Lititz Run, 6/7/07

[jhguster23]

Fished the Millport Conservancy section again this morning before work from about 6 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. or so.

The friend I was with caught a 17" rainbow and an 18" rainbow within about ten minutes of each other on a green bugger, about size 8 or 10. First fish was caught stripping it upstream, the other downstream. Both were beautiful and fought hard.

I started with a pheasant tail, caught a small brownie...then switched to a size 16 prince after I lost the other fly to an overhanging branch. Caught five more fish, all rainbows, in the 9 - 13" range on the prince. I tied this one myself, and as usual, the peacock herl starts to come unwound on the body of the fly after a few fish. Does any one have any advice on how I can extend the life of my prince nymphs? Or is peacock herl always going to come apart. Never seem to have a problem with the ones I buy from the store. Anyway...a great morning.

There was some mild insect activity, very small, pale cream / yellow mayflies coming off...maybe size 20, but I was not able to identify the bugs with any specificity. The fish didn't seem to be impressed, as I saw maybe one rise in the entire 2+ hours I was there.

 

[shipnfish2006]

Try counter wrapping the herl with thin wire, that should do the job.

 

[afishinado]

Tie in the herl to the shank of the hook as usual, and wind it on your thread like you would dubbing. Tying wax helps it to adhere. Wrap the herl on the hook with the thread like dubbing and that’s it! – bullet proof (almost) peacock herl. Counter wrapping with wire makes it even more durable, but is not necessary. Give it a try.

 

[jhguster23]

I followed both of your suggestions, and fished this morning. My Prince held up great. Thanks for the insights.