I love fishing for big aggressive late season coho from Alaska to Washington. You never know quite what to expect. Sometimes the takes are subtle like a gentle pluck, sometimes you get the rod-wrenching grab and a thick slab of a fish erupting downriver intent on returning to sea. Whatever the case, coho do seem to have a marked affinity for flashy flies with a lot of inherent movement, so I decided to pull out all the stops and jam as many trigger points into the Twitch Magnet as I could think of...rabbit, marabou, liberal amounts of flashabou and rubber legs. Does it catch more coho than the tried and true flashy Starlight Leeches I've been rocking for years? Tough to say, but it fishes well and seems to appeal to both coho and chum. My go to colors are the featured version, a hot pink/orange version and fuchsia and purple. Tie a few and take them for a swim on your next coho outing. Next time you're in the shop make sure and also thank Brandon for talking me out of naming this fly the Twitch McConnell. Thank goodness for a voice of reason. I could make a career out of coming up with bad fly names.
Twitch Magnet Recipe:
Hook: #2 Gamakatsu B10S
Thread: Purple 140 Denier Ultra Thread
Eyes: Large Plated Lead Eyes
Tail: Purple/Baby Blue Two Tone Rabbit
Flash: Grape Flashabou/Lateral Scale
Body: UV Silver Polar Chenille
Collar: Fl. Blue Marabou/UV Purple Schlappen
Legs: Chartreuse Grizzly Flutter Legs
Head: Pearl/Fl. Green Speckled Chenille
The Confluence Beer Pairing: This month's beer is anything but a pumpkin ale. With Oktoberfest and fresh hop season in full swing, you have no shortage of outstanding refreshing and exquisitely delicious brews to choose from so it's going to be dealer's choice. Just please, no pumpkin ale. It is the definition of gross!