Paul's March Bonus 2021 Fly of the Month

 Commisa's Sneak Attack

Hook:  Hanak H 450 BL Size #16 (or jig hook of choice).

Bead:  Matte Black Tungsten slotted 3.0 mm.

Tying thread:   Black, Semperfli 12/0 waxed.

Tail:  Coq de Leon, medium pardo.

Body:  Black Krystal Flash.

UV Resin:  To coat body.  Solarez Bone Dry (or resin of choice).

Thorax/Collar:  Red Sybai Fine Diamond Dubbing. (This is a metallic ‘Ice Dubbing’ like material.)

Tim Commisa provides us fly fishers with some of the best & most informative fly tying videos out there.  His website http://www.troutandfeather.com/ is a fantastic resource for tyers & fly fishers.  So, when he tells you that he’s somewhat reluctant to post his ‘secret fly’, I’m going to listen.  This fly has caught me quite a few fish this summer.

To tie this fly begin by placing your tungsten bead on the hook.  Place the hook in your vice and start your thread behind the bead.  Build up a little thread ‘dam’ behind the bead to ensure the bead doesn’t move.  Next, you are going to tie in your Coq de Leon tail.  Take 4-5 feather fibers and tie in your tail.  It should be approximately the length of the hook shank long.  After securely wrapping the tail fibers on top of the hook shank, clip off the butt ends of the fibers.  You are now going to tie in your Black Krystal Flash body material.  You will need 4 strands of the material.  You can also ‘double over’ 2 strands of material by folding them over your hanging thread and anchoring them at the front of the fly.  You can then wrap them over them on top of your hook working back towards the back of the fly.   Bring your thread back behind the bead.  Using a controlled tension, wrap your 4 strands of Krystal Flash forward.  Tie if off behind the bead and clip off the tag ends.  Next, take your Solarez Bone Dry or resin of choice, and coat the body with the resin.  Cure the resin with a UV light.  You are now going to dub your Thorax/Collar behind the bead.  It does not take much material to create the Thorax/Collar, especially with a size #16 fly.  Take a couple wraps with your dubbing noodle.  Create a very tight collar.  Clip any excess straying dubbing material.  Take a few wraps of your thread behind the bead.  Whip finish it there and apply head cement if you desire. 

One of the great things about fly tying is you can experiment to meet the needs of your local stream, or to just experiment for the fun of it.  With this pattern I’ve used different colored Krystal Flash and collars depending upon what’s happening on the water. 

Tim Cammissa has a great instructional 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 203 305-3850 or at pdinice@frontier.com .  

Paul's March 2021 Fly of the Month

Jigawocki 

(UV Hot Spot Jig Nymph)

Hook:  Daiichi 4640 Size #14 Jig Hook (or jig hook of choice).

Bead:  Black Tungsten Slotted bead 7/64” 2.8mm.

Tying Thread:   Veevus Brown 14/0 thread.

Tail:  Mottled Brown Hen Saddle Fibers.

Rib:  Copper Brown Ultra Wire Small.

Body:  Veevus Hot Orange Body Quill, coated with UV Resin.

Thorax/Collar:  Mixture of Hare’s Ear and Black & Brown Ice Dub.

Legs:  Mottled Brown Hen Saddle Fibers tied in at the 3 o’clock & 9 o’clock positions.

Wing Case/Hot Spot:  Clear UV Finish topped by Orange or Red, or Yellow UV Finish.  (You also have the alternative of creating a hot spot behind the bead with thread.)

This is a great little nymph that works very well, particularly during those days prior to a Sulphur Hatch.  The use of a 14/0 Thread makes for a thinner body, allowing the nymph to sink deeper faster.  Please note that tying on a Jig Hook results in a smaller nymph.  It would equate to a Size #16 on a standard hook.  Proportion is everything with this fly.  Also, take your time applying your UV Hot Spot.  Not an easy task when your applying it between legs and onto dubbing fibers.

To begin this fly, place your tungsten bead on the hook, then your hook in the vice.  Start your thread behind the bead and wrap back to the bend of the hook.  You are now going to tie in your tail of Mottled Brown Hen Saddle Fibers.  Take 6-7 fibers and tie them in at the bend of the hook shank.  They should be approximately 2/3rds the length of the hook shank.  Instead of cutting off the butt ends of the fibers, wrap your thread back up the shank towards the bead.  You should end your thread behind the bead, forming an even body.  Next, take a strand of the Veevus Body Quill.  Double it over your thread and secure it to the hook.  Now tie in your Copper Rib.  Wrap both materials down to your hook bend.  Again, making sure to form an even slim body.  Bring your thread back up behind the eye.

You are now going to make ‘touching’ wraps with your body quill up the hook shank.  Tie it off slightly behind the bead.  Cut off the butt ends.  Now, rib the fly with your copper wire, again tying it off slightly behind the hook eye.  Tie it off and ‘helicopter’ off the butt end of the rib.  Coat and cure the body of the fly with UV Resin.  This gives a very translucent effect to the body.  You are now going to ‘dub’ your Thorax/Collar with a mixture of Hare’s Ear & Ice Dub.  Create a slim Thorax/Collar leaving a little room behind the bead.  It’s right behind the bead that you’re going to affix your legs of Hen fibers.  Tie your legs in at the 3:00 & 9:00 positions (5-6 fibers per side).  Dub a little more material behind the bead to finish your Thorax/Collar.  Tie and whip finish it off.  You are now going to create your Wing Case/Hot Spot with two applications of UV Resin.  First, apply a clear coat of UV Resin behind the bead.  This will create a base for your colored UV finish.  After you apply and cure your clear finish, apply your ‘hot spot’ UV finish.  You can use red, orange, or yellow.  Cure it and your done.  If you don’t have any or don’t want to use UV Finish, simply create a hot spot with thread behind the bead.

Loon Outdoors has a great video on how to tie this fly below:

                                                                   

Loon Outdoors website can be found at https://loonoutdoors.com/ .

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 February Bonus 2021 Fly of the Month

Paul's Caddis Larva Emerger

Hook:  Tiemco 2487 Curved Scud Hook. Size #16

Thread:  Olive, Black, or Brown 6/0 Thread.

Bead:  Black Tungsten Bead 2.5 mm 3/32.

Body:  Olive, Chartreuse, Black, & Brown Micro-Chenille.

Thorax: Ice Dub to match body color.

Hackle:  Starling or small Black Hen Hackle. 

This fly has been a great producer for me.  There are many variations of it but here’s the pattern I use.  Thanks to CFFA President Gary Steinmiller for reminding me how effective these patterns can be.  Although the micro-chenille appears a little stiff, it does provide movement as it is not bound down to the hook shank. Also, despite being tied on a Size #16 emerger hook, the scale of the fly is much smaller than patterns normally tied on a Size #16 hook. Although it can be tied in larger and smaller sizes, this is the size I fish. 

Begin by de-barbing the hook.  Place your bead on it and insert into your vice. Start your thread behind the bead and wrap approximately 2 bead lengths down the hook.  Prepare your Micro-Chenille by heating the end in a flame. Please note that you have to use a Micro-Chenille that is very dense and does not have a cotton thread core.  The thread core Chenille won’t melt and will only burn.  You want to melt the end to create a tapered body.  The melted end is the rear of the fly.  Tie in your Chenille behind your bead.  The body length should be approximately 2 hook shank lengths.  Next, dub a little Ice Dub (matching body color), to create your thorax.  Behind the bead tie in your Starling/Hen hackle.  Take two (2) wraps of your hackle and tie it off.  Whip finish your fly, apply head cement to your wraps and you’re done.  

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 February 2021 Fly of the Month

 Landon Mayer's Mini-Leach

& Mini-Leach Jig 

Hook:  Size #8-#12 Allen MP003Bl; or Size #10-#14 Curved Nymph Hook; or Hanak H 450 BL Size #10 (or jig hook of choice).

Bead:  (Optional) Tungsten Slotted bead, Color & size of choice.

Tying thread:   Black, 70 Denier.

Body/Tag End:  Medium Brown Holo Tinsel or Root Beer Flash-a-bou.

Wing:  Zonked Black or Brown Pine Squirrel.

Colar:  Black or Brown Ostrich Herl.

I love small streamers, and I particularly love small streamers with pine squirrel.  This fly is very easy to tie, using only 3 different materials.  You can really crank these out. No worries if you loose a few, and oh by the way, it will catch you a ton of fish.   Ideal for small streams with tight quarters, but it works great on bigger waters too. 

