Instagram Fly Swap -- Part 2A

-- Graphics by @phishtitz --

Here's a follow-up post about the First Instragram Fly Swap. Of the original 9 participants, we have 5 that completed their flies, 1 that dropped out and 3 that plan to finish up in the coming weeks. Instead of waiting, Morgan, our host, distributed the first set of flies. These are shown below with tying instructions here. This will be a long post, so let's get started.

@mkupfer32 Flies

Our swap host, @mkupfer32, of the blog "Tight Lined Tales of a Fly Fisherman tied the MK Caddis Dry (center) & Glass Caddis Pupa (lower left) for trout, and the Bass Gurgler Popper (upper right) & B-Ass Clouser Streamer (upper left) for bass. I believe these are all original creations by Morgan.




Trout

@mkupfer32 MK Caddis Dry

MK Caddis Dry
- Hook, Size - Mustad Dry Fly, 14
- Thread - Grey 6/0 UNI-Thread
- Body - Grey Muskrat fur dubbing
- Wings - Flex-sealed turkey feather clipped to look like caddis wing
- Hackle - Brown
- Antenna - 2 clipped feather shafts

@mkupfer32 Glass Caddis Pupa

Glass Caddis Pupa
- Hook, Size - Mustad Long Curved Nymph, 3x 12
- Thread - Grey 6/0 UNI Thread
- Thorax - Muskrat for dubbing
- Wings - Pheasant body feather tip
- Hackle/Legs - Tan CDC
- Abdonmen - 3 green or yellow craft beads


Bass

@mkupfer32 Bass Gurgler Popper

Bass Gurgler Popper
- Hook, Size - Mustad Steel, 6
- Thread - Black 210 Denier Danville
- Body - Charteuse Estaz, Black craft foam tied in and folded over body
- Tail - Black marabou, 2x length of the hook shaft

@mkupfer32 B-Ass Clouser Streamer

B-Ass Clouser Streamer
- Hook, Size - Bass Pro Shops Aberdeen Tournament Series, 6
- Thread - White 3/0 Danville
- Body - White/Brown calf's tail
- Eyes - Small dumbbell eyes, chain link eyes
- Flash - Orvis silver angel hair, 2x the length of the hook shaft

David, @phishtitz, of "Blurred Focus" produced a great three-fold brochure to deliver his flies. Definitely the most creative presentation thus far for the fly swap. I've quoted David's comments.

@phishtitz Flies

For Bass, David tied the Chartreuse Sand Eel (top) & the Red Sand Eel (center).

Sand Eels:
- Hook - Varivas 2600 st-v size 2
- Thread - Lagartun Extra strong, white
- Body - UTC Mirage tinsel
- Tail - DNA Holofusion: white, then Chartreuase or red, then black
 - Eyes - Mirage dome eyes
- Head - Bug-bond (UV cured)

@phishtitz Black Flash Jig & Green John 

For trout, the Black Flash Jig (left) & the Green John (right).
Green John:
- Hook - Varivas 2120 WB, #18
- Head - 2.8mm gunmetal bead
- Thread - olive superfine thread
- Collar - Peacock hurl, with pulled over UTC Mirage tinsel 
- Body - Ultra fine wire, light olive
- Tail - Olive cock cape fibres

Black Flash Jig:
"This is one of Gareth Lewis's (of Fly Fishing in South Wales) patterns, a very cool, helpful chap, & great fly fishing guide from Wales."

- Hook: Hanak Competition Jig, size #14
- Bead-Head: 3mm Slotted Tungsten, plain
- Thread: Sheer Ultrafine 14/0, black
- Rib: Silver wire, fine
- Abdomen: Beaver, black
- Back & Tail: Hends Krystal Flash (folded three times)
- Thorax: Beaver, black

Check out Gareth's step by step photos.

Mario, @mgoblue_mg, emailed pictures of his ties with recipes which are shown below. The trout flies are the Foxee Clouser and Bunny Leech.

 The bass flies from @mgoblue_mg are the Triple Double and the Single Fly Cray.

Mike, @mike_phazeone, of the blog "Dub the Thorax" tied the Flashabou Midge for his trout flies and two original streamer patters for the bass flies. I'll included Mike's descriptions in quotes with the recipes.

@mike_phazeone Flies

Trout - Flashabou Midge
"I tie these in sizes 18-24. I kept this one at an 18 since I'm not sure where you guys can fish. It can also pass as an attractor nymph pattern in faster water in this size. It does very well for me on the limestone strams here in PA, especially in the winter. I also tie them in red."

@mike_phazeone Flashabou Midge

- Orvis emerger hook size 18
- Michaels Craft Store glass bead
- Black UNI-Thread 8/0
- Pearl Flashabou (ribbing)
- Jan Siman Synthetic Peacock Dubbing - Black

Bass 

Mike writes, "I fish a lot for bass in farm ponds, and the Perkiomen Creek which is right near my house in PA. Purple has always been a killer largemouth color for me, and Chartreuse always works the best on smallies in the streams. I combined the two colors late last year with great results for both species. Slap these down next to some structure, or fish them fast and deep with a sink tip line. Try Streamer #1 (top) early in the morning."

@mike_phazeone Streamers

Streamer #1 (left)

- Orvis size 6 3XL streamer hook
- Purple Marabou (tail)
- Purple Schlappen (collar 1)
- Chartreuse Schlappen (collar 2)
- Sili-Legs - Chartreuse
- Lead Cone - Chartreuse

Streamer #2 (right)

A similar pattern, but a better choice for a more natural presentation. Works well mid-afternoon in clear water.

- Orvis size 8 2XL streamer hook
- Light olive marabou (tail/body)
- Mallard died wook duck feather (collar #1)
- Harelin craft fur - Olive (collar #2)
- Sili-legs - white
- Cone head

@ginclear Flies

Finally, @ginclear (yours truly), of the Gin Clear blog tied some tried and true patterns. The Klinkhammer emerger has been one of my more productive trout flies. I've even caught bass and pan fish with this pattern. For bass, I tied Skip Morris's Skip's Dad pattern. Skip has a bunch of great bass and pan fish flies on his DVD titled "The Art of Tying the Bass Fly".

Trout- Klinkhammer - Hans van Klinken (Italics are modifications)

@ginclear Klinkhammer 

- Hook Partridge 15BN size 16 & 18 (green post)
- Thread 6/0 Brown
- Body Light Brown (16) & Golden Olive (18) Dubbing 

- Body wrapped with red (16) & gold (18) brassie wire
- Abdomen Peacock Hearl
- Post Orange (16) and green (18) Antron
- Hackle Brown 

Bass - Skips Dad - Skip Morris (Italics are modifications)

@ginclear Skip's Dad

- Hook 2xl to 3xl regular or heavy wire. Mustad CS53 size 8 (Mustad 3906 size 8)
- Thread Brown 6/0, 140 denier (70 denier)
- Tail The butts of the pheasant tail fibers that form the shell back
- Body Thickly dubbed brown or brownish-olive rabbit, squirrel or blended dubbing (ice dub)
- Shellback Pheasant tail fibers
- Claws Pheasant tail fibers
- Weight Lead eyes, unpainted (lead wraps on hook and black bead-chain eyes)

That's a lot of flies. I wanted to get this post up with the pictures before fishing any of these beauties (knowing I would probably loose them).

Everyone did a fantastic job with their ties. This was a blast to be a part of and get all these great patterns. Thank you, Morgan for hosting, and David, Mario & Mike for putting out quality work.