Thursday, August 8, 2019

"Tomah Joe"

Tomah Joe is one of those classic wet flies that are no longer found in fly shops. It seems that it does not "fit" what's happening, or perhaps it may be it's a bit tricky to tie. It's a fly that was created by Tomah Joe a fishing guide in Washington county Maine. Tomah-Joseph was a member of the Passamaquaddy tribe and was later their representative in the state legislature. The fly was created about the late 1870's and used extensively in Grand Lake Stream for landlocked salmon. Like many flies Tomah Joe has gone through many variations and I myself tie it using three different wing feathers. The variations don't seem to make the fly better it's just that I have those feathers available and I used them. All three have been successful with brook trout and rainbows. I believe Tomah Joe would make a great streamer fly for sea-run brook trout as well as other sea-run species. Below are the three Tomah Joe flies. The various feathers used are Chuckar, Lemon Wood duck, and Black and White barred wood duck.







Hook-Mustad 3906 #8...Tail, Yellow Hackle...Butt, Peacock Herl...Body, Silver Mylar Tinsel...Throat, Yellow followed by Red Hackle...Wing, Either Chuckar, Lemon Wood Duck or Barred Wood Duck.







13 comments:

  1. I like all 3 Alan but probably the Barred Woodie the best. Nice ties!

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    1. billp
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      Bill that's the original wing feather for the fly. The variants came later. All work well.

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  2. Beautiful flies. A shame to get them wet.

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    1. Mark Kautz
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      Mark I'd bet these flies would work quite well in northern Calif.

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  3. Those look like someone (TJ in this case, I suspect) said: What colors and materials to brook trout seem to love? Cool, lets just put them all in a fly! They look awesome!

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    1. Hibernation
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      Will actually he did say something like that. The phrase was landlock's, must have yellow.
      Tie a few and fish the Swift.

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    2. Actually did last night, well, not the TJ's, didnt have a chance to tie them yet... but the swift. Nice to see that it's brookie population enjoyed the high water and is still thriving with normal summer flows. I need to do the TJ's next time I'm on the vice :)

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  4. Maine fisherman/author Bob Leeman was a fan of this pattern and wrote about it on several occasions. I had a nice day on the Fish River several years ago using a Tomah Joe with a wood duck wing. Beautiful ties, Alan.

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    1. mike
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      Bob Leeman I know quite well. Streamers, streamers and streamers. Mike I like the wood duck wing also for the reason that it looks like an insect when moved through the water.

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  5. Alan, definitely a fly to add to my twist list for my sea-run cutts. Especially the wood duck wingers. Thanks for the tip.

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    1. Matt Harding
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      Matt this fly in streamer form is the one I told you about. I'll post the fly soon. And yes it should work on the sea-run cutts.

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  6. Great looking flies. I admit they they are new to me.

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    1. NJpatbee
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      Pat in New England especially Maine there is a following of Tomah Joe. I believe that where there are brookies the fly should work. Might even work on steelhead.

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