Selective trout are smart ... and lazy - they key in on only the most
helpless insects caught in the drift. Sometimes crippled emergers can
provide the most energy efficient feeding for these wily trout. At
other times, slow moving nymphs can become the easiest meals around.
But
there's simply nothing less energy consuming for hungry trout than a
spinner fall, and when these dull brown spent mayflies hit the water
like wet snow, selective trout want nothing else for dinner.
Oliverio's
Crystal Wing Rusty Spinner Green Drake is a highly effective imitation
of a Green Drake mayfly in the spinner life stage. This attractive fly
pattern sports prominent split tails and spent wings of crystal flash
for a bit of extra translucence and sparkle. Serve this bug up to most
selective trout you can find!
Specifications:
- This fly pattern was developed by West Virginia fly fishing guide, Frank Oliverio for use on selective trout in his home waters
- The fly sports a thick abdomen, prominent tails, and spent wings of crystal flash
- Green Drake imitation in the cripple life stage
- Use as a realistic imitation when matching the hatch during a spinner fall
- Fish on a dead drift in all types of water; slow-moving eddys can be extremely productive during and after a spinner fall
- Best results early in the morning or later in the evening
- Minimize surface commotion in clear or shallow water by using long leaders and light tippet
- Giving the fly a few twitches during the drift can simulate the struggle of a spent insect and attract opportunistic trout
- When imitating a drowned spinner, it's often useful to use a nymphing strategy with a strike indicator and a short leader
- SIZE 12
When and Where to Fish Oliverio's Crystal Wing Rusty Spinner Green Drake
This
mayfly spinner can be fished as a realistic imitation when matching the
hatch. Green Drake Spinners are active primarily at night, making this
portion of a Green Drake hatch difficult to fish effectively.
When
fishing a Green Drake spinner fall, these bugs will float and drift
along the water’s surface, so try this pattern out as the first spent
adults begin to fall from nearby vegetation. When trout are keyed in
spent Green Drakes, look for the gentle, sipping rises of feeding fish
and cast your spinner pattern to these areas of subtle activity. This
bug will yield the best results in areas where Green Drake spinners are
visible along the surface film in the main drift. Slow-moving eddys
often collect large numbers of spent mayflies and are prime spots for
hungry trout during and after an intense spinner fall.
How to Fish Oliverio's Crystal Wing Rusty Spinner Green Drake
Fish
this fly on a dead drift through all the major water types and always
be careful to make sure your offering is riding high in the surface
film, the zone where spinners collect. When fishing this fly pattern in
shallow water of good to excellent clarity, be very careful not to
disturb the holding trout. Be sure to select a longer leader with
lighter diameter tippet material; creating too much commotion on the
water’s surface with heavy or otherwise inappropriate terminal tackle
can spook wary trout. Adding a few twitches to the rod tip during the
drift can simulate the final movements of a spent mayfly spinner. Some
spinners are actually swept below the surface and when imitating these
bugs it can be useful to fish your fly wet with a common nymphing
technique.
Green Drake
Drunella grandis and doddsi
are large, olive green to brown mayflies commonly known as the western
Green Drake. The species is famous on trout rivers in western North
America for its prolific hatches in faster, rocky water. During the
larval stage, western Green Drakes thrive in the well-oxygenated water
of medium to fast riffles and current seams. These crawling mayflies
require lots of rocky structure, debris, and vegetation to remain
comfortable in their environment. The western Green Drake follows the
life stages of a typical mayfly life cycle and hatches during the
summer months of June and July with often quite intense emergences.
There
is a species of mayfly found in the rivers and streams of the
northeastern United States that also bears the name “Green Drake.”
These eastern Green Drakes (Ephemera guttulata)
are relatively large burrowing nymphs that are similar in color to the
western Green Drake, but display a lighter tan or white abdomen.
Eastern Green Drake activity has gained a reputation in some eastern
fishing circles as an “epic hatch” but this prolific emergence is
highly localized, rendering the species an important one, but not an
integral one to an eastern fly angler’s overall success. The eastern
Green Drake dun molts to the famous Coffin Fly spinner, a beautiful
mayfly with dark, patterned wings and a bright white body.
