Kleis's Top Ten Flies For Colorado # 3

#3 Mercury Black Beauty

Number three on my list of killer trout flies for Colorado is the Mercury Black Beauty.  It was created by Colorado tyer Pat Dorsey, and again it has the omni present glass bead the Pat likes to put on many of his patterns.  The Black Beauty isn't very impressive looking but is an extremely effective midge pattern and is important to Colorado and many rivers throughout the country because there are so many different varieties of midges.  Midges can be found hatching all year in Colorado.  Because these insects are always available to fish it would be a great idea to use one of these as a dropper year round.  In fact if you fished the Black Beauty as a dropper behind a Copper John all year I would bet all ten cents in my wallet that you would have an extremely productive fishing season.

Photo of an adult Chironomid Midge

The Black Beauty is a great winter tailwater pattern because midges are often the only food source for trout during the coldest months.  If you can't tell be looking at it the Black Beauty doesn't weigh a whole lot so it would be best to trail it behind a heavier nymph or put a little weight in front of it to help get down to fish when they are hugging the bottom.  Sizes 20-26 are typically what I use which means that 5x and 6x leaders and tippet are neccesary.  The late fall is when I pull this pattern out of my box on guided trips because there are two major hatches of small black bugs that the Black Beauty could imitate, the Trico mayfly and of course the midge.



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For rates and to check on my availability for guided trips contact me at jonkleisflyfishing@yahoo.com

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Kleis's Top Ten Flies For Colorado # 4

#4 The Glow Bug Egg

The Glow Bug Egg is my number four because in the spring and fall it would be impossible to find a better attractor pattern that catches all species of trout and salmon.  The apricot orange color with the flame red dot on the top is still one of the closest I have seen to the real thing.  Tied with a little extra flash when this fly hits the water you immediately grab every trouts attention within a fifteen foot radius on a bright day and in clear water.



It's important to watch how the fish are reacting to the egg during those moments of clarity when you can see it.  Sometimes egg patterns can actually put down fish even if you think the conditions and time of year are right to use them.  If you fish an egg in faster water that you know is holding fish and you don't get a strike within the first ten drifts then you need to switch flies because you could be attracting the wrong kind of attention and spooking fish.  On the days when trout are eating eggs the fishing can be absolutely epic.  To me the perfect day of fall fishing is nymphing with an egg and something smaller like a Barr's Emerger trailing it and having a 30 fish day where half the fish were taken with the egg.




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For rates and to check on my availability for guided trips contact me at jonkleisflyfishing@yahoo.com

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Kleis's Top Ten Flies For Colorado # 5

#5 The Barr's Emerger

The Barr's emerger is another great John Barr pattern that I have a ton of confidence in.  A mayfly spends most of it's life under water as a nymph.  It's only when the temps and conditions are just right when these insects emerge off the bottom and break free from its nymphal shuck similar to when a snake sheds its skin only it has gone through an incredible transformation.  Under that shuck is an adult mayfly. 



During the emergence is when these insects are the most vulnerable because they are using trapped air bubbles to carry them off the bottom and up through the water column.  Being pushed by currents and completely exposed this is when they are an easy meal for fish.  There are 3 major mayfly hatches that John Barr ties his Emergers for and all three are important for Colorado.  The Pale Morning Dun Emerger (as pictured), the Blue Wing Olive Emerger, and the Trico Emerger are all significant insects to cover, especially in tailwater fisheries like the Arkansas river below Pueblo Reservoir and 11mile canyon.  The Barr's Emerger is number 5 on my list because in the spring and fall the Blue Winged Olive variation of this fly has hammered many big fish for me. 




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For rates and to check on my availability for guided trips contact me at jonkleisflyfishing@yahoo.com

If you like my blog and want to see more please subscribe to www.coloradoflyfisher.blogspot.com by clicking the join this site button on the side of my page.

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Controlled Burns 11-5-11

They are still doing controlled burns near Elevenmile Res.  It would probably be a good idea to avoid calling 911 until after investigating if you are concerned that the smoke you're seeing isn't part of a controlled environment.

