Fly of The Week: JJ Special

Jimmy Jones created this fly during the depths of winter in Jackson, Wyoming, probably while dreaming about those big browns down on the Green and Newfork rivers. Or maybe he just wanted to bang up some cutthroats on the Snake during spring.

No matter the dream, and the subsequent fishing, he shared his fly with the masses and the JJ Special was so effective it jumped state borders to become a mainstay on several big-name rivers, including Idaho's South Fork Snake and Montana's Big Hole.

I've used this gaudy fly all over the place and taken hogs in Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Montana, and even Alaska. It's flashy, and some fish like flashy. If I had to choose the perfect situations to fish this fly they would be for brown trout in spring and fall. Yellow rubber legs. Copper flash body. Brown saddle hackle to give it life. Yellowish tail. Hell, I'd eat that.

You can fish this as a nymph, but it's really a streamer. I like to cast it off a floating or sink-tip streamer line and dead-drift it or strip it back to the boat. It works anytime, but I like it best when the water is a little off during spring, as it can be on any given day during that temperamental season. Think the fish can't see your fly? Cast the JJ Special to the banks and their world lights up like a Floyd concert. During fall, a brown might see the JJ by its nest and rip it up to protect the spawn. The JJ—tie it or buy it in size 2 or 4 and lay waste to the banks. Good things should happen.