How a Skwala swims, with jazz

This video of a Skwala stonefly swimming in a Skwala sized swimming pool (dog bowl?) is great.  You can really see how they wiggle their little asses across the water.  At 0:30, the Skwala is flipped on its back and you get a trout's view.  Notice the large, black egg cluster on its butt.  All of my Skwala dries have an egg cluster usually made from a ball of peacock. 

Video by Ken Burkholder 

George's Woven Stone - Skwala Edition

Yep, it's already time to start thinking about Skwala's.  Woven bodied flies have generally gone the way of the typewriter.  The old Grant and Pott style of weaving flies was difficult and time consuming but it produced beautiful and durable results.  The technique used to weave the body of this fly is very easy to do and it also produces beautiful and durable results.  Plus, you can lie and tell your friends it took you years to learn.

The basis for this fly was developed by George Anderson who has run the Yellowstone Angler in Livingston, Montana for many years.  The original pattern for "George's Rubber Leg Brown Stone" can be found in the book "Tying Flies with Jack Dennis and Friends."  That original pattern uses rubber legs for the tail, has only 2 sets of legs, has no wing case, and no antennae.  I added some new features for fun.  I have used the original pattern in different sizes and colors all over Montana and have found it to be incredibly effective.

Hook: Size 6-10 (for Skwala) nymph hook
Thread: Brown 6/0 thread
Weight:  .025 lead or imitation lead wire
Tail:  Brown goose biots
Body:  Standard yarn in tan and light brown
Legs:  Sili Legs  - crawdad pumkin flake
Thorax:  Hand blend rabbit dubbing - brown, black, tan
Wing Case:  Turkey tail feather
Antennae:  Brown goose biots

Step 1:

       























Tie in the tail and wrap some lead weight.


Step 2:

Take two 8 inch lengths of yarn, one dark , one light, and separate out two strands of yarn material.  There is usually 3-4 strands in yarn. For smaller stoneflies, you only want two strands or the body will be too bulky.


Step 3:

Tie the strands of yarn to each side of the hook and create a tapered under-body with the thread. This makes the finished body look nice and tapered.  Then, whip finish and cut the thread.


Step 4:

Turn your vice so that it is facing towards you.


Step 5:

Tie an overhand knot (like step 1 in tying your shoes), making sure that the color you want on the top of the fly is on top.  Repeat this 7-10 times making sure that every time, the same color is on top, until you have a body that looks like this:

Top view:

Bottom View:

Isn't that awesome?!  I just love it! Once the body is formed, re-start your thread, tie off the yarn, and cut the tags.

Step 6:

Tie in the bit of turkey feather with the nice side down and tie in 3 sets of rubber legs like you'd do for any fly.

Step 7:

Dub a nice thick thorax around the legs.

Step 8:

Wrap the turkey feather forward and tie down, then tie in the antennae.  Your done!  Super-easy. Now you've got a durable, effective fly that was easy to tie (even though it doesn't look like it). March Madness is not something that happens on TV!  You watch your basketball, I'll be on the river for some of the best fishing of the year.

The Big Hole Crawler - Thoro-ly-good

The Big Hole Crawler

The Big Hole Crawler is just bad-ass.  It is basically a dressed up yuk bug.  As you'd imagine, it works great on the Big Hole River here in Montana, especially in the spring time.  It also works in other freestones where large stoneflies are present (ie. the Clark Fork and Rock Creek)

Hook: size 2-6 streamer hook (size 4 is great)
Thread: black 6/0
Weight: medium lead free wire
Tail: squirrel tail
Beads: large 3/16 dia. gold
Legs: white rubber legs
Body: medium grizzly chenille
Hackle: grizzly hackle

Put it on a double streamer rig with a big Thingamabobber on the up or down side of runoff and hold on.

The sky is going to start crying and I think all of us who love the fall mayfly game are pretty happy about it. Is it still an Indian summer if it now happens every year?

How to fish the "numora" stonefly

Learning to recognize when trout are keying in on secondary hatches is vital for catching them in certain situations.  A classic example of a secondary hatch, which can either make you snap your rod over your knee or give you a case of the shit-eating-grin, will start to show over the next couple of weeks here in MT.

The "numora" stonefly

The reason I keep using quotations around numora is because, although Numora is a genus of stonefly which is found around these parts, it is the wrong name for the genus of the fly we are actually talking about.  I learned this in an aquatic invertebrate ecology class w/ lab at the University of Montana.  Fly fishers have called it "numora" for so long that the name has stuck.  Now it is just a common name, so I don't capitalize it and I use the quotes.  I dangle somewhere in-between scientist and trout bum so I try and keep it real in both worlds.

You'll notice this small stonefly on warmer afternoons, especially on those sunny spring days.  They will flutter to the water in decent numbers to oviposit their eggs under the surface film.  They will sometimes skate around the surface resulting in aggressive, splashy, attacks from the trout.

The thing about this hatch, is that it happens when BWO's, March browns, grey drakes, and skwalas are everywhere.  You'll have had weeks of great fishing with the skwala/dropper or mayflies. Then, the day will come along and you'll still see fish rising (some splashy too) but generally, the fish will start caring less about those flies you've been using with such great results.

Then, you'll notice something.  You'll see one little "numora" leave the bank-side vegetation, flutter to the water surface, skate along and get crushed by a 16" cutbow.  Then, you'll look closer.  You'll see that 20+" rainbow in the scum line gracefully sip one while letting that march brown float on by.

So, you'll go home and put together some delicate, little, natural looking fly.  It may even work.  Or, you'll go buy some Chinese bullshit from the fly shops which may also work.  However, there is one simple secret that will make you look forward to this hatch like no other...

