Dandruff flies
 

On Nov 21, 9:36*pm, DaveS wrote:
On Nov 21, 2:51*pm, george9219 wrote:



On Nov 21, 9:27*am, Tom Littleton wrote:

On 11/20/2010 11:40 PM, Frank Reid 2010 wrote:

Okay, big hole in my fly box. *Realized that all my flies are designed
for Eastern streams.

You fish Eastern streams in the early season. We use a lot of small
stuff later on in the year.

So, the question is, what is your favorite dandruff fly and where do
you use it?

I have to give you 4.....sorry.

1.Small Mayflies--who ranges of emerger,dun and spinners for two small
bugs: Tricos, and Pseudocleons(very small pale olives).These run #22-26
and can come into use on flatter water on most decent streams here.

2.Adams midges--no wings, just tail,body and hackle. I carry these in
#20-26, and use them in PA limestone creeks from June-October.

3.Griffith Gnats--the perfect mating midge. Most PA streams have midge
hatches from Sept-March. These work well in #20-26. Look for more
aggressive rises, generally in smooth glides, or the top of pools.

4.Thread midges--nothing but a thread body, slight bulge at head, and a
tiny clump of white CDC to spot them on the water. Good fly for fussier
feeders on individual insects. Good on the nastiest small limestoners..

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Tom

What Tom said. Also, if you see "sipping" rises and can't see what
they're taking, try your smallest ( mine is #30 on a Tiemco 2488 hook)
Griffith's Gnat. The tiny gnats double as a generic emerger.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Side note: Ive always assumed that the Griffit's Knat was an imitation
of a CLUSTER of hatching midges? Not an individual insect. Any
insights on this/

Dave

The larger gnats imitate mating clusters, but the tiny ones, (#28 &
#30), work very well, (for me at least), as emergers. I'm tying these
on the Tiemco #2488, which is a short shank wide gap hook, and these
things are TINY. No way they are being taken as a cluster fly. As to
fly boxes, any small one will do. I carry a pair of tweezers to handle
the flies.. For tippet, I generally use 7X. Last week, I dropped down
to 8X for the first time in two years. These fish are getting really
picky. I generally fish down and across, and use a 3WT rod with a soft
tip. Also, I carry a fine needle to make sure the eye of the fly is
clear. A stray fiber from hackle or cdc in the wrong place will give
you fits trying to thread the fine tippet through the eye.

Dandruff flies
 

On Nov 21, 5:03*pm, Frank Reid © 2010 wrote:


Okay, just finding out that my standard fly box (scientific anglers),
doesn't hold these flies well.
What does everyone use to hold these flies (without spending $50 on a
flybox)?

Fuji (translucent), NOT Kodak (as opaque as one could reasonably wish
for) 35 mm film canisters, neither of which is truly waterproof at a
great deal more than nostril depth.......but does that really matter
all that much?

Cost? Well, very cheap or very dear.....depends.....back in the day.
Today? Well, how much does it matter?

giles
who doutbless still has a few of each floating (heh, heh) around
somewhere undiscovered after the most recent (which is to say, VERY!)
move.....but can no more locate any of them with anything resembling
precision than he can his pneumatic tools, hair clipper, books,
kitchen tools, electrical gadgets, birth certificate, duct tape, or
pressure cookers. :(

Dandruff flies
 

On Nov 22, 9:00*pm, george9219 wrote:

A stray fiber from hackle or cdc in the wrong place will give
you fits trying to thread the fine tippet through the eye.

Not to mention head cement, which makes penetration (however slight)
problematic.....to say the least.

giles
hm.....come to think of it, not all that bad a rape defense.

Dandruff flies
 

On Nov 22, 8:47*pm, george9219 wrote:

There is a fly show every year in Marlborough, MA. There is one dealer
who has two full barrels of necks, one dry, and one wet. I spend time
going through the dry barrel, and generally come up with some small
hackle. This year I scored what appears to be a bantam neck that has a
number of tiny feathers, and a patch that has quite a few,....

The contents of the other barrel, if drained, separated, spread out in
a nice sunny asphalt parking lot on a clear, bright, breezy autumn day
(for a few hours) and then lightly brushed, will often yield similar
results.

giles
trust me on this one.....i've done it.

Dandruff flies
 

..
So, the question is, what is your favorite dandruff fly and where do
you use it?


I fished #24s almost exclusively the last part of Sept and early
Oct .... although each day also provided a time for bigger patterns
too, thank goodness. Mainly this was fishing baetis ties at Silver
Creek. Favorite? a ModelA emerger ala Harrop ( think floating
nymph ) .... CDC Sparkle duns are good, too


At the same time of year ( early and late ) the midges are very
important and I like a Raccoon for a dry ... for tiny ones I use micro
zelon for the shuck, instead of the original materials.

