The above flies are my not so good effort at Match the Hatch, or Match the Match. I bought flies. I never buy flies, but saw some nice, new patterns at The Caddis Fly Shop in Eugene, Oregon. In my effort to copy them, I think they look ok, but a bit chunky compared to the originals. The rubber legs too thick and the biots oversized and crooked. The little pupa on the right: I used too thick of copper ribbing and I applied too many thread wraps behind the bead, smothering the thorax. These were tied on 16’s and my materials were a touch oversized for that size hook. I am challenged when I tie on 16’s or 18’s. It is partly vision (maybe I need a magnifier dealy) and paying less attention to the size/quantity of the materials.  But, I liked these patterns because they were fresh looking. As I have said before, efficient as they may be, I am tired of Pheasant Tail Nymphs, Copper Johns, GRHE’s, Prince Nymphs. I find myself looking for something new OR creating my own impressionistic patterns.

The tying agenda is now as follows: Scuds/Czech Nymphs, Midge emergers (have gobs of pupa, but stumped with that late evening, last light hatch), Callibaetis (all stages), Roxy’s, Caddis pupa (lots of fun here to create or tie the Tied Down Caddis for nostalgia’s sake), Wets and a few basic mayfly duns ( I plan on using the medium ginger hackle on some flies to experiment with the UV glowing phenom. referenced in earlier post here)