These three overlooked fly patterns have earned their respect on the water

During a long winter, most of Pennsylvania’s fly-fishers dreamt about big trout devouring their favorite flies. Many popular nymphs, streamers, egg patterns, worm patterns and dry flies were purchased or tied during the long wait. 

Unfortunately, a few extremely productive imitations will be absent from most fly-boxes. In recent years, I was introduced to three obscure flies that earned some space in my fly-boxes.    

A fly-tying mentor introduced me to the “Picket Pin.”  He found this fly in a book, and became intrigued about its odd name and history. He tied a few of them in various sizes and passed a few of them to me. I am so glad he did! 

I caught about two dozen brown and rainbow trout the first time I used them in a Venango County creek that I fish several times annually. It was the most productive time I’ve ever enjoyed on that stream. 

The fish attacked the Picket Pin flies with such ferocity that all three were mangled beyond recognition. Thankfully, my friend taught me how to tie Picket Pin flies.    

The “Picket Pin” pattern was developed by a Missoula, Montana, saloon-owner named Jack Boehme. The fly, created in the early 1900s, earned its name because the light-gray hair used to form the wing of Jack Boehme’s original flies came from Belding’s ground squirrels. 

The ground squirrels were aptly nicknamed “picket pins” by cowboys, who believed that when the rodents stood erect to look for danger, they resembled mini-versions of the posts used for lashing horses too, and those pillars were also called “picket pins.”    

The fly’s history might be old, but it continues to attract trout. When tying the picket pin, I use size 12 and 14 nymph hooks, but my buddy sometimes uses larger, size 8 and 10 hooks to create this fly. There is no need to gather hair from a Western gopher for the wings of this fly. Hair from a gray squirrel works just fine.

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Girdle Bug

The “Girdle Bug” fly is another creation crafted in Montana that deserves consideration. It was created by a tyer named Frank McGinnis in the 1930s to imitate stoneflies in the Big Hole River. 

My first introduction to this imitation occurred a few years ago, in West Yellowstone, after I informed the proprietor of a fly- shop that I planned to fish the Madison River the next day. 

The shopkeeper advised the quick-sinking, weighted fly would serve me well in the Madison, which was flowing fast.

Originally named “McGinnis Rubber Legs,” it was renamed the “Girdle Bug” because McGinnis used rubber trimmed from a woman’s girdle to form the antennae and legs of his original flies.

The flies didn’t help me during that trip to the Madison River, and I nearly forgot I had purchased them. Then, one day while fishing in Pennsylvania’s Neshannock Creek, I turned over some rocks and found a large, dark-brown stonefly. 

I tied one of the “Girdle Bugs” to my tippet and caught a lunker rainbow trout after just a few casts. I netted and released a few more trout during my outing, and I’ve used Girdle Bugs successfully several times since then, in other Pennsylvania streams where I observed stoneflies.

I like to tie Girdle Bugs with the same hooks used to create Wooly Buggers. Tube-shaped bodies of black, brown, dark-olive or purple chenille are my favorites. I prefer dark-colored rubber to imitate antennae and legs, but some tyers prefer light colors because they believe they might provide attraction. 

The third obscure, but respectable offering not found in most fly-boxes is a hybrid fly, that combines the characteristics of a Wooly Bugger and a streamer. 

‘Iron Mike’

The “Iron Mike” was created in recent years, and though it may not be carried in most fly-boxes yet, I believe its popularity will grow, especially here in Pennsylvania. This fly was created by Mike Saxion, a Pennsylvania school teacher, who is also a co-owner of an up-and-coming fly-fishing company.

You may have guessed, the fly carries the proprietor’s nickname “Iron Mike.” 

Saxion and a couple of his friends often fish from a Cameron County camp, and each winter the men design flies. When spring arrives, they participate in an informal competition to see which of them created the most productive imitation. 

It occurred to Saxion that before the men became enamored with fly-fishing, salted minnows were their most effective natural offering.

“My goal was to combine materials that, when combined and tied to a hook, would resemble a wet, salted minnow,” Saxion said. 

Not long ago, Saxion’s minnow imitation proved very productive. The fly allured trout in several central Pennsylvania streams.   

I’m grateful that a friend handed me a couple of his “Iron Mike” flies to try one day. 

“Tie one on, cast it downstream, and strip it past the fish,” my friend advised. I followed his advice and caught more than a dozen fish in the next hour. Iron Mike flies provided fish during subsequent trips to other waters and the offering was also used to lure hard-fighting steelheads.

With polarized sunglasses, I have watched fish move 10 to 12 feet to strike them.

More information about all three of these obscure flies can be found online, as well as videos instructing how to tie them. I believe you’ll find them worthy.