The Snortle

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The Snortle, (spelling can vary,) is a typical silli-legs pattern that is tied variously by different local artisans. The recipe for the one shown above is:

Tail: 2 silli-legs about the length of the hook,
Body: peach Antron ribbed with scarlet Antron twisted on top,
Thorax: coarse hare's mask with two pair of silli-legs,
Hook size: 8, (unusual,) to 14, (a tough proposition.)
.. The most common variation is like the standard variety with black wool yarn substituted for the scarlet Antron. Some of the neighbors use a copper or lead wire under-body.
.. The fly is fished on a short, (5 or 6 foot leader and counted down to the weed tops or sides of the subterranean forest. A slow herky-jerky retrieve is the common action used. Brave and intrepid fishers let it sink into the edge of a weed bed and retrieve with a 2" - 3" motion with a 5 or 6 second pause in between.

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The Megafugly

WHEN THE CICADA COME

A Recent Acquisition

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.. There's no denying the impact of the name. [[There is a rather raunchy and bawdy song with the same title by Australian Kevin Bloody Wilson. If you can stand that sort of lyrics click HERE.]]
.. The fly is rather straightforward and is pretty much in the stimulator family. As near as we can tell it's of Kiwi origin. It has traveled well to the United States and is occasionally used with orange foam as a Salmonfly pattern.
.. The fly is a pattern of Clark Reid and there are several references to it on the Web. It's growing popularity will certainly add more "clickable" sources.
.. The local recipe is:
-- TAIL = Bleached Elk Hair
-- BODY = Pheasant Herl
-- OVERBODY / HEAD = Green Foam
-- BODY HACKLE = Badger, or Grizzly
-- LEGS = Barred Mustard-Silli Legs
-- UNDERWING = Chrystal Flash / Midge Flash
-- OVERWING = Fine Bleached Elk Hair
-- FRONT HACKLE = Badger or Furnace
.. There are currently several local variants which include a down-wing and split-wing form. Several body dubbings are being tried. There's even one with a copper wire rib. Soon it will morph into something entirely different and some feather merchant will claim it as their invention.

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.. References:
-- Illustrated Sequence #1
-- Illustrated Sequence #2
-- Verbal Instructions

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High Water Flies

QUICK AND DIRTY

Throw The Rejects

light colors work best

THERE'S A FLY IN MY EYE

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The road to high water success

.. Gawd that's an ugly fly. Wasted a hook on that poor effort! Fingers get fatter and tremble more with age. Give those things to the trash. Put 'em in the reject jar. And so it goes.
.. During every fly tying session there's a fly or two, (in our case many more,) that don't quite make the grade. The proportions are wrong, there are too many fibers in the tail, the hackle is poor, the head is ugly, etc. etc.
.. Most of us either salvage the hooks and do it again, (hopefully better,) or put them in the "reject jar." These flies are just plain ugly. Well, a couple of the crusty neighbors have devised a way to use the rejected flies. In fact two of the old farts actually claim to tie ugly flies on purpose. We nod, smile, and for the sake of civility pretend to believe them.

A once proud dry fly

.. The flies are used as drowned morsels during the high water phase of our rivers, (right now.)
.. Preparation is critical. The flies are rolled and squashed between the fingers and the hackle is well-mussed up and bent.
.. Sometimes the body rolls and the damn thing looks not unlike so much lint from the umbilicus of an orangutan.
.. No flotant is used and the fly is flung with a hope and a prayer into the fishy places of our high water rivers.
.. Fish eat them. Fish eat them with surprising regularity. Fish eat them with gay abandon and gusto.
.. We're not advocating that you lose your hard won tying skills; no way, no how! But on that rare occasion when you mess up a fly we suggest that it may be a diamond in the rough. Choose it, use it, lose it - so what? It just may catch a fish that couldn't see the pretty fly.

