Hook- #14 nymph
Thread- Tan monocord
Tail- Pheasant tail
Body-Mirage Tinsel
Rib- Small Gold wire
Thorax- "Droopy Dazzle" (Mixed Orange rabbit and Antron)
Hackle- Partridge
B0023592 by William Lovelace, on FlickrLightning Bug Soft Hackle
Moderators: William Anderson, letumgo
Lightning Bug Soft Hackle
I tied this soft hackle version of the Lightning Bug after recently fishing the LB bead head nymph with good results.
Hook- #14 nymph
Thread- Tan monocord
Tail- Pheasant tail
Body-Mirage Tinsel
Rib- Small Gold wire
Thorax- "Droopy Dazzle" (Mixed Orange rabbit and Antron)
Hackle- Partridge
B0023592 by William Lovelace, on Flickr
Hook- #14 nymph
Thread- Tan monocord
Tail- Pheasant tail
Body-Mirage Tinsel
Rib- Small Gold wire
Thorax- "Droopy Dazzle" (Mixed Orange rabbit and Antron)
Hackle- Partridge
B0023592 by William Lovelace, on Flickr
Last edited by Roadkill on Sat Jun 16, 2018 5:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Lightning Bug Soft Hackle
That looks deadly!
Some of the same morons who throw their trash around in National parks also vote. That alone would explain the state of American politics. ~ John Gierach, "Still Life with Brook Trout"
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William Anderson
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Re: Lightning Bug Soft Hackle
RK, when and how were you fishing the LBBH? I've never fished such a dazzling fly. Total attention getter. Just curious about the best use for something like this...not that there aren't hundreds. Great fly.
"A man should not try to eliminate his complexes, but rather come into accord with them. They are ultimately what directs his conduct in the world." Sigmund Freud.
www.WilliamsFavorite.com
www.WilliamsFavorite.com
Re: Lightning Bug Soft Hackle
William
This is the LBBH variation I tied, a #16 1xs scud hook ribbed with copper wire and tied with a SLF thorax.
B0023598 by William Lovelace, on Flickr
In the last 2 weeks I fished it in: 2 Central Oregon rivers (one a clay colored tailwater and the other a crystal clear spring creek), my local Eastern Oregon small river, and a lake at abouit 7200'. How- varied from a multiple fly cast wet fly swing or a dry/dropper dead drift in the rivers, to a varied hand twist retrieve in the high lake from a float tube.
Over the years I have used other tinsel and krystal flash bodies especially on midge pupa patterns with good results. So far the lightning bug variations have proved to be a place keeper in my boxes.
This is the LBBH variation I tied, a #16 1xs scud hook ribbed with copper wire and tied with a SLF thorax.
B0023598 by William Lovelace, on FlickrIn the last 2 weeks I fished it in: 2 Central Oregon rivers (one a clay colored tailwater and the other a crystal clear spring creek), my local Eastern Oregon small river, and a lake at abouit 7200'. How- varied from a multiple fly cast wet fly swing or a dry/dropper dead drift in the rivers, to a varied hand twist retrieve in the high lake from a float tube.
Over the years I have used other tinsel and krystal flash bodies especially on midge pupa patterns with good results. So far the lightning bug variations have proved to be a place keeper in my boxes.
Last edited by Roadkill on Sat Jun 16, 2018 5:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Lightning Bug Soft Hackle
Roadkill... I dig both flies very much.....Tinsel body soft hackles have been my favorites for a while. I really like the sudtleness of your soft hackle version
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chase creek
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Re: Lightning Bug Soft Hackle
Cool lookin' flies. Bet they work, too. I wonder; if I tie up a dozen and put them in a Mason jar, will I be able to read in my tent at night?
"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and
beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise"
Aldo Leopold
beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise"
Aldo Leopold
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DUBBN
Re: Lightning Bug Soft Hackle
A couple years ago I tryed the Lightning Bug nymph and SH, with rather poor results. I tyed them both with Black thoraxes. Looking at your version of the LB makes me want to revisit, and try them again using your recipe.
