Paul's May 2019 Fly of the Month

The Moodah Poodah

Hook:  Daiichi 1160 or curved hook of choice (Size #10 to #12 hook.)
Tying thread:   Black 70-denier UTC Ultra Thread. 
Hot Spot:  UV Hot Orange Ice Dub.
Body:  UV Black Ice Dub.
Ribbing:  Pearl Flashabou.
Under Wing:  Black Cow Elk.
Head:  Black 2 mm cross link or fly-tying foam.
Legs:  Speckled Orange MFC Centipede legs or similar material.
Post:  Fluorescent Orange Para Post Wing Material. 

When I first started fishing foam terrestrial patterns they were very small flies, almost all designed to imitate ants.  My thinking then was that large foam patterns like Chernobyl ants and oversized beetles might fool fish out in Montana, but wouldn’t catch the selective fish here in Connecticut on the Farmington & Housatonic.  My thinking about that has changed completely in the last 10 years.  I use a lot of big foam patterns now, some even much larger than the Moodah Poodah.  The Moodah is a really effective fly.  I think it sometimes represents a cricket, or with a change of colors, a hopper.  It’s also just a big floating ‘big Mac’ for trout.  I often use it with a bead head nymph or emerger ‘dropper’.   The butt of the Moodah has an orange ‘hot spot’ and lies in the film below the surface, something other terrestrial patterns do have or do. 

To begin to tie this fly, start your thread half way down the hook shank and and bring it to where you want to dub your ‘hot spot’.  Tie in your Flashabou ribbing and then dub your hot spot with UV Hot Orange Ice Dub.  Next, dub a tapered body of the fly with UV Black Ice Dub.  Leave approximately ¼ of the hook shank for your wing & head of the Moodah.  Now, palmer your Pearl Flashabou rib up the body.  Tie & cut it off.  You are now going to tie in your black Elk wing, very similar to tying it in on an elk hair caddis.  Trim the butt ends and apply some head cement or adhesive of choice for durability.  Cut a rectangle piece of 2 mm foam a little less than a hook gap width, and twice the length of the hook shank.  Take your bodkin and pierce the foam in the middle approximately ¼ length down your piece of foam.  Place the eye of the hook through the foam, keeping the shorter end under the hook shank.  The longer piece should extend over the elk hair wing.  Pinch the doubled over foam with your fingers and clinch it down with a couple wraps of thread.  The tie in point for your foam is the same point on the hook shank that you tied in your elk wing.  After positioning the head with a couple wraps of thread, give it a few more tight wraps to make sure it’s securely bound down.  Trim the ‘under’ part of the head just before the tie in point.  You’re also going to trim the top foam even with the wing.  When you do this notch a V pointing towards the hook eye in the foam.  Next, tie in your rubber legs and wing post.  Both should be trimmed to roughly the same size as the foam wing.  Tie & cut off your tying thread.  Apply some head cement or super glue to the bottom side of your finishing wraps and the fly is completed.

Curtis Fry, a fly fisherman & tier from Utah, has a great website with a lot of fly tying tutorials.  It can be seen at www.flyfishfood.com .  

He also has a great video on how to tie the Moodah Poodah below:  

If you have any questions about this fly or would like to submit a Fly of the Month I can be reached at 203 305-3850 or at pdinice@frontier.com .  

Paul's April 2019 Fly of the Month

20 Incher Nymph 

(and variations)

Hook:  TMC 200R #4 to #14 hook or curved nymph hook of choice. 
Tying thread:   6/0  black or brown thread. 
Bead:  (Optional) Brass or Tungsten matched to hook.  I use a Black Nickle colored bead.
Weight:  (Optional)  Non-lead wire.  Wound on half the hook shank and butted up against the bead.
Tail:  Brown Turkey Biots  (I also use Flex-Floss, Life Flex or other rubber like material.  I use the same material to create two antenaes.)
Rib:  Silver oval tinsel or wire (or substitute with Brown/tan floss).
Abdomen:  4-5 strands of Peacock hurl.
Underbody:  (Optional for larger flies) Dark Hare’s Ear or Squirrel Dubbing.
Thorax:  Dark Hare’s Ear or Squirrel Dubbing.
Legs:  Hungarian Partridge Feather (I also use Pheasant Tail Fibers).
Wing Case:  Pheasant Tail or Turkey Tail Fibers.

This is a great Stone Fly imitation.  I would definitely use a bead and add weight to it.  You want to fish it deep.  The fish will usually smack this fly hard.  Not many tippy tap takes here.  You want to make sure the fly is weighted to get it down deep where stone fly nymphs crawl along the bottom. 

To tie this fly begin you want to place 8-10 wraps of ‘lead free’ on the upper half of the hook shank behind the eye.  If you’re using a bead, butt the wraps up right behind the eye.  Start your thread on the hook shank and create a seamless tapper from the bend up to the eye.  Bring your thread back down to the bend of the hook. 
Put a small pinch of dubbing on the hook to be used to separate your biot tail. Tie in your biots so that they splay out from the body.  Wrap the butt ends down onto the hook and cut off the tag end if required.  Next tie in your rib.  You can use silver tinsel or brown/tan floss.  I prefer the dark floss for a darker subsurface profile.  This is a great attractor pattern so the silver tinsel works great too.  Next, tie in 4-5 fibers of Peacock hurl at the rear of the fly. Palmer them forward and cover approximately half of the hook shank.  Now rib the in the opposite direction.  You have half the fly completed.  Next, tie in a piece of turkey tail to be used for your wing case. 

Get a partridge feather with barbs long enough to create the oversized legs of a stone fly.  Remove the fluff at the base of the feather and stoke/preen the fibers towards the heavy stem.  You’re now going to tie the feather in by the tip (dull side facing up) with the heavier stem portion of the feather towards the rear of the fly.  Clip off any of the excess tip.  Next, dub the thorax of the nymph using dark hare’s ear or squirrel dubbing.  Now pull the partridge feather over and bind it down behind the hook eye or bead if you’ve used one.  You should have a nice set of legs on the nymph.  Now pull the turkey fibers forward and tie it off behind the bead or eye.  Tie and clip off the excess.  Dub a short length of thread and wrap it around the back of the bead or eye to finish off your fly. I also like to put a drop of UV resin on the wing case for durability and to give it a nice little sheen. 

‘Into the Riffle’ has a great 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 203 305-3850 or at pdinice@frontier.com .