Over the past few seasons purple flies have come into their own. Most fly fishermen cannot explain the reason why trout go crazy for purple flies but they do. Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone, MT (www.blue-ribbon-flies.com) has come up with a new pattern called a purple cripple. It has the “looks” to be a productive pattern and is worth a try.

Hook – Dry fly #12, #14
Thread – Purple 8/0
Shuck – Mayfly brown zelon
Body – Purple dubbing (I use Hareline dubbing-purple, blended with purple Sanyo Laser Dub and STS Trilobal Dub – purple)
Wing – White poly-pro (tied full at a 45 degree angle)
Hackle – Grizzly (wrapped at the tie in point for the wing and finished with 2 turns in front of the wing)

Final step is to cut the hackle on the bottom even with the hook point

John Lazar

Fly tied by John Lazar