Fly du'jour: LBW (Little Brown Worm)

If you're new to fly tying, here's a pattern that's sure to please. It's simple to tie, requires almost no material, and is guaranteed to catch big fish on the Big Horn River in Montana (probably other places as well). When I'm on the Big Horn, this is my #1 go to fly of choice.

My friend, Mark Lance, introduced me to the LBW, and taught me how to tie it (that took about 5 minutes, as you'll see if you read on below). Mark and his wife Sharon are die-hard trout hunters, and have some absolutely incredible fish stories from incredible places. I strongly recommend you take a look at Mark's fly fishing photography web site, River Light Images (www.riverlightimages.com). He has photos from all over the world, and all are spectaticular.

Mark and Sharon have spent many a day on the Big Horn, and probably know every trout up there by name. If you're new to the Big Horn, and want to get up to speed quickly, head on over to TroutMap RiverGuides (www.troutmap.com). They have some fantastic laminated river maps of the Big Horn (and many other rivers as well). These are definitely something worth considering. When floating the Big Horn, some of the take outs are poorly marked, and can be difficult to find if you're out on the river at dusk (or later). TroutMap RiverGuides have GPS coordinates of all the take outs, and a handy grid system that allows you to accurately determine your location on the river to about 20 feet, even if you don't carry a GPS system while floating.

Now, on to the Fly du'jour...

Here's a list of materials:

• Hook: TMC 200R, size 16-20. The 200R is a double-length hook, so a size 20 is about right.
• Body: Hareline Dubbin SLF or SuperFine, in a light color such as light cahill. This fly works better with finer material. The standard Hareline material has a lot of guard hairs, that really isn't ideal for a worm pattern.
• Head: Black Thread

Put the hook in the vice, tie on the thread.

Use a small amount of dubbing, and dub a body on the hook. Since there isn't any wire wrap on the body, I prefer to tie this body with a dubbing loop. It takes a little more time, but is much more durable and looks better.

Make a loop with the thread. Apply dubbing wax to both sides of the thread loop.

Apply dubbing material to one or both sides of the loop.

Spin the thread loop to lock the dubbing material in place.

Wrap the dubbed thread forward to form the body.

Build up a sizable head with the black thread. Whip finish and apply head cement.

Total tying time: About 1-2 minutes. You can tie an army of these in an afternoon.

This fly is so simple to tie, but looks incredible in the water. The Big Horn is full of small midges with jet black heads that look nearly identical to this pattern. The dubbed body takes on a translucent look in the water. If you tie the body with less dubbing material, the thread will show through the dubbing, which adds a life-like look to the fly.

Gregg wrestling with another Big Horn slab, that was fooled by the LBW...

Black Tail Deer Creek, Montana

Last summer, my wife, my father and I took a trip to Montana to visit some of the most incredible fly fishing destinations in the Rocky Mountain region. If you have never been to Paradise Valley, you owe it to yourself to pack your bags. Unfortunately, we were a bit eager, and run off was still going on strong on many of the larger rivers.

What to do? Mope? Nope. Instead we headed for some of the lesser known creeks in the area, such as Black Tail Deer Creek, about 35 miles south east of Dillon.

View Larger Map

Black Tail Deer Creek is a tiny stream, that meanders through brushy willows. When we first arrived, I didn't think there would be any fish living there. The water was pretty cloudy, and you could jump from one side of the creek to the other.

Rather than driving back to Dillon with our tail between our legs, I did what any self-respecting trout bum would do - rigged up my fly rod and started thrashing the water!

I tied on a caddis, and tossed it in. A 10" rainbow hammered my fly on the first cast. That was the last Rainbow I caught all day (the rest were Brookies).

My father and I spent the next several hours throwing caddis flies around every bend in the creek. A stealthy approach, and careful casting to avoid the brushy willows was rewarded with a hungry Brookie.

Sometimes, the smallest creeks hold the biggest rewards. While the fish weren't huge in Black Tail Deer Creek, the location couldn't be beat. My wife doesn't fish, but does enjoy painting. She has produced some really great pictures, and are good reminders of my fishing adventures.

The picture below was the setting for one of her paintings. You can see how it turned out by visiting Sherri's blog.

