Angler's Entomology Podcast

A podcast about re-discovering fly fishing entomology. We will review the major groups of aquatic insects - both relevant facts for fly fishing, but also interesting twists that make these critters fascinating.

Ep 54 - Black Quills 07/04/2026

Ep 54 Black Quill Pix and Patterns 06/23/2026

Ep 54 Black Quill Pix and Patterns Hey everyone. Here is my blog post for Episode 54: Pics and Patterns for Black Quills. First let's take a look at the nymph. Here is a nice black quill nymph with a scale in centimeters. It is hard to see, but note the length of the antennae and the nice dark wing cases. That suggests he (or she) is likely to hatch soon. (Well, if he (or she) wasn't pickled in alcohol since 2003). Also fyi, this one was collected in a pond - which make sense, they migrate from moving water to still water to hatch. In contrast, the next specimen was collected in a stream, and you'll note the lack of developed wing pads (noting it was also collected earlier in the season). OK, here is a nice pic of a live specimen showing off those gills. Note how the first gill consists of two simple fibers. Then the following gills are those beautiful flowing gills that move so much when they are alive. Here is a nicer picture of that first specimen showing off the gills. Of course I'm sure you are curious about the big black innertube looking thing. That is actually a rubber O-ring that you use for plumbing. I pop those in my petri dish when I'm sorting specimens to make a petri dish within my petri dish. Before we jump into patterns, let's look at some of my feeble attempts at art. Here is what a black quill nymph should look like! Here's my interpretation of those first gill segments. And more interestingly, here are the other abdominal gills. Note that it is not just one leaflike gill .. each one has two gills. That helps with that feathery appearance. OK, let's talk about some flies. In my humble opinion, this is what a black quill nymph should look like. And I'm stunned I've not seen any patterns like this. Compare this fly to the pics. It is even more dramatic when you are looking at a live nymph and comparing it to a video of the fly in moving water. Unfortunately, I don't think I can upload a video in this blog. There must be a way - I should figure that out. Eric's Black Quill Nymph Thread: Brown Hook: 9672 size 12 or 10 or equivalent. Tail: Drake Hooded Merganser flank feathers. You absolutely must use these. You cannot substitute anything else for this. Good luck finding them. I'll sell them to you for $5 a feather. OK, I popped a hooded merganser last duck season (not a lot of meat on them) - feel free to use brown dyed mallard flank Abdomen - brown dyed ostrich herl, wrapped around the hook shank. Wing case - I used turkey tail feather. I liked the mottled pattern and I had some Abdomen - red squirrel dubbing with guard hairs. Bead - 1/8 tungsten. I've really been enjoying Euronymphing lately. It is a fun, new way to fish and most importantly, it is effective. That said, I came across this fly as an imitation of a Black Quill nymph for Euronymphing. It is a black quill, right? So it must be black. And therefore it must have a black quill body. While I'm sure this fly catches fish ... I don't think it is because it imitates a black quill nymph. Compare this pattern to the pics. Hook: Fulling Mill FM50 27 Size 10 Bead: 1/8 tungsten black Tail: I used black rooster fibers Body: It calls for black dyed polish quills. I used a combination of stripped peacock quill and a dyed black peacock quill. I coated it with UV glue and zapped it. Thorax: Black dubbed Rabbit dubbing. Again, I'm sure this catches fish, and I'm looking forward to using it. But as a black quill? As I pick flies to showcase, I often choose to select from several of the books I own. I've picked two for this round. Tony Hellekson's book - Fish Flies an Encylopedia of the Fly Tier's Art. It delivers. 719 pages of more flies than you could possibly need. The second book I chose is from is an obscure western "book" called The Fly-Fisher's Manual by Kenn M. Ligas. I love this book. It is more of a binder with plastic folder sheets in it. Must have cost a fortune to produce and market. He had some kind of deal with Scintilla dubbing, so all his flies relate to the "proper" color of scintilla dubbing - identified by the proper Scintilla numbering system. I have to admit, I have this tension between practical easy flies that I fish with vs. overly complicated unnecessary flies often found in the literature. Honestly, that is some of the fun of fly tying right? His subtitle says it all "A new and consummate guide to Matching the Hatch and more" Really - how can you resist that. I love this guy. Anyway here is a nice nymph I actually like from Hellekson's book. Hook: Size 10 to 12 Nymph hook - I used a 9672 Thread: Brown Tail: Mallard flank dyed wood duck Ribbing: Heavy olive thread - I used kevlar Abdomen: Dubbed black lamb's wool. Which is an interesting choice given wool is relatively buoyant. I would almost swap for rabbit. Wing Case; Mottled Brown Turkey Tail Tied over thorax Thorax - Dubbed black lamb's wool Legs: Dyed olive speckled Guinea hen barbs. Which I did not have, so I think I just folded the turkey tail barbs down to make the legs. And here is a nymph from Ligas' book. Complicated to tie, but at least I think he has seen a Leptophlebia nymph: Hook: A standard nymph hook. I think I used a 3906b in size 10 Thread: Dark Brown Tails: Barred Wood Duck Flank (or dyed mallard which is what I used) Abdomen: Scintilla #01 or #29. (I don't think Scintilla exists anymore. I used black rabbit dubbing, which, frankly I think is good enough). But then he ties dark olive marabout along the sides and lashes that down with gold wire. I think this is a clever way to tie the gills, if a little fussy. Wing case: Again an overly complicated wingcase tied from Scintilla #80 or, I like this, a brown feather section. I used turkey quill. Thorax: Scintilla #01 or #29 (I used black bunny) Legs: Olive brown feather fibers. Lacking that I just folded the turkey quill fibers underneath. Here is a nice Black Quill Emerger from Hellekson's Book Hook: Standard Dry Fly - I used 94840 size 12-10 Tail: Mallard dyed wood duck - which I tied a little full .. so I will argue that it represent the spent shuck of the nymph rather than the tails .. yeah, that's it. Body Dubbed Black Rabbit Legs: Dyed brown mallard barbs. I used the same flank feathers from a hooded merganser. Didn't have to dye them. Wing Case: Dyed brown marabou, tied as a wing case and then folded back. How this is supposed to float, I have no idea. Rabbit and ostrich herl are generally not buoyant. If I were to modify it, I'd use CDC rather than ostrich herl and a buoyant synthetic dubbing for the body. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the dun. (Well, I do, somewhere, I just have no idea where as I described in the podcast). Anyway - it struck me that a Black Wulff would make a nice imitation of a dun. Normally the Black Wulff is tied with pink floss for the body, which I couldn't do for a Black Quill Imitation - even tho it may make no difference given fish are seeing the fly back lit from the surface. Anyway - her is my modified version: Modified Black Wulff Hook: Standard Dry Fly - 94840 Size 10 Wings: Black buck tail Tail: Black Duck Tail Body: Charcoal Dubbing. This charcoal dubbing is particularly difficult to work with. You could also use black floss or a quill body like the following fly if you want to imitate the banded body Hackle: Black Rooster. After writing this out, and seeing all the black materials I'm thinking the Johnny Cash Wulff might be a better name. Here is a nice version of a black quill dun. This is from Hekkelson's book. He has some nice patterns in there. This particular one is almost like a black gnat, but instead of a dubbing body it is stripped peacock quill with silver ribbing. Hook: Standard dry fly - I used 94840 size 10 Wings: split duck quill Tail: Black hackle fibers Ribbing: Silver wire Body: Stripped peacock Quill Hackle: Black rooster I do have a picture (not a great one) of a Black Quill Spinner. This is the specimen I mentioned in the early part of the podcast I collected on the Kennebec River. Then lastly, here is a spinner imitation from Ligas' book. Hook: Dry Fly - 94840 Size 10 Tail: Brown Rooster Hackle Fibers Body: Beaver dubbing. I might choose something darker next time. Wings: Dun Antron Alright - with that I'm going to give up. Hope you found this useful! /episode/index/show/anglersentomology/id/41780405

