No matter how diligently we may tie flies through the winter and pack line after line of our favorite patterns into our fly boxes, inevitably we will find ourselves thigh deep in some river looking blankly at a piece of broken tippet and our last "Hot Fly" swimming downstream in the mouth of a big fish. Now before you do something rash like tossing your rod and diving in after your fly, I encourage you to take a deep breath and remember that at times like these, necessity is the mother of invention. The savvy angler will rise to the occasion, delve into his/her fly box, and with a few simple tools can keep on the hatch and on the fish.
When we run out of a dynamite pattern on the water or don't have an exact match for the invertebrates / life stages that the fish are keyed into, it is important to be able to think outside of the fly box and allow ourselves to take a little creative license with our remaining patterns. Whenever I am on the water, I carry four Sharpie Markers (one each in green, brown, black, and red) and a sharp pair of line nippers. With these simple tools, you can add a spot of color to a drab pattern, turn a simple generalist pattern like a Parachute Adams into a myriad of mayfly species, or change a high flying dry pattern into a nymph or emerger. May the mantra "close in size (profile) and color" guide your creative license!
Here are a couple creative "Fly Hacks" that can turn a mediocre morning on the water into one for the books!
HACK #1
Original Pattern: Parachute Adams
Imitates: Adult Mayflies & Midge
Tools: Nippers and Green Sharpie Marker
Fly Hack: Remove Dry Hackle, Trim Parachute, Color Body
New Pattern: Improvised RSII
Imitates: Mayfly Emerger
HACK #2
Original Pattern: Better Buckskin
Imitates: Large Caddis Larva
Tools: Red Sharpie Marker
Fly Hack: Color Abdomen
New Pattern: Improvised Worm or Chironomid Pupa
Imitates: Aquatic Worms, Chironomid Larva & Pupa
