AndrewP

Kirk, I like this design a lot, and have in fact been playing with something very similar. I'm using the 60degree jig-hooks to get the eye below the body, and I'm trying to incorporate some weight (lead? BB?) in the back end of the body right behind the hook bend. The idea is to see if you can mimic the Zara Spook somewhat ..... The other idea is to weigh the back-end of the fly even more so it sits almost vertical in the water with just a bit of body sticking straight up out of the water. Pop the line, and the fly/lure "slaps" the water, but doesn't move horizontally much. Bass guys do this where they want to create action, but not move the lure very much in order to keep it in a small strike window (in a pocket of lillypads, for instance). AP

Yes, a flank. Sorry I wasn't being clearer. Anyway, it creates a nice profile. Here's another; still working on my technique .....

Kirk, thanks. This version is a slow sinker. I do use the spider body; from the side angle shot you don't see it, but from a head on view it's a little more apparent. And yes, the EP fiber brush is there for the tail section. I really tied it for the most part like your SBS; just had some slight differences with the use of the EP brush, as it starts out "flat" and you really have to brush at it to get it "round", if you understand what I'm saying. Since the brush is so "flat", it occurred to me to use it much like you would a feather, flanking the side of the fly. Some of the fiber covers the top, some covers the bottom. The side piece is a little longer than the length of the hook so you can "pull" the wire into position. I just try to get the wire (brush) as close to the body as I can. Hard to explain, but the results are pretty nice. I'll tie up a few more and if I do a decent job I'll post some more pictures ...... But let me say; it's the action this fly gets that makes it so damn good. THAT'S why I'm so excited about using it. AP

I finally got the materials to tie this fly. Kirk has hit a home-run. The action is fantastic with no special manipulation of the rod or line. Just a small, sharp tug followed by a pause, and the fly darts so erratically ..... love it. Kirk, I hope you don't mind, I made a few small changes. The biggest one was that since I did not have my own brushes, I bought EP Fiber Brush. The material comes flat so it takes some work to get it to fluff around the wire core, but it will work. The second small change was to add some flash before tying in bottom material. The final change was that instead of wrapping the last piece of wire dubbing under the hook as you did in your video, I simply layered a piece of wire brush on each side of the fly at a slightly upward angle, helping to cover the head of the fly. Bend the wire to get it to lay flat against the foam body. What I ended up with is a super good-looking mullet pattern that looks like this: Experimenting with different colors and ways to use the wire brush, but the fly is a winner. Already scored a 3lb bass in my local lake on it. Thanks for the pattern and the SBS, Kirk. AP

Here's my first and best .... caught lots smaller, but sometimes you can't beat dumb luck. Look at the fly location -- outside of mouth. No chafing. Fight was epic. Within 30 seconds I have leader at the rod-tip. but can't budge fish. Fish right down beside the kayak. Started bouncing line and fish would come up for a leap right next to the kayak, then back down to the bottom. Did this 4 times before regular fight started. Finally paddled towards shore where I got out of kayak and was able to put a bit more pressure on the fish. I was so excited these were the best photos I could get. Any of you guys venture a guess as to how much this fish might have weighed? I'm not sure myself .... AP

Kirk: Awesome looking fly in the water. Can't wait to see SBS. Are you doing anything else with line/rod to get that sweet side-to-side action? AP

Chef: Yes, those are nice, but pricey. The small leads are cheap and allow you to use materials you may already have. Capt Bob: I tied these on smaller popper hooks -- #2 I think. Not sure if you thought the fly was too large or if you thought dimensions were off. Always open to pointers from someone who ties a lot more and alot nicer than I do! AP

This is just a simple Clouser. But I've learned two tricks that I used to create certain aspects of the tie. 1) Using white thread, I wrap the bottom material from the eye of the hook to just behind the lead eye. There, I extend some excess thread and use a red marker to color the thread. Wrapping just behind the lead eyes, I've created a "gill color" marking. But after wrapping the gills I can continue tying with the white thread. So no need to change thread! 2) I tied the Clouser with the smallest lead eyes available. But by using some CCG (or other epoxy-like material) I have affixed large dome-eyes to give the Clouser the "Big-Eye" effect without adding any more weight. See samples below ... Hopefully you like the tricks (I cannot claim credit for them) and can find ways to use them in your ties. AP

