SilverDoctor

Just a point, trout are opportunistic. I don't believe for a moment that a trout will pass up a large morsel that it believes to be a meal. The trigger response may not be exactly that it is a hopper or a stonefly but a large something good to eat. I have Hopper patterns I fish that are orange and don't believe for a second that grasshopper are what the trout key on. Many of teh flies we fish are general imitations of life. Not exact copies. That's why such classic flies like the mudder work. In a given situation it can be mistaken for anything from a Stone fly to a Minnow. By the way great postes

The GP comes in a lot of different styles. Tied quite a few of these over the years for the Steelhead market in BC. Don't lacquer the tippets, it will spoil the look and action of this fly. When you use your Golden pheasant tippets be sure to cut a "V" out of the feather and tie down the stem under your thread wraps. There are two things to look for, first the thread and material base must be flat. if you have tied with an uneven base it will be impossible to have finer materials sit straight. Second is the tying thread pressure, too much will make the tippets flair. Keep the first back wraps with less pressure and then gradually give it more pressure along its length, also keep your wraps close together. As for the rumps,be sure to choose rumps that don't have an inherent curve. If you have a curve you can wet the feather and lay it on newspaper to dry to straighten it. Again be sure there is nothing under your rump (he he) to push it up, that is you base material should be reasonable flat. The same applies to the thread pressure (see above). Another thing that will come into play is the quality of your feathers. Hope this helps. It's always had to make a judgment call without seeing what you've done.

If you intend to practice on grass you should check out a grass casting practice leader either commercial or make your own. They are basically a leader with short 2" pieces of mono or leader material tied onto about a 12" length. It grips at he grass to try and simulate water drag on the bottom of the D loop. I does help to simulate the action but nothing is like casting on water.

Should work but you had better put a swivel on one of those babies. I think from a casting point of view on steelhead there are a lot of other patterns that would be more suitable. I always try to contact local fly shops to see what is popular for the river at a given time.

I never bother with a foam hopper. floats nice and with deer or elk hair on the wing it will be good for a long time. Often when I'm walking to the next pool I drop it in some dryer salts. I also tend to change flies quite often especially when they do get a bit waterlogged.

And don't forget ouur own Toolmans & Max fine fishing courses. Not to mention meeting board members on hte water. I second Jims fine books. and of course read this forum's past posts.

What weight is the rod?

Jungle cock is a standard on most classic full dressed salmon flies if you follow the full pattern. In my view it has always added a bit of style to a pattern. Nowadays however its pretty much anything goes. The price of Jungle cock is high even in low grades so you can always pick out a dedicated tier when they use it in fishing flies. There is now other substitute that is close to the feather.

I used elastic band at one time but found the water sun and weather seemed to affect them. The deemed to dry and crack. Maybe it was the variety of band.

good Idea.

well said!!

I find that they like to get out of the heavy flow and in tighter to shore or back eddies.

Count me in on the dark computer bags, wish you could buy em.

I like to carry my net handle up, that way the lower part of the net dangles and gets caught up in bush effectively tripping me, yanking me back by the shoulder or snapping back and nailing me squarely in the back. It also acts as a great catcher for flies on a bad back cast. Mind you it has carried my lunch, water bottle, caught dragonflies and the odd errant indicator. It's been a basket for mushrooms, blueberries, and saskatoons. I once used it to scoop up a large rattler in BC to get it out of the way. My net is a bit of a comfort to me as it gives me promise of willey browns yet to enjoy it's webbed interior. I like running it under a trout that will not fit inside, smug joy. I often never use the little wooden sidekick but feel lost without her, so she hangs behind my shoulder encouraging me to take just one more cast in the failing light with promise of things to come.

Thanks for posting, it's not the quantity of fish but the fishing experience. Sounds like you had a great experience.

Black or dark colors are the key, upsize you flies a couple of sizes and fish closer to the bank.

Welcome and see you on the water.

I love the south end also. In the past I would just park in the Sikome lot and walk in.

Depends how you approach it. You do need an outlay of equipment and materials. Just slip down to a local fly shop and you can get an Idea of costs. If you do a search on the old forum I did an article on fly tying. Let me know if you can't find it and I'll post it again.

Hi Don, you have the the sequence of materials dead on, great eye. Yes the center section is Birch bark. I dried the bark and peeled it. Not much sap in the bark. I could trade you the info for a bamboo blank .... Ha ha. I actually had to experiment a bit with some smaller sections before I got it to work. But I think I have it down now. I have some simple notes I kept on it to remind myself for next time. If you pm me I will dig them up and email em to you during the week. I did go through a bit of bark to find the right stuff. Have to get out this fall and find some more fallen deadfall. Maybe on a Raven trip.

Was planning on going but got called in to work for an hour. Also I'm suddenly committed to going to Ikea with the wife today. Ah well, will spend some time tying flies this afternoon. I need to finish up an order for a shop in BC. of 200 Steelhead flies.

And another one

another one

I've built about 12 to date, If you want to chat just pm me.

Thanks for posting, I also fished the Miramichi river many times with my Dad. Some of my fondest early memories where in that area.