LURE AND BUG DRYING FIXTURE

"You can't have DRIPS on your bugs! No way! They need a smooth, even finish!!"
That's the mantra among those who make their own fishing poppers, bugs, and other hard baits.
To make sure you don't commit the sin of drips and sags, it's a big thing in the world of luremaking to have a rotating device on which one’s creations can dry/cure.

You see, to get a smooth finish on these fishing lures, a number of materials are used to complete them. These can be anything from sealers, cements, or paints, to the King of Lure Finishes - EPOXY.

But unless the lures are kept rotating as the finish dries, you end up with runs, drips and sags. So, what is needed is an automatic way to keep 
the lure turning as it dries. 

The Usual Way

The most popular thing for this job is usually some kind of rotating wheel.
Think of the rotating wheel onto which circus knife throwers strap their female assistants.
That kind of idea, but without the knives and girls.

Actually, it's something like this....

or this..

Many people make their own, and traditionally, these were made using a rotisserie, or disco ball, motor... minus the barbeque grill, or disco ball. 
But the free market prevails, and I’ve shown some of the commercially available wheels you might find, these days.

Well, we here at the Palmetto Fly n Fish Operations Center needed a curing fixture, too. 

But, we are not sponsored, and our coffee mugs and T-shirt sales aren't breaking any records.

This means spending $50-$100 for something like a wheel is out of the question.
Instead, we went the route of an easy, DIY project.

The Inspiration
Several types of lure drying fixtures have been made, and most of the alternatives utilize a rotating shaft design, instead of the wheel.
Basically, they are an axle, and the lures are mounted to that.
As it happens, the PFnF resource library contains the book, “Bug Making,” by C. Boyd Pfeiffer.
In that book was found just such an axial device, in the form of a picture - just what the doctor ordered.

You can see it below, and it inspired us to go that route.
And so, another project was born...

The Inspirational Picture

The Book
ISBN 1-55821-414-3

The Components

MOTOR
The heart of the fixture is a 3 rpm, geared motor. These are available from eBay, or one of the Asia-direct sellers, for reasonable cost.
However, we ran into a hiccup, right out of the gate:

Powering a motor from a wall receptacle makes good sense, BUT, 110 vac motors are more expensive, and there are fewer of them available.
 

During the search, however, our design staff (yours truly), found that 12vdc, geared, stepper motors were both plentiful, and inexpensive. They are also somewhat safer than fooling around with 110 VAC power.
These were obviously the choice for our construction budget.
Even so, to use these motors, we had to make a power conversion from regular 110VAC to 12VDC.

Luckily, 12vdc is one of the most common conversions made in the world of electrical power, and there are a zillion plug-in power adapters around.
In fact, the ubiquitous wall-wart receptacle types are easily obtained, and most thrift stores will have a box with such things. 

You might even have one hanging around your junk drawers at home.

Scrounging around the PFnF workshop, in fact, three or four were turned up.
It seems our engineering design staff (yours truly) has been collecting them over the years, so it was a cinch to get going. 

The final addition to the  motor was an inline toggle switch for control, like you see in the pictures.
This was something else our engineering team (me, again) keeps on hand for such projects.
What could be simpler?

FRAME

Next, a frame was needed, and we followed the Pfeiffer picture.
In that example, you can see that metal bookends are used to mount the components, so our chief designer (yes, me) used that idea. 

The thrift store came to the rescue here, and a couple bookends were obtained.

On one of the bookends, the motor/gearbox was mounted with some small screws. That was super easy and took our engineering tech (guess who?) about 15 minutes to complete. 

CARRIER ROD
The “axle,” or carrier rod, was next.
This item came from a toy golf set.
The PFnF Grandkids broke the golf toys about 10 minutes after getting them, and while our groundskeeper (yours truly) was picking 'em up from the yard, he had a flash of inspiration.

The golf club shafts are a firm plastic tube about 1/2" in diameter, and he figured they would be just right for this project.
He was right; a small plastic bushing was all that was needed to mate the carrier rod to the motor shaft.
We listen to everyone's ideas here at Palmetto Fly N Fish.

Moving to the other end, a carrier rod support was developed.
The second bookend provided the structure, and an, "axial support bushing" was fitted to accept the carrier rod.
Once again, our engineering group (me, of course) stepped up to the plate, with a brilliantly simple set up:

A piece of wood, with a hole bored through, takes the end of the carrier rod.

