Catskill cannonball step-by-step

[catskilljohn]

A dark phase, hareline dazzle beads in black ruby, and black hares mask dubbing... CJ

[Algyros]

John,

Very interesting reply. I take it from what you said that when you nymph your small streams you detect strikes mainly by feel, not visually. Is that correct?

And, thanks for the offer of an early Christmas present. Who am I to refuse such generosity?

Alex

[Theroe]

The red nail polish is an interesting idea. Could you tell me if you put the three drops on the leader/line junction or where the butt section is joined to the rest of the leader?

I do something similar with the smallest orange Lightning Strike ball indicator. These indicators are too small to float anything, but the make nice sighters and they can be attached to the leader so that they're adjustable.

Finally, I used coiled sighters for a while a few years ago, but then abandoned the idea. I'd love to hear CJ's thoughts on using them.

Alex

I wish I could remember where I picked that up..... it might’ve been an early book on nymphing by Brooks. Usually I put the three dots at the butt section where my leader meets the fly line. Also: Having those three dots on the leader has made me more proficient at attaining drag three drift while using dry flies. I don’t want to hijack John’s thread here, maybe I will post another topic!

[quadfish]

Thank you for this CJ!!!

I was just trying to remember how you said you tied these, but I experienced a senior moment instead....

Perfect timing bro!! You the man!!

-Rick

[corlay]

you shared this concoction years ago,
and it's neat to see how it has evolved for you.
The red coloration in the body is new (used to be just gold wire ribbing) , and the wing case material has changed (used to be straight-up turkey).

I happily tie your "old version" and do catch fish with it.
I tie them for my Dad as well.

I call that fly "Beadhead Johnny".

[Brookie]

A little late to the party here. Thanks John for posting this, I am going to tie up some of these this weekend while camping.

[catskilljohn]

And check your mail in a couple days man
CJ

[Algyros]

The Cannonball, in all its manifestations, is a fantastic fly. It's beautiful and catches lots of fish. What more can you ask of a fly?

Alex

[Brookie]

Ok thanks, will do CJ.

[Caneghost]

So I was browsing some older posts this morning and ran across this one CJ, and I liked your idea. It got me thinking and playing with it a bit. I have been a big fan of squirrel for nymphs and wets for thirty years. I just love the short guard hairs with their natural mottling. I published this Red squirrel blend in a Fly Fisherman article back in, hell maybe '97, and it has been a good one. Red squirrel from the skin, squirrel belly Antron dubbing an a touch of copper Lite Brite chopped and blended. I have some red copper wire and thought that would add some more red shine.

If I have to fish subsurface, I tend to tie bead head soft hackles so I can swing them or dead drift and get that movement. The Thorax is the same blend tied in a dubbing loop so it is spiky and wild, and the fibers can move a bit. Tail and hackle are both Hungarian Partridge, with a bit of brown barring. The red thread should get a little bleed through effect in the thorax due to the twisted loop construction. I will be interested to see how it looks when it gets wet. Hook 2XL nymph size 12; bead 1/8" Bronze tungsten.

I think I will tie a couple with the abdomen done with a very sparse dubbing loop to get more of the bleed. Great gill effect too!

Hope to go try to hit a trout on the head with it next week and see if they like it.

Thanks for the inspiration guys!

Really Red Squirrel.JPG (70.66 KiB) Viewed 567 times