The Dieppe Fly Tying Club is a group of Fly tyers in the greater Moncton area.
This fly tying group was formed in 1999, with the goal of creating links between fly fisherman and sharing in the pleasure of fly tying, fly casting and exchanging information on our passion, fly fishing.
The Dieppe Fly tying Club holds its meetings every Tuesday at 6:30 PM from October through April at the Lakeburn Adult Education Center (Therrien Street) where the focus is on Fly tying.
Beginners and experts alike learn new techniques especially in tying new flies (Hairwing and Classic) for trout and Atlantic salmon. Everyone is welcome to join us and it is free. The club members created a commun project in establishing the annual Dieppe Fly Fishing Forum held every spring at the NBCC Dieppe.
I am really excited about this fly tying club as I have never been to one yet I have been tying flies here in Moncton for at least 30 years. I think I will check with my fly tying buddy Jamie and if he’s not overly busy maybe we can both attend.
Looking forward to seeing what’s up at the Dieppe Fly Tying Club and maybe even get a few pictures to share with you.
When I am fly fishing for brookies here in New Brunswick I like to keep a supply of brown and white bi-visible flies, in a few different sizes. The trout sometimes like the ones that look a little plump but there are other times that they want something fairly small, so having these bi-visibles in sizes from 10 – 16 will give you more options to toss at them.
The white front of the bi-visible makes the fly a whole lot easier to see drifting down stream.
Here is a video showing you how to tie a brown and white bi-visible trout fly. It’s one of the easiest flies to tie, enjoy.
Was this winter longer than most? It sure seemed that way to me. Maybe it’s because I bought a treadmill so I could keep walking through the winter. I didn’t get out side much at all. Ahhh maybe that’s cabin fever. Guess I will have to travel south next winter.
I’ve been pretty busy with my online business all winter and even took on a couple of extra web design jobs to help my son get through college this year. It will be good to see him get a trade. He seems to be really enjoying it and is meeting his new temporary boss this afternoon. Very proud of him.
So with all that I have been doing this winter I still haven’t tied a single fly yet, but I have been looking at some I want to tie but I want to tie some that will work for trout, bass and pickerel, maybe even for Atlantic salmon.
One I found this morning on Youtube looks promising and is easy to tie.
It’s a leech pattern streamer, like a woolly bugger, that only uses a few items. Some maribou in what ever colour suites you, depending on the colour of leeches where you live. A little orange yarn to form an egg and some wire to weight the hook and of course some thread and to finish it a some hackle. That’s it.
I’ve caught pickerel, a relative of the northern pike, but my biggest was about 22″ and that was a huge amount of fun with lots of yelling and laughing. I couldn’t imagine hooking into a 50″ northern on a top water fly but I’m definitely up for the challenge.
Here is a video I have to share with your today. This guys does this all the time and it looks like a real blast.
Since I met Casey and Jamie we haven’t fished for pickerel using the fly rod but this year’s going to be different. I have already talked Jamie’s ear off about the fun I’ve had fly fishing for pickerel so I know he’s going to go for this year. And Casey is learning to fly fish this year so I know we’ll be going for pickerel and smallmouth bass.
Now all I have to do to get ready is start exercising my arms and to get some top water flies tied, before we head out. I have been talking about tying all winter but have been working from home growing my business and have set other things aside. Time’s running short, less than a month until fishing season opens and I don’t get much tying done when I’m out on the water so it’s gotta be NOW.
I am going to tie a few leech patterns, a couple of top water popper type flies and a few streams that will travel just under the surface, like the Mickey Finn I use for Atlantic salmon fishing on the Renous and Miramichi Rivers here in New Brunswick.
I have done some fly fishing for chain pickerel. Actually New Brunswick was the first place I ever saw and caught a pickerel on the fly, well really on anything, it was my first pickerel, but it set the stage for many many happy days on the water battling these wacky and vicious toothy water wolf.
My first pickerel was while fly fishing a little brown dry fly for brook trout and got a surprise catch, a little pickerel which was actually smaller than most of the brookies we caught that day.
Over the years since I have used boats, canoes and my float tubes to fish for pickerel on the fly and started using some bigger flies we use for smallmouth bass and Atlantic salmon.
I also used a few black wooly bugger leech patterns to have fun on the water and would like to share a video showing you how to tie the wooly bugger so you can give them a try yourself.
Fly Tying Materials You Will Need For The Wooly Bugger
Here’s a video showing what you need to tie a wooly bugger, a great description of materials.
