Fly Paper

By Ralph Wood

In Ralph’s honor, Gold Country Fly Fishers is re-publishing

Yuba River Classic Fly Recipes for all to enjoy

Green Drake Biot Emerger

Soft Hackle (Mother’s Day Caddis)

In 1991 Sylvester Nemes self-published Soft-Hackled Fly Imitations in which he presented soft hackle fly patterns to match the hatching insects around Bozeman Montana. Included were flies to match the Mother’s Day caddis, callibaetis, green drake, PMD and others. In 2003 Rene Harrop published Trout Hunter which is a collection of magazine articles collected over several years, most of which were originally published in Fly Fisherman. Chapter two in Trout Hunter deals with emergers and was first published in 1982, nine years before Nemes authored his book.

So, the use of soft hackled patterns to match specific hatches here in the United States began before most people were aware of how effective the technique could be. This pattern by Rene Harrop has been modified slightly to imitate the green drakes more closely in the Sierra Nevada around the Truckee area and the Lower Yuba.

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The Green Drake Emerger uses a two-hackle technique. The first hackle represents the legs of the insect, and the second hackle imitates the wing color. Does this approach really work? Guess we must leave it to the fish.

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The Green Drake Emerger is meant to be drifted or swung in the top of the water column as a pre-emerger, cripple, or a drowning adult. The hackle conveys motion and bulk as well as the legs and emerging wings of the adult.

Tying Materials

Hook: Tiemco 200 size #10 (Green Emerger) Size 14-16 (Mother's Day Caddis)

Thread: Black 8/0

Tail: Wood duck flank fibers(sparse)

Body: Turkey biot dyed brown olive

Thorax: Olive hare’s ear lightly overlaid with grey hare’s ear

Hackle: Olive hen grizzly or olive hen (three wraps) then two wraps of black hen

​Here’s to great fishing!

​- Ralph Wood  2018