Flies for Selective Trout: Complete Step-by-Step Instructions on How to Tie the Newest Swisher Flies
By Doug Swisher and Sharon Swisher
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About this ebook
Doug Swisher cowrote Selective Trout, the bestselling fly-fishing book of all time. Now he’s back with brand new flies.
Back in the ’80s, right after Selective Trout was first published, many fly-tying books came on the market that were pushing the merits of the types of flies Carl Richards and Doug Swisher developed, like the No-Hackle Dun, Hen Spinner, Emerger, and Still-Born. Those were types of flies that had never been written about before. Then, a few years later, in the early 2000s, the emphasis switched drastically to what you would call streamer and attractor patterns.
Flies for Selective Trout covers a few of the No Hackle Types” and many of Doug’s new attractor flies, like glow in the dark, ultraviolet, brush flies, advanced pupas, and our action-dubbing versionswith wiggly legs right in the dubbing!
New flies include:
No Hackle PMD
Duckquill Emerger
Mono Caddis Pupa
Velcro Green & Mean
And much more!
The Swishers also include tips on how to fish the new flies, as well as where they were developed. Pick up a copy of Flies for Selective Trout to learn about all of the new materials and tying techniques that make these new flies so exciting!
Doug Swisher
Doug Swisher grew up in Bay City, Michigan, and began fly fishing at the age of eight. He became a well-known fly-fishing expert as a result of the success of Selective Trout, and has since written eleven books. Doug live in Hamilton, Montana, with his wife, Sharon.
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Book preview
Flies for Selective Trout - Doug Swisher
INTRODUCTION
Great rod holder when releasing.
Fifty years ago, during the period when Carl Richards and I were working on the development of the no-hackle dry fly, emergent dun imitations were tied mostly with lots of bushy hackle. As the transition was made toward more natural, realistic-looking flies, we had to search for new tying materials, especially to imitate the freshly hatched species. Our first attempt at this project resulted in the use of a clump of deer hair. Our immediate success ratio skyrocketed, and this type of pattern was very easy to tie. Our next improvement was fanning the wings and splitting the tails to form outriggers and was also easy to do. But we felt the need for something else! The clump of deer hair seemed a bit heavy and clubby for the wings, so we replaced it with a matched pair of duck quill wings. This ended up being the final step in making a really polished-looking No-Hackle Dun.
We had all the right ingredients; the only problem was mounting the wings properly. If they were attached so that they radiated from the sides of the body, they provided super floatation. If they were cut wide and short, they were extremely durable. The greatest no-hackle flytier I ever knew was Bill Monaghan, from Detroit. We often fished together on Michigan’s famed Au Sable River. I could easily catch over twenty trout on his No-Hackle Duns. He and Carl Richards were the best flytiers I ever knew. They were both dentists; maybe their ability to tie such great flies was due to the fine work they constantly performed with their hands. The three of us often fished together, and of course it normally ended up being a contest of who caught the most fish on a single fly. Bill usually won, but Carl and I had our moments.
Back in the 1980s, right after Selective Trout was first published, many fly-tying books came on the market that were pushing the merits of the types of flies Carl Richards and I developed, like the No-Hackle Dun, Hen Spinner, Emerger, and Still-Born. Those were types of flies that had never been written about before. Then, a few years later, in the early 2000s, the emphasis switched drastically to what I would call streamer and attractor patterns. This book covers a few of the no-hackle types and many of our new attractor flies, like glow-in-the-dark, ultraviolet, brush flies, advanced pupas, and our action-dubbing versions. Also included are tips on how to fish them and where they were developed. Most of this change came about because of all of the new materials and tying techniques now available, making our new flies even more exciting.
A Montana beauty!
Parachute Madam X.
DRY FLIES
In this section of the book, we’ll first cover three of the most famous no-hackle flies, the No-Hackle Dun, the Duck Quill Emerger, and the Hen Spinner. Then, we will show you how to tie some of the more important flies we developed since the no-hackle era. These include the Madam X, which is the first dry fly with rubber legs; the Parachute Madam X, which is well known all over the world; the Button Fly, the first hatch simulator utilizing a rubber post; and the Double Parachute Hopper, which has a parachute hackle at each end, and the rear one under the wing has a rubber post. There are several more dry flies that have given us many wonderful days fishing on rivers and lakes.
No-Hackle Pale Morning Dun
Duck Quill Emerger
Hen Spinner
Floating Nymph
Hi Float Emerger
Madam X
Parachute Madam X
Button Fly
Double Parachute Hopper
Speckl-X
Para-Tractor
Hare & Herl
Dancing Caddis
Clumpa
Tiger Tail
Yummy, yucky, but delicious.
NO-HACKLE PALE MORNING DUN
It seems evident that many of the best flytiers are dentists. At least that was the case with my dental friends, Carl Richards and Bill Monaghan, who were from Michigan and who both tied great flies, especially no-hackles. The key on making a durable no-hackle was having a pair of duck quill wings that look like naturals and mounted so that they radiate from the sides of the body and, even more importantly, are slightly wider than the naturals. As a flytier, it is relatively easy to mount long, skinny wings, but extremely difficult to position short, wide wings on a tiny dun. That is where extreme fly-tying skill is required, in some cases taking many years of practice. Hundreds of perfectly matched quills usually must be selected to gain this skill level.
The other important factor is quill selection. Only the highest quality quills will stand up to the rigors of dozens of feeding fish. The application of synthetics and various varnishes simply does not do the job. Also, attaching the wings at exactly the right spot on the body is critical. They should be mounted