This was attached to the bookend with some screws, and voila! We have a carrier rod support.
Yes, it is wood with a hole in it - but, we're still calling it an 'axial support block,’ because that sounds pretty cool.

What Comes Next?
At this point we have a well-supported motor, and shaft, turning at 3 rpm.

But the flies, or lure bodies, well, they have to be held by something so they can turn with the carrier shaft, and not fall off.
For that, a plain pool noodle was used.
This was in the Pfeiffer book, too, and they are so common that it was a no-brainer to stick with that.
Some adhesive backed, soft foam strips were glued to the carrier shaft, and the pool noodle pushed over them.
A firm fit was the result, but, should the pool noodle need to be replaced, it can be slid back off.

Storing the Fixture

A much desired feature for this item is that it can be disassembled for storage.
The Palmetto Fly n Fish Operations Center is not large, and it doesn't have a lot of space for storing bulky gadgets. Thus, we wanted this curing fixture to break down into a smaller package that can be stowed.
But, it also must go together quickly, without tools or hardware. 

That was achieved - it easily disassembles and goes back together by hand.
It can be kept in a cabinet until needed. 

I tell ya, our design team (you know who….), they're on the ball.

The Future
While this fixture will surely do the job intended for it, an improvement or two is being examined.
For example, it may need to be adapted to handle really large lures, so some ideas to address this are on the table. 

But like all designs, the current model will first be field tested, to see what happens.
You'll note in our inspiration picture, nothing more was done for fly poppers like we expect to be churning out. 

So odds are good it wont need much else.

The Pictures - Job Done

Finished Fixture
Paper towel "flag" to enhance rotating effect (see end video)

Carrier Rod Bushing Block

Motor Install

Broken down for storage

The Video
Its not nearly as noisy as in this video - camera mics are sensitive

In summary, this is a pretty simple project, and I hope it gives YOU some ideas.
Give it a whirl and let me know how you get on with it.

If you liked this post, please share it with all your friends and acquaintances.

Thanks and Tight Lines,

David
Come visit us at: Palmetto Fly N Fish

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, David Hutton and Palmetto Fly N Fish, 2022 

THE STEALH BOMBER - A GO-TO PATTERN

 A Fleet of Stealth Bombers

I recently made a post on Palmetto Fly n Fish, talking about Stealth Bombers, again…. Yeah, once again. This is noteworthy, because until a couple years ago, I didn't give this pattern much notice. More like, I didn't give it ANY notice. Nevertheless, fast forward to now and, while I'm no expert Stealth Bomber pilot, I think of them as a must have pattern. Reasons to Have Stealth Bombers So what happened? Why do I like them now? According to Georgia's Kent Edmonds*, the creator of the pattern, the Stealth Bomber is a foam-based derivative of the "Turck’s Tarantula." 

Being a foam diver/slider, it duplicates the Tarantula’s diving motion and the resulting bubble trail made when the fly is stripped hard. * I once met Kent Edmunds, and had no clue who he was. I feel kinda bad about that, now. Sorry, Kent. Okay, fine. But what is special about the Stealth Bomber? Well, the Stealth Bomber..... ... features foam, hair, legs, and flashy stuff. The only thing missing is hackle, I guess, and there's probably some way to work that in, too. Otherwise, the Stealth Bomber has it all.

... floats in the surface film, not above it. This mimics what most real critters do; they float and swim half submerged. Many experts claim this increases hook-ups, and I'll take their word for that. .... marries a slider with a popper....but mostly a slider, since there's no popping face.

.... makes that desirable, but elusive, “quiet noise.” It doesn't 'pop' and 'kersploosh,' so it's less likely to scare away pressured fish. But it dips and dives seductively, which is likely to entice them.

.... leaves a good bubble trail in it's wake. This is a visual thing the result of that big, open foam loop at the rear. Your garden-variety popper doesn't manage this feature all that well.

