Paul's October 2026 Bonus Fly of the Month

 Kinky Muddler

Hook:  Gmakatsu Big Game 4/0 SL12s.

Thread:  Clear Mono or White Danville 210 Denier Waxed.

Tail:   White Bucktail, flanked by 4 White Saddle Hackle, topped with 6 strands of Krystal Flash.

Rear Body:  White Marabou.

Front Body:  Slinky Fiber SF Blend.

Eyes:  5/16 3D Eyes, coated with Liquid Fusion or UV Resin.

This is a large piece of ‘meat’.  It’s got a broad and thick profile.  It was originally developed by a fly fisher named Johnnie King. 

To tie this fly, start your thread near the end of the hook shank near the bend.  Take securing wraps and cut off the butt end.  Prepare a clump of White Bucktail to tie in for your tail. After making securing wraps, use your fingernail to press down at the tie-in point, ensuring the Bucktail completely surrounds the hook shank.  It should extend 2 hook shank lengths beyond the bend. Next, prepare 4 White Saddle Hackle to add to your tail. You are going to tie them in on each side of the hook shank to create a ‘tented’ hackle tail.  All of the Hackle will ‘cruve in’ and should be slightly longer than the Bucktail. Take 1 wrap of thread under and around the tail.  This will help prevent the tail from fouling.  Top the tail with 4-6 strands of Krystal Flash.

Next, invert your hook.  Take a clump of White Marabou and tie it in on the bottom of the hook.  It should sweep rearward at a 45-degree angle and extend halfway down the tail.  Invert your hook and tie in a clump of White Marabou on top of the hook shank.  Again, it will sweep rearward and mirror the bottom Marabou.

With small clumps of Slinky Fiber SF Blend, you are now going to tie in an alternating series of ‘V’ tie in’s on top and under the hook shank.  They will sweep rearward at a 45 degree angle.  As you tie in each clump, it should extend ¾ of the length of the previous clump.  Continue this process until you end up behind the eye.  Whip finish and cut off your thread.  Remove the fly from the vice and comb and brush out the Slinky Fiber material rearward.  With scissors, trim and shape the fly to your desired shape.  Keep in mind that one of the benefits of this fly is it’s beefier and broader profile.  Return the fly to the vice.  Affix and glue your 3 D eyes in place.  I like to coat the eyes and surrounding area with UV Resin to ensure durability.

LIFliesMike 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 October 2026 Fly of the Month

 Jame's 'Jim' Krul's Foam Stimulator

Hook:  Ahrex Tp650 Size #6 Streamer or Diachi1268 Curved Nymph Size #6.

Thread:  6/0 or 8/0 Orange, Red or Black. 

Tail:  Badger (or Elk/Deer Hair).

Body Hackle:  Grizzley (or Brown) Hackle palmered through the body.

Body:  Cut strip of Orange 2mm Foam. 

Wing:  Badger (or Elk/Deer Hair).

Thorax: Strip of Yellow 2mm Foam.

Hackle: Grizzley (or Brown) Hackle palmered through the body.

This past winter I was fortunate to attend a fly-tying session led by James ‘Jim’ Krul.  Jim is the former Director of the Catskill Fly Fishing museum.  He’s also contributed to a number of Fly Fishing & Tying magazines and publications.  He provided a wealth of information on how to tie and fish this fly.  I was very interested because I use Stimulators for my ‘Dry/Dropper’ rigs.  This Foam version is extremely easy to see in the water and has better floatability than the traditional floss bodied Stimulators.  It is also different in that it uses Badger for the tail and wing.  If you don’t have badger, just substitute Elk/Deer Hair for the tail and wing.

To tie this fly, start your thread behind the eye.  Make securing wraps and cut off the butt end.  Cover the hook shank with thread, ending your thread even with the hook point.  You are now going to tie in your tail.  Take a small bunch of Badger, stack it if you so desire, and tie it in.  It should extend approximately a hook gap length beyond the bend of the hook. 

At the tie in point of your tail, tie in your body Hackle. It should be a hook size or two smaller than the hook you’re tying on.  Next, tie in a prepared strip of Orange 2mm foam.  You can cut a narrow strip of foam with your scissors, or if your tying multiple flies, use a paper cutter to cut foam strips 2 mm in width.  Bring your thread just beyond the halfway point of your hook shank.  Wrap your Foam strip forward (You want just enough tension when wrapping to form a smooth body) and tie it off with your thread.  Cut off the butt end.  With segmented wraps, palmer your Hackle forward and tie it off with your thread.  Cut off the butt end.  This completes the first segment/body of your fly.

