A Humpy variation - the simple version

From C. Boyd Pfeiffer's "Simple Flies," this simplified Humpy only uses three materials. A single tuft of deer hair serves as the tail, the hump and the wing.
Hook: #12-16 dry fly
Thread: Any, or color to match the body
Body: Floss or dubbing, any color
Tail/hump/wing: Deer hair
Hackle: Dry fly, any color
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Savage Flies is a project with the mission of encouraging and teaching fly tying to as many people as possible. The channel is named after one of my western Maryland homewaters, the Savage River. Thanks for stopping by.

[@jimholland1592]

Good morning Matt☕️☕️ I was making breakfast having coffee and watching you. Love that Humpy, and I love simplicity. Your footage is get better all the time and what a nice fish, Sweet 👍 Thanks for all your efforts 😉

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Jim! You were the only one who knew the outcome before watching as this was the guy I texted you a picture of. :-)

[@jimholland1592]

@@SavageFlies spoiler alert 🤣🤣🤣👍

[@knowyourjoe8826]

I was on the edge of my seat. The only thing missing was the cut to a commercial cliffhanger. Lol. I didn’t think it would end like that. Nice fly and thanks for sharing.

[@SavageFlies]

Ha! Thanks Bill. I've fought enough fish like that that as often as not I end up blowing it and either let them break me off or give too much slack and they shake the hook. :-)

[@edpeter9411]

Looks like a typical day in the water for me. 😂. Nice fly and looks fairly easy. I think I’ll give it a try tonight after work.

[@SavageFlies]

Go for it Ed! It is a pretty easy one. :-)

[@bigdaddy99929]

Of course I’ve gotta love this one. Any simplified flies are welcome. Thx Matt!

[@SavageFlies]

Yes indeed Clyde! You need to pick up this book. :-) I don't see any used copies on Amazon right now but bookmark this page and one will likely turn up before too long. amzn.to/3eq9uVa

[@dahutful]

Don't you just love that book?! Thanks Matt

[@SavageFlies]

I do! It's the one I've been tying out of the most lately. :-)

[@ceesbouma2776]

Nice fly tying that way👍 and wat a beauty brownie after a great fight, thanks Matt for posting

[@charleshutcheson2506]

Matt, I’ve enjoyed your videos for quite some time now, and I have to say that the on-stream portions really enhance your channel. Thanks & keep up the good work!

[@SavageFlies]

Well thank you Charles! I wish I got to go fishing enough to put some footage in every video. But I can tie every night and only get to fish every couple of weeks. :-)

[@oldsmugglerflyfishing]

Hello Matt. That's a very nice variation and indeed it looks more simple. You fished a nice river. Nice trout! All the best.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks! It was a pretty fun morning on the Savage. :-)

[@MyItalians]

Morning Matt. Nice! Brown.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Nich! Have a great week my friend. :-)

[@jamesphillips2216]

I really like this version, sweet fly!! Great brown!! Congrats on being able to land him!!

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it James!

[@barbaraemerich1921]

Awesome video thank you Matt! So many flies to Ty and I definitely would have fallen in!!

[@SavageFlies]

Ha! Knock on wood, I haven't fallen all year. :-)

[@barbaraemerich1921]

@@SavageFlies there hadn’t been a body of water I haven’t fallen in

[@uglyflycompanyoutdoors]

Nice fly, looks fun to tie. Nice fish too. Would like to see more segments of you fishing the flies.

[@edwardmlotkiewicz2343]

Nice, simple variation of the Humpy. I really enjoy these videos and have a library of them for reference. Nice trout you caught. It tried hard to get you in its world!!

[@SavageFlies]

Yes it did Ed! But I won the battle in the end. :-)

[@gordonmiller4439]

Sweet simplicity and fantastic brown, Matt! Thanks for sharing, friend.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Gordon! Thanks for watching my friend. :-)

[@edwardchavez5627]

Good Morning Sir Matt, loved the video this morning and the fishing footage. I think there was a few extra bleeps lol 😆😂🤣. I will be tying up some of that good looking fly. Thanks again Sir Matt.

[@SavageFlies]

You're most welcome Edward! Have a great week my friend. :-)

[@jeffreystone7327]

Very nice looking. Bring on that big Fall bite. Best part of the season sneaking up on us. Great video. Loved the fishing footage. Excellent catch, beautiful. Thank you Sir.