This is a nice pattern I picked up from an older copy of Fly Tyer. The article showed both the pattern and a unique way to attach removable/swappable weights (from beadchain to heavy lead eyes). Since I rarely need heavy lead flies, I just concentrated on the pattern and tied it weedless with no weight, with beadchain, and one with lead eyes. The pattern uses jig hooks (I think they used 90 degree); I substituted with the Eagle Claw 413 (60 degree) hooks I already had. I tied as small as #4, the baitfish I tied used a #1 but you can go bigger if desired. Quick Instructions (mine is slightly different from article): 1) Tie on a small rattle to the hook. Tie in beadchain/lead eyes at front if desired. 2) Tie in rubber legging and flash for tail. 3) Tie in a small amount of estaz right behind the rattle -- one wrap (optional, I like it for baitfish colors) 4) Tie in cross-cut rabbit strip on top of rattle and wrap rattle and one turn past. 6) Tie in additional rubber legging (optional). Tie in 1 wrap of estaz (optional). 5). Tie in alternating color of cross-cut rabbit, and wrap to/around eyes. Done!! It's an easy tie and fun to do, and it doesn't take long to produce. I've tied it as both shimp/crabs and as a baitfish -- here are some examples below: First, all black, weedless, no weight Another in tan with markings, weedless, no weight (fabric paint eyes) Purple/black with beadchain eyes Chartruese/White with lead eyes Enjoy!! AP

Fred: Just a thought ... I have no idea how you are constructing the claw arm. But I do like the earlier mention of having the claw folded in. My thought was if the arm was somewhat elastic (rubber band?), that when stripping the claw would "fold in", and when the fly was paused, the arm would slowly spring back out ..... Make sense? AP

Tide, I haven't personally tried this particular style as normally I don't need a weedguard. I guess worst thing is I can cut the loop right in the middle and then it's just like Kirk's! AP

thanks, Kirk. Just playing with options for these jig hooks to see where I can use. Tied up some nice ThunderCreek ties with them, and also have used them on a popper -- that works nice as it places the hook eye below the body of the popper. Here's an example -- please excuse the excess glue on the popper body and hook, I should have cleaned that up before taking the pic: ThunderBunny (ThunderCreek tie using rabbit instead of deer hair for top) AP

I was fishing the other weekend and found reds in very shallow, very grassy water. While I managed to pick up two, I spend a lot of time cleaning off my fly between casts (no weedguard and bead-chain eyes made it sink too fast). This is an attempt at a shallow-water fly (no weight) with a weedguard. I like simple, quick ties and this one fits. The only thing a bit different about this fly is the hook it's tied on -- a #4 60degree jig hook. Other than that, just an estaz body and craft fur topping/tail marked up with permanent pens for back and eyes. Won't be able to test this weekend (thanks Sandy), but hopefully will use it next opportunity if the reds are up in the thick stuff .... Enjoy! AP

I found this tie in an older Fly Tying article. Basic Thunder Creek tie, but tied on a 60 degree, 1/0 jig hook. I really like how it came out, reminds me a lot of a bullet lead-head jig that a spin fisherman might throw. Sorry for the camera pic; my good camera has gone missing ..... Enjoy! AP

Someone do a comparison -- CCG Flex, Silicone, and Fabric Glue -- on one or two patterns and let us know if there is any appreciable difference in how the flies feel/swim. I think we all understand the pros/cons of use of the different glue materials; all I want to know is is the end product (the fly) any different .....

Nice!! Tied something similar with epoxy a while back -- just did it upside down from yours so you don't have any issues at all with hook gap ...... think it would be much easier now using CCG type stuff ..... AP

Not yet, will this weekend. Another friend said he has had problems casting flies like this; guess we'll find out soon enough. Will report back ......