With all this going for it, how can you go wrong? Looking back... I don't think I’ve ever cast one out, that failed to get attention from the fish. At The Vise The Stealth Bomber is also just enough of a challenge at the vise to be interesting. First off, it requires a precise shape for the foam. To make this shape consistent, you want either a purpose-made cutter, or a template. Either will do the job and allow you to knock out the correct shape, time after time. But, since I'm too cheap to spend $20 apiece for each different size foam cutter, I made a tracing template out of some old countertop micarta. Fortunately, Kent Edmonds makes the template available in .pdf, on his webpage. So that’s a good thing. You download the .pdf, print, and make a tracing template like the one seen below....

Tracing Template, size 6

You can find a link to the templates in the end notes.

What else? Well, the pattern is a bit of busy work, but not overly fiddly. It is a bit complex, too, but only enough to keep you honest and make you pay attention.

The Stealth Bomber is not a fast tie, but not painfully long, either.

And if you screw something up, it’s not a big deal to step backwards and correct it.

Take my word for that.

So, I like to keep in practice tying them. I’ve got them down to size 8, and probably wont go smaller. 

Between 8 and 6, you're right in the zone for bass and panfish.

Variations Unlimited Here's the another good thing about the Stealth Bomber - its flexible. The theme for this session was red…. because the foam I used was red. And people, they like red.

Fish, on the other hand,...well, I don’t think they care much about color.

But people, they like red. However any color will do, as long as you like it. Blue has some appeal to it, in my experience. I believe chartreuse is the most popular color. And certainly the old standards of black, green, white, yellow, orange, all these are bound to have some fans. And why not pink? Or Fire Tiger? Why not indeed?

I included lotsa legs, too, because I’m a leg man. I don't suppose it hurts to make it look "buggy" this way.

As you can see, the variations are probably only limited to what you have available. The construction is standardized, which lends itself to infinite subtle - and not so subtle - variations.

That also suits my FTADD*….. I’ve tied no two Stealth Bombers the same way, twice. Those shown here are no different. They are all within the theme, but each is a variation on the one before. * Fly Tyers Attention Deficit Disorder Fishing Notes This is what Kent says about the fishing the Stealth Bomber The originals were basic, and tied in black. But for bass and big bream, I often tie some in bright color combinations and add flash wings and rubber legs. The "stealth" name hardly applies to their appearance..., but its action can still be quite stealthy. With soft little strips it will wiggle and maybe "bloop" slightly. Strip with a just a little bit more vigor and it will dive and bubble, but still stay in the target zone (the strip here should be very quick, but very short). Give it a longer, harder strip and it will dive hard and create a major commotion. To learn more, go to the links at the end and get the template. It's all there.

So, yeah…. Stealth Bombers. Get you some.

Materials - recommended Hook - sizes 4-10, straight shank Thread - strong, because were working with foam Foam - 2 mm craft foam Tail - bucktail, synthetic poly "hair," Krystal Flash Underbody - dubbing, peacock herl, yarn, etc

Wing - bucktail, synthetic hair, Krystal Flash

Legs - rubber, silicone, stretchy legs - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it, and will share it with your friends. David
Visit Palmetto Fly n Fish, here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/flyfishingsouthcarolina © All rights reserved, 2022 End Notes 1. Kents page about the Stealth Bomber: http://www.flyfishga.com/stealth.htm 2. Downloadable template: http://www.flyfishga.com/The%20Stealth%20Bomber%20Fly.pdf

Summer Fly Fishing Tactics - by Bill Byrd

One in a series of seasonal articles honoring Bill Byrd.

The Dog Days of Summer are coming... WOOF!

We've all heard the term, the "dog days of summer," but what are they?

    In short, they are the hot, sultry days at the height of summer, falling somewhere between July through September.
Why are they called the “dog days?” Surprise!... It has nothing to do with mans best friend.
    The phrase originates in antiquity, from the Latin phrase, “dies canilares,”and it describes that cyclical astronomical period when Sirius, the Dog Star, rises with our own sun each day. 

    Although, if we were as smart as dogs, we'd be low to the ground in the shade keeping COOL!

    But, no, we sweat and keep on fishing, regardless.

    Well, maybe we do. Most fly fishers hang it up during these hot periods, while a very few get out there and find worlds of fish. 
How do the dog days affect your fishing plans? 

    Over the past 10 years, I have followed a simple plan that can have you on the water when others wouldn't dare go - and you'll catch lots of fish.
This plan will work for you even in the dog days of summer, when most fly anglers assume the fishing is slow.

