Earlier this year, I was fishing during a very nice BWO hatch. The bugs were covering the water, it seemed like there were 20-30 flies per square foot on the water.  The fish were going nuts on this bountiful hatch. However, I was having a tough time fishing. I couldn’t tell which fly was mine, it was lost in the crowd of naturals. Even if I could make out my fly amongst the masses, why would a trout choose mine over all the others?  I thought of the “un-match the hatch” strategy, but instead tied on a soft hackle BWO fly, like Richard’s BWO Flymph, and let it swing.

Since the fly was on a tight line swing, I didn’t need to worry about seeing it, I could feel the fish (use the force, Luke). I started picking up fish with this strategy.  Give it a try.

Strolis’ BWO Flymph from Richard Strolis on Vimeo.

The book has 3 main sections:

• Appetizer: an introduction describing the importance of midges
• Main course: very detailed tying instructions & tons of patterns.
• Dessert: Advise for fishing midges/buzzers

The introduction is very brief, just 5 pages. It includes a 1 page “life-cycle of the midge”.  I had an incorrect assumption this book would be a companion to LaFontaine’s Caddisflies or Western Mayfly Hatches by Hafele and Hughes. There is little biological information, not there is anything wrong with that. This is a tying book. To be fair, the authors don’t mention this as a “part” of the book and the subtitle pretty clearly describes the contents. This was my problem.

The next sections are devoted to tying midges/buzzers and are organized by lifecycle: Larva, Pupa, Emerger, and Adult.  Flies for each stage are demonstrated with step-by-step sequences followed by a ton of patterns with photos.  Materials appropriate for the fly patterns is also discussed.  The book has a ring type binder, allowing it to stay open flat on your tying desk for easy reference.

The full color step-by-step sequences are very detailed with 20-30 steps per fly.  One unique thing about these sequences, they flow from the top of the page to the bottom, instead of left to right. But, they are clearly numbered so it doesn’t take too much to get used to.

The patterns come next, and there are many, many patterns for midges. There are 6 patterns per page, with a color photograph, materials list, and credits for the originator and tier. Here are rough estimates for the number of patterns (sorry, too many for me to count):

• Larva – 110
• Pupa – 500
• Emerger – 270
• Adult – 90

Now, that is a ton of patterns, but many are variations of the same pattern. For instance, there are about a dozen variations of Charlie Craven’s Jujubee Midge, presented in different colors.

The final section is about fishing the midge. This section has about 2 dozen articles, each written by different writers. Topics vary from rigging indicators & multi-fly rigs, still and moving water tactics, and matching the hatch.

The bottom line:

The book is well executed in terms of format, photography, and descriptions. Before reading this one, my midge pattern repertoire was defined by the Zebra Midge & Griffin’s Gnat. Now, I have a thousand more ways to wrap thread around a hook.

This is a slight variation, using a stripped peacock body instead of biot like Mr. Harrop uses.  I used the peacock to have a darker body. Also, the Harrop original has more of a 50/50 proportion between the body and thorax.

As most of these start off, lay down a thread base.

Tie in the stripped peacock herl, then build a slight taper with the thread. Before wrapping the peacock forward, apply a thin coat of glue to the thread to improve durability. This one uses zap-a-gap.

Select 2 dark dun CDC feathers and tie in as the under-wing.

Add an over-wing of a single partridge feather.  I used ruffled grouse here because it was handy.

Prepare for the thorax by tying in a couple peacock herls and a size 14 dry fly hackle.  This one uses a dun saddle.  The Harrop pattern calls for a dun dyed grizzly. A drop of glue wouldn’t hurt at this point.

Wind the peacock foward and tie off.

Wind the hackle through the thorax, 3-5 wraps.

Tie off the head, and trim the hackle on the bottom to be even with the hook point.  This allows the fly to ride low in the water.  I have to admit, though, most times I don’t trim the hackle and give it a try. If I’m not getting hits, then I will trim on the river with my nippers.

Here is the completed Henry’s Fork Caddis in a darker, Mother’s Day Caddis, variation.

Hook: Tiemco 902BL, size 14
Thread: 70 denier black
Body: Stripped peacock herl
Underwing: 2 CDC feathers
Overwing: Partridge (or grouse or quail)
Thorax: Peacock
Hackle: Dun saddle or neck

The Daily Fly Paper Blog features some pretty cool flies. Check them out.

Before:

After:

In late June, early July, the Damsels start coming.   Look towards the western side of the lake.

Leeches

Jungle cock nails are a classic material used to tie classic flies, but can be very intimidating to work with.  Here are a few different ways to incorporate jungle cock into your flies.

There’s nothing like the real thing
Unless you are getting some TARP funds, that $250 jungle cock cape may be just beyond your financial reach.  However, most of us are tying to fish, not for the shadow box. Consider getting a value grade cape from online sources. Here is one that I picked up for about $30 from eBay:

Some of the nails are split. This is real apparent for the larger nails near the top of the above picture.  These are easily repaired by putting a drop of head cement on the black band between the white and orange dots, then drawing your thumb over the surface of the nail. This should pull the fibers together, and the cement hold them in place.

The edges of the nails are are not as round and a bit rougher than you would see in the expensive versions, but these work fine for fishing flies.  Search for these on eBay.

