Crappie novitiates tying copies of a Steve Hudson fly. He looks on with care—Hudson photo.
The crappie world of fly fishing is more fun than watching MTG
Skip Clement, New Zealand
By Skip Clement
At a local fly shop, Alpharetta Outfitters, Alpharetta, Georgia, there was a free fly tying class—my favorite price. The instructor was Steve Hudson, an author with over 30 titles.
The class was beginner in orientation, and I knew I’d made a mistake and would be bored, but I determined to be polite and shut my mouth.
No, it turned out Smarty Pants didn’t know as much as he thought he did. I learned a lot and am glad that I sat through it. Steve’s “A Structured Course in Fly Tying” is the best instructional book ever written on fly tying up to the intermediate level. I’ve practiced several new maneuvers, new to me, over and over.
Many of his tips included, Oh, that’s why they do that. Ah ha, or, that is the easier way.
Steve Hudson is the author of over 30 books. He also teaches fly casting and fly tying and has been known to build fly rods. Hudson probably knows more about southern Appalachia’s fishing and hiking than anyone.
Opening tying choices puzzled me
Why was Hudson showing everyone how to tie an inchworm and a San Juan Worm on #16 1x short hooks using green Chenille?
I kind of pooh-poohed the worm idea, plopping them on my portable tying table, forgetting about them, and moving on to flies that would work, thinking, wasn’t that where we started as kids, worms?
Well, I was in for a surprise—a big surprise. My new fishing buddy, Andy Moselli, a retired dentist from Alabama, called me and wanted to know if I was up to fishing for bream, crappie, and bass on the Big Creek in Alpharetta, Georgia.
He inquired about my fly collection for the following day’s outing. Saying, “Do you have San Juan worms, inchworms, ants, or small, black #6 and #8 Woolly Buggers with a little Flashabou?” I said I have a few, but I’ll have a bunch tomorrow. I asked if he had any. He said, “Not enough – need different sizes and colors; I’m going to Alpharetta Outfitters now.” Stay put, I’ll tie up a bunch, I told him. He gave me the size hooks, colors, and patterns.
He could tell his bigger-than-expected needs put me off. After a pause, he said, “I’ll buy Lunch.”
Big Creek Greenway
Big Creek Greenway is an on going project passing though several suburbs north and west of Atlanta, Georgia. It follows the flow Big Creek and provides lots walk-in fishing, nature viewing and biking. No, you won’t be alone, but will have patches of time to yourself.
Big Creek Greenway is an ongoing project passing through several suburbs north and west of Atlanta, GA. It follows the flow of Big Creek and provides lots of walk-in fishing, nature viewing, and biking. No, you won’t be alone, but you will have patches of time for yourself.
The following day, we met at around 7 a.m. at Big Creek Greenway (Alpharetta portion), ready to rumble. The weather had cooled considerably, and we spotted activity immediately.
Steve Hudson has enjoyed fly tying and fly fishing for many years and has taught thousands of people to tie flies. An award-winning outdoor writer and illustrator, he has written extensively about fly fishing, fly tying, hiking, travel and outdoor recreation, with numerous magazine articles and more than 30 books to his credit. He lives in north Georgia.
No day was ever more chock full of catches—multiple fish fighting for every morsel pitched at them. The brownish San Juans on 12s and green Inchworm patterns on 16s worked best. Bream accounted for most catches, followed by small bass.
The fishing slowed down around 11 a.m., so we had lunch at the nearby mall. We were back on the Big Green around 2:30 p.m., and the fishing changed; we were not getting hit on worms as much. I switched to a greenish, schlep hackle on a #6 black Wooly Bugger, and the bass hit it, but my hook-ups lacked. It would help to have a vicious strike with bass or any model. Fishing rose to fever pitch again at 6-ish, but we were fried.
The moral here is don’t thumb your nose at worms
The following day we met at around sun-up at Big Creek Greenway (Alpharetta portion) ready to rumble. The weather had cooled, a lot. We spotted activity immediately.
No day was ever more chock full of catches – multiple fish fighting for every morsel pitched at them. The brownish San Juan’s on 12’s and green Inch Worm patterns on 16’s worked best. Bream accounted for most catches, and then small bass.
The fishing slowed down around 11, so we had lunch at the nearby mall.
We were back on the Big Green around 2:30 pm and the fishing changed, we were not getting hit on worms as much. I switched to a greenish, Schlappen [nice and webby, saddle hackle is stiffer and great for tails] hackle on a #6 black Woolly Bugger and the bass hit it, but my hook-ups lacked. You need to have a vicious strike with bass, any model. Fishing picked up to fever pitch again at 6-ish, but we were fried.
Moral here is don’t thumb your nose at worms
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