GEAR UP
    First, have the right gear. Out on the water, the bright sun can drive midday temperatures to the century mark, or more. You must protect yourself from this.

1. The Right Clothes
    The place to start is with your clothing choices. They should be lightweight, UV blocking, water-wicking clothing that dries quickly. 

- Wear light colored, long sleeve shirts that breathe and let your body heat escape readily.
- Always have a big "flats hat" to cover your head, neck, and ears.
- Keep sun block handy, the kind with an SPF rating of at least 30.
- Cover your face and neck with a buff, or gaiter, likewise light in color.

2. The Right Sunglasses  

    I use the purpose-designed fishing glasses you get for about $20-30 at any sporting goods aisle. You can spend hundreds on sunglasses, and that's your choice.
I choose not to.

But no matter how much you choose to spend, it is crucial you have wrap-around, UV blocking, polarized glasses.

- They keep harmful glare from your eyes, glare which affects your overall health on the water. This glare damages your eyes, and it tires you and robs your energy.
- Best of all, polarized glasses let you see into the water, making it possible to spot fish, cover, and structure even in bright, clear water.
- Wrap around glasses are key, however. These cut the significant amount of REFLECTED glare that sneaks in around the outside edges of your glasses.

    For more helpful info about sunglasses, check this out: Cheap Sunglasses

3. The Right Vessel - Float Tube
    Here is where a little personal bias creeps in. I've been float tubing for years and consider it the best summer time fishing tool you can own. Fly fishing is primarily a shallow water proposition, and a float tube lets you be part of the water, itself.
That is a bonus.
    Float tubes are also lightweight, easy to use and transport, and not expensive as such things go.
    And before you say anything about them sinking or springing leaks, know this: they are surpassingly reliable and reassuring in use. Take care of the float tube, know its limitations, and you'll get on fine.
    The best thing about them though has already been mentioned - you are partly in the water itself while in a float tube. This keeps your lower extremities as cool as the water, itself, and the mild exertion inherent in their use circulates cooled blood from your legs around the rest of your body.
    My favorite way to go afloat in one is wearing cotton pajama pants in Summer. These keep the sun off your legs, and you get a total connection to the water when wearing them.

Pro’s

• Float tubes allow more intimate, in touch fishing

• You better connect with the body of water, and so are a better angler

• They are less obtrusive than a boat, unless you’re a total klutz.

• They embody the idea of “stealth“ fishing.

• They require nothing but a fishing license – no gas, no taxes, etc.

Con’s

• They’re slow; you wont blast around the lake in one. Choose your spots well.
  
  
• They require some specialized gear - fins (scuba types recommended), waders if you prefer, pumps, etc.
  
  
• You can't carry too much extra, “stuff.“ This is mostly minimalist fishing.
  
  
• They aren't snake or gator proof

4. The Right Hydration
    It is imperative that your body keeps cool when the mecury heads to the stratosphere. Nature has provided that way in the form of evaporative cooling via perspiration.... sweating, in other words.
    If you're in a float tube, or wading - possibly the best summer-time way to go fishing - some of your body heat will be taken away from your lower extremities by the water itself. This puts less of a burden on your natural cooling system. But the upper part of your body is still exposed, and that's when perspiration kicks in. 
If you're in a boat, kayak, canoe, or hiking/walking....well, pretty much all of your body is exposed. 
    To keep cool under these conditions, the body perspires, and it does so heavily when its hot. However, heavy sweating removes water from your body's tissues, and you must replenish it with cool, clean water. It is a fairly delicate balance between water going in, and water being sweated out.... and it can kill you if you ignore that balance. 
    To keep the water flowing, I keep bottled water tethered over the side of my float tube, which keeps it cool enough. Some will have an ice chest, or carry a canteen of some kind. Whatever works. Just do it.

PS - Drink WATER, not sugary drinks, or alcoholic beverages to excess.
Enough said about that. 

Any Time Is Fishing Time
    Okay, now that you are properly outfitted, head out in the middle of the day to your favorite waters! Quit cryin'...I'm serious.