Episode 53: Sex Part 2 05/28/2026

Ep 51 and 53 Sex Pictures 05/27/2026

Ep 51 and 53 Sex Pictures Hey folks. Normally I record an episode and then develop the blog post based on what I've said. While usually that works well, this time I fell down several rabbit holes which, quite frankly while help with understanding the episodes, don't relate to them directly. Namely, I found my old slides from 30 to 40 years ago - which include really interesting slides around histology (study of tissues) and other things. It was fun to dive into my compound microscope (for which I rarely use for insect identification) to show you some very cool stuff (like sperm cells, and chromosomes). It's also the case that while there are a million pics like this around the internet, I always like to use my own pictures - so these are from my old slides. Alright - so put on your smarty pants hat, and dig this shit. OK, first we're going to start with some shots of onion root tissue slices. Teachers love this tissue for teaching about mitosis, because if you think about it, it is growing fast, and hence you are likely to see signs of cell division. To remind you, mitosis is the bread and butter cell division - which we use for growing, healing, replacing cells, etc. This is how cells reproduce on a day to day basis. So there are a couple of things that are cool about this pic. Note how the nuclear is stained dark blue in most of the cells. That is because the stain binds to the DNA. Since it is dispersed throughout the nucleus, it appears relatively "solid". But you will also see some cells where the stain forms clumped fibers. Those are cells where they are beginning to divide and the chromosomes (made of DNA) are starting to coalesce. Then look at this picture: See how in this picture the chromosomes of certain cells are "lined up". They are ready to split into two cells to form two identical sells. This is mitosis. In contrast, in meiosis, they form to cells with half the number of chromosomes, so they can combine with other sex cells (sperm or eggs) to form a new genetically different cell! Speaking of chromosomes, check this out. These are chromosomes of Drosophila - or fruit flies - those annoying little flies that appear around your bananas or compost. This banded appearance represents areas of condensed DNA (dark bands). Folks like to make slides of these chromosomes because they form giant chromosomes and are easy to see in a standard light microscope. OK, so my point is that all of this goes into the production of sex cells, namely sperm and eggs. I don't have any good pictures of the egg producing proces, but here is a picture of human testes - where sperm is produced. Where what you see are lots of vessels (those clear areas surrounded by cells with stained nuclei. Those vessels are called seminal vesicles and are packed in the testes. The cells around the seminal vesicles (seen with their dark stained nuclei) produce sperm cells (which can often be seen, just not in this uncooperative individual). Those cells are produced via meiosis and turn into sperm cells. They way to think about it is that the outer cells on these seminal vesicles divide via meiosis with the various stages working their way towards the center or open part of the vesicle - where eventually sperm cells are released. Speaking of which, here are some bull sperm cells: Obviously, these guy follow the typical mammal model - with a head and flagellum. While I don't have a lot of slides with pictures of aquatic insect reproductive organs, I have some for the butterflies and moths. That will give you a sense of the variability across species and why they are useful in identification. This first one is from a butterfly known as Edward's Hairstreak. At the top is the adeagus (or penis) and the structure below shows the claspers (that the male uses to hold onto the female). In contrast, this is what a Spicebush Swallowtail male genitalia looks like. Where the claspers are on the top and the penis on the bottom. And then lastly: This one is from a moth known as an Armyworm - (Pseudoletia unipuncta). Claspers on top, penis on bottom. Looking at something that is more relevant to aquatic insects, here is a close up of the claspers on a Hex mayfly. The claspers are the pincer like organs below the tails: OK, moving onto females. Unfortunately, I don't have any slides looking at the cells or tissues. But here is a picture of some of the ovipositors that insects use. (Ovipositors, remember, are the egg laying structures. Here is a female cricket, so you can see the ovipositor sticking out the end. Similarly, here is a conehead katydid - with a long sword shaped ovipositor. This is the sawfly I mentioned in the podcast - this is Tremex columba or the pigeon horntail. These guys use that ovipositor to lay eggs in dying trees. There is another wasp, this guy here: called Megarhyssa - or the long-tailed