Rich's Sulphur Emerger

Rich’s Sulphur Emerger:

Hook:Standard Dry Fly Hook, size 14 – 18
Thread: Camel Brown
Thorax: Orange-Sulphur Fly-Rite Dubbing
Abdomen: Orange-Sulphur Fly-Rite Dubbing
Legs: Dark soft hackle fibers
Tail (shuck): Mallard dyed wood duck
Wing: Tuft of muskrat from the pelt

Notes: I can remember walking into South Hills Rod and Reel about 15 years ago and telling Rich Roseborough that I was going to Spring Creek (in Pennsylvania) for the Sulphur Hatch.  He took me over to the fly counter, picked out a small fly, handed it to me and said “Tie some of these.”  What he handed me was a sulphur emerger pattern.  Boy was he right – I had a banner day catching fish on that emerger.  Rich retired and closed the shop a few years back – but I’ll never forget the fish that I caught on that fly.

Well, the pattern pictured above is similar to what Rich showed me.  It has probably been unconsciously mutated over the years – so how close it is to the original I can’t be sure anymore.  But it still works.  I’m not sure what Rich called it , so I’m calling it Rich’s Sulphur Emerger.

I generally tie it in 16 and 18.  On Spring Creek, as the sulphur hatch proceeds the bugs get smaller – so it’s good to be prepared with several sizes.  I generally fish it as a dropper under a comparadun or parachute sulphur dry.