I got to the ten mile area tonight at 5:00. I anchored and landed two fish on my first two casts. I figured I was on a pod of fish: a perfect time to try a variation of the Sheep Creek Special.
I tied on the fly above. It is just Peacock Herl wrapped in an x-pattern with thin gold wire. It is a bare-bones version of the Sheep Creek Special. I tried 10 casts with it without a single hit. I realized that the fly was tangled in the leader. After cleaning it up I started getting hits with this version.
Fish were taking it half the time carefully, and half the time smashing it. In 90 minutes I landed 19 fish, all planters. However, half of the planters were 13 inches long and fought like steelhead. The largest fish caught was 15 inches and a beauty.
An average catch rate of 12.67 fish per hour is pretty awesome. However, I lost more than half of the fish I hooked. The fly I was using had a shorter body than above…it just went back to the point of the hook. I think the extended hook may have been the problem as the fish were hitting the smaller body and not getting hooked well. There must be a reason that flies are usually tied back to the hook point.
After 90 minutes I put on a Sheep Creek Special and the fish seemed to hit it harder than the Peacock Only fly. I did lose fish but not nearly at the rate with the Peacock Only fly. I ended up landing 13 fish in an hour, just a little above 12.67 per hour with the Peacock Only fly.
I had 15 minutes before I had to head back to the marina. I knew this could screw everything up but I tied on a Tailless Sheep Creek Special. I landed 3 fish on my first 4 casts, landing a 4th fish at the end of the mini-testing session.
I don’t know what today’s results determine about the Sheep Creek Special and why it works so well. I’m no longer tying Sheep Creek Specials commercially and I’m looking for a fly that I can tie quickly, very quickly. Also, it would be nice to have a fly that works well on this lake…sort of like a regional version of the Sheep Creek Special.
I’m leaning towards the version above. A Peacock Only fly looks too simple for a fly to sell. The fly has to appeal to the fish and the buyer. The ribbed fly with an over wing looks like it is more advanced than a hook wrapped in peacock.
The advantage to the tailless version is that it can be tied on several different sized hooks without the bother of finding dry fly hackle sized to each hook.
Another fun night. Everybody should be fishing this lake at this time…..fish are active and everywhere.
Tight Lines!!