There is no doubt that classic streamers and bucktails fish well. Nevertheless, if we apply the same care and dedication that we do with when tying dries and nymphs in its different stages, to imitate smaller fish perfec...
In January of 2005 I was surprised when I saw a young american angler at the Manzano pool in the Chimehuín River (Patagonia). Not only by the way in which he casted and mended the line, but also because he caught five r...
The hatches here in SW Virginia have looked a lot like dust on the water this Spring and the fish were feeding on things that I couldn't even see. So I've tied a pattern that was on the smallest hook available at the loc...
I’ve always been impressed by the European tiers because of the originality of their designs and wise use of natural and traditional materials, like deer hairs of all types. Francesco Palú’s flies guided me to explo...
CDC feathers have unique properties due to the characteristics of their structure. Properties that make them ideal for certain type of flies of streamlined and ethereal silhouettes, more similar to real insects, especial...
Designed to attract fish and not fishermen, Ed Surryn flies were innovative from the very moment of its appearance. They are built with balsa wood, a particularly suitable material for making bodies of terrestrial ins...
There are many different styles of fly tying English flies, one of the more distinct is the one used for flies used in the rapid and structured waters of the northern rivers.The way the hackle is tied, with long so...
Traditional wet flies are coming back to the fly fishing. In the shadows of nymphs and emergers for a while, this kind of flies that served well for years is today studied again by the finest anglers that find unique sol...
For many years mayflies have been taken for hexs, but these are not related, they only have similar sizes in the adult stage. Chiloporter nymphs are skilled swimmers that live close to the shore in fast waters of stre...
About fifteen years ago, a friend of mine came home to order ten dozen of flies. I checked out the list of flies and realized he hadn’t ordered any Soft Hackle. I told him so and he just said, “I don’t like those, ...
The first time I saw a Murrough caddis fly emerge onto the water surface I prepared to defend myself! It was huge. One of the biggest flies I’ve seen on any British water. At over 1 ¼” they are the largest of our ca...
The Fat Albert is an interesting variant of the Chernobyl Ant with a bigger and bulkier body. It hits the water clearly calling trout´s attention. With some variations, we have used it successfully to catch golden do...
This is one of my favorite flies for fishing trout and grayling on the rivers of northern Italy and Austria. I started to tie this beetle in 2000 and over the years I kept improving it, changing its materials and shap...
Originally created in New Zealand aiming to imítate a small freshwater shrimp, it has been one of the most popular flies in Argentina over the last four decades.The original pattern had 2 or 3 collars made o...
Flies made with tubes of different materials are getting more and more useful to me. These last long because we can change the hooks if they break or loosen, and we can use hooks for different kinds of water, like saltwa...
The way in which we tie CDC in this emerger –as seen in the picture that shows it in action- makes the abdomen have the correct posture when on the water. The air bubble that takes form below the CDC wing case preve...
George Francis Grant was without a doubt an accomplished artist at developing techniques to shape hackles using animal hair. His skill went beyond the ones of a regular tier. In his books, “Master Fly Weaver” and ...
This fly, credited to Art Flick from the early days of fly-fishing in the USA, is probably one of the simplest yet effective trout dry flies, both for rivers and lakes.Gray Fox, Cream, and Dun are some of the...
Created in 1964 by Dan Nick Naranchi of Twin Bridges, Montana, this old design was named after one of the most famous rivers in the area, the Big Hole.
According to Joe Brooks, this fine fly looks something like a lo...
One of the most important food sources for trout in Patagonia is the Sammastacus or river lobster. It is one of the three kinds of crustaceans, together with the pancoras and scuds, that inhabit these waters and which ar...
Simplicity is the key to most fishing. How much simpler can one get than to find an all-white fly, that is so easy to tie, that even I - a completely incompetent fly-tier - can tie one. But not only tie it, b...
Stonefly nymph imitations are very effective in fast water rivers with big rocks on the bottom. The impressionistic ones with soft materials that move attractively underwater with the slightest currents are especially...
This is one of the flies that cannot be missing in the box of any dry fly addict. The attractor pattern is similar to the Irresistible Adams in its design. It has great buoyancy because it is tied with deer h...
Originally from New Zealand, the Matuka is still one of the most popular streamers in Patagonia. Not only used by fly fishermen that go after the big rainbows in november (early season) but also by those that chase the h...
Scuds are crustaceans and are very important for fly fishermen because they can be found in many areas, not only in lakes. They are constantly active in hours of dim light or cloudy days, they represent an important sour...