    Most game fish are sight feeders, and this includes all the sunfishes.
They need the light of the sun to help them find their forage, and they have to be in water that can be penetrated by enough light to make this possible. What this means is you will find the fish you want to catch in relatively shallow water ...10-15’
    I know that you've always heard "fish early, and late", especially in Southern summers. And there is nothing wrong with that. Indeed, there is a lot of merit in fishing at such times. Fish may move close in to shore then, and may be actively feeding. But, I can assure you, the fish don't stop feeding just because its after 10 AM.
    I fish during the week, during the middle of the day, and have been out fishing in temperatures of 105°F on summer mid-days. I have also had some of my absolute best catches ever at these times!
There weren't many other fishermen around, either -- just fish.

    How can this be true?

    It's simple, really. It is because, the fish we pursue in our immediate area, including largemouth black bass, smallmouth bass, shoal bass, redeye bass, bluegills, redbreast sunfish, redear sunfish (shellcrackers) green sunfish, crappies, yellow perch - even trout - well, they can’t leave the water for the comfort of the local mall.

    High sun, midday conditions are a fact of life for them, just as they are for you.
    Okay, with that no-brainer out of the way, lets discuss the elephant in the room, the one thing I know you are thinking:

    "Well fish refuse to bite and take deep cover from high sun conditions, because the bright light hurts their eyes. Right"

    Not entirely, no.
    What they do is stay in the shadows and lurk. The water is somewhat cooler there, generally more oxygen is available, and they blend in better - both for protection from predation, and to prey on their own forage.
    In other words, its more to their liking that they can better hide from bigger predators, and as predators, themselves, they can take prey as it moves near them.
You won't find these fish, though, until you understand these elements of their game plan. Once you understand, you'll know where to look.

Bright Days Are Not The Enemy
    The late Doug Hannon, the "Bass Professor," was a dedicated record keeper – his detailed fishing logs were legendary. Through these records, Doug proved that the greatest number of trophy sized largemouth black bass he caught in Florida were taken in high sun, between the hours of 10AM and 2PM.
This flies in the face of the “fish early, and late" crowd.
    But, high sun periods are peak activity times for the major forage foods that bass feed upon. The bass just follow the food, the hour of day notwithstanding.

    All this business about light and lurking struck home for me back when I was an avid cave diver. That was years ago, but I still vividly remember my amazement at the detail I could see when staying back in the shadows of an underwater cave. Looking OUT into brightly lighted water was like viewing a brilliant theatre stage.
I saw every tiny detail of plants, fish, small organisms, and movement in that water.
Visibility was shockingly clear.
    It's the same for the fish we are after, "hiding" under the dock or beneath the overhanging flora.

Amazing what you can see!

     Fish may harbor in any shady areas they can find, suspending beneath any item in the water that produces a spot to blend in. It is the gloom and good camouflage they are after. Here they can hide from BOTH predators and prey. 
    If you drop a fly near the dock where they are sheltering -- zoom -- any aggressive fish there will charge out and smack that fly. Others will follow to get in on the action

Where To Fish?
    First and foremost, you want be sure there is deep water earby. Fish find sanctuary and a safe home in deeper water. So start with that part in mind, by asking this question:

"Can the fish retreat to, and come from, nearby deep water to be here?" 
    
   Then, trace a path from that deep water to the obvious places, like low, wooden docks with algae growing on them.
    We’ve all seen this kind of cover and every fishing magazine tells us to hit them.
In high sun periods, in most cases, you'll find bluegills or mixed sunfishes assembled under these shady docks. Especially near the deep end of the framework. There is security there, and the food chain is fully growing on and around these structures.... and the lower the dock is to the water, the better.

    As well, most any place with a log, a piece of brush, an old tire, a spot under an overhanging tree or bush… any shade will attract fish. A ditch or small channel will hold fish suspending in the lower light levels found there. This is what you should be looking for, and the next question should be...

    "Can a fish find what its looking for once it reaches that spot?"

    Anywhere that offers a, "yes" to these questions should be probed for feeding fish. In streams, wood is fine, and fish will hide in grasses, plus under individual rocks and ledges.

What Are They Eating?

    In some fisheries small insects found on the surface are a major forage during this midday period, but that's usually the exception.
    I usually hope for aggressive surface feeding on foam spiders or poppers.
But instead, I normally find smaller suspending nymph imitations getting hammered way more by the fish, just below the surface.
    There is one particular fishery I visit where the water is less than four feet deep. Most of the time, my size-14 to size-12 suspending nymph is THE best performing fly. 
    Occasionally the predominant fish species will hit aggressively on top, but most of the time, the action is subsurface. You have to probe the water from top to bottom to find out what the fish will take. If you'll do that, the fish will react when you use a fly that mimics what they are feeding on!

