Bugs from the Bench...."Hares Ear Variant"

With winter hitting full force here in the midwest my fishing reports are getting further and further apart it seems. While I wish I could be on the water more this time of year, the facts are that I have to drive 200 miles to be on the closest coldwater stream to my home and my local waters are no longer in a liquid state. As with most fly fishermen, tying flies keeps me going through the off times.

I'm not an expert tyer or even a good tyer for that matter, but I do enjoy sitting down at the bench for an evening of relaxation. To fill some empty space on the pages of my blog I've decided to post a few fly patterns. These flies aren't patterns that I've developed, although I may have tweaked some of them to perform better on the waters I fish. Last night I had some time to sit down at the vise , and after looking through the nymph box decided to fill some vacancies created by my last couple trips. My selection of GRHE flies always takes a hit when nymphing as they're universally productive on practically all waters. One of my favorites is a Hares Ear Variant tied on a curved caddis hook.

This fly isn't pretty or difficult to tie , but it's been highly productive for me. Following are a few pics and the recipe for tying my version of this fly (still trying to learn the best ways to photograph flys so pics kind of suck!).


Recipe : Hares Ear Variant
Hook...Mustad C49S (sz 14-16)
Bead...Gold Tungsten or bead of choice
Thread...Black 6/0 or 8/0
Tail...Wood Duck flank feathers
Rib...Small copper or Gold Ultra-Wire
Body... Hares Ear dubbing of choice
Shellback...Mottled Turkey tail feather
Thorax...Hares Ear dubbing and Tan UV Ice Dubbing mixed
Collar...Light Ginger Hen Saddle feather palmered