Tying the Klinkhammer Special

Here is a spectacular searching dry fly. This fly will bring fish to the surface when others can't. Fish it along the current seam in riffles and choppy water. This pattern does a great job imitating an emerging caddis, but also is taken for a terrestrial trapped in the film. Grease the post and hackle, but leave the floatant off of the body. The body of the fly should hang down below the surface.

Ryan Gabert put this fly to the test this past summer and found it to be very effective for trout in the Black Hills. It also worked well for cruising carp on the Missouri River.

Tie some in various colors. Two color schemes to focus on are the tan version showed in this video and a black bodied version.

Tying the CDC Mayfly Dun

Here is another fly to put in the quick but effective file. Despite being easy to tie, it doesn't have any problem fooling fussy fish. I tie this fly in various colors to match baetis, PMDs, and PEDs here in the hills. It does require some special attention to keep it dry. I use an amadou drying patch to dry the fly after catching a fish. Follow the amadou with a treatment of desiccant floatant. The example in the video is tied to match a baetis (aka Blue Winged Olive) mayfly dun. Happy tying...

Tying the CDC Dun

Tying Hans' Carp Nymph

Stock your boxes with these great flies for the upcoming Carp Season. this easy to tie nymph has been very productive for me the past couple of summers. Fish it in front of tailing carp. Make sure to lead the carp with your cast so the fly has time to sink. As the carp approaches make a short 1-3" strip to attract the carp's attention. Wait for the take. Strip set to set the hook. My favorite color variations use root beer, gold, or pearlescent olive estaz.

Using the Hunchback Scud

Here is a video of the Hunchback in Action. I don't mean me with my bulky hip pack, but rather the fly. It did very well this past Sunday on Rapid Creek. This was a beautiful brown trout.

Tying the Hunchback Scud

Here is the Hunchback Scud, it was my best fly from over the weekend. We have used it quite a bit over the last couple of years. We started buying them from Umpqua Feather Merchants, who got it from tyer Michael McLellan. We love the profile and the weight provided from the lead triangle. I usually tie them in olive, tan rainbow, or UV shrimp pink. The video is a bit jumpy at times from some camera bumping and editing. Enjoy

Tying the Bubble Back Midge

This is a great pattern that we used to keep a guide secret. Now the secret is out. Tie some up and catch a few finicky fish.