1st Annual N.G.T.O. Fly Swap

Fly photos courtesy of Michael Lim.

Steve's Yellow Jacket

from the vise of Steve Keeble

A few years ago, I backpacked to one of my favorite Smoky Mountain streams to fish for spawning brown trout. The Fall had been unseasonably dry, and the yellow jackets were abuzz. The fishing was slow so I tied on the only thing I had in my box which resembled these yellow jackets - a McGinty Bee. On the first cast I landed a 12 inch native brown. Two more fish were landed shortly thereafter. On one of my backcasts, I broke off the McGinty and was unable to find it. My fishing was all but over on that particular afternoon. I promised myself I would never again return to this stream without an ample supply of Yellow Jacket patterns. I was unable to locate a recipe to my liking so I developed my own. After several refinements, Steve’s Yellow Jacket was born. The next Fall, the fish were not so picky, and readily rose to most any terrestrial, especially Steve’s Yellow Jacket. This pattern has become one of my favorites, fooling trout out West as well as here in Georgia. It is best fished as you would any dry fly (dead drifted), particularly during warm, dry weather when the real yellow jackets are abuzz. Enjoy.

Hook:     Tiemco TMC100

Size:       12 or 14

Thread:  3/0 yellow

Rib:      Tie on a 2 inch piece of black plastic ribbing (to be wrapped forward over yellow body later).

Body:      Build up the body beginning at the mid-shank of the hook wrapping to the rear, into the                  bend. When the desired shape is reached, tie off. Lacquer the body with yellow paint.                  When dry, wrap rib forward and tie off. Dip body in clear lacquer. Allow to dry.

Wing:      Tie in deer hair "down wing" style at mid-shank.

Hackle:   Wrap grizzly hackle from mid-shank forward and tie off with yellow thread.

Don't catch 'em all!

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