Fly of the Month
Hairwing Dun
Posted on May 10 2023
This month's fly is the Hairwing Dun. The Hairwing Dun was created by Rene Harrop of Idaho in the 1980's. The story goes that he was fishing the Firehole River during a good Caddis hatch but couldn't match the fly. So he trimmed down a Elk Hair caddis and...
Antron Egg
Posted on April 05 2023
This month's fly is the Antron Egg nymph. The Antron egg fly is a very realistic egg fly, which when wet becomes very translucent. I have caught fish on it during the spring sucker spawn and also in the early winter when salmon eggs are around. Hook - curved scud...
Heavy Pat's
Posted on March 08 2023
This month's fly is the Heavy Pat's jig fly. The Pat's Rubberleg nymph has become one of our best selling flies at the shop. This version was created by our employee Logan Messina as a tight line nymphing pattern. This fly would serve as the bottom fly in the rig...
Frenchie
Posted on February 07 2023
This month's pattern is the Frenchie. The Frenchie was created by Lance Egan of Utah. The fly was made popular during the competitive fly-fishing tournaments held around the world. It is a classic tightline nymph tied on a jig hook with a heavy tungsten bead head. Anybody who nymphs should...
Rabbit Foot Emerger
Posted on January 05 2023
This month's pattern is the Tom Rosenbauer Rabbit Foot Emerger. This pattern was created by Tom Rosenbauer of Orvis fame. It is designed to float in the film like an emerging bug. It can be tied in any color you might need to match the hatch. Olive, tan and rust...
Yellow Woolly Bugger
Posted on November 15 2022
This months fly is the Yellow Woolly Bugger. After I bought the shop a customer came in looking for this color of Bugger as it was his favorite at the time. Since then it has really been an effective pattern for brookies on certain ponds. It is also...
Pat's Rubberlegs
Posted on July 29 2022
This months fly is the Pat's Rubberleg nymph. It was created by Pat Bennett a fishing guide from Island Park, Idaho. It started out as a popular fly in the Rockies and is now being used all around the world. It has certainly become one of our favorite and most...
March Brown
Posted on April 12 2022
This month's fly is the March Brown dry fly. This version is actually named the Flick's American March Brown. There are many different versions going back to the early days of fly fishing but I think the Art Flick version is the most popular today. It is a very attractive...
Sparkle Worm & Zebra Midge
Posted on March 03 2022
March’s fly of month is actually a fly combination in celebration of the coming of April. The pink sparkle worm and zebra midge nymph rig has caught many fish for me in the first days of April in our waters. The pink sparkle worm is a modification of the...
Copper John
Posted on February 09 2022
This month’s fly is the Copper John nymph. The Copper John was created by John Barr of Colorado in the early 1990s to be the dropper fly below a dry fly on a rig called a hopper-dropper. The sole purpose of the fly was to sink quickly and attract the fish...
Grizzly Wulff
Posted on January 26 2022
This months pattern is the Grizzly Wulff. The fly was created by Dan Bailey of Montana in the mid 1930's. Dan and Lee Wulff were good friends that fished together often. At that time Lee had just created the Wulff design that used bucktail hair as the wings and tail. He...
Female Adams
Posted on November 07 2021
This Month's pattern is the Female Adams. It is simply an Adams with a yellow tag on the back end. This yellow tag can simulate the egg sack that forms on the mayfly. I find it also can work during caddis hatches. This simple change in the pattern can...
Mole Fly
Posted on October 07 2021
This month's pattern is the Mole fly emerger. This fly was created by Charlie Craven from Colorado. It has been around for a long time and a standard for those who need to imitate emerging midges. Actually any small emerging insect can be copied by varying the size...
Guides Choice
Posted on June 11 2021
This month's fly is the Guide's Choice nymph. This pattern was designed by the Greater Yellowstone fly shop in Montana. It is a flashy Hare's Ear with a soft hackle color that makes a great top fly in a double nymph rig. This fly is a good example of what...
Blue Winged Olive Parachute
Posted on March 12 2021
This month's fly is the Blue Winged Olive Parachute. The small B.W.O. is the first bug to hatch in the spring. It only requires water temps in the 45 degree range to begin hatching. The hatch often occurs during cloudy weather which keeps the bugs from drying and flying,...
Orange Hornberg
Posted on February 08 2021
This month's fly is not new, just an old favorite in another color. Every year fisherman come into the shop looking for orange hornbergs. In the past I have had no interest in stocking another color of this favorite fly. I knew that finding a good supply of this...