You can tie this pattern on different types of hooks.  I’ve listed some in the recipe, but don’t be afraid to experiment with the hook you prefer.  To tie this fly, I like to use a hook on the heavy & larger side.   Start you thread behind the eye and make touching wraps.  Stop your thread at the ‘halfway’ point of your hook shank.  You are now going to tie in your Tinsel or Flash-a-bou.  Continue making touching wraps rearward to bind down your Body/Tag.  Wrap down around the bend of the hook.  Bring your thread back up the hook shank and leave it approximately 1/3 of the hook shank behind the eye.  Next, prepare your Squirrel Zonker.  The length of the leather strip should be approximately 2 ½ to 3 lengths of the hook shank (or about 1” long).  Your rabbit fur should be bending towards the back.  I usually cut a ‘v’ notch at the rear tip of the zonker.  On the forward tip (your tie in point), strip some fur off to better expose the leather.  This will ensure that it is securely tied down to the hook shank.  Bind and tie down your Zonker Wing onto the hook shank.  (I usually apply some Head Cement or UV Resin to my tie in point).  When you tie in your wing, create a smooth thread base behind your hook eye. 

Now select two bushy fibers of Ostrich Herl for your collar. Lock them in place by their ‘butt’ ends right at the tie in point of your wing.  Wrap your thread forward and leave it behind the eye.  Make touching wraps forward with your Ostrich Herl.  Cut and tie it off behind the eye.  Whip finish and apply some head cement. 

One thing I usually do when tying this fly is to apply some Solarez ‘Bone Dry’ to the Tinsel or Flash-a-bou just after I tie it in.  It improves the durability of the fly. 

Tim Camissa has some of the best instructional videos on Youtube. 

He has a great video on how to tie Langdon Meyer’s Mini-Leach below: 

For tying the Mini-Leach on a Jig Hook, here’s another video from Tim below:

Tim’s website, ‘Fur and Feather’, can be found

at http://www.troutandfeather.com/ .

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 January Bonus 2021 Fly of the Month

 Half & Half

Hook:  Mustad 34007 #1/0 hook. 

Thread:  Danville’s White Flat Waxed Thread.

Eyes:  ‘Real Eyes’ Dumbbells (or dumbbell eyes of choice).

Tail:  Four White Saddle Hackles tied in deceiver style, curve to curve facing ‘in’.

Body:  Pearl Bill’s Body Braid.

Under Wing/Belly: White Bucktail.

Gill (optional):  Red Thread.

Flash/Lateral line:  4 Strands of Pearl Krystal Flash & 4 Strands of Pearl Flash-a-bou.

Wing:  Olive or Chartreuse Bucktail tied in to match the White Bucktail Belly.

If you’re a Salt Water Fly Fisherman, hunting for stripers here in New England, this is a must fly in your box.  It’s a cross between two of the best salt water flies out there, Lefty’s Deceiver and the Clouser Minnow.  You can vary the colors, the size, and the profile of the fly to match almost any baitfish.  I tie these in Olive and Chartreuse.  A tip on tying this fly – the quality of the Bucktail and Saddle Hackle are very important.

To tie this fly, begin by wrapping a layer of thread along the hook shank.  Approximately 1 Dumbbell length behind the hook shank, create two thread bumps between which your going to place your Dumbbell Eyes.  Figure 8 around the eyes.  Include wraps in front & in back of them.  Apply head cement or UV Resin to your wraps.   Next, prepare 4 White Saddle Hackle to be tied in for your tail.  They will extend approximately 2 times the length of the hook shank beyond the bend.  (You can make them longer or shorter depending upon the bait your trying to imitate.) Align and tie in two feathers ‘facing in’ on the far side of the hook, then two feathers ‘facing in’ on the other side.  You may want to add some UV Resin or head cement to your tie in point to prevent the feathers from moving.  Next, tie in a strand of Bill’s Body Braid.   Bring your thread up the hook shank in front of the eyes.  Wrap the Braid forward creating a nice even body.  When you reach the eyes figure 8 the braid around them and tie it off in front of the eyes.  Trim the tag end and bring your thread back behind the eyes.  You are now going to tie in the White Belly of Bucktail.  It should extend to half the feather length behind the bend of the hook.  I tie in my Bucktail much differently than other tiers.  Most tie it in front of the eyes, bend it over the dumbbell eyes, then bind it down behind them.  I just tie it in behind the eyes and bind it down there.  I find that when you bend the bucktail around the eye it tends to splinter with use.  The durability of the fly is compromised. 

Next, invert your fly in the vice.  Take 4 strands of Pearl Krystal Flash and tie it in front of the eyes.  This will serve as your lateral line.  It should extend to half the length of the feather tail.  Now take 4 strands of Pearl Flash-a-bou and tie it in the same way. 

Now tie in your wing of Chartreuse Bucktail.  It should extend the same distance as your fly belly.  Whip finish the fly and apply head cement or favorite adhesive. 

Long Island Flies 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 203 305-3850 or at pdinice@frontier.com . 

Paul's January 2021 Fly of the Month

 Canal Candy

Hook:  Mustad 34007 Size # 1/0 or preferred hook. 

