Fishing – Page 2 – Sporting Road

Turck’s Tarantula

It's funny how time flies and how over time, some flies disappear while others just get repackaged with easier to tie foams, etc. One day, the Madam X is a popular pattern, and then you wake up and it's two decades of Turck's Tarantulas, and now there are dozens of knock-offs including the The Chubby Chernobyl, the Rubber Legged Stimulator, or the Stoneflopper. Thirty years has gone by since the Madam X. Sounds like a country song doesn't it? But, so is life, time passes, things change, some get easier, some just get uglier. And the flies are in essence the same, but have gotten easier to tie with foam replacing spun hair, etc., which not only makes the flies uglier, but much easier to tie. I have to say I am glad I stocked up, back when flies were good looking. One of my favoite flies is Guy Turck's Tarantula. I was one of the first to order it from him from his site back in 1995. In 1990, Guy began guiding float fishermen for Jim Jones’ High Country Flies in Jackson. In August of 1990, while searching for a pattern that improved the durability and visibility of the increasingly popular Madam X fly, Guy developed his clipped deer hair head, rubber leg hopper/stonefly imitation. During a slow afternoon Guy handed his creation to a client, World Bank head Jim Wolfensohn. Noting the fly’s bulky, leggy appearance, Wolfensohn quipped, “What is this thing, a tarantula?” This wonderfully creative fly name stuck like head cement. By September when the Snake’s hefty Classenia Sabulousa stoneflies become active, another guide pal, Shannon McCormick, introduced Guy to master fishing entrepreneur George Anderson of Livingston. Turck gave the “Montana

By Sporting Road|August 3rd, 2019|Categories: Fishing, Fly Tying, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Silk Fly Tying Dubbing

Often times I am asked where do you get the natural beaver fur dubbing dyed in various colors for tying Rim Chung's original RS2? I was surprised the other day when Rim suggested to a guy that he buy silk dubbing. I didn't even know it existed. The problem with commerical beaver dubbing is that the fibers are cut and blended in a blender type machine. This results in a lot of short, coarse pieces that go onto the thread in a big clump. The natural fibers off the pelt, can be 1/2" to even 1" long and they can be aligned vertically with the thread, a few fibers at a time, to form a dubbing rope which is then twisted finely onto the thread. The problem nowadays is there are not many commercial companies offering beaver fur on the pelt, and if it is offered, it is usually only in the natural gray, brown and sometimes black, not the olive, yellow, and tan that Rim also uses. So to check it out, I ordered some Kreinik silk dubbing in the following colors:Adam's Grey Black Cinnamon BrownDark DunLight CahillOlive Hare's Ear Pale Yellow They are nice and fine fibers, with longer strands, perfect for substituting for natural beaver. So if you can't find natural beaver dubbing on the fur, and/or don't have time to dye your own then try some silk dubbing. Kreinik Manufacturing Phone: 1-800-624-1928 Fax: 304-428-4326 URL: www.kreinik.com

By Sporting Road|August 3rd, 2019|Categories: Fishing, Fly Tying, Rim Chung, RS2, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Rim Chung and the RS-2 as Featured in The Denver Post

Chung’s RS-II a fishing pearl Rim Chung, originator of the RS-II, remains an active fly-fisherman.By KARL LICIS and SPECIAL TO THE DENVER POST | The Denver Post PUBLISHED: February 2, 2010 at 1:22 pm UPDATED: May 6, 2016 at 5:03 pm When Rim Chung came to America, little did he know he would create what might be the most effective fishing fly ever devised for Colorado’s South Platte River.ADVERTISING Perhaps it was inevitable. When he arrived in Denver in 1968, the elements for development of the RS-II were already in place. First, Chung already was an accomplished fisherman. “I probably had a certain knack for it,” he said, recalling his childhood in South Korea, where he grew up fishing with long, limber bamboo rods for saltwater fish, with live shrimp as the bait of choice. “I was a good fisherman when I was 15.” Equally important, he and his fellow fishermen were inquisitive. They engaged in lively discussions of the fine points of their fishing — the precise best way to place a shrimp onto a hook and exactly how it should be presented to the fish. He brought some pearls of Oriental philosophy, including an observation by ancient Chinese sages that man should strive to be as one with nature, in this case the water, and recognition of a moral responsibility to the effect, “Why disgrace the fish by not learning about it?” Those qualities would serve him well when he took up fly-fishing in 1970, but the main catalyst leading to creation of the RS-II might have been something in his nature that told him the prevailing approaches to the sport were not necessarily the best. “When I do some self-reflection, I think I must have been born an

By Sporting Road|August 2nd, 2019|Categories: Fishing, Fly Tying, Rim Chung, RS2|Comments Off

