#22 Thorax Dun

Few flies are as effective on skinny water as Vince Marinaro's Thorax Dun. Dating back to the 1950's, this is a pattern ahead of it's time. Originally tied with hen hackle tips to produce a split wing, Mike Lawson developed the pattern further in the 1980's using turkey flat for wings - an innovation that simplifies tying.

The footprint of this pattern is key, in either wing variant.

On standard dry fly hooks, things can get a little crowded - transferring the pattern to a Daiichi 1270, or TMC 200R adds valuable millimetres, and a semi-emergent profile. The large-eye Daiichi makes tying off the hackle a breeze, so this is my preferred hook. That said, it's not a bad idea to trap a few hackle barbs as you finish the fly (as per Roy Christie's EasyPeasy USD Mayfly, example below) with the effect of imitating anterior legs, thereby adding to the footprint. John Goddard was expeimenting with USD patterns in the 1980's by wrapping the hackle around a fine wire post. Roy's design is arguably simpler to tie and more robust - characteristics common to many of his designs.


Hook: Daiichi 1270 #22
Thread: Uni Trico 17/0
Abdomen: Just a wisp of Fly-rite Poly dubbing #19 light tan
Wing: Turkey flat, grey
Hackle: Whiting Midge Saddle, grizzly
Thorax: Muskrat underfur, pine squirrel cheek, a few strands of chopped Fly-rite antron

Small Fly Funk Radio

Heads up...

Launching Summer 2010, Small Fly Funk Radio will host an ongoing series of interviews with special guests from the world of fly fishing with a focus on small fly fishing and tying.

First up is Marc La Mouche Fauvet, FFF Certified Casting Instructor, Comición Nacional de Lanzado - Master de Lanzado, Instructeur de lancer mouche and head of Planete Mouche.

I last fished with Marc in 2008 on L'Orbieu, in south central France so I'm looking forward to seeing Marc's Presentation Casting demonstration at this years IIFF and spending some time on the local streams with him after the fair (it's been too long, man...). We'll cover small fly presentation techniques and leader design during the interview. Feel free to post any questions you may have nearer the time, this is a great opportunity to gain insight from a casting expert with specific small stream experience. And if you're within striking distance of the IIFF, do not miss his casting demonstration... I got to see Marc weave a 2 weight line through tight brush using my 7' rod at 30 yards last time we hooked up... something else.

Always check your backcast...

Underway

Second time out last Saturday and as per last season, the first trout of the year fell to a #20 RPE (Reverse Parachute Emerger, Roy Christie).

Despite no surface activity, this pattern again brought trout up from no where... By mid-afternoon a few small olives were found breaking free and taking flight so I guess my timing was good, more by luck than design.

I appreciate the unhurried pace this early in the season, there was time between fishing to check out what insect life was developing sub-surface. Most of the pools were alive with midge larvae ranging from 10-15mm in length (and a few tiny examples at 4-5mm), and dark olive to blood red in colour. These may lack the complex grace of an adult upwing, but I find them fascinating as they pulse with life.

The #20 below features a thorax dubbed with a home-made blend courtesy of Dennis (scotfly) of the UK Fly Dressing board. A neat innovation is that Dennis labels the dubbing according to hook size range - the fly below features #16 - #18 material, and is a blend of seals fur and hares ear dyed to suit. It's a delightful crunchy blend, incredibly easy to apply and makes an ideal thorax on Roy's RPE. Really looking forward to using this more - I have a few colours that cover the rusty and olive hatches here.

Good call Dennis - and thanks! I'll report further on the Synton thread included in your package.

So, I've eased myself in to the 2010 season... despite no casting practice during the long Winter, I soon found my rhythm and it's good to know there's still trout in the burn. The whole season's ahead of me. And there's the Irish International Fly Fair to look forward to in July.

It's all good.

Stripped quill midge

Rick Takahashi's Bow-tie Buzzer is a key pattern from Modern Midges, which includes a detailed SBS. Featuring a fine silver wire rib, bright goose biot cheeks, a mylar wing-bud case and gills tied bow-tie style at right-angles to the hook shank, this is a pattern loaded with triggers.

The stripped peacock quill midge below is a minimalist variation, which relies on zelon gills as the key trigger, with strong segmentation on the abdomen providing more subtle attraction to midging trout.

Uni Trico thread (rated 17/0) excells when forming a neatly bulbed head. With very low bulk, you can really work the thread to produce highly controlled results and permanent marker readily bleeds in to the thread. Once the head is formed, apply a thick coat of Hard As Nails and leave to dry before tying in the gills and finishing.




Hook: Daiichi 1270 #22
Thread: Uni Trico
Abdomen: Stripped peacock quill, olive
Gills: White zelon

I opt for the Daiichi for sub-surface patterns, using 6X and 7X tippet. For on- and in-surface presentations, the TMC 200R has a more discrete eye.

Sno-Fly V11: Modern Midges Celebration Swap

The annual Sno-Fly swap on Smallstreams has near legendary status among tiers and fishers of small flies. This year was particularly special as it celebrated the release of Modern Midges, which includes patterns from many of the Smallstreams community.

Although I missed the initial posting and so a place on the list, John Larson (AKA Alpinefly, Smallstreams admin) very generously supplied a full set of submissions. The swap is a celebration of small flies and midges, with contributors from across the States - and further afield. The flies provide insight and inspiration, and demonstrate how midge patterns have evolved from basic patterns of the 1960's to sophisticated imitations using both natural and synthetic materials.

The following is a selection of submissions:

Cory Ellis's Rojo Midge Emerger

Carl Pennington's Chartreuse Juju Midge

John Larson's Glo-lite Series Midge Emerger

Mark Olson's Bowtie Buzzer

I'll keep posting more in the coming weeks and months. There are numerous patterns to share, including lots of sub #28 magic. There's a dizzying array of styles, skills and flavours to share.

I'll also be working on my submission for later this year...

A huge THANK YOU to John for your generosity. I greatly appreciate the fly set, and samples of your úber-cool Glo-lite Series midges.

Catch you real soon.

Andy

Smooching spinner

To celebrate the wedding of Mr Boutique, Phil Holding to Lynne, here's the smooching spinner. Many variants of mating and clustered flies exist. This is nothing new, but an appropriate celebration of Phil and Lynne's wedding.

Hook: TMC 101 #20
Thread: Gudebrod 10/0 tan
Tails: Whisper tails, light dun
Wings: Niche Products siliconised polypropylene yarn, white
Thorax: coloured with permanent marker

Congratulations and best wishes for yor shared future, Phil and Lynne!