The road to a well-stocked fly box is paved with good intentions; which is a poetic way of saying that open-water fishing season is just around the corner and the foam rows in my boxes look like old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard. I’m not quite sure where the last three months of prime winter tying time went, but it certainly wasn’t at my fly vise as is normally the case. I’ve reloaded a pickup full of shotgun, rifle, and pistol shells; built a fly rod, and completely sorted and framed my duck stamp collection, but fly tying was put on the back burner and now I’m under the gun.

In recent conversations two of my fishing buddies admitted that they, too, had been lax about refurbishing used flies and refilling empty slots. Perhaps it was the extraordinary winter weather, the strangest I’ve seen in decades, but whatever the reason or excuse, apparently I wasn’t the only one affected. If some of you are in the same boat, don’t throw in the towel; there’s still time to get the necessary fly patterns tied if you approach the problem systematically. Don’t fret about dry flies, bright salmon flies, bass bugs, wet flies, or terrestrials, which won’t be needed until June at the earliest. Concentrate on tying flies that will be needed for April and May outings and put the next couple of weeks to good use at the vise.

Pine Tree State fly fishermen enjoy three basic casting endeavors following spring ice-out on regional streams and lakes. Exactly when each style of fishing is prime depends not only on weather and water conditions, but also on where you live in the state. Aroostook County casters are frequently up to a month behind southern sportsmen in getting on the water, and since one type of favorite spring outing takes place on Canadian waterways, another whole set of variables come into play. Right now regional anglers who tie their own flies should be concentrating on patterns for high-water spring brook and stream fishing, black salmon fishing flies for New Brunswick and Quebec rivers, and finally, single-hook and tandem streamer flies for lake trolling just after ice-out.

Freshet flies

While worms and lures are often the most productive offerings for consistent trout and salmon action on area rivers and streams during spring freshet conditions, fly casting is still preferred by many anglers. I’m one of that odd fellowship who would rather catch one fish on a fly than five on bait. Since spring water conditions in streams include high, fast, tinted, and debris-filled, any success depends on using a fly that shows up well in dirty water and gets deep enough to reach the fish. Spring fish are lethargic and won’t chase a fly like they do in warmer water, so a slow, deep drift and retrieve that puts the pattern right in their face is essential to elicit strikes. Individuals who tie their own flies can create patterns that fit these exact needs.

Individual tiers can add weight to spring flies, eliminating the need for sink tip or full sink fly lines, which are challenging to cast. By using a full-length, cigar-shaped floss underwrap, a streamer not only has better shape but soaks up more water, therefore running deeper. Several turns of thin wire underwrap along the hook shank beneath the body, lead eyes, or a bead head are other add-on options to help a fly get down and drift deep. All are simple to apply by even novice fly tiers, and they allow the use of a floating fly line which offers easier and more precise casting.

My selection of go-to patterns for April waterways includes five aquatics and five streamers. Aquatic choices are generally dark colors and bulky so they show up well and offer some noise and lots of motion, while the streamers are lighter hued with some flash, and are split between hair- and feather-wing baitfish imitations. I’ll be tying an olive woolly bugger, a black lead-eye leech, a Whitlock’s Matuka sculpin, a Krystal Flash olive muddler, and a Clouser minnow for my weighted aquatics.

Among the streamers I’ll be building over the next couple of weeks are a little brook trout, a black nose dace, a supervisor, a black ghost, and Kennebago smelt. I’ll use 2X or 3X streamer hooks in sizes 4, 6, and 8 for all 10 patterns I’ve mentioned and add weight with one of the three methods I’ve suggested, depending on the fly style and original pattern recipe. It’s a rare occasion when one of these flies won’t take fish during April freshet conditions. My favorite fly for high, dirty water follows:

BLACK LEAD EYE LEECH

Hook: 3X Limerick Streamer, size 6, 8, or 10

Thread: Black

Tail: Black Rabbit Strip

Body: Black chenille

Rib: Oval silver tinsel

Hackle: Black, palmered over body

Eyes: Chrome-plated lead dumbbells (size determines drift depth)

Head: Black chenille wrapped around eyes

Black salmon favorites

From mid-April until the end of May, prime black salmon fishing is in full swing on the Miramichi River and its tributaries in New Brunswick and on the Restigouche and Matapedia rivers in Quebec. A surprising number of Maine anglers are taking advantage of this unique style of Atlantic salmon fishing. In fact more and more regional salmon fishing enthusiasts are traveling north each spring due to restrictions on the sport in Maine. Early-season casting for these fish that have remained in their home river since arriving to spawn last fall, and are now heading back to sea, is much more productive and far less expensive than summer salmon fishing.

