Happy 2017. Not going to lie that's hard for me to say. New years always make me sad just a little. My kids are getting older, my body is getting older, things in the world are always changing. That being said I also like new years because it means that another year of hunting and fishing is upon us. So this year I have decided to undertake yet another new task. With each post I am going to try and feature a fly. Some of them will be of my own design and some of them will be tried and true patterns, and some will be Classic old styles that have fallen out of favor for newer patterns. I like old stuff personally. My deer rifle is a 1951 Savage Model 99 chambered in .300 Savage. It was my grandfathers and its from a golden age of American hunting. My favorite fly rods are made of fiberglass, a material that never got to be great before it was replaced by Space Age graphite. Though in the last 8 to 10 years it has made an amazing comeback. My favorite reels are classic Click and Pawl style reels that play to the classic trout rods they should go on. I have a soft spot for Bamboo rods as well, sadly I don't have a fondness for their price tags. Maybe that's why I like fiberglass so much. Working mans rods at working mans prices. Anyway on to the fly. This posts featured fly pattern is called the "Red Tag". Its origins come from England, mid 1800's. A time when nearly all flies were fished "Wet". Labeled as a Greyling fly the Red Tag is very simple in design. Comprised of Hook, red yarn, peacock herl, and brown hackle. The "Tag" of red yarn is tied onto the back of the hook at the bend, the peacock is then tied on and wrapped forward for the body, and the brown hackle is wrapped at the head. Simple and effective. Two words that encompass almost all good fly patterns. The pattern made its way to Australia in the late 1800's where it became more known as a dry fly beetle pattern. Tied with more herl, and hackle to give it a bushy beetle appearance. Fished wet or dry the fly is a Classic. I like to tie mine in a more traditional style. Though I like to change out the red yarn for red Zlon, which gives it a nice flashy hot spot at the end. I feel it looks like an emerging insect more than a beetle, and I like to fish it upstream on a short cast and dead drift it. But fishing it across and down on a swing is another very productive way to use it. In the winter months I will fish it with some split shot to get it deep, but its also really good to fish it dry on the surface during a hatch, or just under the surface much like a soft hackle spider. The versatility is mind blowing. So if you fancy trying something different this winter besides the same ol bead head nymph under an indicator, try tying on a red tag. I tie them in sizes from 10 to 16.
