In tying the Skitting Caddis we used a little TPI-March Brown as an
underwing. The overwing is ringneck pheasant, tinted brown with a marking
pen.
I suppose this brings in one of the most important colour combinations in
the TPI range and that is “Quick Silver”. It is a light grey mottled with
black and is such a versatile medium. The TPI Quick Silver is so versatile
because it can be used on so many patterns. As an example, with the “Sharon
Stone” pictured below, we have built the wings using the
EP-Silky Fibers in orange as an underwing,
followed by a bunch of Quick Silver over the top. This pattern has
proved itself to be effective across a number of continents. It is highly
effective on the Snake River around Jackson Hole Wyoming, as it is on my
home waters.
The Sharon Stone was another pattern that I designed for the One Fly at
Jackson Hole Wyoming and is very effective early morning on riffle water.
Another little Stonefly pattern is the Ruby Stone; it is great on tumbling
water.
The wing is Quick Silver with a fine layer of Black over the back to give
the illusion of dark wing edges.
The Tassie Stone is a version of the Tassie Tarantula, designed by Mick
Hall, which won the 1996 “One Fly” in Jackson Hole Wyoming.
The bodies on the previous three patterns are two layers of 1mm foam stuck
with clear model glue. I believe it gives a great effect to the look of the
body. As you know, many of nature’s insects are in fact two-toned,
normally with a lighter under-body.
Within the winging of the Tassie Stone we have in fact four layers of
material; the first being a few strands of Crystal Hair, followed by a bunch
of spinner blend Quick Silver and finally a few strands of Black over.
As with many heavily winged stone fly patterns such as the Tassie Stone, you
can tease the wings up so that they stand well away from the body of the
fly.
As you are aware, so often newly emerged stoneflies actually hold their
wings almost upright when skitting across the surface of the water. This
unique activity I experienced a number of times during early morning fishing
on the Snake River, yet I have not seen it on our home waters.
Another feature of the Tassie Stone is that it makes a good hopper
pattern.
Talking about hoppers, I used a little Lemon Grey as an underwing on a
grasshopper we call the Chopper Hopper. Now the Chopper Hopper is pretty
famous up on the Teton River over in Idaho; Geoff Currier and I had a red
letter day drifting this water back in 2000. We caught and release each
species of trout in this water on this fly, Rainbows, Cutbows, Cutthroat and
Brook trout. Plus we almost got chased off the river by a big old
Moose; but that’s another story.
The Ruby Stone tied small on a size 12 Partridge Dry fly hook works well on riffle water. Love those rubber legs.
Just how versatile is the EP-Trigger Point Range of materials? Well, I
suppose that is up to your imagination. Believe me, there is more to come.
Cheers,
Mick Hall