giant ichneumonid wasp (rolls off the tongue) that uses that crazy long ovipositor to insert eggs into the burrows carved by the larva of the prior wasp to parasitize the young. Incredible, isn't it. Lastly, here is an example of an ovipositor converted into a stinger. This is one of the more dramatic ones. Look how long that sucker is. This critter is called a velvet ant - even though it is actually a type of solitary wingless wasp. Their other common name is "cow killer" because their stings are so painful. I'm really impressed with that stinger - both in terms of how long it is, but also in terms of how fine it is. Not a fellow to mess with. I think that is everything. I hope you all enjoyed this topic. /episode/index/show/anglersentomology/id/41446225

Flies and Pics of Grey Drakes 05/24/2026

Flies and Pics of Grey Drakes Hey everyone, Sorry for the delay in getting this out. But here are some pix and patterns for Grey Drakes. OK, first, I've been practicing my drawing (with all my free time). And while I'm certainly no artist, here is my drawing of a grey drake nymph. Where the things to note are: Short antennae, setae (or hair) on the inside sides of the cerci (our outer tails). Also note the dark band on the tails. The gills also have a "heart" shaped appearance. Of course, this isn't a great entomological description, but it will be close. And these guys are big - size 10 hook size when they are ready to hatch. To validate my drawing, here is what an actual critter looks like: EDIT: as always, after I release the episode, I see a nice specimen. This one is nice in that it lays on it's belly, so you can see it's dorsal side much better. Remember as I mentioned in the episode that it is useful to think about the background on which these nymphs are found. And if you think about it, it makes perfect sense. A light colored nymph on a dark background is going to be trout dinner. Similarly, a dark colored nymph on a light background will be too. Of course, I'm sure the nymphs compensate for this at a certain level by hanging out where they are match this background. But I also believe they can make subtle changes in color to match their background. As noted by the Siphlonurus I saw on the trib to the Swift River. So, as I mentioned a pheasant tail nymph is a good imitation of any swimmer or minnow like minnow. You all know what that looks like, so no need to post a poorly tied pheasant tail - you can look it up on the internet. My issue was how do you lighten a pheasant tail nymph to address variation in nymph color. As I mentioned in the podcast, you bleach the feathers. Which I did, following the directions here: I did some pheasant tail and some turkey tail. Where you can see the variations in time I used in bleaching. Honestly, for these particular guys, the 15 minute timeline is what I think matched these guys the best. But my guess is, what I'm advocating is that no matter what you are imitating it is worth having a selection of light, medium and dark nymphs to match what you see. Anyway - to show you a fly, this is a "pheasant tail" tied with the 15 minute bleach job (and a bead to replace the peacock herl). Alternatively, I suggested you could use a One Feather Nymph - by Eric Leiser. Which I have to admit, is one of my favorite patterns - mostly because it only takes on material. Again, I added a bead to get it down. But basically it is: Hook: Size 10: Tail: Wood duck flank feathers Rib: gold wire Wing case: Wood duck flank feathers Thorax: fluff from base of a wood duck flank feather As I look at this, however, I'm less comfortable with the lightness of the fly for imitating this critter. By chance, I happened to pop a male hooded merganser this fall. While not the tastiest bird, the flank feathers are similar but darker than a wood duck. Hence, here is my one feather fly using a hooded merganser flank feather: Looking back on it, I would tie it with a bead (and a little neater), but I do like the color and pattern. OK, let's talk about the adults. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the adults. Nor do I have any a drawing of one (all those veins in the wings intimidate me). EDIT: Of course it always happens after I release an episode - then I come across a nice specimen. So here you are - A grey drake spinner: But I do have some patterns. Remember I talked about the how the spinner is of most importance. I did want to show you what the grey drake duns looked like that we got with our first batch of flies at the shop. As I mentioned, they are beautiful (except this is my version), but they don't look anything like the insect! As I mentioned, the spinner is the guy you want to imitate. So, here you are - a quill gordon trimmed on the top and bottom: OK, with that I'll leave it off. Next time we'll talk about more details on sex. It will be a good episode. /episode/index/show/anglersentomology/id/41409320

