NOT TOO DOWN AND NOT TOO DIRTY
.. We've slid out from beneath the down comforter, turned off the test pattern, rolled off the couch, turned the furnace down, and crawled to the the pile of debris that was once a tying bench. Yes, it's above zero in West Yellowstone... Next on the agenda is 20 dozen of "Rosenbauer's Snowshoe Rabbit Emerger." What a wonderful fly! Nothing fancy, nothing strange, nothing hard: just pure fish-catching guile. This tough little fly is versatile, attractive, (to fish and their dancing partners,) and you can fish it just about however you like.
.. The origin of this fly lies deep in the secret techniques of master fishers on the Delaware River. Cross Current Guide Service & Outfitters has an excellent web site if you're ever inclined to fish what is perhaps the best wild trout water in the ""EAST"" (horror of horrors!)
.. We stick to the original pattern and always have a few of these little darlings in the box. This is just another kind of insurance against 'Chandleritis.'
.. The recipe is reprinted here for those of you without a left mouse button:
Fly Pattern RecipeName: Rosenbauer's BWO Snowshoe Rabbit Emerger
Sizes: 14, 16, 18, 20 (We're doing 14's and 16's)
Hook Type: Curved nymph/shrimp
Thread: Light orange
Tail: Shuck of brown Antron yarn equal to gape, tied halfway down bend. Shuck must be scored first with flat side of scissors or dubbing needle to give it a ragged look.
Body: ½ Dark olive, ½ Dark brown rabbit fur
Throat: Short CDC fibers equal to hook gape
Wing: Bunch of snowshoe rabbit's foot guard hairs from the middle of the foot. Equal to hook gape in length (We vary this from very long to very short)
Head: Dubbed from dark hares mask dubbing
.. This is a great emerger. It's also a great searching nymph. Grease it or sink it, it's just plain good. Since we're beginning to think about our spring trip to the Smith River,
(Montana, not California,) we are keeping a few dozen just for us. Orvis sells it if you need one for a pattern, or if you need a couple of dozen in a hurry... That's about it. Time to destroy some snowshoe pelts and feet.
