Darrell

Posted on 03/20/202603/20/2026 by Darrell — Leave a comment

2026 Sowbug Roundup – The Delicate Dry Fly

Sowbug Roundup is a three day fly tying and fly fishing show that is held in Mountain Home, AR. The event will be held March 26th, 27th, and 28th. As I have done so in previous years, I will be a fly tying demonstrator again this year.

The theme for this year’s expo is The Delicate Dry Fly, and I like to plan my demonstrations around the theme of the event. To make things run smoothly for me, I have put together a plan and I have prepared some fly tying cards that show the flies I will be demonstrating. It really helps me when I plan ahead!

Something new for me this year though is that I will also be a Featured Fly Tyer for the Day 2 Friday afternoon. For this session I will be tying in the main lobby with a video camera and monitor showing the audience what I’m doing a little more closely.

Day 1 – Caddisfly & Mayfly Dry Flies

On Day 1, I will be tying mostly caddisfly dry flies but also a few mayflies as time permits. The flies I will be demonstrating are as follows:

Caddisflies

Apple Caddis w/ Wonder Wings
Elk Hair Caddis – Amber/Brown
Elk Hair Caddis – Gray/Grizzly
EC Caddis Emerger – Ginger
Front-End Loader – Tan
CDC Bubble Caddis

Mayflies

Slate Drake w/ Wally Wings
BWO w/ CDC Split Wings

On some devices, you can scroll through the Fly Tying Cards I have prepared here:

Day 2 – Catskill Style Dry Flies

On Day 2, I will be tying Catskill Style Dry Flies. This is a style of dry flies first tied for the streams in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. This style was the first type of dry flies developed in the United States. Prior to this, the flies in the US were typically wet flies.

I will be the Featured Tyer for this session so it will take place in the main lobby where there will be a video camera and monitor to make it easier to see. The flies I will be demonstrating are as follows:

March Brown
Light Hendrickson
Quill Gordon
Light Cahill

Red Quill
Pink Lady
Adams
BWO

On some devices, you can scroll through the Fly Tying Cards I have prepared here:

Day 3 – Foam Dry Flies

On Day 3, I will be tying Foam Dry Flies. These are dry flies that contain some sort of foam to help with flotation.

The flies I will be demonstrating for this session are as follows:

Camel Light Crane Fly
Braided Blue Damselfly
Hi-Viz Beetle – Red

Tom’s Wee Hopper – Olive
Tom’s Wee Hopper – Tan
My Favorite Ant

On some devices, you can scroll through the Fly Tying Cards I have prepared here:

Posted on 01/10/202601/10/2026 by Darrell — 1 Comment

2026 NWTF Convention & Sport Show

Flies donated to the Cast & Blast package at the NWTF Convention

If you’re into wild turkey hunting then this is something you won’t want to miss. The NWTF Convention & Sport Show is sponsored by the National Wild Turkey Federation and will be held in Nashville, TN on February 10-15, 2026.

I’m not too much of a turkey hunter but I have gotten involved with this in a different way. I was contacted by the SD & ND Regional Director of the NWTF to donate some flies for their Black Hills Cast & Blast package. The package is a fully supplied trip to South Dakota’s Black Hills for both trout fishing and turkey hunting. You can bid on the package at the convention this week during the auction.

There are many items included in the package, such as lodging, guide service, fly rods, coolers … and of course … my tiny part: TROUT FLIES. The photo below is what I donated to the package:

So if you are the successful bidder on the package, four dozen of my flies will be included with the trip. I have fished the Black Hills area a few times before so my fly collection includes several patterns that have been successful for me. The nymphs range in size from 12 to 18. These are the sizes I commonly fish with. The dry flies range from sizes 12 to 22, with each successive pattern being one hook size smaller. The first three patterns are mainly attractors and the last three target specific mayflies or midges.

Nymphs

Rumble Stone
Mohawk Pheasant Tail
Sexy Walt’s Worm
Gordon’s Fire Starter
Prince Nymph
Skinny Nelson

Dry Flies

Royal Coachman
Adams
Purple Haze Parachute
Blue Wing Olive
Morgan’s Midge
RS2

The Rumble Stone nymph is a new fly I have substituted in this year. It’s a great looking stone fly pattern and, although I haven’t had the pleasure of fishing it yet, should do well where there are stone flies present.

I think the lucky winner(s) of this package will have great success with these flies!

Posted on 11/23/202511/26/2025 by Darrell — 1 Comment

Let’s Get Ready To Rumble!!!

I came across a variation of a fly I’ve had good success with and I can’t wait to try it. The one I’ve fished before is called the Rumble Bug. It’s a Euro Nymph fly pattern tied on a jig hook. The new one is called the Rumble Stone and it is tied on a curved nymph hook.

Here is what the Rumble Bug looks like and how it’s tied:

A detailed tying guide for McKenna's Rumble Bug fly pattern, featuring a jig hook and a material list with specifications. — Rumble Bug

Here is a link to Tim Flagler tying the <rumble bug>.

The new fly that I came across is very similar to the fly above but it is called the Rumble Stone. It, of course, is a little larger and imitates a stone fly.

Here is what the Rumble Stone looks like and how it is tied:

A detailed image of McKenna's Rumble Stone fly pattern, showcasing its materials and tying instructions, including a close-up of the fly on a curved nymph hook. — Rumble Stone

And here is the link to Shawn Holsinger tying the <rumble stone>.

I would love to hear your feedback on either one of these flies!

Posted on 10/15/202510/15/2025 by Darrell — 2 Comments

2025 White River FF Expo – Award Winners

A great time was had by all last weekend at the WRFF Expo! It was really nice to catch up will old acquaintances from Missouri and the surrounding states.

The much-anticipated part of the expo for me was the awards presentations for the fly tying contest. I was eagerly hoping to win one award to make it my 20th fly tying award … and I not only received one award but I received six. There was a low number of entrants in the contest but wining six awards out of nine categories is quite humbling.

Here is a crude shot of the award-winning flies in a nice frame. If you want a better look you’ll have to go to the Museum of Fishing in Branson, MO. It will be on display until it is auctioned off at the next expo.

I managed to win the following six categories: To get a feel for why I selected these flies you can click here. I have also updated my Fly Tying Awards page which you can view by clicking here.

Nymph – Gilled Baetis
Wet Fly – Red Arsed Green Peter
Traditional Streamer – Gray Ghost
Bass Bug – Ol’ Mr. Wiggly
Salmon/Steelhead Fly – Rusty Rat
Best In Show – No. 27. Dun Wing

For a quick look, here is a shot of all the flies I entered into the contest.

Posted on 10/07/202510/07/2025 by Darrell — Leave a comment

2025 White River Fly Fishers Expo

The White River Fly Fishers Expo is a fly tying event held in Branson, MO. This year the Expo will be held on October 10-11. The event will be held again at the Branson-Hollister Lions Club. It’s a really nice venue with updated lighting and WiFi.

I will be a fly tying demonstrator at the expo during both sessions on both days so please stop and see me if you are in the area. I plan on tying several of my favorite and more successful Caddisfly and Mayfly dry fly patterns. Here are the patterns I plan on demonstrating:

Day 1 – Friday October 10, 2025

Caddisfly Dry Flies (Order: Trichoptera)

Corn-Fed Caddis [#14 Dry]
Front-End Loader Caddis [#14 LtCzech]
Elk Hair Caddis [#14-16 Dry]
CDC Bubble Caddis [#12-16 Dry]
- American Grannom “Brachycentrus americana”
- Alderfly (Order: Megaloptera) “Sialis hamata”
Wonder Wing Caddis [#6-12 Dry]
- Apple Caddis “Brachycentrus appalachia”
- Golden Stone (Order: Plecoptera) “Acroneuria lycorias”

Day 2 – Saturday October 11, 2025

Mayfly Dry Flies (Order: Ephemeroptera)

March Brown [#12 Dry]
Red Quill [#14 Dry]
Adams [#16 Dry]
Blue Wing Olive [#18 Dry]
Split Wing Spanish Dun [#14-18 Dry]
- Silk Body
- Peacock Quill Body
- Moose Mane Body

Posted on 08/12/202508/12/2025 by Darrell — Leave a comment

2025 White River FF Expo – Fly Tying Contest

Another day, another fly tying contest. It kind of seems that way anyway. Preparing an entry for each contest division, and tying two flies each definitely takes some time and planning. This time it is for the White River Fly Fishers Expo to be held October 10-11, 2025 in Branson, MO. Branson is really a fun place to visit. There are a lot of things to see and do.

