Your Most Productive flies in 2015

[Smuggler]

My top producing fly of 2015 was definitely the good old Partridge and Orange. Dubbed torax, rib or no rib it didn't matter, this fly took fish for me swung, treated with desiccant to make it float or just fished in the film. Remarkable fly.

Stewart's Black Spider is a good second along with the trusty Rusty Spinner dry fly .

I took my biggest brown this past year on the Yellow Breeches during the white fly emergence on a white fly flymph, Will was there to witness that fish. That is a very situational snd precise mstch the hatch type of fishing though but, I think about that fish often. Anyhow, the net Will lent me that evening had more mojo in it than my fly

Now this I've seen in person, playing out over dozens of trips. This and you taking nice browns on a PTN on the swing. The mojo in my net comes mostly from three fish in particular that I helped land this past season. The largest you've ever caught on the Willow in the fall, the beast on the Breeches on the wet fly and a beast of a brown at dusk on Pine Creek. You are the man with the gift.

w

Ah yes! PTN on the swing, that did produce a good number of fish this year. Forgot about that. That Breeches fish was by far the largest brown Ive landed, the head.. the FISH in general was just a slab of meat. Anyways, back on track here.

[William Anderson]

Well, this is far from a ho-hum list of usual suspects, isn't it. Thanks for the thread.
To bring in a warmwater perspective, that looks like the most elegant and refined carp carrot I've ever seen. (I trust the tier is down-to-earth enough to recognize that as actual praise, not faint, damning praise. )

I've never fished a carp carrot, but that's a name that's hard to beat. Glad you like the thread. I'd like to hear from lots of folks as to their most productive flies.

If I were cheeky enough to speak for Bill Shuck, I think I could go ahead and pop a pic of a sulphur comparadun and sulphur emerger. All year long.

[tie2fish]

Well, since a Moderator has given tacit permission to post something other than a wingless soft hackle, I might as well admit that comparaduns and nymph patterns catch more fish for me than any other. IMO, a comparadun ... the result of years of trial and error by Al Caucci and Bob Nastasi ... is the most versatile pattern going, fooling picky fish during virtually all phases of a mayfly's life beyond the nymphal. That being said, a sulphur comparadun with a dark sulphur nymph dropper pretty much covers the options for the water I fish most often.

Dark Sulphur Nymph.jpg (191.93 KiB) Viewed 7085 times

Sulphur Comparadun ~ Rear.jpg (202.68 KiB) Viewed 7087 times

[William Anderson]

Bill, I was hoping you'd put these up. I have seen you take more fish on these two flies than I can possibly remember. I don't know how many times I've made my way over to you streamside to learn that you out-fished me several times over and these were the flies on your tippet. These are priceless. Nicely photographed as well.

I started the thread by saying I was going to offer a few soft-hackles, but everyone should feel free to show whatever they wanted, I just wanted to know, of this particularly talented group of anglers, what their most productive flies. I'm love seeing Eric trumpeting the CDC and Elk and your Comparadun. If dries are your thing, that's just good information. I know I have deficits and those of you who are as talented with tiny nymphs and mouse patterns offer a lot.

[Roadkill]

Bill,

Beautiful Comparadun!

I find myself tying more Sparkle Duns than the original these days.
If the dun is being attacked my point fly is usually a yellow flymph or a transition soft hackle.

[Eric Peper]

I was kinda stymied on thr "productive" question because I encounter rising fish most every day, and fishing blind on the Henry's Fork (because of highly mobile fish and few classically "productive" spots because flows are relatively consistent in speed, depth and structure through the length that I enjoy) is generally unproductive. I'm fishing dries 90% of the time. When I do go to a "moist" fly, the one shown in my avatar is often the choice due to pretty good populations of Ephemerella/Drunella species.

All of this notwithstanding, there is one annual visitor who regularly fishes a 2-300 yard stretch of bank very successfully using a classical down-and-across wetfly presentation.

Eric

[tie2fish]

Bill,

Beautiful Comparadun!

I find myself tying more Sparkle Duns than the original these days.
If the dun is being attacked my point fly is usually a yellow flymph or a transition soft hackle.

Thank you, Bill. I used to tie/use a lot of Sparkle Duns also, 'cause they can imitate caddis too. Don't know why I stopped, but I'm sure going to start up again .

[UC Steve]

sedge 014 (640x605).jpg (178.2 KiB) Viewed 6978 times

According to my log, this sedge emerger accounted for a third of the trout I caught in 2015.
Hook: #10-#14 Mustad 3366-BR
Thread: camel UNI 8/0
Rib: 2 strands of olive krystal flash, twisted (& irregularly spaced)
Body: light olive rabbit touched on light olive Pearsall's; short thorax of brown hare's mask
Hackle: natural brown partridge

Great thread. Love seeing what worked. And hey, if any of you masterful gentlemen would like to present an original design in the Modern Archive at Soft~Hackle Journal, & perhaps win a book, learn about it here: http://soft-hacklejournal.blogspot.com/ ... ackle.html

[tie2fish]

I also have whipped up a couple dozen CDC & Elk, size #16 to really put it to the test this year. Eric, Hans and others keep praising the CDC & Elk pattern so I have decided I have to give it a serious try this year.

I'm with you, John, on putting the CDC & Elk to the test this year. Here's a batch of #16s ready for my planned day with Eric on the Henry's Fork come July ...

CDC & Elk Caddis ~ Size #16.jpg (208.42 KiB) Viewed 6881 times

[Eric Peper]

I also have whipped up a couple dozen CDC & Elk, size #16 to really put it to the test this year. Eric, Hans and others keep praising the CDC & Elk pattern so I have decided I have to give it a serious try this year.

I'm with you, John, on putting the CDC & Elk to the test this year. Here's a batch of #16s ready for my planned day with Eric on the Henry's Fork come July ...

CDC & Elk Caddis ~ Size #16.jpg

Perfect!!


And John, that's only because you've never caught a fish that big.