Creekside Anglers Fly Fishing Club

Hook: Tiemco 5263 size 8
Thread: Black 6/0 or 8/0
Tail: Black marabou, tied short and spiky plus 4 strips red krystal flash
Body: Black Mohair yarn or dubbed angora goat, combed into a sparse mohawk
Head: Black 1/8 Tungsten bead (faceted if you can find 'em)

Directions

Step 1: Mash barb on hook and slide bead up to head position

Step 2: Tie in short, black marabou tip. Use the type you'd throw away for wooly buggers due to lack of fluffiness. Tie it about equal to overall body or hook shank l ength, not longer. Add a couple pieces of red krystal flash on either side. (Green or even black krystal flash work well too.)

Step 3: Tying the body right is key. A more durable body can be made by using a dubbing loop and making a furry angora goat yarn, but using pre-made mohair or leech yarn is far quicker. Tie in a piece of yarn about 5 inches long and begin winding the yarn around the body, spiraling forward. Since the yarn is loosely woven, the fibers will tend to begin getting pulled upwards along the yarn you are holding, So, as you wrap, it's advantageous to stroke the fibers of the yarn back down towards the body of the fly and rearward. This keeps them from becoming matted under the yearn. Ideally, you want the yarn fibers flowing backwards towards the tail, almost like wispy, sparse hackle. Tie off yarn just behind head.

Step 4: You can certainly leave this fly "tied in the round," however I prefer to take a dubbing rake or brush and pull the body fibers up into a slight mohawk running along the top of the fly. I pluck or trim any fibers over 3/4 inch in length.

Background

This fly is reminiscent of a sparse wooly bugger, but I've found it more effective than my standard black / peacock size 8 wooly bugger that had been my Go-to Fly" prior to 1998. It was that year that Famed Fly Fishing author and fly inventor, Carl Richards, (Selective Trout and Emergers) came to assist me with bug sampling on Kentucky's trophy trout tailwater, the Cumberland River. At this time I was beginning my master's thesis study, "A Macroinvertebrate Bioassessment of the Cumberland River Tailwater in Southcentral Kentucky." Carl had an acute interest in Southern Tailwaters and wanted a first-hand look at the bugs. Thus, he and a few friends joined us in the summer of 1998 for sampling on the river. One night after a hard day's fishing and bug-collecting Carl showed me fly he'd been using all day to catch the river's chunky trout. I looked at in disbelief - "It looks like an anemic wooly bugger," were my exact words, I believe. Little did I know that I'd just found something special. Carl said, "This is the best d**mn wet fly I've ever used." Years later I am in full agreement. Evidently, a friend in Chicago had given him a version of the fly that he improved upon. Hence the name - "The Chicago Fly."

Usage

This fly likes current. The fibers of mohair are somewhat stiff, so it takes water movement to make them pulse and breathe. This is a good fly to fish through riffles or fast braided water. The simple "across and down" wet fly swing works well with this pattern. I often use it on a sinktip to get it closer to the bottom. Where permitted, it's good as the lead fly in a 2-fly rig, often using a Prince nymph or pheasant tail nymph 18-inches behind the Chicago fly, When fishing it from a boat or in slow pools, the fisher must give it action. Short, hard 6-inch strips seem to be most effective, but can be altered to suit your style. With that being said, I've also had good luck with the fly on panfish. Fished under a large popper or other buoyant, large fly, the Chicago is deadly twitched over bluegill and redear beds in spring.

Variations I have come to rely on the "Sparse black, size 6 Chicago Fly" as my general search pattern. However, some variations have proven useful too. My most common variation is using a fuller body, getting larger towards the head, and using a size larger Tungsten bead. In big water, stained water or fast water, this variation sinks better and has more visibility. Using the same recipe, but in brown or purple may also produce fish. White and olive have not done so well for me. I have not tried gray, or two-color combinations (black tail / olive body), but they may also be effective. Tying this in size 6 for larger water and size 10 for tiny waters also may be effective.

