Christmas Flies

Merry Christmas Everybody!

Tonight we tried something completely different. The theme was Christmas flies and the goal was to mount our creations in a clear ornament for our tree at home. Well the creative juices flowed and everybody had a great time designing their Christmas flies. The 20 fly tyers were only limited by the material we had on hand. I enjoyed seeing fly tyers of all ages having a great time. If you held your jaw just right, you could mount your creation in a bulb that could be proudly displayed on your tree at home.

I will have details about the Phil Rowley Workshop out shortly. The workshop is March 9th and the theme is dubbing loops.

Karen and I would like to thank all of you who helped with a donation to help fill a Christmas hamper for a needy family.

Our next fly tying session is Monday January 7th, 2013. Have a fantastic Christmas holiday.

Bob

 

Doug wants to fish this creation on his next steelhead trip.

Salmon Flies with Dr. Bill Young

Hi Everybody!

Seventeen fly tyers came out tonight to take in Dr. Bill Young's presentation on techniques he uses to tie salmon flies. Bill and his son Will spent some time this past summer in Alaska chasing King Salmon with a spey rod. The guys came up with two patterns that worked very well. Of course these two patterns can easily be applied to fishing for other species like bull trout and steelhead. The neat thing about the flies we tied tonight is the endless colour combinations you could use.  The one fly pattern we tied was a tube fly. The materials we used reminded me of the television show MacGyver. Bill used paper clips for the tube needle and a standard plastic q-tip for the tube. I was impressed.

Next week is our final session before Christmas. We will be tying some Charlie Craven patterns!

Dr. Bill Young

Salmon Streamer with a Stinger

Hook: size 2-4  4xl streamer hook

Stinger: Octopus hook

Tail: Marabou

Body: Crystal chenille

Body: Rabbit strip

Collar: Marabou

Salmon Tube Fly

Tube: Plastic Q-Tip

Body:  Crystal chenille

Collar: Black hackle and marabou

Time to create some colourful salmon flies!

Will and Bill 

Honouring Bob Quigley

Hi Everybody!

Twenty seven fly tyers came out tonight to tie parachute flies and to tie a signature fly of the late Bob Quigley. Bob Quigley developed a cripple fly pattern that was a staple of so many fly boxes. Many a fly fisher (including me) has been caught fishing dry flies on the surface when an emerger would have been the answer to their fustrations. Tonight we tied a Quigley's Cripple that is imitates an emerging green drake. The rest of the evening, we focused on tying parachute flies. We started off with a parachute adams and then we tackled a PMX, ...a Parachute Madam X.

Monday evenings are lots of fun. We certainly have a great time and we learn lots of fly tying techniques from each other.

Next week Dr. Bill Young is our presenter. I wonder what Bill has up his sleeve? 

It was Bob's turn at the front of the class.

Tonight's flies.

 

Green Drake Cripple (Bob Quigley originator)

Hook: TMC 200R size 12

Thread: Olive 8/0 or 6/0

Shuck: Olive antron

Body: Olive ostrich

Rib: Yellow wire

Wing: Deer hair

Hackle: Olive or grizzly

High Viz Parachute Adams

Hook: Standard dry fly hook size 12 to 18

Thread: Grey 8/0

Tail: grizzly and brown hackle

Wing post: orange and yellow macrame cord

Body: Grey antron

Hackle: Grizzly and brown

Parachute Madam X

Hook: 3 XL dry fly size 8-10

Tail: Deer hair

Body: Golden stone antron

Rib: Gold wire

Wing: Deer hair

Legs: rubber

Parachute post: White macrame or polypropylene 

Hackle: Grizzly died olive

Thorax: Peacock herl

Concentration

Annual general Meeting of the Central Alberta Chapter of Trout Unlimited

The Annual General Meeting of the Central Alberta Chapter of Trout Unlimited is Thursday December 6th at 7p.m. The meeting will happen at the offices of Collins Barrow, #300, 5010-43 Street in Red Deer.

The group is looking for new members to work along side some very experienced fly fishers who are always looking to enhance our waters.

Micro Leeches

Hi Everyone!

Twenty one fly tyers came out to tie three different micro leeches. Larry Prowse showed tonight's group how to tie a modified Glen's Leech, a black micro leech and a balanced leech that is a real winner in the fall. I have seen first hand how effective all three of these patterns have been. Glenn's Leech can be tied in dark brown, black, olive and tan. Glen's Leech can be teamed up with a chironomid with excellent results. Fall is a great time for micro leeches. Tie micro leeches in your favourite colours including black, maroon, olive and brown. All three patterns fish great under a strike indicator.

Next week our theme is parachute flies. See you then.

Larry Prowse

The Gang at Work

Glen's Leech

Hook: Mustad C49S size 10-14

Bead: 8/0 red glass or 3/32nd brass bead

Weight: 0.015 wire

Thread: Red 8/0

Tail: Pine Squirrel Micro Zonker Strip

Rib: Red wire

Body: Black marabou

Balanced Micro Leech

Hook: Mustad jig hook with a pin tied on to extend the body

Bead:1/8 hot orange tungsten

Thread: Black 8/0

Tail: Black marabou

Body: Brown olive ice dub or brown/olive polar chenille

Micro Leech

Hook: C49s sizes 12-14

Thread: Black: 8/0

Bead: Hot orange 1/8th

Body: Black semi seal dubbing

Tail: Black marabou

Excellent Start to a New Fly Tying Season

Hi Everybody!

A new fly tying season is up and running. Last night 22 fly tyers learned some modifications on two old reliable flies and a new golden stone pattern that is a real winner. The day started off with a lot of excitement with the arrival of my twin grandsons. I was more than thrilled as you can imagine. 