[@SavageFlies]

Yes indeed Jeff! I love fishing in the mountains in the fall. Cold mornings and warm afternoons. And if the fish are on, there is nothing better. :-)

[@PULSEMusicGroup]

Ok now this is pretty cool! Super dope! Thanks for sharing Matt!

[@melchurch3019]

That was one wiley Brown.You sound just like me when I'm having trouble handling a fish. That was fun. The Humpy looks like a good fast tie. It'll fish. Thanks.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Mel! Most of my four-letter words won't ever make it into a video because they come after I've lost a nice fish. And nobody wants to watch that. :-)

[@johngallagher5821]

Matt, great fly. Simple is often the best.

[@SavageFlies]

Yep, I agree John! Thanks for watching my friend. :-)

[@tompeterson559]

Simple Filies is fast becoming one of my favorite books! I'm glad I was able to get a copy. Nice fish! The main reason you didn't fall in was that there wasn't a live audience. I was fishing the Green River in Washington (no bodies) and stepped off a shelf backwards and went in over my head into a pool - with two families and about three other fishermen all watching!

[@castironbakeryedmonton2644]

Me too. I tumbled along in a river recently. I was crossing and trying to avoid a father and son fishing a bit up river. They made some wry comment as I came back up about crossing in a poor place. I was wondering how they’d have felt if first attempt I’d waded through where they were fishing. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@SavageFlies]

Hahaha! I hope it wasn't winter time when you took that swim in water over your head. And oh, I know what you're saying about an audience. Have you noticed whenever anyone stops to watch you fish, you never hook up with anything? Except one time I did. Two fishermen watching me as I was playing a decent fish. It was the day after Thanksgiving, pretty cold out, and I took a seat in thigh-deep water just as I was netting the fish. Not dangerous, but deep enough that the water came over the top of my waders and down my back. The guys didn't laugh at me (out loud anyway), but I got to say hello to them as I walked back to the truck to put on some dry clothes. :-)

[@SavageFlies]

Wow, that's kind of annoying! A few times I've seen someone looking for a place to cross and I've invited them to cross where I was. Saying something like, "I'm done here anyway." Because I know what it's like trying to cross in dangerous stretches!

[@tompeterson559]

@@SavageFlies fortunately for me, it was a hot summer day!

[@johnnylightning1491]

Nice fish on a nice simple fly. I agree I think you could tie this fly in about an color you want and fish it as an attractor. Keep the good stuff coming.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Dave! Appreciate it my friend. :-)

[@johnkies5343]

Good looking tie. Like the orange and pale deer hair for this time of year. Your netting the fish reminded me of some of my own endeavors Keep up the good work!

[@SavageFlies]

Haha! Yeah, it reminded me of one time, near this very stretch, on the day after Thanksgiving when I fell over backwards just as I netted a nice one. Not a dangerous fall, but I sat right down on my butt in thigh-deep water. Just deep enough for the cold water to come in over the top of my waders. I'd much rather fall in in the summer. :-)

[@Jd-yc3gw]

Good evening Matt. Was on the road early this morning so ☕️ and your video has shifted to 🍺and your video. That’s a great book and I appreciate the simplified versions. Netting fish when your by yourself can be a challenge but I can’t say I’ve done it in current, on slippery rocks, while holding a fishing rod, and doing it for the camera shot. You definitely earned the bleeps in my book. 😀

[@SavageFlies]

Hahaha! Thanks John. Hope you're having a safe trip so far. :-)

[@markfritch3168]

Great fly and footage. Almost three weeks into my new hip replacement surgery. Can walk a little without the walker and healing up nicely. Hope to be able to do some pain free fishing and hunting in a couple months. 🎉 Thanks Matt for helping to fill in some of my recovery time. Sure do appreciate your efforts and contribution to our sport.

[@SavageFlies]

You bet Mark! I'm glad to hear your recovery is going well and glad I can help a little with giving you some ideas to tie. :-)

[@davehall2160]

Good looking brown, cool looking fly Matt Thanks for the video

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Dave! Appreciate you watching my friend. :-)

[@dennisfretz1814]

Good looking simple ty add this to my td list. Thanks Matt. Tight lines Denny

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Denny!

[@Wyamike734]

Thanks for the video nice looking fly. Nice catch at the end beautiful fish. Have a great week!

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Mike! And you too my friend. :-)

[@bobhammond8067]

Super fish!! I like the look of the fly. October Caddis time!!

