Years ago my cousin Jay (who, at the time, lived in Seattle and fished a lot for trout in lakes) gave me some tiny midge dry flies to try that he had tied up. He called them hackled Raccoons. I didn’t know much about the fly but they sure worked well for me during the winter fishing season in MN/WI. His flies had a Zelon shuck with segment marks he’d made with a fine black Sharpie.
Over time my small supply of hackled Raccoons ran low and I set out to tie up some replacements. I found some online articles that mentioned the Raccoon as a lake chironomid pattern created by Phil Rawly. I suppose the hackled part was a variation by Jay and his fishing friends.
Lady McConnell
While I continued my quest on the interwebs I came across another midge pattern, the Lady McConnell by Brian Chan, that looked a bit more like Jay’s hackled version but used a tiny grizzly hackle feather to imitate the segmentation of a trailing shuck. I thought the shuck and the fancy name were both pretty cool so that’s what I’m calling it now.
These flies get chewed up when the fish start feeding on them but it makes it all the more fun to fish with them. Just carry a few extra.
Hook: I use Daiichi 1110 (Orvis Big Eye 4641) ring eye hooks but use whatever you like. This one is an 18 so you can see it but tie them down to 22s.
Thread/Body: I like 70 denier thread but again use what you like. The thread will be the body color so pick a color (black, olive, tan, red, etc.) that might look like the midges you’re imitating. Red thread has me thinking about another old midge pattern, Herters Blood Midge, that would also be worth checking out.
Shuck Part 1: Super Secret Midge Flash from Lund’s. Length is the same as the hook gap.
Shuck Part 2: Tiny Grizzly hackle feather. Length is the same as the hook.
If you don’t have this stuff, use Zelon and a Sharpie.
Overbody: Deer hair. I clip the hair tips off and tie in tips first (starting at the hackle spot) so the overbody tapers from thin in the back to thicker in the front. I put a drop of Sally Hansen’s over this part for a little extra durability.
Collar: Grizzly hackle sized to 1.5 of the hook gap.
The Pass Lake is one of the old style patterns that is often overlooked today. It’s my favorite fly for brook trout. It seems to trigger their strike instinct more than other fly I’ve tried. It can be fished wet or dry. I prefer fishing it wet, just under the surface, with the hook being the only weight. Often the best fish in a pool will be the first to strike.
I learned to tie this fly (and many others) from Bob Mitchell several years ago and this is how he tied it.
Hook: #10 Mustad 9672 or equivalent
Thread: Black
Tail: Golden Pheasant Tippet
Body: Black Chenille Medium
Wing: White Calf Tail
Beard: Brown Hen Hackle
Pass Lake Fly
My version in the above photo has a slight variation where I’ve used an orange dyed hen feather rather than the original brown. I don’t think the fish care but I like orange.
If you search around you’ll find there are other ways to tie the Pass Lake. There’s a great article about it’s history here:
Damian Wilmot has a nice video where he uses a #10 TMC 3671 hook, red thread and a polar bear for the wing. For me, I feel the calf tail is part of the Pass Lake’s success. I do think the red thread might make a cool variation though.
I hope you give this fly a try.
Oh, and if you have a fly you’d like to share with our readers, send an email to editor Ed or myself. We’re listed on the website but I’ll also put our contacts below.
Please note, the chapter meetings will now be on the first Tuesday of the month.
Matt Doth
From Matt:
Born and raised right here in the Twin Cities I started as a child with a devoted passion for everything outdoors. I have spent my entire life hunting, fishing, trapping, camping, and hiking. It has inspired me on hunts in Alaska with my brother for grizzly, to the Northshore of Lake Superior for Minnesota steelhead. From the mountains of Colorado hunting elk, to the Mississippi River, right out my back door for trophy smallmouth bass.All these experiences and trips were done on a working man’s dollar, and all of them Do It Yourself! A lifetime’s obsession for the outdoors and an inner drive for teaching others and giving back inspired me to create Mahigan Outdoors.
My mission is to bring this passion and love of the outdoors to others through hands on experiences. (Ma-he-gan) is the Algonquin word for “wolf”, an animal that is synonymous with leadership, strength, family, community, integrity, and a relentlessness to achieve. For centuries Native Americans have aligned wolves with loyalty, and freedom, and have long regarded wolves as teachers. These are the very things that the foundation of Mahigan Outdoors was built on.
Please note we are now meeting on the first Tuesday of the month.
Juniors River Falls
Dinner at 6 Meeting at 7
Dennis Pratt, President of the Brule River Sportsmen’s Club, will be our speaker at the October 4th meeting of the Kiap-TU-Wish chapter of Trout Unlimited. His presentation will describe in detail the spawning cycle of the Brook Char (Brook Trout) highlighted by his use of underwater videos captured on Wisconsin’s Bois Brule River.
Dennis, a retired DNR fisheries biologist of thirty-seven years, is still actively engaged in fisheries improvement work and leads several volunteer trout habitat efforts each summer on the Bois Brule. Dennis grew up at the mouth of a small trout stream on Lake Superior’s Chequamegon Bay and spent his entire career in the Lake Superior Basin at field stations in Bayfield, Brule and Superior. Hobbies include hunting, fishing, historical fishery research and most recently, trout videography.
Kiap-Tu-Wish Chapter Meeting: Wednesday, September 7th, 5:00 p.m. Rush River Brewing Company 990 ANTLER CT RIVER FALLS WI 54022
Chapter Meeting Social: Pizza, 50/50 card raffle, Door-Prize Drawings and Raffles, Casting for fun, Write-in tip drawing. Paul Johnson flies for sale, Gear Swap (rods, reels, fly tying materials, stream accessories, float tubes), 6:00-8:30 pm.
