So often it takes extreme conditions to drive the experimentation that leads to a productive fishing tactic.

That’s what happened 40 years ago when skilled multi-species angler Andy Vetula decided to stick a pack of lightweight crappie jigs in his trout vest.

It was the mid-April opening weekend of Pennsylvania’s trout season and the streams were running high and muddy. Nevertheless, Andy’s young son Mark, as well as his regular fishing partner Sam, insisted on starting the year off fly-fishing.

“I used all my favorite streamer and nymphs, but never saw a fish,” he recalled. “So I figured, what the heck, I’ll try one of those crappie jigs. I caught my first trout on the second cast. Ten minutes later, I had my limit.”

That snowy, blustery day of four decades past fueled the creation of what Vetula calls his “Super Fly,” a simple (and until recently his closely guarded secret) yet effective fly/jig that fools stream-dwelling trout under a range of conditions.

Vetula ties the Super Fly on a light wire jig, ranging in size from 1/16 to 1/8 ounce, with the former being most appropriate for a fly rod, while the heavier version fishes best on an ultralight spinning outfit.

He starts by tying a sparse clump of marabou to the hook shank to serve as the tail, with about an inch of the feathers extending beyond the hook bend. Once the tail is tied in and cinched with a few half-hitches, he trims off the tag end of the marabou and secures the end of a strand of medium-sized chenille.

The chenille is wrapped along the hook shank from the bend toward the eye. Since the jigs he uses typically have collars, he double wraps the hook shank, and then applies a single wrap over the collar, ending at the jighead.

This keeps the chenille wrap a consistent diameter. When the wrapping is complete, he locks it down with a few half-hitches, a whip finish, and a dab of clear fingernail polish.

Hook size-wise, a number 4 hook balances nicely on the heavier jighead, while a size 6 or 8 is right for the 16th-ounce version. Though he’s experimented with many colors, Vetula has settled on black as the most productive option.

Since the Super Fly comes from a “jig” bloodline, it’s not surprising that it can be fished in a variety of ways. Under normal flows, it can be cast slightly upstream, and allowed to bump on or near the bottom, on a semi-tight line, as you follow its travel with the rod tip.

When using a fly rod, it’s a simple matter of picking the fly up at the end of the swing, and roll casting back upstream for another drift.

High water tends to push trout closer to the bank, in which case the Super Fly can be yo-yoed into protected pockets from the bank above. When the water warms in late spring and early summer, the Super Fly will take trout by simply swimming it six inches to a foot below the surface via cross-current casts.

Even laydowns are no problem for the Super Fly. With a fly rod, or a fairly long spinning rod, you can drop the Super Fly in between the branches, vertically dunking the fly, much like a bass angler would flip a similar piece of cover.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle