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Spring Fly Showdown: All hail the Elk-hair Caddis
The king of all flies? Voters choose the Elk-hair Caddis
The votes are in, and I must admit, I'm a bit surprised. In a fantasy "tournament" of fishing flies, the Elk-hair Caddis reins supreme. In the recently completed TU-Loon Outdoors Spring Fly Showdown, the venerable bug outlasted the stately Adams in the final matchup. And, honestly, I voted for the Adams. Not that I don't…
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Spring Fly Showdown: The finals
The Elk-hair Caddis and the Adams face off for dry-fly bragging rights
Two classic dry flies square off for all the marbles Twenty flies, two weeks and some intriguing matchups all come to a head today as the Elk-hair Caddis and the Adams face off in the championship match of the TU-Loon Outdoors Spring Fly Showdown. And it's a big day for interested anglers, fly tiers and…
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Spring Fly Showdown: The Woolly Bugger vs. the Pheasant-tail Nymph
Vote in the TU-Loon Outdoors Spring Fly Showdown
Two great attractor patterns. Two proven fish-catchers. These two staple fly patterns are squaring off against one another in the round of eight for the right to go to the final four in the TU-Loon Outdoors Spring Fly Showdown. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qddVdhAFFg Tying the Woolly Bugger The Woolly Bugger is perhaps the most versatile fly ever crafted.…
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Spring Fly Showdown: Copper John vs. the Adams
The Copper John or the Adams?
The round-of-eight bracket in the TU-Loon Outdoors Spring Fly Showdown features one of best deep-diving nymphs ever tied and perhaps the most widely used dry fly on earth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on6tnuje1SY Tying the Copper John. First tied by Colorado fly tier John Barr, the Copper John is now a nymph angling go-to bug, particularly in tailwaters where,…
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Spring Fly Showdown: The Prince Nymph vs. the RS2
The Prince Nymph vs. the RS2
The TU-Loon Spring Fly Showdown is down to the final eight flies, including the two classics featured in this matchup. Today, one of the best attractor nymph patterns ever tied goes up against the a tricky emerger that's especially adept at fooling picky trout. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfAFJvbgWTk Tying the Prince Nymph. The Prince Nymph might be a…
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Spring Fly Showdown: Royal Wulff vs. Elk-hair Caddis
The Royal Wulff squares off against the Elk-hair caddis.
The final eight in the TU-Loon Spring Fly Showdown is upon us, and the first matchup is an intriguing contest between one of the great attractor dry flies ever tied and perhaps the most widely used imitation of a mature aquatic insect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWB3BIiKOD4 Tying the Royal Wulff. There are a lot of great fly patterns…
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The final eight: how to tie some great trout flies
Eight flies, one tournament. May the best fly win
The TU-Loon Outdoors Spring Fly Showdown is in its final week, and the tournament is down to its final eight flies. Not surprisingly, given that most of us learn to fly fish for trout before we branch off and try to tackle other species, like bass and pike, or saltwater critters like bonefish and tarpon,…
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