A NEIGHBORHOOD THING

THE BEAD HEAD AWESOME

Nothing Too Special

it was just hidden for the year

WALLPAPER:  THE BEAD HEAD AWESOME

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.. So, it has come to pass; we promised not to post this fly until fishing was closed in Yellowstone National Park and on the Firehole River.
.. This little, (or big,) nymph was part of an exercise in frugality. The neighbor kids decided to clean up their tying benches and use the scraps cluttering up the dusty corners of the area. There were dozens of flies tied and joked about. They were winsome and serendipitous and cute and - in this case "AWESOME."
.. As it turns out this fly was fished with amazing success on the Firehole River through the whole season and became a 'go-to' fly for a couple of the fishers.We were not privy to information about this fly or it's success until mid September and it was, even then, through a slip of the well lubricated tongue of one of the neighbors. Threats were made and believed and the promise extracted and kept.
.. This fly is simple and resembles so many other peacock herl flies. The hackle is cheap bits of imported hen hackle. The thing that sets this little devil apart is the single small white feather, (cut from the center of a white turkey flat.)
.. The AWESOME closely resembles a few of the neighbor's other favorite nymphs: the "$3 Dip," "Serendipity," and "Shop Vac." Those flies are of the smallish variety and usually tied on hooks of the size 16 and 18 variety. The bead head Awesome is a big brute, (the result of many hooks not used during the season.) It's a size 12, (or 10 - or - horror of horrors  --- size 8.)
.. The neighbors are fishing this fly right now in the happily accessible waters of the South Fork of the Madison River. Muddy roads are no detriment to neighborhood fishers of the dedicated variety. A little snow in the forecast will not slow them down. Deep snow will  bring out the sleds. For now it's San Juan Worms,  Woolly Buggers, and the giant AWESOME.
.. We've been offered a ride to the secret access to some deep pools where the runners are hiding. we'll give you the hint that we were given: "turn left at the dead elk."

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WALLPAPER:  LEFTOVERS

A Midsummer Day's Dream, (sorry Will.)

IGNORED BY MOST

Very Very Very Effective

plebeian, mundane, sexless

COACHMAN

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.. It's just not sexy. It's just not full of fancy high tech proprietary material. It did not spring full blown from the wet dreams of world famous guides or feather merchants.

IN THE BEGINING

.. It is simply too simple to tie to be attractive to aficionados of the esoteric fly. It's a pattern that has roots deep in the past, and that can't be good.
.. It has caught so many fish that it's a sin to use it. Catching becomes almost automatic.
.. Maybe that's why most contemporary masochistic anglers ignore it in favor of the latest and greatest.
 .. The original recipe is plain vanilla: peacock herl body, furnace hen hackle. End of story.
.. Later iterations became the lead wing coachman and various other modifications including: the fan wing, royal, and Wulff variants.

THE ROYAL SORT

.. The original English fly most probably had no tail. When a tail is added today it is usually Golden Pheasant tips, as in the conventional American invention, the Royal Coachman.
.. Interestingly the original commercial Royal Coachman of the 1870's, (thank you Mary,) had a barred wood duck sprig.
.. We just happen to have a couple of Scarlet Ibis skins left over from the Herter's days and personally really like the red tail.
.. What-so-ever is modified, there is one constant: the peacock herl body . . . hmmm!
.. All this by way of saying a few of these in appropriate sizes and presentations can suffice for almost all of your catching needs in mid Summer.
==> Float it and it can be a beetle, or ant, or midge, or . . .
==> Sink it and who knows what it is but it catches trout.

FOAM FAN WING SORT

.. We only mention this now because, earlier today, we took a fish on nearly every cast for the better part of two hours.
.. It was on our favorite small water that is easily accessed by a trail head with a parking lot and just happens to be full of eager Brook Trout.
.. It's a cool and shady place where the trail is level. The river is seldom more than a short cast from the trail. The fish will leap into your waders if you are foolish enough to bother getting into the water. We like it.
.. We know we won't see you there. It fishes best with old fashioned flies that are easy to tie and don't cost $40.00 a dozen.
.. It doesn't require a two hour hike to famous and scenic meadows. It's trail is full of friendly bicycle riders, roller blade speeders, mothers with strollers, and children without adult supervision.
.. It's not post card Yellowstone and certainly not attractive to the elite fishers seeking something other than catching.

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UPPER NOTELLUM RIVER - SEEN FROM ABOVE

Little Jewels

BLESS THE HOOLIGANS

Flies Tied In Advance

don't use these right now

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.. So, the neighborhood kids have come through again. They heard us talking about the current magnificent hatches and easy catching on the Firehole River.
.. They took pity on us and gifted us with the appropriate flies for the soon to be encountered "other fishing."