How To Tie A Wooly Bugger
I tie the wooly bugger streamer as a leech pattern and don’t use the bead head. I have never had a trout, bass or pickerel ever complain about the lack of a head. They wooly bugger is a very easy fly to tie and I’ve found that a 6 – 10 inch retrieve works best for me. So here is a video that shows how to tie the wooly bugger.
Introducing the best chenille we&8217 ve found for tying woolies, and no bugger should ever leave home without it! Made from the densest Antron available with a little pearl Mylar tinsel mixed in for fish-attracting flash. Introducing the best chenille weamp 8217 ve found for tying woolies, and no bugger should ever leave home without it! Made from the densest Antron available with a little pearl Mylar tinsel mixed in for fish-attracting flash.
Living in New Brunswick Canada I don’t see pike like I did in Ontario but I do see Chain pickerel, which get up to about a max of 30 inches and are just as aggressive as a pike the same size. They are after all part of the pike family.
My first pickerel caught was on a fly rod while I was fly fishing for brook trout. Imagine my surprise when a little pickerel grabbed it in mid-air. Even though it was a tiny specimen I could see they were vicious and was eager to try the fly rod for some bigger ones.
Since my first pickerel I have caught hundreds and hundreds of them, all exciting fun but the most fun I think I have had fly fishing for pickerel is using a fly that had the hook point snapped off. I was using it just for the reaction I get from the pickerel, same applies to pike of course. I would just cast it out and watch the reaction from the pike and to see how far I could attract them from.
On the right days I have had them easily come from 10 or 15 feet away while casting in the weeds. Most times they would be moving, more than one coming in all directions, before the fly ever hit the water so they had to be sitting right at the top of the water. So cool.
I have had pickerel take the fly, the one with no point on the hook, and still hold on to it all the way back to the boat or float tube. I have even lifted some out of the water, without being hooked and they just won’t let go.
What I have found is that pike and pickerel like the same food and will attack all the same flies. I use bass flies and salmon flies to catch them here in New Brunswick and do quite well with them.
But I am looking to tie a few flies designed for pike so I was looking through Youtube as I do often and found some cool pike on the fly videos I would like to share and then at the end I will add in a video showing how to tie a pike fly.
Here is a cool video where they are casting to pike and watching them take flies. I get such a kick out of watching that wake more through the water.
That was so much fun watching but I have to add this one as well. We don’t get pickerel that big here in New Brunswick but even so I have great fun catching them on a variety of flies.
And now a video showing you how to tie a fly for your pike or pickerel fly fishing trips. Enjoy and keep your arms strong.
I love top water action, who doesn’t, but I also like to use streamers, the same streamers I use for Atlantic salmon work great. Streamers will run just under the surface and they get a lot of action and most times I still get to see the strike right at the surface too.
The Mickey Finn Streamer
I usually use the Mickey Finn streamer for spring run Atlantic salmon but once I gave the Mickey Finn a try for pickerel I added it to my pike on the fly flies. The Mickey Finn streamer takes about 3 minutes to tie once you learn how and is quite durable.
Enjoy the video and maybe I will see you on the water fly fishing pike or pickerel.
Fly fishing for pike is not for the faint of heart! However, for fly fishers with the desire to test their skills against the fiercest freshwater gamefish, this DVD ''Pike on the Fly In Pursuit of the Water Wolf'' with Barry Reynolds is a must-watch. Follow along as Barry Reynolds takes you to some of the most pike infested waters in North America, from little know rivers and tributaries to the mighty Yukon while he pursues the great water wolf with flies. Barry explains his admiration for the tremendous northern pike and why he keeps going back year after year, the quest for the ''Holy Grail'' a pike of over 50 inches on the fly! In fact, eight pike of over 50 inches were taken during production of ''Pike on the Fly In Pursuit of the Water Wolf'', including Barry's personal best&8212 a monster pike measuring 54'' in length and 28'' in girth. The film's intense soundtrack along with its breathtaking beauty and heart-pounding pike-fighting action will entertain every angler and not just those armed with a fly rod. ''Pike on the Fly In Pursuit of the Water Wolf'' also includes bonus footage for those who want to know more about flies, leader set-ups, fly lines and other valuable information that&8217 s required for taking pike on the fly. Approximately 68 minutes. Fly fishing for pike is not for the faint of heart! However, for fly fishers with the desire to test their skills against the fiercest freshwater gamefish, this DVD ''Pike on the Fly In Pursuit of the Water Wolf'' with Barry Reynolds is a must-watch.
