More BWO stuff? Yup, we have been fishing them a bunch and thats that game right now! Last week I showed you the Purple Jesus, I found another great pattern for Richard Strolis. I have been using this pattern for the last few weeks and is also part of my program. It is very straight forward and an easy tie. I tie them in 16 to 20′s. The dubbing I use is MFC Frog Hair, it comes in a bunch of great Baetis colors and dubs like a dream. For the legs I use Krystal Flash or Pheasant tail. I also use a Dai-Riki #320 or #125 if you like curved hooks. Crystal or Purple Irr glass beads work great,

This is a great pattern that you should have in your box. Tie up a bunch for your next trip and you wont be disappointed!

We are back to our weekly tying videos! Thursday Night Tying Sessions was a good time for everyone. With longer days and warmer weather we should all be out fishing and using the flies we tied this last winter. We will start the tying night up again this coming fall.
The last few weeks I have been fishing the Missouri River and conditions have been perfect for BWOs. Water temps have been above 42 degrees for a few weeks, the sun has been out and the BWOs have been on the water. Blue Winged Olives are a member of the Baetidae family,over 60 species in the West. What does that mean to you? A BWO is the same thing as a Baetis. There are a few more names floating around, little olives and little blue duns. Dont drive your self crazy just learn to recognize a BWO when it is on the water.
BWO’s are one of the first and last meals of the year. On the Missouri you should start looking for them when water temps hit 42-43 degrees, they like overcast days and usually come out when the weather is shitty. With that said they can show up on perfect sunny days. The adult has two tails, small and narrow hind wings, sizes run from 20 to a large dun at 14. Body colors can vary from light to dark olive to gray/olive. Wings are typically light gray to dark slate gray. The nymphs can have two or three tails, two antennae on the head and small gills on the abdomen. Colors range from olive to olive brown to brown. What about purple you ask? It works!

I have been fishing this fly for the last two weeks and it has found a place in my fly box. It is a pretty easy tie but has a few things you should keep in mind. The eye if the hook can get crowded easily. There is a lot going on in this area, so think minimal thread wraps. When you tie in your wing case and bring it forward make sure that you use minimal wraps to secure it at the eye of the hook. I like two wraps, then pull the krystal flash back behind the fly. Give it a good pull. This will pull everything away from the hook eye and give you a good point to secure a few wraps for the legs. Secure the legs with as few wraps as possible. Now use a three turn whip finish, one wrap right on top of the other. This keeps the head of your fly nice and small. You dont want to loose the head of your fly in your tie off point.

This week we are going to be tying the infamous Skwala. This is a great early season bug that not many people know about. It is one of the first big meals of the season and trout love to eat’em. So be ready for nymph and dry patterns. Drayton will be showing off some of his favorite patterns, Larry will be in with a few of his patterns and I will be tying a pattern I call the King Kong Skwala. Here is warm up video for the King Kong Skwala.

This week we are tying one of my favorite Midge emerger patterns. I call it the KISS CDC Midge Emerger. It’s a super simple pattern to tie and very effective. You can also change up the colors and sizes to imitate BWOs and other small mayflies.

Tying this fly is pretty straight forward but there is one thing to keep in mind when tying. It is real easy to make your head to big and throw off the proportions. When you tie in your wing only do two medium wraps over the CDC, adjust the wing length and go straight to the whip finisher. Keep your whip finish wraps right on top of each other, this keeps your head nice and small.

Next time you are on the river above a bunch of Midge sipping trout, feed’m the KISS CDC Midge Emerger.

Another Thursday Night Tying Session is upon us. What is the them? Ants and Beatles. This is going to be another one you dont want to miss. Trout love ants and those fat little beatles. Drayton is going to make another appearance and break out some more foam magic and maybe has a few more surprises up his sleeves.

Here is a quick warm up video for all you ant lovers out there.

I am going to be tying my favorite ant pattern…. Amy’s Ant. Its a great pattern that I cant get enough of. Here is a materials list for her.

 
Hook – Dai-Riki #730 in size 6-12
Thread – 6/0 or 3/0 Black MFC Premium Tying Thread
Underbody – 2mm Rainy’s Foam
Overbody – 2mm Rainy’s Foam
Legs – Medium round rubber legs
Hackle – Brown rooster neck or saddle, trimmed short
Body – Krystal Chenille
Underwing – Rainbow Krystal Flash
Overwing – Elk Hair
Thorax – Ice Dub

This week we are tying 20 and under. Or is it 20 and over? Lets keep it simple, size 20-32′s. My guess is that there will be lots of 20′s being tied and not many 32′s? Yup, I might take that bet. Well…. lets get that size 32 out of the way right now!

Afraid of small bugs? Dont be. Small bugs are not difficult,  just smaller than what you normally tie. Less hook means less material… Right? Keep it simple and you will be tying 32′s in no time. I love small bugs and so does Andy Baird of http://smallflyfunk.blogspot.com/  Andy has lots to say about small flies, fishing and fly fishing. Check out his blog and you will find lots of great patterns to tie and great photos.

