LaFontaine Sparkle Emerger

Detailed instructions for tying a Sparkle Emerger Fly.
Hook: Standard dry-fly hook (here a Tiemco 100), sizes 12-18.
Thread: 6/0, black.
Underbody and shuck: Antron, carded, golden yellow.
Body: Antron, yellow-brown.
Wings: Natural deer hair, cleaned and stacked.
Thorax: Australian possum dubbing, brown.
Note: Pick out the Antron to create a “bubble” around the body.
Material Source:
Hook: collabs.shop/i03jag
Thread: collabs.shop/lii0d6
Underbody and shuck: collabs.shop/vhdifi
Body: collabs.shop/cp2olv
Wings: collabs.shop/tkgzje
Thorax: collabs.shop/qotela
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#flyfishing #trout #flytying

[@TheTwispAngler]

I was told it was an air sack by a real pro - and I didn't realize it went all the way back to 1981. I thought it was real new in about 1997. So you are doing a real good job. : )

[@naklabtimothy2462]

I bought his book and LaFontaine's research was Brilliant. The real Breakthrough was Dupont's rug fiber Antron and how he figured it out. I also fished his home water the Mount Hope River.

[@scottadams1061]

I purchased Caddisflies years ago. It’s a fascinating work. I’ve seen the sparkle pupa and emerger patterns tied and referred to a number of times but you are the first I’ve been aware of that gave this amazing man credit for his work. BRAVO!

[@edciurczak9351]

Awesome job! You're a good teacher and spot on. I had a brief correspondence with LaFontaine. Years ago I met him in Clinton at at Oliver's Orvis shop. He just published his book. I showed him a poly wing caddis. Told him my fishing tactics with the pattern. Anyhow the Antron Gary used isn't available from Dupont. However Jack's Tackle in Douglasville bought a 500 lb spool......he didn't know it was that big 😲...that product is extremely transparent wheñ wet. Nothing like what is sold today! More Darlin like! Tight Lines

[@chrundlethegreat812]

Your videos are the best. Easy to follow for a beginner like me.

[@birrapampa]

its a pleasure see how you tie the fly!!

[@wyomingtrout5581]

I like Gary’s original method of tying, he used the touch dubbing method and did not stack the deer hair wing. His pupal sheath was much more sparse. See tying caddis with Jack Dennis and Mike Lawson. To quote Gary, “this pattern must be tied sparse”

[@tightlinevideo]

This is another fly that can be effective no matter how it is fished. I like to fish them behind a weighted nymph and concentrate on the lift at the end of the drift. It's right when the fly starts rising that I get the most takes.

[@naklabtimothy2462]

1st 4 or 5 trout I caught exactly like that and I did not know it! I finally figured it out that they were hitting it on the lift while I was asleep at the switch. I now know and it is a killer.

[@TheTwispAngler]

I would want a striped underbody - well it's what I was using with great success. : )

[@fshng2fish]

High quality fly and video.

[@tightlinevideo]

You'd have to apply a good bit of floatant to make it float, but yes. Subsurface, really is the way to go. This one is in my top 5 list.

[@hugodelasablonniere1057]

BTW you should post top ten list someday... it would be very interesting

[@snowblind9065]

yup i fish this pattern as a dry during heavy PMD hatches that occur on our rivers here in southern alberta,the big trout like to sip on cripples and stillborn s in back eddy's and pools since its the easiest way to get huge free meal when hundreds of these bugs are swept their by the current.The trout are very selective and spooky.Long tippets with a sound presentation and good matching pattern are the keys to success . both these pattrens "roughed up" a bit are deadly representing a e merger tangled up in its own wings or nymph shuck or a stillborn dun.

[@tightlinevideo]

I usually have them 18 or so inches back from either a Gold-Ribbed Hare's Ear or a Walt's Worm (both are weighted). And yes, the Sparkle Emerger should ride a bit higher in the water column. That said, there are plenty of people who fish these hung off the back a dry fly as well. Either way, they work really well.

[@8626John]

I have tied this with Aunt Lydia's rug yarn, which is pretty much the same stuff, and usually a lot cheaper than sparkle yarn. I do like this version, though - your instructional videos are very well done!

[@randellgribben9772]

were can you get ' aunt lydia's rug yarn '?

[@derekbrower]

Thanks! So better to go beneath the meniscus? When you say below that you fish it trailing a weighted nymph (presumably with a strike indicator?), I guess the emerger ends up riding higher in the water... Great video and thanks for answering.

[@alexst3333]

Thanks!

[@tightlinevideo]

Aunt Lydia's does work just fine but the Antron like Matt uses is just a bit finer, a little more translucent and has a lot of shimmer underwater. Whether the attributes out weigh the increased cost, I do not know.

[@GeorgeSemel]

Gary's 1981 book Caddisflies was and is a monumental work, it changed the way we look at caddis and trout. He did most of the research on the Salmon River, in Colchester CT Area. For some odd reason, there is no stone marker to his memory on the TMA section of the Salmon! If you can get a copy by all means do! It's a book that should be back in print.

[@dankeifer5542]

You're so right, George. LaFontaine's book is fantastic...monumental, is the word for it! And I agree too, LaFontaine doesn't get his due for his contribution to modern fly fishing and the importance of caddis.

[@t_man785]

Is that the bend crazy Joe is on that groberts fishing in the clip

[@FlickingFeathers]

This is a reasonable go at this pattern, but there are 2 problems; the deer air shouldn't be stacked because it's supposed to create a rough edge and the abdomen should be very lightly touch dubbed to accentuate the transucency.

[@tthomp57]

I thought I had every exotic tying material on earth. Now I find I need brown, Australian opossum! What next!? Seriously though, beautiful fly!

[@zafotbeeb]

You don't really need possum dubbing as I still use what Gary used on his originals which is marabou fibers tied in and then wrapped around your thread for durability . On smaller hooks I use either beaver dubbing or rabbit.

[@derekbrower]

Can you fish this on the surface?

[@98dfree]

how do you fish this fly?

[@brooktroutangler5917]

we haven't seen much of Matt lately......

[@glenndotter5021]

Good job on the video. I always get a kick when a tier specifies materials such as "Austrailian Possum". Do you think an American Trout knows the difference? I can see a 10 lb. Brown eyeing a fly tied wit American Possum and saying to himself, "that doesnt look like Austrailian Possum so it cant be real. Better not eat it." 😅