TUESDAY January 20, 2026 - 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM
Special Guest Speaker: Dustan Harley! Followed by a tie of the Copper John
Dustan Harley, owner and founder of Ripple Guide Service will tell us about the rivers of Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan and what to target during different seasons. Dustin and his guides can get you on salmon, steelhead and trout, or warmer species like smallmouth and pike, or whatever else swims in their waters!
Following Dustan's presentation, Mike will be leading us in a tie of the classic Copper John. Created by John Barr in the 1990s to target Colorado trout, the slim profile and heavier weighting allows the Copper John to get down nicely in faster currents.
Materials:
Bead: 3.3mm Black Nickel
Hook: size 10 2x long, down eye
Lead: 0.020 lead free wire
Thread: 6/0 black
Tail: Goose biots, black
Body: Smooth thread base, tapered
Rib: BR Copper Ultra Wire
Tinsel: Lateral Scale
Wing Case: Thin Skin mottled bustard olive
Thorax: Peacock herl
Legs: Hungarian Partridge, olive
Case cover: UV Epoxy
7pm to 9pm
College of Dupage
Room TEC-1038 B
TUESDAY January 27, 2026 - 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM
Lew Delin does a DEEP dive into Wooly Buggers!
Lew has been tying Wooly Buggers ever since joining DRiFT. His Buggers have caught fish in Arkansas, Colorado, Montana, Arizona and Wyoming!
In some situations the fluffy Wooly Bugger needs a little help getting down in faster currents, so Lew has played with the weighting and come up with a good design to get the Wooly Bugger down deep when needed!
Materials:
Hook: Size 8 4XL streamer (I used Daiichi 2220 and Umpqua U302)
Thread: 6/0 or 140D - black or color to match feathers
Bead: 5/32 tungsten (I like using gold - which seems to be out of stock so I also used olive)
Wire: .025 unleaded - will need at least 10 wraps for this tie
Tail: Olive marabou
Gold Krystal flash
Body: medium speckled chenille - olive and black
Olive strung rooster hackle
UV or solvent based head cement
7pm to 9pm
College of Dupage
Room TEC-1038 B
Tuesday February 10, 2026 - 7:00 PM UNTIL 9:00 PM
Tie On One with DRiFT at the Sturdy Shelter!
Join us at the Bubblehouse Brewing Company for some casual fly tying and general merriment!
Bring your tying tools and fill the gaps in your box or start on your next Tie-a-Thon 100 flies!
There will be pizza.
Bubblehouse Brewing Co.
2121 Ogden Ave Unit A
Lisle, IL 60532
Tuesday March 10, 2026 - 7:00 PM UNTIL 9:00 PM
Tie On One with DRiFT at the Sturdy Shelter!
Join us at the Sturdy Shelter Brewing for some casual fly tying and general merriment! !
Bring your tying tools and fill the gaps in your box or start on your next Tie-a-Thon 100 flies!
There will be pizza.
Sturdy Shelter Brewing
10 Shumway Ave.
Batavia, IL 60510