Here is a small list of the flies I am going to be tying tomorrow night.

K.I.S.S. CDC Midge Emerger

• Hook – Dai-Riki #310 20 and 22
• Thread – MFC 8/0 or 6/0 Premium Tying Thread in Black, Olive, Purple and Brown.
• Wing – MFC CDC, White, Natural and Black
• Abdomen – Tying Thread
• Thorax – Black Peacock Ice Dub

Zebra Midge

• Hook – Dai-Riki #135 Size 20, 22 and how about 24′s?
• Thread – MFC Premium Tying Thread 6/0 or 8/0, Black, Purple, Brown and Olive
• Bead – 1/8 Silver
• Rib – Ultra Wire X-Small, Silver
• Body – Thread Body
• Thorax – Black Peacock Ice Dub

RW-40
Check out our tying video…….http://www.lakestream.com/tying-a-rw40/

This is just a small list of materials to bring with you. Bring a few of your own patterns to share. Larry and The Dr. will be tying some of their great patterns. Hopefully we can get Lew Patterson to show up and tell us more of his great tricks. So bring the big beers and tie the small flies! It’s 20 and under! or is it over?

Come join us this Thursday night at 6:00 for our Thursday Night Tying Sessions! Everyone is invited to join us in tying flies and enjoy a few cold ones. The theme this week is……. Extended Body Night. Any extended body will work. Larry will have a few patterns up his sleeve and I will be showing how to tie  a few different extended bodies on the Norvise and how to use extended body pins. Below is a warm up video with Norm showing how to tie an extended body with the Norvise.

This is a my favorite way to tie an extended body on a mayfly. Spring feels like it is upon us and the BWO’s are not far away. Water temps are starting to creep up, is 43 the magic number? The Norvise Extended body makes a perfect adult BWO. I tie it in a few different sizes. 16-20 is the most common, with an occasional 14 thrown in. Dai-Riki #125′s are my favorite hook. I will also use Dai-Riki #310 and #320. The #310 has a straight eye and standard shank and hook gap. Sound to fancy? To many numbers? I agree! Any standard length dry fly hook will do. For dubbing I use Montana Fly Company’s Frog Hair Dubbing. It dubs on smooth and comes in some great colors. Olive, Blue Wing Olive, Gray, Skwalla and Purple are great colors to use. Hareline’s Micro Fine Dry Fly Dub is another great material to use. You can use a number of materials for the tail. Deer hair, hackle fibers, micro fibbetts or my favorite…….. Moose Hair. Dont have any of these? How about an old paint brush? Paint brush bristles make a great tailing material. How about a shaving creme brush? Most of the cheap ones are made out of Boars hair. Boars hair is an outstanding tailing material that can be hard to find. The post material is also important. I like McFlyon, it seems to float beter and last longer than most. White, black and gray are the most popular colors to use. Wrap that post with a good quality hackle and your ready to feed some fish!

Here are a few things to think about bringing Thursday Night.
Hooks – Standard Dry Fly Hooks in size 10-16
Thread – 6/0 in what ever color you choose.
Body Material – Foam and Dubbing, colors listed above.
Tailing Material – any of the listed above
Hackle – Appropriate sized for the hook size, Grizzly, Dun, Blue Dun or Olive
Post Material – McFlyon, Poly or Parapost Material

Also bring along a sewing needle. We will be using this to tie our extended bodies on. We will be showing you how to set it up to work on any vise. When choosing your needle get the smallest one you can find. This will make it easier to remove the extended body from it when you are done tying.

Once again Drayton Osteen will be in the shop showing us some great foam extended body techniques. This Thursday will be one that you dont want to miss, 6:00 at the shop.

Sneak peak at what goes on in Lakestream on a Friday afternoon. Justin busted getting his tie flying on. Justin is a great tie flier, don’t let him tell you any different. What’s he tying up? Little size 26 PA’s? Yup. 20 midge body thread Zebras? Maybe. Come in and check out his secret patterns.

This week we are going to be tying Pike flies! It’s almost time to start prowling the Flathead looking for Pike. Pike fishing is a great time and usually ends with a great fish fry at the end of the day. I am a big fan of Clousers for pike. I will be tying my Clouser Pike fly and the classic “Rabbit Pike Fly” These are very simple patterns and area very effective. Tying Night starts at 6:00 and goes till the beer is gone! Or we run out of stories.
Here is a short list of materials you will need to think about:

1-Size 2-3/0 Hooks

2-Thread – 3/0

3-Lead Eyes

4-Body Material – Rabbit Strips, Craft Fur or Bucktail

5-Flash – Flashabou or Crystal Flash

Here is a quick warm up video for you. The music is a little much but the fish tank at the end is cool.