Birds Of A Feather

RESURGENT PATTERN

Neighborhood Variants

pardon the rust

WALLPAPER:  FORGOTTEN BUT NOT GONE

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.. For a myriad of reasons the original COACHMAN fly pattern (LINKS: #1, #2, #3,)  is gaining popularity in our neighborhood.
.. The fly is quick to tie, it is cheap to tie, it is easy to tie, variation is easy,  AND: it works!

TIME FOR ICE

.. It can be wet or dry. It can be hackled or not. It can be drifted, floated, jerked, bobbed, dapped, jigged etc.
.. Right now the neighbors are selecting and tying their own variations for use through holes in the ice of Hebgen Reservoir.
.. With our recent cold temperatures the ice on the reservoir has firmed up very nicely and a couple of weeks early. Most ice fishers use bits of worm or, maggots or, meal worms or, coarse ground hamburger or, minnow jigs or, even a Swedish Pimple.
.. Our neighbors do the same but frequently put a fly in front of the offering. Sometimes just a fly will out fish anything else.
.. It's a catch-as-catch-can sort of game and multiple rods and lures are the most successful. Hanging around and telling stories in the lee of a shelter is also a requisite talent.

BEAD HEAD SOFT HACKLE COACHMAN

.. Right now there are several variants that are emerging as favorites for the sub ice fishers.
.. Each is, (interestingly,) a successful fly in our local waters during the conventional fly fishing fiasco that exhibits itself in the neighborhood during warmer weather.
.. The "BEAD HEAD SOFT HACKLE COACHMAN" is similar to the 1847 "MARLOW BUZZ" fly. It was also known as the "LADY BIRD" fly, "HAZEL FLY," and "WELSHMAN'S BUTTON." 
.. It was initially fished dry in supposed imitation of a trapped and buzzing fly. Today the neighbors usually drown it and use it as an attractor fly.

BEAD HEAD COACHMAN

.. This fly is most often fished beneath the ice all by itself. It is usually found in the arsenal of those ice fishers with a fish finder and, used for luring big fish.
.. The "BEAD HEAD COACHMAN"  is a rather standard neighborhood variation that is fished as a dropper beneath a large dry fly for searching in the early Spring. 
.. Beneath the ice this fly is frequently paired with hamburger or a kernel of corn. It is dropped near weed beds and the edge of structure. It is a deep fly and a useful bit of weight for the ice fisher.

HACKLED COACHMAN

.. The "HACKLED COACHMAN" is a favored fly for both dry and wet fly fishing during the Summer months.
.. This is very close to the original coachman fly. It is a persistent pattern that is tied by most fishers and should be in all boxes.
.. Under the ice it is used with both maggots and meal worms. It is frequently used as 'depth specific' fly once the cruising fish are found. The choice of 'meat' is an individual preference.

ALBINO EMERGENCE

.. The "ALBINO EMERGENCE" is a Summer fly that has made it's appearance under the ice as the bright head of a bit of earthworm.
.. It was initially designed to work the film during those periods when fish are seen rising and nothing else works. It is an excellent ice-out fly as well.

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..  Yes indeed there is rust on some flies in the pictures. Sad, but true, these flies have been used to catch fish. We're not selling flies. We're not winning photo contests. We're showing flies that work.
.. Some have been 'retired.' Some have been lost for some time in the organizational system of a less than anal fisher. What ever the reason these rusty flies have been in the water and poorly curated. Most of them can be, (and will be,) salvaged with a few quick swipes of a diamond hone. Some certainly will break: absolutely earth shattering and devastating. Probably put us off our feed for months.
.. So there you have it.

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PREVIEWS OF COMING ATTRACTIONS

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WALLPAPER:  PRIME AS PRIME CAN BE