Christmas Tree Tube

So I decided to try and tie up a sparse and gangly tube fly last night. I wanted the fly to have a very large profile with minimal material, to allow the fly to sink fast while keeping its profile.

I think the result turned out quite well, I will be getting this fly out for a test this week end. 

Love the look of the Amherst tail with the green Ostrich, it just looks fishy

I think I will try to tie this again and go for a fuller look. 

Thanks

Chris

Wintruder Time

O winter how I love thee,

Woke up to some nice fluffy white stuff, which for us Steelhead Junkies means its time for our beloved Intruder to go for a swim.

Basically the "Intruder" is just a big fly that is meant to bring out the aggression in a fish. Since fish don't have fists to punch with, they resort to eating/biting the fly. There are hundreds of intruder patterns out there, each pattern is different, usually tied with specific fish and water in mind, but typically they are noticeably larger than traditional flies

If you have never taken a Steelhead or Salmon on a Intruder pattern it is worth trying it out, the hits/takes are often extremely aggressive and explosive and will leave you speechless with mass amounts of adrenaline pumping through your veins.

Here are several intruders that I call "Wintruders" I usually tie up a couple in different colours just in case the fish are picky.

Purple Wintruder

Black Wintruder (a favourite of mine, works very well in stormy weather)

Pink Wintruder

Hope you enjoyed the post, handle intruders with care, they can be very addictive to fish and tie, and because of their size and weight they can really hurt if you hit yourself with one on a cast............

Chris

F.I.T.S. By Guideline

I managed to get a hold of some of the F.I.T.S Tubing by Guideline, so I thought I would try to tie up some "Scandinavian style"tubes.  Anyone who has fished big flies with me knows how I feel about tubing....... I have had my fair share of tubing break on me in the cold temperatures I fish in and I have never really liked the look of tube flies. So far I have enjoyed tying on the Guideline system and with the addition of some of their cones to the flies it gives the flies a much cleaner look. So hopefully the tubing holds up for me in the winter. 

                                     

These flies are just the ticket for fall Atlantics here in the rapids.

 

Close up of a turbo cone and the all important Jungle Cock

Fish eye view

I will definitely be tying more of these flies in hopes of big Salmon and Steelhead

Chris

Order Up!

Hey everyone, I just finished up an order of flies that will be heading up to the Misty Mountain Fly Shop hopefully tomorrow, if the weather clears up....

This is a hairwing spey, but instead of just tying the squirrel on top of the fly I spun it in a dubbing loop and used it as a collar. 

Small hairwing tied on a double, hopefully will catch some nice Salar next season.

This is my favourite variation of the Green Butt Skunk, it has a buggier look to it than the original.

Smelt and Shiners are a staple for Steelhead and Salmon here in the Great Lakes, so it's only natural for us to be drawn to flies that imitate this immense food source. 

Again another Shiner/Smelt pattern with some eyes added to it for some weight in the winter.

This is more of a flesh fly to emulate rotting salmon flesh, sounds gross but it's effective. 

Here are 4 different leech patterns that are tied on small cut off salmon irons, the rabbit is wrapped around some dacron braiding to allow for maximum movement in the current. 

There is a mix of Intruders, Streamers, Speys, and Leeches

Again these flies will be heading up to the Misty Mountain Fly Shop tomorrow, so if your looking into getting in to some Steelhead, stop by the shop and the owner Adrian will get you set right up.

Thanks

Chris

First Step by Step - Autumn Spey

Tonight I decided to try my hand on a step by step fly tying tutorial. I am going to call this the "Autumn Spey".


Autumn Spey - Step by Step

Hook: Bartleet Traditional by Partridge

Tag: Tinsel wrap

Tail: Golden Pheasant crest

Body: Olive Seal Fur with silver tinsel ribbing

Body Hackle: Ringneck Pheasant rump feather ( I choose one with a slight reddish tone)

Collar Hackle: Ringneck Pheasant (Schlappen type of feather, not sure what its actual name is)

Wing: Bronze Mallard

Eyes: Jungle Cock

1. Three to four turns on flat silver tinsel for the tag.

2. Golden Pheasant crest tied in for the tail.

3. Tie in a piece of flat silver tinsel for the ribbing, then build a body of olive seal fur dubbing (seal fur is really an amazing dubbing and i highly recommend trying it if you haven't already.) About half way through dubbing the body tie in a Pheasant rump hackle then continue dubbing.

4. Wrap the tinsel forward evenly spaced, then follow with the pheasant hackle, then tie in the black schlappen like feather for the collar

5. Fold the Schlappen feather so that the barbs (or fibres) lay back, then wrap for the collar.

6. Tie in a matched pair of bronze mallard wings

7. Add Jungle Cock for eyes.

Finished fly - Fish eye view

Vise View

Hope you enjoyed my first tutorial. If you have any questions about tying this fly or any other fly, just send me an email and I would be more than happy to help.

Chris

Army of Green Butt Skunks

Today I tied up an order of Green butts, They are a slight variation on the original pattern but they will fish!

The butt is a green dacron braiding, which really contrasts against the black seal fur body.

Simple but effective fly!

Here is a picture that shows the contrast between the butt and the body

Instead of white calf tail for the wing I give the front a couple wraps of natural gadwall, I think it adds a real fishy look to the fly

Enjoy

Chris

New Camera

So its been too long since I have posted,

But now I have a new camera.... well not new..... my wife just found the battery to the old one
So now I can post some better pictures which means ill be posting much more
Here are 4 flies that I tied up the other day, the first three are for an order and the last one is for me :)

The first fly is a pretty simple intruder tied on a Waddington shank
It has a nice minnow look to it that the great lakes fish feed on, good fly for late season Steelhead.

This is a streamer for Atlantics, its meant to look like a smelt / shiner and has some real nice movement in the water, great early season fly when the fish first start to trickle into the river.

This fly is tied on a double salmon hook, its meant for summer Atlantics, meant to be swung up top on a long line for those finicky fish. 

The last fly is for me and it is a Akroyd, it is tied on a 2/0 McNeese. These monster hooks are a pleasure to tie on and they look fantastic. I will be giving this fly a swim this week end while i search for some Steelhead.

Hope you enjoyed the post

Chris