Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Palmered Flies, Simple And....

Palmered flies, simplicity equals fish catching ability. I have written about palmered flies in the past. The orange palmer and yellow palmer are two dry flies that exceed when called into service. But the palmered flies featured here are wet flies. They are simple to tie and require few materials. They are not difficult to fish, actually there is no set method other then cast them into the water. For the most part these flies will not sink deep but remain in that mid water level until they complete their drift at which they will rise up in the way a natural insect will.



The materials used are thread, dubbing and some hackle. The hackle is from a India rooster which seems to work well with these flies. The color of the hackle can vary from dark to light with that center band which is a bit darker. I usually use Australian opossum but any spikey dubbing will work.


Here is a palmered fly when dry. You can see the dark highlight from the badger hackle.


This one has a little lighter hackle.


When wet these flies take on a whole new look. They represent no single insect but do represent every insect that is in a stream. The hackle flares in the water and it's incredible the amount of movement these simple flies impart.


Take a real close look at this fly. You can see the distinct color variations, the tiny legs caused by the wrapping of the dubbing. A fish eye view that says "eat it"....so simple yet so complex.









23 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Mark Kautz
      Thanks
      Mark they did, and with reckless abandon.

      Delete
  2. I was all ready to tie up some Bombers but I may have to rethink that now. As usual, you've hit the nail on the head. The combination of the possum and the badger hackle work well together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mike
      Thanks
      Mike don't give up on the bombers. This fly requires less hackle and no calftail. I love possum and squirrel dubbings.

      Delete
  3. Hi Alan,

    Nice ties there. And I love the cape - looks like it would make some really good coch-y-bondhu flies.

    Thanks for sharing

    Alistair

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alistair
      Thanks
      Alistair that cape only cost 5.00 USD, a great deal.
      The coch-y-bondu is a fly I've never tied, perhaps I should.

      Delete
    2. Hi Alan,

      $5 wow.....

      The coch-y-bondhu is an excellent pattern to use when there are lots of small beetles about.

      Thanks

      Alistair

      Delete
  4. Alan
    Dead drifting this fly would be deadly; any particular size? Thanks for sharing---check your email sent message

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bill Trussell
      Thanks
      Bill dead drifting is a great way to fish these flies. Also on the retrieve just bringing near the surface will draw some pretty impressive hits. Email sent.

      Delete
  5. Those flies look like what trout would eat, unlike some of the modern sub surface flies that are in vogue today. That Australian possum looks darned close to what Fran Betters used tying up his flies. I never met him, but a couple of Youtube videos of him tying are darned good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sam
      Thanks
      Sam the Aust. possum is from Frans shop. One hell of a fly tyer he was, and he created patterns that caught trout.

      Delete
  6. G'Day Alan,
    My favourite wet fly is the Black Woolly Worm, a palmered fly that could be so many edible creatures to a feeding trout. I've even seen a video of a fly fisher casting this fly as a dry and catching trout on it. Versatility.
    Cheers,
    Steve.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Steve
      Thanks
      Steve the woolly worm with it's red tail was a fly that would take fish where ever it was used, the marabou bugger seemed to take over the WW's status with a few holdout anglers who know better.

      Delete
  7. Is this fly dry or wet? I still don't have it well defined. Thanks Alan

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    Replies
    1. Armando Milosevic
      Thanks
      Armando they are wet flies. But because of the semi stiff hackle they ride in the upper current. They work well my friend.

      Delete
  8. That's what I like, a really simple fly that works. I'll have to tie & try a few.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. billp
      Thanks
      Bill they will work fine on those small streams you fish in NM.
      The comments are working.

      Delete
    2. Bill, there is an awesome article in the winter issue of Trout Magazine. It features the Rio Grande cutthroat in the streams of New Mexico.

      Delete
    3. I have that issue sitting on my tying desk. Have been up there but not in a couple of years. Going to a little local stream tomorrow.

      Delete
  9. As a variant, especially when using hackle with a dark center band, after finishing the fly, cut off the hackle on the rear two-thirds of the hook, leaving a black stubble. Classic Japanese tenkara fly (without forward slanting hackle - which most authentic, historic tenkara flies do not have).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris Stewart
      Thanks
      Chris sounds like a fly I may try. I love tying flies that I can add my own personal touch.

      Delete
  10. What a fish this picture is, with those big eyes....? I don't know him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Armando Milosevic
      Thanks
      Armando that is a "red eye" bass. They can get a little bigger but most are about that size. They take flies readily and are strong fighters.

      Delete