Yellow Belly Parachute

.. The "other fishing" occurs immediately after the poor fish get hammered to a bloody pulp by the current crop of visitors. Despite rumors to the contrary - fish in the Firehole River will not eat just anything.
.. Very, very soon now they will become fussy. They will eyeball your flies and not eat them. They will confuse the experts by eating anything but the stuff sold over the counter at the feather merchants' shops.
.. This fishy behavior will engender a tying frenzy by pros and amateurs alike. They will invent. They will innovate. They will create. There will be a new crop of latest and greatest flies. New materials will be incorporated into old flies. Old flies will be re-named and called something catchy - contemporary merchandising - dontchaknow.

Copper Nice-N-Easy

.. The kids in the neighborhood just made a raid on the local fly shops. They were well behaved. They didn't smirk or giggle. They didn't guffaw 'till they soiled their shorts.
.. They gently cruised the musty aisles. Aisles filled with bins of flies. Aisles decorated with cute gadgets and plastic packaging. Aisles surrounded by pink and chartreuse pastel shirts designed for the liberation of $100.00 or more.
.. And, then, (with eyes as sharp as the visiting ospreys,) they have decided what they should tie, (or modify, or copy.)
.. These kids are on the water every day. They see stuff. They remember stiff. They tie stuff. They fish the stuff. These are just scraps. They call the stuff  "Bits O' Fluff."

Brown And Tan Flossy Spinner

.. They tie these flies while watching old movies or the "X" Games. on HULU. Sometimes they rent a "tying movie," such as an old Abbot & Costello flick - easy to follow without watching.
.. They crank out buckets of flies. On rare occasions there are even two or three flies that are the same. (or nearly so.)
.. Mostly the flies are quick to tie. Mostly they are devised from scraps and other readily available bits currently strewn across the tying bench, (or whatever.) Bless their hearts, they give us some. A dozen of each, more or less.
.. These flies are in no way standardized. They are often too small for us to understand. They infrequently have names. When they have names they are certainly not names that would entice most of the sophisticated technical fishers of the fly.

Loop Wing Cripple

.. As we've mentioned before, the flies usually come with a foot or so of monofilament securely attached. Bless the kids. We asked them for a few without tippet material for some photos.
.. This time they did soil their shorts. The thought that some serious anglers might see the flies and actually use them made the kids roll on the floor holding their sides. They thrashed our miniscule living room to a froth.
.. Happily, not many serious or technical anglers read these posts. They are too busy avoiding catching by fishing the correct flies. The flies fished by the bejeweled and highly decorated, and heavily armored fishers  have names that would make any advertising executive swoon.

Itty Bitty Caddis

.. These flies are presented here for your amusement. They come with no guarantee or implied warranty. We've censored the names in the interest of modesty and our lack of prurient interest.
.. We can tell you that they, (or reasonable facsimiles thereof,)  have been fished by the kids.
.. The kids have caught fish with all of them - BUT - they fish where most do not - AND - they do things unheard of in the guide books and expert publications.

WINTER CANDY

WE CAN'T EVEN SEE IT

The Killer Midge

bring your woolies

SIZE 22 IS THE "LARGE" SIZE FOR THE KILLER MIDGE

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.. It's a bit brisk outside right now, (-19 F.) Keeps the Hoi Polloi down. Some of the neighbors too!
.. On the other hand, the young lions of the neighborhood are making hay while the temps are down.
.. There's a certain bit of stuff in the fiber of 5 or 6 of our younger neighbors that demands that they fish, weather be damned! They are courageous, immune to the cold, and very facile in the art of tying "fun flies."
.. The KILLER MIDGE is one of the current favorites of these folks. It's a size 22, (or 24, or 26 - yikes,) standard, blue-black midge pattern with a couple of simple, (they tell us,) modifications. The upright fan wings made from very small chicken feathers are the most noticable modification. Outriggers made of fibers from chuckar partridge rump feathers is another added accoutrement.
.. The body is made of black Antron. The tail is pheasant fibers. Everything is way too small to see if you're of the mature variety of fisher.
.. Well greased, (or the contemporary equivalent,) these little dumplings float high, are easy to see, (relatively,) and are irresistable to the trout on the Madison River between the lakes in the Hebgan Tailwater.
.. The neighborhood jargon refers to midges that hatch on the sunny days during the winter as 'snow flies.' Bright sun brings them out in the late morning or early afternoon. Catching is best on still days - of course. It's been perfect for about a week now.
.. Two nights ago it was -26 F, last night it was -22F. The cold air bothers neither the fish nor the flies, nor the kids. We watch.

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At -20 F particulates leave the air, the clouds thin out and the sky gets real big.