Imitation:

Perhaps the reason this fly does so well, is that I can use it effectively in three ways: as a leech, stonefly nymph or minnow imitation. The "Chicago Fly" is ostensibly a "leech" pattern. There are more than 60 species of leeches in North America, most averaging 2 and 1/2 inches in length. The size 8 version should be about that long. Leeches generally prefer the silty areas in the shallows of lakes and streams. They tend to be "muck-lovers." While leeches are generally seen as parasites that suck blood, many are also "detritovores," feeding in the accummulated sand and silt of depositional areas of streams. This makes the optimal place to fish "Chicago Flies" the runs and riffles just below slow, silty pools. Most marabou-based leech imitations are fished with slow strips or dead-drift. The spikier material used in the Chicago Fly may require some stripping to impart action.

Stonefly Imitation

The "Chicago Fly," especially when dressed in the fuller, heavier version, is a great stonefly imitation for the genus Pteronarcys (Giant stoneflies), which are often black in color and 2-3 inches long. In areas where this insect occurs, fishing the "Chicago Fly" as a stonefly nymph by casting upstream and high-sticking or fishing with split-shot ahead of the fly can often yield large fish from under your feet.

Minnow imitation

A good many of fish caught on the "Chicago Fly" come at the end of the drift, when the fly is straightening out below the angler. To be honest, I've caught fish regularly when trying to get large knots out of my fly line. As the fly dangles below me in a riffles' current, sweeping and darting side to side for several minutes, I imagine the movement to be quite similar to any number of small, riffle-dwelling minnows. I think fish feel the same way. When fishing from a boat, we often fish it in short, quick strips as if it were a darting minnow. It works well fished in this fashion, accounting for better than half the fish I catch using the "Chicago Fly."

From Alaska to Virginia, all of my largest trout have come on the size 8 Chicago Fly. In Alaskan lakes we fish it through the summer from belly boats. Using a sinktip, we cast into or near weeds, letting the fly sink 20-30 seconds. We then backtroll out of the weeds very slowly towards drop-offs and generally pick up fish somewhere between them. Strikes are vicious, necessitating 3X leader. (I generally use 5X in small streams, 4X in bigger water.) Due to the loose nature of the mohair yarn used, this fly is not particularly durable, so I tie it up by the dozens, which shouldn't be too difficult due to the quickness and simplicity of the pattern. After several fish are caught, the yarn body tends to unravel and the bead begins to slip back towards the tail. At this point I usually put the fly on my drying patch to recycle later. All that needs to be done is add a new body - the tail and bead can be used again with little or no repair.

Fish Species

I've fished no other fly that is so equally gobbled up by virtually every fly-rod quarry I pursue. One day I fished a small "trout" stream in Kentucky's Red River Gorge catching rainbow trout, brown trout, longear sunfish, creek chub, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, green sunfish and bluegill...all on the Chicago Fly. Other converts report similar instances in Tennessee and Arkansas. Heck, I've even dangled it front of sitting bullfrogs that decided to eat it. Locally it has produced well on the region's smallmouth bass, redbreast sunfish and especially, fallfish.

Just as most fly fishers, I'm guilty of carrying multiple patterns to imitate as many stages of as many insects as I can. However, I find that most of my fishing is probably done using one or another variation of the "Chicago Fly." When a fly is quick to tie, requires only a few materials, and is so versatile, no wonder I've become addicted to it.