Ep. 52 Grey Drakes 05/15/2026

Episode 51: Sex Part 1 04/14/2026

Episode 50: Bibios 09/08/2022

Episode 50: Pics and Patterns for Bibios 08/30/2022

Episode 49? Quill Gordon 07/24/2022

Episode 49? Pics and Patterns for Quill Gordons 07/24/2022

Episode 47: Butterflies and Moths 05/15/2022

Ep. 47: Pics and Patterns of Moths 02/13/2022

Ep. 47: Pics and Patterns of Moths Hi Folks, Here are some pics of moths (both adults and larvae) as well as some patterns I like to fish. So, while that is said, remember that the good old Elk Hair Caddis makes quite a nice imitation of a moth fluttering around on the surface - as do many other patterns - so if you are in a situation where you think a moth pattern might be useful, and you haven't anything in your box specifically tied to imitate a moth - think outside your box and see what else will work. So - first, I want to give you a little sense of the diversity of moths. It is huge and crazy - there are giant ones, ones that look like humingbirds, and ones that are teeny tiny. But even your plain grey moths have a huge amount of diversity (which doesn't need to be imitated in your tying). Take a look at this random drawer from my collection - and while they are all generic grey moths - you can see a lot of variation from species to species (and it isn't like my collection is huge!). So while they all look like various shades of grey moths from far away - they are gorgeous when you look up close - check out this one - which is in genus Zale: Or this one - which is a common agricultural pest - super common - called a clover looper: Obviously, you don't need to imitate all that detail, but they are beautiful. So, how do you imitate them? As I mentioned, an elk hair caddis is a great imitation - both the small ones you have in your box (size 16 and up) or you can tie big ones like this: Similarly a Stimulator tied large and either light or dark works great: One of the more interesting patterns I've been playing with is from Dave Whitlock. It is nice and simple - tied only with deer hair - and the pattern is just all about trimming: OK, let's switch to the larvae - or caterpillars. There is a ton of diversity in caterpillars. Here are a few examples. This one is a Geometrid larva - an inch worm - which are often seen hanging down by a thread of silk (when not imitating a twig). They also come in brown versions - which are a little less effective from a camouflage perspective when they are on a green leaf... Here are a few others... Anyway - with all this diversity you can tie lots of diverse flies as well. Here are a few: I like this one because it is nice and simple - just a cylinder of foam tied down like a san juan worm. You can do a similar thing with squirmy worm material of the appropriate color. Where, that can be, as you see, anything from green, yellow, white, or brown. Another one I like (I appeared to have been in a chartreuse mood this day) is one tied like a leech (just smaller, and green). In this case it was tied with lambs wool - which floats for awhile and then sinks - and honestly, I fish it both ways: You can also opt for a hairy version - in this case, again, just foam wrapped around a hook with a palmered feather. Which, of course, leads to a wooly worm - which certainly can be used as a caterpillar imitation. Anyway - these are some ideas. Talk to you next time. /episode/index/show/anglersentomology/id/22115582

Episode 46: Blue Winged Olives 06/19/2021

Episode 45: Garden Hackle and San Juan Worms 03/10/2021

Pics and Patterns for Episode 45: Worms 03/10/2021

Pics and Patterns for Episode 45: Worms Hi folks, I debated about even bothering to have a blog post on this subject, since pretty much everyone knows what a worm looks like and the patterns are pretty mundane. But then I thought, what the heck - and so here you go. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of san juan worms in their natural habitat - things are little frozen up here right now and there isn't much worm activity going on. But if you google "tubifex" you'll see what these critters are. As for earth worms - get a load of this: Yes, Selene and I use worms for composting kitchen garbage. Works great. I was hoping to catch some actually mating, so you could see that, but no luck, we think it is too cold in the house. Ok, as for San Juan Worms (or any worm imitation, honestly, all you need is a hunk of chenille or vernille lashed onto a hook. Singe the end to taper it and you are good. The tan one here is described as "earthworm tan" which sounded good to me... If you would like to expand your fly selection you can always go the route of a squirmy worm: Which is literally just squirmy worm material lashed onto a hook with a tail. I get my squirmy worm material from kids toys, but you can also get it from a fly shop. I like the clear one as there are lots of worms that don't have a lot of color. That said, they tend to be smaller. Hence the following patterns. I think you've all seen versions of this before - I like this fly because it sinks well and - in this case is clear, altho, of course, you can use whatever color you want. It is also simple - not that worm flies are complex. But I saw a cool post by a guy on one of the fly tying facebook pages - a guy named Nick Thomas. He was using this to tie extended bodies on his mayflies, but it also struck me as a great way to tie a small clear worm imitation. It is just tippet material, wrapped around a needle, boiled for five minutes and tied onto a hook. We'll see how well it works. /episode/index/show/anglersentomology/id/18268256

