Pyramid Lake Fly Patterns

[Flyfisher70]

I'm hopefully going to be fly fishing Pyramid Lake near Reno Nevada this coming April. I found a few flies online that seem to produce really well. I'm still not done tying as I have a few dozen more hooks left. All of these were tied on size 6 TMC 2457 hooks. It's a ridiculously easy pattern to tie. Here are a few photos of the Pyramid Tadpoles/Beetles.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7014/6738070411_d91a90bcb1_b.jpg (http://thesocalflyfisher.blogspot.com/2012/01/pyramid-lake-fly-pattern.html)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7022/6732980475_20e07e8f1c_b.jpg (http://thesocalflyfisher.blogspot.com/2012/01/pyramid-lake-fly-pattern.html)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7007/6733067453_2b00cf2c22_b.jpg (http://thesocalflyfisher.blogspot.com/2012/01/pyramid-lake-fly-pattern.html)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6738069447_7678bec6a3_b.jpg (http://thesocalflyfisher.blogspot.com/2012/01/pyramid-lake-fly-pattern.html)

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Very nice.....thanks.

**At Kiene's Fly Shop we now have the entire selection of Pyramid Lake fly patterns that were developed by the Reno Fly Shop through Umpqua Feather Merchants.

[gene goss]

Great looking flies....i also been using a suspended fly for bass, trout, mackinaw trout, channel catfish....Etc....its a good fly.
Neutrel Buoyancy fly....i use a tank of water and trim the floatation off untill the fly is suspended...it doesn't sink or float up much. You will lose the up and down jiging movement....so...i trim the foam head to put a wiggle in the fly when you retrieve the fly.
Add a weed guard to the fly so you can snake it through the cover....good luck

[EricW]

Nice. Like the krystal flash tail on the white ones.

BTW, it looks like you snuck some partridge czech or shrimp hooks in there. I forget which is the very heavy gauge. The heavy one is noticeably heavier than a 2457 and will change the buoyancy of the fly if you don't compensate with more foam.

Also, you may want to coat the locofoam backs to keep the silver on (very light varnish or other coating). After a day the luster will be gone and you'll lose the ripple. Another day and the silver will be dulled a lot. I'm certain that the silver is important on that fly.

[Flyfisher70]

Nice. Like the krystal flash tail on the white ones.

BTW, it looks like you snuck some partridge czech or shrimp hooks in there. I forget which is the very heavy gauge. The heavy one is noticeably heavier than a 2457 and will change the buoyancy of the fly if you don't compensate with more foam.

Also, you may want to coat the locofoam backs to keep the silver on (very light varnish or other coating). After a day the luster will be gone and you'll lose the ripple. Another day and the silver will be dulled a lot. I'm certain that the silver is important on that fly.

Good eyes! Yes, there are a few in there tied with Partridge hooks. I had a few on the vise pedestal and used them up, there are about the same size as the TMC 2457, but like you said they are a heavier gauge. I did a float test of the flies with the TMC 2457 and the Partridge hook after reading this post. I put them both in the sink filled with water, both float really well and pop right back up to the surface, although in the Partridge version you can see a noticeable difference, I think it may benefit the fly though. Were talking 100's of a second though not much, we'll see what the fish think about them. Hopefully the fish in Pyramid will like them all.

[jayclarkflyfishing]

Those flies will work. The white one is what we call "Popcorn" and it is my go to fly at Pyramid for stripping. Big midges under an indicator are deadly also. There is a post on my blog that highlights my Pyramid boxes.

Nice ties!

Jay

[Flyfisher70]

Jay, I had bookmarked your My Pyramid Fly Boxes (http://www.northernsierraflyfishing.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-pyramid-fly-boxes.html) blog on your blogger and use the flies as a reference. Thank you so much for posting up the nice closeup photos, they really helped quite a bit with my tying up of the flies up above.

[catch&release]

"Those are great looking photos"

Jay Clark, Greg Sano and Ernie Walsh all showed me the beetle patterns for Pyramid. I have found that I personaly have alot better success by double foaming my beetles.

