San Juan Worm Colors?

[Steve Smith]

San Juan worms should be experimented with in a variety of colors and patterns. I just started fishing them really well last year, and now a major part of my fly arsenal. Florescent green [chartreuse], orange, and burnt orange were really great colors in Roaring River, especially during the C&R season. Another great pattern is the chamois worm, which is simply a thin strip of leather or suede tied San Juan style. Red and natural chamois worms were the ticket yesterday on Roaring.

[Crippled Caddis]

Mrs. Ducky wrote:

<Can you post a picture? That sounds easy enough to do, I'd just like to see what I'm imitating.>

Sorry Mrs. Ducky but my camera has recently decided it isn't going to do close-ups any more.;o( But the pic Mikey posted is 'close enough for government work'.

Mikey wrote:

<I came across this worm pattern on ebay the other day. looks realistic enough for me...is this kinda what you are talking about seeing?>

Very close indeed Mikey.

I guess I should mention that the bloodworms we've been turning up are probably less than 1/32" in diameter and 3/8" to 1/2" long.

[Mikey]

This is my attempt at the pic I previously posted. Not sure if I like it or not. I can certainly sympathize with my mother though. I can recall growing up when she didn't have the right ingredients for a rec ipe she would substitue what she thought was best and then hope we were starving enough to eat it. Kinda what I did here...not sure what the guy used as the underbody...and I'm sure my outer is too pink but here it is. I did take the artistic liberty and add a sex ring and a copper craft bead for the heckuvit.

I call it the duracell worm...

Mikey

[MrsDucky]

OK, what is the recipe for your "Duracell worm"? I'm no trout, but that looks promising! Kind of like a piece of nightcrawler...I like it!

[Crippled Caddis]

A red thread base layer overwrapped with a layer of clear pearlescent Crystal Flash or Xmas icycle topped with a full-length wrap of the smallest 'D' rib looks pretty good. Best done on a light wire dry fly hook to hold down the diameter if you really want it to look like a bloodworm.

[Mikey]

Black thread, brown swiss straw for underbody, shrimp colored stretch tubing for over body, burnt orange chenille for the sex ring and a copper craft bead.

Tie in the bead with the thread.

Wrapped the thread all the way to the back of the hook, past the bend. tied in swiss straw, then tied in stretch tubing.

Wrap the thread to midway. Wrap the swiss straw to the thread and catch it with a figure 8 type wrap. Tie in the chenille, give it 2 or 3 tight wraps and tie it off.

Advance te thread on up to just behind the hook eye. Finish wrapping in the swiss straw and tie it off. Then just run the stretch tubing up over everything, being sure to catch all the fibers from the chenille under it, tie it off at the eye, whip finish head cement yadda yadda...

Dunno if it will work, just piddling around. You could save some trouble and just use some brown thread and skip the whole tying in the straw stuff and use that as the base. I'm just outta the thread.

Mikey