onceahoosier

That's a great fly at the trout lakes here in NorCal, especially in the color you show (I'd call it a burnt orange, and in rust is great too). I've never fished it for warmwater species but am not surprised it catches fish. I usually fish more black and yellow flies for BG and LMB, with lots of marabou and rubber legs. Tom

My suggestion to get more even lines between colors is to use more, smaller clumps of deer hair at the interface. Even if the smaller clumps are a little uneven, if the thin areas aren't all in the same place (and you can move them around somewhat), the result is a pretty even band of hair. One other suggestion for your to consider, steaming your flies over a keetle causes them to "fluff up" which makes them look more tightly packed and also eases trimming with a blade. Good luck! Tom

Great looking flies, Bruce, very nicely done once again.

Nice job ShoneFly, great looking diver! Tom

Well, neither sounds ideal but depending on the flies you'll want to use, there could be a place for each. Are you fishing for smallmouth or largemouth, and what size/what kind of water (stream/lake, open water/heavy cover)?? The 5 wt will be fine with smaller flies, up to size 4/6 or so. The 10 wt line will throw any bass fly, but with a slow action 7wt rod you probably won't be able to throw it very far. So if you're casting short distances with big flies it will probably be OK. All I can suggest is take both and see what works for you. A lot of people on these sites seem to fish 5 and 6 wt for bass, I fish mostly for largemouth in heavy cover with pretty big, wind resistant flies and I use 7 and 8 wt rods for that; for the occasional smallmouth fishing I do a ligher rod/smaller flies is fine. Good luck. Tom

Almost always use a net for trout. I can land the fish faster with less handling/fumbling around so I think its less stressful to the fish and increases its chance to survive. For bass and other warmwater fish I usually just lift them by the lower lip. Tom

Great looking fly, I really like it. Looks like it will push a lot of water. Tom

Great job! I haven't tied deer hair bugs in awhile, but seeing your flies,and with spring on the way, this will help get me motivated. I've got a week to fish in May when the wife is out of town, I'm hoping to do some stillwater trout fishing at my favorite trout lake north of Tahoe and some topwater bassin' in the Delta. Thanks for sharing. Tom

If your flies are anywhere near as nice as PWB's there is no reason they wouldn't catch fish, but what you bring up is something I've talked about a lot. Bill Dance was one who spelled it out on his show several times also. CONFIDENCE in what's on the end of your line. I've been in situations where I've made myself use a bait someone insists is the best for that setup. I soon find myself just getting casts over in a hurry so I can justify going to the bait I want to use because I have more confidence in it based on past experiences. One way I've forced myself to get onto a new bait is to ONLY use that bait for an entire trip. You'll soon find yourself developing a rhythm with the bait, catch a few fish, develop some confidence, and have a new bait you'll be willing to go to and fish properly.

Nice flies, you did a great job with these. I've tied and fished EP flies for largemouth, but I haven't had a lot of luck with them. To be fair, because I haven't had a lot of luck, I didn't really stick with them and no doubt thats part of the problem. Tom

How do you get them to stay in place on a plain (non-kink shanked) hook like the 34007? I've been trying to use them on 3366's but even with super glue they tend to spin on the shank? I tie a piece of large 20-30# mono on top of the hook to help hold the popper body in place. It works pretty well, coupled with plenty of glue. Make sure you have a tight fit in the popper hook slot. Usually, the piece of line I use is just an extension of the weed guard, instead of extending it up the bend of the hook only, I take it all the way up to close to the eye of the hook where it helps secure the popper head. Tom

Wow! Only thing I've seen like that is Steve Potter tying a hummingbird "fly" at a fly fishing show in Pleasanton, CA a few years ago. Personally, I thing work like that is true art. Donate it to the Louvre and I'll have an excuse to go back. Tom