Next Monday we will be meeting in the Science Lab at West Park Middle School (same school, different room). See you next week!

Flashback (modified)

Thread: Red 8/0

Hook: Mustad C49S size 12-16

Bead: Gold 7/64th or copper

Tail: Pheasant

Shellback: Mirage opal tinsel medium

Body: Pheasant

Rib: Copper wire (small)

Thorax: Peacock herl

Legs: Pheasant

The Fly Formally Known as Prince

Thread: Red 8/0

Hook: Mustad 3906B sizes 12-14

Bead: 7/64th gold

Tail: Brown/amber goose biot

Body: Peacock herl

Rib: Gold or copper wire (small)

Legs: Brown hackle

Wing Buds: Mirage opal tinsel (medium) or holographic tinsel

Golden Stone (Andy Larkin originator)

Thread: gold or yellow 8/0

Hook: Czech nymph hook or TMC 200R size 10-12

Bead: Black 1/8

Tail: Amber goose biots

Body: Golden stone antron or ice dub

Shellback: Thinskin natural mottled

Rib: 5x tippit

Legs: rubber (optional) or partridge

As you can see, I had my hands full earlier in the day!

The 2012 Year in Review, ...slide show

Hi Everybody!

I put together a slide show of last years activities and fly fishing action. Take a look right here!

Enjoy!

Bob

The New Tying Season Starts this Monday November 19th

• Hi Everybody!
• 
  
• Well another year is upon us for the Central Alberta Fly Tying Club. Dust off your tying vice for Monday November 19th at 7 PM. We are very lucky to again have West Park Middle School library as our meeting spot for another year.
• 
  
• New fly tyers are certainly welcome to join us.
• 
  
• As with past years, there will be a $3.00 charge per session to cover the cost of the materials.
• 
  
• Remember to bring the following for a tying session:
• 
  
• tying vice
• bobbin
• thread (red, black, green, tan, orange and yellow 6/0 and 8/0 cover most patterns)
• whip finishing tool
• brushable crazy glue (Michaels:take a coupon and get 40% off/run off from the Internet)
• sharp fine scissors (Michaels usually has some good ones)
• spool of small copper wire
• deer hair stacker
• dubbing loop tool
• 
  
• If there are any special materials for a tying session, we will post them on our blog!
• 
  
• See you on the 19th of November, that is this Monday!
• 
  
• Bob

Burrr, ...Almost the End

As I stumbled around the kitchen this morning trying to pour my morning coffee, I glanced at the outside thermometer. It read  -10C, burr. Is it possible that some of our fishing holes are still ice free? Barely!  Larry wants to fly fish right until winter sets in. It has been an amazing year for fly fishing and we did not want to give up on the season just yet.

Today we pulled into the Hansen's Reservoir parking lot. We were quite surprise to see lots of open water even though the mercury was sitting at -4C just after lunch. Larry smiled, I was indifferent although I saw a few photo opportunities to keep me entertained. You know that the snake guides and tip top were going to freeze but we were warm and we might find some willing trout.

Larry headed off to his favourite spot. Well it was game on right from the first cast. Most of the takes were subtle. We caught several impressive fish considering this is a put and take fishery. Maybe the regulars have figured out that the rainbows taste like your basic garden dirt. The 4 hours that we spent at Hansen's were quite enjoyable. One day this week, this stretch of water is going to have its winter skin. Sigh.

Just about time to get the fly tying club up and running. We will probably get started the third Monday in November!

Stay warm!

Can you see the rainbow under the ice?

We had to deal with frozen snake guides and tip tops all afternoon.

Pike on the Fly

Mt buddy Phil Rowley was filming a television show with Michael Short from Lets Go Outdoors TV. It was all about pike on the fly. Larry and I came out to help by running the camera boat during the shoot. Well we had a great day, especially when Michael Short caught a trophy pike that was close to 20 pounds. My buddy Larry had never caught a pike on the fly. He said that he would have been happy to catch a few hammer handles on the fly. That did not happen. Instead Larry tied into a massive pike that was well over 15 pounds. It may have been 20 pounds although we had no way of weighing the monster. Fly fishing is often about great moments. We had several today.

Larry tangling with a massive northern pike.

I think the smile speaks for itself!

Filming with Michael Short from Lets Go Outdoors TV with Phil Rowley

"Crazy Good" Late Season Cutthroat Fly Fishing

Larry and I talked about how few days we have left before our cutthroat streams close at the end of the month. Today was perfect, sunny and warm. Mid October days like today are not to be waisted. The action today was nonstop. We were fishing with size 18 flies and the cutties loved them. We arrived at 10 o'clock with Tiki and Pepper. Tiki always leads the way because he knows this beat of river. A short bush walk led us to our stretch of river. The fun part of our day was finding out that the fish were not where we expected them to be. The fly fishing window is a lot smaller this time of the year. The cutties were rising in the afternoon and that made for some fun times.  The fishing was over at 3:30 pm or so and our furry trail guide took us back to the van. What a great day.

Picture Perfect Fall Day to Fly Fish

Well we hit a very popular lake to fish today. The day started off near 0C but it quickly ended up being one of those special warm windless days on the water. The lingering snow from our first "winterish" storm quickly disappeared. A loon was still hanging out at the lake, odd for almost mid October but nice ambiance nevertheless. Fly fishing was excellent. Boatman/backswimmers were working although we stuck to a few micro leech patterns for most of the day. We spent the day fishing shallow. The water temperature was perfect and the rainbows were hungry. Lots of fun for all 4 of us, especially the rookie! 

...there are not very many days left before the lakes are covered in ice.