How simple can you go....

[Dec Hogan]

I once was working a player (while guiding) that kept coming to smaller and smaller flies. I was up on the bank where I could see every move the steelhead made to my client's fly. I finally thought, "What the hell" and broke out my knife and completely stripped a size 8 fly -- nothing but a bare hook. That was the "fly" that she finally committed to. Bam! Fish on! You can bet I was filled with the spirit of A.H.E. Wood and his Red and Blue Shanks.

[Dec Hogan]

Originally Posted by Dec Hogan

I once was working a player (while guiding) that kept coming to smaller and smaller flies. I was up on the bank where I could see every move the steelhead made. I finally thought, "What the hell" and broke out my knife and completely stripped a size 8 fly -- nothing but a bare hook. That was the "fly" that she finally committed to. Bam! Fish on! You can bet I was filled with the spirit of A.H.E. Wood and his Red and Blue Shanks.

The hook was black.

[gastch]

Haha thats funny as hell. I would have liked to see the look on the clients face when you shaved the fly bald, and then the look when they hooked the fish.

[OrangeHeron]

A black rabbit strip with a black schlappen collar, electric blue flashabou tied on a plastic tube with an orange cone head. Generally speaking they all start at 5 inches and get trimmed to size if needed on the water. Tied in BBG pink works wonders too.

[raspberry-patch]

It is hard to call this fly tying, but David's Gorilla is a Charlie Brewer Grub glued onto a threaded hook. Fast and simple, has caught Kings, Steelhead, and the expected Warmwater Fish, such as Bass. With the tail, it spins on casting and not the most durable, but it has been effective.

It is a change-up fly, used when other things are not working, but it is my daughter's goto fly.

http://raspberryfisher.wordpress.com...avids-gorilla/

For nymphing, the Insult by Jorgenson has been effective (Peacock hurl wrapped on a hook), I have some added some complications with deer-hair legs and sewing beads.



So this was a simple fly where I have added more, but I have tried to take some flies and make them "less". My Black Nose Dace with a bare hook.

http://raspberryfisher.wordpress.com...ce-minimalist/

[robmdq]

A hackletip feather wing and a head, nothing else, the colour of your choice. Also can use some small bird full feathers instead of hackletip, for example little parrot wing feathers, sparrow feathers, basically everything.

I will try to take some picture of some of these i have in my box later

Rob

[roballen]

Some year I am going to get a shirt that is all different colors and my fly box will be a bunch of bare hooks.. I will cut or rip pieces off the shirt and stab them onto the hook... I bet I'd catch just as many fish that way as by tying flies

[robmdq]

I may be not sofisticated nbor elegant, but it will sure be effective

[notellem creek]

Originally Posted by roballen

Some year I am going to get a shirt that is all different colors and my fly box will be a bunch of bare hooks.. I will cut or rip pieces off the shirt and stab them onto the hook... I bet I'd catch just as many fish that way as by tying flies

Some of those "flys" would turn out better then mine at the vise

[middlecalf]

Hey Dec - just curious, was that a wild or hatchery fish?

[NB Rob]

Originally Posted by brent_e

I agree with Jin, nice fish!!!

But don't you think it's funny that we have boxes full of flies from intruders to gorgeous classics (none in my box yet) that we tied and keep tying when 20 pieces of deer hair on a hook will catch fish.....I think there is something wrong with us people.

This notion and my experienced last season have seriously affected my fly tying.

I have contemplated this very idea so many times. My success with super-simple patterns last season, along with the fact that I like to carry one small box only- have really limited my creativity at the vise. I have all the flies I'll ever need. I rarely lose them anymore....

I've always been baffled with the concept of confidence affecting your fishing too.... I give so little thought to selecting flies these days. There's so much work to do perfecting line control that fly selection really seems less and less important. A stark contrast to my early days salmon fishing, when I needed to know what fly everyone else was using.

[NB Rob]

Gastch, what do you say on the miramichi when someone asks you what fly you're using?

[gastch]

Originally Posted by NB Rob

Gastch, what do you say on the miramichi when someone asks you what fly you're using?

I'm certain you have some special saying your thinking of that does not come to mind right now?
I've heard a few things over the years, some not so pleasent. lol If someone was asking me personally I'd probably say its a secrete or green machine with a white tail. GMWT is my circle of friends is called a "The Truth" A story to be told over a riverside beer sometime Rob.

[Dec Hogan]

Originally Posted by middlecalf

Hey Dec - just curious, was that a wild or hatchery fish?

It was a hatchery fish. A good wild one would have snarfed the original fly on the first pass!