The Wilderdilch

Recipe

Hook: Mustad 3366 Size 2

Tail Layer 1: Deerhair

Tail Layer 2: Barred Sili-legs (Orange)

Tail Layer 3: Saddle Hackle

Flash: Krystal Flash

Thorax: Deerhair

Head: Spun Deerhair

This is a great pattern for me because it satisfies my deer hair spinning bug. It happens all the time, I get this urge to spin deer hair. The minute it starts getting complicated I lose interest. The head on the Wilderdilch is pretty crude. No razor blades, just a pair of scissors. Keep it simple!

The head holds some water and gets the fly down in the water column. This is a dandy! Ron from my local fly shop wants to see it in gray...I'm on the hunt for gray deer hair!

Fly Box Hero - Ward Bean

Ward Bean of www.warmwaterflytyer.com is definitely one of my biggest Fly Box Heroes. Ward's site is quite possibly the best online fly tying resource out there. A top notch fly tyer and pattern designer, Ward Bean has made fly tying a whole bunch easier for thousands of people. Ward's site reignited my love for fly tying after a decade long break. For that I will be forever grateful!

This sport would be nothing without guys like Ward, Joe Cornwall, Bob Clouser, Art Scheck.... I just hope one day that my name will be mentioned alongside guys like Ward.

Ward Bean is a retired community college instructor and lives in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Many of Ward's articles have appeared in Fly Tyer Magazine. Ward is also currently a member of the Whiting Farms Pro Staff. ( This is a group of tiers that Whiting uses to test products and create new uses for their hackle.)

The Sweaty Yeti

Recipe
Hook: Mustad 9672 (Size 4)
Tail: Spirit River Mottlebou
Tail 2: Pumpkin Sili Legs
Tail 3: Grizzly Saddle Hackle
Tail 4: Silver Krystal Flash
Body: Cream Angora Yarn
Collar/Head: Deer Hair
Weight: Small Silver Cone

This is my interpretation of Tony Stifter's Wilderdilch seen in Chris Niskanen's article on the Snake River in the St Paul Pioneer Press in July of 2010.

The Wilderdilch is a great pattern, kudos to Tony. I chose to shorten the saddle hackles used in the tail. I personally don't like the use of feathers for tails, to me they are far too fragile. I'll probably substitute the saddle hackles for some synthetic material in the future. Overall the tail section on my version needs to be longer, but this is a good start.

I took a few key features from Kelly Galloup's Zoo Cougar and also the Cone Head Madonna. A Northern Minnesota Sweaty Yeti? My youngest son has a knack for naming flies! All I know is this Yeti will be sweaty hauling in fall smallies with this pattern!