I stumbled across this pattern a couple of years ago and it has become my most productive nymph pattern. I use it on large tailwater streams in georgia and small wild streams in the southern appilachians with equal sucess. Now i'm going to try your blackout kluting on Largemouth and other warmwater species.Got to love the flow of knowledge the web provides ,thanks for your part in that and keep up the good work.
Mike Duncan,Atlanta,Georgia
Rasmus,
I do not know how you simplify the Honey Shrimp. The original pattern is what you see.
If you cut off the unnecessary you will end up with a hook dubbed with your favorite long fibered dubbing. That's it. That is the most simple you can get.
The Honey Shrimp will probably not catch more fish than the dubbing fly, but it is definitely more fun to tie and it looks great in the water.
The Junior Mysis is a more simple shrimp like pattern. You may start with that one. Try it in a tan version.
Good time at the tying bench.
Kasper Mühlbach
Is it possible to line a pair of rubber lug soles with felt? I bought a pair of chest waders that are rubber lug soles and wish I had gotten felt lined. Can you think of any way this could be done?? I appreciate any information you can give me.
Hi Martin,
I couldn't agree more that there's "nothing new under the sun". The Copper Bob/John/Joe all must page homage to Frank Sawyer, and his copper-bodied pheasant tail nymph.
Warm regards,
Bob White
Looked all over the net, can't find a place that sells it in the US. "help"
Got this book and whilst I can see the advantgaes this offers over ordinary flies, for the life of me, I can't see what advantage it is have over a klinkhammer tied in all its various guises.
Any thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated
Partly for Adrian, but also for general:
How about a loop to loop connection. That is what I have with all my lines and leaders (except those few where I won't be changing leaders). Various ways to put a fancy loop on the end of the fly line, but on a new line I just make an end loop, whip it (same idea as the nailless nail knot above) and coat it with some fly head cement. For leaders I tie a Perfection loop in the butt end of the leader (and work hard and slowly to get it tight :-). Maybe Martin would add an entry on the Perfection loop to the above.
Bob,
Thanks for sharing your letter to John Barr and the "original" publishing magazine of the Copper John article. The quotes around original are not meant as a pun or an offense, but merely indicates that there is not much new under the sun when it comes to flies.
Most of what we can conceive in our minds and at our vices has been tied at least dozens of times before, and people coming up with something truly original are few and far apart. The mere thought of pattern protection, trademarks, copyright etc. on a fly pattern seems ridiculous to me - even though such schemes are known to exists. All that can be invented in this respect seems to have seen the light of day already - as your story also indicates.
Again: thanks for sharing, and I for one am glad that this did not develop into a dispute between John Barr and yourself.
Martin
Mind blowing,,your tying is great. Any off the New Zealand trout would eat any of you trout fodder. Great job.
Any suggestions for simplifying/moderating the pattern?
Chenille or some sort of yarn for body?! Leave the eyes?! Or...???
Hi Hoppy
Ours are also Thymallus thymallus but the colouring differs slightly from the "danubian" variety. The original Italian Grayling has electric blue fins while the "danubian" variety commonly found in Austria, Slovenia etc has red fins. Ours is more delicate and doesn't grow as big as the red finnned variety and as I say is extremely delicate and is risking to dissapear from our waters (overfishing, pollution, hydroelectric plants and stocking with the easier to breed danubian variety).
I'll try to send you photos.
Moreno
I enjoyed reading about Martin Joergensen's "Copper Joe", and thought that the following letter might be of interest to your readers...
AN OPEN LETTER TO JOHN BARR - SENT TO JOHN BARR AND DAVID KLAUSMEYER, EDITOR OF FLY TYER MAGAZINE ON JUNE 8, 2005.
Dear John,
It was a pleasure to meet you at the Hooked on a Cure event. I'm glad that our paths finally crossed, and that we had the opportunity to compare notes about our respective fly patterns... The "Copper John" and the "Copper Bob".
I felt badly when you told me that some fly shop owners had communicated to you that you were being accused of violating the client/guide relationship, and had lifted the idea of for the "Copper John" from me.
Nothing could be further from the truth... I've never guided you in either Alaska, Argentina, or Chile. As I mentioned to you at the event... some folks take a perverse pleasure in stirring up the pot, and then sitting back and watching the ensuing show. Thankfully, we were able to meet, enjoy each other's company, and compare notes before anyone tried to poison our friendship.
I'm writing this open letter to you in an attempt to set the record straight... something I know that you'd like to do also. This is what I tell folks when I'm asked about the origin of the Copper Bob...
- I designed the "Copper Bob" in the winter months of 1988, while guiding in Argentina. The fly was inspired primarily by my needs as a guide, and by some of the ideas and nymph patterns that other guides and my fishermen shared with me. The "Copper Bob" was designed to be a "guide's fly"... one that is effective, easy to tie in quantity, durable, and allows clients to fish a nymph deeply without the encumbering (and often tangled) use of split shot.
- I introduced the pattern, with both one and two shades of wire (for segmented bodies) to Alaska that same year... the summer of 1988... with great success. It became a standard pattern at the lodge where I guided (Tikchik Narrows Lodge), and I gave away so many of them out to the other guides that it necessitated many a late night tying session. It was first tied commercially (exclusively for Tikchik Narrows Lodge) during the winter of 1990 by three or four fly tyers who guided in Alaska during the summer months, and lived in Missoula in the off season. All of these very talented guide/tyers contributed their own ideas and twists to the concept, and Interestingly enough... it was one of them who named the fly... up until that point... we simply called it a "Copper-Bodied Pheasant Tail". Many of these friends still actively guide and tie commercially in Montana and Alaska. Several other commercial tyers have been fulfilling the lodge's annual needs ever since.