Working on using articulation to get see if I can get a bit more movement when stripping the fly. Using this product: http://flymenfishingcompany.org/products/fish-skull%E2%84%A2-products/articulated-shank/ Here's what I've come up with so far. Popper design still needs some tweeks. I want to improve on shrinking the gap some without losing the movement, but I still think they will catch fish as-is. Thinking about other design possibilities as well ....... AP

Found this tie from a guy in Louisiana; what I liked about it was it creates a nice round-headed profile unlike most of my ties that are more profile-oriented. He calls it a "Deadhead Minnow". Materials: Craft fur and flash of your choice Hook: 2 to a 1/0, regular shank, your choice Eyes: Stick-on eyes Secret Ingredient: Fabric Glue Tie Steps: 1) Create tail of fly using craft fur, then add some flash. 2) Create dubbing loop of craft fur, spin onto shank up to eye. 3) Tie off, brush back fur to get round profile 4) Apply fabric glue to head of fly; let dry for 24-36 hrs before using The secret is the fabric glue which creates and hold the round head effect. It's soft like silicone, but easier to apply and washes up with water. Samples: Head on view .... Site link for pattern: http://caseysmartt.com/2010/08/01/tying-the-deadhead-minnow/ AP

All of the flies have caught redfish; the shrimp patttern has caught trout and snook too. Have fun changing up the pattern! Use craft fur, bucktail, feathers or rabbit strip for the tail. Use yarn, hackle, dubbing, or chenille types for the body. Trim the top/bottom of the body flat, and you have more of a kwan-style fly. Add a bit of deer hair to the head/collar, and you have a redfish slider. The pattern is like a deceiver pattern; lots of ways to tie, lots of different materials to choose from. And it should only take a few minutes to produce, and it does catch fish! AP

Here are a couple of flies I recently tied for redfish. I like patterns that are quick to tie; these only take 2-3 min. First two pics are the same fly, just different colors and a slighly different material for the body. Tails are EP fiber, the body is hackle fiber. Bead chain eyes. The other one ... This is a shrimp pattern where I was trying to immitate a DOA shrimp, but shrimp is fleeing backwards .... Extra long shank hook, bent to a bendback. Wire on botton to help orient hook upright. Mono eyes, then used EP Fiber Brush to make the body .... Enjoy! AP

More wiggle-tail fly ties ...... The first two are the same tail material as my first bunny fly, but I'm using EP fiber for the body and for the tail on the second one ..... The next looks very similar to the first bunny fly, but the tail material is a simple, heavy thread that has been twisted so much that it has doubled back on itself -- for those of you who tie extended tail trout flies (mayflies, damsels, etc.) you probably know the technique ....... Finally, I happened across some ribbon material -- same kind of stuff used to make ribbons for presents ...... would it work? Tied, it, and it looks like it might ..... In fact, the ribbon material gave me ideas for other kinds of ties -- how about this tarpon fly using ribbons instead of (kick-styled) feathers at the tail ....... There's always fun at the tying table if you just mess around with things ........ AP

I've been experimenting with options for extending the tail of a fly in order to get a little more "wiggle" at the back. Trying out different materials for the tail ... found this mylar/plastic stuff at the Craft store and tied up my standard Bunny fly with an extended tail: Have some other ideas/materials to try out, but was wondering if anyone else was tying anything like this? ....... AP

Guys: thanks for comments ..... I think you're onto it -- presentation. I got out this past Sunday, but could not find any blacks, but did find a few reds. The one I caught -- I had cast out near the red (saw it tail, tail went down and stayed down, I cast out in vicinity) and managed to get extra line tangled. As I was untangling -- not moving the fly - the red picked it up and I was hooked up. Hope the same can happen if I get another shot at these blacks .....

In the wintertime down here in Central Fla, we get opportunities to actually target Black Drum, as many times they are schooled up and tailing in shallow water like their red cousins (often the two can be mixed together). To date, I have not had any success with the limited shots I've had at these boys using flies that I typically throw at redfish. So I hoped to create some black drum-specific flies. I wanted to show you what I had, and was interested if anyone had any flies that they have had success with on black drum. Black colored flies seem to be one of the options that people throw, so I came up with these two patterns to try ..... First is a bead-chain eyed fly with regular (black) estaz and some SF FlashBlend to get a little purple flash at the tail, with black ostrich on top ..... next was a slightly bigger and heavier fly, using grand estaz with a bit of black rabbit on top .... May get an opportunity to throw these at some drum this weekend (weather permitting) ... but I'm curious if anyone else has any other drum flies that they can share ...... thanks, AP