The Colors of Spring

The Colors of Spring

With Spring comes the reality of eggs and preparing yarn straws of your most effective color combinations.  Here are mine.

(Top-to-Bottom)

Iliamna Pink & Red, Apricot & Steelhead Orange, McCheese & Red, Steelhead Orange & Red

Spring is a time of fluctuating water levels and temps, making for tough fishing.  Quite often the result is fluctuating hatch activity or no hatch activity at all during fishable conditions.  The obvious solution is going subsurface, dredging nymphs and streamers which are very effective in their own right.  However quite often, the "hatch" that trumps them all is the egg in the current. like it or not it, regardless of the current subsurface activity, a trout will not ignore an egg. It is a fact of nature where a high-valued nutritional food source is identified and taken out of reflex. Quite often when visible, you will see trout move far greater distances to take an egg vs a nymph they are actively feeding on. 

I find McFlyFoam to do exceptionally well for me, and I tie them in 4 colors utilizing he "straw Method".   My best producer year in and year out is the Apricot and Steelhead Orange.  If you have not fished eggs in the past, give them a try.  You may be surprised.  

   Building an Egg Straw

Begin with 3 sections of the desired egg color, and 1 section of desired yoke color, a straw and a loop of wire longer than the tube.  

Align the McFlyfoam as such.  It will naturally cling together.  And run the loop of wire through the straw.

Place about 1" of material through the wire loop.

Pull the wire back through the straw

Pull about 3/4" through the other end.  That is about what you will need for each egg you tie. Tie your material in at the mid-point of the section extended out. When you cut off to form your egg. pull another 3/4" out for your next.