Scored Some Aunt Lydia's!!!

Laurie and I took a trip to Salvation Army today to see if we could find any good bargains. It's surprising some of the bargains you can find if you really look hard enough. I have picked up a few really nice cast iron pans among other things. Today I couldn't believe when I saw skein upon skein of Aunt Lydia's Rug Yarn. For those that don't know Aunt Lydia's Rug Yarn is what Gary LaFontaine used to tie his famous Emergent Sparkle Pupa and Deep Sparkle Pupa patterns. I now have more yarn than I know what to do with. I will probably put some up on eBay at a good price to share my good luck with my fellow fly tiers.  Here is a sample of what I picked up.

I guess I should put some of this yarn to use and tie up a few Emergent Sparkle Pupas.  Gary LaFontaine spent a few years in scuba gear observing trout and the insects they eat in their natural habitat. One of the observations he made was when the caddis flies were emerging they had a halo of air around their bodies as they were swimming to the surface. To mimic this halo of air Gary developed the emergent sparkle pupa. The antron fibers in Aunt Lydia's Rug Yarn trapped the air between the fibers producing the halo effect he was looking for. This fly has proven itself to be a trout magnet when the caddis are emerging. If you haven't tried them tie one on and give it a shot.

 

Emergent Sparkle Pupa Cream and Brown

(This pattern can be tied in different color combinations)

 

 

 

Emergent Sparkle Pupa Cream and Brown

 

Hook - Mustad 94840 #12-20

Thread - Uni 8/0 Brown

Shuck - Cream Antron Yarn from Over Body

Over Body - Cream Antron Yarn

Under Body - Brown Haretron Dubbing Touch Dubbed

Wing - Deer Hair

Thorax - Brown Superfine Dubbing

 

 

Step One

 

Start Thread

 

Step Two

 

Tie in Yarn on Top and Bottom of Hook

 

Step Three

 

Apply Wax to Thread and Touch Dub.

 

Step Four

 

 

Wrap Dubbing Forward. Body Should Be Very Sparse and Buggy

 

Step Five



 

Bring Bottom Portion of Over Body Forward Creating a Bubble and Tie Off

 

Step Six

 

Bring Top Portion of Over Body Forward Creating a Bubble and Tie off

 

Step Seven

 

Clip a Few Stands of Over Body and Pull Back Creating Shuck

 

Step Eight

 

Tie In Deer Hair Wing

 

Step Nine

 

Apply Dubbing and Create Head. Whip Finish

 

 

 



Go Suck an Egg... Well if You're a Leech

Is it just me or does the weather seem to change for the worse right after you get out of work? All day today was the perfect fall day. Temperatures were in the low 70s with bright sunny skies. That was until I finished work. Then as soon as I get home the clouds started rolling in. It didn't take long for the rain to start and ruin the plans for the evening. From what I am seeing on Weather.com it looks like this weekend is going to be washed out. Well since the weather sucks and egg I guess I should tie up a bunch of Egg Sucking Leeches..

If there is one pattern a steelhead fisherman must have in their box it is the Egg Sucking Leech. Once the salmon have spawned there is abundance of nutrients left in the rivers, whether it be the recently fertilized eggs or the dead salmon themselves. When the steelhead head upstream for their late fall/early winter run they find plenty of nourishment for the trip. Leeches feeding on the recently deposited salmon eggs are a big part of their diet.  The Egg Sucking Leech is the perfect pattern to mimic this food source. This is an easy pattern to tie and can be tied in different color combinations. My personal favorite is purple and hot pink.

 

Purple Egg Sucking Leech

 

 

 

Egg Sucking Leech

 

Hook - Mustad 79580

Thread - Uni 8/0 Black

Weight - Medium Lead Wire (or Equal Substitute)

Tail - Purple Marabou With Purple Krystal Flash

Hackle - Purple Saddle Hackle Palmered

Body - Purple Chenille Medium

Head - Hot Pink Ice Chenille Medium

 

 

Step One



 

 

Wrap Lead Wire and Start Thread

 

 

Step Two

 

Tie in Marabou Tail

 

Step Three

 

Tie in Krystal Flash on Front Side then Double Back for Back Side

 

Step Four

 

Tie in Saddle Hackle by Tip

 

Step Five

 

 Tie In Chenille

 

Step Six

 

Wrap Chenille Forward Leaving Room For Egg

 

Step Seven

 

Palmer Hackle Forward and Tie Off

 

Step Eight

 

 

Tie in Chenille for Egg

 

Step Nine

 

Wrap Chenille Forward Tie Off, Create Small Head and Whip Finish

 

 

 

 

OK Let's see who read this far down. The first person to name the three steelhead pattern I have tied so far will receive two of each pattern. Please leave a comment with your answer along with your email address for me to get back to you.