More Experiences
    In another water system I regularly fish, there is a lone large log across a small ditch.
    It isn't obvious. The ditch is only two feet across and only a foot deeper than the surrounding water. To my amazement, I have cast to and caught and released as many as ten fish of up to 4 species from the shade and security of that single log!
I made 15 casts to every fish hiding spot of that log: the main trunk, branches, forks between branches. They all held fish.
    Most fly fishers make the mistake of catching one fish and moving to the next spot.

    In the shade of one small tree, I have found as many as 30 fish stacked up in the shady gloom of the branches. Careful casts from the outside to the inside of the pod meant that I caught and released most of the fish gathered there.
    And as in both cases mentioned above, I caught those fish on my size-14 suspending nymph pattern. In deeper water, I quickly switch to my size 10 weighted streamers.

Cool Water Trout
    Trout will often be lurking deep in a pool, watching upstream for anything that swims by.
    A size 12 streamer cast upstream, and dead drifted into this deep pool will often elicit strikes. Another tactic is to dead drift a small streamer into the pool, let it swing toward the back of the pool, then strip it cross pool as though it is trying to swim to cover.

    The image below has everything - boulders, deep shade – so probe all carefully with a size-12 black, olive or crayfish streamer.

    In areas with boulders lying cross stream, present a size-10 or -12 streamer so that it swings downstream and tumbles on the gravel stream bed into the hydro cushion in front of these rocks. Many times trout will nail that fly while tumbling on the stream bed. Another presentation is to tumble the fly into position just upstream of the rock and strip it across stream.

    When you find those deep narrow undercuts where the current is too strong for your typical bead head nymph to swing through and get deep, tie on a size-12 streamer. Cast it just upstream of the spot and swing it through the shaded deepest spot. If that doesn't get a strike, swing it into that deep spot and strip it out fast.
Many times, that will trigger a strike.

    So, when hot summer conditions would tempt you to stay home, experiment. Get a float tube and the right clothes. Understand that the fish are looking for certain things, seasonal things, and figure out where they might be found.
Know that most of the action will come from below the surface.
    Then, be THE fly fisher on the water to catch fish.
    Try using these tips on your favorite water and let me know how you do.

- Bill Byrd

Post note: Sadly, that last line is not to be.... Bill Byrd passed away in 2021.
His webpage, www.byrdultrafly.com, a favorite for so long, is no longer available.
The web archive DOES exist, however, and I highly recommend it. See the link at the end.

Over the course of several seasons, Bill and I corresponded and he gave me his permission to post and edit his writing, with credit being given to him.
With that in mind, I will pay homage to the man and periodically present his works here in edited format.

Tribute article to Bill Byrd: Bill Bird Tribute
Bill Byrd web archive: Bill Byrd Archive

Tight Lines,
David Hutton
Palmetto Fly n Fish

Simple Flies Catch Fish

    "Keep It Simple, Stupid."

----------<~~>----------

   Words to live by, right?     Otherwise known as, "The The K.I.S.S. Principle," you have probably said these words yourself. Most likely, you have also heard it in any number of ways...

"Don't overthink it...", "Stick to the basics..." "Less Is More..."     The focus of this scatological directive is to keep you from going down a rabbit hole of complex solutions,... and causing more problems. 

    Just keep it simple, in other words.

    But, there is a warning handed down to us from no less than Albert Einstein, a complex man if ever there was one. He admonished us not to make things too simple...

"Everything should be made as simple 
as possible, but not simpler."

- Albert Einstein

      What can we take from all this? Well, a couple of things come to mind:

1. I'm not going to argue with Einstein on the matter 2. We should keep things as simple as needed, but not simpler.

    Which leads us to the question of the day: "Just how simple can you go in fly tying?” Do Simple Flies Exist?     How many times have you marveled at the many gorgeous, artsy fly creations we see? Their flights of fancy stimulate our sense of wonder and imagination.     And how about, the crazy, almost circus-like salmon, or bass flies of old?