Very well done sir!
Very well done sir!
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William Anderson
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Re: Lightning Bug Soft Hackle
RK, they're is something about your versions that seem like something I really would like to have in my box. I've heard several times the tinsel bodies are very effective but they seem to go beyond my arbitrary line of style, or preference, or whatever self imposed limit we all make for ourselves. I don't even need a far reaching entomological connection, usually. But I like your take on these and I'll have to give them a swim. Thanks for the info. Bright day? Evening? Turbid water? I'd be curious to hear more.
"A man should not try to eliminate his complexes, but rather come into accord with them. They are ultimately what directs his conduct in the world." Sigmund Freud.
www.WilliamsFavorite.com
www.WilliamsFavorite.com
Re: Lightning Bug Soft Hackle
William
I am a fan of the book Midge Magic, particularly the Diamond Midge with a tinsel underbody exposed to mimic the gas expanding the exoskeleton at emergence and reflecting light.
Another emerger I am fond of is LaFontaine's Halo Mayfly. Gary used orange deer hair to mimic the bright color of the fluid he said nymphs used to pump up their expanding wings as they broke out of the pupal shuck at the surface. I have done the same with Serendipities to good effect.
Bright day? Evening? Turbid water? All of the above including clear water although I tied these to especially try in some turbid rivers where suspended clay makes you think a fish shouldn't be able to even see a small fly 1 foot in front of it. Like many other flies and days, variation in movement or depth can be a key. At one point I added the beadhead version to the middle or end of the cast to change the effective depth of the soft hackles. A wind drift was also a key to the LBBH for some time on the lake.
Dubbn
I have used an orange color thorax here instead of the original peacock herl following that same hot spot kind of logic that has also applied well for me in some scud patterns and other flies. I originally saw the pattern in an Orvis newsletter and my nymph is more similar to that than the original 20 year old pattern. The next ones I tie will have a rusty Zelon tail to try for durability as compared to the pheasant tail-less versions I have on my drying patch courtesy of some fish the last 2 days.
A couple of far reaching entomological connections...William Anderson wrote:RK, they're is something about your versions that seem like something I really would like to have in my box. I've heard several times the tinsel bodies are very effective but they seem to go beyond my arbitrary line of style, or preference, or whatever self imposed limit we all make for ourselves. I don't even need a far reaching entomological connection, usually. But I like your take on these and I'll have to give them a swim. Thanks for the info. Bright day? Evening? Turbid water? I'd be curious to hear more.
I am a fan of the book Midge Magic, particularly the Diamond Midge with a tinsel underbody exposed to mimic the gas expanding the exoskeleton at emergence and reflecting light.
Another emerger I am fond of is LaFontaine's Halo Mayfly. Gary used orange deer hair to mimic the bright color of the fluid he said nymphs used to pump up their expanding wings as they broke out of the pupal shuck at the surface. I have done the same with Serendipities to good effect.
Bright day? Evening? Turbid water? All of the above including clear water although I tied these to especially try in some turbid rivers where suspended clay makes you think a fish shouldn't be able to even see a small fly 1 foot in front of it. Like many other flies and days, variation in movement or depth can be a key. At one point I added the beadhead version to the middle or end of the cast to change the effective depth of the soft hackles. A wind drift was also a key to the LBBH for some time on the lake.
Dubbn
I have used an orange color thorax here instead of the original peacock herl following that same hot spot kind of logic that has also applied well for me in some scud patterns and other flies. I originally saw the pattern in an Orvis newsletter and my nymph is more similar to that than the original 20 year old pattern. The next ones I tie will have a rusty Zelon tail to try for durability as compared to the pheasant tail-less versions I have on my drying patch courtesy of some fish the last 2 days.
Re: Lightning Bug Soft Hackle
Very nice soft hackle! Me likey!!!