Thread:  White Uni-thread 3/0, Flat Waxed Nylon, or Fly Master Plus.

Eyes:  5.5 mm dumbbell eyes (gold with red eyes or silver with red eyes).

Tail/Fly top:  Chartreuse Rabbit Zonker Strip, barred with a permanent black marker.

Belly:  Pearl White Flash Dubbing Brush.

Head/Gills:  Chartreuse or Olive Flash Dubbing Brush. 

This fly was originally designed for Peacock Bass.  I’ve adapted it here to target New England Stripers.  It’s really just a variation of a ‘bunny fly’.  You can change the colors and size to match bait.  What you want to make sure you do when tying it, is that the Belly of the fly is lighter in color than the Tail/Fly top (zonker strip).  The Head/Gills will be formed with a darker contrasting dubbing brush.   With the dumbbell eyes this fly fishes inverted.  You can use larger eyes to get it deeper and bounce it off the bottom if that’s how you want to fish it.   

To tie this fly, you must first prepare your Rabbit Zonker Strip. It should be approximately 2 to 2 ½ the length of the hook shank.  It’s best to err on the side of having your rabbit strip too long rather than too short.  You can always trim it later if you need to.  Cut your Zonker to length with a ‘V’ cut on the trailing end of the Zonker.  With your hook in the vice, push the hook through the hide side of the rabbit strip, right at middle of the rabbit strip.  Remember, this fly is going to ride inverted.  Place your hook back in the vice in an inverted position.  Start your thread right at the bend of the hook.  At this tie in point, you are going to bind down your rabbit strip with multiple thread wraps.  When doing this, first separate & part the rabbit fur at the tie in point.  This way you won’t bind down any rabbit fur.  Next, move your rabbit strip backward and create a thread dam in front of it.  Now, tie in your dumbbell eyes an eye length behind your hook eye.  Use figure 8 wraps and apply an adhesive ‘of choice’ to the wraps.  Lately, I’ve been using and loving Solarez Bone Dry Resin.  Return your thread to your zonker strip at the bend of the hook.  Tie in your Pearl White dubbing brush of flash material.  You can make your own dubbing brush, or if you are like me, I purchased some made by H2O called Dubbing Flash Brush 1”. 

Bring your thread up back behind the dumbbell eyes.  Next, with touching wraps, bring your dubbing brush forward.  Tie it off behind the dumbbell eyes.  With a tooth brush, stroke the dubbing brush fibers rearward.  Now, pull your Zonker Strip down over the Brush body and tie it down in back of the eyes.  At that same spot tie in your contrasting second Flash Dubbing Brush.  Make a couple wraps behind the eyes, then bring it forward with a figure 8 around the eyes.  Next, make a couple wraps in front of the eyes. Tie it down and cut off the tag end.  Again, brush the fibers rearward with a toothbrush.  Apply cement/adhesive to your thread wraps and you are done. 

Allen Fly Fishing has a great instructional video on how to tie this fly below:

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

Paul's December Bonus 2020 Fly of the Month

 The Conover

Hook:  Fine Wire Dry Fly Hook, Size #10 to #20.

Tying thread:   White.

Tail:  Barbs of stiff, cream colored hackle.  (or use Golden Badger Hackle Fibers.)

Body:  Blend of Muskrat fur and red wool.  Seal and red wool will work too.   

Hackle:  Golden Badger. 

The ‘Conover’ is an iconic Catskill Fly.  It was developed by the Dettes Fly Shop in Roscoe NY.  The Dettes first tied this fly back in 1934 for a client named Scotty Conover.  It has been one of my ‘go’ to flies for years.  Although most tie and fish it in a size #14, I’ve had great success fishing it in a size #20.  When I first started fly tying, I tied this pattern, not because I knew it was effective, but because it had no wings and was easier to tie.  

To tie this fly begin by starting your thread at the mid-point of the hook shank.  Wrap back to the bend of the hook.  For a Size #14 fly, tie in 5-6 fibers of Golden Badger Hackle.  Next, dub a thin noodle for your body.  You are going to create a tapered body extending from the tie in point of your tail, up the hook shank.  You want to end the body approximately 1/3 of the hook shank behind the eye.  Where your body ends, tie in your Golden Badger Hackle.  Oversizing the hackle slightly is how most tie this fly.  This may take 2 hackles for larger sized ‘Conovers’, or just 1 for smaller sizes.  Wrap your hackle forward and tie it off behind the eye.  Whip finish your fly and your done. 

There is a great instructional video by Down by the River 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 .