Carolina Fly Tying

Andrés Touceda created a very realistic grasshopper pattern, called the "V Hopper." It's name comes from the foam cut out in a "V" shape in order to take on the most realistic head possible. I decided to give it a go. I had to improvise on certain parts of the fly, such as the hind legs. Andrés uses his own constructed hopper legs, but I used molded hopper legs as a substitute. 

Between work, tying fly orders, and well, I won't lie, a bit of fishing thrown into the mix, CFT has been somewhat desolate. Okay, it's very desolate! Over the coming weeks I'm hoping to bring some life back to this here small slice of the blogosphere I call CFT.

CFT is about to get busier with the addition of a new High Definition camcorder. In the near future, (possibly this weekend, or next week) I'll be recording some instructional tying videos. Might do an in-depth video on tying the Extended Body Inchworm. That is, if this new camcorder cooperates. I purchased the Canon Vixia HV40 a few days ago after discovering one heck of a deal at B&H Photo. It's a bit more complicated than other camcorders though. It uses miniDV tapes to store video footage and requires a bit more effort to upload and edit the footage. In the end, I think the camcorder will bring a lot to the table. It's said to be a great camcorder. The reviews said so.

So, keep it tuned and check in over the next couple weeks!

Here's a Giant Stonefly Nymph I came up with recently. The Nymph Skin, as it always does, gives patterns realistic segmentation. Excellent stuff.

Hook: #10 All Purpose on this one, but any standard nymph hooks you would use for stones will work.
Thread: 6/0 rusty
Tail: Brown biot
Underbody: Dubbing to bulk the body up.
Body: 3mm Nymph Skin colored brown. Nymph Skin isn't sold in many fly shops.
Wingcase: Pheasant Tail. Turkey, Nymph Skin, or even 2mm foam will work (use plenty of weight to counteract the buoyant foam. I've found that foam is good on nymphs, as it produces tiny air bubbles that shine and attract fish.)
Thorax: Hare's Ear dubbing picked out with a brush.
Legs: Brown round rubber legs
Antennae: Brown biots

My Nymph Skin supply has greatly diminished over the past few weeks. Thankfully Dave Hise over at Casters Fly Shop replenished my supply in less than 24 hours. Dave is renowned for some ridiculous shipping times. I asked him if he could send some Nymph Skin my way on Wednesday and it was here Yesterday afternoon. Just in time for 2 nights of intense tying prior to a fishing trip tomorrow. Without further ado, here's a few bugs that I'm itching to drop in the water...

Nymph Skin Midge

Caddis pupa

Caddis

Imitates a small worm or large midge.

Inchworm made from Nymph Skin. Should be a killer fly this summer...

Smaller inchworm

More snow is possibly on the way Tuesday/Wednesday, so I've been doing more fly tying. Here's a few patterns I've been cranking out. Still digging the Nymph Skin. Excellent stuff. Easy to use and produces very realistic bodies. Highly recommend it!

The Parachute Extended Body Inchworm. A variation of my standard EBI.

Grub w/ Nymph Skin

Cranefly larvae w/ Nymph Skin.

Thread Midge. A coating of super glue gives it a glassy appearance.

Quill Gordon. It's a sparse fly. Not much of a body, but the footprint on the water's surface is fantastic.

Hook: Nymph hook.

Thread: Black 6/0

Tail: Base of tail, Andrés Touceda's Realistic Legs. Tip is stripped hackle stem.

Body: Nymph Skin on top of a base of dubbing for bulk. No weight is added to the fly.

Wing buds: Realistic stonefly wingbuds.
Thorax: Gray ostrich herl

Legs: Andrés Touceda's Realistic Legs. Tip is stripped hackle stem.

Eyes: Burnt 20Ib mono.

Antennae: Andrés Touceda's Realistic Legs for base. Tip is stripped hackle stem.

Hook: Any straight shanked dry fly hook. Because it won't be fished, a nymph hook is also fine.

Thread: 6/0 tan or yellow

Tail: Base of tail, Andrés Touceda's Realistic Legs. Tip is stripped hackle stem.

Body: 2mm foam. I like to use white and then color in with prismacolor markers. 

Underwings: Plastic bag cut to shape of stonefly. Color with waterproof marker and then use your fingerprints to create veins on the wings.

Overwing: Heavier duty plastic from bag. same technique as underwing.

Legs: Andrés Touceda's Realistic Legs. Tips are stripped hackle stems.

Eyes: 20Ib mono burnt at tips to create eyes.

Antennae: Rooster stem stripped of hackle.

Hook: Orvis curved shank hook.

Thread: 6/0 or 8/0 black thread.

Body: Nymph Skin. Dubbing for base in order to give the fly bulk.