Next, tie in your Badger (or Elk/Deer hair) wing.  It should be a little thicker than your tail and extend halfway down the Tail of the fly.  Once secured, trim off the butt ends and with your thread, lay down a smooth base for the rest of the fly.  Bring your thread back to the wing tie in point.  Tie in an additional Grizzley Hackle.  You can size it to the hook, or when I’m tying this fly, and my hackle feather is long enough, I use the excess body hackle for my Thorax.  After tying in your Hackle, tie in a prepared strip of Yellow Foam.  Again, it should be approximately 2 mm in width.   Wrap it forward and tie it off behind the eye.  Cut off the butt end.  Now wrap your Hackle forward and tie it off behind the eye.  Whip finish your fly and apply a drop of Head Cement if you so desire.  

Winonafly Factory has a nice 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 September 2026 Bonus Fly of the Month

 Bubble Caddis

Hook:  Dry Fly Sizes #12-#16.
Thread:  6/0 Tan or Wood Duck. 
Body:  Ginger Caddis dubbing.
Wing:  Elk Hair.
Thorax/Wingcase:  2mm strip of Close Cell foam & Ginger Caddis Dubbing. 
 
This was one of my top flies the past couple of years. It tends to work really well for finicky trout when they are on Caddis Emergers. 
 
To tie this fly start your thread behind the eye.  Make securing wraps and cut off the butt end.  Wrap your thread along the hook shank down to the bend of the hook.  Dub a noodle of your Ginger Caddis dubbing.  (You can use your preferred caddis dubbing for this fly.)  Dub the body of the fly 2/3ds up the hook shank towards the eye of the hook.  You are now going to affix your Elk Hair wing to the fly, similar to any other Elk Hair Caddis pattern.  When affixing the wing you want to trim the butt end of the wing closely. You will cover the butt ends of the fly with your tying thread.  The wing should lay flat along the body of the fly.
 
Next, prepare a strip of Closed Cell Foam for your Wing case.  I use a 2mm sheet.  Cut a strip of foam no wider than the gap of your hook (approximately 2-3 mm in width).  Trim it to a point on one end. You will tie the foam in by the trimmed tip with the rest extending beyond the eye of the hook.  Wind your thread forward toward the eye of the hook with securing wraps.  When you get to the eye, create another dubbing noodle with your dubbing.  Dub the thorax of the fly.  After dubbing the thorax, bring your thread back down to the wing tie in point.  Now fold your Foam/Wing case rearward and secure it with wraps of your thread.  Whip finish your fly at this location.  Apply some head cement to your thread if you desire.   Finally, trim your foam so that it is approximately half the sized of your wing case. 

Dave McPhail 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 September 2026 Fly of the Month

 Foam Pheasant Tail Emerger

Hook:  F-120 Klink or TMC 2487 Curved Emerger Hook Size #12 & #14. 

Thread:  Fluorescent Orange 8/0.

Tail:  4-5 strands Pheasant Tail Fibers.

Hot Spot: 

Rib:  Small Copper Wire.

Body:  4-5 Tips of Pheasant Tail Fibers.

Wing Case/Foam:  Brown or Yellow 3 mm Cylindrical Foam.

Thorax:  Strand of Peacock Hurl. 

Legs:  3-4 Strands of Pheasant Tail Fibers on each side.

Like everyone, I love fishing Pheasant Tail flies.  This pattern is a little different in that it’s floated high up in the surface film.  It’s a super fly and one of my go too’s!  It floats well and has a nice bright hot spot to entice trout to bite.  

To tie this fly, start your thread behind the eye of the hook.  After making securing wraps cut off your tag end. Wrap down the hook shank and create a bulbus bump for your fly ‘hot spot’.  Please note that some tyers like to tie in their tail of Pheasant Fibers first and then create the ‘hot spot’ after it.  I like to do it before affixing the tail fibers.  When I’m tying multiple flies, I can prepare the hooks with a UV Resin Cured ‘hot spot’ a head of time.  Back to tying the fly– Once you create a small bulbus ‘hot spot’, apply a small drop of UV Resin and cure it.  Next tie in your tail of 4-5 Pheasant Fibers.  The tail should be approximately a ‘hook gap’ in length. 

