Selective trout are smart ... and lazy - they key in on only the most
helpless insects caught in the drift. Sometimes crippled emergers can
provide the most energy efficient feeding for these wily trout. At
other times, slow moving nymphs can become the easiest meals around.
But
there's simply nothing less energy consuming for hungry trout than a
spinner fall, and when these dull brown spent mayflies hit the water
like wet snow, selective trout want nothing else for dinner.
Oliverio's
Crystal Wing Rusty Spinner Sulfer is a highly effective imitation of a
Sulfer mayfly in the spinner life stage. This attractive fly pattern
sports prominent split tails and spent wings of crystal flash for a bit
of extra translucence and sparkle. Serve this bug up to most selective
trout you can find!
Specifications:
- This fly pattern was developed by West Virginia fly fishing guide, Frank Oliverio for use on selective trout in his home waters
- The fly sports a thick abdomen, prominent tails, and spent wings of crystal flash
- Sulfer imitation in the spinner life stage
- These bugs are active in the spring from May to August
- Use as a realistic imitation when matching the hatch during a spinner fall
- Fish on a dead drift in medium and slow water; slow-moving eddys can be extremely productive during and after a spinner fall
- Best results early in the morning or later in the evening
- Minimize surface commotion in clear or shallow water by using long leaders and light tippet
- Giving the fly a few twitches during the drift can simulate the struggle of a spent insect and attract opportunistic trout
- When imitating a drowned spinner, it's often useful to use a nymphing strategy with a strike indicator and a short leader
- Sulfer spinners don't often appear until the cooler evenings and it sometimes takes a good deal of patience to wait for them to arrive on the scene
- SIZE 16
When and Where to Fish Oliverio's Crystal Wing Rusty Spinner Sulfer
This
mayfly spinner can be fished as a realistic imitation when matching the
hatch. Sulfer spinners are numerous in the eastern United States, and
are can be active in great numbers in the western states as well. When
fishing a spinner fall, these bright yellow bugs will float and drift
along the water’s surface for some distance from faster, choppier
riffles to slower water, so try this pattern out as the first spent
adults begin to fall from nearby vegetation. When trout are keyed in on
spent Sulfer spinners, look for the gentle, sipping rises of feeding
fish and cast your spinner pattern to these areas of subtle and
consistent activity. This bug will yield the best results in areas
where spinners are visible along the surface film in the main drift.
Slow-moving eddys below faster riffles and runs often collect large
numbers of spent mayflies and are prime spots for hungry trout during
and after an intense spinner fall. Sulfer mayflies are active during
the cooler evening hours from June to July and sometimes into the month
of August.
How to Fish Oliverio's Crystal Wing Rusty Spinner Sulfer
Fish
this fly on a dead drift through medium to slow water below faster
riffles and runs. Always be careful to make sure your offering is
riding high in the surface film, the zone where spinners collect. When
fishing this fly pattern in shallow water of good to excellent clarity,
be very careful not to disturb the holding trout. Be sure to select a
longer leader with lighter diameter tippet material; creating too much
commotion on the water’s surface with heavy or otherwise inappropriate
terminal tackle can spook wary trout. Adding a few twitches to the rod
tip during the drift can simulate the final movements of a spent mayfly
spinner. Some spinners are actually swept below the surface and when
imitating these bugs it can be useful to fish your fly wet with a
common nymphing technique.
Sulfer
The Sulfer (Ephemerella dorothea)
is a mayfly that enjoys a healthy and wide distribution in trout water
across North America. The Sulfer can be an important hatch in the
rivers and streams of the northeastern United States. The Sulfer
follows the life stages of a typical mayfly life cycle and generally
hatches in a narrow window from the end of May through the middle
weekend in July. Nymphs tend to be brownish colored with banded legs
and adult duns are a rich sulfer yellow through the abdomen, wings, and
tails.
Sulfer Spinner Life Stage
In the cooler
evenings after hatching into winged adults, Sulfer mayflies will
flutter to nearby foliage and vegetation prior to mating where they
will turn a deep toffee or bright yellow color. After emergence, males
will create mating swarms above faster riffles and females will fly
into these clouds of sexually mature males. After the females are
fertilized, they will deposit their eggs on the surface of the faster
water either by dipping their tails and abdomens into the surface film
or by dropping their eggs from several feet above faster riffles. Both
males and females will fall as spent spinners to the surface film, some
will float high on the water and others will be swept below the
surface. Falls of Sulfer spinners can be very productive and when the
water is thick with these spent bugs, trout rise feed with gusto on the
surface.
About the Tyer: Frank Oliverio
Frank
Oliverio lives in Clarksburg, West Virginia where he runs Evergreen Fly
Fishing Company, a fly shop and guiding service specializing in
catching West Virginia trout. Oliverio is famous in the Mid-Atlantic
states for his knowledge of flies and fly fishing. He has produced his
own hatch chart for his home waters near Clarksburg and has designed
several successful fly patterns for Umpqua Feather Merchants.
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.”