Episode 44: Cicadas and Leafhoppers: Plus bonus interview 09/08/2020

Pics and Patterns for Episode 44: Cicadas and Leafhoppers 08/31/2020

Pics and Patterns for Episode 44: Cicadas and Leafhoppers So here are some pictures, both of flies and naturals and links for Episode 43. First, let me give you the link to Charles Card's contact info if you would like to book a trip with him on the Green River: You can book him through OK, let's look at some bugs and flies. Here are what eastern dog day cicadas look like. These are the guys we see on a yearly basis up in Maine (although they are not nearly as common as further south): Here are some closer views, both of a larger one and a smaller one (two different eastern species): In contrast here is what some of Charlie's Green River Cicadas look like: And here are some of Charlie's Cicada imitations he ties: And for the literate trout (or sports): And here is a link on how to tie them: OK, let's talk leafhoppers and spittlebugs now: Here is a gorgeous leafhopper nymph I photographed just a few weekends ago. I like it, not only because of the coloration, but also because you can see the short wings along the side - showing how those insects with an incomplete metamorphosis (depending on the species) look just like the adults but with gradually growing wings: This is a more typical color that you see: And one of my favorites - the Red Banded Leafhopper. I like these guys because they are also called sharpshooters. and lastly a specimen from my collection: Moving onto Spittlebugs - this is what you will typically see: and these are what they guys actually look like: OK, let's move onto imitations: For both spittlebugs and leafhoppers (and planthoppers and treehoppers) you can use Vince Marinaro's Jassid: Body: Ginger Hackle trimmed on top and bottom Wing: Jungle Cock Nail Here is a picture of one next to one I tied using a starling feather as a substitute for the jungle cock (given how hard to find and expensive legally raised jungle cock is). You can, of course, substitute any feather you want - which may have a better pattern to imitate a spittlebug, for example): As I mentioned I'm a big fan of Rod Yerger's Leafhopper: Body: Chartreuse Dubbing Wings: Chartreuse duck quill Hackle: Ginger Or you can tie them in brown (or any color) to imitate a spittlebug or brown leafhopper: Lastly, as I mentioned in the podcast, a small elk hair caddis would do fine. Here's my imitation using red and chartreuse deer hair to imitate those red banded leafhoppers: Body: Chartreuse Dubbing Hackle/Rib: Grizzly Hackle Wing: mixed and stacked red and chartreuse deer hair /episode/index/show/anglersentomology/id/15818252

Episode 43: Zebra Caddis 06/24/2020

Episode 43: Pics and Patterns for Zebra Caddis 06/24/2020

Episode 43: Pics and Patterns for Zebra Caddis Hi Folks, Here are some pics and patterns for this episode on the Zebra Caddis. Let's start with some of those figures I was talking about in the episode. This is a picture of the typically dish shaped head of the zebra caddis larva. This is from Wiggins, Larvae of the North American Caddisfly Genera (Trichoptera). Note it lists the old name for the genus - Macronema. Next, from the same source is a cutaway picture of the case - showing the two chambers and the net used to trap food. Lastly, here is a figure from an article (McArthur 2000) showing the variations in how the case is built for Macrostenum carolina. OK, let's then talk about the adults. Here is a nice picture of a zebra caddis adult: And another - this one was actually taken on a wall on the St. Croix River next to the lights near a dam: In contrast - this is what an alderfly looks like - Zebra Caddis - especially in New England are often called Alder Flies - this this alderfly is in order Megaloptera - related to the fishflies and the dobsonflies: OK, so how are you going to imitate these guys? For the larvae - I would look at the green rockworm blog - any of those flies would work fine for these. For the pupa - here is Thomas Ames Jr.'s Sens Pupa from his fantastic book, Caddisflies. I made some modifications, so here is my version of it: Body: Olive antron dubbing Wing: Mallard Quill Hackle - soft rooster - I've tied it beard style Head - black dubbing and a bead One of my favorite overall caddisfly adult imitations is the Goddard Caddis - I love it, in part because it floats like a cork. Originally it was simply natural deer hair with a brown rooster hackle and stripped quill antennae. I simply changed the deer hair to give it the striped pattern and lost the antennae. Here is an E-12 or Europea 12 where I substituted the mallard breast wings with woodcock: Body: Brown dubbing Rib: Yellow Thread Wing: Woodcock Head/Thread: Yellow And here is Chappy's Zebra Caddis: Body: Peacock Herl Wing: Snowshoe Hair, banded with brown marker (natural or orange) Hackle: Grizzly or Brown Lastly, for imitating the female zebra caddis after she has laid her eggs, here is the alder fly: Which is a simple enough fly: Tag: Gold Tinsel Body: Peacock Herl Wings: Mottled Turkey Beard: Black Hen There you go, I hope you enjoyed the episode. /episode/index/show/anglersentomology/id/14949362

