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| Watercolor by Doris Loiseau |
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| Muddler Redband |
Where I live, early spring is Muddler season. Attractor patterns can be effective on pre-spawn rainbows as well, but you can't go wrong with some variation of something that simulates sculpin. Water temperatures have not yet warmed enough to trigger insect hatches, & larger patterns fished deep & slow will get the grab. Here are a couple patterns, a Muddler & a Fore & Aft, I like to swing in early spring.
Squirrel Tail Muddler
Hook: #2-#6
Thread: black or brown
Tailing: squirrel tail
Rib: copper wire
Body: dubbed natural amber seal
Winging: squirrel tail & a couple strands of copper flash, 2 coq de leon saddles, placed both sides of the wing as lateral lines
Hackle Collar: olive guinea fronted with deer hair arranged as a collar
Head: clipped deer hair
Partridge/Blue Fore & Aft
Hook: #6-#8
Thread: black
Tailing: pinch of blue guinea & 2 jungle cock eyes (GPT) may substitute
Rear Hackle: brown partridge
Rib: gold wire
Body: peacock herl
Hackle Collars: brown partridge fronted with blue guinea
Trout Spey & The Art of the Swing
Coming this summer: Trout Spey & The Art of the Swing. The book. Written by 'Swing The Fly' magazine trout spey editor, Steven Bird, in collaboration with spey chieftains, Zack Williams, guide & founding editor of 'Swing The Fly', & Bruce Kruk (Kaptain Kanudia), Upper Columbia guide, casting instructor & trout spey master. A comprehensive work on trout spey & the methodology of swinging wetflies. Everything you need to know (& then some) to get you well up the road to expertise in this growing aspect of our sport. Includes 125 color photos of fly dressings for the game. First release will be a limited collector's edition of one hundred hard-cover, signed, book copies @ $100 (includes shipping in the U.S.). If you would like to be on the list to purchase one of these copies, contact Steve: columbiatrout@sbcglobal.net
