The
fly tyers and designers at Blue Ribbon Flies call the Yellowstone their
back yard and fish its vast waters nearly every day of the year. They
decided to come up with a mayfly cripple pattern that could stand up to
the toughest currents and riffles in their favorite beats; it wasn’t a
surprise that Blue Ribbon’s Cripple was born.
Blue Ribbon’s
Green Drake Cripple is hand tied by the experts at Umpqua Feather
Merchants to represent a Green Drake mayfly in its cripple life stage.
The fly features a long, sturdy hook shank with thick wraps of tough
thread as well as a contrasting trailing shuck. It’s topped with a
collar of stiff hackle fibers and a long, upright and forward wing.
This fly rides high on the surface film and is easy to spot in even the
choppiest currents.
Specifications:
- This fly pattern was developed by Blue Ribbon Flies of Yellowstone, Montana for the perfect blend of durability and fishability
- Green Drake imitation in the cripple life stage
- Use as a realistic imitation when matching the hatch
- Fish on a dead drift in slower water as emerging western Green Drakes favor medium to slow currents for emergence
- Look for sheltered areas with lots of subsurface vegetation or rocky structure and fish with an upstream presentation, mending line for a dragless dead drift
- Add slight twitches to the drift to simulate the struggle of a crippled emerger
- Best results just prior to and during a hatch
- Emergers hatch from early morning through mid-afternoon hours
- When targeting fish during a prolific hatch, aim for specific rises
- SIZE 12
When and Where to Fish Blue Ribbon’s Cripple Green Drake
This
mayfly cripple is fished as a realistic imitation when matching the
hatch. Fish this fly in medium to slow water from early morning to
mid-afternoon – this is the time when green drakes are most active. On
western rivers, these strong crawlers use their rather clumsy swimming
skills to reach the surface to hatch into adult duns, often needing
several tries before they make it from the rocky river bottom to the
surface film. Look for emergent and crippled western green drakes
moving from medium to fast riffles, current seams, intersections
between sheltered cut banks and faster water to areas of slower water;
areas with rocks, debris, and thick vegetation are primed for prolific
western green drake hatches.
How to Fish Blue Ribbon’s Cripple Green Drake
Fish
this fly on a dead drift through medium to slow water types; slower
current seams and longer intersections of sheltered areas and deeper
runs are generally very productive water for hatching western green
drakes. The western green drake is a very poor swimmer and its
successful emergence at the water’s surface film usually requires
several attempts. Subsequently, the western green drake expends a
considerable amount of energy during its hatch period; the trout that
feed on these large nymphs do not, making the cripple stage an
important one to imitate. When a hatch is in full swing, be sure to
watch the individual rises of feeding trout closely and aim for a
specific fish – the drift is like a conveyor belt stocked with food
during a hatch and a trout is not likely to move very far from its
holding position to snag another neat little package of western green
drake protein.
Green Drake
Drunella grandis and doddsi
are large, olive green to brown mayflies commonly known as the western
green drake. The species is famous on trout rivers in western North
America for its prolific hatches in faster, rocky water. During the
larval stage, western green drakes thrive in the well-oxygenated water
of medium to fast riffles and current seams. These crawling mayflies
require lots of rocky structure, debris, and vegetation to remain
comfortable in their environment. The western green drake follows the
life stages of a typical mayfly life cycle and hatches during the
summer months of June and July with often quite intense emergences.
There
is a species of mayfly found in the rivers and streams of the
northeastern United States that also bears the name “green drake.”
These eastern green drakes (Ephemera guttulata)
are relatively large burrowing nymphs that are similar in color to the
western green drake, but display a lighter tan or white abdomen.
Eastern green drake activity has gained a reputation in some eastern
fishing circles as an “epic hatch” but this prolific emergence is
highly localized, rendering the species an important one, but not an
integral one to an eastern fly angler’s overall success. The eastern
green drake dun molts to the famous coffin fly spinner, a beautiful
mayfly with dark, patterned wings and a bright white body.
Green Drake Cripple Life Stage
During
its emerger life stage, these strong-legged crawlers are commonly found
moving clumsily from faster water types to areas of medium or slower
currents. The most prolific nymph populations tend to occur in cool,
well-oxygenated water; the transition zones from riffles and
well-defined current seams to slower eddys and slack water are perfect
spots to look for emergent and crippled or hung in the shuck western
green drakes. These large insects love structure, making rocky river
bottoms and areas with lots of debris and vegetation prime western
green drake habitat. Western green drake emergers begin hatching and
are available to trout through a narrow window from June to the end of
July and are most active from the early morning hours to the middle of
the afternoon.
