I have tied up some of my AZWanderings’ bugs to send in for a tying contest held by Montana Fly Company and the Outdoor Blogger Network. I know it is a long shot, but my two creations/variants are going into the mail today in the hopes that someone likes them.
The first fly is the illustrious mini-hopper. The mini-hopper has seen some upgrades with a few different colors added to the line-up along with a bit of flash under the wing. It’s been productive on just about every stretch of water I have fished and it is the first pattern I turn to when fishing something new. It is a great terrestrial/attractor pattern but works well in a caddis hatch if the occasion arises. It floats all day and is indestructible. I originally started tying and fishing this fly for the small streams of Arizona as a substitute for the big foam hoppers that hit the surface a little too hard. The delicate presentation of a mini hopper is just the ticket for those spooky small stream trout. Also check out mini hoppers for sale and fill your fly box for this next season.
The second pattern that I am submitting is the Arizona Crayfish. As cool as it looks, it fishes even better. I finagled up this pattern to tempt those big brown trout in the deep runs of northern Arizona’s streams. It seems to do the trick and has a special place in the fly box as big brown trout candy.
If you have not had the chance yet, make sure you stop on by Arizona Wanderings and Montana Fly Co. Facebook accounts and add them to your likes. I appreciate your support. Fingers crossed…
Right on! Good luck Ben. Looks like some good flies have been put in the pot.
WFF,
I’m interested to see what happens, but not holding my breath. There were some good looking bugs and some guy submitted a dynamite fly called the Hairball. Going to be some stiff competition. Good luck to you.
Ben
Hey man good luck!
Everyone knows the mini-hopper is deadly.
One thing I noticed about the site is that most of the flies are really complicated (so people will have to buy them instead of tying them), but your fly is simple to tie. Just an observation.
Hope they call you up!
Thanks Nelson. It is definitely a simple pattern to tie, but I find that sometimes it’s the most simple that are the most effective. Less is more in my book. We’ll see. Thanks for the well wishes and glad you like the mini. I’ll keep you posted.
Ben
I really like the crayfish pattern. It has good proportions. I bet it would be deadly on Smallies in my part of the country.
Thanks Jay. I know it works well on our creeks that are loaded with crayfish and I imagine it would have the same effect on those smallies. If you tie some up, let me know how they work. Thanks again for the kind words.
Ben