What Are You Tying Today? 2026

[Mwo10mwo]

Got some new materials over the last few weeks for some shrimp patterns and then tying my way through the Patagonia Pheasant Tail book.

 

[skiltonian]

Sz18. CDL light speckled tail. 12/0 Thread body (it’s yellow, pic looks grey) with brown sharpie marker used for ribbing. Amber Superfine dubbed thorax, yellow hareline parapost, and Whiting golden badger hackle.

 

[albatross]

Ad-libbing a bit

 

[nfrechet]

Miramichi Special

Hook- Single salmon
Thread - Black
Tip - Oval silver tinsel
Butt - Black floss
Body - Embossed silver tinsel
Hackle - Orange tied on as a collar and tied back and down
Wing - Black bear hair tied low over the body

Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art - Terry Hellekson

 

[flyguy638]

Some Andreas Andersonn’s Sid’s and mini Sid’s

 

[dc410]

Traditional wooly worm pattern, tied on a size 8 Tiemco 5262 hook.

 

[KELORGO]

Some more confidence flies, especially for early season. I have success with these on the dead drift, as well as on the swing. Blow Torches:

 

[tomgamber]

Traditional wooly worm pattern, tied on a size 8 Tiemco 5262 hook.

View attachment 1641249060

First fly i ever tied and used regularly. Caught tons of pansfish and the occasional trout. But was really in the learning to cast/experimental stage. I was fresh out of college. Learning by trial and error. 1988-ish. No cell phones, internet, GPS, spoonfeeding. Not so different from many of the jobs I had after leaving TV news (including parenting) just figured it out.

 

[KELORGO]

So, this one started out as a joke because my boys thought one of the guys on our annual trout trip looked like a vampire when he slept. They even doctored up the picture they took:

The fly remained a joke until we fished it. It cleaned up on several creeks, both upstate and down home. We call it Keith’s Dracula or Keith’s Vampire. Call it what you will, but it flat out works. Dead drift it through riffles or jig it through slower, deeper water.

 

[lprudente]

Blue Quill Nymph- need to consult the phone pic thread, apologies for the blurry pic.

 

[flyguy638]

Not a fly BUT I recently found ( in my garage), the vise I tied my first fly on, B4 and after

 

[Arfly]

Not a fly BUT I recently found ( in my garage), the vise I tied my first fly on, B4 and afterView attachment 1641249101View attachment 1641249102

That's cool. Did you make it?

 

[nfrechet]

Miramichi Cosseboom

Hook - Single salmon
Thread - Black
Tip - Oval gold tinsel
Tail - Green hackle barbs
Ribbing - Oval gold tinsel
Body - Green floss
Wing - Gray squirrel tail tied low over the body
Hackle - Yellow tied on as a collar and tied back

Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art - Terry Hellekson

 

[Trapshooter]

So, this one started out as a joke because my boys thought one of the guys on our annual trout trip looked like a vampire when he slept. They even doctored up the picture they took:
View attachment 1641249083
The fly remained a joke until we fished it. It cleaned up on several creeks, both upstate and down home. We call it Keith’s Dracula or Keith’s Vampire. Call it what you will, but it flat out works. Dead drift it through riffles or jig it through slower, deeper water.
View attachment 1641249085

What's the recipe for this fly?

 

[KELORGO]

What's the recipe for this fly?

1. Danville’s 140 denier waxed flymaster black thread.
2. Fulling Mill FM45 Jig Force black nickel hook, size 16.
3. Montana Fly Company black nickel slotted tungsten bead.
3. Orvis Spectrablend Nymph dubbing in black.
4. DMC string in red (I think I bought it at Michael’s).
5. C.D.C. Cup-De-Canard in black from Holsinger’s.

Of course, substitutes for all of the above will work. Once I have the dubbing on up to the bead, I wrap the thread back to the tail and back again to the bead before I apply the CDC. This gives the body shape and minimal segmentation, but mostly serves to reinforce the body (like counter wrapped wire). I don’t pull any CDC off of the feather, because I suck at dubbing loops. I simply tie in the base of the feather and wrap it like you would hackle. This is much easier for me to tie and the fish don’t seem to mind. Good luck with this one and let me know how it fishes for you 👍

 

[Trapshooter]

View attachment 1641249111

1. Danville’s 140 denier waxed flymaster black thread.
2. Fulling Mill FM45 Jig Force black nickel hook, size 16.
3. Montana Fly Company black nickel slotted tungsten bead.
3. Orvis Spectrablend Nymph dubbing in black.
4. DMC string in red (I think I bought it at Michael’s).
5. C.D.C. Cup-De-Canard in black from Holsinger’s.

Of course, substitutes for all of the above will work. Once I have the dubbing on up to the bead, I wrap the thread back to the tail and back again to the bead before I apply the CDC. This gives the body shape and minimal segmentation, but mostly serves to reinforce the body (like counter wrapped wire). I don’t pull any CDC off of the feather, because I suck at dubbing loops. I simply tie in the base of the feather and wrap it like you would hackle. This is much easier for me to tie and the fish don’t seem to mind. Good luck with this one and let me know how it fishes for you 👍

Thank you, I think I have everything but the red string.

 

[KELORGO]

You’re very welcome. I just use three strands of the string for the tail. I think it is six strands as it comes from the store.

 

[KELORGO]

Blued winged olive emergers in size 16 and 20. Just thread bodies with CDC wings. Don’t mind the dime. It’s there to show my non-fly fishing buddies how small some of the flies we use can be. Ps. I don’t fish emergers near enough, but have been frustrated lots of times when trout were keyed in on them. I tied these after being motivated by the Emerger thread on the forum.

 

[rancid waders]

CDC & Mop

 

[sandflyx]

few for the special box