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VIEW OVER A GREAT FISHING HOLE

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Winter Worms

USE THESE IN THE WINTER

MYSTERIOUS VISITOR FROM ENGLAND

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.. The switch to artificial worms is early this year. There are some skeptics that poo-poo the San Juan Worm as not fly fishing.
.. Well it may or may not be. Orvis sells them in their fly catalog. Orvis also sells several other "non-fly-fishing-flies." The neighbors love them. The fish eat them with gay abandon.
.. Even the Gob O Worms has made it appearance early and is scoring fish in the 5-pound class, (through the ice.)

.. And then there's the fly at the top of the post. We don't know it's name but it comes from England. We committed the unpardonable sin of stealing it from a neighbor's fly box while their back was turned, (toward us and behind a bush.)
.. We have apologized and further humbled our self in the effort to find out the name and source for this segmented wiggler - to no avail. Our misdeed has sealed the lips of the former friend. The damn thing looks like it's molded of vinyl or some such and reminds us of a sunfish lure, (even though it's not yellow. Now there's a thought!)
.. Several times each year we receive grief in major doses from the neighbors for revealing secrets of place or kind. This post is sure to bring down a flood of ire as well.
.. For the uninitiated we show the various non-flies that the neighbors are using right now. These things are usually tied at home but, many are now available commercially. Even if you avoid their use, they will provide excellent conversation starters and stoppers.

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SAN JUAN WORM

.. The San Juan Worm is often called THE DEVIL WORM. It has become a staple of fishers that want to catch fish. Many pretend it's an imitation of a Herculean blood worm. That may be. Perhaps fish dream of these things and lose control when one floats by. Currently the red variety is in vogue on the rivers while the purple or two-toned variety is being used under the ice.

GOB O WORMS

.. The Gob O Worms is a much disparaged cluster of San Juan Worms on the same hook. It has the distinction of being invented locally, (or so we've been told.)
.. It can spark vile and evil outbursts from fishers that are usually friends, (LINK.)
.. It is featured on websites around the region, (LINK,) and is now sold commercially by Idylwilde Flies, HERE. And sold as well by the Driftless Angler, HERE.
.. Purple, puce, flesh, and red colors are all being used right now. The fish are inhaling these at a record pace.

APPS BLOOD WORM

.. This year many of the neighbors that usually kindly provide us with flies have turned to the Orvis Catalog. There are some offerings that suit their fancy and they bought some for pattern prototypes.
.. The Apps Blood Worm is the current favorite from Orvis, (LINK.) It turns out that the fly is just a San Juan Worm with some "flexi floss" tied through the body and separated at the bow and stern. The little red darling is not as effective under the ice as on the river. But on the river it's quite the phenomenon.

MEDUSA (red)

.. Another San Juan Worm variant from Orvis is the Medusa, (LINK.) This is, presumably, a fly that will not get you funny looks from your friends.
.. It's supposed to represent a blood worm cluster, CLUSTER WHAT? It is sold in several colors which suggests that blood worms are chameleons, or have projectile tongues, or some such. This creation is yet another SJW variant with a fat body and clipped floss.

MEDUSA (pink)

.. The pink variety featured by Casters Online Fly Shop is doing well under the ice. It's being used with bits of garden hackle and the fish seem to prefer the artificial.
.. Most of the neighbors, feel that both varieties are the same species and that the folks that tie for Orvis ran out of red and used pink.

SHAKY WORM

.. A minority opinion is that the red is male and the pink is female. As soon as we capture some in the seine we'll let you know.
.. Orvis is kind enough to provide even another interesting worm imitation called the SHAKY WORM. It's similar to the rest of these SJW variants but has a pretty glossy body. It also comes with a bit of Phly Phising Philosophy.

MONEY QUOTE:

This is not fly fishing heresy. The fact is trout eat worms and not just the ones we fish with. Worms exist in the stream and imitating a worm with artificial patterns is no different than imitating an insect. If it works, use it. Trout fishing worm pattern in red.

.. We suspect that if these things catch fish in the numbers that the neighbors are reporting that feather merchants across the continent will get in on the selling.
.. It will be interesting to see if the local purists eschew profits for disdainful posturing. Now there's a can of . . . .

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