I like the extra lift and movement you get when you give the beetle a longer pause. Last year at South nets I hammered fish on the "popcorn" version and a red beetle that I tie called "Dorthy" because of the red sparkle.

Play around and tie them up in many different colors. These fish are color happy way more than size or shape.

Change your retrieves, dont always present the bug the same way as everyone else does. Longer pulls "full length of my arm and a 5 second count before the pull again worked better for me for sure and while we were all lined up this retrieve worked better than all the rest "on the particluar days I fished". Of course it changes, I watch how everyone fishes especialy if I am being out fished to see what kind of retrieve and presentation may or may not be working better than mine.

Paying close attention to your surroudings and the who, what and where that is going on around you will always make you a better fisherman in the present and the future.

Ernie Gulley

[Dan Harrison]

Good looking flies flyfisher i may have to try that crystal flash tail. And i like catch&release idea of double foam. It has been my experience at pyramid that eratic movement of the beetle can bring strikes. I like a bigger lip that pushes the beetle up or left and right. Like catch said the strip is very important and i have had good sucess with the fastest shortest strips I could deliver.

[Greg F]

Tie up some black and chartreuse buggers and try those, too.

[Dan Harrison]

Tie up some black and chartreuse buggers and try those, too.

yes gotta have those, caught a nice ten pounder on black and chartreuse bugger.

[cyama]

Are you guys fishing the foam flies on a sinking line?? If so what line is best? Camo intermediate or a deep sinker? I have seen people fishing Heenan with a beetle as a dropper behind something like a bugger. The foam beetle rises up and the fish attack?

[Chris Evison]

We use sinking lines. Most now use the Rio 250gr for 7wt, 8wt. Some like a floating running line, but a I prefer a intermediate running line. Waves and current can really drag floating running line all over the place. Intermediate running line gets below the surface and on the bottom quicker giving current a waves less of a chance of messing with your line. Some use floating running line so they don't have to use a stripping basket.

I've fished Pyramid since 1995 and guided on it since 2003 with Rob (bulldog) out of Reno Fly Shop. I've seen it all out at Pyramid. Some clients have used 15ft siktips and done well. I've seen people with floating line, long leader and split shot to get to bottom and it works. I'm sure others have thier favorite line set-ups for Pyramid and I have no doubt that it works.

The foam beetle is very effective at Pyramid. As Jay Clark said the Popcorn beetle (chartruse and white) works great. It really does a good job of imitating the lakes dragonflys. Vary your strip till you figure out what is working. Some of my beetles are the size of a 1/2 dollar coin and the fish love them on certain days.

Most people don't go heavy enough on leader. Anybody out there using 5X is just asking to lose the fish of a lifetime and stressing out fish they do land. Occasionally I go to 3X, but mainly use straight chunks of 10lb flouro. Some of the oldtimers out there use 15-20lb leaders so they don't lose big one. These fish have a mouthful of needle sharp teeth that can wreak havoc on weaker leaders and flouro handles this better.

Hope this helps, if more ?'s pm me.

[jayclarkflyfishing]

For stripping I'm throwing 27' of t-11 attached to a floating running line on a 9.5' 8# XP. I also use a stripping basket to help manage it all. Like Chris said, a floating running line can get pushed around by the big waves and current. Find something that works for you and have a good time!

Jay

[cyama]

Thanks for the info!

[mark]

We use sinking lines. Most now use the Rio 250gr for 7wt, 8wt. Some like a floating running line, but a I prefer a intermediate running line. Waves and current can really drag floating running line all over the place. Intermediate running line gets below the surface and on the bottom quicker giving current a waves less of a chance of messing with your line. Some use floating running line so they don't have to use a stripping basket.

I've fished Pyramid since 1995 and guided on it since 2003 with Rob (bulldog) out of Reno Fly Shop. I've seen it all out at Pyramid. Some clients have used 15ft siktips and done well. I've seen people with floating line, long leader and split shot to get to bottom and it works. I'm sure others have thier favorite line set-ups for Pyramid and I have no doubt that it works.