The pattern is in the book "Bassin' with a Fly Rod" by Jack Ellis. I ordered it on Amazon maybe 2 years ago. It's a slider pattern, so it floats, but low in the film as deer hair flies tend to do. Ellis also says he fishes subsurface with a sinking line, although I never have. He also recommends using doll eyes, like my pattern here, to improve flotation. Since this fly makes little surface disruption, I find it is most effective in calm water. As for recipe, TMC 8089 size 2 or 6 hook, 4-5" medium rabbit strip tail (Ellis says to use thinner than that, I find wider is more durable, but it is a little harder to cast), deer hair head on front half of the hook trimmed to a bullit shape. He fishes it in tan, black, and olive, I've had the most luck on the tan version. I find it's more effective than poppers or divers most of the time Tom

Here is a very simple pattern I saw in a Jack Ellis bass fly fishing book call a "Grinnel Fly". Its pretty boring looking, but the bass love this fly, the big boys especially go for the version with a 5" tail. I also attached a sample of the catch. I think this a great fly for those new to deer hair to start with. Tom

Beautiful deer hair work, I really like the look, great colors and very nice stacking. I've been tying trout flies recently, not so much deer work recently, and flies I've been catching bass on are very simple, one color flies. Tom

I have a lot of different hackle, but I like rooster capes the best for my poppers and divers. I have Whiting's in several colors, I paid $20-25 each for them. They are great, but I agree, a lot of different feathers will work. Tom

Very nice. Great job, they look like trout slayers to me. Tom

I've used a couple of techniques on Davis, nothing very sophisticated. I usually fish the lake after ice out in April/May, and again in Oct/Nov. Most common is pulling (or trolling in my float tube) wooly buggers or damsels on an intermediate or type 2 sinker in shallow water (3-10'), and fishing a couple of nymphs (typically a blood midge and callebaetis or other nymph pattern) under an indicator in shallow water. The closest to "Loch style" I've used is to drift across the lake in my 10' boat with the wind/ current and letting the drift move the flies (nymph's, buggers, or the "wiggle tails"), usually using a type 2 sinker. This has worked at times. Your loch's in the UK are very deep, correct? How deep do you fish with the Loch style? Davis is a pretty shallow lake and the fly fishing is best in the spring/ fall when move in close to shore. Tom

Just to be clear, you don't use the drill end of the bit, use the opposite end, the shank end, or blunt end as I call it. It has a perfectly round flat end that picks up the paint beautifully and with a quick wipe the bit goes back in the box when you're done in perfect condition to use for drilling. I use my primarily box of bits right out of the toolbox. One other suggestion, when you apply the paint to the bug with the bit or dowel, try to avoid having hte bit/dowel actually contacting the bug; you'll usually get a rounder, better looking circle pattern if you do it this way. Good luck. Tom

I use the blunt end of drill bits to make my popper eyes and other spots on the bugs. Works great, just wipe off the bits when done. I have a bunch of bits in a lot of sizes so they do everything I need. Here's a sample of poppers made this way. Tom

I've been working on a box to use for Lake Davis in Northern California, a great trout lake north of Tahoe I like to fish a few times a year. Here's a sample of the contents, thought you might be interested in seeing: Tom

Fantastic job, Bruce. Will you fish this fly or is it for display only?

Steve Potter of Tracy, CA. Outstanding deer hair tier.

Thanks. I have a Stonefly blade holder, which basically holds the blade in a curve with one end well protected by plastic. Looks like a great tool, but for some reason it doesn't work great and I don't care for it use it much. I don't know if others have used it and had better luck/some tips for me? Tom

Thanks! No steam, I have not tried that yet. And please don't disgrace Pat Cohen by comparing this to one of his! I learned about steaming, over a coffee kettle, in an article by Charlie Craven. It works great, makes it easier to trim the hair with a razor and causes the hair to fluff up and make the bug more tightly packed. It takes some care, I usually do it with popper heads before any tail is added. If the steam hits those tail hairs it will cause them to curl up. Looking at your bug though, I'm not seeing a lot of room to improve. Great fly. Tom