Kirk Dietrich

Tidewater, I agree hook point up with weight on top is a style of tying but Bob did it in 1987 and it was popularized by a 1989 article in Fly Fisherman magazine written by Lefty Kreh. The Crazie Charlie was first tied by Bob Nauheim in 1977. Flies tied in the hook point up style were being tied before him too, my history is a little foggy before that but I think it was someone named Bates in the fifties that either first did it with lead tape or wrote about it being done by another tier???

Actually, the trend of people naming hook point up flies Clouser is a refreshing turn indicating modern tiers aren't so egotistical as many tiers of past that would rename a fly after themselves for merely changing the color of a famous dry fly.

I'm just saying that the style of tying a fly hook point up precludes Clouser and Bob "Crazy Charlie" Nauheim and anyone tying a fly in this style should not have to feel morally obligated to include an additional name into their fly. The Clouser Minnow, tied in the hook point up style by Bob Clouser is a great fly with excellent attributes and deserves the widespread renown it has but it is by far not the first fly tied in that style by several decades.

Anyway, just one of those things, neither here nor there.

Kirk

Looks good to me. Maybe what I'm running into is with the clear; or like I said, maybe I'm just slow with the applicator. The glitter would make a good belly effect for sure.

Nice job.

Kirk

NJ, I find they are better for accents if you're going to use them. They dry fairly quickly and develop a "skin" really quickly. So, when you apply it, you have to go around pretty quick only once. Where the brush overlaps, you'll wound up with a rough finish. Give it a try, maybe I'm just to slow.

Kirk

Welcome Nate, the electronic world of fly tying is amazing! I think you'll enjoy it. I've only fished coldwater trout a couple times, the first on the Deschutes where I took my first Redside, I think that is what those rainbows were called??

Kirk

Will someone please tell me why almost everyone incorporates Clouser into the name of their fly if it has bead chain or lead barbell eyes? Almost every pattern I see with Clouser in the name has no similarity to a Clouser except for the eyes. Clouser used lead barbells provided by Tom Schmucker (sp?) to make his minnow. Before Clouser did that, flies were tied with bead chain, one of the most famous being the Crazy Charlie. I just don't get it????

Kirk

I used a tube set for about a year before selling one of my children to buy the 105mm macro I have. The tubes were good on still life but were very challenging if not impossible with critters in the garden like butterflies, lizards and other crawlies. The 105 is a very versatile lens allowing close focus or regular long distance shots, but damn they are pricey!

I usually start at f/9.0 or f/11 to get any amount of dof. When doing close ups of flies I usually go a bit higher.

Good luck,

Kirk

Looks good. With the extension tube, do you need to switch to manual focus? I usually do with my 105mm prime even though the AF still works, just wondering.

What aperture did you use?

Macro photography of your flies can be enlightening. I often see misplaced thread wraps or other imperfections that I don't catch with my necked eye, amazing what good glass will show.

Kirk

They're for wine bottles, Kirk. I got them from a winery in California, some left over from their last run.

 

Ray

Awesome! You mind asking how much you got them for? Let us know how you handle turning them down, a wine cork is kind of fat so unless you're making bass bugs, they'll have to come down a bit. I wonder if you could slice them in quarters length-wise for smaller bugs?

Let us know, I've got some wine corks but never thought of fooling with them for fishing. We made a real nice cork board; I set up a jig for my scroll saw and cut in half length-wise about three hundred and my wife put the 600 halves on a board.

Kirk

Has anyone here taken beadchain and sprayed it with Rustoleum paint? Just curious on how long the paint held up as I have some currently drying. :whistle:

Bryan, I used spray enamel and it worked fine, my only pet peeve with it is that the paint gets on the whole bead chain including the little connector between the beads and when you cut your set of eyes the little connector does not fall back into the bead like uncoated ones. The little protrusion helps the beads that already catch some grass to catch more grass. I've taken to filing the protrusion down to flush with the bead face.

