Gray Drake

[Steve]

I have a question about this Gray Drake pattern in our library. Is there any hackle on it? If so what kind?

[gunrod]

Looks brown to me and that's a soft hackle - probably hen. Very similar if you are tying for the Mo. Ralf can help you more but something dark gray and white split wings such as snow shoe hare or a synthetic would work for a gray spinner.

[Pork Chop]

If you want to be fishing a dry, you might be better off to tie a spinner pattern. The best body material I've found for the spinner are a dark gray and black goose/turkey biot. You basically put down a solid color body of gray (or black) and they rib with the opposite color.

[Pork Chop]

BTW, this isn't a very good tie, but it was a reject I found sitting around so I took a picture. You want to keep the body of the fly as slender as possible. This should at least give you the general idea.

[Flyfisher]

Originally Posted by Pork Chop

If you want to be fishing a dry, you might be better off to tie a spinner pattern.

The picture that Steve posted has the bottom hackle trimmed and it will work just as good as any spinner pattern, plus its easier to see in low light conditions. Generally, with the larger dries, one can just palmer hackle and trim the bottom rather than tying a spent wing. The fish don't know the difference as it still sits low on the water surface like a spinner, and as I wrote above, the fly is also easier to see on the water.

[Pork Chop]

If you happen to find fish selectively feeding on Gray Drakes early in the morning or during the afternoon, they may be selective, of course, you may be able to catch them on a cigarette filter.

During day light hours, spinner wings not only present a silhouette, but they also reflect light.

As we all do, after you've fished a hatch for a while, you'll have a pattern or two that works best for you, and that's what you will probably use. No right or wrong, just different.

[Flyfisher]

Originally Posted by Pork Chop

If you happen to find fish selectively feeding on Gray Drakes early in the morning or during the afternoon, they may be selective, of course, you may be able to catch them on a cigarette filter.

During day light hours, spinner wings not only present a silhouette, but they also reflect light.

As we all do, after you've fished a hatch for a while, you'll have a pattern or two that works best for you, and that's what you will probably use. No right or wrong, just different.

In the case of the gray drake, its unlikely to see a spinner fall during daylight hours, as the fall usually occurs in the evening hours, or at first light in the morning so the silhouette is more important that the "reflection of light". Most of the guides on the Muskegon utilize the pattern I described, and they spend entirely more time on the water most of us. As you mentioned, there is no right or wrong, just what works. I'll take my chances with a clipped hackle drake anyday. For me, I would much rather have a pattern that is going to float well and be highly visible.

As far as "selective" fish, in my 15+ years of flyfishing for trout, presentation (drag-free) is 75% of getting the fish to strike, with the size of the fly being another 20%. The remaining 5% is "realism" in relation to wings, color, ribbing, etc. This has been true for me here in the relatively easy waters of Michigan, as well as the slicks and microcurrents of the eastern tailwaters of the Delaware, Farmington, and Clinch. I tend to be a devout follower of the KISS principle (and not the rock band)...Keep It Simple Stupid! My approach to flytying tends to be more function than form. Over the years, as the sport has been more popularized, mainstream, and commercial, there seems to be a trend towards stark "realism" in the flytying world. Some of these patterns look amazing but appeal more to the consumer than the fish themselves. These flies look great in shadow boxes on the wall but don't catch anymore than than the good old Adams or Hare's Ear nymph, hence my comments earlier about the importance of presentation. I'll take a flybox stocked with #10-#20 Adams anyday, and if there is a spinner fall or selective fish in flatwater, I'll need some scissors as well to trim hackle.

Off my soapbox...

[Pork Chop]

I guess between your 15 years of experience and my 45 years of experience, that is alot of water over the dam. There are probably a few guys out there with as much experience as both of us combined.

You are right about Gray Drakes hatching most of the time at dusk or dark, but during the peak of the hatch, you will find flies on the water most of the day. Alot of them may be dead, but the fish can still be found feeding on them. Most of the time something vaguely close will work great, on the rare occasion, not. Most of the time an Adams will fool the fish feeding on Gray Drakes or probably most other hatches, is it worth to tie up a fly for the 5% when it won't? That's up to you.

I strongly much agree with most of what you say, presentation is key. However as often as not, at least on the river I fish mostly, dead drift isn't always the answer. That's why I fish 95% of the time with either one of two patterns, my dry pattern is actually alot more basic and impressionistic than the Adams. Based on how it gets manipulated, the fish will figure out what it thinks it is.

[Flyfisher]

Originally Posted by Pork Chop

I guess between your 15 years of experience and my 45 years of experience, that is alot of water over the dam. There are probably a few guys out there with as much experience as both of us combined.

Yeah, probably would have spent more time flyfishing for trout in my younger years but the fishing for them was pretty bad in south Florida. At least there were tarpon and snook to keep me busy until I moved north of the Mason-Dixon line in the early 90's

I mostly fish the drakes on the Muskegon, where do you find them?

And regarding the Adams, rarely fish them as I usually tie patterns to match the specific flies that are hatching. As you could probably tell already, I was basically using it as an example to emphasize the importance of presentation.

[Pork Chop]

If the often promised Global warming doesn't kick in soon, I'm going to be asking you for some tarpon and snook fishing pointers.

I'm a fellow Muskegon River rat. That's been my home (actually cottage) river for the past 25 years. That's one thing about fishing the Muskegon, I find it pretty rare that the fish are truely selectively feeding. If you present something to them that looks good enough to eat, they will take more often than not. The other thing that helps is that the river moves along at a pretty good clip for the most part, so fish don't have alot of time for close inspection of your fly.

Hope to see you on the river sometime.

[tommytubular]

I was thinking it was a hair wing.

[TSS Caddis]

Originally Posted by Flyfisher

The picture that Steve posted has the bottom hackle trimmed and it will work just as good as any spinner pattern, plus its easier to see in low light conditions. Generally, with the larger dries, one can just palmer hackle and trim the bottom rather than tying a spent wing. The fish don't know the difference as it still sits low on the water surface like a spinner, and as I wrote above, the fly is also easier to see on the water.

Not a great pic, but it looks like a parachute to me.

Standard grey drake spinner pattern is the best IMO. Moose mane tail, grey deer hair body( I use mule deer) and lot's of grey hackle trimmed only on the bottom, left on top for visibility.

[Shoeman]

I've tried to crack that nut for years.

Tried parachutes, traditional hackle dries, but none work better than "spent" version.

For last year's hatch I tied some with poly wings (spent), but they were to soft and ended up wrapping around hook bend.

Back to kip tails. A few weeks back I tied a couple of wets using bleach-burned hackle for a webbier look. See how that works. I had some real nice fish come up and hit that spinner while it's dragging behind the boat.