Kleis's Top Ten Flies For Colorado # 6

#6 The Sculpzilla

My streamer of choice is the Sculpzilla.  The Sculpin is a small fish that has 11 different families and can be found in many of our bodies of water.  The Sculpins that I've seen in Colorado and the one's most imitated by fly tyers are dark olive in color, have big heads similar to a catfish without the whiskers, and large dorsal and pectoral fins. Though they are a forage fish for trout and larger predatory fish like bass and pike it is a rare occurrence to see one of these baitfish.  I don't know if it's because Sculpins mostly stick to the bottom of lakes and rivers or if they only exist in small numbers.




The fact that Sculpins can be found in Colorado is not why I love this pattern.  The massive bead with eyes at the front give this streamer enough weight to get down through the water column without having to add any additional weight to your rig.  What makes this pattern even more affective is the stinger hook in the back. 




Many streamers tied with a lot of fur and marabou only have one hook and 99 percent of the time that hook is located way up front on the fly.   More often than not when a fish strikes a streamer it is attacking the fly from behind which means that you get a lot of short strikes.  A short strike is when a fish is chasing your streamer and hits the fly on the tail often just short of making contact with the hook.




Fortunately for the rest of us tyers got smart and started tying articulated patterns with hooks in the tail.  The realistic shape, weight, and of course the stinger hook have culminated into what is by far my favorite streamer on the market.  It could be tied in any color you can imagine, and we sell them at Anglers Covey in two different sizes in olive and black.  Olive (as pictured) is my favorite color to fish and has been a fish slayer for me since I started fishing them last year.




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For rates and to check on my availability for guided trips contact me at jonkleisflyfishing@yahoo.com

If you like my blog and want to see more please subscribe to www.coloradoflyfisher.blogspot.com by clicking the join this site button on the side of my page.

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Biography

My name is Jon Kleis and I'm a Colorado Springs native and an Orvis endorsed fly-fishing guide in beautiful Colorado. My blog is aimed at progression in all aspects of the sport of flyfishing. Including fishing, tying, photography, cinematography, and writing. It is also my goal to provide the best up to date information on fishing in my home state including maps, river conditions, and what patterns to use. To schedule a guided trip or check my availability email me at jonkleisflyfishing@yahoo.com 

The current rates to schedule me for a trip through Anglers Covey are:

HALF DAY	FULL DAY
(4 Hours on Water)	(6 Hours on Water, includes Lunch)
One Angler: $250	One Angler: $350
Two Anglers: $290	Two Anglers: $350
Three Anglers: $345	Three Anglers: $420

All gear is provided including: waders, rods, flies, bottled water...

Professional photographs are taken each trip by me and are currently included for free!

Kleis's Top Ten Flies For Colorado # 7

#7 The Pheasant Tail  Nymph

The Pheasant Tail Nymph is another generic and yet iconic pattern (noticing a trend?) created by Frank Sawyer in the 1950's that slays fish on a regular basis.  This nymph imitates anything from small Midge larvae to Yellow Sallie Stonefly nymphs and has spawned quite a few variations on a theme.  It fishes great with several different styles of bead including the glass bead in the photograph.  The clear glass bead head Pheasant Tail is called the Mercury Pheasant Tail and was a modification made by Pat Dorsey designed to give this pattern more flash and also imitate a trapped air bubble similar to what you would see on an emerging insect. 



You can also tie or purchase these with a heavy tungsten bead and fish this pattern beneath a hopper or Elk Hair Caddis as part of a "hopper/dropper" system.  The Pheasant Tail is a great representation of the Pale Morning Dun Mayfly nymph which is found in many of Colorado's rivers and small streams.  If you are using this fly to match the P.M.D. hatch use sizes 18-20.  Here is another look at a video I shot in 11mile canyon of a P.M.D. nymph to show you truly how close the Pheasant Tail comes to imitating this important food source for trout.  My main reason for putting this fly above the Copper John on my list is simply because I have landed more fish with it.

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For rates and to check on my availability for guided trips contact me at jonkleisflyfishing@yahoo.com

If you like my blog and want to see more please subscribe to www.coloradoflyfisher.blogspot.com by clicking the join this site button on the side of my page.

Thanks and tight lines!