Episode 42: Breathing Underwater 04/12/2020

Episode 40: Crayfish 03/09/2020

Episode 40 Notes: Crayfish Patterns 03/09/2020

Episode 40 Notes: Crayfish Patterns Hey Folks, Here are some the crayfish patterns I mentioned on the podcast. First we'll talk about Rick Hafele's pattern. I'm pretty sure he calls it the creeper crayfish, but I'm not 100% sure. The original pattern is pretty simple: Claws - Red Squirrel bunches tied either side of hook and divided Thorax - dubbing to match color Legs - soft hackle to match color Carapace - Red Squirrel butts from claws tied over dubbing. (I find it helps to fold the squirrel forward, tie it down and then fold it back over the dubbing to form the carapace). Rib - gold wire Abdomen - continue with dubbing Overbody on tail - continue with red squirrel butts Telson - tail - leave the butts long but trimmed even Modifications I add include mono eyes and a bead at the tail. The bead is nice in that it adds weight, but also forces the telson up so it doesn't get in the way of your eye. The thing I really like about this fly is that you can tie smaller sizes and easily modify the color based on what you have locally. Check out this picture: Where from left to right, the claw/overbody material is: Either fox squirrel or grey dyed red squirrel Reedbuck (for my South African readers - and because the color is a good match for my local crayfish Red Squirrel (the teeny Eastern US species) and Grey Squirrel Another of my favorite patterns is Kelly Galloup's "Galloup's Craw. Super simple and very suggestive: Side view: Top View: which is super simple. Head/Antennae - spun deer hair - small bunch with a few fibers left long for antennae Claws - Zonker rabbit strips Body - cross cut rabbit strips to match claws. Palmered Telson - a trimmed bit of the cross cut rabbit strip I love this because it is super simple and it is easy to modify. I love using squirrel strips in place of rabbit. And because there is no top or bottom, you can tie lead eyes on and it will ride hook point up (and be weighted). Lastly Selene's Orange Sure Bet: This fly is a killer- Head - brass cone Body - trimmed deer hair - orange, tied muddler style Tail - Orange and Chartreuse Zonker Strip (and good luck finding this!). So, with that I'll sign off til next episode! /episode/index/show/anglersentomology/id/13466657