Creekside Fly Tying Roundtable

Several tyers from Creekside Anglers meet the second Wednesday of the month at Martin's grocery in Martinsburg. Tyers set up in the cafe area from 7-9 pm and demonstrate simple flies for visitors that happen by. It's a great time to enjoy the comraderie of fellow tyers and fishers in an informal setting. Guests and kids welcome. For more info on the monthly roundtable contact
Ray Gano at mttop82@comcast.net

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SIMPLE CHICAGO FLY
CHICAGO FAT FLY
An example of the sizeable fish taken on the Chicago Fly
Chicago Fly (by Brett Billings) Hook: Tiemco 5263 size 8 Thread: Black 6/0 or 8/0 Tail: Black marabou, tied short and spiky plus 4 strips red krystal flash Body: Black Mohair yarn or dubbed angora goat, combed into a sparse mohawk Head: Black 1/8 Tungsten bead (faceted if you can find 'em) Directions Step 1: Mash barb on hook and slide bead up to head position Step 2: Tie in short, black marabou tip. Use the type you'd throw away for wooly buggers due to lack of fluffiness. Tie it about equal to overall body or hook shank l ength, not longer. Add a couple pieces of red krystal flash on either side. (Green or even black krystal flash work well too.) Step 3: Tying the body right is key. A more durable body can be made by using a dubbing loop and making a furry angora goat yarn, but using pre-made mohair or leech yarn is far quicker. Tie in a piece of yarn about 5 inches long and begin winding the yarn around the body, spiraling forward. Since the yarn is loosely woven, the fibers will tend to begin getting pulled upwards along the yarn you are holding, So, as you wrap, it's advantageous to stroke the fibers of the yarn back down towards the body of the fly and rearward. This keeps them from becoming matted under the yearn. Ideally, you want the yarn fibers flowing backwards towards the tail, almost like wispy, sparse hackle. Tie off yarn just behind head. Step 4: You can certainly leave this fly "tied in the round," however I prefer to take a dubbing rake or brush and pull the body fibers up into a slight mohawk running along the top of the fly. I pluck or trim any fibers over 3/4 inch in length. Background This fly is reminiscent of a sparse wooly bugger, but I've found it more effective than my standard black / peacock size 8 wooly bugger that had been my Go-to Fly" prior to 1998. It was that year that Famed Fly Fishing author and fly inventor, Carl Richards, (Selective Trout and Emergers) came to assist me with bug sampling on Kentucky's trophy trout tailwater, the Cumberland River. At this time I was beginning my master's thesis study, "A Macroinvertebrate Bioassessment of the Cumberland River Tailwater in Southcentral Kentucky." Carl had an acute interest in Southern Tailwaters and wanted a first-hand look at the bugs. Thus, he and a few friends joined us in the summer of 1998 for sampling on the river. One night after a hard day's fishing and bug-collecting Carl showed me fly he'd been using all day to catch the river's chunky trout. I looked at in disbelief - "It looks like an anemic wooly bugger," were my exact words, I believe. Little did I know that I'd just found something special. Carl said, "This is the best d**mn wet fly I've ever used." Years later I am in full agreement. Evidently, a friend in Chicago had given him a version of the fly that he improved upon. Hence the name - "The Chicago Fly." Usage This fly likes current. The fibers of mohair are somewhat stiff, so it takes water movement to make them pulse and breathe. This is a good fly to fish through riffles or fast braided water. The simple "across and down" wet fly swing works well with this pattern. I often use it on a sinktip to get it closer to the bottom. Where permitted, it's good as the lead fly in a 2-fly rig, often using a Prince nymph or pheasant tail nymph 18-inches behind the Chicago fly, When fishing it from a boat or in slow pools, the fisher must give it action. Short, hard 6-inch strips seem to be most effective, but can be altered to suit your style. With that being said, I've also had good luck with the fly on panfish. Fished under a large popper or other buoyant, large fly, the Chicago is deadly twitched over bluegill and redear beds in spring. Variations I have come to rely on the "Sparse black, size 6 Chicago Fly" as my general search pattern. However, some variations have proven useful too. My most common variation is using a fuller body, getting larger towards the head, and using a size larger Tungsten bead. In big water, stained water or fast water, this variation sinks better and has more visibility. Using