Skwala Fly

Unsinkable Skwala

1.  Hook size 8-12 - 4x long light wire - wrap shank with 6/0 olive thread
  2.  Tie in black foam for egg sack
  3.  Slide heat shrink(HS) tubing colored green with ink over shank
  4.  Insert brown mono in tubing for antana and tails
  5.  Use iron to shrink tubing at rear
  6.  Tie in HS and work thread up shank over HS lightly about 1/3 lenght of shank
  7.  Tie in gray ruber leg on one side then the other
  8.  Pinch two legs holding them to HS and work thread about 2/3 lenght of shank
  9.  Tie in legs tightly compresses HS
10.   Work thread up to head, use iron to shrink HS at head 
11.   Tie in 3 wings*  
12.  Tie in gray foam to form head
13.  Tie in front legs
14.  Tie in yellow foam to help visibility
15.  Straighten/trim tails and anatana with iron - seal with head cement

* Link to making wing materal - https://unsinkableflies.blogspot.com/2012/02/making-fly-wing-material-fly-tying.html

Skwala Facts and Rules

Skwala's are interesting flies for several reasons.  First of all, they are the first substantial dry fly of the year not only in size 1 to 1-1/4 inch in size but quantity.  Because of this fish, often big, that are hungry from a long winter make for good dry fly fishing opportunities.  In addition, streams and rivers have fairly low flows with the ideal water temperature being 45 to 48F degrees although you may see them in water as cold as 40 to 42F depending on the amount of sun and radiational heating from the previous day.  

The flies crawl out on the bank in the morning, mate, and the females return to the water in the afternoon to lay eggs.  The females return to the water often swimming rather than flying and are generally found in slower speed pools on the edges in water that is only at the most two feet deep and no more than 3-5 feet from shore.  

Skwala Fishing Rules

1.  Fish in the afternoon - water temp of at least 42F (45-48F ideal)

2.  Fish slow speed water - no faster than you can walk

3.  Watch for dry flies on the water or ground - if none nymph

4.  Hatches are often small - watch for rising fish

5.  Run a dropper below your dry fly

6.  Use delicate presentations - no hard splashes

7.  Look for slow, clean, and quite drifts or twitch your fly in surface film or foam 

  8.  Use a dry fly that floats well and is not prone to sinking

Salmon Fly

The Dream Salmon Fly

I’m going to show you how to tie a Salmon Fly that will out perform all others simply because it presents right profile and size.  Stop here if you are not into different materials because this fly is definitely non-traditional and the main body is not tied but assembled.   This fly floats like a cork and is impossible to sink always popping to the surface even in the roughest of water.

The ideal fly is 2 ½ to 3 inches long (6-8 Centimeters)

The materials are as follows:

Hook – size 2-6 any brand 4-6x long with as light of wire as possible

Thread - brown and metallic orange

Body – ¼ inch colored or UV reactive orange heat shrink or orange latex tubing

Head – ¼ inch gray polyethylene closed cell foam

Wing - home made wing material with black netting and some type of sparkle (follow this link to see how to make https://unsinkableflies.blogspot.com/2012/02/making-fly-wing-material-fly-tying.html)

Antenna – brown monofilament

Legs - brown rubber

Eyes - black mono or vinyl

Egg Sack – ¼ inch round black foam

Collar - brown saddle (optional)

Shown in the pictures above are the materials to be used and a 15 watt soldering iron used to segment the heat shrink fly body.  Note the two body materials the top one is orange UV Heat Shrink and the one below the top one is the colored heat shrink.  

  

The heat shrink bodies above have been segmented and assembled prior to attachment to the hook.  If the body is latex segmenting is performed by pulling the thread tightly around the hook shank.  The egg sack and head is super glued into place along with shrinking with the soldering iron.  The eyes shown are super glued into place..

  

Directions:

1. Wrap the hook shank with brown thread.
2. At the rear of the hook tie in the assembled fly body (6-10 wraps).
3. Tie in the rear legs (location of legs varies depending on amount of segments).
4. Work you way up the hook shank applying 6-10 wraps at each segment and tie in the middle legs.
5. Near the eye tie in the tie in the front legs.
6. Whip finish at the eye with the brown thread.
7. Tie in the metallic orange thread at the first or second front segment.
8. Attach the wing or wings (1 to 3 depending on the fly).
9. Whip finish with the metallic orange thread and apply a small amount of head cement or super glue long the hook shank.  This will stabilize the body and keep it from rotating on the hook shank.
10. Under side of finished fly. 

 The top three flies above do not have the optional brown saddle collar.  The reason most salmon fly tiers add a collar or fur as wing is to provide flotation.  This is not necessary on a salmon fly like this because of the air trapped inside the fly body. On the underside one can cut the bottom off the optional brown saddle to provide a better profile on the water. 

SW Montana Hatch Calendar

This Hatch Calendar is provided for those of you planning to visit SW Montana in particular Beaverhead County and parts of Madison County.   The rivers included are the Beaverhead, Big Hole, Jefferson, Ruby, and Wise.  While not all rivers and tributaries contain these hatches many do, local fly shops can provide additional information.