Dentry: Lowly sow bug becomes silk purse of wet flies

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

The humble sow bug has been gaining a foothold in the fly-fishing door lately. A couple years ago, I found trout stuffed with the segmented underwater crawlers at Spinney Mountain Reservoir.

Then, a couple weeks ago, a sow bug pattern that has become all the rage at Montana's Bighorn River produced several fine rainbow trout for Ed Running, Charlie Russell and me on that renowned Blue Ribbon river (May 18 column).

Old Bighorn veterans, however, probably don't remember the bug, because its appearance is relatively recent.

"Sow bugs weren't even in this river," said Steve Hilbers, whose Bighorn Trout Shop, in Fort Smith, Mont., probably sell more Ray Charles sow bug imitations than any other fly these days.

Hilbers said the Bighorn historically was loaded with scuds, but no one ever remembered seeing a sow bug.

"Then we had that real high water in 1991, and pretty soon these sow bugs started coming," he said. "They must have washed in from someplace up above. They really took off, and now they have become one of the main protein sources (for trout)."

Coincidentally, Landon Mayer, of Colorado Springs, mentions sow bugs in his new book, How to Catch the Biggest Trout of Your Life (May 22 column).

In a fly-tiers recipe for the V-Rib Sow Bug, Mayer notes that he finds "more sow bugs than scuds in most trout water," but that the segmented, gray crustacean seldom gets noticed by trout fishers.

Sow bugs are abundant in lakes, rivers and spring creeks where aquatic vegetation grows thick. Doubtless, they also have spread from Spinney downstream through the Dream Stream and into Eleven Mile Reservoir.

Since the Aurora Water Department announced Thursday that it planned to raise flows out of Spinney over the holiday weekend, it would stand to reason that sow bugs are washing through the system.

The Ray Charles is so-named because, it is said, "Even a blind man can catch trout on that fly," although it will not help with your singing or piano playing.

The Ray Charles is easy to tie. On a scud hook Size 14-18, tie in pearl mylar tinsel below the bend. Wrap two ostrich herls forward and tie off. Then pull the mylar over the fly's back and secure it at the head. Red 8/0 tying thread is used for eye appeal at the head.

Olive brown dubbing fur also can be used for the body. It is trimmed top and bottom to mimic the flat shape of a sow bug.

Since sow bugs crawl or drift slowly, rather than swimming like scuds, they are best presented deep, in and just over weed beds, and with little or no movement.

dentrye@RockyMountainNews.com