    In still another group, we find spun deer hair "bugs and beasties." These over-the-top contrivances are becoming more and more popular.     In all of these, there is craftsmanship, artisan effort, and workmanlike devotion. And all of them try to outdo the others to see just how many different materials can be lashed to a hook. Simple is not what you would call these flies.     So if that is one extreme, what IS a, "simple fly?"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Simple Is As Simple Does

    I asked this question once, somewhere around 2012, and in answer, I tied a single hackle on a hook. It was just some cement on the shaft, and a hackle palmered on.

    No kidding, that was it. Nothing else.     I wound on all the hackle the feather had to give, so we can say it was full and well hackled. But, hook and hackle were all I used - it couldn't be simpler.     And I'm pleased to say that the outcome was better than this humble arrangement might suggest. Not only did it catch many fish in the nearby pond, but the fish hit it with authority. I mean, they nailed it!

    That was about 10 years ago, but a similar fly caught fish just yesterday. So it wasn't a fluke, or some trick of my memory.     Bottom line: Simple flies catch fish.

Simple Is Heartless

    Okay, there it is - "Simple flies catch fish." I am happy at this revelation, of course, and I could just leave it there. But I am also a little disappointed.

    Why disappointed? Because I have books - lots and lots of FLY TYING books.     My shelves groan under their weight; some of you reading this have probably written a few of them! Each time I get another one, my wife clicks her tongue as only wives can, then exclaims, "ANOTHER fly tying book?!"     And those books..., oh, those glorious books... why, they are just FULL of fly patterns. I mean CHOCK FULL!

    More than that, each pattern is guaranteed to make the fish sit up and take notice. If you were to advertise Superman and his powers, you could hardly compete with the puffery heaped upon every fly pattern we encounter. Reading their narratives, it's hard to imagine you have lived this long without them.          Materials for the things range from the commonplace to the exotic, each fly has its own exacting type of hook, and the patterns are coupled with clever, sometimes arcane techniques for crafting them.

    Besides all that, I have invested an imposing sum of money in these written works; I cannot ignore them for simple, mundane flies, can I?     Of course not; I am committed. I am obligated to tie everything but simple flies, and to like it, by God.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

    Let us leave the world of books for a moment, and return to my simple fly from 2012.     There I stand at the waters edge, line in hand.     On my leader is that single, half-chewed feather on a 2 cent     hook... and I release yet another fish caught on that oh-so simple thing.     That's when it hit me like a brick - "You mean, I only need something THAT simple to catch fish!?"     The nearby egret hears me muttering to myself, and squawks his affirmation... "Ack! Yess!"

    That revelation put a permanent wrinkle in the fabric of my fly tying. The egret only made it worse.     

We Know More Than Fish     Certainly, I love all my books; because of them, I KNOW stuff.     But, ... well, ... fish don't read books.     They don't to know they are supposed to go crazy for all the things the books tell us to tie onto hooks.

    This leaves me with an inescapable conclusion:     They go for simple flies because there isn't anything lurid about them. They like them precisely because they are simple.

A Few Flies from History

    To further look into this idea of simple, join me as we turn back the hands of time... back....back...

Step Into The Wayback Machine

    Going to the olden days, and I mean centuries ago, we find the old flies were also quite simple. The people back then didn't have the cornucopia of natural and synthetic materials we enjoy.

    They had a handful of feather types, wool or other animal hair, and some relatively rough thread. With these common ingredients, they crudely whipped their flies onto rustic hooks - and they caught fish.

    For example, there is the most well-known of the old flies, the Macedonian fly Claudius Aelianus famously described in his "Varia Historia."     This was a sort of an atlas if you like, and the following was written around the year 200 A.D.

"....When a fish observes a fly on the surface, it swims quietly up and gulps it down.

Now, although the fishermen know of this, they do not use these (live) flies as bait; for if a man's hand touch them, they lose their natural colour, their wings wither, and they become unfit food for the fish.

But the fishermen get the better of the fish, nonetheless, by their fishermen's craft.

They fasten red wool 'round a hook, and fix onto the wool two feathers which grow under a cock's wattles, and which in colour are like wax*.

Their rod is six feet long, and their horse hair line is the same length.
They throw their snare, and the fish, attracted and maddened by the colour, comes straight at it." 