Grouse And Flash
Posted on January 07 2021
This month's fly is the Grouse and Flash. This fly was created by Nick Yardley of England. I first used it many years ago but had forgotten about it until recently seeing it in a tying book. It's hard to see the bright flash of the body in...
Parachute Mr. Rapidan
Posted on December 06 2020
This month's fly is the Parachute Mr. Rapidan. This is a parachute version of the dry fly created by Harry Murray from Murray's fly shop in Virginia. It is a great mayfly pattern for Hendricksons and March Browns in the spring. It is a great imitation for drakes in the...
Winnipesaukee Smelt
Posted on March 10 2020
This month's fly is the Winnipesaukee Smelt. It was created in the mid 1900's by Jim Warner of Wolfeboro New Hampshire. This is a very effective pattern in the spring for fishing during the smelt run. The secret to the fly's productivity is the under wing of lavender. The color...
Emergent Mosquito
Posted on January 14 2020
This month's fly is the Emergent Mosquito. This pattern was created by Randall Kaufmann and is taught in his book the American Nymph Fly Tying Manual. I started using it many years ago and quickly found it's worth a space in my fly box. During the early summer...
Brown Owl
Posted on December 05 2019
This month's fly is the Brown Owl. The Brown Owl was created by Bob Broad of Wentworth location New Hampshire. He ran a fly shop just over the Maine border along the Magalloway River. I believe the pattern was originally created to copy the large Stoneflies that hatched along...
CDC Caddis
Posted on October 08 2019
This month's fly is the CDC Caddis. This is a very effective pattern that works well at Upper Dam in the fall. It is a very versatile pattern that can be fished wet or dry. It can be fished in different sizes and colors for whatever you are matching. ...
Red Fox Squirrel Nypmh
Posted on September 10 2019
This month's fly is the Red Fox Squirrel nymph. This pattern was created by Dave Whitlock. I am mentioning it because it is a very good wet fly for September. What makes it good I am not completely sure of other than the presence of the large October Caddis...
Tan Deer Hair Caddis
Posted on August 12 2019
This month's fly is the Tan Deer Hair Caddis. I am mentioning this pattern because it has been an important fly for fishing the Magalloway in the last couple of weeks. It is best fished in the pocket water around the rocks and in the seams. Action can...
Parachute Royal Wulff
Posted on July 09 2019
This month's fly is the parachute Royal Wulff. The Royal Wulff is one of the most popular flies of all time. It was created by Lee Wulff. I used this pattern frequently at one time and forgot it for awhile after I used up my supply. I thought...
Frost Blue Smelt
Posted on June 07 2019
Fly Of The Month This month's fly is the Frost Blue Smelt. This pattern was created by Dick Frost who owned the Rangeley Region Sports Shop in the late 70's and early 80's. Hook - streamer 6-10 Body - silver tinsel Thread - blue Wing - White bucktail,blue bucktail,peacock herl...
Peeking Caddis
Posted on May 06 2019
This month's fly is the Peeking Caddis. I don't have any background about this fly's origin, but it is a very popular and effective cased caddis imitation. In our area it copies the American Grannom caddis that hatches in the beginning of the summer. If you have ever been...
Lightning Bug
Posted on April 08 2019
This month's fly is the Lightning Bug. I can't find much background info on this fly. Just that it has been around since the early 90's and is mentioned as a Montana favorite. I have been using it for 10 years or so. My most effective way to...
Puterbaugh Caddis - Fly of the Month
Posted on March 05 2019
Puterbaugh Caddis The Puterbaugh Caddis was developed by Don Puterbaugh, a long time guide on the Arkansas river in Colorado. This is a high floating and versatile pattern. It can pass for a caddis or terrestrial. I have used this pattern for years and sometimes it is the only caddis...
Squirmy Wormie
Posted on February 08 2019
This month's fly is the squirmy wormie. This pattern was first created and fished by Dave Hise of North Carolina. Some fishermen wouldn't think of using this fly, (Sometimes I would be one of them.) But there is no denying its success. I first saw the fly when...
Mop Fly
Posted on January 08 2019
This month's fly is the Mop Fly. It was created by the competitive fly fishing folks. We tied it last winter one Saturday at the shop. The fly was the object of much critique and skepticism however when summer rolled around it really did catch fish. There are...
Soft Hackle Hares Ear
Posted on December 05 2018
This month’s fly is the soft hackle Hare’s Ear nymph. This is one of my favorite flies. During the summer, I use it in smaller sizes for tan Caddis hatches. It can be fished deep or swung in the surface film. In the fall, it is good...
