Amazing vacation day

[DUBBN]

Folk, thank you so much for the kind words. Thay are very much appreciated..


JohnL did you get my PM (personal message) to you with the fly pictures?

[John L]

DUBBN (Wayne), Yes I got your good closeups of the flies I sent you. Maybe I should share them even though none are soft hackles, since they are wingless wets.

Folks, Wayne and I have never met yet except on the forum, though for three years I have lived and fished similar waters but on the other side of the Colorado Continental Divide. He has many more years figuring out what works on our similar waters than I. Maybe that is why he sent me a bunch of flies to try. In exchange I sent him a few: a couple lightly weighed (brass bead head) peacock and brown rooster (size 12s) that were my go to flies at the end of my three years living in Northern California and catching only rainbows (some probably sea run) in the Sacramento and Feather Rivers, and then a few variations of the heavily weighed (silver tungsten bead head) fly (size 14) that is my favorite fly in Colorado freestone rivers at the moment. The copper wire bodied, tan UV collared fly in this post is my most tested favorite; the collar is dubbed on the wire with the help of dubbing wax; the bead is 1/8".

[John L]

The next three flies are: a partially green bodied varient, a partially red bodied varient, and then a red thread (I usually use brown) fly on a 16 hook - my only try at a Baetis nymph.

[letumgo]

John - Thank you very much for posting these proven flies. Superbly fishy patterns (sincere compliment). I'd fish them all with confidence. Splendid!

[John L]

Ray/letumgo, thank you!

DUBBN, try to forgive me for hijacking your vacation thread, but I did it above with your pictures and here with your flies.

Folks, Wayne sent me a bunch of flies to try. In the picture below you see his flies occupying all but the bottom row of my carry box, and the rest he sent are in the lower right corner of the other box. How are they working? Well, great! Some day, after I have tried them all, maybe I will post some results. See that humongous red wire worm? That is not going to get fished. It will stay where it is as a flybox queen and conversation piece.

[DUBBN]

John, I am glad you posted your patterns. It's plain to see why they do so well for you...Thank you so much for sending them to me.

[John L]

Wayne, and anyone else interested, yesterday several of the size 20 DUBBNs in the picture above, trailing below one of my usual bead heads you see by my thumb, were taken by fish in my town river at a rate of about seven to one. It seemed my go-to 14s were little more than weighty attractors. Thanks to Wayne giving me the little flies I may be having my first good winter fishing here ever. Now I have to rethink my prejudice against flies smaller than 14 for successful non-tailwater freestone river fishing. We'll see what happens the rest of winter, then spring ...

[letumgo]

Good information John. You may want to take a look a some of Syl Nemes trico patterns for winter fishing. I'd expect the smaller (sub-14's) and darker patterns to work better in the colder months. Your mileage may vary, but that tends to be the natural trend in the colder periods.

http://www.flymphforum.com/viewtopic.ph ... mes#p20971
http://www.flymphforum.com/viewtopic.ph ... mes#p20882
http://www.flymphforum.com/viewtopic.ph ... mes#p20899

[John L]

Ray, thanks for the suggestion and links. I'll be trying some of each.