FLYMPH FORUM

Having a chat today with Roadkill and after seeing his Smurf Emerger, I thought most of those folks from East of the Cascades, might not know that "Smurf" in this case is a real person; and unless you had watched old Jack Dennis videos, or read Rick Hafele's book "Nymph Fishing Rivers and Streams" you'd not find Smurf's true identity. I'm not going to spill the beans here, either. So how that led to this fly, I'm not sure except that I expect many of you folks back East wouldn't know about the Posse Bugger.
I could not resist a fly with posse in the name and until I watched Charlie Craven tie one, I would not have known that the posse in this case refers to the Aussie Possum fur used in the fly.

My variant includes pine squirrel for the tail material, rather than Possum. The tail topper and rib are authentic pearl flashabou, body is Aussie Possum natural, the hackle is partridge, and the head is black SLF Squirrel. The bead is also a bit of a variant. It is a copper bead that I"ve burned the copper to yield the less shiny and mottled copper color.
According to Craven, this was one of the early bead head flies created when beads were just beginning to show up in fly shops. His Youtube video is interesting and I can attest that people out here do in fact still fish this fly. Whether anyone besides me will fish my variant remains to be seen.

Heck Ron, I can not see a negative aspect to that pattern. The body color, the bead and the Partridge reminds me of my beloved Guides Choice Hares Ear.

If larger than size 12 Stone Nymphs live in your waters, that fly will produce way above average.

Good looking pattern my friend.

DUBBN wrote: ↑Fri Mar 24, 2023 3:40 pm If larger than size 12 Stone Nymphs live in your waters, that fly will produce way above average.

Our Golden Stones run about an inch to another 1/2 inch when mature. The Salmon Flies are much beefier.

Ron, I will be tying some before I come over to fish.

guys... I've fished a section of the Middle Deschutes when we could get on the water that has a bit of a salmon fly/stonefly hatch each spring. Not as well known as the lower Deschutes, but stonefly nymphs have been working this winter. I've tied several other new to me stonefly nymphs inspired by Dave Hughes and Rick Hafele's books. The water level drops to more fishable flows in about two weeks and these flies will get some use.

Ron,

It had been a while since I looked at my copy of Rick Hafele's book. Thanks for the reminder. I pulled it out and was soon happily browsing thru the book, looking at all the great patterns and seeing all the great pictures of various fishing locations.

I then had to go watch Charlies' video (link below):


Thanks for such an interesting post. You've brightened, and enlightened, my day.

Now where did I put my possum pieces...

Funny this tie comes up. I was bored out of my mind the other day; it was snowing to beat the band, coldern' hell, wind howling, a normal March day here. I sat down with a cup of coffee and started wandering through tying vids, one of which was the Charlie Craven Possie Bugger. I was surprised; I tie something very similar, I thought it was just a generic figment of my imagination. I feel better knowing that more enlightened fishermen than me had a hand in that fly. It works here in the spring, larger sizes -#8's and #10's, on the bigger rivers; the Aroostook and the St.John.

This whole bead head thing, ...I must be doing it wrong. I get far more hits on muted bead head ties than I do with bright, shiny beads. If these bright beads are supposed to be a trigger, it doesn't seem to hold with the fish up here. Then again, ...I may have lost something in translation.