[@laytonmarvin3790]

I really like this version, much simpler. Definitely will be adding this to the box. Beautiful brown, I'm happy that you landed such a good fish. Thank you my friend for sharing.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Layton! It was a fun morning on the water. :-)

[@crowdaddy8355]

Nice humpy variation. Awesome brown. Thanks Matt

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Chad!

[@TERRYBIGGENDEN]

Nice fly and such lovely water and a gorgeous brown! :-)

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it! And yeah, I love this river in the fall. :-)

[@charlieboutin3341]

I bet that fly will catch in the local creek! I’ll give it a shot.👍 Love your fishing video! Awesome fish and location. Glad you got it in the net. I like that you can measure it with your tattoo..16”! What a beauty! Thanks for sharing with us.🙂 I lost a nice largemouth around 5lbs yesterday on my big frog popper, rod set instead of strip set,😑 good fight though. Caught a 3lb later, but wish I would have landed the big one. That’s fishin. 😅 Thanks as always! Have a great one Matt! 👍👌🎣

[@SavageFlies]

Oh man Charlie, you're going to have to email me a picture of that frog! I'm wanting to tie some big bass and snakehead flies this fall. And 5 lbs?? That's a heartbreaker. I have never broken the 5-lb barrier with a bass. I did hook one that big as a kid 40 years ago, and I still remember that day on the water. I was using a broken-back Rapala. But nothing since. Maybe someday I'll get one on a fly. :-)

[@charlieboutin3341]

@@SavageFlies Will do Matt! I had the materials and kind of copied a KZbin video. It’s a foam head, and felt like legs, not much tying involved. Just a small body and rubber legs through the head, then coloring with markers. 😂 My friend Rick caught a 14.2 lb largemouth on a 8wt in a private lake, almost a state record on flyrod. I’m still trying to get an invite there! 😂

[@diecastrejuvenation7779]

Morning Matt! Really nice fly, I'll definitely be tying a few. That is some beautiful water your fishing and a beautiful fish. Gotta get back east fishing someday!

[@SavageFlies]

Yes indeed Troy! And I've got to get out to the west and mid-west again soon too!

[@jeffjackson5331]

Cool! Yeah that fish did not want to play by play book lol.

[@SavageFlies]

No he didn't! I don't think he was very happy to be yanked out of his little pool.

[@jeffjackson5331]

@@SavageFlies lol nope lol

[@DB-iu8yl]

Nice fly Matt. It looks rather straight forward and fishy. That was a really nice Brown.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Dru! It was definitely a fun morning on the water. :-)

[@DarrellOlson]

Great brown trout and footage of the battle.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Darrell! Appreciate it my friend. :-)

[@Michael-hg6ky]

I like this humpy version, the floss works great for the body build up. Good looking brown trout, loved watching him trying to get you to fall in. Thanks Matt.

[@SavageFlies]

Hahaha! Yeah, this guy just cruised right past my net twice. But all good in the end and he got back safe and sound. :-)

[@scottmilner3801]

Awesome fly and I’m lovin the fishing footage!! Keep it goin my friend !!

[@SavageFlies]

You bet Scott! I'll include fishing footage as often as I can. Unfortunately I don't get out on the water as often as I can sit down at the bench. :-)

[@toddslichter7831]

Interesting play on the Humpy...should be a good pattern. Nice Brown on a beautiful stretch of water.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Todd! And yeah, the whole Savage River State Forest is beautiful this time of year. :-)

[@warrenchester8467]

Great work. Thanks again Matt.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Warren! Appreciate you watching my friend. :-)

[@mikefick6725]

Love the fly, nice brown!

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Mike! Appreciate it my friend. :-)

[@BM-oi1wo]

Definitely think I'll adopt this pattern. Way easier and I think it looks great. BTW I swear I've been in that netting situation more times than I can count. Lol. Good to see I'm not the only one.

[@SavageFlies]

Hahaha! Yeah, that fish was laughing at me as he swam past my net twice. But all was good in the end and he got back to his pool safe and sound. :-)

[@marshallbaldwin8960]

Great looking pattern. Definitely tying some up. Great fishing too and only a few beeps out on edit…lol

[@comesahorseman]

Nice fish! 👍

[@jamesvatter5729]

That was a nice brown.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Jim!

[@thomaswalls123]

Nice simple fly👍👍 Love the shirt, oh and you fish like me... allot of colorful talking to the fish.... lol

[@SavageFlies]

Hahaha. Thanks for noticing my new favorite shirt. I love the Wrangler snap front shirts from Tractor Supply Company. My wife laughs at me but they make me feel like a cowboy. :-)

[@marksleeper9385]

Great fly and vid Thanks Matt

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Mark! Appreciate it my friend. :-)

[@frankmonroe8320]

Nice fish Matt!

