The Hewitt's Neversink Skater

For the past few weeks I have been experimenting with some different patterns and one that has continued to produce is the Hewitt's Neversink Skater. The Neversink Skater is an older pattern that was originated by Edward Ringwood Hewitt (1866 -1956) who lived in the on the Neversink River. Hewitt was an avid angle who ran a small camp on the shores of the Neversink River in a beautiful area that is now sadly covered by the waters of the Neversink Reservoir. One question that developed inside of me while I was fishing this pattern is, what exactly could a fly that is two inches in diameter possibly imitate and why would a fish be so intrigued by it? As I did some research on the fly I found out that it was tied to imitate a butterfly which Hewitt often times saw flying over the water.

When I fish the Neversink Skater I like to use a very long leader, often times up to fifteen feet in length that way I can keep as much line off of the water as possible. The reason for this is that in a larger river you have to often times cast over many different current seams to reach the best water and it is very difficult to get a good drift if you have all of your fly line on the water. The Hewitt's Neversink Skater is a very effective fly pattern so I will generally make only a few casts to each spot then move onto new water. I make very few casts when fishing this fly because fish will be able to decide very quickly whether they want it or not and it is inevitable that they will see this fly floating overhead within those casts. Often times the fish will chase the fly down if they want to eat it so you don't have to worry about making the most accurate cast every time.

I am sure that once you try out this fly you will be hooked on it and have them in your vest on every trip. Here are a few pictures of fish that I have been catching on this fly and a picture of the fly itself.

A few Neversink Skaters in my fly box.

One of the fish that could not resist the skater.

This fly catches all kinds of trout...

From brookies (my favorite) to brown trout!