SURPRISE FLY BOX

BY JOHN BERRY

I went out to my mail box the other day to retrieve my bills and was surprised to find a small package. According to the writing on the outside it was to me from my old fishing buddy David Knowles. He is a retired engineering professor (University of Arkansas) form Fayetteville that now spends his time as a serious angler and commercial fly tyer. He is one of the most innovative fly tyers that I know and his patterns have become go to standards here and throughout the United States. 

The package contained a brief note and a small fly box that was jammed full of flies. This is not the first fly box that David has sent me. Over the years, he has occasionally given me boxes of his flies and introduced me to his most productive patterns. The note indicated that he was trying out a new color for his Y2K and that he wanted me to field test it. He went on to say that he had included four other patterns so that the box did not look so empty. The other flies were his ruby midge, diamond midge, root beer midge and his version of Wilson’s sowbug. All were tied with tungsten beads. I salivated with the thought of fishing with them. They were gorgeous! 

The Y2K was particularly interesting. The new color was a combination of yellow and light pink while the original was yellow and orange. I have also fished them in blue and white and a deeper pink and yellow. The Y2K is a conical egg pattern with a bead head. I have fished it for over a decade and it is one of my go to patterns. I have used it with great success on all of our trout streams and had a ten year old client land a sixteen pound brown on Dry Run Creek with it. It is distributed by Umpqua and is one of their most popular patterns. For some inexplicable reason there are several guides and anglers that give this fly no respect and refuse to use it probably due to its appearance. I say forget what it looks like and judge it solely by its ability to catch fish. 

The diamond midges and ruby midges are old friends. I have fished the diamond midges for around ten years and they have consistently produced trout. The ruby is one that I have used for a couple of years. I had heard about it but never tried it until David sent me some. This fly has been one of my go to flies ever since. It is not only popular with me but my fellow guides also swear by it. Whenever I go to the fly shop, I note that the bin containing them is usually empty or near empty. 

The other flies, the root beer midge and David’s version of Wilson’s sowbug, look very interesting and I cannot wait to try them. The weather has been so bad here lately that I have had several guide trip cancellations and I have not been able to talk my wife, Lori, into braving the elements. Tomorrow looks very promising. 

Lori was quick to notice the box of flies. She, of course, wanted several for her own use. As you know, Lori is a guide and serious angler. The problem is that she doesn’t tie her own flies. As a result, I have to tie for two. I was willing to share and also gave her some of my green butts and partridge and orange soft hackles that I had tied that day. 

If you want to improve your angling, you need to try some of David’s effective fly patterns. They are available at Dally’s Ozark Angler, here in Cotter. 

John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished our local streams for over thirty years.