Fall means a lot of things to a lot of people. For me it means coho salmon. One of the things I love about coho is their run diversity on our North Sound rivers. We have bright coho returning from September well into December and beyond. Under the right circumstances, they're aggressive, hard fighting and acrobatic, often leaping clear out of the water in a head over tail maneuver.
Coho like a moving fly, one that is stripped across their field of vision at the perfect pace according to their mood. If the fly jigs vertically in the water as it's retrieved, all the better. Coho also have a penchant for bling. Bright, gaudy, flashy things command their attention, especially moving into late October and November around here, when the rivers have more flow and often a fair bit of color to them. The Diamond Dog espouses all of the characteristics of an effective coho fly, plus it has an egghead and I've determined through the years that coho decidedly like things that appear to be sucking on an egg. As with most salmon flies, the color possibilities are limited only by your imagination. I've done well with the recipe above, along with schemes of blue/silver, copper/blue, green/silver and pink/silver.
The Diamond Dog is also an homage to a great musician who was similarly drawn to glitter and glam. You get extra points in my book if you know the reference.
Diamond Dog Recipe:
Hook: Gamakatsu L11S-3H
Thread: Purple 140 Denier Ultra Thread
Eyes: Large Plated Lead Eyes
Body: Red UV Polar Chenille
Wing: Grape Flashabou #6919 over Silver Flashabou #6901
Head: Fl Red/Pearl Speckled Chenille
Collar: Purple 3" EP Foxy Brush/Purple Schlappen
Confluence Beer Pairing: Fall being a time of harvest and all, it's great to experience the tastes of the season that just aren't quite the same any other time of the year, like smoked salmon and butternut squash to name a few. This year's Kulshan Fresh Hop IPA is out and in cans and as you might imagine is as drinkable a brew as anything else Kulshan makes. I also had my first sip watching the Seahawks beat the Rams on the big screen at K2 last Thursday which solidifies this BOTM as an all around positive experience. October being the beer month that it is, you're going to want to make sure to check out our tying night at Chuckanut Brewery on October 30th. Their Festbier and Dunkel are top notch too!