About the Tyer: Blue Ribbon Flies
Blue
Ribbon Flies is located in West Yellowstone, Montana and specializes in
creating effective flies for a wide range of fly fishing destinations
and situations. They are particularly keyed in on designing flies for
the greater Yellowstone area and have become one of the leading fly
design firms in the world. Blue Ribbon is owned by, Craig Mathews, a
fly fishing guide and accomplished fly tyer. Many of Blue Ribbons
patterns can be purchased through Umpqua Feather Merchants thanks to
Mathews’ strong business acumen and recognition of Umpqua’s signature
quality and service. In addition to creating some of the best flies the
foam slots in your fly box have ever seen, Blue Ribbon is also famous
for its commitment to environmental conservation projects, especially
in the greater Yellowstone area.
Leland on Umpqua
In
1972 a man named Dennis Black and his fly tying skills found themselves
in high demand. Mr. Black, then a professional production fly tyer, was
famous in the industry for his unsurpassed skill and speed with
whipping up tremendously beautiful and precisely constructed flies. It
wasn’t long until this young fly tying superstar realized that he ought
to take his consistent approach to quality to the next level. Shortly
after this realization, a small army of fly tyers had banded together
to support Mr. Black’s vision. With the likes of Dave Whitlock, Jack
Dennis, and Andy Puyans, Mr. Black was officially in business.
Dennis
Black’s new company Umpqua Feather Merchants quickly extended its reach
and fly production capabilities with expansion into India, Sri Lanka,
and Thailand, where the world’s first and full blown “fly tying
factories” were built. Since those early days, only the highest
standard of excellence has marked Umpqua and this commitment to quality
and efficiency continues to spur the company forward. Dennis Black’s
innovative vision for “fly production” has truly revolutionized how the
fly industry operates and has ultimately made the majority of
production flies better. From the first “royalty system” for rewarding
the most creative professional fly tyers to streamlining production
systems and offering a range of other products, Umpqua Feather
Merchants just seems to “do it all.”
Today, Umpqua Feather
Merchants is without a doubt the world’s best and most prolific
supplier of hand tied fly fishing flies as well as fly tying hooks and
materials, and they recently got better! Umpqua’s brand new, state of
the art headquarters in Louisville, Colorado marks another paradigm
shift in the way fly tying business is done. From its vast warehouse to
its specially designed inventory management and tracking system, Umpqua
is poised to continue its energetic trajectory and lead the way for the
next generation of flies and fly tyers.
Umpqua on Umpqua
"As you may or may not know, we're the
largest producer of quality hand-tied flies in the world. We also make
available through your local fly shop a wide array of the finest
fly-tying hackle and Tiemco hooks.
At Umpqua we offer
everything the angler needs to a have a first class fishing experience.
(Everything that is, but the water and the fish.)"
Umpqua on Dennis Black and the “Obvious Quest”
“The idea
first took shape in the hands of our founder, Dennis Black, back in
1972. As a fast and facile professional fly tyer, Dennis was known for
his skill and speed at producing hundreds of dozens of flies each year
for the larger mail order houses. But he was also quick to realize how
fast the demand for excellent flies would outstrip the abilities of
cottage industry types like him.
The Obvious Quest: To create
excellent flies in sufficient supply – without sinking his standards.
In response, Dennis developed (with characteristic care) a methodical
plan: First, he enlisted the tying expertise of the likes of Dave
Whitlock, Jack Dennis, Andy Puyans and others, to help him set the
standard of excellence for Umpqua flies.
Next, Dennis
established the first of what would eventually be five separate
fly-tying “factories,” first in India, then in Sri Lanka, and finally
in Thailand. The primary focus at each of these factories was on
producing the very best fishing flies possible, constructed of the very
best materials available. From the beginning, the quantity of flies
produced was secondary to the quality and excellence of each fly
pattern. These high standards were assured by the personal involvement
of the fly designers themselves, and by the ever-increasing skill,
imagination and creativity of the Umpqua production fly tiers. Today,
you will find no flies more skillfully tied than those available from
Umpqua Feather Merchants.
Finally, Dennis created a system of
royalty payments, to reward professional tyers like Whitlock, Lefty
Kreh, Randall Kaufman, Larry Dahlberg, and Bob Popovics for uniquely
good patterns.
The Result: Today, Umpqua produces umpteen
thousand dozen flies, from micro-scopic midge imitations to the huge
patterns favored by marlin and sailfish. And the "Umpquality" – you’ll
see for yourself.”