HOOK SIZES:  10, 12, 14, 16, 18,

HOOK OPTIONS:  Daiichi 1180 mini-barb dry fly hook , Mustad 94840 standard dry fly hook, Mustad 94845 barbless dry fly hook

THREAD:  Danville 6/0 thread to match body or hackle color

WING: Light elk hair tied back down over body.

RIBBING: Fine gold wire tied in at the rear of the hook and wrapped forward through the hackle.

BODY: Dubbed Hare's Mask. We like Hareline Haretron dubbing in colors to match the hatch.

HACKLE: Furnace or Coachman Brown palmered forward.

HEAD: Butts of the elk hair pushed back with your thumbnail.

HEAD FINISH: Water base head cement.

        

The Green Butt Skunk is one of the our most popular and proven steelhead patterns. The original Skunk was probably tied in the 1930's by Wes Drain on the Stillaquamish River in Washington. The original wing was real mixed black and white skunk hair, which makes you wonder just how far fly anglers will go to catch a steelhead. As the years passed the  green fluorescent butt was added and someone wisely changed the winging material from skunk to calf tail, and the Green Butt Skunk found its way into steelheading history and just about every fly box in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Today it is tied in countless variations, and every tier has their own version, but this is a fairly standard Green Butt Skunk recipe from he Staff at The Fly Fishing Place Fly Shop



HOOK SIZES:  2, 4, 6 , 8 OR 1.5, 3, 5, 7

HOOK OPTIONS:  Mustad 36890, Daiichi 2441, Alec Jackson Steelhead Irons

THREAD:  Black Danville 6/0

TAIL:  Scarlet red hackle fibers

BUTT: Fluorescent chartreuse dubbing or medium fluorescent chartreuse chenille.

RIBBING: Oval silver tinsel or flat medium silver tinsel.

BODY: Black medium chenille

HACKLE: Black hackle tied as a collar and tied back and down.

WING: White calf tail.

HEAD FINISH:  Loon Hard Head Black Cement

        

 
 The Fly Fishing Place is proud to offer the complete Loon Outdoors line both in the fly shop and online for shipping anywhere in the U.S. The good folks at Loon Outdoors are focused on environmentally friendly fly fishing products that stand up to the rigors of the most demanding fly angler. Loon Outdoors fly fishing products and gear make the flyfishing experience more enjoyable for both the novice and the expert by providing innovative, superior products that make us all better  anglers. Loon Outdoors makes their products from environmentally friendly ingredients that help us all as responsible anglers help preserve the great waters we love...Shop The Fly Fishing Place Complete Loon Outdoors Online Store

        

The Fly Fishing Place is pleased to announce that Arlen Thomason's outstanding new book on fly fishing entomology, BugWater , is in stock for the New Year and ready for shipping. (If you pre-ordered, then your book is already on its way!)

This wonderful new angling entomology book follows the insects and the trout through their co-joined life cycles from spring through winter. Thomason’s masterful photography  and well-written narrative show off the bugs we all love up close and in amazing detail. With the author’s insights as both a scientist and fly fisherman, this book delivers solid content for the serious angling entomologist, yet is a great read for anyone. Covers all popular trout foods: Mayflies,caddis, stoneflies, midges. Hardcover, 337 color photos, 7 B&W illus; 8.5x11inches, 224 pgs.

“Thomason’s superb images not only provide up-close examples for fly tiers to follow but also capture the beauty of these amazing insects in a way never done before. Part reference work, part celebration, BugWater is a special book.” —Jay Nichols

Click here to order your copy of Arlen Thomason's BugWater today!

        

Here at The Fly Fishing Place we are pleased to announce our expanded selection of premium Great Lakes Steelhead flies for 2010. This great bunch of steelhead flies specific to the Great Lakes fisheries includes  Bear Andrews innovative patterns, along with the tried and true egg, nymph and hex patterns. You'll find lots of great nymph patterns like the Headbanger Hex, the Fuzzbuster , the essential PM Caddis and the Boogie Woogie Caddis, along with the reliable egg patterns like the Anvil Egg, the Veiled Egg Bead and the Nuclear Egg in lots of fishy colors. We also offer a Great Lakes Steelhead Assortment that will really get you on the water in good shape. Have a great season on the water!

