Browns in Lake Solano...

vince · Senior Member

RE: Browns in Lake Solano...

Emerger · Senior Member

vince wrote:

Can someone post a recipe/pattern for JT's drowned midge? Or is it top secret ?

Here is a pic of JT's drowned midge from a past fly swap we did.

Flying Dutchman · Senior Member

Vince, JT's fly was my top producer last winter on the Stan. Earned spots in a couple different boxes!!! Don't know if JT's ears ever burn, but I've thanked him more than once while streamside.

vince · Senior Member

That looks like an awesome fly! Is that an antron looped wing with a single strand in the middle? Or flashabou?

Thanks guys!

Flying Dutchman · Senior Member

Looped copper-colored McFlyOn (generic Z-lon)

JT · Senior Member

I used to use a loop wing on this fly but have since switched to a flat wing of thin foam. I haven't been able to find the thin foam in stores. I get my foam from electronics packaging. Some packaging material is too thick. The thin stuff is hard to find. The foam appears white until you get it wet--awesome stuff.

The abdomen and thorax are easy, just black tying thread (you can also use olive or tan). For the legs I use four strands of black antron (again, you can substitute to match the naturals in your area), figure-eight wrapped on the bottom of the hook. Insects only have six legs (three on each side), but I like to tie in four on each side for a total of eight. I believe the legs are a trigger. It's difficult to make a #24 fly appear buggy, but the legs accomplish that. I use a #24 Tiemco 2487 hook. It may seem small, but most of the naturals are even smaller. One thing I don't like about this hook is that the big fish that take this fly will often straighten the hook.

Packrat · Senior Member

vince wrote:

That looks like an awesome fly! Is that an antron looped wing with a single strand in the middle? Or flashabou?

Thanks guys!

I make the loped wing from about 6 or 7 strands of white Z-lon. This fly is a killer! I tie them in 18 and 20. I like to use a 2457, it's a heavier hook.

brian clemens · Senior Member

as of late, pearl krystal flash loop wing 4 strands, killer in 18-24.

AbelBoy · Senior Member

JT wrote:

I used to use a loop wing on this fly but have since switched to a flat wing of thin foam. I haven't been able to find the thin foam in stores.

Wapsi Fly has a product called Razor Foam. It comes in opaque and translucent sheets and is available in a bunch of different colors. Each package has a .5 mm and a 1 mm thick sheet. It makes great winging material. Or it can be laminated with a thicker sheet to make a two color sided sheet (think Chernobyl Ant). The only shop that I know that has it is Specialties in Citrus Heights.

AB

brian clemens · Senior Member

FFS in citrus heights has everything and anything u need for tying.

vince · Senior Member

I keeping hearing about this shop, I need to check it out.

Flying Dutchman · Senior Member

AbelBoy wrote:

Wapsi Fly has a product called Razor Foam. It comes in opaque and translucent sheets and is available in a bunch of different colors. Each package has a .5 mm and a 1 mm thick sheet. It makes great winging material. Or it can be laminated with a thicker sheet to make a two color sided sheet (think Chernobyl Ant). The only shop that I know that has it is Specialties in Citrus Heights.

AB

Try wrapping stimulator bodies with Razor Foam instead of Antron. biggrin

Bugger · Senior Member

JT wrote:
I use a #24 Tiemco 2487 hook. It may seem small, but most of the naturals are even smaller. One thing I don't like about this hook is that the big fish that take this fly will often straighten the hook.

Have you tried a TMC 2488H? 2x heavy wire, 3X wide, 2X short curved shank, straight eye. And it comes in 24. My favorite for tiny flies.

Here is a midge larvae (on a #22 TMC2488H) that is very easy to tie and has been pretty good to me. Just thread, a glass bead and x-small wire.

JT · Senior Member

Bugger wrote:
Have you tried a TMC 2488H? 2x heavy wire, 3X wide, 2X short curved shank, straight eye. And it comes in 24. My favorite for tiny flies.
Here is a midge larvae (on a #22 TMC2488H) that is very easy to tie and has been pretty good to me. Just thread, a glass bead and x-small wire.

I've thought about trying the TMC 2488H. I used to tie a lot on TMC 2488's. I'm not a fan of the 3X wide hook, though. The hook-up ratio seems to go up with a wider hook, but the landing ratio appears to decrease. It could just be in my head. It may not be such an issue with hooks that small. Now, if they only made TMC 2457's in #24.

-- Edited by JT on Tuesday 17th of November 2009 12:38:18 PM

Packrat · Senior Member

Yep, I also use the 2488H, it's a little heavier than the 2457 (I think) and it has a wider gap.

JT · Senior Member

Packrat wrote:

Yep, I also use the 2488H, it's a little heavier than the 2457 (I think) and it has a wider gap.

The TMC 2488H is 3X wide and 2X heavy, and the TMC 2457 is 2X wide and 2X heavy. They are both made with the same wire thickness, but the 2488H is wider.

JT · Senior Member

AbelBoy wrote:

Wapsi Fly has a product called Razor Foam. It comes in opaque and translucent sheets and is available in a bunch of different colors. Each package has a .5 mm and a 1 mm thick sheet. It makes great winging material. Or it can be laminated with a thicker sheet to make a two color sided sheet (think Chernobyl Ant). The only shop that I know that has it is Specialties in Citrus Heights.

AB

I went to Fly Fishing Specialties to check out the Razor Foam. It's a little too thick for the smaller flies. It would work in a #18 or #20, but for #24 and smaller flies I like the paper-thin stuff.

brian clemens · Senior Member

i found the foam at american fly, picked me up a sheet and going to tie up some midges for my trip

Packrat · Senior Member

Brian, make sure to bring some tan fox poopahs and natural birds nests.

brian clemens · Senior Member

thanks for the fyi, ill tie some up