The Ausable Ugly...Effective Simplicity

The more I fish and age the more I'm drawn to simplicity.  We too often complicate our lives with unnecessary clutter, distractions from what is important.  These self-imposed complications flood into the partitions of our lives meant to be free from care.  Fishing is one of those realms that suffer from too much.  Slow down; fish simple, UGLY flies.

Pine Squirrel Zonker

I tied this baby up with visions of smallies, carp, and trout dancing in my head.  70 degrees in mid-March!

Muddler Minnow

This was my first attempts at a classic.  I'm hoping to slay some summer smallmouth and wild trout with this one.

I'm always hesistant to tie flies that have no natural movement.  You know flies without marabou or rabbit or pine squirrel, but anyone and everyone who has ever fished this fly raves about its effectiveness.  And, this thing has been around forever, so it must be pretty damn good.  Tied without weight it can be fished as a hopper, and tied with weight like mine are they make a great imitation of a sculpin or other small baitfish.  I can't wait to try them out.

Recipe

Tail: Mottled Turkey

Body:  Diamond Braid or Flat Tinsel Ribbed w/ Wire or Oval Tinsel

Underwing: Squirrel Tail

Wing: Mottled Turkey

Head: Spun Deer Hair



Wow! What a Stream.

These are pictures of my first trip to a small stream near my parent's house.  This stream may be my new favorite.  I fished streamers in the rain for a a few hours and caught 9 fish.  If I told you how many I missed then you would really be jealous, or maybe you'd laugh at me.  Oh well.

This fish hit on my very first cast.  How often does that happen?  Caught on a #8 soft hackle wooly bugger.  Thanks Rich Osthoff!

This fish came on one of my next three casts.  Probably the nicest wild brook trout I've ever caught.
















And some more fish...

If I could consistently take fish on small (#8 and smaller) streamers, I would fish them exclusively.  What fun!

The Sparrow's Casual Fart!

A combination of The Casual Dress, The Sparrow, and A Fart in Church.  This may be my buggiest tie to date.

Hook: TMC 5263 #6
Thread: 6/0 Brown (Does it really matter?)
Underbody: Round Lead
Tail: Muskrat
Body Dubbing: Muskrat
Hackle: Natural Dun CDC (Three Feathers Palmered)
First Collar: Cock Pheasant Rump
Second Collar: Muskrat in a Dubbing Loop
Third Collar: Black Rabbit in a Dubbing Loop

A Meat Army!

Brown Trout Beware!  This meat bites back!

Did I Mention I Love Sculpins?

Wooly Sculpin

Hook: Mustad 5xl streamer hook
Thread: Danville Red Flat Waxed Size A
Weight: Big Chunk of Lead
Tail: Black Marabou
Body: Olive Chenille and Grizzly Hen Saddle Hackle
Head: Black Deer Body Hair

Rat Bastard...A Loren Williams Fly

Hook: TMC 2457 size 6 or 8
Thread: You choose
Body: Pine Squirrel in a dubbing loop
Tail: Olive and Black Marabou

Soft Hackle Wooly Bugger

If I'm being honest, I'm not a very big fan of Rich Osthoff"s books.  They are mediocre; however, his soft hackle wooly bugger is awesome.  Now, I realize that this fly is nothing new, but it does use hen for the hackle rather than rooster, and the two step process Rich uses to dub and hackle his fly lends itself nicely to creating your own favorite variation.

Hook: 2xl or 3xl nymph (I use 2xl a lot)
Thread: 6/0 you choose the color
Tail: Marabou
Body: Dubbing of your choice
Hackle: Hen neck or hen saddle

My flies are tied using only hen saddle; however, Rich ties his using both hen neck and hen saddle.  He covers the rear 2/3rd of the shank with hen neck, which is a longer feather, and the front 1/3rd with hen saddle.  Hen saddle feathers are short and very webby.  I use the saddle because it is cheaper and more webby/dense.  Regardless of how you choose to tie it, this fly catches anything that swims.

The Casual Sparrow

This fly has carp nymph written all over it, but with its size and ability to simulate a sculpin I'm sure browns and bass would take it as a baitfish.  Oh!  What is that stuck in the corner of my mouth?  It's soft and chewy with a little bit of bite.