Ask outfitters, guides, and local fishermen along the Miramichi and they will all agree that brightly colored flies are the most dependable fish takers. Since you’ve only got time to tie a few over the next couple of weeks, stick to the tried and true red eagle, Renous special, Rose of New England, and cock robin patterns. This quartet combines red, yellow, orange, and bright green materials to make the fly visible even in the tea-colored, debris-filled runoff on the main river and its several branches and tributaries.

Atlantic salmon are often very difficult to attract to a fly during the summer, but these same fish are very receptive to food on their return trip after ice-out. With this in mind, it’s often a good idea to have some smelt patterns in the tackle box, and the top quartet includes a Magog smelt, Herb Johnson special, Governor, and Miramichi smelt. These bait fish imitators use flashy silver tinsel and reflective Krystal Flash among black and white hair and feathers to mimic a swimming smelt, and usually with dependable success.

Even beginning fly tiers will find black salmon patterns fairly simple to construct and materials easy to obtain. Hooks tend to be large and heavy and, when used in combination with some type of sinking line, will run deep even in fast, high water conditions. Partridge brand salmon hooks in 1/0 to 5/0 sizes are the norm for black salmon flies. If I had only one fly to use in Quebec and New Brunswick spring salmon rivers, it would be The Rainbow, a pattern perfected by Pete Dube, owner of the Restigouche Hotel and a lifelong salmon angler:

RAINBOW

Hook: Partridge Bartlett 1/0 to 5/0

Thread: Black

Tag: Thin, oval silver tinsel, then medium blue floss

Butt: Golden Pheasant crest topped with tippet

Tail: Black ostrich hurl

Body: Flat silver tinsel

Rib: Oval silver tinsel

Throat: White bucktail with pearl Krystal Flash

Wing: Layers of bucktail running, from the bottom, deep purple, medium green, yellow, and red

Topping: Long, golden pheasant crest

Head: Black

Trollin’ time

If you can tolerate the cool, often miserable weather that occurs for two weeks after ice-out on Maine lakes, some of the best fly-rod trolling and largest fish of the season can be enjoyed. Spring trolling with tandem streamers and extra-long shank, Carrie Stevens single-hook streamers is a big part of early season open-water heritage for Pine Tree sportsmen. Every angler has a favorite pattern: some swear by vividly colored attractor flies, others always turn to smelt or bait fish imitators, and then there’s the debate on feather wing vs. hair wing. The selection is huge and if you’ve been a bit negligent in replenishing your assortment of trolling streamers, it’s time to select the best of the best and put in some quality time at the vise.

I prefer tandem offerings and I generally opt for the trailer hook to be facing upward, and my hook-size preference is a size 4 front and size 6 rear. Tandems take more effort to build, but render a fly with realistic size and motion through the water. Among the following proven patterns are two each of attractor, imitator, hair wing, and feather wing designs. In the few weeks before local lakes become fishable, we have time to throw together some of the following temptations: beaded gray ghost, Ouananiche sunset, red and white, magog smelt, rainbow ghost, pink lady, counterfeiter, and little brook trout. I tie my own personal version of a red and white that has taken a lot of fish for me each spring.

BILL’S RED AND WHITE

Hook: Wet fly, size 4 front, size 6 rear, connected with heavy mono

Thread: Red

Body: Flat silver tinsel with cigar-shaped white floss underbody

Rib: Oval silver tinsel

Wing: Layered bucktail; sparse, white, red, white topped with 8 black strands

Throat: 6-8 strands of pearl Krystal Flash

Cheek: Jungle cock eyes

There we have a concise, whittled-down version of all the spring flies you and I should need for the three main styles of fly fishing over the next two months. I’m setting aside some time this weekend to spend at the tying vise, and if all goes well, I’ll be prepared with the right patterns as each style of fishing begins. Now the big question is, how are we going to find time to tie our summer flies without giving up fishing time? I’m guessing the yard and garden are going to suffer.

Keep tying!

Outdoor feature writer Bill Graves can be reached via e-mail at bgravesoutdoors@ainop.com