- Home Waters, No. 3
- Home Waters, No. 2
- Home Waters, No. 1
Favorite Fly with Walt Young
Walt's Worm Turns 20!
Many good things have been created by accident. That's kind of how one of the best all-around fly patterns I¹ve ever used came about. Back in April of 1984, I was at my vise, tying up a batch of nymphs for a fishing trip the next morning. Before I finished for the evening, I had an idea: tie up a few crane fly larvae. The result was anything but creative. A size 10 nymph hook, wrapped liberally with lead wire, and a fat body of light hare's ear dubbing, that was it. But the simple pattern looked enough like a crane fly larva, sometimes called a water worm, to suit me.
My main concern was that the fly was heavy enough, because I was planning to use it as a dropper to help get a fancier nymph pattern to the bottom in the robust spring flows. It was merely to be a sinker with a hook it, and if a trout happened to eat it in the process, that would be a bonus.
The next day the water worms that I had tied as an afterthought outfished my favorite nymph patterns about 10 to 1. I had only made four of them and lost them all that day. The next time I went fishing, I carried four dozen of them, and that simple fly has been a staple in my fly boxes every season since.
I shared the fly with some of my friends. One of them started calling it ³Walt¹s Worm² and the name stuck. In a few years, the Walt¹s Worm gained a tremendous following, and I still get glowing testimonials from other anglers about the effectiveness of the pattern.
The Walt's Worm is durable and easy to tie. The only modification I¹ve made to the original version is to blend a little clear Antron into the hare's ear dubbing. Carry an assortment of this pattern in sizes 10 to 16, and you¹ll be glad you did.