Also, I've just begun to paint the eyes once they have been tied to the fly but before I tie on the wing. I tie several bodies with the eyes and then dab some paint on to make painted eyes on my bead chain.

Here is the finished fly, I think it is a size #8, Mustad 3366. I didn't take any pics of the body and eye painting process.

Kirk

For tying the eyes on, either bead or lead, I like tying and super glueing mono on each side of the hook to make a flat base. It seems to anchor them in really good and prevent twisting, which can happen after a few fish eat your fly.

Secure eyes with a few figure eight wraps as normal...

...then add some super glue to the eyes and finish tying in with under the eye over the shank wraps to make a disk of thread after which you lock that down with more figure eights.

Damn Ray!, 590 corks! What kind and size are they? Bottle stopper shaped or wine bottle corks?

Kirk

Kirk, That is one great pictorial tutorial on making one...Now I have a better understanding on making them.

Also, I tested mine out today...Good and bad news..They float on their side, but the pickerel didn't mind it at all.

 

Floating on their side isn't a bad thing. Think of a wounded baitfish...they "swim" on their sides in the circle of death. Attracts more attention, IMO.

Gotta agree Curtis. One of my painting designs on my hard bodied bugs is with an eye on the top and bottom instead of both sides. Sounds like the pickerel agree; I'm surprised you could hook them with the body down into the gape but goes to show what to much thinking can do while you're out fishing.

NJ, that one looks good, like a pencil popper but lighter.

Kirk

Kirk, I am tying KDM rats for bass fishing this summer and just do not want to break one off in a nice fish (or any fish for that matter) and have them be stuck with that big ole' bushy thing in their lip for a long time until their lip rots off and the fly can fall out. If I use a bronzed hook it will simply rust out in a couple weeks. Though I hate to think about them being stuck with a fly in their lip for a couple or three weeks I still believe it would not be good for them to be stuck with on in the lip for any period of time and I plan to use very heavy tippet with a super strong furled leader I am just trying to take precautions just in case.

Gotcha, I've never tied tube flies, but if you know how to, that may be a good option. Short shanked hooks are way stronger and give the fish less leverage to twist off.

I've heard that thing about bronze hooks rusting out, but not quite sure I buy it. Either way, even if you smashed your barb down and the fish threw or swallowed the stainless hook in a day or two, the 34011 would not be my hook of choice for heavy fish and cover. Most, not all, stainless hooks are not a very strong and the longer shanked 34011 is even less strong. A carbon steel hook that is tinned is best for big fish.

Man, I'd like to see that KDM Rat when you get one tied up.

Kirk

My Ill attempt at tying a crease fly..have a good laugh on me..

:hyst: but only because you said, I never use those smiley face things but this seemed like a good opportunity.

I've never made crease flies before so I certainly have no room to laugh.

I have seen them and can say you are on the right track but two things I notice you need to concentrate on. One is the fold part should be above the hook shank and not glued to it, the open ends of the foam when folded should be just below the hook shank, not the whole body.

Here is a good pictorial tutorial on making one. One thing I notice on the ones I've seen and in this tutorial is that the face has a round piece of foam stuck in to keep the face open and help create a pop like a popper.

http://www.warmfly.com/index.php?option=co...mp;topic=2261.0

Kirk

Curtis, that is one wicked looking hook - what is it? Great looking looking flies! (I just watched the video, he is using a 3366 - is that what you're using? Looks like a longer shank than what a 3366 has.)

Kirk

Curtis, nice bug, I like the colors and glitter.

Smallie, don't jump to cork; just keep making deer hair bugs, send them to me and I'll send you cork bodied bugs. It is odd what we get comfortable with. The time it takes for a deer hair bug drives me crazy!

Kirk

Steve, what is the need for bronze over stainless? What are you tying? If you're looking for a long shank to tie a long fly, maybe you could do it on a tube and make a tube fly?

Kirk

Those are some beautiful flies! Simply amazing they are.

Kirk

Thanks for the welcome guys.

Mudbug season should be in full swing with dropping prices but the extended cool weather has kept them less active; they can be purchased but the prices are a little high, typically what we see in Jan/Feb.

