Spring is Coming

We have had a legit winter in Colorado.  This is my 4th winter here and it is has been by far the coldest.  The low temps have kept me inside over the past month, which has led to some good old fashioned home cookin' and a great deal of fly tying.  When the weather is nice I have less motivation to tie because I just want to be outdoors.  Spring break (I heart teaching) is in a week and I can't wait to get outside and fish, fish, fish!

Preparing for Spring fishing is exciting because the focus shifts from midges to caddisflies, stone flies, and thankfully after a long winter, mayflies.  I have tied an assortment of different patterns the past two months in preparation for springtime fishing.  If you're new to tying or you're a seasoned vet, the following flies and their recipes are what I have been working on.

Scuds are small crustaceans that are prevalent in many freestone rivers and tailwaters.  I recently read that people tend to hook more fish on them in the morning, but a dead drift will catch you fish on them throughout the day.  Also, when the water color is slightly off color the fish will key in on them due to their vulnerability.  When they die, they turn orange so I almost always tie them with orange scud dubbing. 

Scud Recipe:

Hook: Dai-Riki 125 Size 16 emerger hook

Thread: UTC Light Olive - 70 Denier

Body and Little Tail: Sow Scud Dubbing - Olive, and then Orange in the middle

Abdomen: Wapsi Thin Skin - Tan and Black fly speck

Ribbing: Small gold wire

Use a little dubbing brush to tease out the fibers when you're finished.  They're fun to tie and the look pretty sweet!

Next up is a cased caddis idea I got from Tom Rosenbaeur.  He recently posted about why he thinks fish eat flies with a hot spot.  His take is that the fish see part of the larvae body and then go to town on the entire thing.  Hammer Creek fly fishing gave me the idea for the burnt body, which resembles the casing.

Cased Caddis Recipe:

Bead: Black Tungsten - 3/32

Hook: Moonlit ML054 - Size 14

Thread: 6/0 Danville - Chartreuse 

Body: Dyed Pearl Diamond Braid Root Beer (Tie it in loosely and then singe it every so gently around the body with a lighter)  Don't get that flame too close or you'll over singe it.  

Fishing caddis imitations is often times a great alternative in the spring because many people have mayflies on the brain!

Ironically, I had mayflies on the brain when I tied up this next pattern.  The BWO's have already started coming off in Colorado and once water temps get a little bit warmer the spring BWO hatch will be in full swing.  The following pattern is one of my favorites because I like using quill bodies.

BWO Quill Body Dry Fly:

Hook: Standard Dry Fly Hook - Size 18-22

Thread: 6/0 Danville - Olive

Tail: Natural Coq de Leon (8-10 Fibers)

Body: Peacock Quill - Natural or Olive

Wing: Medium Dun Parapost Wing

Hackle: Medium Dun 

After you tie in the tail and wrap the quill about 2/3's of the way up, tie it off.  Tie in the parapost and then the hackle.  Take a one wrap behind the wing and two in front to keep it upright.  If the fish seem to be keying in on emergers, just snip the hackle off of the bottom of the fly so it will ride in the surface film.

Some recent musings...

Fly tying is therapeutic.  Of course it can be frustrating at times, but if you get into a groove the results can be fantastic.  Anyone can tie flies with just some basic materials although I have accumulated quite an eclectic collection of items over the last 6 years or so.  

Experiment with different things because we live in a world full of fly tying materials.  I recently used some yarn I bought at Hobby Lobby to tie up some Caddis pupae patterns and they look extremely natural and realistic.

This year I am going to carry a vile to the river with me and keep some natural flies/nymphs.  One of my goals is to create flies that closely resemble the naturals on the South Platte, Eagle, and Roaring Fork rivers, to name a few.

Many of you know that I am a teacher and I hate to sound like an old man, but I'm starting to believe that cellphone use is becoming an epidemic.  Maybe I'm saying this because it's almost Spring Break and I'm a little tired of "fighting the good fight" as an educator, but I'm worried.

As a child of the 90's, (see, I'm not that old...) I spent a great deal of time outdoors.  I would explore the creek near our house, bass/bluegill fish, gallivant through woods, ride bikes, and then come inside when my mom called me in for supper.  

I think entertainment has changed.  Kids needs to be constantly entertained, which I know has made parenting more difficult.  If you think about the amount of money that has been put into technology (can you believe the internet is 30 years old?!?) over the past several decades, I guess it makes sense why we are where we are in 2019.

Nature has taken a backseat in the minds of the masses, which I believe will have repercussions in the future...

On a MUCH better note, Colorado snow pack is currently around 130%, so it's going to be a great year on the water!

I think I'll make this the homework for my students over break:

Go outside and take a walk without your phone.

Truthfully, that has been my homework for them before and I need to remember to make it their homework again.

Until next time, tight lines everyone!