A couple of years ago, I found myself in the exact situation as described above.  I went to the Kingfisher Flyshop in Missoula to get some inspiration for my own "numora" fly.  When I asked the guy about it, he gave me one of the best little secrets ever.  He said simply, "We just use the Goddard Caddis."  I was kind of taken back.  I hardly even use them for caddis.  They float great and work fine for caddis on streams where there is little fishing pressure.  But they are not delicate like the "numora" and I'd bet whoever Goddard is, he didn't have stoneflies in mind when he developed the fly.  I was a bit skeptical.

Goddard caddis pic from West-fly-fishing

Of course, I wouldn't have written all this if the fly didn't work to a level beyond my greatest expectations. The trout's reaction was unreal.  I have caught so many great trout fishing the Goddard for a "numora."  The great thing about it, is that it floats well enough to put a dropper off the end of it and you can also see the fly from a mile away.  I'll usually have a Goddard trailing off of my skwala in a double dry setup.  Later in the hatch, and more often than not, the Goddard gets the eat.  Because the fish are really keyed into this hatch even though there area other bugs around, you'll actually get a bunch of surprise takes.  This fly likes to get eaten in strange places where you wouldn't expect it.  I've gotten a lot of eats from great fish while I was taking a sip of beer or untying a knot.  I hope this tip will help you out as much as it has for me.  Thank you Kingfisher!        

One more thing, cut the hackle flat on the bottom so it rides low in the film.  Do whatever you want with the antennae, "numoras" have them too.

  

Bitterroot Skwala Variant

2014 Model Skwala Dry

• Size 10-12 1-2XL Dry Fly Hook.  The curvy, stonefly hooks look great too.
• 6/0 olive thread
• Black craft foam
• Small black wire ribbing
• Goose Biots for tail
• Hand blended dubbing mix
• Old school Fishaus Tackle "Fly Sheet" for wings.  Any sheet wing material would work fine.
• Deer hair overwing
• Silicone legs
• Peacock herl for thorax under-body
• One Grizzly, one brown hackle

This is a variant on a fly that George Kesel ties.  Mine is a bit more involved but I love the silhouette.  The instructions for George's fly was published in the Westslope Chapter of Trout Unlimited's newsletter.  Here's the link: Bitterroot Skwala Tying Instructions Part 1 Bitterroot Skwala Tying Instructions Part 2

Here is the link to the Westslope TU website: http://www.westslopetu.org/

Western Montana Fishing Reports

Rainbow in downtown Missoula

The Clark Fork (at Warm Springs):
Some of the best fishing up there is during this time of the year.  It's all about the right flies up there.  They want pink tailwater stuff right now.  Midge stuff, pink scuds, eggs, and the sot hackle sow bug rules here!  I had a 40 fish day up there last week with many of those nice browns running over 18" in length.  There were midges and i noticed one rise but nothig in the way of solid dry fly fishing yet.

The Clark Fork (around Missoula):
Water levels are down to where accessing the good winter runs is not a suicidal act.  The water is still cold and there is not a lot going on yet.  I dredged up a few right in downtown yesterday.  Normally, at this time of the year, the CF has been nymphing great for months and is starting to pop BWO's.  Not this year.  I did notice some rises to the midges yesterday.  They were too few and far between for me to cut the nymph rig off.  Flies that work include: Smaller rubber leg stones in brown/green, worms, big prince and pheasant tails nymphs, eggs.  Fish the slow winter runs still.

The Bitterroot (lower)
For the most part, you wont see me fishing the upper Bitterroot.  It can look like the Salmon River in NY up there these days and I don't go fishing to hang out in a crowd.  I do fish the lower river consistently though.  It is a different beast and most fishing reports don't give it enough attention.  I hope to shine some light on it.  The water is still big but it is clear and green.  The nymphing is fantastic right now.  I caught lots of huge pre-spawn rainbows and some great browns on the soft hackle sow bug trailed below a rubber leg stone.  This river is normally on fire this time of year.  The trout haven't even got going on the midges yet this year.  Normally, they'd have been eating them on top since Feb. then weeks of BWO's followed by all the big bugs and the crowds.  It is still a total nymph game right now, but not for long.  Stonefly nymphs that look like skwala, worms, eggs, midges, baetis nymphs, and the soft hackle sow bug rules here!

Rock Creek
If you don't mind throwing nymphs, specifically egg patterns, you can have a life changing day up at the creek right now.  Just be sure to know what a redd looks like and stay the fuck away from it!!  The big Clark Fork rainbows and cutts are staging in the lower reaches and their brown friends are right behind them getting ready to eat eggs.  The chance to catch the fish of a lifetime, all day long is there, but you have to work for it.  Nymphing heavy and deep and losing all your flies is the only way to go about it.  You have to put in some footwork too.  Get away from the other fisherman, commit yourself to a full day and you will catch fish like you never have before.  Stonefly nymphs in any size or shape, smaller mayfly stuff, worms, egg patterns, the soft hackle sow bug should be illegal on this stream!  Pinch your barbs!

The Blackfoot
The same story as the Clark Fork around Missoula.  Still big and cold from the crazy winter.  The same nymphs in the same type of water will work.

Area Lakes
I'm excited to have this as part of my report because nobody reports on the lakes and that is just stupid.  Western Montana has thousands of awesome lakes and ponds and a ton of elbow room and great fishing.  I love to fish still water.  I think it can be incredibly hard and fun.  So here it is:  the area lakes are all still frozen!  Of course, but Beavertail Pond is normally open by now.  I checked last week and it was still frozen.  There was about a foot of thaw at the edge.  I'm going back to check on it today.  Ice-out in Montana should be declared a state holiday!  I'll keep you informed.  Once Beavertail goes, the rest follow in perfect succession in relation to their elevation.  You will certainly see pictures of big, nasty, steelhead sized, brood stockers on the blog soon.  Stay tuned!