Well, you can not have a Smallmouth tying class without some kind of Crayfish pattern. This week we tied TP's Brandywine Crawler. The issue with many Crayfish patterns is that there are just too many steps and the patterns take too long to tie. On the flip side there are many "speed" crayfish patterns out there but, many of these seem to be lacking the important features. The pattern we tied last week is a great blend of detail, functionality, and tying time. The class seemed to agree as I believe the completed flies were the best we have seen across the board. 

  First lets take a look at some Ska-opper, homework from the prior week. I was happy to see several great Ska-opper's come in last week. 

 The Speed Pattern for last week was the Rubber Legs. A true speed tie that can be used in many situations.  Chris R came with a beautiful box of flies. He says he has been using this for a Stonefly pattern for years. 

  We had the second Smallmouth tying class last Wednesday. This class really is turning into a bunch of fun. It is nice to teach the actual patterns that we fish on the Brandywine to others so they too can catch with them. We believe the guys in the class feel the same way because the homework we saw this week was great. 

  The pattern we tied this week was Scott Howell's Ska-opper. A hybrid fly that combines the waking action of a skater and the chugging action of a popper hence the name Ska-opper. Originally designed as an Atlantic Salmon or Steelhead fly, we have been fishing it successfully for Smallmouth for several years now. Truly a fun way to fish because it is very visual. There is nothing like watching this fly chug and spit it's way across the surface only to see a Smallie blow up on it. Once you catch a few on the Ska-opper you will be "hooked" forever. To hear about the origin of the Ska-opper and see it in action click here. 


 The second fly we did last week was the Rubber Legs. A simple tie with only 2 materials, chenille and rubber legs. We used verigated chenille for the class fly, but you are only limited to your imagination. One of out great customers, Ed Collins, asked that we combine the Green Weenie and the Rubber legs for him last year. We came up with this and he couldn't be happier. 

  Like I said colors are only limited to your imagination, but black, brown, olive, and chartreuse seem to be the most popular. 
                         
Here are the recipies for both patterns.              

 The next series shows the deer hair being applied to the shank. I believe Terry used 4 clumps of hair while tying the class fly. While applying the hair start where the yarn body ends and work your way forward. We used a stacker in class, but this is optional. The stacking and trimming of the deer hair takes as long to complete as the rest of the fly. We spent a fair amount of time in class doing this. When you get the progression down it seems like you can bang one of these out in about 10 to 15 minutes. 

 And here are the completed flies. I am really excited to see the homework next week, and even more excited to hear the stories when the guys start to fish and catch with this fly. 

  Reports about the Brandywine are still coming in strong. I fished the river two times this weekend. I got about an hour and a half  in on Saturday morning before I opened the shop and my son and I spent about three and a half hours Sunday evening.  The USGS site showed the flow to be around 125 on Saturday morning, i did not check it Sunday, but I am confident it was about the same. Water temps were down a little hovering between 72 and 75 degrees depending on what time of day I temped it. 

  I have decided to fish my two handers as much as possible in hopes of tuning up for a trip to the lower Potomac later this month. (stay tuned). Saturday was spent knocking the rust off of my two handed cast (that is actually an insult to the rust!) and I definitely spent more time "casting" rather than "fishing". Toward the end I was putting it together and I felt much better as I left the river to open up the shop. 

 Sunday saw my son, Tyler and I on the river at around 4:00. The conditions could not have been better. The air temp was perfect. The water level and clarity were perfect, and the two handed cast was working. Tyler was armed with his favorite 6wt single hander and we decided to fish the same fly, something I NEVER do when fishing with 2 people. This was to be the initial test for the "Mr Collins Rubber Legged Weenie" and I wanted to give it an honest shot. 

  The effectiveness of the fly was clear from the start as Tyler landed 3 Smallies within the first 10 minutes, including one with some kind of defect (see picture below). We fished together for about 45 minutes then we split up and Tyler went about 200 yards down stream. I continued fishing the run I was in and picked off a few fish. My phone rang and it was Tyler. The first thing he said is "I feel sick!" Well it turns out junior got to tussle with his first 18" class fish and it gave him a very quick education...better luck next time dude. He did manage to land a solid fish of about 16". We met up again in our favorite spot and fished till dark. All in all I guess we landed 15 or so Smallmouth between the 2 of us. I would say the test for the new fly was a success. It was just a great night to be on the water. 

  We should have good Smallmouth action for several more weeks, and don't forget, fall trout stocking is right around the corner. This is truly one of the best times of the year. 

                                                                                                                                      Tight lines...
                                                                                                                                                        Tim

  Well, yesterday one of our very good customers, Ed Collins stopped in. Ed, like most of us has been having an epic Smallmouth season and last Saturday was no exception. While floating a section of the Brandywine Ed was telling me of fish after fish he and his buddy Mark were catching. Ed told me "I was actually tired of catching Smallmouth" A little later in the conversation he pulled out a shop fly cup with several of our Brandywine staple fly's the "Mr Rubber Legs" . These flys have definitely seen better days. Having all of his rubber legs chewed up beyond use Ed switched to another productive fly for this year the Green Weenie and continued to bang fish. 

   As we continued the conversation It dawned on us; what if we combined the two patterns into one? We were split on what colors to do the legs. The two choices were Black and Clear with red flecks. Ultimately we decided on black. After tying a few today I am confident the black was the right choice. I am headed to the river this evening to try them out. I will let you know how they work out. 

Here is the recipe for the " Mr Collins Rubber legged Weenie"


Hook = TMC 5263 size 6
Weight = .015 lead substitute wire wrapped the length of the shank
Legs = Black Life Flex
Body = Chartreuse Chenille  

Enjoy...