stillwater fishing with booby flies
KEITH ROE : OMAK , WA
A few years ago , I heard some of the guys talking about a still water fly . The name made me chuckle as I thought it was someone ’ s idea of a gag fly . Not so , when I started doing a little more research into this fly , I was surprised at its legitimate and successful use .
From what I have found out , this fly got its start back in the late 50 ’ s in England . At that time it was named the Booby Nymph . The name lends itself to the bulbous eyes tied on one of the types of nymphs used back in that time . Since its creation , the Booby fly has taken on many different styles of creation . Some are still tied as nymphs , streamers and mostly as an attractant pattern .
The flies tied in an attractant pattern are a combination of marabou and one of the many types of synthetic chenille . Hook sizes will vary from a size 12 to a size 6 , depending on the style of pattern tied . One thing that I ’ ve noticed is that most of the hooks , no matter what size used , are a shorter shank then a “ standard style ” hook . Most of the designers have all stated that using the shorter shanked hook helps prevent too deep of a hook up . The streamer style I tie is a longer hook , and I have not experienced any deep hook ups . This may be because it ’ s a streamer and not the shorter style patterns such as the nymphs or attractor .