Dead patterns?

[halibuthitman]

Flyfishing has come so far in the last 20 years, and flies.. lord, I don't hardly recognize half the new must have go to flies... so many patterns seem to have died or been replaced by crystal flash and plastic legs, wings heads.... so do you have a fly you tie and love that you almost never see in a shop or someone elses box? I love the carrot fly, fishes dry or wet and I used to just slay cutts on it as a kid and still use it often, but everyone always asks me what it is... and what ever happened to the carey fly and all the soft hackles that used to be so prevelent... have copper beads and bobbers replaced everything?

 

[bigsteel]

i think all the new fly patterns are great but i still mostly use older proven patterns.peacock stimulator has been my go to fly this year and i dont see very many people packing around this pattern.partridge and yellow are fun and easy to tie.

 

[OnTheFly]

When you say the carey fly are you talking about the Carey Special? They are lethal. Those flies need to be out of the water during lunch otherwise you'll starve. Anything tied with peacock hurl will work but I have noticed a lot of beadhead and crystal flash patterns. This is not a bad thing. For instance, a flashbcak PT nymph will usually produce more fish rather with one without it. I think it's because the flash makes the wing casing look more like the gas bubble produced just before it emerges. As industry changes and new materials are produced, so will the discovery of different things that help to attract fish.

The best collection of matching the hatch with flies without the razzle dazzle is found in the Jim Schollmeyer Hatch Guide books.
Amazon.com: Hatch Guide for Western Streams (9781571881090): Jim Schollmeyer: Books
BTW, I never leave home without Gold Rib Hares Ear or deer and elk hair caddis.

 

[Irishrover]

I think part of the innovation is to drive interest and sales. Adding a little something new gives people something to talk about and creates that need to have. I thinks it's something like the cell phone/I-pod/I-pad phenomenon.
I stick pretty much to the basic patterns especially with my dry flies, no "bling" there just hair and feathers. Out of necessity I use beads on the heads of my nymphs. It's all about the eyes. When you pass 40 they start to dim, when you pass 50 you really notice it and when you go past 60 you inherit a common verse "Where are my glasses". Putting that bead head on a nymph really helps me get that line through the eye of the hook, the bead is easy to see and just north of the bead is the eye of the hook. I use the crystal flash for wing cases on some of the nymphs and a wee bit on wooly buggers for luck. Most every other fly I tie for trout is pretty much a old basic traditional patteren, black ants, stone flies, and the like.

 

[skunk]

One of my favorite, i still see it around, but its the Griffiths Gnat. I love this fly, usually pull it out to finish the day on just for fun. I usually just get tired of tying the same patterns so I really enjoy all the new stuff...mainly at the bench. I really always fall back to proven patterns on the waters I'm fishing. Doing well then I'll pull out some new just for fun.

 

[OnTheFly]

One of my favorite, i still see it around, but its the Griffiths Gnat. I love this fly, usually pull it out to finish the day on just for fun. I usually just get tired of tying the same patterns so I really enjoy all the new stuff...mainly at the bench. I really always fall back to proven patterns on the waters I'm fishing. Doing well then I'll pull out some new just for fun.

The Griffiths Gnat. One of my favorites also.

 

[halibuthitman]

Growing up on the st. Joe and the St Regis I often fished flies like the sheep creek special and x-caddis and calf tail caddis, droppers were always done under a large stimulator... I hadn't seen a strike indicator until I was 20 yrs old... the point of my thread isn't against modern styles at all... Guess it was just a statement on the speed of change, and perhaps the loss of some old legends...., I mean is there anyone who doesn't have a special place in their box for that one mosquito fly? lol

 

[OnTheFly]

Growing up on the st. Joe and the St Regis I often fished flies like the sheep creek special and x-caddis and calf tail caddis, droppers were always done under a large stimulator... I hadn't seen a strike indicator until I was 20 yrs old... the point of my thread isn't against modern styles at all... Guess it was just a statement on the speed of change, and perhaps the loss of some old legends...., I mean is there anyone who doesn't have a special place in their box for that one mosquito fly? lol

Did I mention that I always pack #16 Adams?

