FLY BOX: Drunk & Disorderly
IMAGE: Fulling Mill (D&D Deceiver)
Intro
Like a hammerhead shark, the Drunk & Disorderly is special because of its head. The angled shape of its chunky deer hair nogin causes the patterns to dive and spasm when stripped. Its creator dubbed the motion the "Chuck, Dive, & Roll" - and if you watch this thing on the retrieve, that's exactly what it does. Looks just like a baitfish struggling to swim. When it comes to flashy, attention-grabbing streamers, the D&D is at the top of its class.
IMAGE: Weekender Media
“The concept for the Drunk and Disorderly came to me one night while I was falling asleep, trying to imagine what I saw when I was fishing those Rapalas as a kid. What I envisioned was a fly that swims differently with every strip to mimic an injured baitfish to trigger the predatory “injury response” from a big browns. It took me about a year and a half to fine-tune the pattern to where I wanted it to be.
I wanted the pattern to be large but easy to cast, with a profile that matched natural baitfish—largest near the head and slender towards the rear—and plenty of fish-attractive recovery action. I knew that to accomplish all these, I’d need to carefully consider each material and how it would perform in the air and in the water.
Early versions of the pattern had marabou instead of flash, but marabou—as much as I would use it with weighted flies because it “parachutes” the fall—doesn’t work well for a fly that can swim and rudder because marabou dampens those actions. I didn’t use enough flash at first, either. I think most streamers don’t have enough flash, even though it’s one of the things that makes Rapalas and spinners so effective. You only see minnows and fish when they are injured and flashing as they show you their sides.
To mimic that result you need flash, not more bunny or marabou. Getting the amount of deer-hair was critical: too much on a small of a fly, and too little on a big fly cause the pattern to either spin or push water. I didn’t want the head to just push the water, but to cut and dig the water, as well. Ultimately, I found that a “door wedge” design worked best. Limiting the amount of material behind the head was key to the overall action and for ease of casting it. You don’t want to feel like you need rotator-cuff surgery at the end of a day of streamer fishing.”
IMAGE: Weekender Media
Applications
CATEGORY: Streamer
TARGET SPECIES: Trout, Pike, Muskie, & Bass
For a large, articulated streamer, the D&D casts like a dream. Considering this pattern does not have too much bulk or weight, it’s pattern you can throw all day without blowing out your shoulder. And if you’re hunting trophy trout, this is a must-have in your streamer box.
A Bank-Robbing Unit on Float Trips
If you’re slapping the banks from the bow of a raft, the D&D is a valuable asset. The buoyancy created by the thick deer hair head will keep it from snagging in shallow water, while the flash from the body and tail will turn on the predatory instincts of the more aggressive trout.
A Weed-Conquering Beast on the Stillwater
When it comes to fishing large lakes, covering as much ground as possible is the name of the game. During the heart of the summer, sometimes the weeds are so out of control, they aren’t worth the time. But in the 1-2 months following ice-off and the 1-2 months prior to the lakes freezing, the weed beds are alive with trout chasing down crayfish and baitfish in the cover of the vegetation. The D&D will stay up above the snags, while enticing any cruising trout with its dynamic movement.
IMAGE: Weekender Media
Variations
D&D Deceiver
Hook: #2
Add deceiver saddles to the already proven D&D and you have something that sets the bar even higher! Large browns often turn completely carnivorous and you'll be needing some of these if you wish to fool them. The D&D Deceiver is a BIG streamer. In heavily pressured tailwaters, it’ll probably do nothing more than spook fish. But in large lakes and big freestone rivers, a streamer of this size might just bring out a monster.
Original D&D
Hook: #4
The original D&D. The erratic, dip-diving action of the wedge-head baitfish fly has accounted for some spectacular fish over the years. It's safe to say you need to have these in your streamer collection if you're hunting large trout. Works equally as good for large bass as well.
Mini D&D
Hook: #4
The Drunk & Disorderly (D&D) needs no introduction. This mini version, measuring 4 1/2" long will cut through the water columns, bobbing and weaving like a wounded baitfish. Proven pattern from one of the world’s best trout guides.
IMAGE: Weekender Media
About the Tyer
Tommy Lynch, The Fish Whisperer
My name is Tommy Lynch, I am a Fly Fishing Guide living near Baldwin Michigan where I guide full time on several different streams, but primarily on the Pere Marquette River where I have done so for over 20 years while fly fishing almost 30 years. The FishWhisperer was a nick name given to me by an old girlfriend back in college, (who in fact was very much into horses), in response to my fishing addictions that would never be satisfied as it would seem. Cheesy? Yeah, but I went on to use it as a screen name on a fishing report website called The Steelhead Site where I used to frequent since college before naming my new website here the same.
At the ripe old age of seven I started fishing the Pere Marquette with my father, fishing spawn bags and hardware in the lower sections of the river before I could even fill a pair of waders; it wasn’t until 1985 when I would introduced to a fly rod and the gentle art, this at the age of eleven. From that point it was just something that fit for me, like the river does within its banks. Never have I found something as gratifying as a Trout on the end of a Fly Line my whole life, though seldom have I looked being satisfied with what is. Having fished Western rivers, guided Alaska, frequented Ontario’s Streams, and even tangoed with a Tarpon or two in the Caymans & Keys; never have I found a place so diverse and inviting as I have in my home state on The Pere Marquette River right here in North Western Michigan.
(via TheFishWhisperer.com)
VIDEO: Davis James
Material List - D&D (Original, Shad Rap)
TRAILER HOOK: Gamakatsu B10S (#4)
TAIL/FLASH: Flashabou (Black)
BODY: Polar Chenille (Gold UV)
COLLAR: Rabbit Zonker (Light Olive)
MOVEMENT: Mallard Flank Feather (Olive)
ARTICULATION: Senyo's Intruder Wire & Killer Caddis Beads (Large)
LEADING HOOK: Gamakatsu B10S (#2)
HEAD: Spinning Deer Hair (Olive)
EYES: Fish Skull Living Eyes (Earth)
GLUE: Loon UV Thin
OPTIONAL: Glass Rattle