Scuds

Below is the scud fly tying instructions/recipe by Jeff Goff who was legendary for bringing gallon jars of scuds to a local Denver fly shop that I used to frequent, which he brought in his vehicle all the way down from Grey's Reef, Wyoming, just to show how many were in the river during a few minute seining session he had done. It was a gallon jar and it looked like there were a million grayish scuds in it. To date, Jeff Goff's Scud is still the most realistic scud pattern I have ever seen, for when the fly was thrown in that jar of scuds, you couldn't find it (a trick he liked to perform at the shop after tying one of his flies). Many more realistic plastic looking patterns have developed over the years, but they don't look the same in that jar with the naturals, as Jeff threw a few others in the jar from the fly shop's bins. It's been over 25 years since those days, and I was sad to see that Jeff had passed away as I attempted to research what he was up to these days for this article, as I am grateful for this fly which has served me well throughout the Western states. I often fish it as the upper fly with the RS2 as the lower fly. He also devised a very cute little lady bug, which I never caught any fish on, but it was a fun little pattern to give away to friends. Jeff Goff's Wyoming Scud Hook: Dia- Riki 135 scud Size 12Tail mallard flank fibers at 1/8” or so, yellow thread light CahillScud back light grayLead weight, tie in at eye

By Sporting Road|July 30th, 2019|Categories: Fishing, Fly Tying|Comments Off

Ferenc’s Desparado Flies

My fishing buddy Ferenc has been on a 20+ year long succession of playing around with attractor type flies, in addition to being one of Rim's students in the nymphing methods of the RS2. His obsession for Desparado flies started with his Desparado fly. Ferenc's new favorite attractor fly for spring high water conditions is the Finlayson's Dirty Politician, which has been deadly for Euro Style nymph fishing across the pond and here in the West, especially in Montana. I recently jumped on the bandwagon and started tying the Dirty Politician in pink and orange. We have had days where it is hugely successful and other days where it didn't work at all. But it is definitely a keeper for the upper fly in my two fly system with an RS2 as the dropper. Ferenc has played around a lot with Lance Egan's flies and the whole "tactical fishing" arsenals. Some are effective, others not so much. We like to use the Dirty Politician as an attractor fly at the river below one of our mountain reservoirs when the flow is very high, fishing near the bank. It might be taken for a sow bug or scud, by the lake trout, browns, rainbows and salmon that anglers come to take in the spring high runoff period, where the fish are seeking refuge along the banks. Whatever the fish take it for, it’s deadly when the water flow is high. Dirty Politician Fly Here's Ferenc’s recipe: - Firehole 516 Jig Hook, size 14 (or similar jig hook such as Umpqua U-Series U555 Jig Hook which I prefer as it is not barbless. I have also used TMC 3769 which has a straight shank and I actually

By Sporting Road|June 11th, 2019|Categories: Fishing, Fly Tying|Comments Off

Simple Midges

My first favorite fly on the South Platte was The Brassie. Then, Pat Dorsey's Miracle Midge and Mercury Black Beauty. Then, I fell in love with Greg Garcia's Rojo Midge. This was followed by a step back in history, when I went back to Sawyer's Pheasant Tail and his Grey Goose, as my favorites. And, by favorite, I mean the fly that has caught the most fish over time (which is always my upper fly fished with an RS2 as the point fly (in about 6 different sizes and 6 different colors, as Rim Chung has done for 30 years, as it is still my most productive fly ever when you have those colors and sizes available to select from, which also changes throughout the day). Then, I became enamoured with Andy Kim's Yong Specials, his Yong Blood and recently Rim Chung's Plebby. Then, back to Andy's Improved Yong Specials and YKnot, as my most recent favorites. But, now I have finally had an ephiphany after some 40 years of fishing and I have combined them all into the single best pattern that I have used in recent times, which I call The Calgon Fly or Ancient Chinese Secret. It's killing it in local Western waters. But they are all great midge patterns and have been extremely productive for me throughout the years, and they are all quite similar when you look closely at them. Do the trout know, or do they just like something a little different once in a while on our heavily pressured tailwaters?

By Sporting Road|May 3rd, 2019|Categories: Fishing, Fly Tying|Comments Off

My Daughter’s Favorite Fly

Yong OJ is Andy Kim's orange mini-scud or micro-egg pattern using San Juan worm chenille or vernille material tied in for the length of the shank then doubled over and ribbed with matching thread on a curved scud hook. Also favorite colors of Andy's in this patter are pink and yellow. This is my daughter's favorite fly to tie or to fish, so I'll put the recipe here on our family recipes and sporting pages, so that she doesn't forget it, nor Andy's comments about this extremely effective fly. To buy the flies from Andy or book a trip visit his site at: http://www.fly-fish.com/ You won't be disappointed, as he catches a tremendous amount of fish on the San Juan and he can teach you his methods, which are quite unique and extremely effective. Tying My Daughter’s Favorite Fly Yong OJ is Andy Kim’s orange mini-scud or micro-egg pattern using San Juan worm chenille or vernille material tied in for the length of the shank then doubled over and ribbed with matching thread on a curved scud hook. Besides just tithe OJ color, as Andy says the color spectrum changes throughout the day, his other colors of in this patter are pink and yellow. This is my daughter’s favorite fly to tie or to fish, so I’ll put the recipe here on our family recipes and sporting pages, so that she doesn’t forget it, nor Andy’s comments about this extremely effective fly. Hook: Tiemco 2457 in size 20 (or similar types in fairly micro sizes compared to the much larger usual egg patterns sold in shops) Thread: Uni-thread light cahill (for all colors, as it turns relatively transparent when wet) Body: Wapsi Ultra Chenille–Micro Fluorescent

