SHOP NOTES | C.J. BOVA RODS

  Midges make up a large portion of the trouts diet during pretty much all their life cycles. Adult midges that are crippled, spent, or struggling in the surface film typically have wings and legs splayed.   Often even the abdomen is partially submerged while the rest of the insect is still struggling to get out of the water. Unlike an emerger the fully formed adult is simply stuck in the film and in escape mode with a lot of fluttering and awkward contortions using its legs as pry bars. If you have read the book Modern Midges by Takahashi and Hubka it's a great resource that illustrates this concept in the adult phase in many frames. The adult midge struggling in the surface film triggers a trout to feed because they do not have to use a lot of energy to simply tip and sip this morsel. Similarly the same notion holds true for mayfly spinners. They dial in on these insects because they are vulnerable and easy pickings. The following pattern, the Adult Spent Midge, is somethi...

“Herons Crest”  18x20  oil on canvas, winter 2025   by Clint Bova “While I'm fishing I'm always painting in my head, its often distracting  but I know that one without the other just wouldn't be fulfilling”  ~Clint Original Fine Art Landscapes www.clintbova.com for serious inquiries please email me at cbova@columbus.rr.com  

 Mosquito larva exist everywhere there is standing water, these insects hatch rates are staggering to say the least. During the months of May through October these insects are prolific in most of North America and like the black fly are a staple part of a trouts menu based on the Pounds Per Meat Law . Essentially the food item that is most prolific and easily accessible for the least amount of energy the fish puts out is the top food on the menu. Considering the above realization the mosquito should be one of the top tier flys in every trout Fishermans box. The following quilled mosquito pattern is a fly I've altered many times over the years but that can be winged with a standard hackle collar with hen tips or a simple CDC stack with an underwing of Aero Dry Wing. The above photo shows two different quill selections. One I over dye in black using Veniards, the other top bushel is an undyed bleached hackle quill bushel, both of these are from cheap rooster hackles from feather dust...

Wasp patterns are a little hard to find in the trout fly tying world, but are probably more prevalent in the panfish realm. Wasps are a valuable asset for your trout fly box for a few reasons. Starting in the spring, typically in the months of April thru October, wasps start to break free of their larval sacks. Generally lifespan ranges between 12-20 days depending on the species and there are a lot of wasp species! One thing is for certain trout dial in on them during the summer months but more specifically during barometric lows. When the weather turns cloudy, the winds shift, with a sudden temperature change animals typically start feeding. Deer, muskrat, mink, martin, hawks, and yes trout will go on feeding binges when the barometer takes a dip. It's a biological cue that tells them feed now because it's going to get nautical very soon. Trout will pass up hatch morsels and the common menu selections for larger food items. Remember trout are very opportunistic creatures. So ...

Thorax style #20 BWO's “before the trimming” The late great Vincent Marinaro developed a whole new understanding of how trout view insects in the surface film. His book “In the Ring of the Rise” illustrates wonderfully through much experimentation what triggers certain responses in surface feeding trout. Further developing thorax style dry flys into a new realm was his major passion as well as creating the ultimate bamboo fly rod which was an ongoing drama with many ups and downs. Basically thorax style dry flys sit flush in the surface film, abdomen and thorax both create a convincing profile, evoking a much more lifelike attitude, posture, and silhouette from the trouts POV. Often Marinaro would clip a V beneath his hackle collars and or X wrap around a thorax dubbed ball geometry. The thorax ball allowed for a criss cross wrap splaying the hackle fibers forward and backward making the fly sit lower in the surface film and not on its tippy toes as in a traditional hackle collar ...

  Photo: March Brown Stenonema Vicarium, these  aggressive Mayflys are very athletic and also like to perch themselves on my piles of bamboo rod shavings around my bench! Actually this is one of the specimens I caught on the  Mad River this spring after a  rain storm. Every spring the big brown variegated mayfly commonly referred to as the Fox comes out and they are very prolific in many waters here in the Midwest and East Coast. Some of the largest hatches of Fox (scientific name Stenonema Vicarium) I've experienced were in Canada on the Grand River. These are very athletic mayflies having large abdomens, wings, and legs. The movements are much more erratic than the graceful summer specimens. The trout take these mayflies with a certain verve and typically the takes are splashy and abrupt. I've modified the pattern over the years using CDL Pardo Medio feathers for tailing fibers that are stiff and have wonderful barred amber and black segments. For wings I use ...

photos: Clint Bova Many waterborne specimens in the spring are slightly darker shades like the Hendricksons and caddis. They are often a dark steely dun and on a value scale maybe a 70 or 80% gray. The small Olive Mayfly comes off the water in a darker value than its counterparts during the midsummer months. Tying Mayfly micropatterns can be challenging not because of the specific techniques involved but because of proportion and uniform scale. If you don't already have the book by Darrel Martin “Micropatterns”  get a copy it is a wealth of informative insights and creative tying techniques that will stretch your creativity. The below sequence uses basic fly tying techniques that will allow you to knock out dozens of these little guys very quickly for your early season stash. Using waterproofed Antron in a cream color lightly singe a tag end on your spool card (only a few fibers) less is more length should be around half the length of your hook shank or  slightly less, ti...