Fountains of Youth – Classic trout flies that have withstood the test of time … flies that remain “forever young”

by Rusty Dunn

The year is 1975, in early summer. An experienced angler fishes a PMD hatch on Nelson’s Spring Creek in Livingston, MT. Like nearby DePuy and Arm­strong Spring Creeks, Nelson’s is a short, free-flowing, tributary of the Yellowstone River. Its water is crystal clear, glassy smooth, and incredibly rich with aquatic insects. Hatches, especially those of PMDs in June and July, can be of biblical pro­portions. It’s no accident that this part of Montana is called Par­a­dise Valley. Nelson’s trout are abundant and large, but they are fished heavily and have rep­u­tations for humbling both beginner and expert alike. They’ve seen every fly in the Umpqua cat­alog and are very wary of imitations.

The angler stands mid-stream as thousands of PMD “little sail­boats” drift by drying their wings. Trout rise every­where. The angler casts PMD imitations of many different designs to risers, but he has little suc­cess. Trout continue to rise stead­ily, but not to his flies. The fish are simply too selective, and the angler’s frustration is building. Upon close inspection, the angler decides that fish are not tak­ing adult duns. Instead, they are taking uni­den­tifi­a­ble “little yellow specs” float­ing at the surface. The angler eventually ties on a small mayfly nymph, pre­sents it subsurface, and hooks a nice trout. While releasing the fish, he examines the back of the trout’s mouth, just for­ward of the gullet. There he observes a wad of PMDs, all of which exhibit an identi­cal intermedi­ate stage of emergence. The “little yel­low specs” proved to be the beginnings of adult PMDs pushing out of their nym­phal skins. Most of the body is still nymphal in color and charac­ter, but a small bit of yellow (adult) PMD protrudes from the shuck. The angler has nothing to imitate this intermediate stage, but he resolves to tie some flies that imitate the ‘little yellow specs’ that evening.

The angler returns to Nelson’s the next day armed with freshly minted flies tied in his motel room. He encoun­ters the same PMD hatch and enjoys a day of unparal­leled success. The new fly is simply outstanding and is taken with confi­dence by almost every rising trout. As the angler later described, “Every good presentation was taken. A fish ate it. In fact, I caught one fish twice.”

The angler of this true story was John Barr, and the flies he tied that evening are now known as “Barr Emerg­ers”. The molt through which mayflies transition from juve­nile nymphs to winged adults at a stream surface is lengthy and dynamic. Trout feed heavily on the tran­sitional stages because the insects are exposed and vulnerable. When a hatch is heavy, fish can become exceedingly selective. They will key in on one specific stage of the process and avoid others. This is especially true of heavily fished trout. Such selec­tivity is one reason why you’ll find so many dif­ferent emerger patterns in fly shop bins. Emerger imitations include those intended to be fished below (but close to) the sur­face, those that ride partially below and partially above the surface, and those that float low on top or awash in the surface film. Car­rying a variety of emerger patterns is helpful, because one of the challenges and joys of fish­ing a mayfly hatch is deciphering the stage(s) of emer­gence on which trout feed.

John Barr is one of the most respected fly tyers of our time. He is a humble and remarkably creative tyer with a stellar reputation for designing innovative and effec­tive flies. Rather than modify existing ideas and designs, Barr starts anew and crafts simple but effec­tive flies that solve many of fly fishing’s persistent chal­lenges. His flies often become personal favor­ites of knowledgeable experts, including fishing guides, shop owners, and fellow celebrated fly design­ers. Barr’s most famous flies are the Copper John and Barr Emerger, but his Graphic Caddis, Vis-a-Dun, Slump Buster, and Meat Whis­tle are also highly regarded and have many devoted followers.

Copyright 2024, Rusty Dunn

Barr Emerger (PMD)

Barr tied both dry and wet versions of his Emerger, which differ by stiffness of the hackle. Color of the tail and abdo­men should match that of the nymph; color of the thorax and legs match that of the adult. Barr Emergers tied in BWO sizes and colors are very effective, as are flashback versions of the wet Emerger.