THE FLY OF THE HOUR
For All Open Water
swift or still
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.. The neighbors are smarter than we are. They are also way smarter than the trout in our neighborhood. They are even a wee tad more intelligent than the itinerant guides and feather merchants that will soon show up for their share of the pie, (just a few weeks from now.).. As we
.. It's a simple fly. It's easy to tie. It has no fancy name. It's not in any catalog. AND, it's catching fish in all the open water around the neighborhood.
.. You won't see it in any fly shops: it uses no exotic bits of fluff, it is a standard nymph form, it is not "innovative," it's not designed to catch fishers, and it is very pedestrian in appearance - bless it's metallic soul.
.. Unless you see it here, you will never know about this fly. There is no drum and bugle corps touting it as the wonder of the moment. There are no high priced celebrities endorsing it as a miracle of invention for the exotic fish of the exotic waters nearby.
.. It is tied in just about all sizes. The larger ones are cast with ultralight spinning rigs and 4# test line. [[40' of fresh 4# test mono is an exceptionally good shock absorber.]]
.. The little ones are chucked to the edge of the ice and pulled into the water and sink slowly to the gaping maws of submerged trout.
.. The others are greased and floated like a dry fly. Some are fished just like a nymph ought to be fished. Such a delightful bit of fish foolery.
.. Right now, in the runs, and riffles, and pools, and glides, and cavitation sinks, between the lakes on the Madison River it is a "KILLER FLY."
.. In the legal bits of the extended tongues of various estuarine waters poking into Hebgen Lake, it is a "MURDEROUS FLY."
.. At both the inlet and outlet of Earthquake Lake it is a "DEVASTATING FLY." It is even in competition with the garden hackle for take rates. Now that's an endorsement for ya'.
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