After cutting off the excess butt ends of your tail, tie in your Small Copper Wire for your ribbing.  Next tie in 4-5 additional Pheasant Tail Fibers by their tips.  With the fibers, wrap and create the body of your fly 2/3rds up the hook shank.  Tie the fibers off and cut off the butt ends.  Now counter rib your fly with your Copper Wire with evenly spaced wraps up the body.  Tie it off and helicopter off the excess wire.  

Next, tie in your Foam Cylinder.  I usually notch the front end before I tie it in.  Also, as an alternative, you can just cut and create a foam wing case by simply cutting a 3mm sized strip of closed cell foam.  Tie the Wing Case in and sweep it back rearward.  Tie in a strand of Peacock Hurl at your Wing Case tie in point.  Palmer it forward to create your Thorax.  Tie it off behind the eye.  Cut off the tag end.  On each side of the nymph, tie in 3 strands of Pheasant Tail Fibers for your legs.  The legs should extend about a ‘hook’ gap length on each side of the nymph.  Cut off the excess fibers.  Finally, bring your Foam Wing Case forward and tie it off in front of the eye.  Once secured lift the Foam Wing Case and take securing wraps in front of it.  Whip finish the fly.  Clip the foam to approximately the length of the Wing Case.  Your fly is complete and ready to fish.

Shota Jokhadze 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 May 2026 Fly of the Month

 Roly Poly Leach

Hook:  Fulling Mill 5125 Jig Force Short Barbless Hook #12.

Thread:  6/0 Red or Black. 

 Bead:  Slotted Tungsten Metallic Red 3.8 mm.

Tail:  Fulling Mill Chewy Worm Chenille – Medium - Brown.

Body:  Comprised of 3 bumps of material listed below:

Body 1:  Bump of Fulling Mill Ultra Nymph Dub - Psychedelic Dark Olive.

Body 2:  Bump of Fulling Mill Tactical Microflash Dub UV - UV Light Olive.

Body 3:  Dubbing loop formed with a mixture of Body 1 & 2 Dubbing. 

This fly comes from the UK/Fulling Mill.  I love Jig Leach flies. By the way, I ‘test fish’ all the flies I post. This one proved to be very successful so far this Spring (2026). I try to pick flies where the materials needed can be easily substituted for what the tyer has on hand.  For this fly that’s not the case.  The Fulling Mill Chewy Worm Chenille is unique and required for this fly.  I know there’s some similar Chenille’s that are now on the market, but I haven’t tied or fished them.

To tie this fly, begin by placing your Slotted Metallic Red Bead on the hook.  Start your thread behind the bead and create a small thread dam to lock your bead in place.  Bring your thread back down the hook shank.  Capture and tie on your Chewy Worm Material with securing wraps.  The Worm/Tail should extend approximately 4 times the length of the hook shank.

You are now ready to dub the rear 2/3rds of the hook with Dark Olive Ultra Nymph Dub.  To do this take a small clump of dubbing, at it’s middle point, tie it on to the hook shank with a few securing wraps.  Now sweep all the material rearward and lock it in place with wraps in front of the dubbing material.  Repeat this process so that 2/3rds the hook shank is dubbed.  With a dubbing brush stroke all the material rearward.  An alternative to ‘clump dubbing’ is to create a dubbing loop of the material and wrap it forward to cover 2/3rds of the hook shank. 

Use UV Light Olive Nymph Dub to make a dubbing brush for the last third of the hook shank.  After wrapping it to the bead, tie it off.  Whip finish the fly. With a dubbing brush stroke all the material rearward.    

Fly Fish Food 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 April 2026 Bonus Fly of the Month

 Balanced Callibungus

Hook:  Fulling Mill 5045 Jig Force Barbless Hook Size #14

Thread:  6/0 Uni-Thread Waxed Camel. 

Bead:  Copper Tungsten Bead 3.0 mm.

Tail:  Hungarian Partridge.

Ribbing:  Semperfli Tying Wire – 0.2 March Brown.

Abdomen:  Fulling Mill Euro Nymph Flash Dub – Tan UV.

Abdomen Shellback:  Mirage Tinsel – Opal – Large.  Coated with UV Clear Finish.

Thorax:  Fulling Mill Euro Nymph Flash Dub- Dark Hare’s Ear UV.

Legs/Collar:  Hungarian Partridge.

This is a great baetis pattern that looks very buggy in the water.  It’s different than most nymphs that I fish and maybe that’s why it works so well.  Baetis are very elongated and good swimmers. One technique to fish this fly is to give it some very short strips when fishing it.  Although the original pattern calls for using a ‘drop’ bead, I normally use a Slotted Tungsten bead. 