Fly du'jour: Chernobyl Ant

One of my favorite places to fly fish is the Green River in Utah, right below Flaming Gorge Dam. This is a very special place. Gin clear water, beautiful scenery, and lots of big hungry fish. Unlike other tail waters, the fish get big here, not by sipping micro-nymphs, but by eatting three squares a day. The primary diet for a Green River trout in the summer months are terrestials (grasshoppers, crickets, ants, and cicadas). The fish pound these insects with near wreckless abandon, and you really shouldn't be on the river without a fly box full of patterns with foam bodies and big rubber legs.

Like the trout of many great rivers, the fish that call the Green their home are well educated, and see a LOT of big terrestial flies. I think there are a few keys to success when fishing terrestials on this river:

• Tie your own flies. Make your flies look a little different from what everyone else is using.
  
  
• Leave your fly on the water for a LONG time. While it is possible to fish portions of this river from the bank, most fishermen access this river from a drift boat. Due to the rate of flow, most fishermen in drift boats can only leave the fly on the water for a short period of time before they need to recast their fly. The fish know this. If you are able, cast your fly near the bank, and LEAVE IT BE. Count to 10. Count to 10 again. You'll be surprised who comes calling for dinner.
  
  
• Don't be afraid to fish the shallow water. Most terrestial insects live in the trees and grasses near the bank. The trout that are looking for a big meal will often hug the shore, waiting for something to fall in. I often cast my fly so that it lands just inches from the bank. If you cast your fly with a big "plop", the fish will come over to check it out.

If you're looking for a really good map of the Green, take a look at Troutmap RiverGuides. These are laminated river maps that have all the important stuff clearly identified, including GPS coordinates. Unlike a normal map that gets left in the car on your fishing trip, RiverGuides are just the right size, so you can take them with you, whether you're floating or wading.

Let's get tying...

1. I typically tie this fly with a size 12 TMC 100 hook. This make an ant that is much bigger than nature ever intended, but not so big that a hungry hawg won't give it a go. You can tie them larger if you want, but the size 12 allows you to make the legs super-sized, without the fly looking like a 4-course meal.
   
   
   
   
2. Dub some bright flashy material to the hook. Try dark colors (purple, black, green). This dubbing sits under the fly and reflects light.
   
   
   
3. Tie on a pre-made foam body. I've tried making these myself, and let me tell you - it just isn't worth the effort. You can buy foam bodies at any fly-tying shop, and they'll save you loads of time. You can try bodies in many different colors, but black and brown seem to work well. I like the bodies that have a center of red foam in between black.
   
   
   


4. Tie on the back legs - I use black flexi floss. This is great material for tying ant legs. Leave them long! Long legs will add some life-like action to the fly.
   
   
   



5. Tie on the front legs. If you've been paying attention, you'll notice that your ant has a few more legs than a natural. Don't worry - the fish don't often count the legs. If the enormous size of your fly doesn't bother them, a few extra legs aren't going to ruin the meal either.
   
   
   
   
6. Finally, be sure to tie on a small piece of bright yellow or green foam to the back of the fly, so you can see it on the river! If you fail to do this, chances are you won't be able to see your fly. I think florescent green works best - yellow seems to blend in a bit more.
   

Well, there you have it. Now that you know how to tie it, don't stop at just one. Tie up a small army!

Colorado's Best Breakfast Burrito

Ok, so now you're probably wondering, "Just where is Colorado's best breakfast burrito?" I've done a lot of searching over the years, and I think that without a doubt the best breakfast burrito in Colorado is at the Pantry Restaurant in Pueblo.

Here is a recent photo of this monster. Inside is a combination of eggs, hash browns, and chorizo sausage. Outside is covered in cheese and (by far) the best green chile I have ever had. There are typically 3-4 large pieces of very soft pork on the side. This is the best burrito I've found in Colorado, hands down.

There are some runner ups as well, but I'll save those for another day.

Welcome to Ghofland!

Hello and welcome to the ghofland blog. If you're wondering why you're here, well, you're not alone.

This evening, I visited the grand opening of a new fly shop in Parker, Colorado called Colorado Skies. Their web site has a great video of hawgs sipping midges in winter. The shop looks good and the folks behind the counter are very friendly.