The Coot & Claret

It's been a very busy stretch of life lately, but some new plans will be chasing me back to the vise soon to tie some insurance flies for a trip. The "Coot & Claret" is an original pattern that has worked some magic for matching those little western Mahoganies on multiple past trips. I'm not loyal to any particular hook and use Daiichi #1550 or #1480, Partridge Spider L3A and Dohiku #301. The tail is rusty dun rooster fibers, the body is Pearsall Gossamer #191 Claret or Kimono #321 Tokyo Rose. The hackle is a Coot wing covert tied very sparsely. I fish these down and across on the swing, or powdered and cast upstream to cover rising fish. There's something to be said for these old style spider and flymph patterns, they are fishing insurance you shouldn't leave at home. Till next time ....