Bootleg Fly: Green Butt Purple Skunk vs. Silver Hilton

Well, we set our clocks forward, the days are getting longer, March Madness is nearly upon us, and spring is in the air. All this, of course, means summer steelhead aren't far behind.

I'm still inspired by mash-up DJs and bootleg fly patterns, and longing for some summer steelhead action, so I decided to combine two of my favorite low water summer patterns. A little Green Butt Purple Skunk, a bit Silver Hilton, this fly is absolutely wicked on the greased line swing.


I've always loved the grizzly hackle tip wing on the Silver Hilton. It's such a severe, sparse fly, yet these long, dramatic wings bring a graceful, rich, and sweeping quality to it. I always use Diamond Brite dubbing for the butt on this fly because it just adds a little something else to the mix, something that pedestrian chenille can't hope to provide.

Underwater, the two stately hackle tips hold forth. They gyrate, flow, and tantalize (if you haven't seen it, get a copy of Lani Waller's original steelhead tapes and watch him fish the Silver Hilton with great success).

When I fish the Deschutes in August, I like to carry a whole box of these in addition to a full array of summer Spey and Dee patterns, as well as a whack of caddis and stonefly adults. It's a smallish Wheatley box. I keep it in my left chest pocket next to a tightly rolled Ramon Allones and beneath a small nip flask of Bullet.

I can't wait for the dog days.


The Green Bootie Purple Hilton >>


Hook >> Tiemco 7999SP, sizes 8-4
Thread >> Wapsi UTC Ultra Thread, 210 denier, red
Bootie >> Spirit River Diamond Brite Dubbing, caddis green
Ribbing >> Wapsi UTC French Oval Tinsel, medium, silver
Body >> Spirit River Angora goat dubbing, dark stone
Collar >> Spirit River Schlappen, purple
Wing >> Matched Keough grizzly hackle tips


Maybe the dog days aren't here yet, and we may not have a summer run for a few months, but in the meantime, here's a little something from DJ Axel, Hova, and GNR to carry you through... (Axl Rose's white leather get up is so rad).



Evan LeBon is a regular contributor to beyondthebug.com

All Mashed Up: Bootleg Flies

Progress and development in fly tying (aside from the really ground-breaking stuff) resembles the pirate-minded bootlegging of the post-modern bastardized-pop world of digital music. Mashups, smashups, cutups, and boots, are tracks that combine the rythym and vocals of different pop songs to create new, Frankenstein-ed creations. Some love them, some hate them, but it seems they're here to stay.

(Here is a fine example of a mash up for those of you who may not have noticed this under-the-radar, barely legal form of music making:

"Tender Umbrella," Party Ben, Rihanna vs. General Public



If you'd like to learn more about mashups, www.bootiesf.com is a great place to get acquainted with them.)

Hot "new" flies are most often mashups, the result of modern artists combining fly patterns new and old, or elements of them, to create something else to toss into the drift.

And so the analogy is drawn; tyers of new and modern flies blend tying techniques, color, proportion, design, and materials in the same way digital DJs mix beats, vocals, riffs, and genres to push things forward.


The Original Bootleg Fly: Lefty vs. Bob, the Half and Half


The Half & Half: Just like rich Guinness Stout and crisp Harp Lager at your favorite Irish pub, right? Well, not exactly, but the Clouser/Kreh Half & Half is similarly designed and is perhaps the original mashup of the modern fly tying world.

By ingeniously combining two of the most effective baitfish fly patterns in the history of saltwater fly fishing (a little Clouser Minnow on top, a little Lefty’s Deceiver on bottom), Bob Clouser and Lefty Kreh created a bootleg "Super Fly" and may have stumbled upon one of the most incredible Frankenstein flies a surf-cruising striped bass or ravenous blue will ever lay its eyes and lips on!


To be clear, making a comparison between musical mashups and bootleg flies should not in any way detract from the value of the progression of fly tying (or music).

It's simply a different way to think about the flies we tie.

In fact, I'd argue that, just as the greatest (and worst) tracks of the mashup world demonstrate, a lot goes into the understanding of how to create something new (and good) from something old.


Evan LeBon is a regular contributor to beyondthebug.com