I love thinking about bugs and flies, on my mind as of late are the BWO’s that I’m sure I’m missing while stuck at work during the height of the day. One pattern that looks the part, easy to tie and gets great results down here is the standard WD-40 pattern. I like it for a couple reasons, the slim body, the wood duck feathers and it’s an easy, speedy tie that anyone can master quickly. With that said my box has plenty of WD-40′s in it, I’ve stuck with a #16 because it is the most representative of the full mature Baetis nymph. Thinking about bugs and flies I began to think about a WD-40 Brassie pattern that I’ve put together here, later I found that others have had the same revelation.

The WD-Brassie (W.F.F. Variant)

• Hook: 1x Short Scud #16
• Thread: Olive 70 Denier UTC
• Tail: Lt. Olive Woodduck
• Body: Hot Yellow SM Ultra Wire
• Thorax: Black Mink Fur
• Wing-Case: Lt. Olive Woodduck

Things to note: to get a truly seamless body with the wire and to get the correct proportions, tie in the SM Ultra Wire near the hook eye and have it mirror the curve of the hook along the side facing you (not on top) and secure it back to the hook barb. When tying in the woodduck tail DO NOT clip the excess wooduck free (this will result in a bump making the wire wraps one too thick at the tail), rather wrap your thread over the woodduck to the point where you begin the thorax and wing-case. Leave it sticking out here and wrap the ultra wire forward, by keeping everything even up the length of the body the wire has a seamless resting spot with no bumps from materials that were tied in and cut free and you can use the woodduck from the tail to make the wing-case without tying more in. Using Mink fur was an experiment, I see future potential. The guard hairs are excellent but this was a challenge to dub with for the first time. I like the color contrast and I think the Hot Yellow will set the trout off, alot of our Baetis nymphs are either a darker olive/black or the light, almost translucent olive color. I’m thinking that the sun hitting the wire will appear like one of the translucent olive colored nymphs.

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Living in Winona, MN my options for tying materials are limited. I can stop at Gander Mt. when I am in Rochester but I don’t like to and I typically end up ordering most of my materials (especially hooks) from the Internet. When I can find materials in town they are typically of the craft variety and as most of us know craft materials can be great but they can also be a complete waste of your time and funds. I believe this 1st material is something most can find and is worth stocking up on. A late night need for an upholstery needle prompted a trip to of all places…Walmart. Walking down the craft isle Liz spots…stretch tubing? Clear stretchy plastic in two diameters, a thinner .5mm and a thicker .8mm in lengths of 50 feet a roll. Whoa… Oh, the kicker? Only $1.73 a roll, are you kidding me? I should point out that this product is not hollow like traditional stretch tubing but I think it has it’s applications. If you don’t want to run to Walmart to get your hands on this stuff, I’ve found it on the Internet at several places. Looks like it might be found in craft stores as well. I suggest using a stronger thread when using the .8mm stuff. In the next few days I’ll be posting a second material, available in town, cheap, and…you’ll just have to check back sooner than later. Peace

-the w.f.f.

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Day 2 started a bit later, on stream at 8:30am. Fished a short stretch with coffee near by, once again looking for something larger, I know they live here. Once again the SMB was readied and after a few casts I had a timid strike and a thought occurred to me. Wendy B. had recently put a few of my flies on some fish with success but he noted that the amount of flash in the collar might be a bit much and after trimming about half of the amount out he was finding the fish more willing to smack it. I considered it and then busted out my scissors to trim off a fair amount from one of mine. Back in the drink a bit later and I was into a 14in Brown that faught hard.

A criticism that I’ve had as of late is that I need to get the fish on my drag rather than stripping my line in. The rod tip combined with a smooth drag will keep constant tension on the hook, without it a good run/shake may dislodge the hook. This may have been the reason a few of the fish I could have landed the day prior were able to smile at me as they hit the road down to the trouty hole. I worked on my line management to get the trout on my drag as quickly as possible, a short bit later…trout in hand. So nice. Read the rest of this entry »

Fished most of the day, met up with one Wendy B. on location for a bit of morning coffee, good conversation and of course a few trout. We nymphed up rainbows with the typical Orange Scud and Miracle Nymph but after seeing a few larger fish I swapped to a streamer, Wendy B. did the same and we both nailed a few nicer fish. You have to love it when from on high you strip your streamer in, staring at your victim less than twenty feet away, you cry out “EAT IT” and the trout promptly turns and does exactly that, brilliant. Wendy B.= FISH ON! That was just the start to an awesome day, I mean by 11am I had enough good things happen to hold me over but as it were I had the day to myself and the weather was too good to turn down.

I left Wendy B. to stop off at a second spot, gin clear despite the rain and melt. I could have stayed and tempted fish but I hadn’t fished this spot before and I knew I could find a location that offered slightly stained water when usually it runs clear. Good to take note of locations like this, fish them after a rain event or the melt and take fish more easily as the water is tinted to your advantage. Second stream I stuck with my streamer expecting a few Browns to come out and play but no luck. I tried, tried some more but nadda. I picked bugs to get a feel for the situation and it was clear to me that a skinny BWO nymph was the way to go, the WD-40 #16. Good choice, as it was the only fly that took any trout on the second stream, it even took a few Brookies which made this my first day where I managed all three specie of trout you can find in S.E. Minnesota water.

Read the rest of this entry »

Time is of the essence and I must make this brief but I shall re-write this and re-post with images and details. Here is just the raw intel…

• Fished from 10:15am to 3:40pm
• Caught One Brown Trout, Had an Awesome Day.
• Air Temp: 26 Degrees at Arrival, 39 at Departure.
• Water Temp: 43 Degrees on Arrival, 45 at Departure.
• Flows are clean and clear.
• Prepare for the Baetis, they are coming.
• Mucho Midge Activity, started as early as 11am. 

This image was taken streamside and is slightly elongated due to the curve in the glass jar it is in. I collected this sample this morning, I know the image is small and blurry but trust me on this one, those are developed wingpads. I was really excited when I saw this proof they should be hatching soon. Liz is travelling to New Zeland and has taken the camera I usually use, thanks to Sershen for the loaner. I still have the live sample, I will try to get a better image.