What Makes The J.J. Special?
By Paul Bruun
This article was originally published in the summer 1996 issue of Jackson Hole Magazine.Innovations by Jackson Hole anglers provide western trout fishermen with many valuable tools. The late Boots Allen popularized the addition of multiple chrome and brass spinners placed above both trolled lures and minnows for lake fishing. Now universally called “cowbells” by trollers, these flashy spinner strings are believed to duplicate baitfish schools.
Early flyfishing guide Bob Carmichael introduced a number of unique fly imitations that became western fly box standards. The colorful Moose guide is best remembered for his unique Carmichael Indispensable.
Current fly innovators like Jack Dennis truly etched such Jackson Hole specialties as the Royal Humpy and the Kiwi Muddler into angling legend as did Jay Buchner with the Chartreuse Humpy and Jay-Dave’s Hopper. Joe Allen’s Double Humpy and Guy Turck’s leggy Tarantula have become attractor fly stars welcomed all over the West. Scott Sanchez’s unusual and deadly Double Bunny rabbit fur concoction now is an international favorite for big trout and many other species.
Eight years ago another zany fly creation began its climb up the local angling pop charts. Today when you ask “what’s new?” in Jackson Hole fly shops, you’ll quickly learn of the J. J. Special.
What’s so special about the J. J.? That’s easy. When conditions are difficult, it’s time to tie on a J. J. and fool a few fish.
A majority of the trout flies sold by Jackson Hole tackle pushers are floaters or dry flies. But every year a few more anglers risk using sinking flies like nymphs and streamers. Nymphs represent immature aquatic insects and prolonged use frequently invites inquisitive whitefish. Streamers are usually minnow and trout fry imitations fiendishly designed to stimulate hungry carnivores. Streamers are larger and bulkier to cast than dry flies. When presented correctly a streamer encourages an attack by larger fish.
And lots of big fish were just what Jackson tackle peddler Jim Jones wanted when he concocted his soon-to-be-a-legend fly on a cold November evening. Jimmy and three other friends were crammed into a tiny house trailer painted like a can of fishing worms on the banks of Montana’s Bighorn River. Horizontal snow, pelting winds, frozen rod guides, reels and feet made for perfect fall brown trout streamer weather. Various wet fly patterns from fuzzy Brown Yuk Bugs with white rubber legs to copper Flashabou bodied Rabbit Matuka minnows and yellow and brown marabou Bighorn Specials all had been working.
“We had one fly tying vise and everyone decided to make and use only one fly for the next and final day of our trip,” Jim recalls. “Tying last I faced a table littered with a mass of material scraps. Following 20 minutes of beer-aided mental organization I decided to incorporate bits of all our successful flies. This included the Bighorn Special’s brown and yellow marabou tail, the Yuk’s double pair of white rubber legs, weighted brown chenille body and grizzly hackle highlighted by strips of copper Flashabou as a side lateral line extending to the tail.”
“The weather went from bad to awful and everyone was miserable,” Jim remembers. “But I couldn’t keep ‘em off that fly. It was THE pattern of the day and it has continued to bail me out when other standby patterns fail.”
Jim Jones bought High Country Flies from Jay and Kathy Buchner 11 years ago. For three prior years he worked and guided for the store. He knows the importance of a great fly pattern and also realizes it’s hard to keep secret something that produces with regularity.
Jim didn’t say much about the new pattern for about a year. Pete Wiswell, a close friend and a major commercial fly supplier of High Country Flies, tied some and began fishing them on the Madison, the Snake and everywhere else. Wiswell was so wildly successful with the pattern that he added both the now standard yellow rubber legs and the name J. J. (for Jim Jones) Special.
Experiments with the J. J. Special continued. Normally tied and sold on a size 6, 3 extra long Mustad 9672 streamer hook, Jim experimented up as large as a jumbo size 2 with lead eyes and down to a midget size 12 beadhead model for nymph fishing. “A majority of the streamers we sell are smaller size 8s,” Jim notes, “because people who don’t fish streamers regularly are intimidated by any larger flies. But we feel that a size 6 is the best performer in this pattern.”
Fishing the J. J. properly isn’t that difficult-with practice. The inventor recommends using a floating weight-forward fly line and about an eight-foot leader. “When fishing from a boat I try to cast the fly so that it stays ahead of me in the current. I make slow, up and down rod pumping motions and watch the fly. I don’t strip very much,” Jim says. Naturally the fun of fishing the J. J. is watching the trout rush out of snags or up off the bottom to strike. The bright yellow legs and colorful tail make the pattern easy to see, even in poor light conditions.
In recent years the original yellow, brown and grizzly J. J. has been joined by several other color combinations. Because black has long been a wet fly mainstay color, a black and white rendition with white rubber legs has been added. Howard Cole, Jim’s business partner, calls this the J. J. Skunk. A third model Howard dubbed the Candy Cane is a red and white version. New for this summer is the J. J. Scarlet which features a brilliant red and brown combination with red legs. Tests last fall indicate the new Scarlet has major trout appeal.
Why does the J. J. work so well on stubborn fish? “I’m not sure if it is the entire fly that triggers the violent strikes or if certain parts of the fly make the difference,” Jim puzzles. “I’ve thought that it might be just the different yellow colored legs, the multi-toned tails or even the lateral line flash that’s the key.”
My personal fishing observations bear out Jim’s experiences. When conditions are tough, I’ll fish a J. J. and expect to have action. I’ve theorized that the yellow/brown color copies abundant Rocky Mountain sucker minnow and brown trout fry colors. My friend Joe Burke suggests that the fly resembles the crawfish present in several nearby river systems. I’ve successfully used the J. J. extensively in Jackson as well as throughout the country on both trout, bass and panfish. Recently a pending record fly rod northern pike fell for the J. J.
Because people normally only seek new dry fly patterns, Jim Jones was bewildered last summer when a High Country Flies customer asked if he had anything different in streamers.
“Expecting to satisfy his curiosity I handed him one of my flies,” Jim chuckles.
“Oh, that’s a J. J. Special,” the customer knowingly reported.
“How did you know that?” Jim questioned.
“I just spent a week floating the Big Hole River in Montana and that’s the fly all my guides started me with in the morning before the stonefly hatch began. It really works!” was the knowing reply.
“That’s really good to hear. I’m J. J.,” Jimmy smiled. The angler was dumbfounded and delighted.
To find a J. J. Special, stop in High Country Flies at 185 N. Center and bring two dollars and some change. You might even meet J. J. himself.