Tricos are an obvious answer to your question earlier in the year and
the cute little buggers rule some places in August .... you'll want
nymphs, duns and spinners, maybe a couple/three patterns of each,
tricos can make fish VERY selective where they hatch in large
numbers ... where I fish they run #22s ....ah, generally .... but come
prepared for smaller and don't be afraid to try a size "too big" ...
every little bit helps when fishing tiny

The various string nymphs, with slight variations, are good for all
small bugs, not just midges .... I find that making the segmentation
a bit cartooned, more obvious that the naturals, usually is a good
plan, but real "bright" not one

Luckily, small flies don't have to be very detailed to work well

TroutHunter's new 6.5X tippet really is worth checking out ...


IF anyone really has an "answer" for the late season ( I don't see
this species early ) baetis that crawl all over you, lay eggs on your
waders, and every fish pods up and feeds, apparently on drowned
spinners, but NOT really on the surface, .... let us know. I
can catch "some" fish at these times but I've never met anyone that
felt he had really found the "solution" to this hour or two each Fall
day on a couple waters I frequent. Towards the end of the Trico's
season they would hatch/fall a little before this baetis spinner
activity. I could usually catch fish on the Tricos at a reasonable
rate but when they switched the rate dropped to "feels like luck."
During the true baetis emergence I'd also do just fine.

It was very frustrating. I even went to the point of calling a
'famous' angler who talks and writes a good "baetis game." and asking
advice .... to no avail .... I was told "you need a good drift" which
is obvious but when I explained I could catch the exact same fish in
the same spots and on equally tiny flies EXCEPT during this "baetis
crawling on me" time the reply was "try a beetle" THAT, IMHO, is a
guides answer,not an anglers answer ... I don't just want to catch the
fish, I want to solve the problem. I've seen and tried a couple
"sparkle wing" wet flies and such mentioned in books relative to egg
laying baetis .. but I'm still looking for a pattern that really
meets this situation. OH, I get into these at Silver Creek and I
have zero idea about exact species and such ... they are small #24s -
#26



Boxes? I use little Morrel (sp?) foam boxes that close with a
magnet ... the foam they use seems to hang onto tiny barbless hooks
pretty well .... I use C&F for everything down to #20, but below that
I don't like them

Dandruff flies
 

On Nov 20, 8:40*pm, Frank Reid © 2010 wrote:
Okay, big hole in my fly box. *Realized that all my flies are designed
for Eastern streams. *BFF.... Big Friggen Flies. *When you tie a
wiggle nymph with two size 8s, you got big flies. *However, Western
streams require something a bit finer. *Size 18-26 with an occasional
#32 are the primary flies used (though a size 14 pheasant tail will
take a serious fish, just don't tell the locals 'cause they'll tell
you it won't work).

Um, I've never met an experienced western 'local' that would tell you
a #14 PT won't work .... many times something else might work better,
though G And, I, personally have caught fish on #28s just to say I
did it, but #26s are the smallest I've ever found a "real" use for ...
i.e. matching a hatch that needed matching to catch trout
systematically

BTW, has anyone tried this stuff for tiny flies .... thinking of
ordering some

http://tinyurl.com/2alpta2


one last thought ... I know how tempting winter tying can be, BUT,
IME you really need to work from a real bug as your model to make a
serious difference in success level and it is very easy to end up with
dozens of flies that looked good to the tier in Dec but not the trout
in April. Often it's just a slight profile difference or size
difference or ( wish Willi was still here to tell me I'm wrong :-
( ... color difference, from the pattern in the book that makes a
improvement.

One thing I've started doing .... when I have a hard time fooling
trout ... is making sure to pump the throat of any fish big enough I
luck into. This has been VERY educational. It is amazing how
often these fish proved to be very, very selective and everything
recently eaten looked identical. I'm prone to the "over technical"
approach to FFing, but even I have been surprised at just HOW
identical most of the recently eaten things often is in such
samples. Measure, get a feel for color, and profile, tie that
evening and come back to the same place, same time, next day ... it
can be a rewarding experience, not just in numbers but satisfaction.
After all, FFing is just a game and .... just as making a basket
without hitting the rim IS better than just making a basket ...
getting a take that looks identical to the ones to naturals IS better
than a splashy, nervous, one to a beetle or something ( IMHO ) even
though they both "score the same points" in the numbers world.

