# New vise and a must-have pattern



## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

At least in my humble opinion it is a must-have pattern! I picked up my new vise last night, an Orvis Edition HMH Spartan. It had been backordered for a few weeks so I was anxious to get my hands on it and try it out. I tied a few Clousers, zonkers, and some steelhead egg patterns, then popped in the midge jaws I bought extra for it and tied a half dozen #20 Griffith's Gnats. The Griffith's Gnat is the must-have for trout fishing. It's a small fly, it can be tough to see (plan on tying a few with a small puff of hi-vis orange para post, also, to help with visibility), but it has been my go-to WV fly when the fishing gets tough. Especially in low water/low flow times when the water is nearly dead calm and I am sight fishing to wild trout, the gnat has always produced.


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Nice vise and nice photo 

I still love my Regal though


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## bfurderer (Mar 19, 2010)

The giffiths gnat is a dream fly because it's quick to tie and is a productive pattern. I don't tie mine with the tail though. Have you noticed a difference in the number of strikes you get with and w/o the tail?


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

It's actually not a tail, that was extra hackle fibers from where I tied in the grizzly hackle. I trimmed that off after I took the pic to clean up the fly a little. It is a great fly, though, it's surprising how well the trout can find that little #20.


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## wabi (Jun 14, 2008)

Nice looking vise and fly!
Hard for me to see a #20, too - and that's when I'm trying to tie it!


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

wabi said:


> Nice looking vise and fly!
> Hard for me to see a #20, too - and that's when I'm trying to tie it!


I'm going to do some of the hi-vis versions tonight or this weekend, I'll post pics when I do. My vision is actually very good, very close. I can take off my glasses and tie these with no issues. It's when the dang thing is 20-30' out there that I need help! It's actually not that hard to see in calm water, but in the moving water it's tough!


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## bfurderer (Mar 19, 2010)

Darn, I was hoping that you were going to tell me that the tail makes all trout > 20" instantly jump in the end of the hook  That is a great looking picture though.

Almost all dry patterns (save parachutes) < #18 are virtually invisible on the water. That is when a good cast really comes into play. You have to pick your spot and cast right to it and you will have a good starting point for following the drift. Sorry for the overused reference, but it's a little but like Luke Skywalker destroying the death star.


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## wabi (Jun 14, 2008)

TheCream said:


> I'm going to do some of the hi-vis versions tonight or this weekend, I'll post pics when I do. My vision is actually very good, very close. I can take off my glasses and tie these with no issues. It's when the dang thing is 20-30' out there that I need help! It's actually not that hard to see in calm water, but in the moving water it's tough!


My vision is the same, but I wear contacts for distance correction and with them in I need reading glasses for close-up work. Easier to wear readers than remove the contacts.

I tried tying a few #16 griffin's gnats after I read your thread. Went to the local lake with them and the new 3 weight rod, and was catching bluegills about as fast as I could release them and cast again. Even caught several as long as my hand (7") which is large for that place.

I'll be tying more of them soon!


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

You picked up a great vise! Be sure to tie the black Gnat dry version with mallard wings. They will pick off the even harder to catch wild browns. Water levels are very low right now but the brookie in the stream I fished yesterday looked so well with high density of broookie.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

wabi said:


> My vision is the same, but I wear contacts for distance correction and with them in I need reading glasses for close-up work. Easier to wear readers than remove the contacts.
> 
> I tried tying a few #16 griffin's gnats after I read your thread. Went to the local lake with them and the new 3 weight rod, and was catching bluegills about as fast as I could release them and cast again. Even caught several as long as my hand (7") which is large for that place.
> 
> I'll be tying more of them soon!


They'll catch gills, for sure, but where they shine for me is on trout. Funny story, on my only WV trip this year so far, a few weeks back, I was downstream of a small hole watching a brookie repeatedly coming to the surface and smashing bugs. I couldn't see what they were hitting, but I drifted my #16 Royal Wulff over him twice and he refused it, but kept rising to bugs I couldn't see. I thought "I know what will fix your *butt*" and tied on the #20 Gnat. First drift, bam, came up and drilled it. I set the hook...and missed. All I did was roll him. 

So much for getting that fish to hand, but at least I did fool him. 

Flyfishdog, I will have to revisit my struggles with upright/divided quill wings! It has always been a struggle for me.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Here is the hi-vis version I tried over the weekend. I used some bright orange para-post material. Since it was size 20, I cut a lenght of the para-post and then divided it in half and it was plenty of material. I tied in the hackle and herl first as I always do for the Gnat, then tied in the orange para-post, and tied the remainder of the fly around it. Should help with the visibility!


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

Sweet tie! 
Patience is a must have with upright split wings. I am using bright orange CDC on top of some of my caddis and dries lately.


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

I'll be hitting the trout streams soon myself. Definitely taking gnat variations.


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