tying

The Superfly

By Jeff Morgan

Has Westfly's fly tying columnist gone nuts!? Are is he even more clever than usual? Try the Superfly, and form your own conclusion.

s anyone knows who has fished with me (or even seen me on stream), I have a problem with limiting my fly selection.

So when I took a railroad trip around the country last spring, planning to fish in a number of regions where I had never pursued trout before--particularly the far North of Wisconsin and Minnesota and the Southern upcountry of Georgia and Tennessee--I knew I would have to limit my fly selection to (gasp!) four or five boxes.

In addition to the imitations of insects I knew I would encounter on other parts of the trip, I wanted to tie a couple dozen dry flies that could be modified on-stream to cover a wide range of insect and water conditions, from emergences to spinner falls, from flat water to pocket water. This was the origin of the Superfly.

When tied and trimmed properly, this fly can be modified to match an emerging, adult, or spent mayfly. Or it can be left as it is and be used as a general attractor. The CDC version can also function as a floating nymph or even an adult caddis or caddis emerger.

Combining Styles

The Superfly simply combines the features of several popular patterns. It has a nymphal shuck, tails, and legs. It has spent wings, upright wings, and a detailed segmented abdomen. Think of it as the fly pattern equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife. All you need to do is trim off the extraneous parts so you can adapt the fly to your fishing conditions.

The Superfly is actually an amalgamation of two tying styles I have been experimenting with over the past few years. The first style is what I like to call a "tri-wing" structure that incorporates both spent wings and upright wings on the same pattern. The tri-wing structure was aimed at the early phases of mayfly spinner falls, where many spinners are flopping around trying to fly away. This wing style was suggestive of this activity. Then I found I could easily trim either of the wings to create either an upwing or spent pattern.

The second tying style is the "double tail," again for that frustrating transitional stage when trout may be keying on either adults or emergers. Either tail can be trimmed so the fly can function as an adlt or an emerger imitation. In rough water, both tails can be left on and the fly will float even better.

I found that the Superfly works as an excellent attractor dry without any modification. The double tail, full hackle, and spent wings will keep it afloat in choppy water. And the white spent wings and darker upright wing keep it visible under a variety of glare and shading conditions.

Give It a Haircut and You're Good to Go

To take advantage of the versatility of this pattern you will need a trimming tool to hack off the unwanted features. The nippers that most fly fishers carry for clipping tippets is neither sharp enough nor precise enough to trim only the parts you want removed. While most people are understandably wary about carrying tying scissors in their vests, a small rubber protective tubing over the point will render them relatively harmless. To be really safe, store them in an extra fly box or neoprene reel case. (A Swiss Army Knife or small Leatherman tool works, but is not as precise as tying scissors.--Ed.)

The CDC version can be even more versatile since it can look like an adult caddis or caddis emerger, in addition to its normal mayfly imitation and attractor function.

Larger Sizes, Multiple Colors

Of course, this fly doesn't replace specific imitations of insects, particularly because many insects have different adult and spinner colors (PMDs, for example). However, an array of colors and sizes will allow you to be adaptive on rivers with diverse hatches, such as the Yellowstone, Clarks Fork, upper Snake, or upper Willamette.

Obviously, the Superfly functions best in larger sizes (10-14) because the bulk of the extra materials can make smaller patterns too fat to multitask effectively in slow-water conditions.

At first this pattern can seem slow to tie, but once the "tricks" are figured out--especially tying in the tri-wing and wrapping the hackle through all three parts--it can be tied as fast as a Humpy or Royal Wulff.

When you consider that one fly can perform the same function as three or four distinct patterns, it will definitely prove worth the extra effort.

New Patterns

Click the links below for photos and tying instructions.
Superfly
CDC Superfly

Jeff Morgan has written many articles for Westfly, mostly on entomology and fly tying. He is the author of An Angler's Guide to the Oregon Cascades and Small Stream Fly Fishing. Jeff is currently a graduate student at Stanford University, where he is finishing his PhD in History.

Uploaded 06/25/2005.

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Superfly

CDC Superfly