 



 

 

 

 

 

 



Anybody Feel Like a Popsicle

I know I said Fall is here the other day, but today the Fall weather arrived in full force. After being in the low 80s that last few days today's high of 64 was a shock to the system. It is way too early to turn on the heat.  After seeing Laurie bundled up in sweats, sweat shirt and blanket and she was still frozen like a Popsicle I gave in and turned on the heat. Can you believe that she is the one that loves winter but cannot handle a little drop in temperature? It looks like the weather is going to be the same tomorrow so she is already planning on making a batch of Potato Soup to take the chill off. I cannot wait!

Speaking of Popsicles, I guess tonight would be a great time to head to the closet and tie up some more flies for the Salmon and Steelhead runs. The Popsicle is another great pattern for Steelhead here in Michigan. I am a firm believer that the color purple does attract fish on a bright day and couple that with all the action produced by the marabou this pattern produces fish.

Popsicle

 

Popsicle

Hook - Tiemco 7999 #2/0 - 8
Thread - Uni 8/0 Red
Body - Silver Mylar Tinsel
First Wing - Hot Orange Marabou with Pearl Krystal Flash
Second Wing - Red Marabou
Third Wing - Purple Marabou

Step One



 

Start Thread Just Behind Return

 

Step Two

 

Tie in Mylar Tinsel Just Behind Return

 

Step Three

 

Wrap Tinsel Back to Hook Bend Then Forward to Return

 

Step Four

 

Tie In Orange Marabou by Tip

 

Step Five

Wrap Marabou While Sweeping Fibers Towards the Rear of Hook and Tie Off

Step Six

Tie in Krystal Flash

Step Seven

Tie in Red Marabou by Tip

Step Eight

Wrap Marabou While Sweeping Fibers Towards the Rear of Hook and Tie Off

Step Nine

Tie In Purple Marabou by Tip

Step Ten

Wrap Marabou While Sweeping Fibers Towards the Rear of Hook, Tie Off Create Head and Whip Finish
 

Another version tied much fuller

 





Feeling a Little Rusty

As you can tell from my last posted date, I have been away from the vise and the blog for a little bit. Now that the summertime weather is almost gone, it's time to get back to the vise and tie up a few flies for the fall season!

Fall in Michigan is my favorite time of year. Each fall I look forward to drinking fresh apple cider, eating cider doughnuts, and cooking fresh acorn squash and Brussels sprouts. In my opinion, the weather is perfect and the fall leaf color tours are amazing. Fall also means the Steelhead and Salmon are starting their annual runs. This is a great time for fishing. I'm ready for a trip north to see if I can tangle into a few Cohos while they are still fresh in the rivers. One of my favorite Salmon flies is the Rusty Rat. Not only does this fly produce fish, the colors of the fly remind me of fall. Time to tie up a few and head up to the Pere Marquette!

Rusty Rat

Rusty Rat

Hook - Tiemco 7999
Thread - Uni 8/0 Black
Tag - Gold Oval Tinsel
Tail - Peacock Sword
Rib - Gold Oval Tinsel
Body - Rear Half Orange Floss Front Half Peacock Herl
Under Wing - Orange Floss
Wing - Grey Squirrel Tail
Throat - Grizzly Hen

Step One

Start Thread

Step Two



Tie in Oval Tinsel

Step Three



Wrap Tinsel Forward Three or Four Turns. Tie Off But do Not Trim

Step Four

Tie in Four Peacock Sword Fibers Short

Step Five

Tie in Floss at Midway Point

Step Six

Wrap Floss Back to Tail Then Forward to Midway Point

Step Seven

Wrap Remaining Tinsel from Tag to the Midway Point

Step Eight

Tie In Four Strands of Peacock Herl

Step Nine

Wrap Peacock Herl Forward

Step Ten

Tie in Floss Under Wing

Step Eleven

Tie in Grey Squirrel Wing

Step Twelve

Tie in Grizzly Hen Hackle

Step Thirteen

Make Two Turns of Hackle, Tie Off, Create Head and Whip Finish