By Sporting Road|May 2nd, 2019|Categories: Fishing, Fly Tying|Comments Off

Simple Flies, Tactical Fishing

I always like the way that the fly fishing industry markets with buzzwords. The latest one being "tactical", having been preceded by many others over the past three decades. I started before the days of Roger Hill's classic little book on Fly Fishing the South Platte River: An Angler's Guide. Having fished with Roger, and after becoming good friends with his son, Jeff Hill, who was also a former commercial tyer, I was intrigued by the dozen or so rather impressionistic flies that Roger listed in the book, many of which were popular renditions available at that time from local fly shops, not necessarily anything he claimed to be his own inventions. Roger is a rocket scientist by trade and no dummy at the fly tying bench, yet the South Platte Classic flies that he mentioned in the book were filled with very simple images and dressings such as this one: Others included the Brassie, which was brass wire with a black thread head. Or the Buckskin, which was a little buckskin wrapped as the body with a thorax of a couple turns of peacock. Or, the Black Beauty, black tying thread, ribbed with brass wire, and a little dubbing for the thorax. Other flies came out of this simple South Platte Style, including the Miracle Midge (same as the Black Beauty, only white or cream thread, and later with the addition of a glass Mercury bead head). You might say they are more of semblances of insects rather than exact imitations, as Rim Chung often says of his famous RS2 (which, by the way, is not a super easy fly to tie, at least not in the segmented way that Rim ties it, not

By Sporting Road|May 1st, 2019|Categories: Fishing, Fly Tying, Rim Chung, RS2, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Are You Ready to Fish Just One Fly?

Fly-Fishing Secrets of the Ancients: A Celebration of Five Centuries of Lore and Wisdom by Paul Schullery is a great read. One of my favorite sections, talks about whether anglers are really needing thousands of match the hatch imitations, or perhaps even just one fly. he found many anglers, even editors of fishing magazines, often used only a handful of patterns. Are you ready to fish one fly, like Rim Chung has with his RS2 for the last 30 years, albiet in six sizes and six different colors? It makes your fly fishing much more Zen like, at least for me anyway. And, I would be the first to switch back to my thousands of patterns that I carried as a commercial fly tyer if I caught more fish with them, but Rim's method is the most productive of any that I have ever seen. Are you ready for one fly? It is difficult to argue with Herd's comments. It makes sense that fly shops want to profit from selling as many flies as possible. In fact if they all worked like magnets, the average angler would be buying less flies, not more (so there is a lot of financial incentive for the industry to sell you flies you don't need). I saw this in the difference between American flies shops and those across the pond, which are spartan in comparison. It's not that our English and European brotheran catch less, they just buy less, as marketing and consumerism isn't as big of part of their daily lives, especially among anglers. But it's also true from experience that fishing the same fly over the same group of fish will eventually get old with those fish

By Sporting Road|April 10th, 2019|Categories: Fishing, Fly Tying, Rim Chung|Comments Off

Andy’s YKnot Fly-My Daughter’s Favorite

Photo Courtesy of Andy Kim This chronomid only hatches during the spring and fall, according to legendary guide and fish magnet, Andy Kim. But it doesn't have to be the prevalent insect in the water for trout to take your fly resembling it, as "sometimes big fish look for big meals," says Andy. The fly is killing it on our local waters and has become my daughter's favorite fly, not only to tie but to fish. You can buy the fibers from Andy to tie yourself, or better yet, just buy the flies from Andy at http://www.fly-fish.com/ because for only $3 each, you can't go wrong. And, take a lesson while you at it with Andy, because there is lot more to his success than simply copying his fly recipes. His method and skills are worth the costs of going back to him again and again, as you always pick up a little more each time, even for this seasoned angler. Tiemco 200R, size 18 and 20. Use red 8/0 thread and make about 4-5 wraps at the eye of the hook, after twisting bobbin counterclockwise about 20 times to make it lie flat on the hook. Tie in a Blondie AK Fiber on the near side of the hook and wrap to the bend. Wrap thread forward in ribs, spacing one wrap for every two thread wraps on the way back, so as to not make the fly body too thick. Stop at halfway point of fly and half hitch the thread. Wrap Blondie AK Fiber forward to halfway point and tie off with 2-3 wraps and cut off fiber. Twist red thread clockwise to make it a little thicker rope and wrap forward

By Sporting Road|April 9th, 2019|Categories: Fishing, Fly Tying|Comments Off