Favorite Fly Swap

[StevenOjai]

Anyone interested in going into a "Favorite Fly" Swap?
I'll keep this swap open to 15 tiers. Just choose the fly that you did best this season from May 1st to Nov 15th. These will be trout flies....nymphs, dries, streamers, etc. I'll need your recipes. I thought a little note would be interesting as to why this became a "favorite" fly this season...largest fish, most fish, most challenging fish. We can post the results on the forum with pics and the accompanying story. Deadline is Dec 10th , flies back to you by Dec. 20th.


1. StevenOjai....................Drifter's Punk Perch
2. Eric2..............................Pink Gold Ribbed Midge
3. Tymyown.......................Peacock Caddis
4. Cyberfish.......................Drifter's Crystal Tiger Midge
5. Wade............................Squaw Candy
6. Gotafly..........................Lazy BWO
7. Mikeytwoshoes................tba
8. Sinpatiman....................Emerger
9. Cholcomb13..................Prism Stimulator
10. JeremyP......................Heads Up Midge Emerger
11. StewMon......................Bead Butt Biot Emerger
12. FemaleFlyTyer.............Dead Chicken
13. Canefly........................Mayfly pattern
14. Zebra18......................Twin Lakes Special
15. Durrwood....................BH Purple Midge & Durrwood
16. Maodiver.......................Yellow Parachute Madam X

The swap if full.

Regards, Steve

[StevenOjai]

Very Surprised that there hasn't been anyone from this forum signing up for the swap. There's only two spots left.
Regards, Steve

[Hairstacker]

Haven't been doing any trout fishing.

[StevenOjai]

Thanks for the input, Hairstacker. The Steehead swap looked great and I really enjoy reading the discussion of beads. I used beads on the Kenai this summer and they were my best offering, but it still didn't feel right to me. Kind of like using Cojo flies and doing the Kenai twitch. Just not my cup of tea. Hope to check in with you and the others later, maybe we can get into a swap at another time.
Regards, Steve

[Darian]

Steve,.... I've enjoyed the swaps you've hosted (even the one I didn't participate in). Unfortunately, I haven't been doing much fishing and have too much going on right now. Am unable to sign up this time. Please keep me in mind for future swaps....

[StevenOjai]

Received a beautiful group of Parachute Madam X flies from Maodiver. Since Maodiver is a member of this forum, I really wanted to show this to everyone here.


Materials:
Hook: #12 Curved Stimulator Hook (ie TMC 200R)
Thread: Yellow
Tail:Coast Deer Hair
Parachute Post: Glo Bug Egg Yarn- divided in half
Body: Yellow Sparkle/Craft Yarn
Wing: Coast Deer Hair
Legs: Yellow Rubber
Thorax: 2-3 Strands of Peacock
Hackle: Grizzly Dyed Brown - Dry Saddle Hackle

The Swap is a Favorite Fly Swap in which I'm asking each to write a note on why it is their favorite this season. Here's Maodiver's note:

"This fly has become my go-to big fly. The reason? Let me tell you."

"Last August, my buddy and I spent a nearly fruitless week chasing flies on the North Fork Yuba River. We had caught a few, but nothing to write home about. As a matter of fact we decided that, instead of writing home, we would bag it early and just go home."

"We drove back down the mountain to his home in Yuba City, getting in about 4:00. I had a choice: go home to an empty house, or go fish the Lower Yuba that evening. No choice, there. I hit the river with another friend, and started along the banks with hopper patterns. Almost immediately, I hooked up with the "cookie cutter" rainbow of the Yuba, which ran about 17 inches."

"For the next couple hours until dark I caught 3 more of those fish, in the same size. I also LDR'ed 3 more. All of this took place in a section of stream that was less than 30 yards long. All of the hookups were on some version of the Parachute Madam X, which I had just earned to tie. My buddies were disgusted with me."

"Fast forward to this past June, on Hat Creek."

"I basically suck at flyfishing. I can catch the suicidal ones, but have trouble with anything even remotely requiring skill. And nymphing??? HA! I have yet to take a fish on a nymph on purpose, I only get the ones who hang themselves when I am not paying attention. This is why I was feeling really low on Hat Creek. PH#2 Riffle did nothing for me, a couple of dinks on the other side of the island. I caught a couple of decent 12-inchers at the park by the Highway. Put into perspective, I did really poorly, while others with better skill did well."

"On our last day, we fished Hat Creek down towards the fish barrier, by a fallen tree. With caddis swarming in big balls on the water, and the stones helicoptering around over our heads, I thought that I wouldn't get a rise, due to the sheer amount of food available. Wrong. I strung up a PMX and lickety-split had an 18-inch rainbow nail it in a huge rise. I fought that fish into the net, and recast the same fly. Within 20 minutes I struck another fish, a 16-inch brown this time. I LDR'ed 2 more before it was too dark to see."

"This fly saved me from the big skunk-ola. I don't get to fish that often, so one could say that this fly saved my season. If there is a chance that a big bug will work, I will always tie on a PMX. I have them in yellow, green, orange, royal, tan, brown, black (cricket?), and even a couple of hot pink ones for indicator flies. I tie them in a range of sizes from 2 down to 16, and would tie them in #4 if I had the hooks. The parachutes are either yeller, orange, hot-pink, or black/white (you can use sparkle yarn such as antron, zelon, carpet fiber, punch yarn, etc), depending on conditions, what is easily available on the bench, or whimsy."

"Hope you all enjoy this fly as much as I do. I enjoyed passing it along."
Mike Owens
Maodiver