P&SHS-SH

[Mataura mayfly]

Purple & Starling Hot Spot Soft Hackle.

B 200


B 175


Hook: Kamasan B200 (upper) or B175 (lower)
Thread: Kinkame silk no.182 #50
Hot spot: Fluorescent orange sewing thread
Abdomen: Tying thread
Thorax: Bronze Peacock herl
Hackle: Starling back feather

Not sure why I decided to try it, not sure why it works, but for some reason this has been my top producing pattern for the first two months of the season down here.
Early season has not been that fun, lot of high winds, rain and dirty water. Maybe the hot spot has been a big old neon underwater sign in cloudy water?
Does not seem to matter which hook is used, the long B200 or shorter B175, each seem to produce well. Most often fished trailing a weighted "working" fly by 10-18", across & down and taken on the lift or swing. Because of water conditions this has not really been cast to sighted fish, more swung through likely looking water "fishing blind".

[DUBBN]

Purple and Orange was very good to me this past Spring. I like the way your tying thread layed out. Very skillful sir.

[Mataura mayfly]

Yes, I admit Wayne, orange & purple are two "troutish" colours, but usually more for Rainbow's and I target brown only waters, waters renown for being difficult and match the hatch waters. These don't match much, but small & dark is a pretty common factor in local nymphs.

By the way, you don't need a trip to "spec-savers"? Thanks for the positives, but these are pretty messy. They look okay in the hand, fishing flies- yes, but once blown up a bit and with the picky 'eye" of the iphone, they are pretty untidy.

[letumgo]

Jeff - Before I opened the post, I sat here for a minute trying to work out what the letters stood for. I was unable to come up with an answer, so I succumb to curiosity and opened the post. Lovely wee wingless wets. I enjoyed reading about your fishing trials. Did you notice much of a difference, in terms of effectiveness of the two sizes? My eye perfers the shorter B175 proportions, but the fish hold the important vote.

Great little pattern.

[DUBBN]

Yes, I admit Wayne, orange & purple are two "troutish" colours, but usually more for Rainbow's and I target brown only waters,

I will not post the photos of the Browns I caught this morning. I yield to you sir.

[Mataura mayfly]

Ray, no, as eluded to above, no real difference in size preference shown by the locals. But then fishing can often be measured here in the KM's per fish rather than the fish per KM.
We would olny be talking less than a dozen trout, but other flies (even my favourite pogo's) have not been getting hit near as much.
Both the above are #14 hooks. I am roughly guessing the longer version is being taken as a tube Caddis nymph and the shorter perhaps mistaken for a Mayfly nymph, both of which will be found in any water I care to fish close to home, but the tube Caddis will make up to say 80% of a trouts diet this time of year.

[Old Hat]

I love hotspots and incorporate them a lot on my own patterns. Often flies don't need to represent anything. Most of my attractors are like that, but they work. I know I'm not telling you anything you don't know

[swellcat]

Often, flies don't need to represent anything.

That should be very liberating to a tier.
_____

[tie2fish]

I have stubbornly resisted incorporating "hot spots" on my fishing flies based on some narrow minded idea that they do not occur naturally. However, Jeff's recent experiences (per above) and the corroboration by more than a few of you has got me convinced to discard this prejudice. Thanks, Jeff, for sharing your well reasoned observations.

[William Anderson]

Jeff, you really nailed this one. Beautiful material combination.

It would probably do me some good to add a few more hot spots to my boxes as well. It's great to hear the months of field testing have proven this pattern for you as well. I'm not surprised at all. Nice one.