Drawing Flies 52 Brassie (gold beadhead). I grew up fishing Brassies, and they were a staple midge pattern for me in spring creeks all over the Rocky Mountain West. The flies I fished as a kid (well, the flies I still often fish) were/are simpler than this. They use the same skinny wire body, but [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Leadwing Coachman. This pattern caught my father his first trout back in the day (when GB was 11). A lot happened after that! Actually the Leadwing Coachman features prominently in the first story in the upcoming Fishing the Film book, and is the second illustration in Chapter One. I drew several Leadwings [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Loop Wing Dun. One of my all-time favorite patterns for spring creek trout (or any trout looking for small mayflies, actually). This fly has done the trick all over the world for me, and it is a permanent resident of my boxes. Notes: It may be 11pm, but at least I wasn’t [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Chironomid (giant lake midge, in this case). Notes: Five minutes after 11 (pm). Asleep on the couch. Kel wakes me up with “Hey, did you do your fly for today?” So, here it is (at 11:31pm). Update: Went with what I know by heart—a big lake chironomid pupa. Got it done and [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Damsel Adult (in red, white and blue for the American Fourth of July holiday). I have been fortunate enough to have fished some of the most spectacular damselfly waters in the world. Seen hatches so thick that I can’t really describe the action, but a few epic emergences were enough to get [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Irresistible. Caught some plump brookies and gleaming little cutts on this fly. Tech info: Pentalic paper with pencil, pen and watercolor. The drawing went so smoothly that I was done with a few minutes of reserve time on the clock. I forced myself to do a faint pencil underdrawing first, which helped [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Gartside Sparrow. A little piece for an fondly remembered friend who also gave me the best tour of Boston that I could ever have hoped for (this one’s for you, Jack). Tech info: Pentalic paper with pencil, pen and watercolor. I wanted a fly that reminded me of Jack Gartside. Not just [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Crayfish (or Crawfish, however you prefer). More specifically, this pattern is the Fleeing Crayfish/Upside-Down Leech. This fly can really do the job on smallies (and big browns). Tech info: Strathmore paper with charcoal, Pigma pen and watercolor. Went for the same general technique as last week, but wanted to add some more [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Sofa Pillow. The big salmonflies are out and about in some places, so this fly seemed appropriate. Tech info: Strathmore paper with charcoal, Pigma pen and watercolor. Like the Doc Oatman, I used all 30 minutes here. I had to do an underdrawing/painting first, then rinse/wipe it, and then do the pen [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Doctor Oatman. A really cool streamer pattern that just begs to be drawn or painted lovingly over the space of a day or two. Jeff and I had 30 minutes. Tech info: Pentalic paper with four different pens (Pigma in 02, 05, 1, and “brush tip”) and watercolor. I’ll add some more [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Strip Leech. A pattern of my father’s from a long time back (the glorious 70′s). This fly caught me my first ever 6+ pound brown trout (from Wyoming’s Green River) when I was 10 years old. It has done the deed all over the world, and for a broad spectrum of fish. [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Woolly Worm. A little break from the usual. When I drew/painted this, I was thinking of the dim, dusty corners of the old Weber Tackle building in Steven’s Point, Wisconsin. Weber is long gone, but my father still has sets of drawers from the place, bought many years ago. A lot of [...]