Mikulak Sedge | Traveler Sedge Fly
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Mikulak Sedge |Traveler Sedge Fly Pattern
Someone says caddis to me and I think of the various sizes and colours of the ones that come off in the Peace, Pine and Halfway rivers.
But that’s only for a second or two as the hard wiring in my brain kicks in, my eyes glaze over, and visions of Traveler Sedges flash on the inside of my eye lids. Yes Traveler Sedge, the Arnold Schwarzenegger of the Caddis family. If you have ever been fortunate to be on a lake when these big boys are coming off you won’t soon forget it!
Trout don’t daintily sip these guys they come at them to rip their heads off! In fact trout have a tendency of nailing them then coming back to finish them off. Kinda like a shark. This requires nerves of steel as an angler not to set the hook on the first strike but maintain tension on your line and wait for the weight of the take … ya, good luck with that!
There are a bunch of different flies people use including Elk hair caddis, foam body caddis, Henryville specials, Goddard caddis and in B.C. the good ol’ Tom Thumb. But for profile and floatation there is only one fly I reach for and it’s the Mikulak Sedge.
Mikulak Sedge (Traveler Sedge) Fly | Materials List:
HOOK: Mustad 3906B size #6 -#10
THREAD: Unithread 6/0 iron grey
TAIL: Deer or Elk
BODY: Muddy green Dubbing
WING: Deer or Elk
LEGS: Pheasant rump feather olive or natural
HEAD: Tying thread
ANTENNAE: Black plastic broom bristle
Mikulak Sedge (Traveler Sedge) Fly | Tying Instructions:
Tie in a bunch of deer/elk hair & secure up the hook
Twist some dubbing on to thread & wrap a short section of body
Tie in another bunch of hair so it reaches just shy of the tail length. Trim off excess and wrap some more dubbing over the tie in spot. Repeat two more times up the hook.
Tie in a pheasant rump feather (one side stripped) by the tip and tie in the antennae. A little more dubbing wind the feather forward tie off and build a thread head and whip finish.
And that’s it folks … the Mikulak Sedge (Traveler Sedge) trout killer!
Mikulak Sedge (Traveler Sedge) Fly | MikStraggle Sedge:
Update June 19,2018 … here’s a variant on the proven original mikulak sedge tied with the now available UV Straggle as opposed to dubbing. Pro’s … easier tie (no dubbing loops or spinning dubbing onto the thread), more durable, UV & shine properties. Cons … the straggle may not trap air bubbles as effective as dubbing would (typically only matters on the first few casts until it becomes saturated anyway) and/or may not hold floatant as well. Time will tell but we think it’s a winner! 🙂
I know if you live in B.C. this spring you’re thinking we might bypass summer and skip right to fall with the weather we’ve been having. Trust me hot weather is just around the corner and you’re going to want to have a few of these Mikulak Sedge Fly tied up waiting for those speed boats when they show!
Gord (Flyguys Northern Division)
*** if you’re interested in custom tied, time tested & proven effective BC Interior fly patterns, but would rather buy than tie, please Contact us for details!
*** for more effective BC stillwater fly fishing patterns be sure to check out all of flies on our BCs best fly patterns index page!
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Perfect timing for the Kamloops area lakes Gord! The travelers are just starting to show around here and I would predict that they’ll be in full swing within the next couple weeks! The Mikulak sedge is my favourite top water pattern when these big boys are active and Brian Chan’s Still Water Caddis is my go to for below the surface! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I lived in Kelowna in the 70’s and 80’s and was fortunate to spend many pleasant days fishing with Art Mikulak on Roche and other lakes when he was still with us. Art actually had three (and probably more) sedge patterns, all tied in the same tiered fashion in different sizes and colours to match whatever species was coming off…little brown’s, light green’s and the big travelers. The big pattern we called “Mitch’s” Sedge in those days and everyone knew exactly what fly we were talking about when we mentioned the name. The pattern shown here is a good rendition. We used bundled whitetail deer hair for the body as it was more uniform and tended to float better (well, we thought so anyway), a special blend of olive seal fur dubbed body, and elk for tail and wings as it lasted better than deer hair. It’s still a tremendous pattern wherever travelers come off.