        

Here at The Fly Fishing Place we are always on the lookout for a new gadget to make our time on the river more efficient and enjoyable. Along comes Loon Outdoors with one of those "Man, why didn't I think of that!" tools. The SharkTooth Tippet Cutter and Spool Manager  : Simple, super useful, and works like a charm.

Spend more time fishing and less time getting ready with the all-new Shark Tooth, a highly functional and easy to use tippet spool manager and tippet cutter from Loon Outdoors.

Simply slip the elastic band over your tippet spool and use the SharkTooth to cut your tippet with precision every time. No more frustrating fumbling for nippers in the middle of the river or using your teeth. The smooth cutting action leaves the perfect amount of tippet exposed and eliminates tippet waste. Reusable from spool to spool and just one of those simple gadgets that you need in your Loon vest or on your lanyard that you will appreciate every time you use it.

Check out the complete line of creative fly fishing solutions from Loon Outdoors at The Fly Fishing Place Fly Shop!

        

One of the most common questions fly tiers ask us is "Which Tiemco hook for which dry fly pattern?" While you might think that a hook is a hook is a hook, choosing the right style of dry fly hook to match your fly pattern can make all the difference when you are out on the water. Weight, eye configuration, shank length, color, gape and point design can all make a big difference in the performance of a very small fly. As an example, here is an excerpt from The Fly Fishing Place' Tiemco Dry Fly Hook Selection Guide on choosing fly tying hooks specifically for heavily hackled and thick bodied western dry flies like Humpies and Wulff patterns:

WESTERN DRY FLIES

TMC9300: Dry & Wet Fly D/E, 1X Heavy, Wide gape, Forged, Bronze.  The best dry fly hook available for hair-wing patterns like Wulffs and Humpies. The use of a little heavier wire than the traditional dry fly hook produces a hook that is tough enough to handle large trout in fast riffles and pocket water.  An exceptionally strong dry fly hook that is also the perfect choice for standard wets and soft hackle flies. Sizes 8-18






TMC900BL:  Dry Fly D/E, 1XF, 1X Wide, Semidropped point, Barbless, Forged, Bronze. A barbless hook designed so that the point goes outward slightly and the throat is deep enough to hold fish as well as a barbed model. The wide gape allows for tying heavier bodies like Humpies and Wulffs without blocking the hook penetration. The wire is strong enough to hold big fish. The size range, sizes #8-#24,covers many different types of flies and fishing. Sizes 8-24




Read more about the various Tiemco dry fly hook styles and shop online for the complete line of premium Tiemco hooks at The Fly Fishing Place Fly Shop.

        

Here at The Fly Fishing Place we are proud to offer the entire line of premium quality HMH fly tying vises and accessories, including their outstanding selection of tube fly tying materials and tube fly tying vises. We have been tying on HMH vises since the 1970's and they have never let us down.

The HMH Standard vise is simply the best professional vise for those who prefer the elegant simplicity of a perfect hook holding device without all the bells and whistles that few fly tiers use anyway.

The HMH Standard was recently awarded the 2009 Fly Rod and Reel Kudos Award, not because it was new and innovative, but because it has maintained its standard of elegant functionality for going on four decades. For those who really enjoy tying those pesky emergers, midges and other tiny flies size 18 and below, either the HMH Standard or HMH Spartan vise equipped with the HMH Micro jaws is the best vise for small flies, period. And as always, any order over $50 at The Fly Fishing Place qualifies for free shipping, so you can order any HMH fly tying vise and have it shipped to your door for free!

 

        

Here at The Fly Fishing Place we get lots of emails about the Wallowa River Steelhead Train (See the 2010 Wallowa River Steelhead Train schedule here) and probably the most asked question after "How the heck do I get there" is "What steelhead flies do I need to bring?".  Fortunately, if you have done any low-water steelheading at all you probably already have a lot of good patterns in your vest. Although these are summer run fish, you will be fishing for them in the winter with water temps low and the water usually clear and low, although that can change quickly on the Wallowa with warmer late winter snow or rain storms.

