone Flies.  When trout hit it they clobber it!  What’s also unique about this fly is that you weave the Abdomen with 2 colors of Chenille.   The key to weaving this fly is to apply ‘equal’ pressure on the Black & Yellow Chenille to keep the Yellow on the bottom of the fly and the Black on the top of the fly. 

To start this fly, de-barb your hook and place it in the vice.  Take your lead wire and make touching wraps from the point of the hook shank to 2 ‘eye’ lengths behind the eye.  You’re pretty much wrapping lead down most of the hook shank.  When fishing this fly you want to make sure it gets down in the water column.  The naturals crawl along the stream/riverbed.

Start your thread behind the eye and secure the front part of your lead wraps.  Wrap over the lead and secure the rear portion of your lead wraps.  Essentially, you’re creating thread damns behind both sides of the lead wraps.  With the thread behind the eye of the hook, tie in 2 pieces of rubber hackle to represent the Antenna.  They should extend beyond the eye approximately ¾’s length of the hook shank.  Next bring your thread to the rear and tie in your 2 pieces of Tail.  They should be the same length as the Antenna.  Bring your thread to the middle of the hook shank and tie in your Black Chenille on the ‘far’ side of the hook.  Wrap down to the bend to secure it on the hook.  Bring your thread back up to the mid-point of the hook shank and repeat the process with your Yellow Chenille on the ‘near’ side of the hook. 

Bring your thread up to the 2/3rds point of your hook shank.  The length from the bend to the thread tie down point represents the length of your Abdomen.  Begin weaving your Abdomen by taking your Black Chenille and placing it over the hook shank.  Take your Yellow Chenille and place it under the hook shank then over the Black Chenille on the other side of the hook shank.  Now place your Yellow Chenille under the hook shank, and the Black Chenille over the hook shank.  Now place your Yellow Chenille over the Black and back under the hook shank.  The key is to apply steady pressure to keep the Yellow Chenille on the bottom and the Black Chenille on top.  Weave the body up to the thread ‘tie in’ point.  Tie off both colors of Chenille on top of the hook shank.  Now, only cut off the Yellow Chenille. 

You are now going tie in your Brown Hackle for your legs.  Size it so that the legs proportionately suit bb     the size of the nymph.  Tie it in by the base of the feather on top of the hook shank.  Now wrap your Black Chenille forward and back creating a broader Thorax than your Abdomen.  Tie it off an eye length behind the eye.  Next, palmer your hackle forward making spiral wraps up the Thorax.  Tie it off behind the eye.  Cut off the butt end and finish the fly by creating a thread head behind the eye.  Whip finish the fly and apply some head cement. 

Dressed Irons has a great video on how to tie this fly below:

If you have any questions about this fly or would like to submit a Fly of The Month I can be reached at pdinice@frontier.com .