    This is from 1800 years ago. Red wool on a hook, with a couple of medium ginger feathers from a roosters' neck. There we are again - SIMPLE catches fish!

Fish Are Not Pushovers     At this point we must address the idea that the fish of old were stupid enough to fall for these simple flies. Today, we complain loudly about "educated fish" - they are wise, crafty, intelligent, and so on.... and that's our excuse for not always catching them.     We are certain that in the "old days," fish were clueless push-overs.     On the contrary, the waters of these early times were not isolated in the back woods. Those waters of which earlier men wrote were well-traveled, and overrun by meat-hungry people who wanted to eat fish.     Any finny denizen of these waters was locked in a daily struggle to survive against both its natural predators, and a horde of two-legged ones, as well.     History is full of writings, pictographs, and lore that clearly show mankind was keenly after anything that lived in the waters of the planet. They were unrelenting, too; wherever they could reach, they were trying to take fish.

Alta Cave Art, Norway

Egyptian Fly Fishing?

Greek Rod and Line Angling

Medieval Fishing with Nets

Medieval Fishing with Rod

    Going by these pictures, its pretty clear that no fish has ever been safe from hungry humanity, wherever they may swim. And where flies of some sort WERE being used, they were, by default, simple flies doing the job needed.     So the idea that simple flies only take stupid fish... well, it doesn't hold water. Modern Day Simplicity     Remember all those books of mine? Among them is one in particular that fits into the theme of simple. That book is by C. Boyd Pfeiffer, and looks like this...

 

    Catch that title: "Simple Flies...Flies you can tie with three materials or less." Even better, the materials in the book are also simple: fur, poly fibers, a few feathers, maybe some craft foam.

    Mr. Pfeiffer authored 24 books, countless articles, and is an Outdoor Writers Guild Hall of Fame member.... he knows that simple works.     How about Bob Clouser, and his famous, "Deep Minnow," more popularly called, "The Clouser Minnow."     Bob has a number of patterns to his credit. But, his most famous one - The Clouser Minnow - is just a few tufts of bucktail and a pair of dumbbell eyes on a hook. He's another guy who knows simple

    And lets not omit the "Wooly Bugger" Even the most rank beginner to the fly fishing arts knows that one...every discussion of Top 10 Flies includes it. It's often suggested that more fish have been caught on the Wooly Bugger than any other fly. But it is nothing more than marabou, chenille and a frilly hackle fiber wound up the hook shank. Super simple, people.     One of my favorite simple flies certainly qualifies here. Sometimes called a "flymph" by the trouting crowd, or by the generic, "soft hackle nymph," I started calling them, "3 Way Flies" before I knew these other names.     I tie them in every size from 12-4, and they have caught more fish than I care to count.

    The 3 Way Fly is nothing more than... 1. A tail of some kind, plus... 2. A body of some kind, plus... 3. A hackled shoulder collar of some kind     There are no exacting instructions, no complicated techniques, no demanding materials. Just 3 basic elements to create a simple, fish catching, 3 Way Fly! Can It Be Simpler?     So how simple can a fly be, allowing for the hook and thread? One material? Two items of material? Three materials?     Well... yes.     By now you'll probably agree this is the bottom end of simplicity - somewhere between 1 and 3 materials. Of course you can pile on as much as you can cram on a hook, and we fly tyers will drool over it. It's kinda what we do.     But do we need to, in order to catch fish?     It would seem the answer is no.     And once I figured that out, a positive emerged: I don't buy near as many fly tying books as I used to! Thanks for reading, and "Tight Lines!"

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I hope you liked this article, and learned something from it. 

I go for a job well done..., since I have no idea how to make money at it. 😁 If you think I did a good job, please like, comment, and share. 

David Hutton

Palmetto Fly N Fish 

If you have questions, contact me at: dahutist@gmail.com

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All rights reserved, David  Hutton© 2022/2023 

References 1. Http://seventeenthcenturyflies.blogspot.com/2010/03/flies-of-charles-cotton-1676.html

2. https://rivertoprambles.wordpress.com/2014/02/18/variations-on-a-first-trout-fly-pattern/ 3. "Simple Flies... Flies You Can Tie With 3 Materials Or Less", C. Boyd Pfeiffer
4. "Peabody's Improbable History," Jay Ward Productions
5. https://midcurrent.com/history/aelian-lives/