Episode 39: Golden Stones 12/28/2019

Episode 39: Pics and Patterns for Golden Stones 12/28/2019

Episode 39: Pics and Patterns for Golden Stones As I mentioned on the podcast, if you are in the Southern Maine area, on Thursday January 9, we'll be having a fly tying demo at Joshua's Restaraunt in Brunswick, ME from 6 to about 8. Bring your fly tying material if you want (and a lamp) or just come and learn about these insects in person and their imitations. So, as I mention in the podcast, I'm referring to two families of stoneflies when I talk about "golden" stones - both Perlidae and Perlodidae. What draws them together is the fact that they have these tiger striped nymphs. Like this - where this one happens to be a Perlid: One of the things that is distinctive about them is that you can often find their exuvia (discarded exoskeleton) on the rocks around a stream. This is a fun picture where not only do you see the exuvia of the Perlid stonefly, but exuvia of four other aquatic insects (including one on the Perlid) that hatched. OK, so there are a ton of fun patterns that you can use to imitate these guys. Where it is worthwhile knowing that in both these families, not all members have this tiger striped pattern. Some are just plain brown or tan, and all these imitations can be adapted colorwise to match those stoneflies. Similarly, you can use all of these to imitate the generally smaller Perlodidae, where I would use a size 12-10 sized hook, or the larger Perlidae - 8-4 sized hook. So let's start with Charlie Brook's Montana Stone: Hook: has to be pretty long - 2x or 3x. Tail: Biots Body: Brown yarn Rib1: Yellow yarn tied in at head, wound back and then forward in a crisscross pattern Rib 2: Gold wire - tied over yellow yarn Thorax Brown yarn Legs: Grizzly and brown hackle along with dun or white ostrich herl. Here is Polly Rosborough's Golden Stone imitation: Tail: Yellow dyed mallard, or teal, or wood duck Abdomen: gold yarn or floss Shellback: Yellow dyed mallard, teal or wood duck Rib: Thick yellow thread, such as rod building thread Wingcase: Teal neck feather Legs Yellow dyed mallard, teal or wood duck Ok, then you get to my flies. Here is one I call Eric's Acroneuria, I like it because it is simple materials wise. Tail: stacked yellow and brown (or black) deer hair or buck tail Body: wrapped butts of tail tied up to thorax Rib: Optional gold wire Wing case: butts of tail folded back and forward Legs: Butts of tail folded down and trimmed to length and density Head; Bead Or Eric's Rubber Stone: Tail: Brown rubber legs Body: Yellow and brown rubber legs wound up to thorax Legs: Brown rubber legs Thorax: Brown dubbing Wing case: Burnt pheasant church window feathers Head: Bead Lastly, here is a simple fly that sinks well, Eric's Bead Stone: Head: Copper Bead Body: Alternating yellow and brown glass beads Tail: Rubber legs Body: Rubber legs Wing case: goose quill doubled over twice You'll notice on some of these I have a single wing case and some a double wing case. Stoneflies, as you know, have two wing cases. When I tie one it is because I know the fish can't count. OK, for the adults, remember that all these stoneflies can hatch into adults with all sorts of color patterns. Some of the Perlodidae hatch into light colored adults - best imitated by a yellow sally type fly. While a lot of the other stones hatch into something more brown or tan in coloration. (Where sometimes the "tan" of the body can be rather yellow). To me there are two styles of stonefly adults that are worth tying - the active fluttering adult and the spent or drowned adult. I'll give examples of the fluttering adults first: So, let's start with a classic fly, the Sofa Pillow: Tail; Elk (or deer) hair Body: yellow yarn or dubbing Rib: Brown hackle Wing: Elk (or deer) hair Hackle: Brown - tied full A similar great fly is the Stimulator: Tail: Elk or deer hair Body: Yellow dubbing Rib: Grizzly or badger Wing: Elk or deer hair Thorax: Amber or orange dubbing Hackle: Grizzly or badger In terms of flies that sit more flush with the surface, here is a fly, that I typically tie in yellow sally type colors that works well for me. Not sure where it came from or what it is called: Tail: Deer hair Body: Dubbing to match natural Rib; Cream or grizzly hackle; trimmed on top Wing Case: Quill to match natural Hackle: Grizzly or Cream here is a cool pattern called a Silhouette Stone Tail: Deer hair Body: Gold or yellow dubbing over which is brown or tan raffia Rib: Brown or ginger hackle trimmed on top Underwing; Elk or light deer hair Hackle: Brown or Ginger trimmed on top Wing: Raffia also tied over thorax This is a variation of John Blunt's Downwing Hornberg as described in Thomas Ames Jr.'s book Hatch Guide for New England Streams. Thread: Black Body: Flat Silver Tinsel Underwing: Yellow Saddle Hackle Fibers (I used yellow calf tail for more body) Wing: Woodduck Flank Feather, tied downwing Cheeks: Jungle cock eyes (I omitted) Hackle: Grizzly And lastly, here is Matt Vinciguerra's Delaware Yellow Stonefly Wet Thread: Black Tails: Partridge hackle Body: Yellow floss Ribbing: Black thread Wing: Bronze mallard or widgeon Beard: Partridge Hackle Thanks and talk to you next time. /episode/index/show/anglersentomology/id/12547823

