Significant new fly patterns?

[baetisman]

I have fly fished for many years, but in recent years my interest has dropped significantly. (I don't know, but I think I got tired of catching the same 15 inch brown over and over and over.) This year I am trying to light the spark again. One place I want to start is in fly tying. I have always been a meat and potatoes kind of tyer, sticking to the basic nymphs, dries and streamers. So the guestion is - over the past 5 to 10 years or so, have there been any new fly patterns that have become 'must-have' in the fly box?

[cje04]

Tough question to answer. Depends on the method of fly fishing you prefer and what your basic flies consist of. Here are some ideas to re-light the fire. Tie and fish new flies and see how they work for you. Experimenting with different patterns can be rewarding and gives you one more arsenal in your box. Every fly will be a new experience and you will aquire your own "must haves" to put in your box. Tie and fish flies that you haven't fished before such as if you have never fished soft hackles or streamers try them. Try fishing for a different species of fish like bass or the lowly carp. That will open a whole new realm for learning. Good luck.

[Johnny]

Some of the "geniuses" here have come up with a great variation on Griffith's Gnat. Just do a search for "Astro"

[jim m.]

Take a look at the stuff Rene Harrop is doing. While I'm not a huge fan of his "fly shop" I appreciate his flies. His use of natural materials is remarkable, particular CDC.

[Trout4x]

Not only trying new flies but if you make it a goal to fish new waters maybe that will help out as well.

[mems]

Aloha, try saltwater. That will get you over brown trout. Mems.

[Jason]

I think the overall trend in fly tying is has significantly evolved in the last 10 years, and the flies pretty much remain the same but they're being tied with new and innovative materials. LIke Jim said, CDC has opened up a flood gate of new patterns. It's a great material for emergers, duns, and even soft hackles. Snowshoe has also become a popular material in the last few years as well. But, synthetics have become the "new" rage for fly tying. Foam, craft fur, rubber legs, antron dubbings, metallic sheeting, etc, are becoming the rage. It seems there's always a new material out on the market. Just head to your local fly shop and ask about their new patterns and materials and I'm sure you'll find something you like.

[THeBLender]

Take a look the UtahOTF Fish Challenge forum.

Try and tie a different fly for each species you catch. This year I've got two goals:

1) Fish like a madman with the 3wt I built on as many little streams as possible, preferably dry (I've never used a 3wt, fished a moving water smaller than the Provo, and have caught <5 fish on a dry).

2) Bass on deerhair popper I've tied myself...

If I'm lucky, I won't see the same brown more than 5 or 6 times :)

[Cary]

Aloha, try saltwater. That will get you over brown trout. Mems.
How true. Stonefly still has the trip for two to Ascention Bay available. We'll have to get with UTDave x-squared and figure a way to auction off.

[River_Witch]

Baetisman-

Woven fly patterns aren't necessarily new but as mentioned earlier, the materials available these days, particularly some of the synthetics make tying fun, interesting and realistic! I like tying with Larva Lace and one pattern that is really fun to tie is the Riverwitch. It is a woven fly pattern and you can get really creative with color combinations and fishing techniques! I fish it like a streamer mostly but I have caught fish on the dead drift too! Good luck and welcome back to fishing and fly tying!

[Jason B]

One thing i found when i began tying flys is that YOU can create new flys, expecially for waters that you fish a lot. I can say that i have several sows, midge patterns and mayfly patterns that one won't find in a fly shop or in catalogs. That is one of my favorite things to do, is take live insects off the water and tye my patterns from them, experiment with different materials and come up with new patterns. I have found that a pattern, expecially some of the sows i tye, are always a go to pattern, I would pick it over the classics anyday. That is because i have fished them myself and with clients and year after year they always work.

[Fred]

You might try using foam. RAW does some cool stuff with foam. Also, Teri that ties sometimes at Western Rivers does some nice flies with foam.

If you go up to the fly tying expo in Idaho Falls, you can get lots of creative ideas.

Also, streamers are not new, but tying up a few boxes of streamers is fun.

[Troutmaster]

Get a couple bags of CDC and go crazy. That stuff is great. As Jim mentioned you can look to Harrop for some ideas

[TheSnagKing]

My Cabela's catalog says the "Copper John" is their hottest
selling fly. The CJ seems to get alot of press on this and
other ff sites as well. I'm like you. I have about 2 dozen patterns
that I tie and if none of them work, I go home. I dont seem to recall
the CJ getting so much attention in years past. Then again, I just
found out last week that Reagan was the president a few years
ago so...

[Jason]

Like I said before, every "traditional" fly has been changed or modified at sometime or another, either with new materials or different colors. The CJ is no exception. There's probably 15 different CJ variations out there on the market now. It's definitely a popular fly. I actually don't fish with it, maybe I should.

Another suggestion to get yourself out the rutt is to try for new fish species; bluegill, bass, wipers, carp, etc. It brings a whole new perspective to the game and your fly tying will change entirely.

[baetisman]

Thanks to everyone for the good suggestions. I think the place for me to start is to look at the new materials out there and then get creative.

Several years ago I started to go after different species - I caught largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, perch and bluegill - and I think I will look into that a little more too. And I definitely have to find the time to try to some new waters.

thanks again.

[TheSnagKing]

I've just perfected a "sparkle yellow" powerbait imitation (fished like a dry). I can e-mail the recipe to anyone who is interested.


snag

[baetisman]

TheSnagKing,

Your post reminded me of a time a couple of years ago when I took my daughter to a pay-to-play pond to teach her how to flyfish. I used every fly in my box without much luck. There was a bucket of fish pellets that the owner used to feed the fish. The fish loved those when thrown into the water. Fortunately, I had my fly-tying stuff and I spun some green deer hair, clipped it into a pellet shape, and my daughter proceeded to catch a bunch of nice fish.