MJ's Dream Ticket: A Pair of 60-Degree Striper Flies

Well, it's November 4. You've stood in line, you've made sure not to leave any hanging chads or butterflies in your ballot, and you're feeling great about exercising your right to vote. It's time to put your feet up, let the exit polling and fierce vote tallying run its course, and take a look at two of this Fall's nastiest 60-Degree striper flies!

Matt "MJ" Jones' 60-Degree Half & Half is the perfect candidate for those anglers looking for big strikes in cold water this Fall!


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. 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 may have stumbled upon one of the most incredible Frankenstein flies a striped bass will ever lay its eyes and lips on!

The leading portion of this beautiful fly is composed of the heavy dumbbell eyes and bucktail of Clouser’s Deep Minnow. This solid, sinking head is trailed by a hackle-type tail which is highlighted by some flash and capped with another pinch of bucktail.


MJ has tied this pattern with a bit of yak hair blended into the bucktail mix, giving it a bit of extra bulk which he says has been useful this fall because of the colder water temperatures he's run across. He's also kept the flash material a bit longer, a preference of many modern tyers.


MJ's Pink Flashtail Whistler, a variation of Dan Blanton's famous striper pattern, is the perfect blend of bright color and long flash for fishing stripers in the surf or stripping around structure.


MJ has tied this pattern with extreme length in mind. The hackle collar is neatly finished and the green thread nose is long and tapered with care. MJ is known for working with bucktail fibers of exellent quality and length. It can take time to select the proper materials, but the results reflect the hard work.


The 60-Degree Debate

Both of MJ's flies are tied on 60-degree jig hooks from Gamikatsu. Since Lefty Kreh and Bob Clouser introduced and popularized the "Deep Minnow" during the 1980s, the jig vs. fly debate has burned through the saltwater fly tying and fishing community. Despite the school of tyers and fishers who frown upon flies like the Clouser Minnow and the Flashtail Whistler for their "jigging actions," a great number of saltwater anglers have taken the concept and run with it.

One of the most vocal proponents of the value of this kind of "jig action" is Dan Blanton. He swears by 60-degree jig hooks and their effectiveness in the water, tying all his Whistlers on Eagle Claw jig hook offerings.

Last week, MJ thought he'd give these hooks a whirl. He was impressed, catching three 5- or 7-pound stripers in a short morning trip. Whatever your leanings, 60-degree jig hooks are an easy way to increase the effectiveness of the flies you tie.


Evan LeBon is a regular contributor to beyondthebug.com

photos and flies courtesy of Matt "MJ" Jones, a regular contributor to beyondthebug.com

Fly Swap IV: George Revel's Steelie Lip Ring

This wicked fly was produced in the most recent Beyond the Bug fly tying jam in San Francisco, CA by George Revel, one of the best young distance fly casters in the United States and an avid steelhead fly angler.
George calls this fly the "Steelie Lip Ring" and it's, in a word, HOT. With a punk rock tail of paired biots, a trim and beautifully ribbed thread body, spiky hackle collars over flashy gold dubbing, and topped with a dark bead head, this stonefly-esque creation is downright nasty.

A native of Redding, CA, Revel grew up with the some of the world's very best trout and steelhead fly fishing opportunities right on his doorstep. His experience has given him a keen sense of proportion and how to get the most out of the materials he adds to a fly. George doesn't just tie flies that look good on the vise, he understands how they'll behave underwater, where they do all their best work. Imagine how those webby brown hackle fibers will hug the dubbing beneath them...

The Trinity River is Revel's Nor Cal home water and it's famous for its winter steelhead runs. Season after season, the right angle poly yarn indicator rig a la Dean Schubert and Dave Hickson proves to be one of the most effective fishing methods on the river. During the colder months, the half-pounders in the Trinity will key in on slow moving nymphs and crippled emergers, and no one knows this feeding behavior better than Revel (pictured below with a brilliant Trinity River fish).


Stoneflies are abundant in the Trinity's rich ecosystem, and Revel's Steelie Lip Ring carries elements of these distinctive packets of buggy protein. From the fly' slightly green abdomen to its two prominent black tails, beefy gold mid section, and dark head, Revel has illustrated how experience and field observation can (and should) inform the flies we design.


Evan LeBon is a regular contributor to beyondthebug.com

photos provided by Ian McNemar, a regular contributor to beyondthebug.com

Fly Recipe: Calimari con Super Spey

Beyond the Bug has come a long way since we started blogging in March. Thanks to the loyal followers of the site for clicking in and taking a look! Heretofore, we haven't really posted any fly recipes for the fly designs we explore on these pages, but that's about to change.

We've had about a zillion requests for a fly recipe for the squid fly featured in our very first post. You'll find the recipe and material list below. Detailed tying instructions can be obtained via email at beyondthebug@gmail.com


Calimari con Super Spey, a squid fly for steelhead and stripers >>

Hook >> Tiemco TMC 7999 #1/0

Thread >> Wapsi UTC GSP 200 deneir, white (colored with Prismacolor art marker)

Tentacles 1 >> 2 or 3 red emu feathers (best quality is from Siskiyou Aviary in Ashland, Oregon)

Tentacles 2 >> 2 or 3 saltwater saddle feathers (white, dotted with Prismacolor art marker)

Tentacle highlights 1 >> Spirit River Pearlescent Fly Flash, pink

Tentacle highlights 2 >> about 10 strands of Spirit River Crystal Splash, purple and pearl

Head 1 >> EP Fibers by Enrico Puglisi, lavender and navy blue stacked 360-degrees around the shank
Eyes >> 2 matched Spirit River Jungle Cock Nail Feathers

Dubbing >> Spirit River Diamond Brite Dubbing, UV pearl

Head 2 >> Paul Miller Super Spey rhea feathers, gentian purple


Evan LeBon is a regular contributor to beyondthebug.com

photo provided by Ian McNemar, a regular contributor to beyondthebug.com

The Fly Swap III: Ian's Polar Shrimp

We've seen Ian McNemar patterns on this blog before. They are meticulous and display a heightened sensitivity to color, materials, proportion, and finish, and this take on the classic Polar Shrimp should have steelhead shaking in their scales.
Taking a cue from Matt "MJ" Jones' Lady Catherine Variation, Ian as also used Angora goat dubbing in this fly to impart a buggy aesthetic. While the fly is rather sparsely dressed with long orange hackle fibers in a minimalist ethic, the red tail and tinsel ribbing bridge the gap between the modern and the traditional schools of steelhead fly design.

Of particular interest in this fly is the beautifully finished head. Pay close attention to the compact series of wraps and the neat length of shank between the head and hook eye.
Steelhead tyers categorically take their technique seriously, and tying a neat, compact head is often the ultimate goal of a serious tyer (besides, of course, hooking a bright chrome hen on a favorite coastal river). To achieve a head of this caliber, simply use fewer wraps and approach the finish with more confidence. As with all forms of functional art, practice counts.


Evan LeBon is a regular contributor to beyondthebug.com

photos provided by Ian McNemar, a regular contributor to beyondthebug.com