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. 

  As many know, I can be found chasing many species of fish with my Spey rods, when not guiding. I just PLAIN enjoy casting and fishing these rods. With the introduction of lighter line weighted Light Spey / Switch rods, trouting and river bass fishing have entered the world of “two handed fly rod fishing”. Of late, Sage and Redington have the latest in 4 weight Light Spey / Switch rods and Rio has introduced the 275 grain Skagit and Scandi heads to match these magic wands. WOW, how cool can this get!?!

Sage 4116-4 ONE: I matched up my floating Light MOW Tip to the 275 grain Skagit Short Head and began casting on the Brandywine River. Once I got over the fact it wasn’t my 7 or 8 weight rod(s), I started casting short, then longer, then long. I threw Ska-Oppers and streamers with 10-12 foot leaders. After a few minutes I got lost in this rod, WOW! It pitched line like my heavier rods, even with some wind. Of course when I kicked my 1st mend, the whole line flew upstream, because it was so light. When I switched over to some T-8 MOW tips, I figured the challenges would begin; NOT to be! This rod JACKS line, that’s all there is to it. Did I mention that this rod is handsome, not that this is very important to me. I can’t wait to get my first shad, smallie and trout on the end of this stick. GREAT rod, awesome job, Sage!!!

Redington 4109-4 Prospector: This is a different animal than the Sage ONE; softer with a different flex point. I matched up the same Floating Light MOW Tip to the 275 Skagit Short Head. Once again, I needed to erase my 7 & 8 weights from my mind. I threw the same Ska-Oppers and streamers. After settling down a LOT, I just let the rod do all of the work and casts began to head for the horizon. If I punched too hard, casts piled up, but when I let it “all ride”, line disappeared from my fingers. The rod was easy in my hand, light and very “caster friendly”. Distance came up a bit shorter and casting heavier MOW tips didn’t come as easy as the ONE. The 275 Grain head felt a bit “chunky” on this rod for me. I need to put some lighter grain lines on this one to see where it falls in my arsenal. The Prospector definitely has game!

  Well, Vacation and recovering from vacation kept me off the river till Sunday night this week. I am happy to say the Brandywine is still fishing great. The flow was down when I hit the water and a quick check of the USGS site showed the river to be running at just above 90 CFS. I do not ever remember it being this low in the past! The water temps are holding well at 78 degrees. With all of the talk and posting of the Ska-opper over the weekend I decided to take my 2 hander and Ska-opper fish the entire evening. Now I will be the first to admit a 450 gr switch rod is a bit of overkill for 12" Smallmouth, it is still very fun to work through all the casts and land fish on top water. At the start of the trip I was landing nice, red-breasted sunfish on almost every cast with a few Smallies mixed in.  When the sun went behind the trees is when the action started. I worked my way through one of my favorite runs and found several AGGRESSIVE fish, fish that would continue to strike the fly until they hooked themselves, sometimes 2 or 3 times. It was truly an enjoyable evening to be on the river...until the sky opened up and I realized I was about a mile and a half away from the truck! Oh well, a few wet clothes were worth it. BTY if you want to see a Ska-opper that has been through the wringer stop in. 

 We received a similar report from one of our customers Bob Flanagan about his fishing on Friday evening on the Brandywine and One Boot Ed sent me a awesome picture of a beautiful 16 incher he landed on Saturday morning.   

 Smallie season is in full swing, in fact the best time of the year is right around the corner. Get out and fish!!!!!

                                                                                                                                                                                      Tight Lines...
                                                                                                                                                                                                              Tim  

 

A 2 hander, Ska-opper, and a Smallie...Awesome!

One Boot Ed's Nice one from the weekend. Way to go buddy!!!