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Frank!

[@jimkinzer5155]

NICE CATCH!

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Jim!

[@ruebdogg1]

Nice Brown!!

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks! I appreciate you watching. :-)

[@leemowers9395]

Great looking little terrestrial, That fly should work on smaller hooks as well. Nice Brown, I have seen net jobs like that before, I won't mention any names...

[@SavageFlies]

Hahaha! At least I was able to keep my footing. Some of these bowling ball-sized rocks are slippery as heck. :-)

[@pc5439]

Nice fly Matt, if you had caught that brown on the "Psycho Ant instead of that Humpty", sounds like you had been stomping 🍇, hate those slippery bed streams.

[@SavageFlies]

Hahaha! Yes, some of these bowling ball-sized rocks on the Savage can be slippery!

[@joeduca8582]

Awesome "BLEEPING" tutorial, fishing segment, and "trophy" brown! 🤓👍(I would've called it 18" 🤥) Even your muted paisley pattern shirt was awesome, (from the hippie bus? ;o) OK, love that HV. I've used egg yarn for a fat body. The short wing and 1X hook 👍. I've seen that hair butt wing method a long time ago in I think Fly Fishing & Tying Journal. To me this Humpy looks similar to a Tom Thumb (Feather Bender, lots of variants). I may get Pfeiffer"s "SF" book, I have his big Complete Rod Building, Tackle Making book. But a book I'd recommend is Modern Steelhead Flies by Rob Russel and Jay Nicholas. I love Jay's tying videos and simplified patterns. Darren Maceachern (Piscator Flies) reviewed this book after I pestered him on how to tie Lambroughton's Moose Hair Skater. A very cool and simple pattern that's in that book. It's in the same vein as the Tom Thumb, Humpy, etc. that can be used as a skating pattern. Matt, it looked like the fish took when you mended your line, maybe it skated a bit? Seeing that I'm on a book tangent another that I'd recommend that fit's your channel's mission is Joe Cermele's (Field & Stream) Total Fly Fishing Manual. Tons of great advice. Thanks Matt, great video! BTW, what are your tattoos? I've only caught glimpses of them, they look pretty cool. And you battled that trout just fine. I've taken a spill in a river below a dam chasing smallmouth, not fun. I've a 3" scar "tattoo" from the ER on my knee. Take care buddy.

[@SavageFlies]

Hahaha! You know I LOVE these Wrangler snap up shirts from Tractor Supply Company. I can walk into the bedroom at night and bam, open it up in a flash saying something cheesy. You don't want to know what I say. But it gets a chuckle, or an eye-roll, from my wife. But yeah, I love those pearl snaps. Makes me feel like a cowboy. :-) So yes, this fly is reminiscent of a Tom Thumb. I haven't watched Darren's tie of that but now I might. And Pfeiffer's books... I just got a used copy of his "Bug Making." Was it you who recommended that one too? But he's also got one on Terrestrials. I thought I ordered that one too but I don't see it floating around my mess of a fly tying room. So maybe I haven't yet. But you know what's annoying? Someone will recommend a book, I'll order it and get it, and put it on the shelf to "get back to it soon," and I'll forget about it and order it again later. Sometimes that's how I end up with extra copies to give away, or just take to my bench at the farm. Regarding the mending. Yep, that cast landed, I did a quick upstream mend and the fish took it before my mended line landed again. No skating though, I had enough slack in the line to not drag it at all. And the tattoos... that's a longer story. My right arm is four circular icons. A butterfly- my wife and got married in a butterfly garden. A crown- my daughter loved princesses at the time. (But now she's a teenager.) A dinosaur- my son loved dinosaurs. And an atom symbol- I'm a chemist/physicist. The one on my left arm is a band of circles that I planned to fill in with memorable moments. And just haven't gotten to it yet. But that one happens to be 13 inches from the tip of my finger to the first circle so it's a convenient way to measure fish. I've even thought of adding tick marks to make it like a real ruler. Maybe someday I'll get around to that. :-)

[@joeduca8582]

