SMOKE A LO W CO U N T R Y J O U R N A L F E AT U R E / / F LO O D T I D E CO.
ON THE
WATER WORDS & IMAGES BY LAWSON BUILDER
Let’s get this right out of the way—I’m not knocking buyin’ flies.
I’ve been known to drop a C-note on some mighty fine flies over at Fin-To-Feather in Charleston, but still, there’s something deeply satisfying about twisting up feathers and fur, then feeding that concoction to an actual fish. So why don’t I tie more often? Maybe the saying “perfect is the enemy of good” sums it up the best. I know deep down that my own butt-ugly fly will catch fish, yet off I’ll go with my tail tucked between my legs to buy all of my flies from the shop, mumbling about not havin’ enough time, or that perfect Blane Chocklett chenille... all excuses that just get in the way of the enjoyment that comes from getting better at doing something, or at least tryin’ to. But that’s just me. Then there’s those unicorns like our friend Robbie Powell of Bend-It Flies. He’s on of those folks who fought their way through the ugly fly phase until they were turnin’ out one feathery solider after another, each a clone of the one before it.
Robbie started tying flies out of necessity. Living in Hollywood, SC meant it was a two-hour round trip to the local fly shop to fill his bug box. But, with practice, determination, and a healthy heaping of talent and fishiness, Robbie started tying some pretty good flies. Flies that caught fish and got better lookin’ the more he tied. Eventually they were so good, he started making the 2-hour drive to the fly shop to deliver flies.
I’d reached out to Robbie to get him to tie up a few of his favorite low tide flies and catch a few fish with them. That part was easy enough.
The next day I was up before dawn on a cold, rainy morning, driving south to meet up at the ramp. In short order, we had his little Salt Marsh Heron dropped in and were on our way with rain jackets buttoned up and hands stuffed firmly in our pockets against the cold. After a short ride and some fresh oyster rash on the bottom of the skiff, Robbie cut the motor, took a final drag of his cowboy killer and hopped up onto the back platform. Normally, I’d offer to pole first, but that’s the benefit that comes with being the photographer—camera eats first. story continues after fly recipe & instructions >>
BC PURP RECIPE Umpqua X Series Backcountry Size 1 Purple 210 thread Purple Chenille medium Crystal Flash Purple Neck Hackle
1 1. Start with a thread base down the entire hook shank and slightly into the curve of the hook.
4 4. Using two purple neck hackle feathers on side of hook shank, set the natural curve of the feather on the inside and tie to back of fly. Length of feathers should be roughly as long as the flash. Repeat on opposite side of hook shank with 2 more hackle feathers.
2 2. Add 3-4 wraps of purple chenille on the curve of the hook; bring it back up to where the hook straightens out and tie off.
5 5. Take thread to the front of the hook shank and attach bead chain eyes with “X� wraps. Make sure to leave enough space to add a weed guard in later steps, then take thread to the back of the hook shank.
Sight Cast Easy Shrimp/Crab Eyes Sight Cast Purple/Clear/Black Marsh Legs Black EP Fibers Medium Bead Chain Eyes 30# Rio Hard Mono
3 3. Add 4-6 strands of crystal flash and tie in on the top side of hook over the chenille, so about 1-1.5 inches of flash is hanging off the back end of the fly.
6 6. If you are able to rotate your vice and flip it over, you will want to attach your Easy Shrimp/Crab Eyes onto the bottom side of the hook and cut off any excess mono that goes past the bead chain.
7 7. Flip the hook back over and cut 8-10 pieces of EP Fibers about an inch long and roughly the size of a pencil lead when it is pulled tight.
10 10. Tie two more pieces of EP fiber on top of the legs that were just added. Add next Marsh Leg and repeat this step one more time until you have used the last leg.
8 8. Tie in one piece of your fibers at the back of the hook by “X� wrapping them. Then repeat this step.
9 9. Now that you have 2 pieces of fibers tied in, take one of the Marsh Legs and attach it so that it displays off each side of the hook.
11 11. Once all 3 Marsh Legs are added, use the remaining precut EP Fibers to fill in the space on top of hook all the way up to the bead chain.
continues...
12 12. Take thread in front of bead chain and pull marsh legs down until free of fibers.
13 13. Pull both sides of the EP fibers into one clump and pinch it on top. Cut diagonally with the low end by the bead chain, cut upwards.
14 14. Push fibers apart to lay down evenly. Trim the top, sides and bottom for an even, clean look. Pull marsh legs downward and cut them all at the same time, roughly 1-1.5 inches long.
15 15. Cut a piece of 30# hard mono an inch long. Using a pair of needle nose pliers, pinch the mono in half. With the pinched end on the top side of the hook, tie in weed weed guard with criss cross wraps and then “X� wraps in between the mono on the bottom side.
16 16. Whip finish your thread and apply Loon UV Thin to the thread around the bead chain and on the under side of your EP fibers and hit it with your UV light.
17 17. Go out and getcha some.
[editorial continues on next spread ]
scrape some oysters. We made a few shots at the fish and after a couple of fly changes we managed to pull up one. I was pleased, my job was done. Had the requisite fish photo in the can. Robbie wasn’t as giddy with the results just yet. We waited patiently in the redfish hole for the tide to flip to an incoming. In short order, we found our meal ticket: over the course of the next hour and a half Robbie put on a Lowcountry clinic, putting 12 fish in the skiff between the two of us. And it would’ve been more if my schedule hadn’t forced us to leave the school of fish that were still happily flashing around the beds ahead of us. Robbie’s affinity for double-digit days made
A cold drizzle was falling as I snapped a few photos of critter prints in the mud and Robbie maneuvered the skiff into position. It wasn’t long before he spoke up. “Hey—on the other side of the oyster bed. There they are!” Yep. Right where he left them. 10,15, 20 tails, all happily waving good morning from across the way. It’d been awhile since I’d seen that many fish in one little hole, so naturally I rushed to sling some line out, sending it right across their backs and spooking the school. Full send. Sorry, Robbie. He was far from concerned. These fish had found themselves quite the spot. Sure, they were safe from the threat of a pod of dolphins, but not from
me think twice about what fly to feature for this story. It was clear he had plenty of flies that will get the job done, but to me there was an obvious answer. We needed to go back to the starting point; we needed to begin with the BC Purp. The BC Purp is Robbie’s de facto “Best-InClass” fly. This was the first fly I grabbed from him a few years back and I’ve been fishing them ever since. It’s a squirmy little bugger that represents the finest morsels to be found in the dining halls of the Lowcountry flats. Filled with chenille, just the right amount of flash, and rubbery legs it’s the perfect crab fly for a flood tide, but can also pull up fish in a variety of settings wherever crabs are the main forage.
two guys in a kevlar skiff that weren’t all that scared to http://www.floodtide.com www.floodtide.com
https://www.instagram.com/floodtideco/ @floodtideco
©2020 Flood Tide Co.