Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Skip Back Callabaetis and Chopka Variant Callabaetis with Rick Miyauchi


Rick Miyauchi was our guest instructor  for 11 tyers keen on taping into Rick’s vast fly fishing experience. He presented his 2nd part of his 2 part series on fishing tactics and two of his personal Callabaetis fly favorites. In part 1, he talked about fly setups and leaders. His part 2 presentation focused on fly lines which included the characteristics of floating, sink tips, intermediate, sinking lines and the use of poly tips. He stressed the importance of understanding that similar fly lines from different manufacturers may perform differently. 

Rick covered how water temperature affects the oxygen level throughout the water column. Lake structure was discussed showing how it influenced where fish reside.

 He talked how different retrieves affect sink rates when using sub surface fly lines and the different tactics used when fishing from shore and from a boat. He demonstrated various line retrieves from pinch strips to very fast stripping. He emphasized the importance of a broken rhythm vs a constant strip action. A mixture of slow and fast strips with strategic pauses will result in more fish hookups. 

Thanks Rick for a very informative and enjoyable evening.





Skip Back Callabaetis

Hook: Daiichi 1760 #12

Thread: UTC 70 Black

Rib: Copper wire

Tail: Pheasant tail

Body: Peacock Herl or Peacock  Ice Dub

Thorax: Peacock Herl or Peacock  Ice Dub

Legs: Pheasant tail

Shell Back: Pheasant tail




Chopka Variant Callabaetis

Hook: Mustad 94833 #14

Thread: UTC 70 Tan or Watery Olive

Post: White Antron

Tail: Dark Dun hackle fibers

Body: Super fine Callabaetis dubbing

Hackle: Dark Dun feather












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