I recently fished a favorite autumn creek of mine. I usually fish this creek when I don't have a lot of time, or when I don't feel like driving a long way. The last couple of times on the creek were less than stellar and so I approached it with a little trepidation, not knowing if this would be a catching day or not.
As I entered the water and worked my way upstream I was not getting into any fish. This was disappointing, but I persevered. The water was beautiful, the temperatures were right in the target zone and the sky was not too bright, all of which should have put me into fish right away.
About 2 PM I saw a few caddis on the water and started to take notice. Since starting tenkara, I have not been matching the hatch in any way, except on a few occasions during midwinter when the baetis where coming off. But this time I noticed. There were no fish rising, but I thought, "this has to be a sign" and I changed my fly.
Because the caddis were brown/grey, I change to a Soft Hackle Grey kebari. I used to use this fly all the time, but in the past year it has seen little water time. Way? I don't know. It's a good fly. I went with a #10 and started to work the undercuts that hug the banks of the creek.
Sure enough, even though I had just worked the same area, a deep undercut protected by a willow, with a white Takayama variant kebari, I hooked into my first fish. It was a nice 12 inch cutthroat. A few minutes later I had taken 3 cutthroats of the same size, and three smaller brookies from the same undercut.
As I worked my way upstream I took more fish, even in places where I had not taken fish before. Was it the fly? Was it the time of day? Was it my presentation and being in the right place at the right time? Probably all had something to do with it.
I tie this fly differently now than I had in the past. Now I use wool for the body. It uses less dubbing and it is more durable. The wool also absorbs water quickly and lets the fly sink. I still use a dubbed collar, mainly to hide the whip finish, but the fly looks and performs the same.
It's a nice fly. If you haven't used it before, give it a try...especially if there are caddis around!
Hook: #10-12 of whatever caddis pupa or scud hook you want.
Thread: 8/0 grey
Hackle: Partridge
Body: Shetland Sholmit/Mooskit 119
Dubbing collar: Grey Hare-Tron
Ribbing: Copper wire. Thin gauge for a lighter fly; heavy for a fly that sinks fast.
As I entered the water and worked my way upstream I was not getting into any fish. This was disappointing, but I persevered. The water was beautiful, the temperatures were right in the target zone and the sky was not too bright, all of which should have put me into fish right away.
About 2 PM I saw a few caddis on the water and started to take notice. Since starting tenkara, I have not been matching the hatch in any way, except on a few occasions during midwinter when the baetis where coming off. But this time I noticed. There were no fish rising, but I thought, "this has to be a sign" and I changed my fly.
Because the caddis were brown/grey, I change to a Soft Hackle Grey kebari. I used to use this fly all the time, but in the past year it has seen little water time. Way? I don't know. It's a good fly. I went with a #10 and started to work the undercuts that hug the banks of the creek.
Sure enough, even though I had just worked the same area, a deep undercut protected by a willow, with a white Takayama variant kebari, I hooked into my first fish. It was a nice 12 inch cutthroat. A few minutes later I had taken 3 cutthroats of the same size, and three smaller brookies from the same undercut.
As I worked my way upstream I took more fish, even in places where I had not taken fish before. Was it the fly? Was it the time of day? Was it my presentation and being in the right place at the right time? Probably all had something to do with it.
I tie this fly differently now than I had in the past. Now I use wool for the body. It uses less dubbing and it is more durable. The wool also absorbs water quickly and lets the fly sink. I still use a dubbed collar, mainly to hide the whip finish, but the fly looks and performs the same.
It's a nice fly. If you haven't used it before, give it a try...especially if there are caddis around!
Hook: #10-12 of whatever caddis pupa or scud hook you want.
Thread: 8/0 grey
Hackle: Partridge
Body: Shetland Sholmit/Mooskit 119
Dubbing collar: Grey Hare-Tron
Ribbing: Copper wire. Thin gauge for a lighter fly; heavy for a fly that sinks fast.
What a great day -- the skies were perfect, weren't they? I enjoy seeing the different flies you use.
ReplyDeleteI notice you use a Gray Soft Hackle Kebari in many of your videos. Is this fly pattern available from a vendor? I do not tie my own flies? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteDaniel