Your Most Productive flies in 2015

[newriverspey]

This was a hard decision but my best fly last year was a #20 Purple and Partridge with a small amount of mole dubbing for the thorax. I mainly fished a tailwater river this year and this proved to be highly affective, especially fishing it in an upstream fashion.

[newriverspey]

I almost could not sleep last night. I would be remiss if I did post a very close second place fly. Same pattern as size as above but I use Yellow Veevus thread that is well waxed.

[tie2fish]

Great macro photos, NRS. That is some awesomely webby partridge.

[daringduffer]

I didn't have the opportunity to fish that many days last year but my most successful fly was hackle-less EHC with a one turn tag of very narrow pearlscent mylar. In 2014, it must have been the Endrick Spider. Inspired by UC Steve, I am now tying a bunch of these on size 14 Kamasan B420 (equivalent of Daiichi 1150). I will tie some with waterhen hackle inspired by William. I have ribbed them with tightly twisted fine reddish copper wire. They look cool on that hook. The keeling effect that Steve mentions would make it more sensible with an over-and- under hackle instead of umbrella style. I will try that too.

dd

[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

[William Anderson]

Here's my #1 for 2015 . . . as well as 2014 and 2013 and maybe 2012. Hans Weilenmann's CDC & Elk. (Photo and fly by Hans)



This fly has proved to be absolutely remarkable, taking some of the most difficult fish I've ever cast to and doing it consistently. Any time I encounter a riser on the Henry's Fork, this will be the first fly it sees, regardless of what I might see in the air. Often it is the only fly that fish will see because it eats it.

I only tie it in 16, most often on a Dohiku 301. I may vary the color of the CDC or the deehair, but usually it's just medium dun CDC and natural grey/brown deerhair.

Thank you Hans!!

Eric

Now that is one hell of an endorsement. I've heard this from so many sources I still have to shake my head at the simplicity and effectiveness of this fly. Kudos to the master of efficiency, execution and function. I've seen rows of these in the flies of the finest anglers I've had the privilege to fish with. I just don't fish dries often, I seem to miss the hatch opportunities for the most part, but a very memorable catch on the Madison, just above the cabin at Campfire Lodge in West Yellowstone. I was just searching the very tail of that gorgeous section with a dry, then let this CDC and Elk swing under in at a pretty good speed and crunch. A beautiful rainbow in that section. Maybe the first time I've used that fly on the swing, although I've heard it performs well in this way. No observable hatch.

[William Anderson]

This was a hard decision but my best fly last year was a #20 Purple and Partridge with a small amount of mole dubbing for the thorax. I mainly fished a tailwater river this year and this proved to be highly affective, especially fishing it in an upstream fashion.

Otto, thanks for posting these. You're not alone in putting purple in your top shelf flies. These are beautiful and cool pics. I remember you mentioning a couple fantastic days with this fly the past season. Wanna list a couple others. You fish a warmer tailwater than I do and I'd be curious to hear what else works for you.

[William Anderson]

I didn't have the opportunity to fish that many days last year but my most successful fly was hackle-less EHC with a one turn tag of very narrow pearlscent mylar. In 2014, it must have been the Endrick Spider. Inspired by UC Steve, I am now tying a bunch of these on size 14 Kamasan B420 (equivalent of Daiichi 1150). I will tie some with waterhen hackle inspired by William. I have ribbed them with tightly twisted fine reddish copper wire. They look cool on that hook. The keeling effect that Steve mentions would make it more sensible with an over-and- under hackle instead of umbrella style. I will try that too.

dd

Stefan, I'm just so glad to hear you were back out on the water and at the vise this past year with some regularity. Your EHC fly sounds good. Not too dissimilar to the fly Tim showed as his number one. I have had lot of success in past years with a fly that has been in my top 6 for years. It's very much like an Endrick Spider, but uses a golden pheasant herl body, rather than standard pheasant herl.

Golden Pheasant Twist and Partridge. I'd much prefer this one a daiichi 1550 now, like the Waterhen and Turkey fly. They all seem so similar and ubiquitous and killer under lots of conditions. I think this hook is the reason I didn't tie it on this season, as I have so many flies with twisted herl bodies and mottled game bird hackles.



Now you've got me excited about a fly I've tied lots of and fished with some regularity in 2013 and 2014. I need to get some pics of that to share. Maybe soon. Thanks for posting your most productive flies.

w

[William Anderson]

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

[swellcat]

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. )