Here in the West, it seems like summer is taking it’s time—it looks like we may not see the 80s for another week or so here in eastern Idaho.
But it’s coming. And when it does, it’ll be time to start swinging wet flies for both big-river and backcountry trout. The pattern tied by Tim Flagler, below, is my go-to for summer swingers, both in the Light Cahill color he ties on camera, but also in gray, olive, brown and even black.
The Light Cahill wet fly Tim ties above is actually pretty simple to tackle at the vise, and in sizes 16 and bigger, it’s great for tiers like me with fat fingers and limited vise dexterity.
And, as Tim notes, when trout take wet flies on the swing, the take can be absolutely vicious. I’ve become a wet-fly convert over the last few years, and patterns like this can be truly deadly.
Like I do, don’t hesitate to mix up the colors to match the local mayfly hatch. We’ve had a lot of rain here this summer, and we’re already seeing solid Green Drake hatches. This wet fly, tied in an olive-green, is a great pre-hatch fly that will bring big trout up from the bottom to give chase.
Later in the year, the cream-colored dubbing that Tim uses is great for our local PMD hatches, and in later summer, I like to shift back to olive and brown. In the fall, this fly tied on a size 18 or 20 hook is a great swinger during Blue-winged Olive hatches.
Give this versatile pattern a try, particularly if you like to swing wet flies.