You can also purchase a package of 6 to 10 individual nails at many fly shops or online retailers. This method has 2 advantages, its a relatively small outlay, about $1 per nail. Also, you purchase a package of the specific size that you need.  The link provided above goes to Leland Fly Shop, which has a very good price for these Jungle Cock packages.

Birds of a different feather
Another option is to modify a different feather to give an “eye” look. Starling feathers are one such option. The feathers from the back of the starling are black, have that iridescent shine, plus an orange tip.  Add a drop each of white and orange acrylic paint, and you have a reasonable facsimile. (at least close enough to fool a Steelhead that has been away at sea for a few years).

Here is a starling feather, plucked, and painted.  I used a drop of white acrylic fabric paint and a drop of orange on the tip. This one could have used a bit more orange, but you get the idea.

Guinea Fowl feathers already have the white dots and black backgrounds. Find one with a white spot centered on the stem, trim the feather around the spot to leave just the single spot, then color the spot orange with a sharpie. A drop of fleximent or varnish on the feather will polish it off.

The options continue in this article that shows how to create a jungle cock substitute  from partridge feathers.

Wicked, tricksy, false! Gollum, gollum

Please do ignore this section. Use real feathers.  Still here? OK, here is how you can imitate jungle cock without using any feathers. Use a photo realistic copy of a feather. Copy this picture to your PC, print it on Tyvek or similar waterproof paper, and trim the “paper nails” to shape, and tie in. Click on the photo for a full resolution copy.

I created this photo by scanning an actual jungle cock nail, and used PhotoShop to copy/paste.  If you need to resize the photo, you can use an imaged editing software, or just scale it while printing.

Best overall looking method
Use peacock herl from close to the eye. Tie the herl in by the tips, with the concave side up (away from the hook).   This method provides the fullest, best looking, flies. The disadvantage, there are only a few herls close to the eyes. I would use this method for “special” flies (gifts, contests, etc.)

Most consistent outcome
If using strung peacock, tie it in by the tips (not butts), then spin a rope with a dubbing loop. The spinning causes the herl to flare outwards and makes a consistently even rope.  This has the advantage also of reinforcing the herl with the doubled up thread core, which removes the need to rib the fly with wire.  I used 70 denier tan thread on this one. Also, please excuse the cut off hackle barbs; this fly sacrificed, not for a fish, but for a photograph.

Most inconsistent outcome
Tying in the strung herl by the butts had had the worst looking flies, the shaft of the herl sometimes covers up the fuzz. Look for gaps in the coverage.

Background
Peacock comes packaged like nature made it, attached to the stalk (but removed from the bird), or by individual herls strung together.

The best herl comes from the stalk, closest to the eye.

The front side of the herl is convex, the back side is concave. The concave side should be pointing up when you tie in, to get the best flaring when you wind the herl on.

Look closely at the back side of the herl, the stem is much more visible. By tying in with this stem up (concave up), when you wrap, the stem portion gets buried against the hook shank.

Compare the herl coming from the eye and from a string. Notice how the eye herl has even fuzz on both sides of the stem. For the strung herl, one side is better than the other. For strung herl, its best to twist it into a rope, so that the best sides come forward. The eye herl is on top, strung on the bottom (but you could tell that already). These are photos of the “back side” or concave side of the herl.

You may see packages of loose soft hackles in the fly shop. Avoid these.  These packages are the left overs after the best feathers have been used. The package may seem to be a bargin, but in the long run Its better to purchase the full skin, you get the best feathers and the skin itself stores the feathers sorted by size and color.

These packages are useful for providing legs on nymphs, and the very casual soft hackle tier.

Buy the skin.

Partridge is my favorite, each skin has tons of feathers, which are also useful for caddis dry fly wings (spent partridge pattern, for example).

Starling is another popular bird for creating soft hackles. The starling feathers are small, dark, and iridescent.  Very useful for tying down to size 20.

From the bottom, Hen backs are available and these are relatively inexpensive. They are available in a few colors and useful to tie larger sizes of soft hackle patterns (size 14 and larger, from my experience)

The top-most wing is a coot substitute. Several of the classic patterns call for coot feathers.

The wing in the middle is snipe substitute. The purple and snipe is a classic pattern.

Its not legal to sell coot and snipe skins, so the fly shops sell substitutes, bird parts that are similar, but legal.

Quail (on the left), and Ruffled Grouse are two other birds that are used. Pheasant call also be used.

These can be used instead of partridge, if you don’t have a partridge skin.

Sources

I like to always check my local fly shop first before ordering online. Its usually the same price. You can touch and feel the material. Compare several skins and choose the one that looks best to you, look at coloration and for tears and flaws in the skin (many of these are hunted, so shotguns and dogs are part of the processing).

Your local fly shop is an outstanding resource for tying materials, information, and supporters for fly fishing in your area. Give them business if you can.

My local fly shop, though, doesn’t stock many soft hackle materials, so I also shop online.  Most of the online fly tying merchants carry the most popular materials (hen backs, partridge, and maybe starling skins). Here are a few web sites that specialize in soft hackles these materials:

• Blue Ribbon Flies
• Great Feathers
• Jim’s Fly Company

If you have a favorite supplier, please leave a comment. I’ll update this list (and give them a little business).