I could have been on the water a couple of days ago but I kept getting up late and it was cold outside lol. Winter has arrived at the lake. That means fly tying weather. I stumbled along the Internet and found the pattern above: Higa’s SOS. It is very pretty, with a collection of materials causing some time to tie: bead; tail, wire / wraps, thread body, floss flashback, dubbed thorax, two black krystal flash strands, pull flashback and whip finish. I usually give 30 seconds for each material, so this to me is a 3 to 4 minute fly to tie. It is a beautiful fly and if it becomes a killer I’ll suck it up and tie a couple of dozen. I obviously am still learning this pattern as all the flies above are fish-able but not of commercial quality.
I like patterns that are fast ties. I found a Dave McPhail video about tying PT nymphs using only wire for the thread and PT feathers (but I couldn’t follow his directions because of his thick Scottish accent). This should be a two minute tie or less, but I’m slow tying the new pattern. I didn’t like how they looked so I tried tying a regular version with a copper underbody. They both look fish-able to me so it depends on how fast I can tie each version. I like my PT’s thinner, similar to the one on the bottom left.
The master fisherman on the lake, Benson from the Shasta Trinity Flyfisher’s club (I still need to send in next year’s fees), uses mostly “modified” PT’s. I didn’t have the courage to ask to see one, so maybe next time I’ll learn his killer pattern. Until then, tying, tying, and tying.
Tight Lines!