To tie this fly place bead on your hook and hook in your vice.   Start wraps of thread behind the bead and secure it in place with a thread dam.  Bring your thread back to the beginning of the bend of the hook and cut off the tag end of your thread. 

Prepare 8-10 Partridge feather fibers for your tail.  Tie them in at the rear of the hook shank.  They should extend a little less than a hook shank length behind the bend.  Next, tie in your March Brown Wire that will ultimately be used for the rib of the fly.  When you do this, tie it in along the length of the body with the ‘rib’ extending off the rear of the hook. 

Invert the fly with the hook point facing up.  Tie in your Mirage Opel Tinsel so that it extends up from the curved rear of the hook.  It will eventually be pulled forward to create a flash Shellback on the fly.  Create a dubbing loop at the back of the fly for your body.  Bring your thread forward to the Thorax area.  Add Fulling Mill Euro Nymph Flash Dub in Tan UV to your dubbing loop and spin it in place.  With the created Dubbing Loop, wrap it up the hook shank to create your Body/Abdomen.  Tie it off. With a dubbing brush, brush it out to create a buggy look. 

Trim dubbing fibers on the top of the fly with your scissors.  Pull your tinsel over the top trimmed area of the fly and tie it off.  Cut off the butt end.  Now bring your rib forward making open spiral wraps to create a segmented body.  Try not to condense the dubbing on the bottom of the fly.  Take a tiny bit of UV Resin and spread it along the fly Shellback.  Cure it.  Dub a Thorax behind the bead with Fulling Mill Euro Nymph Flash Dub- Dark Hare’s Ear UV. 

Finally, prepare a Patridge feather to serve as the legs of the fly.  Remove the ‘webby’ lower area of the feather.  Trim the tip to create a ‘V’ on the feather.  Lay it behind the bead and on top of the fly so that fibers extend on both sides of the fly.  Give it a few loose wraps.  Adjust it in place and then tie it down with the legs evenly on both sides of the fly.  An alternative to tying the feather in this way is to tie it behind and around the bead ‘wet fly’ style.  Trim the butt end of the Partridge feather off.  To finish this fly, dub a small Collar of Dark Hare’s Ear UV behind the bead.  Whip finish and you’re done.

Fly Fish Food has a great instructional video on how to tie this pattern 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 April 2026 Fly of the Month

 Paul's Olive Ostrich Emerger

Hook:  TMC 2488H in Sizes #18-#22 or curved emerger hook of choice.

Thread:  8/0 Olive. 

Body:  Olive Thread.

Rib:  Strand of Peacock Krystal Flash.

Thorax:  Wraps of Peacock Krystal Flash.

UV Resin:  Solarez Bone Dry

Collar/Hackle:  2-3 wraps of Grey Ostrich Herl.

Do not be misled by photographs of this pattern---these flies are small.  While some anglers prefer not to tie or fish small flies, doing so can significantly improve success during certain conditions, particularly on Connecticut waters.  There are only 3 materials that comprise this fly.  It makes tying a small pattern like this a lot easier.  If you have problems fishing small flies, fish this one under an indicator or what I usually do, as a dropper fly under a dry.

I developed this fly stealing from other small olive emerger patterns.  One of the great things about fly tying is taking your experiences on the water and incorporating them into your flies.  Experiment, see what works for you.  Test out your creations on the rivers and streams.  That’s how this fly came about for me.

To tie this fly start your thread behind the eye.  Lay down a layer of thread deep down the bend of the hook.  Bring your thread back up an eye length behind the eye.  Tie in your strand of Peacock Krystal flash and wrap down to the bend/end of your thread body.  Bring your thread 2/3rds back up the hook shank leaving room for your thorax. 

Rib the body of the fly using open spiral wraps with your Peacock Krystal Flash.  Tie it off but do not cut off the excess ribbing material.  Advance your thread an eye length forward.  With the Krystal Flash, make touching wraps to build up and create a Thorax on the fly.  Remember to leave room for your Ostrich Collar.  Next, coat the body & thorax with Solarez Bone Dry and cure it.  Try not to over saturate the fly when applying the resin.

Tie in the Grey Ostrich Herl behind the hook eye.  Make 2 wraps with your Ostrich, tie it off and cut off the butt end.  Whip finish your fly and it’s done.

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 .