Dandruff flies
 

On Nov 23, 11:40*am, Larry L wrote:
On Nov 20, 8:40*pm, Frank Reid © 2010 wrote:

Okay, big hole in my fly box. *Realized that all my flies are designed
for Eastern streams. *BFF.... Big Friggen Flies. *When you tie a
wiggle nymph with two size 8s, you got big flies. *However, Western
streams require something a bit finer. *Size 18-26 with an occasional
#32 are the primary flies used (though a size 14 pheasant tail will
take a serious fish, just don't tell the locals 'cause they'll tell
you it won't work).

Um, I've never met an experienced western *'local' that would tell you
a #14 PT won't work .... many times something else might work better,
though G * And, I, personally have caught fish on #28s just to say I
did it, but #26s are the smallest I've ever found a "real" use for ...
i.e. matching a hatch that needed matching to catch trout
systematically

BTW, has anyone tried this stuff for tiny flies .... thinking of
ordering some

http://tinyurl.com/2alpta2

one last thought ... I know how tempting winter tying can be, BUT,
IME * you really need to work from a real bug as your model to make a
serious difference in success level and it is very easy to end up with
dozens of flies that looked good to the tier in Dec but not the trout
in April. * Often it's just a slight profile difference or size
difference or ( wish Willi was still here to tell me I'm wrong :-
( *... color difference, *from the pattern in the book that makes a
improvement.

One thing I've started doing *.... when I have a hard time fooling
trout ... is making sure to pump the throat of any fish big enough I
luck into. * *This has been VERY educational. * It is amazing how
often these fish proved to be very, very selective and everything
recently eaten looked identical. * I'm prone to the "over technical"
approach to FFing, but even I have been surprised at just HOW
identical most of the recently eaten things often is in such
samples. * Measure, get a feel for color, and profile, tie that
evening and come back to the same place, same time, next day ... it
can be a rewarding experience, not just in numbers but satisfaction.
After all, FFing *is just a game and .... just as making a basket
without hitting the rim IS better than just making a basket ...
getting a take that looks identical to the ones to naturals IS better
than a splashy, nervous, one to a beetle or something ( IMHO ) even
though they both "score the same points" in the numbers world.

According to this, the Benecchi 12/0 is equivalent to 70 denier.
Looking for some of that 40 denier myself.
http://mvff.tripod.com/Reference/Denier.pdf
Frank Reid

Dandruff flies
 

On Nov 22, 10:18*pm, Giles wrote:
On Nov 22, 9:00*pm, george9219 wrote:

A stray fiber from hackle or cdc in the wrong place will give
you fits trying to thread the fine tippet through the eye.

Not to mention head cement, which makes penetration (however slight)
problematic.....to say the least.

giles
hm.....come to think of it, not all that bad a rape defense.

I never use head cement on dry flies, especially the tiny ones.

Dandruff flies
 

On Nov 23, 3:16*pm, george9219 wrote:
On Nov 22, 10:18*pm, Giles wrote:

On Nov 22, 9:00*pm, george9219 wrote:

A stray fiber from hackle or cdc in the wrong place will give
you fits trying to thread the fine tippet through the eye.

Not to mention head cement, which makes penetration (however slight)
problematic.....to say the least.

giles
hm.....come to think of it, not all that bad a rape defense.

I never use head cement on dry flies, especially the tiny ones.

Quite a few others here have said the same. Personally, I've never
been able to master the knack of tying heads that would not unravel
without cement.

giles

Dandruff flies
 

On Nov 23, 3:40*pm, Giles wrote:
On Nov 23, 3:16*pm, george9219 wrote:

On Nov 22, 10:18*pm, Giles wrote:

On Nov 22, 9:00*pm, george9219 wrote:

A stray fiber from hackle or cdc in the wrong place will give
you fits trying to thread the fine tippet through the eye.

Not to mention head cement, which makes penetration (however slight)
problematic.....to say the least.

giles
hm.....come to think of it, not all that bad a rape defense.

I never use head cement on dry flies, especially the tiny ones.

Quite a few others here have said the same. *Personally, I've never
been able to master the knack of tying heads that would not unravel
without cement.

giles

http://books.google.com/books?id=Moe...0tying&f=false

This was the stuff (the beeswax, rosin and castor oil mix) recommended
by Mark Van Patten on the Tying Bench. Don't use head cement/Sally
Hansens anymore. This stuff rubbed on the thread before you whip
finish the fly seems to do the trick. Secondarily, it doesn't clog up
the eye of the fly nor does it interfere with the hackle. Love the
stuff.
Frank Reid