I tie a mean muddler minnow--that is, the trout in the local lake think so. But tell me: if you were out flyfishing the Stilliguamish, what would you be using? I've heard things like "Cop Car" and "Green Butt Skunk", but there must be a stonefly imitation (woolly bugger?) that I should have many of--in different weights and sizes. Suggestions?

If you don't mind chucking and ducking, any of the darker Teeny Nymphs aren't bad for a start.

I prefer wet flies like Lady Caroline, Stewart, Claret Guinea, Autumn Caddis (Nymph), or the Deep Purple Spey.

Good luck to you.

John

As the evening sun faded from a salmon color to a sort of flint gray, I thought back to the salmon I caught that morning, and how I named him Flint.

Jack Handey

I fish a heavy brown stonefly in the summer a lot, works well nymphed un turbulant water. I also sometimes add splitshots.
Lady caroline is my best producing spey on bogi summer runs, I like using golden pheasant flank for the coller and grey schlapin as the spey hackle. bronze mallard wing.

thanks...looking forward to fishing a few rivers this summer, and need a diversified fly box...

From my experience, you can take any of the traitional winter run patterns and dress them down to the water you are fishing. Less is usually better when summer run fishing. I'm from the school of thought that fish aren't that smart, if they're in the mood to chow they'll chomp on anything that gets in front of them. Don't be to concerned about fancy time consuming to tie flies and expensive materials unless you want to. Simple, sparse, and effective. If you tie a killer muddler, you can turn them into skaters and go at it from the surface.

anyonr have any good waking/skating patterns thad dont require spun deer hair?

Joe,
Any sparsely tied pattern with a riffle hitch will skate. I tie skunk patterns that fish wet. Throw a riffle hitch on the same fly and your skatin.
These patterns also cast better in the wind than deer hair.

The riffle hitch, I have been reading and hearing about it for years and have been to hard headed to fish it. You have to re-tye each time you change sides, always seemed like a pain in the butt. Do you notice a big diffrence in hookups? I guess this year I should mess around with it. I have been using the same knots since I was a little kid, people are always trying to show me better ones, but Im hard headed, mine hold fine.
anyway, fill me in on the Riffle Hitch
Joe

The riffle hitch I use is just a clinch knot with a half hitch thrown up on the fly. The type of fly determines where exactly to put the half hitch.For a muddler I put the half hitch up behind the head. It only takes a few seconds to tie. There is nothing compared to raising a steelhead to a skating fly. Do not rob yourself of the experience.