- The Copper Bob quickly became more of a concept than a distinctive pattern... we tied it on short shanked hooks with heavy copper wire to imitate clinging and crawling mayfly nymphs... we tied it on long shanked hooks with finer wire to imitate swimming nymphs... We tied it tiny for midge pupa, and we tied it large to look like an immature stone flies. We made them light to imitate PMD's and sulphers, etc.,
and dark for other mayflies. We bended the concept to produce soft hackles... copper bodied wet flies... Damsel fly nymphs... and even Steelhead patterns. All of these patterns have been around since the beginning... but none with the notoriety and commercial success of the standard, Copper Bob.
- The original Copper Bob was tied without the bead head that your pattern utilizes, as bead headed nymphs were just coming onto the scene at the time. Even after bead headed nymphs became all the rage, I still preferred to guide and fish with the original pattern. I believe that this style affords the guide or fisherman a greater degree of flexibility, allowing it to be to fished plain, for mid depth drifts, and with whatever size and color bead added to the leader for deeper drifts. The bead slides down the leader while casting, eliminating the
"ball and chain" effect of a split shot. I carry a selection of multicolored brass, copper, and tungsten beads for just this purpose.
If you try this... watch your tippet, as it'll gradually fray and need to be replaced periodically. Eventually, we began tying them in both styles... with and without beads... and with and without rubber legs.
The epoxy part was added later by my friends at the Montana Fly Company.
- When I'm asked why I didn't promote the concept/pattern, I remind folks that, at the time, I was a working guide in a very competitive area, and that my primary concern was to keep the fly a secret for as long as possible. Our guides were instructed never to leave any flies
in their boats, and to use the heaviest tippet possible, as to not leave the pattern in the jaws of the fish we hooked, where it might be found and copied by our competitors. The Montana Fly Company approached me about producing the pattern, primarily because, one of those early tyers of the pattern now works for them. He knew of it's origin, and was kind enough to ask if I'd mind lending my name to the pattern. Like you... I enjoy receiving a royalty for every one sold.
John, I can assure you that I was just as surprised to see the "Copper John" hit the market as you were to hear of the "Copper Bob"... and just imagine what Frank Sawyer would think if he could read this!
I'm very pleased that we finally had the chance to meet, and to share our stories. I hope that this letter will put any controversy to rest.
Now... let's go fishing!
Most sincerely,
Bob White
Whitefish Studio & Small Fry Cards
PO Box 261 - 240 6th Street
Marine on St. Croix, Mn 55047
651-433-4168
bob@whitefishstudio.com
I don't know of any other maps for Tobago or information.
My time there was purely military business so I didn't really have that much time to fly fish and explore further.
Remember to wear sandals as there can be nasty surprises lurking in the sand!
Water! Drink plenty...
RD
Nice one Hoppy, saw your post on flyforums too. Nice fish :D
I used to live not too far from the welsh/english border and fished a few times in Llangollen, but only caught small ones. Next time I visit my parents, you'll have to guide me one day :wink:
Hello,
I'm Levente from Hungary.I'd like to go fishing for sea trout to Poland with my friends in May or Juni.I need a little helping.Do you know good sea trout rivers in Poland?Do you have any experience in this country?What time is the best for the river fishing for this fish?How much Euro is the licence?What flies the best(Wickham's Fancy,Peter Ross,Alexandra,etc.)?
Thanx for your help!
Levente
P.s.: Sorry,my English is very bad!
Thank you for the reply! My Inlaws have an apartment on Castara Bay on the NorthWest shore of Tabago. From Google Earth it all looks like deep drop offs and not to many flats, but its not clear. Any other places on the web I may find better maps of the island?
Thanks again. Very helpful.
Hi,
I was in Trinidad and Tobago back in 1991 and again in 1994 with the military but managed to cart along my fly rod.
The amount of choice is overwhelming and I took no end of lovely bonefish and tarpon at night fishing from some local piers. The rascals would cruise by in the light of the pier and gave some hair tingling fighting!
You best bet is to arm yourself with a good average rod weight 9, floating line / shooting head for saltwater.
Take a mixture of fly patterns for bonefish and tarpon.
There are nice small quality streams and creeks too so take a long a 5 / 6 weight.
There are numerous flats to target with tarpon, permit, bonefish and other wierd and wonderful species. Tarpon are the prize with 50 to 90lb'ers a common goal.
Charlotteville, man 'o war, kings and bloody bay are worth a crack and if you can, get out to marble island or Little Tobago Island located in the NE section of the island. The latter is a good bird-watching paradise.
A variety of accomodations are available, from international resorts to local hotels and villas. For more information, contact the Tourism and Inudustrial Development Company Ltd. of Trinidad and Tobago at 888-595-4TNT or 868-623-1932, or visit WWW.VisitTNT.Com.
If you want to hire a guide then try these sites...
Hard Play Charters (868-639-7788, fax 868-639-7108) offers two charter boats, the 39-foot pirogue Hard Play ($475/day) or the 31-foot Bertram Pegasus ($550/day).
An outfitter specializing in fly fishing and traveling to both islands can help plan sport-fishing packages to meet any needs. Island Style Enterprises (407-696-6744) knows the islands - accommodations, restaurants, rental car companies and charters - and is experienced in all types of sport fishing. There is no additional charge for its services.
Have a great time, don't forget your hat, sun block and avoid hurricane season!
Rip
uaah! FAT MULLET!!! Holy Cow - in this size theyôre kicking ass... ehh runn their tails off!
5 Ponits!
fine grayling but a loss of sharpness. The sharpness should focus either on the eyes or at least on the nymph.
Nice one. One could think that it took a while to thrill such an monster. I thought these giants hunt under cover of darkness.
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