I have been working on this fly since August of 2011. The original goal was to have a fly that takes advantage of the positive attributes of the Trouser Worm without being so...so....WORMY. The Trouser Worm is so amazingly effective that I thought combining it's basic action with a cray-fishy profile could be a deadly alternative.
Initially, I wanted a bulky profile with this fly, but that just didn't work out. Instead, after having success with several different iterations and getting trounced on others I have whittled the design down to a lighter, sparser and more delicate version of Option A in the video linked above.
This fly has the same unique rocking action as the Trouser Worm with a sparse but buggy soft-hackle profile. The sparse profile and delicate micro-pine squirrel allow the fly to get down (particularly with a loop knot) without requiring too much weight and the base design of this fly will use a brass bead instead of tungsten. This allows for a more delicate presentation in medium depths and/or moderate current. It is probably slightly too heavy for long-range ultra-shallow still-water applications but will work at moderate range using indirect presentations such as a drag and drop. It is also too light for heavy current, which will require substituting a tungsten bead.
It has gotten a very positive reaction on the Denver South Platte this fall, and has earned a name which will be "McTage's McLuvin". Like the Trouser Worm, the McLuvin was specifically designed to be effective for virtually every presentation including a dead drop, twitch, sitting, stripped or slow swimming.
**At the time of this post I am not positive "Free-Range" dubbing is still available. I am trying to confirm if the "nymph" dubbing listed on singlebarbed is the same stuff with a new name. If not I will be on the hunt for a substitute. Keith Barton at singlebarbed.com has confirmed, his "nymph" dubbing available for order at his online store is in fact the same thing as his famous "Free-Range" Dubbing.
Bathtub Video:
Initially, I wanted a bulky profile with this fly, but that just didn't work out. Instead, after having success with several different iterations and getting trounced on others I have whittled the design down to a lighter, sparser and more delicate version of Option A in the video linked above.
This fly has the same unique rocking action as the Trouser Worm with a sparse but buggy soft-hackle profile. The sparse profile and delicate micro-pine squirrel allow the fly to get down (particularly with a loop knot) without requiring too much weight and the base design of this fly will use a brass bead instead of tungsten. This allows for a more delicate presentation in medium depths and/or moderate current. It is probably slightly too heavy for long-range ultra-shallow still-water applications but will work at moderate range using indirect presentations such as a drag and drop. It is also too light for heavy current, which will require substituting a tungsten bead.
It has gotten a very positive reaction on the Denver South Platte this fall, and has earned a name which will be "McTage's McLuvin". Like the Trouser Worm, the McLuvin was specifically designed to be effective for virtually every presentation including a dead drop, twitch, sitting, stripped or slow swimming.
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| McTage's McLuvin |
Tying Instructions:
Materials List:
- Hook: Size 8 Tiemco 2457 caddis
- Thread: 140 denier burnt orange Ultra-Thread
- Bead: 3.25mm black brass bead
- Eyes: #6 stainless bead-chain
- Tail: Brown micro-pine squirrel
- Body: Rust Brown "Nymph Free-Range" Dubbing** (singlebarbed.com)
- Collar: Small brown Hungarian Partridge
- Head: Pink Shrimp UV Dub
Bathtub Video: