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Fly Tying, Ice Fishing

Tight lining has taken the panfish ice fishing scene by storm in the past few years, and for good reason. This highly productive technique utilizes ultra-quick sinking tungsten jigs in combination with realistic, imitative ice flies on the same line. I’ve been tying, testing, and tweaking the design of a few ice flies over the past two seasons with great results on the ice. Here are two of my most productive patterns for hardwater panfish. Hook: #12-16 heavy wire nymph hook Bead:5/32″ brass bead Thread: Black 8/0 Tail: Natural gray chickabou with one to two strands of gold flashabou on either side Body: Brown micro tubing Legs: Brown x-small or micro barred rubber legs Thorax: Dubbing blend of your natural dubbing (hare’s ear, squirrel, etc.) and gray or olive UV Ice Dub Get some hand-tied Slab Spikes in our shop! Hook: #12-16 heavy wire nymph hook Bead/Eyes: 5/32″ brass bead…

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Fly Tying

Here is a quick little scud pattern to add to your trout box. Scuds are an important food source for trout in nutrient-rich spring creeks and tailwaters year- round. This fly fishes equally well in rivers and lakes. Drop it off a beadhead in an indicator rig or strip it in around the weed beds. The simple scud uses just a few materials and is very easy to tie. For me, the simple scud is more of a style of fly than an exact pattern. Don’t be afraid to experiment and change it up. For this fly, I used a standard straight Mustad Signature Series Nymph hook (mostly because I don’t have any scud hooks:)), which works just fine. My favorite dubbing blend is a mix of hare’s ear, antron, and Ice Dub, but scud dub, Ice Dub, and antron are all good substitutions. The scruffier the better, so don’t…

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Fly Tying, Trout

The first couple days of our trip out to the Smokies in late October were shut out due to some rainy, cold conditions. The hurricane pushed a huge cold front through the mountains, dumping over three feet of snow in the higher elevations! Newfound Gap Road, which cuts through the mountains, was closed for most of the first two days. All that was left to do fishing-wise was to sit down and crank out a bunch of flies. That’s exactly what we did. First on the menu were some tungsten hare and coppers tied with lemon wood duck flank from a wood duck I shot in September. I always keep a good stock of these in my box, as they work well pretty much anywhere and are quick and easy to tie. The tungsten version worked great to get down to the fish in the cold. Next, I whipped up…

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3 Brothers Flies, Fly Tying, Hunting

Duck season is in full swing in many parts of the country right now. Hunting has slowed down here in Minnesota, but I had a pretty good season and bagged a couple ducks. A nice collection of CDC from mallards, wood duck, and teal is sitting on my tying bench, ready for the long winter. CDC is pretty quick and easy to grab off a bird, and is an outstanding feather for dry flies. Cul De Canard (or CDC) is one of the best feathers on a duck for fly tiers. It is found near the duck’s preen (urogypial) gland, which releases oils that a duck uses to help waterproof his feathers. Contrary to popular belief, CDC gets its great natural flotation properties primarily from the structure of the feather, not the oils. Micro-barbules extend from the fibers of the CDC feather, increasing surface area and trapping tiny air bubbles…

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