End of Summer Smallies

Over the past five years or so fishing for smallmouth bass, I have come to find out that they are not very particular about what they eat.  Wooly Buggers in black, brown, or olive always seem to do the trick when flows are moderate to low and not too much weight is needed.  Also, zonkers, especially in black and white, are favorite bait fish imitations.

These two smallmouth took zonkers tied to look like the famous Black Ghost streamer pattern.

The Sawyer Bug...A New Nymph

Hopefully you can sense the sarcasm in the title of my post.  All too often people design a "new" fly that looks peculiarly like a fly that already exists.  When it comes to nymphs, let's face it, most nymphs are either a Pheasant Tail or a Hare's Ear variation.  The most recent fly name to make me giggle is the frenchie.  The frenchie is a Pheasant Tail with a hot spot, in other words, it is a Pheasant Tail.  So, in the tradition of reinventing the wheel and calling it something different, I have created The Sawyer Bug.  The Sawyer Bug is named after that same Mr. Sawyer that created the PT and the Killer Bug, and looks mysteriously like a PT.  However, this fly is tied with different materials, so I get to name it!

Materials:

Hook: TMC 2457

Bead: Tungsten (w/ lead wrapped hook shank)

Thread: Brown 8/0

Tail: Pine Squirrel Guard Hairs

Rib: Amber Midge Vinyl Rib 

Body Material: Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift - Burnt Umber*

*The Oyster color of the spindrift wool yarn has gotten a lot of hype recently as a killer bug material; however, I have found the Burnt Umber to be a dead ringer for imitating mayfly nymphs.