Wow! Jim thanks for that insight on this outstanding sedge pattern! If you don’t mind I would love to hear more about his little brown (cinnamon?) version?
Art tied the “little brown” on 10x long or 12 standard Mustads. Same procedure as the traveler but smaller amounts, of course. The body was again, seal fur, a blend of beige and brown as I recall, and the wing was two sparse clumps of dark elk hair. Also, Art used to make a “v” tail. He felt the fly would sit more upright if the tail was split. As Gord Eby says, there were special blends of dubbing around in those years and I too stopped many times at McDonald’s on trips to Kamloops from Kelowna.
I was also very fortunate to have known and fished with Jack Shaw for close to 30 years. Jack taught me to tie and also how to dye seal fur, feathers, hair, and how to blend seal fur as well as some of the synthetics that were just coming along in the 80’s and 90’s. I still have a stash of seal, and though the acrylic materials of today are excellent, it’s still hard to beat seal for catching fish. And Gord, we used small coffee bean grinders to blend fur. Cut it into small clumps and turn er on…(no coffee grinding, though…beans leave a rank oil).
I live just below SE BC in Montana now, on my own private lake that has some pretty decent fish in it. Here’s a pic from a couple of weeks ago with a typical triploid rainbow stocked in 2007 at 7″. Taken on a Prince Nymph. Talk about growth…the 2005 plants are around 28″.
Anyway, sorry this got so long. I really enjoy your website and blog…brings back a bunch of aha moments and great memories of Kamloops country.
Jim
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Thanks Jim! Gunna start incorporating that “V” tail in to my “miks” and tying some up in smaller sizes! And please don’t apologize for you post getting “too long” … on the contrary … fishing story’s and information is what we’re all about so thanks so much for sharing! Glad you enjoy the site and we’re looking forward to more reports and pics! 😀
PS … Beauty Bow!!! 😯
Ah yes the special blend dubbing. The dubbing I used on this fly seems to work better than any other I’ve tried, and I’ve tried alot of different greens. Most of my dubbing is stuff I picked up 20 odd years ago when I first started tying flies. Got it at Mcdonald’s Flyshop in Westwold. Every year when I headed south on holidays I made a habit of stopping in and chewing the fat and picking up some of his dubbing. He blended his own stuff and it came with names like Insect Green..Caddis Green, Mottled Dragon and 52 Buick Yellow. Stuff is golden but I’m starting to run out and just don’t seem to be able to find stuff like it. He had a knack of mixing colours that you just can’t locate anymore. Might have to get some carding brushes and attempt to make my own old school. Thanks Jim for some history of that pattern.
I concur with Rob there is no too long when it comes to history and insight that you can bring to the table Jim. Please jump in at any time with stories, corrections or recipes as I for one greatly appreciate it. At this point I’d like to personally thank you for your work on the Gilley and the proceeds that it generated that were given to the B.C. Federations of Flyfishers. Hope we can pry some stories of fishing with Art, Alf and Jack out of you in the future.
Of course i meant to say Gilly not Gilley.
Hello Gord
Im glad to see the pattern I used 34 years ago is still working , but then Im still useing it. Seal fur is the best for that fly but your head is clipped mine stands out. Best producer for a fly. Im not sure if we have meet in person but then I have MS.
Heres another fly that everyone has forgotten about its a dex himmer sedge. hackel tail same body but wrapped peacock for ribbing which is foee the head to and the wing is a curled mallard duck neck feather. It to is a great fly as a sedge patteren. i would have pics but im just into fishing.
Ollie
Excellent Pattern! I’ll be sure to be adding a bunch to my arsenal this year! Info here is excellent as usual… I’ve done little fishing dry’s at this point and don’t want to miss out on this years hatch, now’s the time and I’m trying to get ready. Any tips on a local lake or two with good hatches coming up that would be a best bet for fishing these? What I wouldn’t give for a good day of watching rising trout grab my fly off the surface again and again. Any help would be greatly appreciated…feel free to email me as well, Thanks!