About the Roche Lake Cow Dun Trout Fly

The Roche Lake Cow Dun was an accident. A couple of years ago, I was at a mid May trap shoot in Kamloops and I couldn't resist a side trip to one of my favourite area lakes, Roche. I had fished this lake with great success during the two years that I lived in Kamloops, 1980 to 1982. Flies like a thinly dressed gold muddler and a small green shrimp worked very well for me in those years. However, on this more recent trip, I had little success but I noticed one fly fisherman catching and releasing fish after fish while anchored near the shore end of the middle island. A few days after I happened to mention this to Lane Hogaboam of Rutland Sports in Kelowna and he surprised me by saying, "That was Hank using an all cow dun woolly bugger"! I immediately purchased some green cow dun chenille for the body and a package of similar green marabou for the tail. I tied up several flies mainly using 9671 size 8 hooks and headed back to Roche shortly after, around the first week of June. What a success! Eight prime Kamloops trout came to this new fly, all released save one fine 3 pound fish that I kept for table fare! These fish were caught from an anchored boat casting a sink tip fly line towards the shoal side of a transition to deeper water. A slow retrieve was used but with enough movement to wave the marabou tail! On subsequent trips, I found that a sparse throat hackle of grizzly or brown hackle even enhanced the fly's performance.

Expert Tip:

It always pays to watch the local fisherman!

Creator of this trout fly: Don Haaheim

Tier of this trout fly: Don Haaheim

Country of origin for this trout fly: Canada

This trout fly is designed to be fished on Still Water fish

Dressings

• Hook : Size 6 to 10.
• Tail : Green Cow Dun Marabou.
• Body : Green Cow Dun medium chenille.
• Back : Optional overlay of a single strand of brighter green chenille.
• Hackle : Grizzly or Brown Hackle.
• Thread : Invisible mending.

I again prefer to use invisible thread rather than regular black or coloured fly tying thread especially for flies such as this one where you can back wrap the body with the invisible thread for additional strength and not ruin the body shape or appearance! Start by cinching your tying thread to the hook and secure about 4 inches of cow dun chenille along the hook shank, flowing out past the bend. Then place a small clump of cow dun marabou along the hook shank so that it projects about 3/4 inch past the hook bend and securely tie it in by wrapping and half hitching the thread several times along the hook body. I prefer to repeat this 2 or 3 times rather than tying one big clump of marabou in at once. Next tightly wrap the chenille to the hook eye and tie off. As an option, you can now lay a single strand of contrasting green chenille along the top of the hook shank and back wrap with your invisible mending thread to secure the chenille firmly in place. Leave enough room at the hook eye to tie in a grizzly or brown hackle and wrap it 2 turns, i.e., fairly sparse. Cement, whip finish and you are finished! Mustad 9671/9672