Simple but deadly is a mantra I often embrace at the vise. It's not unusual to find myself over-programmed, short on time and long on desire to replenish my fly box and catch a few fish. If this sounds familiar I think you'll like this fly every bit as much as I do.
George Daniel's Spark Plug is a quick-to-tie and uncomplicated fly that drops fast and swims near the bottom where the big predatory fish often lurk. In our neck of the woods, the piscatorial apex predator that hunts our local rivers is the bull trout. Some are anadromous, some live their whole lives in the stream, many are quite large and all of them eat smaller fish as the mainstay of their diet.
The Spark Plug sinks like a downrigger ball and gets into the strike zone in the often deeper pools where bigger bull trout wait to ambush their prey. When stripped back it'll jig erratically and flash like a wounded minnow. It's the Sparkle Minnow meets the Kreelex Minnow and any streamer angler that appreciates the effectiveness of these two patterns will want to add the Spark Plug to their box. Despite being a rather heavy fly, the Spark Plug casts surprisingly well as it's constructed entirely of synthetic materials. Beyond our local piscivorous char, the Spark Plug is also irresistible to big brown trout and bass. Add a few to your streamer collection the next time you sit down to tie and brace yourself for a memorable grab on the river.
Confluence Beer Pairing: These dark days of winter call for a an equally dark brew to warm the core and breathe life back into your soul after hours of standing waist deep in 40 degree water while the day's precipitation vacillates between rain and snow. We're going to reach a few miles beyond our local 360 area code and recommend Stoup Brewing's Robust Porter out of Seattle. It's got those hints of chocolate and coffee I really appreciate in a Porter, all the while swimming in a rich and malty sweetness.