 Tying Instructions |
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Notes: The Sheep Creek Special, (aka the Biggs Fly) is a popular nymph pattern for stillwaters throughout the West. George Biggs of Jerome, Idaho created the original pattern in the 1960's for Sheep Creek Reservoir which is on the Nevada-Idaho border. It has been suggested that George actually came upon this pattern when he was fishing a Fore and Aft fly, such as the Renegade, in which the Fore hackle came apart and was dragging behind the eye. The damaged fly actually performed better and George decided to create an Aft hackle pattern with a sweeping Mallard Flank wing. George was an expert in stillwater flyfishing and was known to be very outgoing in assisting other flyfishermen, his success with this pattern became contagious. In a short time, the Sheep Creek Special became special to a number of anglers in the Western states as a stillwater nymph. George passed away on Aug 2, 1997 at the age of 90 years. It may represent a Damsel Nymph pattern or some other small aquatic insect. The pattern was originally tied either weighted or unweighted with a Dark Olive chenille body on a 3X long nymph hook such as a TMC 5263 in sizes #6-16. Medium Chenille was preferred for the larger #6-10 sizes and Fine Chenille for sizes #12-16. Often a fine gold ribbing was used on the original pattern. The body could have a number of colorations: Black & Burnt orange chenille, Black & Tan chenille, Dark olive & gold (yellow) chenille, Pheasant-tail fibers, Canadian brown mohair, and Black chenille. Additional variations came about in the 1990's using colored floss for ribbing and a "hot spot" tag end using a 1X long nymph hook, such as a TMC 3761. The shorter TMC 3761 hook gives the pattern a better sembalence to a damsel nymph. The black coloration was particularly effective in off-color situations and the use of a "hot spot" tag seemed to pick up more attention. The Sheep Creek Special proved to be a great pattern for Davis Lake and Frenchman's Reservoir. The late Jon Baiocchi adapted the pattern to a scud type hook such as a TMC 2457 using Krystal Chenille for the body. This created a pattern that imitated snails more effectively. This is a stillwater pattern and should be fished using a floating or intermediate line. Let it sit, particularly in skinny water. Provide some movement to the pattern at intervals.
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