Emergers

[salmo]

So after fly fishing for over 50 years it’s time for a confession. I was raised Catholic, by the way, and I have the scars on my knuckles to prove it. I have never fished a fly intentionally tied as a emerger. I have fished a thorax tied Adams with the hackle cut flush on the bottom but nothing approaching a Klinkhammer. I hope to make my penance by tying and fishing a sulfur emerger this May on Spring Creek. Forgive me Dave Kyle for I have sinned.

 

[JimNovo]

Shame....such shame!!
As penance, 10 Hail Mary's and fish the flies I'm gonna send you.

 

[dudemanspecial]

Many consider parachute patterns an emerger as the body sits in the film. Surely you have fished a parachute adams.....you are NOT a sinner!!!!!

 

[hooker-of-men]

Despite trying somewhat frequently, I don't think I've ever actually caught a fish on a klink or a proper emerger - unless we count a parachute, as the dude says. I've definitely had luck drowning caddis and other dries to fish them like an emerger. I don't get to target rising fish as much as I would like.

 

[tomgamber]

I occasionally fish mergers. In the beginning I caught many lifting nymphs and some on drowned dries. Not sure why I changed anything.

 

[salmo]

Many consider parachute patterns an emerger as the body sits in the film. Surely you have fished a parachute adams.....you are NOT a sinner!!!!!

Perhaps a venial sin.

 

[dudemanspecial]

Perhaps a venial sin.

Not gonna lie, I had to look venial up.

 

[Broodstock]

drowned dries account for a large percentage of fish, and dries that are drowned and moving a bit, struggling to get out of the surface tension and are no longer a perfect dead drift make an appealing meal. the strikes are vicious!

 

[Swattie87]

FWIW, a sunk and swung presentation of whatever dry the emerger turns into works pretty darn good. Good enough that I don’t really feel the need for a specific separate emerger pattern.

Sometimes I’ll bend the hook gap out a little wider of the fly I’m already using with my forceps. This will have it sit a little lower and encourage it to sink just below the surface if you swing it.

 

[salmo]

Not gonna lie, I had to look venial up.

A cardinal sin would be like killing a brook trout. A venial sin might constitute failing to bend down the barb on your hook before hooking a stocked rainbow. This from a lapsed Catholic. There may be a better analogy. I yield to those who went to a school that started with "Saint" or "Immaculate Heart."

 

[dudemanspecial]

A cardinal sin would be like killing a brook trout. A venial sin might constitute failing to bend down the barb on your hook before hooking a stocked rainbow. This from a lapsed Catholic. There may be a better analogy. I yield to those who went to a school that started with "Saint" or "Immaculate Heart."

The funny part is that I am not religious, but work for a Catholic institution and interact with priests just about every day. 🤣

 

[Tiogadog]

Craven's Mole fly is all you need. Pretty sure the Pope agrees...

 

[DomR]

Craven's Mole fly is all you need. Pretty sure the Pope agrees...

The Pope fishes soft hackles deaddrift or on the swing to imitate emerging insects. 🤣

 

[dc410]

Here is a pattern that I tie that I always called a sulphur emerger (not really sure if it is one). I drop this fly off of a sulphur dry pattern and it usually rides just below the surface. I’ve caught a lot of fish on it over the years during active sulphur hatches. It fishes very well on the Little Juniata.

 

[JimNovo]

Here is a pattern that I tie that I always called a sulphur emerger (not really sure if it is one). I drop this fly off of a sulphur dry pattern and it usually rides just below the surface. I’ve caught a lot of fish on it over the years during active sulphur hatches. It fishes very well on the Little Juniata.

View attachment 1641248955

That's an emergent for sure!

 

[JMP]

The CTE (cripple transformer emerger) developed by Bill Anderson of the Little Juniata River Association. By manipulating the wing it represents a crippled or emerging fly.

The CTE ( Cripple Transformer Emerger) developed by Bill Anderson of the Little Juniata River Association. The fly is designed to be fished as a cripple or emerging fly by adjusting the wings.

 

[salmo]

Here is a pattern that I tie that I always called a sulphur emerger (not really sure if it is one). I drop this fly off of a sulphur dry pattern and it usually rides just below the surface. I’ve caught a lot of fish on it over the years during active sulphur hatches. It fishes very well on the Little Juniata.

View attachment 1641248955

Thanks.

 

[BrookTroutLover]

The CTE (cripple transformer emerger) developed by Bill Anderson of the Little Juniata River Association. By manipulating the wing it represents a crippled or emerging fly.


View attachment 1641248957The CTE ( Cripple Transformer Emerger) developed by Bill Anderson of the Little Juniata River Association. The fly is designed to be fished as a cripple or emerging fly by adjusting the wings.

I have found that to be a killer pattern indeed.

 

[Oregon_OwlII]

So after fly fishing for over 50 years it’s time for a confession. I was raised Catholic, by the way, and I have the scars on my knuckles to prove it. I have never fished a fly intentionally tied as a emerger. I have fished a thorax tied Adams with the hackle cut flush on the bottom but nothing approaching a Klinkhammer. I hope to make my penance by tying and fishing a sulfur emerger this May on Spring Creek. Forgive me Dave Kyle for I have sinned.

You won't regret it.

 

[Bamboozle]

Speaking of Sulphur emergers...

I went digging in the archives to find the tying instructions for a pattern called the B.U.M. (Bob's Usual 'Merger) developed by Bob Lindquist and based on Fran Betters' "Usual."

Boy, was I shocked when I discovered I first tied & fished this pattern 20 years ago 😱 after seeing it in the Spring 2000 edition of Fly Tyer which I subscribed to at the time. It has a Z-Lon shuck, a scraggly looking loop-dubbed body and a wing pod made of snowshoe rabbit foot.

The good news is they are easy to tie with readily available materials, the snowshoe rabbit foot wing pod floats great, just change the color(s) & size to cover any mayfly, and no matter what your skill set is as a fly tier, they look great to the fish. 😉

I like to put a drop of liquid fly floatant (I use the stuff Harry Murray makes) on the wing pod, being careful not to get any anywhere else on the fly, blow on it a few times so it dries and start fishing.

In my experience I can see the fly just fine, it floats long before needing some drying and retreating and without a doubt, I have caught more trout on this emerger pattern (especially the Sulphur version) everywhere I tried it than any other emerger, including a few of my own creations.

I scanned the recipe for anyone who wants to give the B.U.M. a whirl: