Fly tying occurs from January through October. Fly tying is held in the conference room at Cabela’s on the 4th Wednesday of the month and in the 2nd Floor Auditorium at Bass Pro Shops the Thursday after the 4th Wednesday. The tying starts at 6:30 pm. See the activities calendar for exact dates.
January 2016
Gerry McDaniel will be teaching his Articulated Stonefly. This is an excellent trout fly for the Cumberland. It is also very good fly for smallmouth since it resembles a hellgrammite as well as a stonefly.
The second fly will be Gerry’s Rolling Stonefly. It uses the same materials on an “Old English Bait Hook” for a smaller version of the bug.
February 2016
Not all flies that are excellent fish catchers have to be complicated and difficult to tie. Some of the materials can even be inexpensive and purchased at the hardware store instead of the fly shop.
In addition to beginning tier skills training, George Tipker will be tying the Catalpa and the Tri-Colored Egg. As a bonus 3rd fly, Wes Krupiczewicz will be tying the Foam Spider.
March 2016
The first fly Gerry will be demonstrating the Emergent Sparkle Pupa, an outstanding fly developed by Gary LaFontaine. The second fly is a Cased Caddis. Both are excellent flies in most streams and lake that support Caddis larva. The ESP should be fished in the film while the cased caddis should be fished deep.
April 2016
Dustin Tabert will lead the April Fly Tying sessions. Dusting will be demonstrating the House Fly and the Washington Fly.
May 2016
Gerry McDaniel will be tying 2 dry flies this May. The first fly is a Foam Back Humpie. The original “Humpie” was a deer hair dry fly designed to float high in the turbulent streams in the Western United States. The “Foam Back” is a simpler construction and will demonstrate the use of a “stacker” to align the hair tips for both the tail and the wings.
The second fly is an Easy Adams. The Easy Adams does not have a wing on top of the fly, simplifying the construction. Since the trout only sees the fly from the underside, it cannot see the wing anyway!
June 2016
Billy Wilson of the Orvis Company will be demonstrating two streamers that he uses for Bass in the Kentuckiana Area. The first is a Half N Half. The Half N Half is a collaboration of two fly fishing legends, combining Bob’s “Clouser” and Lefty’s “Deciever”.
I’m not sure where the second streamer, the Trailer Trash was conceived, but it could have been in a double wide, but maybe just a single wide trailer.
July 2016
Jack Miller will be the lead tier in July and will be teaching two of his original and innovative patterns. One will be the Horizontal Clouser that is tied on a modified jig hook. The fly is designed to be fished under an indicator and will take anything from bass to steelhead.
The second fly is a Floating Mylar Minnow which is a great imitation for shad – a favorite snack for virtually everything that swims! You can fish it on the surface with a floating line or fish it on a sinking line. On a sinking line, it will dive when stripped and then float up and suspend like a wounded or weak baitfish – DEADLY!
August 2016
Gerry McDaniel will return to the bench in August to demonstrate the Easy “Murdich Minnow” and a Wounded Shad Fly. Both are quick light ties that are easy to cast
September 2016
Stan Foster will be leading our September tying sessions. Stan will be demonstrating a “Wooly Bugger“.
The Woolly Bugger is the most used and recognized wet fly or streamer patterns. Although the original Woolly Bugger pattern was believed to have been created by Russell Blessing of Pennsylvania around 1967 to resemble a hellgrammite, or dobsonfly nymph, its precise origin is unknown. It is clearly an evolution of the Woolly Worm fly which itself is a variation of the British palmer fly, which dates back to Walton and beyond.
A Woolly Bugger can catch anything from trout to bass and even bonefish! The Woolly Bugger can be tied in any size and color. That is what makes the Woolly Bugger such a great fly. The Woolly Bugger imitates small crayfish, minnows, leeches, damselflies, sculpins, trout fry and much more. Woolly Buggers are great flies for beginners to tackle.
Many thanks to Stan for transitioning from student to teacher!
October 2016
Current President and expert tier, Brian Kaluzny, will lead our tying sessions at Cabela’s and Bass Pro. Brian will be tying the “Pinkaboo” and a “Zonker”.
The Pinkaboo is an original Brian tie (as far as we know); it is tied on a jig hook and is an excellent dead drift fly for the winter season.. In addition to the hot pink, it can be tied in any other color.
The “Zonker” is a streamer with many variations. Some “Zonkers” use a feather back and tail – this one uses a rabbit strip back and tail. A “Zonker” is a very effective baitfish imitation and can be tied in any size and in any color combination to imitate the local forage.
November and December 2016
There is no Fly Tying in November and December due to the holidays. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas from Derby City Fly Fishers!