First Tuesday Tips
Tip 2: Sculpt a Fly
(This is Tip 238 in Skip's book, 365 Fly Fishing Tips for Trout, Bass, and Panfish)
This First Tuesday Tips: Tip 2 applies to Trout in Streams, Trout in Lakes, Largemouth Bass in Lakes, Smallmouth Bass in Lakes, Smallmouth Bass in Streams, and Panfish in Lakes.
The original Adams (not Parachute Adams) on the left.
On the right is another just like it, or rather, one that was just like it before
cosmetic surgery turned it into a mayfly or stonefly nymph or even a mayfly spinner. Amputate the tail and what remains could pass for a caddis larva or pupa.
(photo ©Carol Ann Morris)
The stream is full of plump caddis larvae. You need a weighted fly (probably one with a metal bead for a head) that imitates the larva, but you have none in the right size or color. What to do, what to do. . .
Do this: Find a mayfly nymph imitation (with a bead) in the correct size and color, and trim off its legs and tails—now it’s a fair imitation of that larva. A fly that started out imitating a caddis‐pupa can become a scud if you trim it right. A green Woolly Bugger can become a dragonfly nymph if you shorten its tail, perhaps trim the hackle fibers off its top. A Dave’s Hopper looks a lot like a Golden Stone adult once you’ve snipped off the kicker legs.
A little creative sculpting on flies can make them effective imitations of all sorts of things they were never meant to imitate. And, in turn, save your fishing.
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*Announcements*
Skip has an essay in Big Sky Journal's annual Fly Fishing issue, called "Montana Hoppers: the Princess and the Brute" released February 1, 2023. Skip rewrote it a bit; I painted and illustrated it here, on our website. Here's the link on our web page to check it out:
©Carol Ann Morris
Click here to read Skip's essay Montana Hoppers: The Princess and the Brute...
Skip's latest books:
Top 12 Dry Flies for Trout Streams: How, When, and Where to Fish Them, is now available on Amazon as an ebook...check it out! Click on the links below to go to the information page on Top 12 Dry Flies (the link to Amazon is at the bottom of the page...)
Top 12 Dry Flies for Trout Streams: How, When, and Where to Fish Them
Click here to get more information about
Top 12 Dry Flies for Trout Streams: How, When, and Where to Fish Them (the link to Amazon is at the bottom of the page)...
Top 12 Dry Flies for Trout Streams: How, When, and Where to Fish Them (the link to Amazon is at the bottom of the page)...
Top 12 Nymphs for Trout Streams: How, When, and Where to Fish Them, 2nd Edition, originally published as an e-book only, is now available on Amazon as a paperback...check it out! Click on the links below to go to the information page on Top 12 Nymphs (the link to Amazon is at the bottom of the page...)
Top 12 Nymphs for Trout Streams: How, When, and Where to Fish Them (2nd Edition)
Click here to get more information about
Top 12 Nymphs for Trout Streams: How, When, and Where to Fish Them (2nd Edition). . .
Top 12 Nymphs for Trout Streams: How, When, and Where to Fish Them (2nd Edition). . .
Click here to get more information about Skip's e-book,
500 Trout Streams...
500 Trout Streams...
Skip's latest paperback book:
365 Fly Fishing Tips for Trout, Bass, and Panfish
Click here to get more information about Skip's latest book,
365 Tips for Trout, Bass, and Panfish...
365 Tips for Trout, Bass, and Panfish...
Print Skip's chart for FREE:
Skip Morris's Trout-Fly Proportion Chart
Go to Skip Morris's Trout Fly Proportion Chart
Skip's Predator is available to buy...
Skip's ultra-popular Predator—a hit fly for bluegills and other panfishes and largemouth bass (also catches smallmouth bass and trout)—is being tied commercially by the Solitude Fly Company.
The Predator
CLICK HERE to learn more about or to purchase the Predator...
Learn to Tie Skip's Predator
Do you want to tie the Predator?
Tying the Predator
Skip shows you how to tie it on his YouTube Channel link, listed below:
CLICK HERE to see Skip's detailed video on how to tie the Predator...