The foam beetle is very effective at Pyramid. As Jay Clark said the Popcorn beetle (chartruse and white) works great. It really does a good job of imitating the lakes dragonflys. Vary your strip till you figure out what is working. Some of my beetles are the size of a 1/2 dollar coin and the fish love them on certain days.

Most people don't go heavy enough on leader. Anybody out there using 5X is just asking to lose the fish of a lifetime and stressing out fish they do land. Occasionally I go to 3X, but mainly use straight chunks of 10lb flouro. Some of the oldtimers out there use 15-20lb leaders so they don't lose big one. These fish have a mouthful of needle sharp teeth that can wreak havoc on weaker leaders and flouro handles this better.

Hope this helps, if more ?'s pm me.


Write all of this down......... excellent tips!


I use straight maxima green 10 lb out there because its a little stiffer in cold water, turns over those beetles quite well.

I usually also will try both a beetle and a bugger and then switch to 2 of whatever fly is most productive that way.

Like Chris, I also prefer the intermediate running line, I use an integrated t-8 line with intermediate running line on either a 7 or 8 weight, depending on the wind.

Oh yeah, Black and purple beetle is killer, thats what i caught my largest pyramid fish on.

[Lee Haskin]

Hello Everyone.

When I developed the Neutralizer, some years ago, I had Pyramid on my mind. With the advent of my tough, Pre-Cut, Gurgler/Neutralizer foam, folks were able to create neutrally buoyant flies easily and quickly, many of which were used at Pyramid.
This foam is much more durable than typical evazote foams, and will last much longer, especially with big toothy trout!

At one time Bill carried many sizes and colors of my Pre-Cut Gurgler/Neutralizer foam. You might check his inventory.

http://www.gurglersonline.com/precutfoam.html


Cheers,
Lee Haskin

[Chris Evison]

It's funny, all my fish over 10lbs at Pyramid have come on midge patterns under an indicator. The only time I strip any more is if the strippers are getting them and I am not under the indicator. As I recall, I only stripped on the bottom 4 or 5 times last year and not for long.

As you can tell I prefer indicator fishing at Pyramid. Best set-up I've found is a good 7wt rod and the Rio Outbound Short to go with it.

[Dan Harrison]

It's funny, all my fish over 10lbs at Pyramid have come on midge patterns under an indicator. The only time I strip any more is if the strippers are getting them and I am not under the indicator. As I recall, I only stripped on the bottom 4 or 5 times last year and not for long.

As you can tell I prefer indicator fishing at Pyramid. Best set-up I've found is a good 7wt rod and the Rio Outbound Short to go with it.

Could you share some of those go to midge patterns? I have always felt that I am missing something with mine.

[Dan LeCount]

Could you share some of those go to midge patterns? I have always felt that I am missing something with mine.

Theyre basically Snow cone style midges. Most people usually use silver or white beads. Size 8-12 2457,2499 or 2488H hooks by Tiemco are good choices(Some also use 200Rs, but I liked the heavier wire of the 2457 style). Either use thread or wrap tinsel (red, silver, holographic black, holographic pink or other colors) for the body and reinforce with red, black, silver or other colored wire. Afterwards coat the fly with hard as nails.

color combos I like;
black holo tinsel, red wire, white bead
pink holo tinsel, silver wire, silver bead
red holo tinsel, black wire, silver bead

the combinations are endless.

Also with the tadpoles, marabou tails are the traditional recipe, but I sometimes used craft fur for the tail since it wouldnt get chewed off by the first cuttie you hooked.

The last couple years it was open I tied a good portion of the Pyramid patterns for the Reno shop if anyone has questions about recipes. feel free to PM me.

[jayclarkflyfishing]

Take a look at my blog for a look at my midge boxes. Mostly size 6-12 and mostly dark colors with acrylic beads. My #1 midge for the past few seasons is the Trojan. TMC 2457, clear bead, red thread body, and hot yellow and gold wire rib. Coated with 3 coats of sally hansens' hard as nails. Another hot midge pattern is Sano's Rootbeer: 2457, rootbeer bead, black thread body and copper brown wire rib. Both patterns are deadly and have hooked fish over 10#.

Jay