Episode 38: Green Rock Worms 11/22/2019

Episode 38: Pics and Patterns for Green Rock Worms 11/21/2019

Episode 38: Pics and Patterns for Green Rock Worms First of all, here are the details on the fly tying night at Joshua’s Restaurant ( in Brunswick Maine, hosted by the Merrymeeting Bay Trout Unlimited. It will be December 5th from 6 to 8. I will bring some examples of these insects and we’ll talk a bit about their lifestyle and habits. Selene of Maine will demonstrate tying Gary LaFontaine’s Deep Sparkle Pupa. Justin Crouse of Guide’s Choice Flies will demonstrate how to tie an Elk Hair Caddis. And Ray Minchak will demonstrate tying a Green Caddis Larvae. In terms of materials bring: Deep Sparkle Pupa: Body - 1/2 olive green sparkle yarn and 1/2 olive fur Underwing - dark gray partridge fibers Overwing - combed antron yarn tan or white Legs: Grouse or Partridge Head: Brown fur Elk Hair Caddis Olive Dubbing Elk Hair Grizzly Hackle for a size 14 hook (or your choice hook) Green Caddis Larvae Dark Brown 70 Denier thread Curved scud style hooks Lead wire Super glue Chartreuse Ultra Wire Light olive australian possum Dark Brown Australian possum Dubbing Brush OR, bring your own favorite green rock worm pattern to share. And there will also be a table set up for those who just want to hang out and tie. OK, for the blog post. First we’ll start with a few pics of these critters. These two pics show the characteristics of the larvae. As you know they are free living - so they do not have a case. They will be crawling around on the surface of rocks (or drifting, much to our and the trout’s delight). Note the bright green color and the bulbous abdominal segments. Obviously when you imitate the larvae you’ll want to design a fly with those bulbous abdominal segments and the bright green color. Again, check your local critters - some species have darker bands with each abdominal segment or a dark band running down the back of all the segments. Match what you have locally. Anyway - my simplest imitation, which I like most, is simply a tungsten bead followed by a series of glass beads. Like this: As I mentioned in the podcast, Thomas Ames Jr. adds a bit of dubbing behind the tungsten bead and the first glass bead and at the end of the beads. I’ll admit, this makes the fly look more professional and intentional! What then follows are a whole series of larval imitations that are super simple and basically variations on a theme. Some sort of bulky material (depending on the size of the larva you want to imitate) and wrapped around the hook. You can make the head a bead or a blob of dark dubbing. Your call if you want to add legs of partridge or other fibers. This is the latex caddis - made by wrapping green latex around the hook. The material I used here were old dish washing gloves. You can also buy green colored condoms (believe it or not) that work as well. Another version is using synthetic hair - such as craft fur or fishhair that is twisted into a rope and wrapped around the hook shank. Or green wire. Or twisted antron - either wrapped around the hook or twisted into a furl and tied down. You get the idea. There are a million options. This is Oscar Feliu’s Rhyacophila Larva - which I really like. The pattern is: Thread: Black Underbody dubbed light grey or white hare’s ear or rabbit fur or similar Abdomen: Chartreuse (or olive) larva lace or similar product Legs - Dark deer hair tips or partridge fibers Head: Black rabbit fur Here is a link to him tying this fly: OK, let’s move onto the next stage that you may want to imitate - which is the pharate adult or what anglers call the pupa. This is the stage of the insect that hatches from the cased pupa on the substrate of the stream which swims quickly to the surface to hatch. Of course the classic fly to imitate this stage is Gary LaFontaine’s Deep Sparkle Pupa - which Selene will demonstrate how to tie at the Merrymeeting Bay Trout Unlimited Fly Tying night on December 5, 6-8 PM at Joshua’s Restaurant in Brunswick, ME. This particular fly is an emergent sparkle pupa and was tied by Justin Crouse of Guide’s Choice Flies. It can also be used for this stage. The deep sparkle pupa is essentially the same without the strand of antron off the tail and without the deer hair wing. I have this picture mostly because I tie horrible deep sparkle pupae - which is why Selene is doing the demo! The pattern is: Body - 1/2 olive green sparkle yarn and 1/2 olive fur Underwing - dark gray partridge fibers Overwing - combed antron yarn tan or white Legs: Grouse Partridge or Wood duck Head: Brown fur Another cool fly is the Fox Poopah, originated by Tim Fox out in California in the 1990s. Body: Olive or Tan Vernille (or micro-chenille). Under-Body: Silver Tinsel Ribbing: Gold Wire Legs: Partridge Antennae: Wood duck or mallard flank fibers Thorax: Black Ostrich herl. Or you can use the TieDown Caddis as recommended by Rick Hafele as a good imitation of this stage. This one is tied by Selene: Tail: Tied down deer body hair Body: Olive dubbing Hackle: Brown Shellback: Brown deer body hair My only advice here is to tie down the tail and trim, then use a separate clump of deer body hair to make the shell back. Lastly, a wonderfully simple and effective fly is a simple soft hackle. A green thread body and a woodcock or grouse hackle is all you need. OK, once the pharate adult/pupa makes it to the surface, it will molt again (quickly) and fly off. There is an opportunity to fish this stage as there will be cripples and depending on the weather conditions, the adult may sit on the surface of the water for longer or shorter times. Some nice patterns to imitate this stage include: The Henryville Caddis: Thread: Olive or black Body: Olive dubbing Rib: Grizzly hackle with the barbs slightly shorter than the hook gape Wing: Woodduck flank used as an under wing, over which are matched sections of natural dark goose wing quill tied tent style Hackle: Dark ginger The Chuck Caddis (tied by Selene): Body: Olive or tan dubbing Wing: Woodchuck guard hair Hackle: Mixed brown and grizzly The next important stage to be able to imitate, however, is the egg laying female. At this stage, the female swims or crawls to the bottom of the stream and lays eggs. Once finished, however, she releases herself to drift slowly back to the surface. This is a great stage to imitate as she seems resigned to her fate as trout food and the trout happily cooperate. Some flies to imitate this stage include: The Prince Nymph: Tail: Brown goose biots Body: Peacock Herl Rib: Gold Wire Legs: Brown Hackle wound Wing: Two white goose biots. The Leadwing Coachman Tag: flat gold tinsel (optional) Body: Peacock Herl Rib: Fine gold wire Hackle: Dark Brown Wing: Goose or Duck wing quill The March Brown Wet Tail: Woodduck Flank Body: Hares mask Rib: Gold wire Hackle: Partridge, grouse, or woodduck Wing: Speckled turkey or ringneck pheasant quill sections Dark Cahill Wet Tail: Dark Ginger hackle barbs or woodduck flank fibers Body: Dark grey muskrat or similar Hackle: Dark Ginger Wing: Woodduck flank Or you could use one of the dry flies we’ve already discussed, like a Chuck Caddis or a Henryville Special weighted and fished wet. /episode/index/show/anglersentomology/id/12122171

Episode 37: Teeny Tiny Things 10/28/2019

Bonus Blog Post: Flies 09/10/2019

Episode 36: True Bugs 09/09/2019

Angler's Entomology Podcast

TOPICS