Fly size: Sizes 2 ,4 & 6 work well (or 1.5 ,3, 5 in the Alec Jackson Steelhead Irons sizes), although you might want to have some larger bright patterns to throw if the river rises and gets off-color. Small dropper nymphs are fine, but don't go below #12 or the whitefish will pester you all day.

Here is a partial list of the flies that I have in my box this season. You'll note that they run towards the purple and black spectrum with some bright colors thrown in, and that they can be fished in a variety of methods like swinging, dropper flies, dead drift, indicator, whatever: Don't limit yourself to one method on this river! Spend some time reading the water, consider the light on the water, which is different at every turn in the canyon, don't ignore the tops and tail-outs of deep pools and don't pass up any classic swinging water over knee-deep!

Green Butt Skunk
Red Butt Skunk
Purple Peril
Purple Prince Doublebead Nymph
Green Butt Tailgunner (for attaching a dropper nymph)
Purple Egg-sucking Leech
Black Egg-sucking Leech
Spawning Purple
Purple Steelhead Matuka
Bloody Mary Dropper Nymph
Beadhead Kaufmanns Stonefly Nymph (various sizes/colors but definitely big and black!)
Egg Flies (Never hurts to have some of these: Try as a dropper with beadhead nymphs in deep runs)
Beadhead nymphs (not below #12)

Not an exhaustive list by any means, but if fished with confidence and skill they will get you hook-ups; after that you are on your own! As always, don't hesitate to fish your old favorite fly - you know - the one you never miss with. I've always felt that, within certain limits,  it's more how and where you fish the fly, than what fly it is. Make every cast with confidence, and fish out every drift and swing knowing that it will be a hookup: One of them will be!

        

Salem, Ore. –The Oregon State Marine Board has clarified and simplified two aspects of the new program to prevent aquatic invasive species from being introduced or spread throughout Oregon. The program, which becomes effective Jan, 1, 2010, was created by the 2009 Oregon Legislature.

The two key issues are reciprocity between Oregon, Washington and Idaho for boaters in the Columbia and Snake rivers and establishment of a minimum age for boaters who are required to have a permit.

Based on the tri-state Boating Offense Compact, it has been determined that Washington and Idaho boaters, who pay for aquatic invasive species prevention programs in their states, are not required to have an Oregon Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Permit while boating in the Columbia or Snake rivers. However, when they move into Oregon’s state waters, such as the Multnomah Channel or Willamette, Deschutes and John Day rivers, boaters are required to have an Oregon permit.

The reciprocity agreement also extends to boat launch sites in Oregon.

Washington and Idaho boaters may launch into the Columbia or Snake rivers or into tributaries within one river mile of rivers without a permit for the purposes of accessing the Columbia and Snake rivers.

Oregon boaters can also launch from sites in Washington to access the Columbia River. Oregon officials are seeking similar recognition for Oregon invasive species permit holders who want to launch in Idaho.

The second clarification of the program deals with the minimum age permit requirements for manually powered boats, including canoes, kayaks, driftboats, etc. Under the new rules, youngsters 13 years old and younger are not required to have a permit.

The Oregon Marine Board, in partnership with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, was directed by the 2009 Oregon Legislature to implement a prevention program similar to Idaho and other western state programs. The program charges a permit fee to motorized and manually powered boat operators to fund regional inspection teams and statewide coordination of aquatic invasive species prevention efforts. “By and large, people have been supportive of this new fee as long as the funds are focused on prevention of aquatic invasive species,” said Randy Henry, policy analyst for the Oregon Marine Board.

Additional information on the new Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Program, aquatic invasive invaders and background on the legislation, rules, the prevention techniques can be found at www.boatoregon.com.

For information on the new fees and to find answers to frequently asked questions, visit the Oregon Marine Board Website, http://www.boatoregon.com/OSMB/programs/09LawsFAQs.shtml