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| 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.
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| Buckskin Thingus |
There's a lot of variation on the Buckskin. You find them tied with tail, beard, thorax or just chamois wrapped on a hook, which is how I usually tie it. I also tie a weighted version for Tenkara fishing and a Czech jig/nymph version patterned after a warmwater and trout pattern I tie called "Thingus". A
sakasa kebari or a reversed-hackle wet fly, also for Tenkara fishing, can be used.
It's not a hard fly to tie, but it's simplicity can be deceiving. You have to cut the leather into strips and those strips need to be cut in the right direction, otherwise, it will break while tying. The strips should be cut with the grain of the leather. You can use a razor to cut the strips, but rotary knife works better.
The fly is what I would call a suggestive pattern. It can resemble any number of food sources -
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| Sakasa Kebari Style |
cranefly, caddisfly, earthworm and even midge larva. I'm not convinced it imitates anything in particular, but it's pretty clear the fish will take it for some kind of food, which, I guess, is what really matters.
All-in all, the Buckskin is an amazing fly, in it's simplicity, its effectiveness and it's versatility.
I offer the Buckskin for sale at ....
