BHCN: Joe, we need to let our readers know that this week we are talking in my office here at the Big Horn County News.

Joe: That’s right. We wanted to take some pictures of a few of the flies and talk about getting into fly tying.

BHCN: Thank you for taking the time to drive in and bring all these flies. You have a great variety and lots of each one. The only one I recognize is the San Juan worm. You have lots of those in several different colors and sizes.

Joe: Most of the flies in that box are nymphs. There are some strike indicators and most all of it is for fly fishing. However, the San Juan worm can be fished on a spin rod and be very effective in sections of the river where you cannot use bait, like the top 12 miles.

BHCN: Well, how do you fish them when using a spin casting rig?

Joe: I put a big bell sinker on the bottom and generally fish two San Juans above it in two different patterns.

BHCN: You just let it drag across the bottom?

Joe: Yes and get it deep. They call it bottom bouncing. Some people call it the Teton rig. You need to get the San Juans deep in the hole. You can fish them deeper on a spin rod than you can on a fly rod.

BHCN: For those who don’t know, what is the reason you want to get to the bottom section of a hole or fish as deep as you can?

Joe: The bigger fish are at the bottom of the holes. There are some very good fish caught on San Juan worms using spin rods.

BHCN: How would you fish a San Juan if you were using a fly rod?

Joe: On fly rods you generally fish a single San Juan and then we will drop off the bend of the hook or the eye of the hook to a smaller pattern like a skud, sow bug, pheasant tail or anything that duplicates what is in the water. We will then change around with what we call a dropper on the fly rod and fish with one or two small split shot.

BHCN: How effective is a setup like that and in particular the San Juan worm?

Joe: I would say that, by a big margin, that the San Juan worm produces more fish on the Bighorn than any of the other flies or lures.

BHCN: When you are fishing with the fly rod and the dropper rigging where do you put the split shot – above the dropper or the San Juan worm?

Joe: You put it above the San Juan about 15 to 16 inches.

BHCN: So the San Juan and the dropper are still pretty much floating free.

Joe: Right and the big thing on the fly rod is to get a natural drift. You do not want it dragging through the current. You cast it out and get a natural drift. Once you get your drift right and your presentation right you will start catching fish.

BHCN: Joe I hate this but we have run out of room for this week. I want your readers to know we will continue this discussion next week.