@@SavageFlies Ha ha, Chippendales!😉I've one pearl snap, western cut WOOL shirt from Kmart I bought for duck hunting back in the day when quality clothing was inexpensive. Beautiful plaid earth tone shades like dried grass and reeds. I'd sit on a stool in the reeds, face covered and wait... When the ducks came into the dekes I'd jump up, rip open those snaps and BAM those ducks dropped from fright - never fired a shot! Saved a lot on ammo. 🤓👍I don't know if Darren ever filmed a Tom Thumb video but he's probably forgotten more patterns than I'll ever know. I used to call him the "Professor" because of his knowledge. You're in the same camp. You can find images of Lambroughten's Moose Hair Skater online. That's the pattern I'd asked Darren about. I think he did a video on Christmas gifts for the fly tiers in the "community", that Modern Steelhead Flies had instructions for tying the LMHS. So thanks for the tattoo story, beautiful sentiment. All the best Matt :o)

[@FlyTyer1948]

Not sexy water? The water & that fish look pretty sexy to me. Great catch of a very feisty, very strong fish! It must have been the boss fish of that stretch of water. I really like this variation of a Humpy. It looks easier to tie. I usually prefer natural tips on a hair wing fly, but the clipped hair wings actually look pretty good. Side note: if you haven’t gotten to it yet, check the email I included in a forward in a video on a bass worm fly sent on Friday. It has some relevant information on C.Boyd Pfeiffer in the 3rd paragraph.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Bob! I just watched that tie, and that was actually a slick little bass worm. I'm definitely going to play around with that design. Did you notice he tied that on a size 1 hook? I think I'll go no bigger than a 4. And oh man, my pronunciation again?? Uggh! And you know what, I had a good friend shipmate 20 years ago and come to think of it, he pronounced it FIFE-er too. Okay, thanks for catching that. :-)

[@richardbutts6512]

I like this one whole lot easier to tie for sure!! Kudos on yer 16 incher thats a nice fish!! Ya ever fish the spring river in Arkansas? Thanks for the video n take care

[@pc5439]

Hey Richard, Dam 3 and Bayou Access

[@SavageFlies]

I never have Richard. Never even fished Arkansas or Missouri. Is that considered the Ozarks? Because if so, that's definitely on my bucket list!

[@richardbutts6512]

@@SavageFlies yep its the Ozarks

[@richardbutts6512]

@@pc5439 yes sir I fish the Spring River from Mammoth Springs to Hardy

[@gregleak5134]

I had one fall and early winter on 19 mile creek bert ny that if I didn't get wet I couldn't catch a fish. Haha

[@SavageFlies]

I hear you Greg! I haven't taken a spill all year so I'm probably overdue. :-)

[@Laxcodyj]

Can you find and do the original Devil bug? From the mid century. They look way cool. Thanks. Love your videos!

[@SavageFlies]

Funny you mention the Devil Bug Cody! I just tied a similar pattern for Friday's video. It's called the Gill Getter and reminded me a bit of it. I'm looking for pictures of the original Devil Bug. All the ones I see pretty much look like all the others. Or are you talking about this one? drive.google.com/file/d/10k8jt_kg_S--jinFhC_Id0C73fnuJdTz/view?usp=sharing

[@jimgollach6202]

Never fished humpys, I may need to give that a try. Nice brown Matt, big fish have a tendency to make you work for them. Lol 😆. Matt , can you tell me where you purchased your singeing tool? Tight lines. 👍

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Jim! This thread burner was actually a gift. But it's quite economical. It's called the Thread Zap II by Beadsmith. amzn.to/3wXeQ0D

[@jimgollach6202]

@@SavageFlies thank you sir! 😊

[@wahipple]

well you got it in the net so that one counts

[@SavageFlies]

That's right Jim! This guy wasn't my biggest fish of the season but he was probably my trickiest battle. :-)

[@randymorris8740]

What hatch was going on while you were fishing? One even landed on your camera lens...

[@SavageFlies]

Yes! The funny thing is, I wasn't seeing a lot of these bugs flying around and didn't notice how many there were until looking at the footage I had recorded. I'm thinking this was a cinnamon colored caddis (almost a mix between a rust color and light brown). These usually come in late summer to early fall around here and are probably #16-18s. I suppose the #18 tan caddis I was using was a close enough imitation as it had an auburn/orange CDC for the body. And I got more fish with that than the hoppers. :-)

[@kennethjones4275]

Interesting pattern, could you please give me the author's name, I tried catching the name but I can't make it out, also nice catch, nice to see an unedited catch.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Kenneth! The book is by C. Boyd Pfeiffer.

[@kennethjones4275]

@@SavageFlies Thank you