Green Weenie - Fly of the Month
Posted on November 05 2018
This month's fly is the Green Weenie. Variations of the Green Weenie have been around for 20 years or more. Original flies were floating, the recipe below is for one that will sink. The first fly was to imitate an inchworm, but they are used in waters that have...
Edson Tiger Light
Posted on October 08 2018
This month's fly is the Edson Tiger Light. This fly was created by Bill Edson of Portland, Maine in 1929. It is an effective pattern in our area in the fall when the the colors yellow and red catch the eye of spawning trout. Hook - Long shank streamer #...
Mickey Finn Marabou
Posted on September 05 2018
This month's fly is the Marabou Mickey Finn. The Mickey Finn was originated by John Alden Knight of Pennsylvania in the 1930's. The Marabou version is a seriously aggressive streamer. The great attractiveness of this pattern is sure to bring a strike from the big boy in the neighborhood. Hook...
Loopwing Caddis Emerger
Posted on August 07 2018
This months fly is the Loopwing Caddis Emerger. This pattern has no history that I can find. It was given to me to copy by a customer who raved about its fish catching ability. It is a fly that can look like a dun, emerger, or cripple on the...
Foamulater
Posted on July 05 2018
This month’s fly is the foamulator. The foamulator was created by Randall Kaufman of stimulator fame. This is a very effective fly on our local rivers wherever stoneflies are present. Its many pieces add many qualities to the fly: foam for great floatation, rubber legs for motion, flash, and...
Blacknose Dace
Posted on June 04 2018
This month's fly is the Blacknose Dace streamer fly. This pattern was created by Art Flick and was introduced in 1947 in his Streamside Guide. This minnow spawns in many of our area rivers during the month of June. Hook - Streamer size 12-8 Thread - Black...
Zug Bug
Posted on May 05 2018
This month’s fly is the Zug Bug. This nymph was created by Cliff Zug, first tied in the 1930s. It was created as a caddis nymph imitation. I also use it as a cased caddis imitation. Its unique features and peacock herl make it a great searching pattern when...
Gunmetal Sparklewing RS2 - Fly of the Month
Posted on April 05 2018
This month’s fly is the Gunmetal Sparkle Wing RS2. I found this pattern in the book Go-To Flies by Tony Lolli. It was created by a Colorado guide named Chris Eisenhard. This is another example of combining feeding triggers from other existing flies into a very effective creation. The standard...
F.T. Stone
Posted on March 06 2018
This month’s fly is my own creation called the F.T. Stone Nymph. I came up with the pattern many years ago and it has been a good producer from the start. I wanted to put together a big pattern that I could use as a top fly in a nymph...
Killer Caddis
Posted on February 12 2018
This month's fly is the Killer Caddis. This pattern was first introduced in Tying Glass Bead Flies, a book written by Joe Warren in 1997. I have been using this pattern for a long time. It is a must if fishing the Rapid or Magalloway in the month...
Flying Ant
Posted on December 04 2017
This month’s fly is the flying ant. I got this pattern from Randall Kaufmann’s book Tying Dry Flies. This fly isn’t used very much, but when you need it you should have it. In this area that is usually around the end of May when we get our first...
Wardens Worry - Fly of the Month
Posted on November 16 2017
This month’s fly is the Warden’s Worry streamer. This streamer was originated in 1930 by Maine Game Warden Joseph Stickney of Saco. This is not a very well-known pattern, but was very popular in the decades following its creation. Hook - streamer size 4-12 thread - black body - amber...
Slumpbuster
Posted on September 04 2017
This month’s fly is the Slumpbuster. It was created by John Barr of “Copper John” fame. It was created to look like a baitfish. The use of pine squirrel strips gives it real life in the water and the shiny body gives it just enough glitter. This is a great...
Maple Syrup
Posted on August 07 2017
This month’s fly is the Maple Syrup. This fly was created right here in Maine by Alvin Theriault of Stacyville. It is well known for its effectiveness as a Drake or Hex mayfly nymph. This is a simple pattern that has been modified in many ways and is a proven...
Andro Stone
Posted on July 03 2017
This month’s fly is the Andro Stone, created by Dan LaPointe of Gorham, NH. Dan started tying “big uglies” (stoneflies) for us this year. This fly has some great features that will add to its floatation and attractiveness. Hook - 94831 # 6 – 10 thread - orange tail -...
