The Smoke Jumper has been around for awhile, and it’s quite popular on the Bighorn River in Montana. It was originally tied as a midge emerger by Mike Hoiness of Yellowstone Fly Goods in Billings, but it’s now tied in many sizes and colors to mimic a variety of mayflies and caddisflies, as well. Years ago, we featured the original pattern and a Tightline Productions video that showed you how to tie it.
In today’s video, Tim Flagler demonstrates an Isonychia version, featuring a cool segmented body created by making dubbing noodles. It’as a very simple pattern that sits love on the water, yet the CDC wing is easy to see. This is important because Iso fishing is often best right at dusk.
Isonychia Smoke Jumper
Hook: Scud/emerger hook (here, a Lightning Strike SE1), size 12.
Thread: Black, 8/0 or 70-denier.
Body: Isonychia UV2 Fine & Dry dubbing.
Wing and wingcase: Light dun CDC feathers.
Adhesive: Dubbing wax.
Thorax: Mahogany brown beaver dubbing.
Head: Tying thread.
Tools: Plunger-style hackle pliers, dubbing whirl, whip-finish tool, dubbing brush.