the same recipe, but in brown or purple may also produce fish. White and olive have not done so well for me. I have not tried gray, or two-color combinations (black tail / olive body), but they may also be effective. Tying this in size 6 for larger water and size 10 for tiny waters also may be effective. Imitation: Perhaps the reason this fly does so well, is that I can use it effectively in three ways: as a leech, stonefly nymph or minnow imitation. The "Chicago Fly" is ostensibly a "leech" pattern. There are more than 60 species of leeches in North America, most averaging 2 and 1/2 inches in length. The size 8 version should be about that long. Leeches generally prefer the silty areas in the shallows of lakes and streams. They tend to be "muck-lovers." While leeches are generally seen as parasites that suck blood, many are also "detritovores," feeding in the accummulated sand and silt of depositional areas of streams. This makes the optimal place to fish "Chicago Flies" the runs and riffles just below slow, silty pools. Most marabou-based leech imitations are fished with slow strips or dead-drift. The spikier material used in the Chicago Fly may require some stripping to impart action. Stonefly Imitation The "Chicago Fly," especially when dressed in the fuller, heavier version, is a great stonefly imitation for the genus Pteronarcys (Giant stoneflies), which are often black in color and 2-3 inches long. In areas where this insect occurs, fishing the "Chicago Fly" as a stonefly nymph by casting upstream and high-sticking or fishing with split-shot ahead of the fly can often yield large fish from under your feet. Minnow imitation A good many of fish caught on the "Chicago Fly" come at the end of the drift, when the fly is straightening out below the angler. To be honest, I've caught fish regularly when trying to get large knots out of my fly line. As the fly dangles below me in a riffles' current, sweeping and darting side to side for several minutes, I imagine the movement to be quite similar to any number of small, riffle-dwelling minnows. I think fish feel the same way. When fishing from a boat, we often fish it in short, quick strips as if it were a darting minnow. It works well fished in this fashion, accounting for better than half the fish I catch using the "Chicago Fly." From Alaska to Virginia, all of my largest trout have come on the size 8 Chicago Fly. In Alaskan lakes we fish it through the summer from belly boats. Using a sinktip, we cast into or near weeds, letting the fly sink 20-30 seconds. We then backtroll out of the weeds very slowly towards drop-offs and generally pick up fish somewhere between them. Strikes are vicious, necessitating 3X leader. (I generally use 5X in small streams, 4X in bigger water.) Due to the loose nature of the mohair yarn used, this fly is not particularly durable, so I tie it up by the dozens, which shouldn't be too difficult due to the quickness and simplicity of the pattern. After several fish are caught, the yarn body tends to unravel and the bead begins to slip back towards the tail. At this point I usually put the fly on my drying patch to recycle later. All that needs to be done is add a new body - the tail and bead can be used again with little or no repair. Fish Species I've fished no other fly that is so equally gobbled up by virtually every fly-rod quarry I pursue. One day I fished a small "trout" stream in Kentucky's Red River Gorge catching rainbow trout, brown trout, longear sunfish, creek chub, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, green sunfish and bluegill...all on the Chicago Fly. Other converts report similar instances in Tennessee and Arkansas. Heck, I've even dangled it front of sitting bullfrogs that decided to eat it. Locally it has produced well on the region's smallmouth bass, redbreast sunfish and especially, fallfish. Just as most fly fishers, I'm guilty of carrying multiple patterns to imitate as many stages of as many insects as I can. However, I find that most of my fishing is probably done using one or another variation of the "Chicago Fly." When a fly is quick to tie, requires only a few materials, and is so versatile, no wonder I've become addicted to it. Creekside Fly Tying Roundtable Several tyers from Creekside Anglers meet the second Wednesday of the month at Martin's grocery in Martinsburg. Tyers set up in the cafe area from 7-9 pm and demonstrate simple flies for visitors that happen by. It's a great time to enjoy the comraderie of fellow tyers and fishers in an informal setting. Guests and kids welcome. For more info on the monthly roundtable contact Ray Gano at mttop82@comcast.net