My New #1 Fly

I this morning was going through my fishing log and noticed one reliable fly kept coming up: the Sexy Walt’s.

I’ve blogged about this fly quite a few times. I think that’s because it simply works. The fly dupes stockies and the wily and wild Farmington browns. It has even surpassed in effectiveness my prior #1 fly, the Frenchie.

I tie it from a size 8 down to a size 20. In that way, it can be fished either as an anchor fly or a dropper. I use different dubbing materials and colors, varying ribbing materials, and, sometimes, add a hot-spot collar. At times, I tie it quite slim, so that it looks like a crane fly larva. At other times, I make it quite buggy-looking, with guard hairs all over the place.

Sometimes, the fish want it very plain-looking and small, particularly if you’re targeting slower water. Sometimes, the trout like it when it’s pretty bright, when they’re in feeding lies near fast water and bugs are in the drift. Nearly always, the wild or highly-pressured fish want it small. Regardless, I’ve tied a bunch of these in different colors and sizes.

This morning, I wanted something quite buggy, no shiny ribbing, and just a touch of color.

Oldie, but a goodie. #barbless #catchandrelease #euronymphing #flyfishing #flytying

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Here is the materials list for the version up top:

  • Hook: #10 Orvis competition-style jig hook
  • Bead: black tungsten, secured with wraps of 0.02″ non-lead wire
  • Body: natural-colored hare’s mask fur and squirrel tail fibers (via a dubbing loop for extra “bugginess”)
  • Segmentation: 6x mono tippet
  • Thread: black 6/0 Orvis
  • Hot spot: 170 denier fl. pink UTC

Give it a go. With a good drift, and, if the fish aren’t spooked, this fly should produce. It is a shame the fly shops don’t sell this fly.

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3 thoughts on “My New #1 Fly

  1. Seems like this fly is tied with various ribbing/hot spot schemes by different tiers. If you don’t mind, can you recommend a couple of favorite combinations and sizes that you would use if just starting out? Thanks!

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