Wood Fly Rod Build: Back to Square One

Well...I pulled the wood fly rod blank from the Varathane several weeks ago and put it back into the drying jig to give it plenty of time to cure before winter. But as I was inspecting my handy-work over the weekend I noticed a very fine split half way up the blank.

This has never happened before.

I suspect that the split was there all along (likely from the initial drying process) but was not noticeable until the wood was stained (much like when the wood grain comes out more when it is varnished). I have decided that I do not want to risk putting $100 in components on the blank only to have it break at the split. This blank will be scrapped and I will search for a new one over the winter. A little disappointing - but that's all part of the charm of building wood fly rods.

This of course means that it will be over a year before I resume this project (it will take that long to fully dry another blank). For those of you wanting to build your own, this would be a good time to search out and dry your own rod blank - once I resume work, you can follow along with your own.

In the mean time I can still fish with my other two functional wood fly rods.

Waterboatmen and Backswimmer Pattern

I have had a few e-mails this past week asking me about my favorite patterns for Backswimmers and Waterboatmen. So here is my take on these two groups:

Backswimmers are in the family Notonectidae and Waterboatmen are in the family Corixidae. Both of these families are in the same insect order (Hemiptera = True Bugs) and can generally be imitated with different sizes of the same pattern. There are many other families in the True Bugs group but most are terrestrial, and the few that are semi-aquatic are seldom important to fish. Backswimmers and Waterboatmen however are in a class all of their own; and form a large part of a trout’s diet in the spring and fall when the adults are most active and most abundant.

Backswimmers and Waterboatmen have a one year life cycle and go through incomplete metamorphosis. Overwintering adults lay eggs in the spring and die shortly afterwards. The eggs hatch and juveniles that look like miniature versions of the adults, but without wings, spend the summer feeding and growing through five instars. The fifth and final moult produces a fully winged adult that for the most part continues its underwater existence. The forewings are generally dark and leathery and lay overtop of the flight wings which are thin and transparent. Large oar-like hind legs allow them to swim effectively under water.

The ability to fly allows the adults to move from one water body to another. This allows the adults to move to other locations should their wetland dry up, or to simply look for other water bodies to colonize. On warmer, calm days in the spring and fall you will often see the adults dropping onto the surface where it may take them a second or two to penetrate the surface film and dive to cover. This is when they are at their most vulnerable. They are also vulnerable when they dash to the surface to replenish their air bubble that allows them to breathe under water.

As to fly patterns there is really no need to get overly complicated; the basic parameters of size, shape, and color are really all you need.

Many patterns call for a 1XL hook, but I prefer a wider gap in relation to the hook size so I usually fish a standard wet fly hook in size 14 or 16. Backswimmers tend to be bigger than Waterboatmen so if you specifically want to imitate them you could go to a size 10 or 12. But Waterboatmen generally outnumber Backswimmers 50:1 – which is why I usually fish the smaller sizes.

Stout bodies of chenille or dubbing with a darker over wing of turkey quill, and some rubber hackle legs are standard and will give you the silhouette you need. A small bit of silver tinsel is often tied in near the rear end to simulate the air bubble that they use as an underwater lung. If you want your pattern to stay in the surface film, an over wing of black foam is the way to go.

The theory behind color is that you want to match the color of the surrounding habitat. And it is a sound theory – but rather than waste time tying various colors to suite different condition I tie all of mine with silver Mylar tinsel chenille which tends to reflect the color of the surroundings. It also ads a little sparkle to simulate the air bubble that they typically carry. Quick and easy to tie – and they catch fish.

Waterboatman pattern - this one is tied with the foam back

                    Hook: standard wet fly, #14 or 16

                    Thread: 6/0 black or brown

                    Body: silver Mylar tinsel chenille, medium (2 wraps only)

                    Wings: mottled brown turkey quill, or black foam

                    Legs: rubber hackle, brown or black

For a few tips on how to fish it, see my earlier post: Top Pick for Fall Trout.

Top Pick for Fall Trout

Local trout lakes are fishing about as good as they get all season – if you were thinking about heading out to your favorite lake, now is the time (today’s crappy weather aside).

The big hatches of summer have certainly slowed down but there are still enough bugs active to keep things interesting. The fish do tend to be a little less selective at this time of year and sometimes it seems that any pattern will attract at least some attention (especially from the tiddlers). But there are still certain patterns that tend to hook the most, and biggest fish.

Backswimmers and Waterboatmen are at the top of my list. Populations are at their greatest numbers in the fall, and characteristics of their behavior expose them to feeding trout more than at any other time of year. Regardless of what’s hatching, trout maintain a well-developed search image for these bugs and will rarely pass up the opportunity to pounce when they encounter one out in the open.

Waterboatman (Corixidae) - adult with fully formed wings

My preference is to stalk rising fish from a float tube – I usually work the edges of weedy shoals in 2-6 feet of water (this requires a slow and deliberate approach). Cast your fly on a floating line within a foot or so of the rise, twitch it a few times and then let it sit. If you don’t get a hit within a few seconds, start your retrieve – a series of quick 1” pulls with a long pause. Hits can come during the retrieve, or the pause; watch your fly line carefully on the pause – if it moves, set the hook.

A calm evening at a local trout lake - perfect conditions for spotting rising fish