FIT TO BE TIED • BY JOEL EVANS

Hunting for Trout with a 30-06

Fly fishing for trout has many parallels to big game hunting. Stealth in approach, camouflage clothing, seeking out edges and breaks, and equipment that matches the pursuit of the quarry at hand are factors for a successful hunt. Fly fishing uses the same strategy to remain unnoticed by the watchful eyes of a feeding trout.

But just as in hunting where sometimes the biggest gun is not the best gun, fly fishing sometimes eschews the mega streamer for the tiny midge. In my 50-plus years of fly fishing and 40-plus years of tying, “tiny” has been regularly redefined and downsized with each passing decade. When my Dad schooled me in the 1960’s on the fast waters of the Roaring Fork River near Aspen, Colorado, a size 10 Rio Grande King was the typical silhouette. Tiny meant stepping down to a size 12 Renegade.

and smaller patterns.

Size 14 commonality gave way to 16 and 18 in fly boxes, which eventually gave way to 20 and 22 plus, meaningful or not. Monofilament manufacturing advanced also, with leader and tippet being produced with an ever smaller diameter for the same pound test. Ever smaller tippets could be

THREAD : RED 14/0

CEMENT: UV THIN

BODY: THREAD

Several fishing factors at that time contributed to what are considered large flies today. First, there weren’t as many fishermen and hence not such pressured fish. Also, most tying materials of that day were natural materials, which dictated the techniques of larger size patterns. Not that fish have become evolutionarily smarter, but with more fisherman in more places, the downsizing of patterns helps fool pressured trout. Plus, the smaller bulk of increasingly available synthetic material selection accommodates smaller hooks

TAIL: OPAL RIBBON FLOSS, BRAID UNWOVEN TO INDIVIDUAL STRANDS

LEGS: OPAL RIBBON FLOSS, BRAID UNWOVEN TO INDIVIDUAL STRANDS threaded through ever smaller hook eyes.

To a point. Which brings me to today’s pattern. A size 30 hook. Typically hook manufacturing has the hook eye decreasing as the hook size decreases. Not trivial, the 30 is intentionally made with a larger hook eye, similar to a size 20-something.

So I’ve named this the 30-06 to draw a parallel to a popular caliber hunting rifle - size 30 hook lashed to a size 6x tippet. Now, while 30 and 06 are a workable combination, this can be adapted up or down, for example 30-07 or 28-06. Mostly to keep from losing the speck of a hook, it occurred to me to pre-tie a tippet to the hook at the tying table while still locked in the vise. Avoiding knots and dropped hooks on the river seemed laughingly brilliant. Tie on a 12-18” length of tippet at the vise, leaving the butt end free to somewhat easily knot to a leader, or tag with a surgeon’s knot on the river or lake. I have also put a tippet ring on the butt end to accommodate a knot, but mostly for security to avoid losing it all.

No right or wrong in fly tying. Change the color, change the ribbing, change the tail or wing or legs, but have fun target shooting!

About The Author

Joel Evans is president of the Gunnison Gorge Anglers chapter and the current Southwest Regional Vice President of Colorado Trout Unlimited.

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