Three Passes

One of the first flies I had success with was a bucktail called the Pass Lake.  It was then and by all accounts, is still widely used and effective for Brook and Brown Trout in the western Lake Superior watershed.  I think it was my Dad who introduced me to it.  He wasn't much of a fly fisher, himself, but he encouraged my early interest and passed along what he knew.  One of those things was that on the rivers and creeks we fished you couldn't go wrong with a Pass Lake. Since then many a Brookie and Brown, and even some Rainbows have fallen to this old and reliable pattern.

The Buckskin - Keepin' It Simple

Plain Ol' Buckskin

One of the first Colorado flies I was introduced to when I moved out here was the Buckskin.  I went into Anglers All and was looking through their fly bins, and there I found a fly called a Buckskin, obviously tied using chamois.  I'd never seen anything like it. It was simple in the extreme - chamois wrapped around a hook shank, and tied off. I thought bout what the fly would look like wet, and I figured it could be a killer pattern.  I asked one of the staff about it and he confirmed that - it was a old Colorado pattern and yes, it was very effective.

The first time I fished the South Platte near Deckers, I found out that yes, indeed, the Buckskin could be deadly.  It's been in my box ever since and is a go-to nymph pattern.