Wow, did the guys at "Jimmy's Fly shop get me pumped up to get out and fish today! Some of these guys ice fish to stay active in the winter time. They catch some huge trout through the ice. The commercial tier that I just finished watching ties a mean looking chartruese "jig". It has heavy, dumbell eyes on a shorter shank #10 and a flashabou wing. They jig it up and down and you can see the jig deep down below the hole. It helps to like to drink beer a lot. Tom Banyas was the guy I watched tie. He was from Pocatello, Idaho. An extended body using only Zelon was one of his patterns and I will be tying many of them. He twists the zellon tight, presses the sissors against the twisted zellon where he wants the extended body to end and it twists up against the tail of the hook. He then wraps back on it good so that it doesn't untwist, wraps the abdomen with the rest of the zellon, loops the zellon into a post and wraps the rest to the eye, adds a hackle and parachute ties it and finishes off. It was fast to tie and fishes well as an adult damsel and larger drake patterns, (ie) green, brown and grey drakes. You just change the color concept. He then tied a damsel nymph using just a bunch of marabou. It formed the tail with the tips, abdomen, stop 1/3 back from the eye, move the thread forward with small amount of dubbing,(I think) to behind the eye, pull the marabou over the top for a wing case and then he split the remaining barbules out to the side for action legs. On some patterns he adds small eyes as a last step. The last fly was a hopper/ large stone tied the same way only changing the color. Tail fibers, an orange yarn strand and a hackle at the back. Wrap the abdomen 2/3, then hackle the abdomen, then wrap to the eye and add a 3/8 wide inch of closed air cell foam like on the Chernobyl Ants. Tie it down tight behind the eye and back to the abdomen tight. Then he adds an underwing of pearlescent flash. The wing is deer or elk hair flared over the black foam that is bound down. Then rubber legs on each side and a hackle tied in between the rubber legs. He then trims the rectangular piece of foam that is over the eye and behind the hook bend by slant cutting both sides of the head and tail sections. He gave me one of each as a pattern and I've been home tying them. These are all awesome patterns and the hopper/stone tied in appropriate color schemes will work super, I'm sure. If you didn't follow my directions and want further info you can Email me at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