The Adams dry fly is meant to sit on the water’s surface so it’s important to get the wing, hackle and tail proportions just right.
The tail should be the length of the hook shank and the hackle should be one and half times the gap of the hook. Also the wing should be about 20% longer than the hackle. Get this right and it should sit pretty for the fish.
It’s always advisable to use stiff hackle when making a dry fly like the Adams as it will help to keep it floating higher on the water’s surface.
?I enjoy using the Adams on most of the trout streams and brooks here in New Brunswick. I find that I have great luck with dry flies that are made using brown hackles like the colour in this fly.
I love fly fishing for Atlantic salmon, just never get enough of it, and I also love using the Atlantic salmon pattern known as The Green Machine on most of our salmon rivers here in New Brunswick Canada.
My understanding of the Green Machine is that it was first used here in New Brunswick. No wonder both I and the Atlantic salmon love it.
The following video was created by William at www.FlySpoke.com. Thanks for the great video William.
You can watch the video and I will make a list for you with the materials you will need to successfully duplicate this awesome salmon fly.
Atlantic Salmon Fly: The Green Machine
Pattern: The White Calf Tail Green Machine, a slight variation of the original Green Machine.
Mustad Hook: 3582 – Size 8 – Down Eye Double Hook
Tail: White Calf Tail
Hackle: Size 12 Dry Fly Hackle (Brown or Ginger)
Body: Deer Body Hair (Green)
Note: Using blue deer hair and you will create a smurf to catch Atlantic salmon.
Feel free to change up the tail colour and see how you do on your salmon water.
If you’re new to deer hair spinning it’s not a problem. I found this little deer hair spinning video, enjoy.
I am sure, we as fishers, all have our confidence baits. I have confidence baits for any species I have fished regularly and it also applies to my fly fishing trips.
About a month ago a friend took me out fly fishing for some brook trout here in New Brunswick. It was close to Sussex but he would shoot me if I said exactly where. Well he might not actually kill me but he might never take me fly fishing again and that surely would kill me. So I’ll keep tight lipped on this one.
When he told me where we would be going I prepared the confidence flies and put them all into one fly box and I put my favourite dry fly on before I ever left the house.
We had a great day and landed many brook trout. All of which we promptly released as it’s a catch and release area only.
Here is a little video that I watched on Youtube this morning and thought you might like to see some of the trout flies I love to have with me.
Fly fishing for trout and salmon is great fun and I have been doing that for 30 years or so but I don’t like to stop there when it comes to fly fishing. Chain pickerel and smallmouth bass love to smash big bugs too. If you haven’t tried fly fishing for pickerel, pike and bass then you are missing out on an awesome experience. Once that you will want to have over and over just like I do.
This year my fishing buddy Jamie is going to experience fly fishing for New Brunswick’s chain pickerel and smallmouth bass and I guarantee you that he will be dreaming about how much fun it is. Jamie and I been fishing together for a couple of years now and he’s never given it a try. He does fly fish for trout but has yet to experience what a pickerel or a big bass can do for one’s fly fishing experience.
The video above is an example of how you can create a big bug that these pickerel and bass love to annihilate. It’s a very basic video but really it’s all you need to know. Once you have the deer hair bug all tied up you can then shape it into whatever you want to throw. I love through mice a bass and pickerel and I don’t even need to put those little eyes and ears to get the job done. The fish don’t seem to mind a bare bug at all.
You don’t need much for fly tying materials to tie up a bass bug. Just need a hook, thread, deer or elk hair, a hair stacker and some head cement to secure the thread and make the head shiny.
Hooks: Bass Bug Hook in what ever size you want. I usually go big or stay home.
Thread: I keep a dozen or so colours and use the colour that matches the fly.
Deer Hair: I use deer hair that has been died various colours so that I can tie my flies in the colours I prefer. But I do like the nature colour of deer hair.
Hair Stacker: A hair stacker will help you to get the butt ends of the hairs to all line up for easier spinning on the hook.
Head Cement: This is what you use to secure the thread to your fly. Usually used on the head of the fly.
Go ahead, give fly fishing for bass and pickerel a try and I am sure you will be tying a lot more flies and having an entirely new fly fishing experience. Enjoy
The Dieppe Fly Tying Club is a group of Fly tyers in the greater Moncton area. 