Green Drake Spinner Life Stage
After
hatching into winged adults, Green Drakes will flutter to nearby
foliage and vegetation prior to mating. Males will create large mating
swarms above the water's surface and females will fly into these clouds
of sexually mature males. After the females are fertilized, they will
deposit their eggs on the surface of the water. Both males and females
will fall as spent spinners to the surface film, some will float high
on the water and others will be swept below the surface. Green Drake
spinners are active during the evening and nighttime hours, so
imitating them successfully can be a challenge to even a seasoned fly
angler. These bugs are, however, extremely vulnerable despite their
nocturnal behavior and will often collect in slow eddys during and
after a heavy fall.
About the Tyer: Frank Oliverio
Frank
Oliverio lives in Clarksburg, West Virginia where he runs Evergreen Fly
Fishing Company, a fly shop and guiding service specializing in
catching West Virginia trout. Oliverio is famous in the Mid-Atlantic
states for his knowledge of flies and fly fishing. He has produced his
own hatch chart for his home waters near Clarksburg and has designed
several successful fly patterns for Umpqua Feather Merchants.
Leland on Umpqua
In
1972 a man named Dennis Black and his fly tying skills found themselves
in high demand. Mr. Black, then a professional production fly tyer, was
famous in the industry for his unsurpassed skill and speed with
whipping up tremendously beautiful and precisely constructed flies. It
wasn’t long until this young fly tying superstar realized that he ought
to take his consistent approach to quality to the next level. Shortly
after this realization, a small army of fly tyers had banded together
to support Mr. Black’s vision. With the likes of Dave Whitlock, Jack
Dennis, and Andy Puyans, Mr. Black was officially in business.
Dennis
Black’s new company Umpqua Feather Merchants quickly extended its reach
and fly production capabilities with expansion into India, Sri Lanka,
and Thailand, where the world’s first and full blown “fly tying
factories” were built. Since those early days, only the highest
standard of excellence has marked Umpqua and this commitment to quality
and efficiency continues to spur the company forward. Dennis Black’s
innovative vision for “fly production” has truly revolutionized how the
fly industry operates and has ultimately made the majority of
production flies better. From the first “royalty system” for rewarding
the most creative professional fly tyers to streamlining production
systems and offering a range of other products, Umpqua Feather
Merchants just seems to “do it all.”
Today, Umpqua Feather
Merchants is without a doubt the world’s best and most prolific
supplier of hand tied fly fishing flies as well as fly tying hooks and
materials, and they recently got better! Umpqua’s brand new, state of
the art headquarters in Louisville, Colorado marks another paradigm
shift in the way fly tying business is done. From its vast warehouse to
its specially designed inventory management and tracking system, Umpqua
is poised to continue its energetic trajectory and lead the way for the
next generation of flies and fly tyers.
Umpqua on Dennis Black and the “Obvious Quest”
“The
idea first took shape in the hands of our founder, Dennis Black, back
in 1972. As a fast and facile professional fly tyer, Dennis was known
for his skill and speed at producing hundreds of dozens of flies each
year for the larger mail order houses. But he was also quick to realize
how fast the demand for excellent flies would outstrip the abilities of
cottage industry types like him.
The Obvious Quest: To create
excellent flies in sufficient supply – without sinking his standards.
In response, Dennis developed (with characteristic care) a methodical
plan: First, he enlisted the tying expertise of the likes of Dave
Whitlock, Jack Dennis, Andy Puyans and others, to help him set the
standard of excellence for Umpqua flies.
Next, Dennis
established the first of what would eventually be five separate
fly-tying “factories,” first in India, then in Sri Lanka, and finally
in Thailand. The primary focus at each of these factories was on
producing the very best fishing flies possible, constructed of the very
best materials available. From the beginning, the quantity of flies
produced was secondary to the quality and excellence of each fly
pattern. These high standards were assured by the personal involvement
of the fly designers themselves, and by the ever-increasing skill,
imagination and creativity of the Umpqua production fly tiers. Today,
you will find no flies more skillfully tied than those available from
Umpqua Feather Merchants.
Finally, Dennis created a system of
royalty payments, to reward professional tyers like Whitlock, Lefty
Kreh, Randall Kaufman, Larry Dahlberg, and Bob Popovics for uniquely
good patterns.
The Result: Today, Umpqua produces umpteen
thousand dozen flies, from micro-scopic midge imitations to the huge
patterns favored by marlin and sailfish. And the "Umpquality" – you’ll
see for yourself.”