 

[eggs]

Bud light special -- never seen one of those in a fly shop and they murder fish!

 

[FishFinger]

Ditto on the mosquitoes, one side of my fly box is the malaria zone and the Adams in 18 & 20..... The sipping hole in Macks canyon. throws those all day and Kaboom ya come back with a straightened out hook.

When you fished the carrot, did you use it more as a wet or dry fly? I may have tied one or two but I don't think I ever used one. Might be fun to retrofit older patterns to the 21st Century.

I have some ideas for the Carrot 2K...lol

 

[OnTheFly]

Bud light special -- never seen one of those in a fly shop and they murder fish!

Ah yes...the not yet famous BLS. I understand they will slay a trophy Trillium trout.

 

[bigsteel]

also can't say enough about the quill gordon,very effective winter pattern....oh and one otherthing IRISHROVER said BLING...hehhe i like that

 

[halibuthitman]

Ditto on the mosquitoes, one side of my fly box is the malaria zone and the Adams in 18 & 20..... The sipping hole in Macks canyon. throws those all day and Kaboom ya come back with a straightened out hook.

When you fished the carrot, did you use it more as a wet or dry fly? I may have tied one or two but I don't think I ever used one. Might be fun to retrofit older patterns to the 21st Century.

I have some ideas for the Carrot 2K...lol

well,I tried to fish it dry, but I hadn't discovered floatant yet and my tying skills were... well... sub-par, thats how I learned it fished well wet! oh, and the pattern actually fishes better if you tie it with green floss... instead of orange

 

[FishFinger]

I have to go on a quest to find all my older fly pattern books, so I worked the internet and found this gem... lol

YouTube - Carrot_Nymph_W_HD.wmv

They call it "the Carp Carrot". Figured Jim would appreciate this one!

I found a mess of adaptations to the pattern but most if not all have dubbed bodies and soft hackle. Getting that material to stay in the surface tension would be challenging without waxing them up good.

It was good to be reminded of how simple a pattern it is, because that cements the creation of the Atomic Carp Carrot 2K; available in a rainbow of radioactive colors. With a few lead wraps it will sink faster than a Russian nuclear sub.






Ugggg the tail fibers got drawn down the bend of the hook, not the profile I want and the soft hackle fibers are too long also. I'll leave the pict as a "what not to do" till i can get a proper one made and posted.

 

[halibuthitman]

ooooh red oktober!!!!!!!!!!!! nice, I have dabbled with the nymph... but the dry sinks so well that its almost a waste of time... would anyone be game for a weekly get together and mabe a tying nite? talking about flies and flyfishing is damn near as good as doing it...

 

[bigsteel]

ooooh red oktober!!!!!!!!!!!! nice, I have dabbled with the nymph... but the dry sinks so well that its almost a waste of time... would anyone be game for a weekly get together and mabe a tying nite? talking about flies and flyfishing is damn near as good as doing it...

im in

 

[eggs]

when and where?? i got idea's just don't know how to tie'em, yet! might even buy some materals to go crazy with!

 

[FishFinger]

ooooh red oktober!!!!!!!!!!!! nice, I have dabbled with the nymph... but the dry sinks so well that its almost a waste of time... would anyone be game for a weekly get together and mabe a tying nite? talking about flies and flyfishing is damn near as good as doing it...

cool idea, a tying night would be great fun. lets work out the details.

eggs do you have any tying tools presently? On a recent trip to Kaufmanns in Tigard I noticed a basic vice for $29.00. I was amazed because usually nothing is inexpensive there, but being said there the vise sits; next to one that practically ties stuff all by itself. A bargain at $250.00?

 

[eggs]

wow might have to go check that out.. thanks for the tip