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I HE fly fishermen has the wonderful opportunity of havln g his favorite trout stream all to himself on opening day ' •• as a fly fishermen . . . almost everyone else there will De using worms. An extremely high percentage of the tr °ut's diet is made up from various forms of aquatic life. Although we see many worms found in the trout stream, w orms are not a form of aquatic life <strong>and</strong> when found in the stream, the worms are undergoing a process commonly known as drowning. Some worms, previous to entering tne water, have been first stabbed to death. Worm users catch a lot of fish on opening day, but the an gler who carefully presents artificial flies, matching the gout's diet, can catch fish on that same day too. Listed below are four flies which a group of friends <strong>and</strong> myself *J av e found particularly successful during the first few a ys of <strong>Pennsylvania</strong>'s trout season. The first is called the Ross Fly. We would have liked ° have been able to name this fly by another name, but on " e night we "invented" this model, the only one who had tl, e material available for the idea was Ross. Contrary to w hat I said about artificial flies matching the trout's diet are the ones to use, this fly does not. The Ross Fly is Probably the only fly tied with, I am almost ashamed, the ea of its ending up looking like a salmon egg. This fly is simply natural wool, which has been first yed a deep pink, applied to a number twelve hook in the 0r m of dubbing. That's all! Lacking a tail, wings <strong>and</strong> ^ckle I am not even sure if one could call this a fly. But, . he Ross Fly bouncing along a stream bottom during openln g day is a very deadly thing. It can be tied either with Wnit e or black thread <strong>and</strong> often we have found that one c °lor would be better than another. This fly does not fall the hook as easily as that which it is imitating <strong>and</strong> it Ure can be a real saver for the fly purist who is at his ts end on opening day. There are dozens of variations of the age old favorite "p," • the Coachman. This fly is thought to have been in n gl<strong>and</strong> as early as 1835, although some believe this pattern °° es back thirty years before Bosworth's time. Two varia- ,0 ns of this theme which are widely used by <strong>Pennsylvania</strong>'s n g'ers are the Leadwing <strong>and</strong> Royal Coachman. The ° a chman is an excellent fly for the first day <strong>and</strong> works 0r >ders on lake-living brook trout. The other two coach- . arj s, the Leadwing <strong>and</strong> Royal come in to their own later U *e season. j ne st<strong>and</strong>ard Coachman seems best during opening . ' in size twelves to as large as number eight. The fly *"*d with a body of bronze peacock herl <strong>and</strong> a tag of ^°. d flat tinsel. Hackle is red-brown hen's hackle tied wet. , ln gs are usually cut from matching pairs of mallard t c * s wings <strong>and</strong> tied wet with the white side out. I like .j, tie some of my Coachmans with white bucktail wings. * hucktail holds up better <strong>and</strong> adds a little more action. i he third fly is one which has been in a great many fly Xe s down through the years <strong>and</strong> has been in a lot more re° ut 's jaws than fly boxes. The Gold-Ribbed Hare's Ear s Pres ents to fishermen <strong>and</strong> fish alike, many of the different tr l° leS °^ a( l uat ' c insects found in the trout stream. It is j i y a hot pattern during the first days of the season <strong>and</strong> ° w one elderly veteran of the trout streams who uses nothing else. Claims if he can't catch them on a Gold- Ribbed Hare's Ear, the trout just are not hitting. He is usually right. The tail of this fly is tied with hackle fibers from either wood duck, mallard or grizzly. The body is of the same material as is its name, fur from a hare's ear which is dubbed in place. The body is then ribbed with fine flat gold wire. Wings of this fly are cut from the wing feathers of either a gray duck's or wood duck's wings <strong>and</strong> tied wet. The hackle is made up from unplucked rabbit's hair. This fly is usually best early in the season tied in sizes twelve <strong>and</strong> ten. As the season progresses <strong>and</strong> waters become lower, clearer; move down to the smaller sizes like fourteens <strong>and</strong> sixteens <strong>and</strong> keep on taking trout with this same pattern right through the season. The nice thing about the Gold-Ribbed Hare's Ear is that the more ragged <strong>and</strong> chewed it gets, the more trout seem to like it. Last of the four is one of the deadliest of all flies, especially for big trout. The White Marabou Streamer probably accounts for the creeling of more monstrous trout each year, than through the use of any other single fly. A White Marabou can attract lots of attention when streams are high <strong>and</strong> muddy as many times they are during the first few weeks of the season. Marabou fibers work wonders on trout but to have it work wonders, the fisherman must get this streamer down where the trout are. For <strong>Pennsylvania</strong>'s water, a 3X long shanked number eight hook is a favorite size to use in tying the White Marabou Streamer. This fly is often tied with a thin lead wire base to help get it down where the big ones live. The normal body is added over this lead base <strong>and</strong> it consists of a flat silver tinsel body with a ribbing of oval tinsel of the same color. Wing is white marabou fibers <strong>and</strong> should be tied quite heavy since once the marabou fibers become wet they pack into a very small size. This fly has a topping of five str<strong>and</strong>s peacock herl <strong>and</strong> its hackle, tied wet, is scarlet. Two jungle cock eyes for cheeks complete the fly. The limpness of marabou fibers makes it a perfect material for the fly fishermen. Moving through the water in short pumping jerks, this streamer seems to breath <strong>and</strong> in the h<strong>and</strong>s of expert, the marabou can act more "alive" than the aquatic life which it imitates. The four patterns listed here produce fish all through the year, but these patterns are especially noted for their effectiveness during the first days of early season. It would be wise to carry these patterns in both smaller <strong>and</strong> larger sizes as well as the sizes which have been recommended here. And also not a bad bet, particularly on opening day, is to have a couple of each of these flies tied with weighted bodies. No matter how effective a fly may be, it can not catch fish unless it is operated where the fish are <strong>and</strong> second, acts in the manner as its natural counterpart. Try these four patterns on opening day. They can suddenly change the peace <strong>and</strong> solitude you hope to find on the stream into a real battle April 17, 1965. An amazing amount of <strong>Pennsylvania</strong> trout have read this article <strong>and</strong> will be acting accordingly. By the way, if any readers have found a way to tie a fly which imitates a worm, I would appreciate hearing about it. APR «~1965 13
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