The site Fred and Smallie are referring to is WarmFly.com hosted by a resident south Louisiana, Larry Offner. A lot of good folks over there that post here, I can't believe this site has been around for years and I'm just finding it - guess I'm not as seasoned with finding websites as I am with tying flies.

Kirk

This is a little tricky but it works. There are two things you can do when you cast to help reduce the twisting effects or rather undo them. When you cast, cast the extent of your slack line, don't leave any on the water, ground or boat - this is where the twists are stored. Instead, cast the full extent of line you have stripped off the reel and make your cast so that the line is extended over the surface, when it hits the extent, the line will untwist as it comes down to the water surface. The normal way of casting where the fly line touches the water holds the twists.

Then again, is a fly that untwists on its own in the waters surface a bad thing for the fish. With warm water fish, I kind of like the built in action the twists imparts in the fly when at rest.

Kirk

Great post and topic, congrats on getting it pinned. Here is one of my experiments with long exposure and Christmas lights. There are some great photos here, Mokia, that make for some good inspiration!

Kirk

Hello all, I just did see this introduction forum. I found the site a week or so ago and really love the participation and number of enthusiastic and talented tiers and probably fishermen too. My first love of tying is hard bodied bugs and catching fish on top from Rio Grandes to Redfish and everything in between but I don't hesitate to go down to get them to eat either. Started tying in 1982 or so and only took a short hiatus while recovering from being flooded out during Katrina and losing all materials and tools - generosity of fly fishing/tying contacts donations got me back up and running pretty soon. Tying was the best therapy!

Thanks so far in the interest and participation in the few posts I've made so far. Look forward to more interactions.

Kirk

Welcome Lora to the addicting world of fly fishing and tying! Having a painting and sculpting background and bass as your quarry, you will be a natural at making poppers/sliders. Check out the Fly Tying Desk forum for many posts on poppers to whet your appetite. I'm new to this forum so I guess I better introduce myself as well; so far it is a really great site.

Kirk

...First "dressed" Frog pattern. I hated it and it quickly got the axe:

I like the way you wrapped the hackle skirt in between the legs, I'm going to start doing my skirt/legs that way. Great idea!

Kirk

Yeah..I cant wait for some top water action..My sister has a small pond with a few nice size bass in it...Will take pics of bass with the poppers in their mouths soon.

I'm in New Jersey so we have a few more months before top water heats up... I will say, I had fun making these guys...It was a good time in the house for everybody that helped out.

Just cant wait to see how they float..Thats why I'm not taking to much time in the making of them..Yet!! If they float well, I'll take my time like i'm making a fine watch...

 

You mean like this this photo? This was the first popper I ever made. Looks great down there. All kidding aside, awesome work on the poppers.

 

 

WOW!!! She took that sucker deep!!! Do you find that happens allot? Or is it only when a big bass takes a smaller size popper?

Happens most when the fish is hungry and commits to the bug, the hook is sharp and your reaction to the strike is sharper. When that happens, don't grab the bug by the head, you'll twist the head off possibly or chip your finish off. Use a forked de-hooker in the hook bend to push the hook out or grab the hook bend with your foreceps.

Smokin, good looking poppers there!

Kirk

Dart, I start weedguarding at size 6 and I don't tie to far down into the bend.

NJ, I use a makeup applicator sponge to dapple the paint line edge. That will be my next tutorial but not until maybe next week or so - and don't tell me you're putting a paint brush on your right angle grinder to try and spray the paint on just to get my sympathy to post painting pics sooner.

Oatka & Tyer14, thanks for the compliments.

Tyer14, as for tailing, feathers are only one material I use for a tail. As suggested by a reply in your post, I also use squirrel and other hairs including synthetic. EP fibers are great for tailing as they have a really compressed small tie in point. Tufts of rabbit, fox and marabou are also good on the small sizes.

Glad ya'll can get some tips, I like sharing tying information as a way to give back all that I've picked up from other tiers over the years.

Kirk