The great thing about tying your own flies is that you get to name them. Fly names often end up being risqué or unique. Maybe this is because you are trying to keep your fly a secret or you are just being silly.
Many flies can have different names. This may be a code or just people renaming their own. When I tie a Brown Rubber Legs, I know that my version is not completely the same as the original. I renamed my version to be called the “Turd Blossom”.
The Grizzly Tit has nothing to do with bears and their anatomy. It is named after the hackle used to tie it and the colorful highlights at each end of the fly. My friend, “Hot Nipple”, had a few in his fly box. He said a guy tied them back in Pennsyltucky and shared them with him. He would fish with them as an attractor, dry fly or as a nymph. He had them from size 8-20. Some were even tied on streamer and larger nymph hooks. Either method produced fish.
On the day we were fishing, Hot Nipple was tearing up the trout, fishing a size 14 fly as a nymph. He shared some with me and the bite was on. His version had red floss on each end of what is basically a Griffith’s Gnat dry fly, but with colorful and attractive Tits. It was tied on a scud hook instead of a standard dry fly hook.
Tying Tits is simple. It takes a little chartreuse or hot pink floss or thread to make the Tits. A piece of peacock herl goes down as the body and gets covered with grizzly hackle, between the tits. I have used pink and chartreuse together or just as one color. Its ok to have tits with two colors on the same fly. The trout can’t leave the Grizzly Tits alone!
Finish the fly and sharpen the hook. I sharpen every hook I use, even new ones. It is also important to make sure that the hook eye is clear of any head cement. Pre-tying a pair of Tits saves time when on the water. Use a piece of cardboard to wrap a pre-tied rig. I cut a groove to hold the leader and just hook the lead fly into the cardboard. Slide the pre-tied rig into a plastic bag to keep it secure. Old leader bags or plastic bags that contain fly tying material work great!
I always keep several pair of Grizzly Tits in my fly box, in various sizes, and colors. They excel as dry flies during a caddis hatch or when using them as a sight dry fly when fishing in a midge or Trico hatch. They also excel as a dropper nymph when fishing hoppers or salmon flies. Maybe it should be called a Saggy Grizzly Tit when used a s a nymph.
It’s important to stay abreast of what the fish are biting on. You don’t want to be the Boob without the right fly to match the hatch. Create your own version and call it whatever you want.
Enjoy using this Titillating fly.
Montana Grant
