Grouse and Flash

[Bazzer69]

[quote=Bazzer69 post_id=97773 time=<a href="tel:1572926349">1572926349</a> user_id=2136]
I was fishing today on the Sacramento River for one or two Sac Footballs i today and in the past have experimented with Mylar vs Tinsel’s. Guess which wins hands down, not the flashy flies. My copies of Frank Sawyer PT’s work great as well as a Birds Nest. The flashiest fly I have success on is a Prince Nymph, even then I cut the biots way back.
I’m guide, have been for twenty six years, if anyone want to come and prove me wrong your trip is on me. If I win you donate my regular fee to our local club! I just don’t get the how and why flashy flies work in trout. Maybe bass or other predators but not around here in northern Californian. I’ve never seen a Caddis fly or a nymph wearing a diamond ring. The magic bullets of flies were mainly discovered many years ago.

[quote=Bazzer69 post_id=97773 time=<a href="tel:1572926349">1572926349</a> user_id=2136]
I was fishing today on the Sacramento River for one or two Sac Footballs i today and in the past have experimented with Mylar vs Tinsel’s. Guess which wins hands down, not the flashy flies. My copies of Frank Sawyer PT’s work great as well as a Birds Nest. The flashiest fly I have success on is a Prince Nymph, even then I cut the biots way back.
I’m guide, have been for twenty six years, if anyone want to come and prove me wrong your trip is on me. If I win you donate my regular fee to our local club! I just don’t get the how and why flashy flies work in trout. Maybe bass or other predators but not around here in northern Californian. I’ve never seen a Caddis fly or a nymph wearing a diamond ring. The magic bullets of flies were mainly discovered many years ago.
Anyone up for the challenge?
Barry

I would love to.
In a room full of 100 people know how to pick out the guide? Wait 30 seconds, he will tell you. Now your being rude! But in the West it goes” what do you call a eighteen year old with a drift boat? A guide”
Pm me with contact info

Anyone up for the challenge?
Barry
[/quote]

I would love to.
In a room full of 100 people know how to pick out the guide? Wait 30 seconds, he will tell you.
[/quote]

I use Opal and Pearl Mylar as Ron said because of the translucent effect and also because of the iridescent color effect of the material. The Opal, Pearl and Holographic mylars offer a different flash than plain old tinsels.

I tie with metal tinsels as well as older Mylar silver and gold flat tinsels, also the newer Mylar with one color on one side and something different on the other. Over 60 years ago at my first tying lesson, I learned that a change in color, size and shape of my tinsel or wire ribs could change my catch rate on a dubbed nymph with the same body. That same lesson came with my first instruction in making dubbing and wet blending furs in a coffee can to achieve the color I wanted. This was followed up that summer by fishing those same flies with my tying mentor and learning about depth control and different retrieves.

You kind of contradict yourself in your first and second paragraphs. Actually I see nothing wrong with Mylar gold/silver used as tinsel if you don’t have any of the metal stuff, I have some and have used it from time to time when I have run out of suitable metal tinsel. I was lucky enough to win a good batch of tinsel’s on eBay not to long ago. I do have a real problem with patterns that use garish florescence colors covered in UV resin If you bought those into my boat you would have to fish them for a least half a day before I gave you my flies that worked. There is however one big exception in my book, and that is with glo bugs. A nice bright pink yarn is the way to go. Some wools are ok, such as those from Gary LaFountaine, his flies are old enough to be called classics in their subtle use of Anton wools which easily match those of the German wools so revered by classic salmon fly tyers
Barry

[Bazzer69]

Sac Football today, large PT

[Bazzer69]

Sac Football today, large PT

Dunno why it’s turned 90degrees! I’m a guide not a photographer
Barry

[Mike62]

Nice to see such a beautiful fish rising from the Sacramento. Baz, are there any lingering issues from the Dunsmuir spill still affecting the waters there?

Alan Petrucci (SSR) ties a wonderful little Grouse and Flash that I've stolen and it works wonderfully on the small stream brookies up here. Its appeal doesn't doesn't seem to carry over to the fish in the bigger waters like the Aroostook and the Fish Rivers, though.

[Bazzer69]

Nice to see such a beautiful fish rising from the Sacramento. Baz, are there any lingering issues from the Dunsmuir spill still affecting the waters there?

Alan Petrucci (SSR) ties a wonderful little Grouse and Flash that I've stolen and it works wonderfully on the small stream brookies up here. Its appeal doesn't doesn't seem to carry over to the fish in the bigger waters like the Aroostook and the Fish Rivers, though.

Mike, the spill at Dunsmuir was many moons ago. It was on the so called upper Sac which flows, after some miles, into Lake Shasta and then into the Lower Sacramento River just above Redding. But in direct response to your question there never was any apparent impact on the fishing on the Redding area of the Lower Sac. I’m fact over the years the fishing has generally improved here. But not so if you go further don the Lower Sac towards a and into the Delta. I’m afraid the farming community has taken huge amounts of water out the river, as well as taken equally huge amounts to be taken by souther California, LA in particular. Even worst is the runoff by the farmers which means the lower Lower Sac is not only extremely muddy but full of farm chemicals, and people wonder why the salmon population is declining, duh!!! A crap load of cash is spent trying to resolve this by dumping hundreds of thousands of salmon smoults into the system breed from hatcheries. Of course it doesn’t take a genius to figure out most of these never make it back to naturally spawn. That’s the King Salmon ( (Chinooks ) What’s not also generally known is they currently dump 600,000 immature Rainbows into the Lower Sac. These Rainbows are Steelhead which most anglers don’t realize are one of the same. The biologists don’t know what happens to these smoults once they get past San Francisco into the ocean. But, and here’s the big but, those that eventually make it back after a couple of years are the Fantastic Sac Footballs one of which is in the photo I uploaded. To blow my own trumpet, I only target these fish for my clients. I’ve only guided the Lower Sac for the last twenty odd years, I’ve done pretty well. But before I’m accused of trying to drum up business as a guide I’ll point out I’m stuffing from rheumatic hands after a estimated 20,000 miles of “back rowing” and I’m retired. I do take one or two old clients out but seldom anyone new.
I’ve tried all kinds of flies , god knows how many, so I’ve come to the mind bending conclusion that dull flies work, bright flashy flies are a waste of time. Of course every once in a while you’ll hook a fish on one of those Mylar riddled flies, but not often!

Sorry for the extensive reply, but maybe, just maybe someone might convince the leader of our country who wants to “Stop wasting water by allowing it to flow into the oceans” that might not be such a great idea!
Barry

[BrkTrt]

I’ve tried all kinds of flies , god knows how many, so I’ve come to the mind bending conclusion that dull flies work, bright flashy flies are a waste of time. Of course every once in a while you’ll hook a fish on one of those Mylar riddled flies, but not often!

Check out Small Stream Reflections....in the lip of many a trout is a flashy fly.

Alan

[Mike62]

The 'extensive' reply is appreciated; I remember reading about the spill and being horrified. We have some of the same issues here what with agricultural runoff and large timber companies cutting too close to watersheds, fines be damned. I spend an inordinate amount of time wrestling with water conservation issues here so you have a sympathetic ear in me.

I loved your last paragraph...