Tips for Tying: The "Mercury RS2"

Every fly box should have at least a few RS2's in it! This pattern is extremely productive, simple to tie, and all you need is a sharpie to change it's color!

Ingredients:

- Size #18-24 straight eye nymph/dry fly hook.
- Glass bead head
- Grey hackle for tail fibers
- Super fine adams gray dubbing
- Antron Yarn or DNA fibers for wing
- 6/0 gray or white thread

Instructions:

1.) Place glass bead on hook and secure it in your vice. Tie in your thread and wrap down to the half way point of the shank.

2.) Pluck 6 or 8 gray hackle fibers for the tail and measure them to be about the length of the hook shank. Using a "pinch wrap", secure the tail fibers. Make sure to make a wrap or two below the tail to secure it in an upright position.

3.) Using "adams gray" superfine dubbing, make a tight dubbing noodle. As you wrap your dubbing, make sure you keep the noodle tight to form a nice tapered body. 

4.) Stop your taper at the 1/3 point of the hook to tie in your wing material.

5.) Cut out a bundle of Antron or DNA fibers about 1/4 inch wide. Using a "pinch wrap", tie in the fibers and wrap your thread back down the shank a few times to flatten out the wing.

6.) Trim the excess wing material (facing the eye above) as close to the hook as possible. Make another very tight but short dubbing noodle, and fill in the gap between the wing and eye while making sure to keep your taper.

7.) Trim your wing case to about the 1/2 point on the shank. Whip Finish or half-hitch and your all done!

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Yellow Mercury RS2 Sparkle Tail

- This is one of the easiest, and most productive patterns that I tie.

Tips for Tying: The "Stoned Baetis"

Longer days and increasing water temperatures have gotten the bugs up and moving on the Eagle River. The fish are hungry and eating like crazy! But with so many different bugs moving around getting ready to hatch you may find yourself staring at your fly box wondering which fly will match the hatch. With so many different bugs on the trout's menu right now, what we see in the air may not be what the trout are eating. So, instead of trying to match a specific hatch or imitate a specific nymph (which can be very challenging/frustrating) try using a pattern that has characteristics of various bugs in the water. This will allow you to use one fly that is close enough to imitate what the fish are eating during different parts of the day/hatch cycle. Below are the steps to tying one of my favorite "attractor" nymph patterns.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.) Tie in your thread and wrap it down about 2/3 of the way down the shank.

2.) Pluck about 8 fibers from a Turkey or Pheasant feather for your tail material. Use a pinch wrap to tie in the tail fibers and wrap down to the gap of the hook, then wrap back up to where you tied in and cut the tag end. the tail should be about the length of the hook shank.

3.) Tie in a piece of yellow Turkey or Goose Biot at the 2/3 point with the pointy side toward the eye of the hook. 

4.) While holding the biot against the side of the hook shank, wrap your thread back over the biot until it meets the tail. Wrap your thread back up the hook leaving space behind the eye of the hook.

5.) Wrap the biot up the hook shank all the way to your thread and use a pinch wrap to secure the biot. Once secure, cut the tag end of the biot.

6.) Tie in a strip of "golden stone" colored Thin Skin on the top of the shank and pointing toward the gap of the hook.

7.) Make a dubbing noodle (cream or light yellow) and wrap toward the eye of the hook, making sure to leave a little room.

8.) Fold the Thin Skin back forward over the dubbing towards the eye and secure it with a couple of tight pinch wraps.

9.) Make sure the wing case is nice and straight, and not crowding the eye. Trim the tag end and throw in a couple of whip finishes or half hitches. The fly is complete!