Originally, bucktails were streamers whose wings were made with white-tail deer hair. Today, bucktails are those streamers whose wings are made with different hairs, and not only deer tail.The first elegant fli...
Rabbit strip flies are an effective aid when we go for big emotions while streamer fishing in the fall. The way the strips move in the water and the size they give to flies are very special, all kinds of trout seem to be...
I never liked that much the Matukas made with hen feathers, maybe because these feathers wrinkle in the boxes and lose its shape a bit, something that is terrible for a perfectionist person. Still, once at Patagonia, ...
A sleek damselfly pattern for stillwater, where the exoskeleton is emphasised. So many of our patterns are dubbed, and therefore woolly of fluffy. This pattern exemplifies the sleekness of the natural, enters the water a...
Summer months are very special for Anglers who enjoy lake fishing. During this time of the year there’s more activity of dragon and damseflies.
Fully aware of this fact, those who already experienced this kind of fi...
Most big browns from Patagonia owe their size to a rich diet based on a type of crayfish called pancora. There are big quantities of them in some rivers, this is why we must make good imitations if we want to catch these...
Frank Sawyer must have never imagined that this simple nymph, perfected in the River Avon, would become a classic that is included in every angler’s fly box. Sawyer wanted a nymph that made an attractive sound when rea...
Due to its great underwater movement, the leech-like flies are unbeatable when we go for big fish. If well designed, these are not heavy to cast and don’t tangle, something key when we are casting at our maximum ski...
This sculpin model presented in the International Tackle Dealer Show of 2012 in Reno, Nevada, is really interesting when it comes to fishing for trout, golden dorado, wolf fish and other fish.I have tied them in ma...
Since Frank Sawyer gave the Pheasant Tail the shape of a nymph, the simple design with feathers from the tail of a pheasant and fine copper wire has not stopped catching trout around the world.
The variants for the eter...
Gray Ghost is a great name for a fly. A name that may bring back memories of salmon and brook trout to many fishermen, and also of the green waters of the Curruhué River or the blue ones of the Traful in the distant ...
Since I was very young, mice have called my attention. Especially fat clever country mice, the ones we used to catch in the old hay barns.Big browns and rainbow trout seem to have a similar attraction towards m...
About twenty years ago, I traveled with a friend to Junín de los Andes in the month of January and had some great fishing moments, but one of them really stuck in my mind. We got to the Aluminé river late and decided t...
This pattern was created by Scott Sanchez. In Scott Sanchez words: “The idea for the Double Bunny came to me almost 20 years ago while on a fishing trip to Belize. John Hanlon and I were trying to catch som...
When a fly tier sits down at his desk, he fantasizes of making patterns that go beyond popular fly recipes. There are so many materials to be used, so many different combinations, that tiers get creative and start combin...
All kinds of ants are spread throughout the whole world due to their adaptation skills. This is why fly-fishermen have to take into account that ants are a part of the fish´s diet. We can see this because ca...
The Royal Trude is a classic fly that remained in time. The down wing provides fish with a different silhouette than most attractor flies. It is a universal pattern that could be used everywhere.This fly is cre...
Tying artificial nymph gills is usually a problem. This is why I bring you this simple way to do it, a technique I saw some time ago and applied to many of my nymphs. It’s ideal for small nymphs, to achieve clear an...
Shuri Shumakov was a key character on reviving the popularity of tube flies. His short patterns, with cone heads, soon lead the way to countless variants, combining plastic tubes with metallic pieces to achieve highly...
The first tube flies came around the year 1945 in Scotland. They were tied on turkey wing feather quills that were later replaced by plastic tubes, the ones used for medical surgery. The possibility of tying the mater...
This is another fly that every fly fisherman must consider when stocking his dry fly box before a trip. The story of this fly goes back to the 40´s when it was named “Algonquin” and used by northern Michigan Indians...
Nymph fly-fishermen from Europe use a kind of fly named Czech Nymph, that was created by polish anglers. The models differ because of their braided abdomen, modified by Czech anglers who mainly use dubbing for this part ...
If you take a look around t’interweb you will see more versions of the Klinkhamer than you can shake a stick at. Some of them are useful, many are just someone’s interpretation of Hans’ original, and some are a jok...
The original Woolly Worm pattern is said to have originated in the Ozarks as a bass fly. Its real popularity, however, came when Don Martinez, a West Yellowstone, Montana fly tier, commercialized the pattern in the 1950s...
In classic Patagonia rivers such as the Aluminé and Chimehuín one can no longer see in the afternoon so many adult stoneflies like there were a decade ago, but their imitations still produce violent surface strikes,...