smalliestalker

Matt....nice work again...I think there are a few of us that push the rules of what would be considered a traditional fly...It looks tied to me...which makes it a fly...I have seen a few ideas such as these out there, there was one that had a blade coming off by a piece of stiff mono like a spinner bait...but the blade was made of crystal flash.....

I would have to agree with all the last comments...but I need to add a couple of things...As far as using the rotary feature to flip the hook over...You lose a little bit of control when doing that..One of the most important things when creating deer hair flies is control, you need even and clean separation of color...If you walk the hair over the hook you can watch exactly where the hair goes and control the stopping point...The hair should be equal top and bottom...When adding stacks on top the hair is counted down so it equals the same amount on bottom...ex...3 bundles on bottom...1st stack on top...1 1/2...2nd....1.....3rd 1/2 a bundle to equal 3...It will be an even density all the way around when done this way...good luck...hope it helps

haha...I buy them...I thought about dying my own hides...but then the thought of having deer skins all over and buckets of dye and what not didn't really fly with the wife...

the red one was a little rushed as I was off to work and wanted to finish...the collar was trimmed a little thinner then I like....but I'm sure the bass will eat it...the blue one I put together tonight....the trimming on the head is a little off...I think my cold is making me see funny...oh well...tomorrow is another day

thanks all...I'm glad everyone likes them....the bass seem to enjoy them as well..

the rubber legs are pulled through the body after trimming usually with a bobbin threader or darning needle once again great tie Pat I swear you must have half the deer kill from michigan tanned in your tying stash yes...I put them on after...I don't like anything in the way when I trim them...

looks carp-o-licious....I have been playing around with tur4ning some bonefish type flies into carp catchers...nice work

A diver from this morning....This fly tip to tail is 7 inches long...Hoping to entice some big boys this spring...

I'll be tying there Saturday and Sunday...Come find me and say hello....

awesome looking streamer...

Running on the fly of yesterday....Here is a perch colored deer bug of the same styling....First the hook...With a rattle in the tail this time...Then the hair...Then the trim....

thanks Bruce...I'm a fan of Mike George's work...I will be tying at The Fly Fishing Show in Somerset...I do believe that he will be there as well...

thanks all...the nice thing about throwing in articulation points is that I can put the rattle in the tail...I made some that are meant to be fished subsurface as well...I'll put them up another day...

This is something that I have been playing with for a but...This is the first one that I have shown...The red tail is articulated...The body is stacked hair..It has a fly lipp....I tie it to my line with an open loop knot and use a two handed strip technique like the salties do...I wiggles and jiggles, with a little side to side movement of the rod it walks the dog like a dream....Thanks to Rapala for the inspiration....

Thanks guys....So the ears are made from nymph skin....a light tan variation.....as far as the eyes go...I cut a flat spot with a razor to glue them down...I don't like to sink them in too deep, I like to see the eyes included in the silhoutte from the bottom vies of the fly....The collar has nail polish on it...I usually do that...for a couple of reasons...I do believe that it helps with the dive...I have to apply it in between fishing trips to keep the collar stiff...It is also an aesthetic thing...These are for a display so it makes for a cleaner appearance...

a couple from this morning's coffee time

thanks all...the weedguards are tied on using the flat waxed nylon.....

I dig those first two a lot...nice work

It was asked for...The Hot Butt Toad tutorial video...my blog site where it resides... www.gotbronze.blogspot.com let me know what you think...thanks..

excellent collection...I'm missing my warm water fishery a lot lately....

looking good man...

I'll add my opinion as well for what it's worth....I use flat waxed nylon, Danville's 210 denier for all materials other then the deer hair on a bass bug. On larger bugs when it's time to stack or spin I switch over to GSP, 200 denier. For smaller flies you can use a smaller diameter GSP. GSP is smooth, slick, strong and thin. As far as hair goes, belly or body...for deer...You can also use elk body hair. It flairs the same as deer hair. I look for even thickness in hair, nice tips for collars and such, and the hair should be at least 1 3/4 in long..longer if you can get it. Make sure you comb out all the under fur before spinning each clump of hair....Happy stacking...

yup...adding to my arsenal...nice tie

Very cool....I may need to make some of those for smallies

Photo steps or a video? If I did a video...it takes about 40 minutes all together give or take to make these...but I'llbe able to explain the steps....I would probably have to post it up on my blog for you all to see it....Let me know which is prefered....