Time passing swiftly, I’m
getting to work on refreshing my supply of spring & summer trout flies. Looking
through the boxes it occurred to me that: even though I tie & carry a
considerable assortment, only about a half dozen patterns account for most of
the trout I caught last season. And one pattern in particular stands out, my
log indicates, a simple olive sedge emerger, this one pattern accounting for
about a third of the trout I catch in a season.
That says something about the
importance of caddis as trout bait. And particularly the emerging pupa phase.
Admittedly, my home water is
a caddis river, its mayfly hatches sporadic & mostly unpredictable. But isn’t
that the case in a lot of places? And no matter, as, spring & summer, the
sedges produce daily hatches serving to get trout up & going. Mayflies are the
occasional steak dinner, while sedges are the daily ration.
On a lot of streams, East
& West, grannom is the first reliable hatch of spring. Following grannom,
in the West, are the more prolific spotted sedge, so similar they are often
mistaken for grannom. The pattern featured here covers both of these species,
& tied in sizes #10-#18, will cover many others one might encounter
anywhere.
The version featured is tied
on a Mustad 3366-BR, a hook I like a lot. This straight-eye sproat design is
popular for tying North Country wetflies,
traditionalists claiming it tracks & hovers like the eyeless hooks of old,
the performance preferable to modern down-eye designs. The Mustad 3366-BR is
very inexpensive, about five bucks for a 100 pack, & I don’t know why, but
that is good. These are sized smaller than standard wetfly, a #10 equal to a
#12 standard wetfly. I tie standard #12’s & #14’s on a #10, & #14’s
& #16’s on a #12 3366-BR. These aren’t heat treated as brittle-hard as English
hooks, so the barb can be pinched down without fracturing the hook point –
& the ample barb leaves a generous fish-holding hump when pinched.
Grannom Sedge Emerger
Hook: #10-#18 (natural
grannom is about #12 – nymphs are a size larger than adults)
Thread: camel UNI 8/0
Rib: olive-pearl
krystal-flash, 2 strands, twisted, & wound over the abdomen as a rib – then
wind solid through the thorax area, providing a ‘light’ base that will show
under the thorax dubbing
Abdomen: light olive rabbit, touch-dubbed
on a strand of light olive Pearsall’s silk, or light olive tying thread
Thorax: brown-dyed hares mask,
short, loosely dubbed
Hackle: brown partridge,
grouse or brahma hen ~ & finish.
