This month's fly of the month brings you the D-Rib Carey. The Carey Special was originally developed in the 1920's by retired British soldier Colonel Carey, who sought a sure fire trout pattern that would consistently catch fish. Fast forward nearly a century later and the Carey Special remains one of the most effective stillwater searching patterns that can grace your fly box. The fly is commonly trolled behind a boat or float tube, but can easily be cast and retrieved as well.
Perhaps the key to this fly's effectiveness lies in its inherent "bugginess" and ability to resemble a variety of common food items in a trout's diet, from leeches and dragonfly nymphs to damsels, snails and even small baitfish depending on how it is tied. While peacock and wool bodied Carey's are probably the most popular, these materials hold up poorly when bringing ungodly numbers of trout to hand. I started tying the D-Rib Carey in an effort to build a fly that wouldn't start unraveling after a few fish and liked the durability, translucency and endless array of color options that using D-Rib material offers. With a slimmer profile, the D-Rib Carey does a fine job imitating leeches, damsels and even bloodworms depending on the body color and is a proven trout getter on our local lakes and beyond.
D-Rib Carey Special Recipe:
Thread: Red 70 Denier White Ultra Thread for the underbody, finish with 8/0 Black Uni Thread
Hook: #8-12 Tiemco 200R or Daiichi 1270
Tail: Natural Ringneck Pheasant Rump fibers
Body: Red D-Rib or color of choice wound with small silver Ultra Wire
Hackle: Natural Ringneck Pheasant Rump 2-3 wraps
The Confluence Beer Pairing: Give Wander Brewing's Peach Millie Sour a try when you tie the D-Rib Carey. You can now find it in bottles at Wander, Elizabeth Station and other fine beer caves around Whatcom County. If you like sours, this one's amazing. If you don't, we recommend you give this one a chance anyway.