If you’ve read some of my past blog posts, you would know that I really enjoy fly tying contests. As I did earlier this year, I decided to enter every single category in the contest. I really enjoy going out and finding new fly patterns that I had never tied before in order to complete my lineup.

The entries are due on August 15th. The judging should be completed before the Expo.

Here are my entries for this year’s fly tying contest.

#	Category	Fly Pattern	Reason For Entering
1	Nymph	Gilled Baetis Nymph	A semi-realistic mayfly nymph pattern that is not the easiest to tie. This one has an olive color scheme.
2	Dry Fly	Royal Coachman	A very old and very iconic dry fly pattern. The Coachman wet fly, which it is based on, is several hundred years old.
3	Wet Fly	Red Arsed Green Peter	A good looking wet fly that is easy to tie except for the double-layered wings.
4	Traditional Streamer	Gray Ghost	A classic streamer pattern from the infamous Carrie G. Stevens of Maine.
5	Articulating Streamer	Rainbow Trout	An interesting streamer pattern that I needed for this category.
6	Bass Bug	Ol’ Mr. Wiggly	A classic smallmouth bass fly pattern created by Charlie Piette of Wisconsin.
7	Salmon/Steelhead	Rusty Rat	A nice salmon fly pattern and one that is simple enough for me to tie fairly well.
8	Saltwater	Ally’s Shrimp	A modern classic saltwater salmon fly named for its creator Alastair (Ally) Gowans. It dares to be tied on a double hook.
9	Best In Show	No. 27 Dun Wing	This is another salmon fly pattern from Mary Orvis Marbury’s 1892 book “Favorite Flies and Their Histories”.

The Lineup for 2025

The lineup is a little hard to follow because of the size of some of these flies but it goes in “top down, left to right” order with three flies in each column.

After I finished the lineup, I decided that the last entry needed some work. I originally had tied the wings with two feathers from a rooster cape but they are clearly not wide enough for such a big fly. So … I redid the wings with two feathers from a hen saddle and they look much better.

Posted on 07/07/202507/07/2025 by Darrell — 1 Comment

A Nice Order

I received a really nice order about a week ago and wanted to give a shout-out for it. It was for three 5×7 Framed Flies and was shipped to a customer in the State of New York. This was one of the larger orders I’ve had and definitely the largest one in the recent past.

As I mentioned, the order was for these three frames and they all looked very nice with the gold parchment and the black frame color.

5x7 Classic Wet Fly Collection #1 (black-gold) — 5×7 Classic Wet Fly Collection #1 (black-gold)

5x7 Old Favorite Bass Fly Collection #1 (black-gold) — 5×7 Old Favorite Bass Fly Collection #1 (black-gold)

5x7 Old Favorite Trout Fly Collection #1 (black-gold) — 5×7 Old Favorite Trout Fly Collection #1 (black-gold)

I really like the Pink Lady in the lower right corner of the Classic Wet Fly Collection but all of them look good. I also like Hardy’s Favorite in the lower left corner. It’s one of my favorites too. The Ozark Mottled Oak primary turkey wing feathers make for nearly perfect wings on wet flies. Those feathers are just a little stiffer and thus easier to tie in than other feathers used for wings.

In Bass Fly Collection I really like No. 255 Jungle Cock fly – the wings are made of two flank feathers from a jungle cock bird and the white stem line really looks unique to me,

In the Trout Fly Collection it’s hard not to like the No. 143 Grizzly King in the upper right corner. That one turned out really nice on this frame.

Posted on 07/06/202507/06/2025 by Darrell — 2 Comments

FeedSpot Top 40 Fly Tying Blogs

There’s a website out there called FeedSpot and it aims to rank the Top 40 Fly Tying blog websites. Part of their mission is to get subscribers to join the club and more actively promote their blog sites. As of yet, I have not done that.

Here is what the FeedSpot Top 40 page looks like. It’s a very nicely laid out page with the rankings and a little information about each blog.

And here I am at #6!

My blog has moved up and down in the ranking a little, probably dependent on how often I post a blog entry and how useful the information really is. I started out somewhere in the high 20’s but #6 is definitely the highest rank I’ve obtained.

Take a look at FeedSpot and let me know what you think.

Author: Darrell

2026 Sowbug Roundup – The Delicate Dry Fly