The Central Alberta Fly Tying Club meets during winter months. Weekly tying sessions begin at 6:30pm. Call Bob Vanderwater 403. 347. 3802 or email rdvanderwater@gmail.com
A few days in the backcountry in Banff National Park was just what Karen and I needed. Getting unplugged and immerse ourselves in fly fishing and nature is always welcome. We always feel recharged and happy! We are lucky we can hoist a pack full of our camping and fly fishing gear and hike. The rocky mountains call us all the time. We love getting off of the beaten path for a few precious days. We have been in the backcountry several times this summer. We appreciate every moment we can get enjoying one of the most spectacular places in the world. The amazing thing for us is the fact that the mountains are just a few hours from our front door!
We have been to these lakes before. The fly fishing was amazing.
...and the best part, it was all dry fly fly fishing. Chernobyls rock!
I wanted to share with you three neat little patterns that Karen and I have been successfully using in the west country on rivers. They are tiny and they are definitely fish catchers. The recent warm sunny weather has brought out lots of fly fishermen/women in the last 10 days or so. Trout will quickly get selective and cautious when they see flies of all sorts. I carry these three patterns and they have saved the day more than once. They are tiny and quite straight forward to tie. Take a look!
Charlie Craven is the originator of the Poison Tungsten Nymph. The blue rib on a grey body seems to get the attention of trout but you have to tie them small, real small. I like tying them sizes 18- 20. That will make my buddy Rick smile. Take a look below and see how Charlie Craven ties this simple little nymph!
Griffiths Gnats represent lots of things. Midges and at times, ants. Tie them small. They are simple to tie, because there are only 2 basic materials.
The micro chernobyl is a Bob Edens pattern. I think Bob developed these tiny offerings for the PMD hatch! I tie them size 18. They are straight forward to tie but hard to see on the water. So I often fly fish with these by adding a larger second fly as a sighter. I have also seen fly fishermen use a tiny piece of white packing foam about 2 feet ahead of the fly so they know where it is on the water. I like using a parachute adams with this fly trailing about 2 feet back.
Mini Me (Bob Edens originator)
Hook: TMC 200R size 18
Thread: Grey 8/0
Tag: Glo Bright orange or red (tiny)
Underbody: Oliver super fine dubbing (or just thread)
Body: Grey 2 mm foam
Legs: Small (just on front)
Sighter: 1 mm razor foam orange
Colin and his buddy Bruce enjoying the beautiful weather!
My 6 year old grandson wanted to know what the flies were in this small container. I told him water boatmen. He went and found his bug book and found the page. It was a very cool moment!
I have heard from two reliable sources that the beginnings of boatmen and backswimmers has started. I even saw a throat sample (thanks Adam). With the exceptionally warm weather as of late, I wonder how this will go but as the water cools, this activity is always one of my favourite.
The throat sample above was a few short days ago! (Thanks Adam)
The samples below of both boatmen and backswimmers is to help you tie your imposters!
