While I was fishing at the shore I saw a small animal in the water. I called it animal, but really was a scud, what happen is that i had no clue at all about them. I took a stone from the bottom of the the water. About 20 of these “animals” started swimming like crazy. I took one and I tried to hook it but it was too small that i can barely take it with my fingers.

Now, I have tied the scuds…wow I really think it will work without problem. The book says that you can find it at weedy streams or stillwaters, tie it in olive-brown, tan, orange and even pink. I think pink works really good imitating shrimp and trout loves shrimp.

For the overbody, you can either use scud back or a plastic strip. You can get scud back at the fly shops, they came in different color and size, the one I have is maybe too wide. Plastic strips, you can use a empty plastic back, a ziploc is perfect, the good thing about, you can cut it any size you want and is cheaper!

I’m moving along the nymphs, this is the last one so far, now come the wet flies.

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This fly is imitating a green caddis. The real larva size is 11-18mm, usually is color green, but can be tan. The fly could be tie in green, olives-brown, bright green to chartreuse. Depends of the stage you can tied different kind of flies. Larva stage, you can tie Sparkle Larva. Pupa stage, Z wing caddis, deep Sparkle and Sparkle pupa. Adult stage, Elk Caddis and X caddis. Egg-layer stage and Diving Caddis.

Entomology is good to learn, but you don’t need to become an expert in entomology to tie flies, you can do it and learn along you’re out, fishing, where all hatches are going along with the summer months, where all the action is and where you and me live our passion.

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The technique used to make the collar is well explained at the book and really, is quite easy to do because the rabbit fur tends to stay together and not spread everywhere like the CDC for example. To make the collar, we have formed a fur dubbing loop and apply to it a little bit of dubbing wax, this make easy to stick the fur to the thread. Maybe I will try the same technique with the CDC..may work.

At my first fly, the collar’s fur looks too light compare with the fly in the book. I took the fur from my hare’s mask and I took some dark colors, but seem that it wasn’t enough in order to get it.  Is worth to mention that you need to use enough fur in your dubbing loop, because when you’re putting it in the thread seems like is too much, but once you start twist the thread you will see that maybe it wasn’t enough, therefore take extra fur and if you have something left at the end, don’t worry, cut it. The main thing is that you will be done with a nice collar.

We’re moving ahead with the flies and this is getting better, the skills I have been developing so far are just awesome. The instructions in the book are clear and precise; I see some lack of information with materials and sizes, maybe for someone that has previous experiences is not a big deal but for someone like me that never have no experience at all, is something where I’ll be guessing a little bit.

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They don’t ask any color for the wings, but you want to match it all. My two flies have been tied with olive duck tails and it is quite different from the body color, however I like how it looks because after having that kind of problems tying the wins, anything will look good for me. The tricky part with the wings is the size; once more, you need know your proportions and have a medium wide wing, I mean, not too wide, not too narrow.

CDC is here again, this time is quite easy to tie it, it won’t need any special technique, just take a few and tie it beneath the shank. That’s set.  Easy, I hadn’t any bad moments and no reason to get frustrated. One good thing about CDC is that it floats natural, when you are fishing with a fly made in CDC you won’t need to use any floatant .

Almost done all the nymphs, ready to keep going with wet flies, some streamers and dry flies.

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One more time the recipe at the book asks for something but the picture doesn’t match with what they ask for. They ask for four glass bead heads in a hook 10-14 or 2XL. My first fly I have tied in size 12 2XL and no way to get four glass bead heads in it, It won’t fit, no way. Actually the book’s recipes says glass bead head…I found three different sizes in my local Michaels, I took the ones that seems to be the size in the book  but will be nice if these kind of material has a better description from the authors.

My second fly is a size 10, it fit 4 bead heads but it looks not too proportioned but you know what? It looks very nice this fly despite the proportions. Also I would like to mention how nice the Anton dubbing is, it has really long fibers that allow you to pull it and get this long-nice-body.

I’m getting done all the nymphs; the book is taking me to the wet flies and streamers, a hole new kind of flies. Let’s be prepared to my new patterns coming up.

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I tied two flies, one size 12 and one size 14. Seem like this pattern could be tied in small hook size. The techniques are really easy to follow at the book, but I don’t know why I couldn’t get the exact same look than the antron yarn has in the book.  What I mean is a “fat” look, mine is not, but it will work.

I’m moving along the nymphs to the streamers and dry flies. So far the learning curve is starting and it is very interesting. Let see what the book is going to show me, with the new flies coming.

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I have been reading about midge pupa patterns and you can find hundreds of it. This specifically pattern seems to be one the most known, plus is really easy to tie. One more time, the instructions in the book are really precise, although the recipes have some lacks. I have found that the majority of the inaccuracies are on hooks size and thread. So, you need to guess a little bit with the book in some things.

February, the trout season is coming and Calgary is getting warm before everybody think. Hopefully we will have the Bow River open wide soon to start fish all my flies. I’m really excited about the season, finally my passion will be complete.

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A fly, that floats vertically? Wow…I have no idea about this kind of flies. CDC is back and at this particular fly is the key material to make it float. Actually I didn’t know that if you use it you don’t need to use floatant. I thought it was difficult to tie because the CDC, but actually is easy due you will be using just the barbs directly to the hook and not with a special technique. I like it in this way.

Turkey biots are used; the instructions at the book show a really easy way to do it even though is not easy to keep it in the right way at the hook. My good friend Randy, showed me how to make it softer, is really simple and basic….take a towel paper, put some water and put the feather on it. That’s it. The only thing the book doesn’t talk about is the use of the hackle pliers to do the job. Those kinds of feather are not too long and you want to help yourself with the hackle pliers, especially to tie off the feather.

My first fly is a size 12, the recipe asks for 14-20, but I tried a little bit bigger first just to make sure everything is OK and actually, it is. Later on, I try a size 16 and works beautiful. This is one of those patterns really easy to tie in any size, even if it doesn’t look easy.

Couple weeks ago, when I was at the Bow River, it was a Midge’s hatch in the water, really tinny ones, I didn’t know what to use in this case, I tried a stimulator, but mine was too big, size 12 and it looks like Godzilla beside the tinny midges.  I described the experience and the little tinny flies to my Friend Randy, who told me: heyyy those are Midges! So I’m thinking to head out to the bow river one of these warm days (thanks to the sun’s explosions yesterday) and try my Biot Body Midge Pupa. I need to do it, I felt powerless last time, because the browns and rainbows were in front of me! At 10 ft!  Eating midges but not hitting my stimulator….you have no idea how I felt, I was about to go into de water and fish it with my hands. Now that I know what to use, I will do it again. Actually I think this pattern is perfect to the Bow River and it winter hatches, because the wing case in this fly and its vertical floating is going to look the exact same way like the midges.

That’s what fishing is all about, CHALLENGES all the time, challenge to catch a fish, look and find different options to do it and do what you need to do to have fun. I really like to tie my own flies because I have the choice to do what I want in my home and not spend time going to the fly shops (all far away from my home) looking for a specific pattern and maybe they don’t have.  I will spend time and money. I just prefer learn how to tie it and enjoy doing it.

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All these hairs come in different colors, so far I’ll be using natural hair. The book doesn’t have any instructions about the color, but the pictures are really clear and easy to see that all the colors are natural colors.  I have been told that bleached colors are not use too much. When you go to buy hairs, please do not buy any hair curved, is just difficult to tie. Always try to pick the longest, straight, bright and natural hairs.

This fly is just great, I like it a lot, the hair as I told you is difficult, but with a little bit of attention, the result is good. This fly looks more as a dry fly, for the hair but as a nymph…let see if it works! The black body makes a nice match with the natural color of the head.

With the hair, please be careful to do not crowd the eye of the hook; however this fly has a few wraps under the front hair to make sure that the hair won’t be in the eye. Also you need to give a little bit of shape to the head, you need to use your scissors and be careful to not cut all the head. Anyway..Is a really nice fly to tie, I like it a lot, hope it works to make sure that I’ll be tying more of these.

The body material is black yarn, is not wide like polypropylene, the texture look the same and I know it will sink really easy, because it absorbs water quickly. The book says:  “This pattern can be fished in the film as a midge emerger or fished deep as a dropper off a heavier nymph as a searching pattern”. It seems as a real nice-versatile pattern. I will try it with a little bit of floatant and for sure it will work very nice.

This kind of pattern, make me feel motivated to keep going in my CHALLENGE 109, I have 99 flies to go and all year around to go fishing ant try it all. In my first post I talked about go once or maybe twice to go for ice fishing…..I have been four times now and I think I’ll be ice fishing a little bit more. Is a really nice experience although the weather in Calgary is such a crazy weather, last week we were in -35…this week +2. I can understand now why people get sick really easy here.

With cold weather, raining, sunny whatever the weather is, I love fishing, I really don’t care about bad weather if I’m enjoying my passion. But what I really enjoy the most: Share my passion with all of you.   

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Disadvantages of this fly? Is not weighted and is too small to weight it.  You will need to use slip shots in your line and it’s tricky to cast, I found this really difficult to do it because you have your fly in the end of the tippet right? Ok, one foot above you have the split shot and when you’re casting, the fly spin around the slip shots and your line is a mess. I rather prefer to weight my flies with lead wire or tungsten bead heads, much easier.

My fly look nice and really simple, it doesn’t have any technique that makes me have hard times, comparing with all the previous. This one is like the one to take a breath and keep going. You know what? I would have preferred that the author spent these pages in another fly. Yeah, I know! For sure, it will fish like crazy or maybe not, but the simplicity of the Palomino Midge is unique.

My second fly, I have try it with different colors, the book says “Midges come in all sort of colors –red, cream, olive, black, tan, even purple”. Of course you will need to match all the materials and not make it look like a colourful clown.

This coming week is a fly fishing week in Calgary, the 26 will be held the International Fly Fishing film festival.  Another event, Friday 27 until Sunday 29, will be held the Western Canadian Fly Fishing Event. Of course I will be on both, all of both seem interesting to get knowledge and to know people living the same passion. After this coming weekend, one month close to the trout season, get the gear ready and start fishing all my flies and enjoy the nature and amazing Alberta’s landscapes.

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